This may be a long update...lots to talk about and lots to update everyone on. First and foremost, my family came to visit and were able to experience a little of how I have been living in Linea Vieja the past 7 months and then I got to get to live like a gingo tourist for a week as we traveled throughout the province of Puntarenas.  At the end of the trip, I made a trip down to the "dirty south" into the famous Osa Peninsula to a beautiful, secluded location called Drake Bay for an additional 4 days with a group of 3 other Peace Corps volunteers which I think was extremely necessary to help get me back into life back here in Linea Vieja as I was no longer the "rich" gringo tourist but back to being a poor Peace Corps volunteer and living like one once again.  Finally, the grant for the recycling center was approved and we will be receiving $500.00 in the coming days to begin work on that project.

Farrell Family in Linea Vieja

There were two very distinct parts of the Farrell vacation here in Costa Rica.  The first part took place here in the community from the 21st until the afternoon on the 22nd, only one night but a very immediate welcoming to my life here.  They arrived like a gringo Santa Claus with a full suitcase and a duffel bag full of presents for myself and community members...I honestly don't think I have ever seen that many gifts in my life.  A special thank you to the Silverman family, the Smith Family, all the extended Farrell family (Barbara, Rick, Jen, Roger, Amy, Randy, Pete, Carla) and of course my own family, Ryan, Aileen, Dad and Mom...I am still going through all the presents and trying to figure out what to do with it all.

My host mom and I had planned a "small" party to welcome them to the community and meet some of the people I have been working with here but what started as a small party quickly grew as word of free beer and chicharrones (fried pork rinds and pig skin) spread throughout the community.  In total, there was probably around 60-70 people that came through the party with 50 there at any given point.  We invited project partners, the rural tourism group, students from English and computer classes, high school teachers and just general community members that have been open to myself and my position here.  I must say, it went a lot better than I imagined...my Dad was playing football with all the kids for hours, my sister was making bracelets with the little girls, and my Mom put to use all the Spanish she has been brushing up on, surprisingly well (its a compliment Mom..).  Aileen was even able to attract a number of drunken admirers as soon as the party started and thanks to a fellow PCV, was able to keep them at bay.

The next day we took a walk through the community so my family could get a better idea of the places I talk about during our conversations and have a frame of reference for the future conversations.  I then lead them (mistakenly) on a hike through the mountain hiking trails we have been working on for the past month or two.  I had never seen the trails after a serious rain storm and naturally, it had poured the night before and that morning...needless to say, the trail was a disaster, if you could even call it a trail.  Both the parents came out with filthy pants and soaked cloths, Aileen managed to stay upright and laugh at mom and dad during their attempt to descend the mountain.  One final meal of more chicharrones, yucca, rice and beans and we were off to San Jose for the night.

Farrell Vacation pt 2.

The rest of the vacation was a whole different slice of life; a huge secluded house in the mountains near Dominical Beach, over indulging on any food you wanted, snorkeling trips, surf lessons, zip lining, horseback tours to incredible waterfalls...anything you want out of a trip to Costa Rica.  But even in what I would call "civilization", it was a little funny to see the rest of the family struggle through the little cultural differences between here and the US; huge 18 wheelers flying past you on a double yellow (generally driving on the "highways"), ham on the hamburgers, the relaxed attitude that may mean getting food served in an hour rather than a server busting his/her ass for tips, stray dogs that immediately are surrounded by packs of adoring gringos (admittedly still me), etc.  But after a week of living like a tourist again, I found myself looking at Costa Rica differently and looking at it like a foreign country again, like some of the humble standards that I have in site suddenly were no longer part of the way I live down here, that the food wasn't good enough in a restaurant even though there are days in site when all I eat is a big bowl of rice, beans and an egg. It was the strangest feeling because I remember realizing it in a random moment and being aware that I had already begun to feel different about my position here in the country, that I was just another rich gringo tourist instead of being a community member in the small town of Linea Vieja.  Which really made me think how hard it would have been to go back to the States and then immediately return to my community as so many Tico 29ers did over the holidays.

Osa Vacation (Vacation pt 3)

I was on the fence about this trip just because of the travel and money that is involved in simply arriving to the Osa Peninsula but thank god I choose to go.  A group of 4 PCVs from Tico 29 went to a secluded location called Drake's Bay which is only accessible by water, a small dirt landing strip or by a bus that costs $7 (a lot of money for us) and only runs once a day, except Sundays.  As beautiful as the bay is and as rustic as it felt, the best part of the trip was to be back to being a PCV, with PCVs, discussing life as a PCV with other PCVs.  This is not to say that I did not enjoy my time with my family (by far the highlight of my service so far) but there are certain things that only other PCVs can really relate to and respond to.  When I speak with my family of friends back home, I almost unconsciously filter my experiences here, generally telling them the good stuff or trying to sound busier than I am and even if I do talk about the bad or boring parts, it can be hard for them to comprehend without experiencing it.  And as important as it was for my family to see and experience my community as they did, it was a very uncommon night/day and they didn't really experience the full spectrum of my life here (impossible without a 2 week trip really).  But Drake allowed me to get back to being a PCV, vent the frustrations of service and listen to their own problems and experiences and in the end worth the money and 9 hour bus ride for which I had to stand for the duration.

Back in the community

Well, just as I feared, the community seems to be on vacation until school starts again in February and half the community doesn't even seem to be here.  However, we did receive some big news regarding the grant to expand the recycling initiative here in the community as well as a little more news from Courts for Kids.

Recycling Center

The biggest news I think so far since the start of Courts for Kids; we were approved for a $500 grant to expand on our current recycling initiative and hopefully begin work in early February.  Our current plan is to use the funds to install a water source so that we can wash the materials we receive, create educational materials to distribute to the community, buy/make receptacles to place throughout the community and potentially expand the current infrastructure of the current center itself.  On Monday, I met with the high school science teacher, Rafael, to sign the grant agreement and now are just waiting to hear back from a contact in the grant organization, World Connect.  More to come!!! 

Courts for Kids

Just a small update here, on February 17th from a representative from Courts for Kids to see where the court will be made, address any concerns and discuss how to move forward with the process.  However, I still haven't had the chance to sit down with Elgar about how to plan for the event we need to raise the money which is a little concerning to me.

English Classes

In the coming days, I will revamp the English classes to offer different levels of English to certain age groups.  I think what I learned from before is that there is interest but communication about times and age groups need to be clearer especially for the escuela classes.  To address that problem, I will be offering classes separately for young children (6-9) and older escuela children (10-13). The colegio classes will be split into knowledge level rather than age as many of the students that are still in my English classes are now fairly confident with the classes we have covered thus far.

Town Hall Meeting: Community Organization

This is going to be my big goal for the coming month, trying to get community excited about talking about the future of their community.  From what I have seen in other Peace Corps sites is that no matter the level of financial resources, the biggest obstacle or motivator of community development is simply community organization.  If I am able to get the community together (the biggest obstacle), and talking about their ideas for the community and begin the discussion of how we can get there, it could open tons of doors and potential project partners for future projects.  Fingers crossed I can figure out someway to get people to show up to a meeting (free beer and chicharrones???)

Slowly getting back into life here and trying to begin to plan for the future.  Thanks to all and happy New Year!!!

-Conor