Irony

Yesterday went by very fast for me, which is certainly usually not the case for me on Mondays. It seems I will be waking up around 6-6:30 am everyday here as that is when the sun starts to rise, the birds start to sing (which is bad in a tropical place with lots of different birds), and the temperature gets just hot enough  to make me uncomfortable enough to wake me up. However, this is good because it means I am up early enough to join the police officers for breakfast, which yesterday included not only rice and beans (Callo Pinto is the name of the dish here) but fried plantains, my personal favorite, and their amazing coffee. The photo I posted yesterday shows the unique coffee maker used by the police officers and a bit more of the tourist police station. I can’t remember the name of this type of coffee maker in Spanish, although I have been told several times now, but it includes a long cloth bag that the coffee is put in, which stands above a pot, of which then boiling water is poured over and the brewed coffee drips out of the bag. Yesterday I also dressed slightly nicer as I had a meeting with a local tour guide about a possible part time job. It was noticed by some of the officers as I got compliments including that I was pretty and sexy, and one officer even brought up the idea of me dating his nephew. After talking with the police for a while, I left to find that my host “mom” is going to be mom spoiling her only child as she swept my room and did my dirty laundry. I then went into town to meet with the tour director Eric. He has been in Costa Rica for 10 years and works for a company that gives many different tours around La Fortuna and is starting a new tour on Arenal lake (the large lake near Volcan Arenal) with a large boat. Eric fortunately wanted a native English speaker to help with this project, and I will get paid to help out on the boat as a drink server. The best bonus about this job though is that my new friend Eric who knows everything about fun things to do in Costa Rica and where and how to do them will be able to help me plan other small trips and be able to make them at a lower price. I’m also going to a temporary member of “The United States Club” while I am here, as the 25 or so Americans that live and work in the area now get together periodically to enjoy their old culture again. In fact, this Sunday I’m invited to watch an event on one of the most American days of the year- Superbowl Sunday.  I’m more excited to watch the game here than I would be at home, although I must say I have also been enjoying the Costa Rican news channels as well as some great telenovelas (Latin America’s version of Soap Operas on steroids) with my house “mom”. They are really good practice for my Spanish as the actors are so dramatic they speak much more slowly than other programs (and secretly they are almost entertaining). In the telenovelas I’m noticing some more interesting cultural observations that are also confirmed in La Fortuna. The clothing style here for women is often short skirts or shorts or skinny jeans with sandals or high heels. And more interesting, American-brand stores like Aeropostale, American Eagle, and Hollister are some of the highest fashions you can get. I see people wearing these brands everywhere, and according to my host mom, people here are paying for this style as a single Aeropostale t-shirt can cost $40 to $50 dollars, even if used. I purposely did not bring clothing of mine that had any American brands on it like Aero or Hollister thinking it would only look like a shirt with English writing- now I wish I would have brought all of them to sell them! And while talking about appearance, people’s perception of appearance here when dealing with body weight is also perplexing to me. Here it is totally acceptable to call or recognize someone as fat. The description of “fat” is also used frequently; in fact, after showing two female officers video of my campus news program at MSSU “Campus Update” on Youtube, one told me that I was fatter then and was surprised that it was filmed this past year. Although the officers tell me I’m skinny, they also warn that I will get fat while I am here. Hopefully I can prove them wrong there. More so I hope that I can adequately teach these officers English. Today I finally had a lesson with the new group that is working this week. I was planning on using the night solely for introductions and to let them get settled in; however to my surprise, all but one officer that rather watched TV than listen to me was ready for a class. With this group I realize I really have my work cut out for me as their English capabilities are very slim to none, but a lot can happen in 3 months and I’m excited to help those that really want to learn. Recently I’ve also noticed how dirty some parts of town are, especially the run-off water that has been created by the rain. It turns a slimy green color along the cement and had a strong stench which is also attributed to the significant amount of trash scattered along; it seems ironic that such a beautiful place could have such repulsiveness as well. I also find it ironic that at this time a year ago back in Joplin we received the most snow I have even seen in my life, but this year, the one year I leave during winter for a tropical country, Joplin has warm Spring-like weather. Finally, I am going to try to no longer complain about having only cold water. After biking for 45 minutes, sweating profusely, and sitting in that sweat for an hour and a half at Burger King to use the free wifi while I was in town, I came home and got in the shower more than ready to rinse off my dirt and sweat only to find that we had NO water. Please note, the keyword in that thought is try.