I'm still here

A few days ago a whole gaggle of gringos came marching by the pulperia, all sweaty and utterly exhausted from hiking up and down the mountains that form the horizon of my town. The trek leader stopped to chat and said she is always surprised when she haps upon a lone gringo living out in the middle of nowhere. “I always want to just snatch them – you – up and say, ‘Come with me,’” she said, clearly appalled that I would live in such hot, remote, dirty little place.

But I am happy to be here, as always. I am more accustomed to the heat this year than I was last year, so while it is still hot, it’s not quite so miserable as before. My host family is doing well, the baby is starting to talk, and the living room recently got a much-needed fresh coat of paint (tree-frog green and soft lavender).

Last week I endured one of the most difficult experiences of my life when I volunteered for Un Techo Para Mi Pais (A Roof For My County). One hundred and eighteen of us (20 gringos, the rest Costa Rican college students), built 26 small wooden shelters for families living in extreme poverty (mud floors and no running water) in the province of Limon. Some highlights included washing my face with sewer water, bathing in a men’s urinal and working four days straight in constant rain and mud. On the second morning, I cried and was just about to walk out on the project when my friend Dan gave the whole group of soggy gringos a pep talk.

“We are Americans from the United States,” he said. “We don’t quit. It’s in our blood to stay longer than is really necessary. Take the Vietnam War. Or the Iraq War. Or The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy.”

With that we all felt a surge of pride and headed out into the rain and mud to prove we don’t quit. But ultimately all but three of us did quit. I left on the morning of the last day when the blisters on the bottoms of my feet had finally gotten the best of me. Oh what sweet pain I felt limping my way to the bus stop! I have photos to post, but the Internet is running so slowly today, I think I will wait to post them later.

Thankfully, I am back in the relative luxury of my own town and room. School starts Monday, which will surely provide me with more stories to keep this blog more regularly updated.

In the meantime, I know have a cell phone, which is connected and working here in Costa Rica, thanks to my generous and smart older brother. If you don’t mind paying the long-distance fees, call me anytime at 011-506-8892-6624. I’m always in the mood to speak English!

And last but not least, FELIZ DIA DE SAN VALENTIN Y MES DEL AMOR Y AMISTAD!