un mes más

Today Chad and I had a conversation that went like this:

Me: "We get to see each other so soon! This week I prepare for Nilsa (my advisor)'s visit, then she is here for a week, then I prepare for the IGERT meeting, then I have that for a week, then I get to see you in Colorado! Then I have visitors in June, then the teak blooms in July, then I see you in August, then..." (and so on until I had summarized the next 10 months in such a manner)

Chad: "Just wait until you get a little older. You'll be referring to time in years instead of months because time just keeps going more and more quickly." 

I paraphrased that a little bit. But it really blows my mind how the older I get + the busier I get + the more fully I enjoy myself, the more quickly time slides through my fingers. Take the last month or so:

I had such a great time with Chad: We went to Isla Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua, climbed a volcano, visited 4 beaches on the peninsula, did field work, cooked together, swam in the neighborhood pool, and had an awesome pirate-themed party for Chad, Kahlil, and Ilianet. 

Party! Party! Party!

I also started doing hardcore field work! Everyday I get up at 530am. By 630 am I pick up Cundo, the world's best teacher/field assistant. Then, we either search for more parcels, collect traps, or set up new ones. It involves climbing steep farms and constantly talking Spanish, so by time I get back at noon I am EXHAUSTED. Then I have to answer emails, pin insects, try to identify a few, and attempt to keep up with my team/student duties. I will post a blog soon with photos from my coffee farms and pastures... not sure why my teak parcels get all of the photographic attention:

Sometimes I post pictures of myself looking kind of nice while I do fieldwork. Those pictures are lies.

Here is one from one of the days where Chad was throwing rope into the teak canopy for me. Still can't figure out how he did that. Oscar and I spent a full hour trying to get one rock over the lowest branch ever. 

Other than that, I have tried to keep the last week more or less uneventful except for work (7 days a week!)  One big event did happen yesterday... I bought hens! Four "rescue hens" from the egg farm. These ladies are enjoying their space, vegetable castings, over-ripe mango, and sweet exercise equipment. I would like them to roam free but I've seen what the neighbor's fighting roosters do to a pretty young hen. Plus, I'm quite certain they wouldn't know what to do with that kind of freedom.

I got four eggs this morning! Already thinking about buying a few chicks to raise for meat. 

 Also I set rat poison because the squeaking and running in the ceiling is no longer passing for geckos.

Sights in the Peninsula this March...

Sunset in the melon fields

Yoga in the plaza

My favorite baby on the beach

Destruction in "improved" pastures

Innovation in the apiaries

Hidden beauty close to home

Top 5 reasons why the last 48 hours was the perfect Hojancha experience:

Hangin' with Oscar's son, Kahlil

1. Friends and neighbors gathering at my house for a BBQ celebration. The food was done incredibly late and the arepas were a disaster, but I love having the people in my life gather together. Nothing makes me happier. I sat on the grass under the stars and listened to my awesome neighbor, Raul, tell fishing stories. The best part is, I almost understood every conversation!

2. Driving alone to the beach for a Saturday afternoon of sunshine, reading, and swimming. Anyone who has known me for a long time knows that driving is a bit intimidating to me. In fact, I only started to drive a manual when I moved to Costa Rica last summer. I can now jump in the car and drive on often steep, pot-holey dirt roads to a number of my favorite destinations. It gave me an incredible feeling of independence, solitude, and freedom.


3. The most epic run I have been on in Costa Rica. My friend Charlie took me on a 45 minute trail run up a crazy steep path above Hojancha. From the top, we could see the gulf, and then the whole town. He always points out his favorite flowering trees and tells me stories about the area, which I love. I can't wait to take my friend Audrey on this run!!

Charlie at the mirador over Hojancha

4. My Ecuadorian housemate made empanadas for dinner. Everyone here cooks so well! Plus, I was starving after that run.

5. A night of guitar and violin music with amazing singing by Alex Piedra. We went to a benefit concert for the school in Matambu (an indigenous territory) and I was blown away. The rural setting and modest attendance had me expecting a casual night of listening to local musicians. I ended up experiencing some of the best live guitar I have ever heard.

Imagine Rodrigo and Gabriela playing an intimate concert for you and your friends. That's pretty close to what was happening. 

Is this how hard I was supposed to be working this whole time?

WHOA, folks. Apparently it took me a year and a half to reach the physically exhausting, all-consuming, busy busy BUSY part of my education. The past weeks have gone by in a blur. They have been full of visiting farms, talking to beekeepers, attending presentations, spending boatloads of money on equipment, and not having time to/forgetting to do 60% of the things I need to do every day. I haven't partied in WEEKS. I only went on two runs last week. My clothes are all dirty.

Im not complaining. I love it!

Using a bow and arrow to send rope into the canopy and set traps. It's hard not to pose a little bit when you are holding a weapon like that. 

Riding in the back of a truck with my beekeeping sensay (sp?) Cundo. Also, there is at least a month between this pic and the above pic. And almost no variety in my outfits. 

I'm on fulltime smoke duty when helping Alfredo and Cundo with the bees. These two men are helping me so much with my project, and I couldn't be more grateful!

Visiting a maximum-security melon farm. Gee, I wonder what they are hiding...

Selecting sites from the beautiful orange, coffee, forest, and pasture farms the owners so generously take me to see.

I have to be incredibly thankful, because every door I open seems to hold a new opportunity. I have met people who have handed me valuable data, telling me that they care about my project and want to see me do big things. I feel a ton of pressure to do something important with my work- which is both scary and already very rewarding. I feel so happy and blessed to be doing something that might make a difference to these good people. They are teaching me so much just by showing me how they live a happy life here in Hojancha.

I think this generosity and happiness is part of what makes Guanacaste a Blue Zone, an area with very high scores on the happiness index and some of the longest lifespans in the world (more on that in another post). The healthy traditional diet of heritage corn, fruits, vegetables, and beans probably doesn't hurt either. I'm taking notes.

 But I can't resist mentioning that one the things making ME happy is this guy:

Oh, doing a little light reading there, buddy?

He's going to be here in three weeks, how lucky am I? Plus, a bonus of getting free field help.

Hojancha Rednecks

Everything is Pura Vida in Hojancha right now. I am living in a great little furnished house right in town; my housemates are students who only speak Spanish with me, and this morning I learned how to make a traditional Costa Rican breakfast (Gallo Pinto).

Before leaving my little yellow house on the hill, we did some grilling out and drinking in the front yard and I stopped to lovingly observe the place I have called home while here in Hojancha. This includes:

A motley assortment of pups that are regularly provided with food scraps and love

Multi-colored Christmas lights that alternate between flashing patterns (reminder: it is February)

A tendency to adopt any lost and frightened animal

Virtually no furniture and many shirtless men



 A borrowed grill in our front yard that we use quite frequently

 

 It was then I realized that we are the rednecks of our little neighborhood. I'm definitely excited to start a new page of my CR life (and meet Oscar's family, who move here from PR in a few days!!!), but I'm also going to miss the hilarity of living with these guys. The good news is: the cleanliness of our washed dishes and pristine common areas in the new house more than makes up for it ;)

Culture shock returns

I remember standing on the beach in Nosara last summer during the second week of Spanish lessons and finding that my mind was completely blank. I didn't have the vocabulary to let my mind wander in my new language, but my whole brain was resisting the impulse to return to the familiar flow of English. I would have to pause while writing emails, especially to my bilingual teammates. Was a ready to communicate to them in their Mother tongue? Would I still completely embarrass myself? Was I being weak by sending them the meeting agenda in English and just sandwiching it between my newly learned Spanish salutations?

Six months down the road not a lot has changed. Culture shock is not just about being frustrated by a new language. It is the constant nagging that you might be doing something wrong: Are my shorts too short? Should I smile and wave at a sweet looking old man who says "Hola, amor," or is he being a creep? I don't know.

In the US I'm a pretty social person. I always spend time with friends and I am not intimidated by meeting new people. The isolation that comes from a combination of language and culture barriers tends to wear on me quickly, making me feel like I'm doing something wrong or suddenly failing at something I know I can do. I feel a lot like I did last night while Oscar was giving me a surfing lesson: I was paddling and duck-diving with every bit of power in my body, but a glance back on the beach would always reveal that I was barely staying in place.

When approaching a biological study in a new country, it is tempting to push these kinds of problems aside and focus on my bugs and my books. Fortunately (and unfortunately when I'm having a particularly hard day), everything I do here relies on my social networks: the farmers who let me into their fields, the carpenters who build me insect boxes, the local students who have the best connections for affordable housing. I have been lucky enough to meet a lot of good people who have been helping me out and making things a lot easier.

Times like these I give extra thanks for my Liberal Arts education... for experience travelling in other places that were challenging in different ways... for being taught that communication is one of the most valuable skills...for emails and Skype sessions and phone calls and letters home... for my Puerto Rican brothers that will always translate, even if they tease me for it...and for the fact that Friday is pizza and movie night in our little yellow house on the hill and the movies at least have English captions and the pizza tastes just like home.

Lesson #1 of studying abroad: buy a guitar ASAP.

It might take a couple leaps and bounds to get my blog from Fall 2012 in Idaho to Spring 2013 in Costa Rica. Not only is the physical relocation always a bit of a mind-blower, but I feel like the season of my life has changed almost as much as the scenery.

When I arrived in Costa a few days ago, I got to skip the usual taxi->bus->bus->taxi because I flew into Liberia, a town in the Nicoya Peninsula where I live. My friend/co-worker Oscar picked me up on his way back from a surfing trip. I felt like I was coming home more than going to an exotic location. Oscar and Simon welcomed me with their usual Puerto Rican flair and I've been pretty happy ever since.

The dry season is certainly distinct in Hojancha. Where the mountains used to be dressed in extravagant tropical greenery, there are now patches of dusty brown nudity. The walk to the grocery store used to be hot but manageable... I now find myself considering fashioning a hat out of a shower cap and ice cubes just to ensure survival on the 1/2 mile through blazing sunlight.

Yesterday, Simon and I went to the beach. It was magnificent despite the sunburn that penetrated many layers of 55 SPF. We also did a circuit workout on the beach. No matter how fit you think you are, you will never succeed at a workout with a college athlete in the late morning Costa Rican sunshine after a few weeks of drinking dark beer and catching up on movies.

But here I am! And on Monday we go to the field and start this science business. I can't wait.

Missing my Idahomies already, but it's time to learn more about the Pura Vida!!!

PS did I mention I'm prob renting this adorable house with some students I met?