Me gusta cafe
Trip Start
Aug 08, 2008
1
6
42
Trip End
Oct 12, 2008
Puriscal,
Costa Rica
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Alli and I went to the nursing home again for an hour this morning. At first, we were just walking around greeting everyone. The unstructured time made me a bit nervous. I picked a guy sitting by himself (I couldn't get him to tell me his name) and started showing him my postcards of Boston and photos of John and me hang gliding, and soon a small crowd had gathered. Maria, probably the most active and with-it person at the center (she's the only one who stands during the group exercises) was especially delighted with the hang gliding pictures; she clapped her hands together and made several remarks, such as "como pajaros
The ponchos
! ("like birds!") that indicated that she, unlike the others, really grasped the concept. Sarah led the group exercises today, while the rest of us walked around assisting people who were blind or just out of it. I took a break to take some pictures; it's a shame I won't be in any of them, but maybe tomorrow someone else can have camera duty. Then we played with the balls again, tossing them to the residents and having them throw them back. It's amazing how much pleasure they seem to take in such a simple game. They're a little like children, but with much longer attention spans. Guillermo, who's nearly blind, waited quietly in a corner, but his face lit up when I came over to play with him. Jaime played with such an intense focus it was almost comical. Luis was already clutching a ball by the time I got to him, and his eyes twinkled mischievously when I opened my hands for him to toss it to me, then he beaned me upside the head. Repeatedly. And cackled with delight every time. I had to ask the physical therapist for his name, because he didn't understand the question (even in Spanish; his cognitive skills are limited) but he sure knew how to have fun.
Not everyone played ball. Lorena's hands are always curled into fists, and while she sat with the group willingly, she seemed to have no interest in participating. Jaime (not the one I mentioned before; there are two) has no teeth, giving his mouth a cartoonish pucker and making his speech completely unintelligible, but he seems to crave human contact, and always reaches out to take my hand every time I walk by. Ester was more dressed up than the others. Anna told me her story; apparently, she puts on her best clothes every day and wheels herself to the front, telling everyone that someone is coming to get her today and take her home
Alli
. I'm glad to have this experience, but I'm also glad it's only an hour a day for a week. I think I'm better suited to something a little less intense.
At nine o'clock, Alex picked us up to take us to the school, where we sat down with the English teachers and made a schedule for the next few weeks. Although the regular volunteer schedule is 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Christian would like us to come in for a few hours in the afternoon twice a week, so the kids in the afternoon class get a chance to practice their conversation with us. Of course I'm delighted to spend more time working with kids so eager to learn that, according to the teacher, they raised a huge fuss when their schedule didn't allow them any time with the last group of volunteers! We had to check with Viria, but she said it would be fine; if the schedule conflicts with a planned activity, the school can manage without us for a day, but otherwise it'll just cut into our down time. Which we have more of than I know what to do with, anyway.
I love talking to Christian. His English is very good, and he looks a little bit like a guy I used to date. He's anxious about the gaps his formal English education has left in his speaking ability, and he spent the better part of an hour peppering us with questions about how and when certain phrases are used, and why. I never really thought about these things, and now I'm struggling to articulate the patterns and rules governing our slang. The next few weeks may be more educational for me than for him and the students.
After lunch we went to the Café Britt, a coffee plantation and processing center
Baby coffee plants!
. Coffee being one of the few consumable liquids about which I am not yet knowledgeable enough to be a snob, I was excited to learn some fun facts I could use to make fun of other people's tastes.Coffee, as it turns out, is a lot like wine. The variety of bean, the climate in which it is grown, the minerals present in the soil, and the manner in which it is processed all have subtle but discernable effects on the taste of the final product. Time is a critical factor, too; unlike wine, coffee does not improve with age, though there are ways of packaging and storing it to make it last much longer. I'd never thought to keep it in the freezer, but I guess I'll be doing that from now on; it extends the shelf life of an open bag of coffee from one month to six.
After sampling several varieties, I found I preferred the house dark roast, but I picked up a few bags of the fancy stuff to impress the folks back home. (Now I just have to hope they don't read this and spoil the effect.) I also bought a bunch of chocolate-covered coffee beans, cocoa nibs, and nuts. There were free samples of those, too, and the dark chocolate, unlike most of the dark chocolate I find at home, is actually dairy-free. (Yes, Rachel, I picked some up for you!)
The girls and I had a little too much fun on the way home
They grow so fast!
. Sarah was proctoring one of her quirky surveys, like those chain e-mails we used to send each other when we were 13 and AOL email was the hot new thing. "Dark or light? Empty or full? Early or late?" The conversation took a turn for the political when she asked "Thanksgiving or Christmas?" Anna, a vegetarian of four years, complained that she couldn't eat any of the food at Thanksgiving, and I whined about the orgy of consumerism that people call the "Christmas spirit." Then she asked about "diamond or pearl," and of course I had to bring up the issue of blood diamonds, which a few others were passionate about but probably wouldn't have had the poor taste to introduce into such a lighthearted discussion. Then I thought I heard, "tap or bottle?" and I rolled my eyes and said emphatically, "Tap! Don't get me started on bottled water!" The van got rather quiet. Meanwhile, Bishnu had heard the question correctly, as "top or bottom?" and replied evasively, "depends." So the group was mostly torn between giggling at her unintended innuendo and trying to figure out why I was so fiercely passionate about the issue. It was a rather awkward moment until we sorted that one out; then it was hilarious. I pity the driver, who had to endure an hour of listening to ten women shrieking with laughter.I can see why they won't let us drink in Puriscal. We're enough of a handful when we're stone-cold sober.
Comments
me gusta cafe
Y albondigas, tambien? (no te dije?):)
como pajaros and pajamas!
This reminds me of a funny story. We used to have some hang glider clients in Mexico who called themselves Los Hombres Pajaros. Rick, who is the master of the funny nickname, called them Lost Hamburger Pajamas.