Tico Time: Kevin (aka "Kevie")


I’ve decided to start including person profiles on this blog, so that in addition to my own personal stories, you also get a quick glimpse of different people in my community, straight from the horse’s mouth. For my first interview I was very lazy, and didn’t leave the house. Here’s what my 5 year old host nephew, Kevin, had to say to a host of random questions:

Do you like living in Costa Rica?
- Mmhmm

Why do you like living here?
- Because I like to live.

If you could be any animal what would it be?
- A tiger (he says with ZERO hesitation).

Why?
- Because tigers don’t bite.

Umm, tigers don’t bite, ever?
- No (like “you big dummy”), they just walk around up there, and when they hear something they put their heads up and listen, like this (he demonstrates).

What is your favorite food?
- Egg with rice

Do you like any fruits or vegetables?
- I like the apples you always have and when you give them to me. I do not eat broccoli or salad. And I like ice cream but mom says I can't have it now because I am sick and it will do damage to me. I can only eat hot ice cream.

Do you like having a gringa auntie?
- Do we have any hot ice cream?

No. Do you like having a gringa auntie?
- Yes, because I am happy all the time when you are here (as he buries his head in my pillow with embarrassment).

If an American child came to visit you here in Costa Rica, where would you take him?
- To Costa Rica, or to the United States

I then clarified the question…
- I would take him to pre-K, a forest, my house is nice, your house is nice, all of the houses are nice. To Mass at the church.

Have you ever been to Mass?
- No.

What is your favorite sport?
- Costa Rica (I’m sure he said this because the only sport he knows of is soccer, and this is obviously his favorite team).

What do kids here do for fun?
- Ride bikes, live in their houses, sleep at night, eat bananas, cereal…what else? Memeitos (these are like little corn chips), ice cream, popsicles, food, rice, rice pudding, beans, rice and beans, plantains, that one and the other one.

If you were a hot dog, and you were starving your you eat youself?
- Ummm, excuse me?

If you were a hot dog, and you were starving would you eat yourself?
- Ay Morgan (which sounds more like “Moah-ghan”), you really do say the dumbest things. Next question.

If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?
- To the mountain or the river (Yes, we live in a small, small world here, and I have never seen geography taught in any way, shape or form).

Well, you heard it here first, everything you could ever want to know about Costa Ricans. Now you know everything…you’re welcome.

Reuben

Last week a friend of mine lost her husband to leukemia. I just met him about a month ago, 8 days after he received his diagnosis, when my English students and I went to visit him. He was on bed rest and exhausted from chemo, but the state of his health did not shadow his glowing, positive attitude and caring, good-natured manner. I remember feeling so confused and sad and angry that this was happening to him, and could only think that he was going to get better – that there was no way he could leave us so soon. The other day I attended the Mass and funeral service held in his honor. Hundreds of people came to mourn and celebrate his life. Visiting Reuben in his house the one day I knew him, hearing the news of his death, attending his funeral and talking and being with his loved ones has filled me with more emotions than I am able to express in a normal blog post. I am not by any means a poet, and in fact this is the first time I have ever written a poem (if you can call it that) outside of school, but the night of his funeral I had an urgent need to write what I was thinking about, and it kind of manifested itself like this:

Never underestimate the power of first impressions.

I knew him for 30 minutes.

Smile so strong you’d never know he couldn’t lift himself from the bed.

He just received a death sentence but made me feel welcome and comfortable in his home (in his bedroom, actually). There was no reason for me to feel comfortable there. But I did.

Chances are the chemo won’t work, but there’s no way the cancer can survive while this father-of-five radiates positive energy so bright. Right?

Then I saw her. Just when I was sure he must be the strongest person in this world, I saw her. Ten weeks ago she gave birth to their baby boy. They thought blessings didn’t come any bigger than those four daughters, but now a son too? Things couldn’t get better. So they didn’t.

Anguish was behind her eyes, but hidden. Not because she felt like she had to hide it, but because it would not defeat her. She was too tough for that, and knew too well the needs of those kdis. She found refuge in her understanding that a Plan had already been made.

Chances are the chemo won’t work, but there’s no way the cancer can survive while this father-of-five radiates positive energy so bright. Right? Right???

One week later they moved him to San Juan de Dios.

I was saturated in doubt. Where’s the power of positive thinking? People’s heads hurt from all the positive thoughts sent to his family.

What happened to the power of prayer? The Buenos Aires air is thick in it, and my knees which never before knew a pew are bleeding after knowing this man. Why isn’t he getting better? I’m willing to forgive everyone and anyone for this horrible, metaphysical mistake, just fix it!

They told me he was in his final moments, but I was certain the good he exuded was too strong to die. When I arrived at Mass, I realized my ignorance. Of course it was too strong to die.

The church was saturated in his positive attitude, his love for his wife and children, the values he learned and passed on to others.

Her dark brown eyes were red from the pain, but they carried his light. Her tranquility was contagious, and put her children at ease. She controlled the room.
Her composure and calm allowed everyone to not only mourn but also celebrate life.

The illness may have taken his body but it was no match for his spirit, for it will remain forever in the hearts and minds of everyone who knew him. And I only knew him for 30 minutes.

That snake right by your foot can kill a cow…careful.


November 11, 2009

Big volcanoes, canopying over waterfalls, rappelling, mountain views, swimming in rivers, pineapple fields and poisonous snakes…these are among the adventures in store for you should you decide to visit me. We also have Dengue.

A couple of weeks ago I eagerly traveled to San Jose where I eagerly awaited the arrival of my friend Adam. I couldn’t believe it…my first true days of vacation in the 8 months that I’ve been here were about to begin! My brother came to visit in August, but bless his little heart I was working the entire time. This was going to be different. As soon as Adam arrived, we hopped on the first bus to Miramar, a small town in the mountains, northwest of San Jose near Puntarenas, with gorgeous views of the Nicoya Peninsula.

After a night as the only guests at the hotel/resort, our first day began with a 45 minute horseback ride through the mountains, to the start point of a canopy tour that involved 27 zip-lines over waterfalls.


The other people on the tour were really fun, and the guides were fantastic. We ended up getting a ride back to Puntarenas with one of them, which was amazing because I never get to travel in an actual rental car (I’m always stuck on a hot bus that smells like doo doo).


We ended up getting into San Jose too late to catch a bus to my site, so we stayed the night and traveled to my site first thing the next morning. Now I happen to love my jobs and my life here, but apparently following me around my site can be a little tiring. He bravely tried to communicate with my host family, helped me out in both English class with kindergarten and with my adult class, survived my exercise class, and waited patiently during several meetings. I set aside part of our last day to show him the swimming hole that my youth group took me to a few weeks ago. We had a great time and everything was very relaxing with the exception of a surprise visit from a very very long, fast snake. It jumped 3 feet in the air after we crossed it’s path, and then proceeded to slither into the river that we needed to cross in order to get home. The water was above knee height, and over very large, slippery rocks, so I was definitely uneasy trying to get across but we both made it alive and well. Later on we met up with a Tica friend of mine (who LOVES snakes) and when I described the snake to her she gasped and said, “Oooh, those are really really poisonous! They kill cows!” I may wait a while before heading back to that river.



Needless to say, after trying to get 5 days worth of work done in the 3 days that I would be home, Adam and I were both exhausted by the third day in my site, and ready for the more relaxing part of the vacation – La Fortuna, the town closest to Volcán Arenal. The largest volcano in Costa Rica, Arenal is definitely one of the biggest tourist spots in the country. It was my first time really being a tourist here, and I have to say I did not like it. In my town, I am accepted as a member of the community, and it is rare that people try to take advantage of me and my gringa-ness. In La Fortuna, however, they are used to gringos who have no idea what they are doing, and I hated the fact that I had to prove to everyone that I am familiar with the culture here in order to not be scammed or cheated. That being said, we had a great time visiting the volcano, visiting one of the largest waterfalls in CR, swimming in hot springs, going down waterslides that should be illegal, and walking around town to look at shops and try different restaurants (none of the food was a good as my Mama Tica’s).

I love having visitors but man it is hard when they leave! I get rather used to not having people from home around, but then when I get a little taste home I miss everything and everyone so much more when I am stripped of it once more. Don’t get me wrong, it is DEFINITELY worth the pain afterwards to have visitors, but bouncing back into my reality here is a little bit tricky.
Now I am back into the work scene full swing, trying to finish up projects before the end of the school year (December 22) and before my Aunts Mary and Margret, my Uncle Ed and my brother come to visit for their hottest Christmas ever (woot)!