San Isidro²

My heart is beyond full.

There are two major things I want to share. There's my site assignment, and then there's that whole turning 30 chunche.

First, my site assignment. My group had been looking forward to Friday morning for so long, and finalmente it arrived. We piled into a pair of buses and sat in traffic on our way to Belen for the big reveal. We sat in traffic, chewing on our fingernails and trying to appear less nervous than we all were. Thankfully, the PC staff didn't waste much time getting the whole process started. We circled up in the shade and our Program Managers unveiled a giant map of Costa Rica. One by one we were called up to receive our assignments and pin our picture to our spot on the map. By the time my name was called, the amount of butterflies in my stomach could've carried an elephant to the Sun and back.

At long last I learned where I'll be heading: A rural community in the Northwest of Costa Rica called San Isidro de Aguas Claras. There are somewhere between 300 and 400 people there, and it's right next to Aguas Claras, the community hub, which has closer to 1,000 people. So it's not nearly as big as my current San Isidro (de Heredia), and I'm sure it'll be its own amazing adventure. I cannot WAIT to get there and meet all the people.

From my info packet, I know that there's a huge push for eco-friendly initiatives, such as a recycling campaign, and they're also interested in building a gym for the community. They're pretty interested in nature in general, and I'm stoked to experience that side of Costa Rica as well. I found it particularly interesting that, under the Project Partner/Counterpart heading, there were six different people who'd listed themselves as interested in working directly with me. Now, they don't know me from Adam, and for all I know they all cheer for the Yankees and love cats, but it certainly does bring a smile to my face to see that many people on board already, before I step foot in their community.

I understand the vital information we'll continue to learn throughout the remainder of our training, but I must also admit that I am so ready to go and meet these people, ready to dig deep and establish those relationship, ready to do life with the people there.

In other news, I'm thirty. Whoa. Saying that might take some getting used to. I've said it a ton but it bears repeating: I could not have picked a better place to turn thirty. Here's how it went down. After our Site Assignment, we had some free time to share the news among our group and with all the PC staff, and then we played basketball, soccer, swam in the pool, and pretty much just hung out for the afternoon.

After a bit, we got back on buses and made our way to the other event, Welcome VAC. So, VAC is the advisory council among PC volunteers, and they act as a go-between for us. They also know how to throw one heck of a party, so we discovered on Friday night. They put on this huge gathering of all the in-country volunteers, and we had a blast. A few brave folks from my crew even jumped in the pool (it was colder than you might expect) at the stroke of midnight to celebrate my birthday. The next morning I took my time getting out of San Jose and back to San Isidro, mostly because I'd been told to not return until 6:30PM.

Now, although I'm smart enough to figure out that something was up, I had no clue as to details. I'd already put a few pieces together as far as who might be there, but BOY was I wholly unprepared for what went down.

I turned the corner down to my house and was immediately met by three smiling boys telling me to wait. They sprinted back into the house to summon my host sister, Melissa, who walked me into the darkened house. As I walked into the living room, the light was switched on, and before me was a beautiful group of people crouched, ready to pounce, screaming "Cumpleaños Feliz!" Introvert or not, I was so thrilled, touched, excited, and amazed to see all these people who I've literally known for 2 months (almost to the day) gather to help me celebrate the big 3-0. There were lots of my CED and TEFL buddies from Tico 31, everyone from my host family, a bunch of locals from the neighborhood, and my awesome Language Facilitator, Elena, even made it!

The kids came out to play too! Mis amigos por siempre!

Nancy R, Tory, and Sami!

Nancy T, Joeta, and Yenia!

 

Cheesin' with that CAKE

Elena w/Hansel!

But that CAKE tho!

So much joy. Melissa gave a poignant speech (def had some wet eyeballs for a bit, there) and then proceeded to slam my face down into the cake in keeping with the local tradition. We sang, danced, ate, drank, and just enjoyed the night. One of my group members - who shall remain unnamed for the moment - also definitely got a little freaky with Doña Elsa on the dance floor, but that's a different blog post.

Learning, sheepishly, how to properly pour a beer...

Katie and Doña Elsa!

Cara de Pastel

Wouldn't be una fiesta without the Piñata!

Melissa, my host sister!

Bottom line, I've never been happier in my life. With the community vibe/Pura Vida, the incredible people in my Tico 31 and Peace Corps family, and the excitement of my impending service, it's better than I could ever dream.

Thank you all for being a part of it. Love y'all.