Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Life is crazy here, that’s really all I can say. I’m so sorry that I’m bad at this posting thing. I mean, I’ve been here five weeks and I could easily spend all night telling a blog what I’ve been doing, instead, I’ll just highlight.

Recently my life has become homework. Even worse, homework completely in spanish. I FINALLY finished my 10 page paper on Cuba, of course ever word of it was in spanish. I feel like I’m writing papers left and right and then on top of that, I have a 10 minute presentation tomorrow over El Teatro Nacional...good thing I’m great at on spot talking :). I literally spent all day Saturday and Sunday cramming all of this in. Thank the Lord, I’m done and even have time to write my loved ones!

I have done some awesome things and met some even more awesome people.
Elmer Rodriquez Campos- the cutest little man I’ve ever met. It didn’t matter if he was spending his time as a security guard, by night he’s a skilled painter and poet. Such a cute man!
Rubén Pagura- Ohh, he sang for us! I know that I said Elmer was cute, but really, Rubén was someone I just wanted to have in my life everyday. He simply loved his life and was so passionate about what he did. An incredible man, that’s for sure!

Alex Grant- One of the first men to come in and finally speak english to us! Maybe it was that, or that fact that he used to be a model but is now some hot shot business man that made me love him! Too bad he looked like he was 21 and was actually 40 and just got married. Either way, he was great too!

Then there was Roderick, the sweetest, most passionate, and loving man I have ever met. I’ll never forget him, or his outlook on life. That and his passion for the Lord and how he simply tries to live likes he’s called. Roderick, a husband and father of the two cutest kids I’ve seen since I got here, was more than just a sustainable farmer. He is a poet and a genius. In his broken english he told us all about living your life for God and about being a human being in this world. Ah, he touched my heart and the best part, he sells the most wonderful coffee. I’ve never had a better cup!

Oh yeah, and then there was the one time LASP tried to teach me about Liberation Theology in a 4 hour session on the worst day of my life...that didn’t go over well.

Oh yeah... I also went to some place that were pretttty awesome. I went to La Fortuna, which is one of the most famous Volcanos here. Thankfully we went on a day that wasn’t cloudy and were able to see all of the Volcano! Also, my friend Abby’s tica mom here set up our weekend for us, so when we got to La Fortuna after a shady 4 hour bus ride, we were greeted by tour guides! We were treated like royalty and given some nice fruit drinks when we can. By 2 that day we headed for our 7 hour tour/hike. I might have jumped off a waterfall, climbed a volcano, and relaxed in the hot-spring and it may or may not have been the most shady tour I’ve ever taken. By the end, a good portion of our guides were having their own party...hahahahha.

Then I went to Limón. Finally, a beach! Of course, before that I had to do school too. Friday night we went out and conducted interviews with those on the street. If you’re anything like me, you don’t know anything about Limón, so I’ll give you a brief overview. A good portion of people in Limón are living in poverty but do not even realize it because everyone around them is the same. It’s a VERY dangerous place and literally kids of all ages gather and drink on the streets when an officer is 2 feet from them. Either way, it was awesome to meet the people of Limón and on top of that go to the most beautiful beach in the world. (See Facebook for photos!) Oh, then I had to come back on a Sunday night and write a paper on poverty, of course. LASP has this way or ruining things.

I’ve seriously done way more awesome things than I can describe, like concerts in crowded clubs, a ton of family fiestas that involve tacocitos (favorite) and dancing. Pretty much, I’ve done a ton of stuff that gringos and tourist would do, ha. I went to the embassy (so much to say about that), I went to a theater, I finally had subway, I read three books of Cuba, and so much more. I freaking love it here.

Oh yeah, mom, if you read this...I just got internet...kinda. It’s been in and out and then actually gone for weeks. Also, I tried to call today to tell you that I think I may or may not have a “gripe”, which is the flu. I slept FOREVER today though and I’m feeling a bit better. Good thing I have no time to even think about an illness with all of this work...except for when my mamí tica makes me awesome soup and gives me ice cream :)

AH, shoot. Remember that one time I almost forgot to tell you that I was about to go live in the bosque (forest) for two weeks? Yeah, I leave Monday morning at 5:00am. I’ll be living with a new family, probably in the middle of nowhere in Nicaragua. My intern, Annie, took a boat and then a horse for 3 hours to where she lived last time. I’m am beyond excited! Oh, and I get on bag with like two change of clothes, food, and the necessities. I’m going to be a hot mess for 14 days, but oh well. I once heard that you can do anything for four months...well I can do anything for two weeks! Then, I come back to fall break (aka- Manuel Antonio)....so pumped. BEACH! No homework. Hot showers, a beach house, walking without shoes, zip-lining. Soooo good. Until then, I won’t have internet access so it’ll have to be another three weeks before I post again. Thank you all for support and prayers!

So that’s it....my life is seriously nuts. I’m so glad that I’m here with the people that I am and of course the family that I’m with. I love what I’m doing and I easily owe the Lord for this one.


And...WRITE ME

Jamie Harling

Latin American Studies Program
Apdo. 54-2070
Sabanilla, Montes de Oca
San Jose, COSTA RICA

AND!
I just found out my family loves baked potatoes. I knew my random pick day one was perfect.