In conversation, the most common words uttered by Ticos are “Que [insert one of the following]”: lindo, hermoso, bonito, rico, precioso, dichoso. They are all effectively a way to express how pretty, beautiful, rich (in quality, not in money), precious, or happy something is. This phrase is applied to every aspect of life: a pair of earrings a person is wearing, a piece of furniture in the house or some decorative ornament, how a meal tastes, a restaurant’s ambiance, a person’s personality or physical features, clothing, the weather, how you slept the night before, the nicety of a social gathering, or a happy expression for the laziness of a weekend afternoon. I do believe if I kept a running tally within a single day, I would count some variance of this expression perhaps 10 – 15 times. Do we have an equivalent in English that is so frequently used? And if not, isn't that kind of unfortunate?
I have been in San Ramon for just over 1 week now.
My Volunteer Project
My first week teaching phys ed was challenging, a mix of good and bad. Main points:
- For the majority of the kids, the first question they asked me once they saw me was (aside from the obvious: are you a new teacher, what is your name): “You’re from China?” A variation on that is a simple, “China!” For half of the kids, I attempt to explain that my family originates from Taiwan. For the others, I simply ignore or smile when I don’t have time or energy to explain, or I just say I am from the US. In the latter case, they are typically surprised.
- I have decided I don’t care much for playing soccer or basketball. And that this will be a bit of a predicament for teaching primarily the 4th through 6th graders.
- The 1st and 2nd graders are absolutely precious. The second they saw me, they didn’t even need to know who I was and they swarmed around me with hugs and fought to hold my hands. Some of them insist they will only play a game if I hold their hand and play as well. At the end of the class, they will make sure to give me and the other volunteer a hug and sometimes a kiss on the cheek before returning to their classrooms.
- Some of the teachers do not give a rat’s ass about phys ed and sit on the side allowing the kids to misbehave if they want to.
My Host Family and House
My new host house is quite modest and simple, and my room is quite small. But my host parents are eager to make me happy, serve me food that I like, show me around San Ramon, introduce me to all their family and friends, and ensure that all of my needs are met. There has often been family or friends at the house, at which time my host mom always prepares a big pot of coffee, bread, marmalade, butter, tortillas and natilla (which is like sour cream but better). My host mother sells cookies to stores in San Ramon, so already about 4 days this past week she made a big batch. They are called “cajetas” and are simply made from three ingredients: coconut (which she gets whole, and shreds the pulp in a machine she owns), milk, and sugar. These three ingredients are mixed, then boiled down into a thick paste like texture. She then slaps it onto a big metal table top, spreads the mixture thinly, cuts it into squares, and puts them in individual plastic baggies which she then seals using an electric press machine. The end result is chewy, sweet goodness. I’m lucky because I get a couple cookies free every time she makes a batch!
I made tortillas with my host mother as well! It was pretty simple, just mix a special flour with some queso powder, and water. Mix it up, roll up the dough into balls, form thin round tortillas, and fry them on a pan.
One of the daughters of my host mother used to work in a salon and so she gave me a pedicure the other day when she was visiting. I told her a pedicure in the US is typically about $25. They were all shocked, as it costs only about $3 in Costa Rica. That said – I believe that many Ticos make less than $3 an hour…
Upcoming Local Travels
About one week from now we’ll be approaching the Easter holiday week, which is “Semana Santa” here in Costa Rica. Everyone generally takes off from work/school and they travel. I will be traveling with the other volunteers to some beaches on the Carribean side of Costa Rica and we are hoping to finish off with a few days in Panama. That trip will likely be the topic for my next blog post! Until then, some final thoughts are below.
Things I like in San Ramon:
-The layout of the town, and the backdrop of mountains surrounding it.
-There are several really good cafes in central San Ramon. I am looking forward to trying all the desserts!
- All of my host mother’s food. I am the first person she has ever hosted, so I think she is eager to make me feel completely at home. She serves a wide variety of food and always asks me what I want. I am happy that she also provides fresh fruit and salad (not iceberg!), along with the staples of rice, beans, meats, plaintains, bread, cooked vegetables, etc.
- Central San Ramon is a nice small town that is full of markets, sodas (which are small food places where you can get a meal like a plate of rice, beans, meat, bit of salad, plaintains, all for $3), clothing stores, pharmacies, pastry shops, cafes, etc. The center of town has a very nice church and a park across from it.
-Inexpensive buses to town are only 110 colones one-way (about 20 cents?!)
Things I don’t like in San Ramon:
Something about the toilets here, which did not seem to be the case while I was in San Pedro (or I was just not privy to this practice when I was there): The plumbing systems in Costa Rica are apparently quite old and not that great. As a result, there is a practice of having a basket by the side of the toilet, where you discard your used toilet paper (yes, including #2). Consequently, bathrooms are not really sanitary, they smell, and they attract lots of fruit flies (which is not helped by the humidity of the climate here). This is pretty much the only true drawback of my house in San Ramon. I was told this happens in other countries too, but I don’t recall noticing this in any of the other countries I have visited (and I have visited quite a few). Maybe I am only noticing now because that comes with being in a new environment for an extended period of time.
Things I am grateful for in San Ramon:
My host parents
Having other volunteers here in town
© Copyright Stephanie Lin Wu
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