“So… what exactly are you doing there? “ Is a question that comes up pretty frequently when I’m talking with people who are in other parts of the world.
When someone asks me to describe my normal day-to-day experience, it’s difficult to wrap up into a few quick-and-dirty sentences because each day is (usually) different from the next, and consists of me stepping into whatever role is necessary at the moment. Need a quick English tutoring session for that exam on irregular past participles that you have in an hour? I’m your girl. Someone to accompany you on your trip to Golfito to pick up a dog that’s up for adoption? Count me in. An extra girl to complete your folkloric dancing troupe? Help me put on my skirt and I’ll give it my best shot.
As a result of this, the notion of “a normal Peace Corps experience” simply does not exist.
So yes, en general what I am currently doing is working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the TEFL sector (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), teaching English in an italian bilingual high school and an adult night school, along with a few side projects (conversation clubs, English camps, test preparation courses, etc.). Bueno.
My weekends and any free time between classes, on the other hand, are typically dedicated to one of the two following categories:
Activity #1: Sleeping and/or (usually and) entering crippling existential crisis mode.
Activity #2: Impromptu self exploration exercises through whatever activity happens to be going on around you at the moment.
The second option tends to lead to the more blog-worthy topics.
A few weeks ago, in between my classes, I got a phone call from a friend, Ana, who was in one of my adult conversation classes last year.
“Lau, usted va a estar muy ocupada este fin de semana?” she asked me.
After quickly consulting my calendar to see the upcoming weekend was to be dedicated almost exclusively to Activity #1, I said not really.
“Venga a mi casa el sábado a las 6:00AM, vamos a San Gerardo de Dota para buscar quetzales.”
And so, I went.
I left my house on Saturday at 5:30AM to walk up to Ana’s, where she greeted me with a lovely breakfast of fruits and gallo pinto before setting off on our journey. Shortly after I arrived, a few others rolled in: Karina, a student about to enter university to study teaching English, and Tomoko and Yumi, who are also volunteers from an organization called JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency), who would be joining us on this excursion.
At about 7:00AM, we all piled into Ana’s car and embarked on what would be one of the most chiva (cool) weekend trips I’ve gone on since coming here. To help explain why, I’ll share the highlight reel with you:
1. We drove in a car.
Featuring two sleepy passengers in the back
This might sound like a lame point to use to support how cool this trip was.
“But Lauren, everyone drives everywhere. What’s the big deal about the fact that you drove.”
Let me explain myself a bit. Most PCV’s existence is walking. And busses. Walking and public busses. Driving in a car meant getting to sit in the passenger seat of a car for the 4 hour drive up and back as opposed to sitting on a crowded bus crushed, both physically and mentally, between the guy blasting J. Balvin music videos on repeat ~without headphones~ and the chronic manspreader for the whole trip. Being able to stop to buy cajetas at a rest-stop on the way just because nos dio la gana. Not having to deal with the éstres of having to coordinate timing what buses would get us to the places we needed to go. Being able to leave our cabin to seek out lunch at a soda without having to walk 5 miles to get there.
Driving in cars doesn’t happen every day. Driving in cars is nice.
2. San Gerardo de Dota is breathtaking. And cold.
Situated along the Coridllera de Talmanca, San Gerardo de Dota is a small pueblo located in southern part of the San Jose province. Hidden along the Valle del Rio Savegre and near the Parque Nacional de Los Quetzales, this region houses an incredible amount of flora and fauna, including over 200 different species of birds. This region is more specifically known for being one of few homes worldwide to the quetzal, which, fear not, I will fangirl over later in this post. Even without the birdos, though, this place was magical.
The place we were staying:
This is also the coldest place I’ve been in Costa Rica so far, the coldest moment hitting about 7 degrees Celsius (44.6 Fahrenheit). For those of you rolling your eyes at my use of “cold” to describe the tropical Central American country in which I am currently living or thinking that I’ve been away from the U.S. for so long that I’ve forgotten ‘what the real cold is’, thank you, you can take a seat now.
Now take into account the fact that here were no heaters.
7 Celsius. 44.6 Fahrenheit.
Think about that. I know your indoor thermostat is set to at least 68 F.
7 Celsius. 44.6 Fahrenheit.
Think about sleeping in that.
It was cold.
They gave us a lot of blankets and heated water bottle to sleep with, though, so it was all chiva.
3. Soul-warming comfort food.
Traditional breakfast of gallo pinto to start the day out right. Crema de ayote soup for the soul. Who need gloves when you can have a delightfully frothy (homemade, from real cacao) hot cocoa to unthaw your ‘lil hands? Need I say more.
4. This. Really. Cool. Freaking. Bird.
Ok. Gah. Gahhhh. Everyone. Look at this birb.
This is a quetzal, and the main reason we went on this trip. If you’re mumbling to yourself, “She’s been abroad for too long… why do people go bird watching.”, ok, so you might not be wrong about the first part, but as for the second part, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Also, would you catch me bird watching in New York? As great as robins and blue jays are, probably not.
Bird watching is like Netflix.
Some countries have a sh*t selection.
Others have all seasons of Brooklyn 99, Parks and Rec, House of Cards, all three John Mulaney specials, and every Marvel movie in existance at your fingertips. That doesn’t mean that Netflix itself is bad; it’s just the way that it is.
Bob’s Burgers? The Breakfast Club? White Chicks? Don’t mind if I do.
It’s all about location.
People. Just look at this bird and tell me you wouldn’t be more inclined to go out bird watching if there was a chance you could see this little fellow boppin’ around somewhere nearby.
Also, ‘bird watching’ isn’t really just about the birds, any more than hiking is just about walking up hills. It’s an excuse to go somewhere, sit quietly immersed in natural surroundings and observe everything.
And then you realize that Bob Ross is painting you.
No, not looking at you and painting you. He is painting you. You are the Bob Ross painting. Bubbling Stream. Mountain Retreat. It’s all you. You were there all along.
5. No New friends !!
As awesome as the birds were, one of the best parts of this trip was getting to connect with new people. Between two Costa Ricans, a New Yorker, and two girls from Japan, we made for a rather unlikely crew, and had a blast getting to know more about one another and share our personal experiences and culture both in Costa Rica and abroad.
Ana, the grand orchestrator of this excursion (and part-time model?), is a remarkably caring and authentic individual. Always smiling and incredibly motivated to learn English, she has a huge heart and is always looking for opportunities to exchange experiences and conversation with people. I’m really thankful to have met her early on in my service to be able to share moments like this with her!
820 Days of Pura Vida 