I have not written for a long time so I will try to make this one a good read!
Yes, I am still alive. Last week I spent the week in my In Service Training (IST). This is a training that all volunteers receive after being in their sites for three months mostly to get everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction. It was a time to share with the group little anecdotes of how the first few months were going, how much gallo pinto we are eating, and in a nutshell just catch up on our adventures.
I had such a feeling of pride to share with my group-mates that I am loving my site and especially the friendships with Costa Ricans that I am forming. Sometimes it is hard for us to totally adapt to a new culture that is so different from our own that we get stuck in the idea that our culture is superior and everything that the people do here is wrong. It was hard for me when I was living in my former living situation and once in a while I found myself falling into that same attitude, but despite all of the obstacles that were bringing me down I have found my self moving forward and constantly surpassing where I previously was.
In this process I was fortunate enough to meet so many amazing people along the way that were so generous with me. One weekend I went with one of the teachers to meet her family in Grecia which is in the province of Alajuela. I was treated just like one of the family and even to this day when my friend is talking to her parents on the phone and I am around I talk to them too as if I was another one of their daughters. The acts of kindness had me thinking that the majority if not all of the people who are now a part of my Costa Rican life will most likely never see me in my own element and I will not ever be able to take them to my favorite restaurant or to meet my family and see where I am from. I want so badly to be able to give to them just as much if not more what they are giving to me.
I never thought that this job would entail so much receiving and I am really taken aback by the generosity of this culture. It is clearly nothing to complain about and it makes the difficulties of this job just a little less difficult.
