“Wherever we travel to, the wonderful people we meet become our family.” -Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!
As of today, I have been in Costa Rica for exactly 6 weeks! I wish I could easily have another 6 weeks here. Since I’ve been here for a while, I think it’s probably time to talk about where I’ve actually been staying this entire time! I’ve been staying with an authentic Costa Rican family about a 20-minute walk from the school.
What I mean by “authentic” is that a lot of their children either live with them or live next door and often visit, the mother serves the family food, they have to be cautious of the amount of water they use at once, etc. By living with this family, I really got to understand and appreciate everything I used to take advantage of (and honestly not even really think about) in the States, such as taking a freezing cold shower because a cold shower was better than no shower, washing clothes while in the shower so I didn’t have to do laundry as often, and things like that.
Even though living here had some differences to get used to (I don’t want to call them challenges or even inconveniences, they were just simply differences), having the family and the other two student teachers already living there or next door made the adjustment that much easier.
For my first four weeks, I shared a space with Lauren C., another student teacher here. I had luckily been in contact with her before I came down, so she helped me with my packing. Since she and the other Lauren had been here for several weeks already, they showed me ropes of the place in English- if I had to rely on the family’s information it would only be in Spanish and it wouldn’t have been an easy time! Our room had a connecting bathroom that we could share, a small divider to close when we are sleeping, a fan (THANK GOD), and in my room, I had a small open dresser as a place to set my clothes. I quickly learned however, that it is MUCH better to keep your clothes in your suitcase, zipped up, so that COCKROACHES AND WORMS AND LIZARDS DON’T CRAWL THROUGH THEM. Lauren did this with her clothes and I should’ve followed suit. Soon I was finding beetles and small worms in my dirty clothes I’d lay on the floor. Even though these were clothes soon to be washed, I can’t deal with those thoughts. So the clean clothes moved into the zipped up suitcase and the dirty clothes earned their place on the shelf.
I don’t know what it was, but the last few weeks there have been SO MANY cockroaches in my room AND EVEN IN MY BED. In previous weeks, we would see some every now and then; Lauren even found one crawling on her during dinner one time! But luckily there weren’t a lot to begin with. There are no windows in my room or doors to lead outside (HENCE MY GRATEFULNESS FOR THE FAN), but in Lauren’s part of the room there are some windows and a door leading out to the back patio. This is where the wretched beasts enter. They always lie on their backs and you can’t quite tell if they’re dead or not, and luckily when Lauren was here she would grab them by the antenna and chuck them outside. Now that she is gone I’ve had to do this on my own. It may sound like I’m being dramatic BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU FIND A COCKROACH CRAWLING IN YOUR BED AT NIGHT…….yeah, that’s what I thought.
The bathroom gives me another chance to get up close and personal with some nature. I had to pitch my toothbrush because it was infested with ants and I’ve spotted several small lizards in the shower with me this past week. Luckily we leave each other alone!
In the front of the house, my host brother, Felipe, runs a small pizza and chicken restaurant. They always have Spanish music blasting and lots of their friends over, especially on the weekends, and set a positive atmosphere. The pizza is really REALLY good, but there is of course the part of me that misses the greasy pizza from the states.
In the back of the house, there is a really relaxing patio area that connects my house and my host parent’s daughter’s house. It has a sink with a washing machine, several chairs, a table, and a great view of the chicken coop with a line for drying our clothes. This is where I spend most of my time in the house because it’s usually really cool and not as hot in this area. I’ve formed some strong memories here as well: drawing and playing video games with Luis, talking with Gloriana for a few hours on the couch about our futures, passing the soccer ball around on Lauren C.’s last night, meeting Lauren W.’s family who came to visit, practicing Spanish with the family, watching the thunderstorms roll in, observing the intense pecking order of the chickens, writing my thank you and goodbye cards to the staff and students, snuggly sitting close with the family dog, watching Isabella’s killer dance moves and funny faces, and so much more. I hope I don’t ever forget these memories, as it’s making it very hard for me to leave. I only brought some small gifts for the family before I had met them but I wish I could give them so much more! Their generosity and their patience have made all the difference during my time here. They rent a room of their house to a random gringa who is pathetic at Spanish just so that I can get this experience.
Only 2 more nights after tonight in this quaint house. I will certainly miss it, but I will certainly be back!
~pura vida