Okay, So We're Kind of a Big Deal....

Okay folks, this is the post where I get to brag. About myself. Which I do maybe once every 5 years. So here it is for my next five years.

I realized I haven't talked much about work on this ol' blog. Well, that's because "work" in Peace Corps is slow-going. Nearly a year into my service and I just now finally feel like I am getting things going. One of the things I have "gotten going" lately is an Art for Peace youth group. It took a long time to get this going, or to even find youth that wanted to participate (mucha pereza aqui). Well, I found six great youth that have come weekly to workshops that discuss the importance of peace and non -violence through art. In addition to the workshops we have done other art-related projects outside of the formal workshops. One of the most recent ones we did was a huge mural next to the church in downtown Copey (designed by the youth themselves). We got a San Jose-based art organization for kids on board and they recruited volunteers to help us. Well, we completed a rather large mural in two days and it looks great.

And now here is the part where I get to brag. Not only am I so proud of my youth who have been so dedicated and enthusiastic, but our project also made it on Buen Día, Costa Rica's version of Good Morning America. Here is a link to the video. For those that don't speak spanish, you can just imagine all the great things it's saying about Copey and my youth group.... And be sure and listen to the eloquence with which they say my last name. ;)

http://www.teletica.com/noticia-detalle.php?id=40993&idp=3

As for our next project, the kids can't stop talking about where else we can do murals and mosaics. They have big dreams now.

Below are photos of the process:

Beginning to end:

Me and the world:

Gettin' messy:

The road to Copey is paved with.......mosaics:

Sharys being interviewed for Buen Día:

The youth being interviewed for Buen Día:

A Treasured Friendship Based on Four Sentences

I have this friend. Or so I would like to call him a friend since I see him nearly every day, or at the least, once a week.

But this friend and I, well, we only ever say four things to each other.

1. Hola, comó esta? (Hello, how are you?)

2. Anda de pasear? (Off to have fun?)

3. Si or No (Yes or No)

4. Gracias, hasta luego! (Thanks, see you later!)

I feel so close to him. He drives me up and down the steep mountain road to civilization (the nearest town, Santa Maria); I trust my life in him (one swift move and were rolling off that cliff); he provides sanity for me (how else would I ever be able to access the internet and the outside world?); he picks me up right at my front door (I can't help that my house is directly on the bus route); he doesn't judge me when I leave Copey a lot to go on vacation (which, is often); he supports me when I go chasing after him to not let him get away (then cracks a smile as I get on the bus, winded, and says I should run in marathons); he helps me when I have full loads (bikes from Peace Corps or big care boxes from mom); and he smiles and waves from his regal-like seat if we pass each other in the road.

He is Rodridgo. And he is my bus driver.

Bugs, Rabbits and Chickens

So today in an email my friend Greta pointed out something in a very clever way and I just had to share it. When talking about all the health problems I've had here, she summed it up with this:

First, bed bugs. Then a bug on the chin. Then a bug in the belly.

Clearly, referring to my bed bugs, my allergic reaction, and my parasites. Yes, it's true I've got lots of bugs in my life.

In other news, today I found out someone in my site has a rabbit farm. A rabbit farm for FOOD. As in rabbit meat. Yikes. Here's a picture. Not that I took, but a picture, nonetheless.

Finally, speaking of meat, I got this crazy idea today while talking with a 9th grader and the woman with which I co-facilitate Art for Peace Workshops with that I should get chickens. Baby chickens. Raise them (free-range of course) and then when they are nice and plump, do the thing, then pluck their feathers and in the words of this woman "eat chicken for a month." Okay, so I know that wasn't so pleasant, but it's how most everyone gets their meat around here. Not being a big meat-eater, this idea of being so connected to my food has always, and especially now, really intrigues me. I'll keep you posted. I may have some baby chicks running around my yard next time we talk.

Goodbye for now, readers. Until next time.