(almost) back in business
Trip Start
Jun 16, 2005
1
20
46
Trip End
Aug 2006
San Jose,
Costa Rica
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
So, on to Nicaragua on Friday. A fairly large group is going from both churches, so that should be really fun.
Also, it looks like my thieves were able to use my Visa card as well and rack up at least $300 more in charges. Man, they are fast. It also looks like I probably won't be held responsible for the charges, which is wonderful.
Things have been going really well in the program. The kids are starting to initiate play with puzzles and points are seeming less and less important. When they really want one, I point them to worksheets, but otherwise they're just learning while playing. Cool!
Also had a breakthrough in play-acting a couple of days ago. I'd gotten Chelin and Britani into the idea of playing house instead of just fighting over who got to play with the doll (finally), and their game of house ended up turning into a full-fledged fiesta, including most of the group. They wanted some music, so I put on Jeremy Kittel's CD, Roaming (he was in my studio at Michigan), and they absolutely had a blast. I tried to do a little rhythm lesson, too, since _everyone_ here claps out of time and doesn't seem to care. It didn't really work. But at least they had fun! So, Jeremy, thanks for your awesome CD!
I'd also like to answer a few questions I've gotten about the word 'tico'. It is definitely not derogatory. It's just like saying 'American' -- it's used in business names (Ciclo Tico, FarmaTica) and to describe parts of town (Tica Linda, where Heidi lives). It's literally an abbreviated version of Costarricense, which is fairly difficult to say. Now, on the other hand, the word 'Nica,' used to describe Nicaraguans, has a different connotation because of the discrimination they suffer here. Mostly, it has to do with tone of voice. Nicaraguans will call each other Nicas, but I'm very offended when I'm warned about 'those Nicas' in my community by Ticos who don't live there.
The other thing is, people are very matter-of-fact about nicknames here. If you have an attribute, whether skinny, fat, dark or light skinned, with a big nose, they'll call you that to your face and mean it affectionately. Heidi was telling me last night about a couple she knows who lovingly call each other 'Gordo' and 'Negra', literally 'Fat' and 'Black.' This is something I don't think I'll ever be used to, since in the US we try to get away from describing people at all costs. Maybe we just take our attributes too seriously. I don't know. I get called 'Macha' and 'Machita' all the time, which is the word they use to describe light-skinned people, and I hate it. Yup, still getting used to that.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you're doing well!
=)Elizabeth
