Hey guys~
For the past few weeks, I've been working on a farm in Costa Rica!!
And I finally have time to update my journal. Almost no one will read it, but that's okay.
Anyway, I got here three weeks ago, Wednesday, and it's been really fun. The first part was scary--traveling from Boston to Atlanta to San José all on my own was kinda intimidating. Then, having to find a taxi to go to the hotel where the drivers only spoke Spanish? That was just plain cruel...
I make it to the B&B, stay the night through pouring rain and then really high humidity, but considering it's the rainy season down here, it wasn't half bad.
The wait for the EasyRide in the morning was horrible, though. The guy said he'd be there at 7:30, but he didn't show up till 8. For that half hour, I was afraid I'd have to get a new ride, but he came running up to the door and asked if I was there and was truly sorry for the delay. Traffic in San José is pretty bad, especially during rush hour. He helped me get my baggage into the van, and then we headed out and he didn't go the way we usually do, so I kept thinking "Oh my god, he's kidnapping me, he's going to rob me, omg, omg, omg..." but then we stopped and picked up a couple from Arizona from a hotel, and I calmed down.
When we got to the exit for Cerro del Muerto (Mountain of Death), some construction workers stopped us and told us they were repainting the roads and wouldn't be done until noon, at the earliest. We had to turn around a ten foot van in a very small area, and that took a while. Finally, we got back on the road, went to the opposite end of the capital, and headed towards Jaco, Manuel Antonio, and Quepos. I've never been down that route, but it was really pretty. Really long, but really pretty.
We finally made it to the farm, and I dragged my bag all the way to the volunteer house, about 200 meters. The house is gorgeous, except for the tin roof. It's full of murals depicting everything from a sunset on a tropical island to toucans and chimps. It's also completely open. The only doors in it are for the bathrooms (a pee only toilet and a poo only, for compost) and bedrooms. I'm currently rooming on the loft where it gets really cold at night and really hot during the day. Whatever, it's really nice.
When I first got there, there was only one other volunteer, Rose*. She's from Germany and her English is way better than my Spanish, and we've been taking them for the same amount of time. It's really not fair. Anyway, there's a family as well: two sisters, Viola* and Natalie* and Viola's boyfriend, Filip*. The sisters are from Argentina and Filip's from Holland. They're all really nice. Then there's Henry* and his Uncle Alfred*. They're both Costa Ricans, through and through and are afraid of nothing. But they only speak Spanish and are the ones that tell the volunteers what needs to be done on the farm. When it rains, we weed or mulch, sometimes even pick lettuce, spinach, and other produce that's ready to be eaten. When it's sunny, we do everything from dig trenches for a new green house to cutting down trees and clearing paths. Then there's Chris*, Samantha*, and their son, Matt*. Chris owns the farm and he's really cool. He's American, Samantha's German, and Matt can speak Spanish, English, and German. At age six, he's already trilingual and that's just not fair!!!
Last Tuesday, another American, Elizabeth*, came to work on the farm. She's from Kentucky, and is one of the nicest, bubbliest people I've met. She just can't sit still without falling asleep or going on a hike or something. A week after that, Harold* came in from Texas, and he's relaxed to the point of laziness. But he's hardworking and loves the machete. We've been trimming back trees so other plants can grow and he's been hacking away, having the time of his life. And last night, Edward* from Germany came in. I swear, he looks just like Orlando Bloom only with really cool dread locks, a cool accent, and vegan. And, he knows how to cook. What more could a girl want? Haha.
Anyway, back to the work I've been doing. On Tuesdays and Fridays, we clean out the animal quarters. They're not really cages so much as living spaces. We have chickens, goats, a cow (she's pregnant so we get goat's milk, yogurt, and really REALLY good goat's cheese), the cutest rabbits I've ever seen, and sheep. We also have ducks, dogs, and cats, but we don't need to clean out their spaces. The ducks just chill by a pond and the cats and dogs are pets of the people that live there. There's this really cute one, Chocolatey, who looks like a chocolate lab, only he's really short. He's so cute! I apologize, I digress. On other days, we clean up trails that go all over the farm, we plant new gardens and transplant plants from little bags to the greenhouses after they've grown from seeds to about two inches. I love it. I know we have a house down here, but I really love the work.
On Fridays, we have a "communal dinner" where everyone on the farm brings a dish of food and we all eat it at the very large dinner table in the volunteers' house. It's a lot of fun, especially the last one where Samantha, Chris, and I were all talking about the sixth Harry Potter book and she just blurts out "And I can't believe Dumbledore was killed by Snape!" Elizabeth looks up and says "What?" She was half way through the book and didn't know the ending and it was so funny. Samantha's face turned bright red and, yeah. It was funny.
Other than that, it's been relaxing. I've gone through so many books, Samantha says I eat them. At least, that's how they put it in German.
I'll write another journal soon, and when I get back to the states, I'll post that artwork that I've been promising you guys.
See you soon!!
*Names changed because I'm paranoid like that ^w^