Week Five!

Hey

If I didn't know you were reading this, I just want to say I'm glad
you found it, and I hope you keep coming back. Feel free to send me an
email with a funny story about your day. I miss you, and I want to
hear how you've been.

Also, if you have any advice on bee keeping, let me know. Just a
personal interest.

Dear blog,
It's been a long week. We're all getting tired here and a little edgy.
I didn't go away last week for the long Easter weekend. I wished I had
until friends got home and told me that they had wished they could
have stayed. I was surprised!

I was sitting in church (which did NOT mention Easter) with Krysta
when I looked around and realized that this is not the Peace Corps
experience I have been imagining since 1985. I tried figuring it out.
Is it because I was next to my best friend? Is it because I stay with
a host family? Is it because I compare this to Mexico? Or is it
because nothing could ever be exactly like what I've been expecting?

They all say before you get into the country that none of your
expectations will mean anything once you get there, and still as an
aspiring volunteer, one of the last things you do before boarding that
plane is solidify all expectations and bring them with you.

But, I assure you, this is not what anyone expected. Tonight I had
dinner with Krysta again (she lives about 20 minutes away by bus) and
she was talking about our year together in Americorps. She brought up
the trip she took to Cost Rica that year, and I heard those two words
like they were the name of a country I'd never been to, never thought
of going to, never seen on a map, but had only heard of through
friends' surf trip visits and mission trips. It was somebody else's
country when I heard her talk about it, but almost immediately the
irony hit me. Where are we having this conversation? Hopefully she
didn't see the mental whirlwind in my facial expressions.

These days, the thought of two years here is like a kick to the belt
buckle. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Costa Rica. My family
is a gold mine/ surprise birthday party on a regular basis. The people
in the community are extraordinarily friendly, and the Peace Corps
staff/volunteers/everyone are like hilarious, intellectual pop rocks.
It's just not exactly what I thought it would be. And somehow, it's a
big comfort knowing that it's really not at all what anyone expected,
regardless of our expectations.

So we're going through that right now. Since last time we talked I've
kind of just had a butterfly stomach ache.

Training is almost half way over, and this week some fun things did
happen. I met the PC volunteer who lived with my family during last
year's training. I taught some friends how to throw the frisbee (which
made me homesick for the Boston Common), and in turn they taught me
about motion sickness, personality types, and throwing baseballs. It
was homework, but interesting. Then we made contact with our local
elementary school, which fed us on our visit. Thank you, elementary
schools around the world. We're going to do a few leadership workshops
with the sixth graders over the next couple of months. The school year
here lasts from February to December, so that's different.

I got to play soccer again, and my friends and I took a long walk home
from class one day just to explore the neighborhoods.

There is a lavender flower here called a "raspa" that I love to
introduce to friends. It has sandpapery leaves, and for some reason,
in most gardens it is grown next to an orange flower that appears like
an empty water balloon when it is not in full bloom. I don't know the
name of that flower yet, but I could probably make one up. Together
they look great, the orange and green and lavender all fighting for
attention.

This country is definitely beautiful. I think I would like to show you
around if you get a chance to visit. Until then, I hope you are
enjoying spring at your home. If you haven't sent some already, I'd
love to see your photos.

I do love you. Let's talk soon.
Have a good weekend.