Sunday, July 21, 2013

Short Blog

Hello Everyone!

I was typing some nice things for this blog, but accidentally closed it before I was done. For this reason, I lost what I had and unfortunately I do not have the time to retype it. :(
ACTUALLY, I JUST FOUND IT IN DRAFTS AND I WILL POST IT INSTEAD SOON!
Also, I am using the computer of my host family, so I cannot write apostrophes.

This week was filled with training and Spanish/culture classes (we have something every weekday). They are going well. I am placed in a community with 3 other native Spanish speakers who I see everyday and go to my Spanish/culture classes. This is really great practice for me.

On Friday, our Spanish "facilitator" (we do not call them teachers) took us to see the National Symphony Orquestra in the National Theater. It was AMAZING! There was a great pianist there named Gabriela Montero. There were three symphonies played. They were all good, but the second one with the pianist was my favorite. I have never heard the piano played so well! She was incredible and I got to shake her hand (which was awesome)!

On Saturday, my host family had a bunch of family members over to say the rosary in commemoration of Christ the Child (they are Catholic). It was really cool to be part of the ceremony and meet some of the other family members! Two of the other trainees from my community came as well.

I wish I could have done a better job (more details and better written), but I have to go...

Patrick

[All the views and opinions expressed in my blog are mine and have no official tie whatsoever to the Peace Corps.]

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Finally, A New Post

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post (we had a retreat thing in which we were in information sessions pretty much all day). I will do my best to have to a new post every Sunday (at least). So if you check my blog on Monday, there should be something new. I'll try to post more often than once a week though. I was very lucky and I ended up with a family in which I not only have internet access, but it's accessible from my room.

So, if you haven't seen my Facebook posts, my Peace Corps training group is awesome (we are all starting our three months of training before we can be sworn in)! Our group name is Tico 26. Tico is the word that Costa Ricans use to refer to themselves. Peace Corps has been labeling groups this way since the 1990s/early 2000s. The other trainees are great and I felt so comfortable with them all in less than an hour at our "Staging" event in D.C. We had a good time at this place in Tres Rios (a place in the mountains overlooking San Jose -- beautiful!) where we had further orientation type stuff and introductions to the training and work we would do/receive as Youth Development (me) and Community/Economic Development (the other half of my training group) volunteers. I'm very excited to learn more about and begin this work. The idea for for Youth Development volunteers is to basically empower kids and youth to reach their potential and make good decisions. Of course there are specific ways that we will try to do this (and sometimes it gets pretty indirect), but I'll probably explain more of that later.

As a side note, there are a few other trainees (potential Peace Corps volunteers like myself) that also live in Santa Cecilia and I will probably mention them in my posts.

Right now I'm staying in a little town called Santa Cecilia which is outside of Heredia, Costa Rica. It's really nice. My host family is great! I have a new mom, dad, two brothers and a sister. I'll be with them for around the next three months. My two "brothers" are 5 and 1 years old and my "sister" is 4. It's been cool hanging out with them and they're really cute. My family speaks only Spanish, so since I have arrived (which was yesterday) I have only been listening and speaking in Spanish. I really like this practice since I can often express myself clearly and understand what they are saying, though there are times when it is pretty difficult. Tomorrow morning begins my first home-cooked plate of Gallo Pinto (a mix of rice and beans that many Costa Ricans eat for breakfast almost every day). I look forward to it.
One interesting thing about my host family is that my host mom owns a micro business of eggs produced by quail. I have never heard of this before, but, though the eggs they produce are smaller, my host mom says that they contain less cholesterol and in this way they are more healthy for you. I had some of the eggs this morning and they were just as good as regular eggs!

Today there was a celebration of the founding of a nearby town called San Isidrio. It was awesome because there was a parade in which people brought their oxen and ox carts (used for hauling coffee or anything else on their farms) as well as horses. Pretty much all the men in the parade wore machetes (which is common for people involved in agriculture here). It was really awesome to see the farming/cowboy culture here, especially since where I come from in Lockney, Texas we are very rural. I went to see the parade with another trainee's host mom. On the way, we ended up riding in the back of an ox cart and we were in the parade ourselves! The host mom was friends with a couple of the cart drivers.That was really, really cool. The parade went in front of the main church (Catholic) in San Isidrio and a priest put holy water on all the passing carts. The parade ended in front of the church where there also happens to be a soccer field. This is basically the town center. In the soccer field all the carts parked and there was a band and some people wearing these big mask things and dancing. It was an awesome experience. I took some pictures, but since it is almost midnight I will not include any yet (sorry everybody!). I will probably try to upload some photos though.
One of the coolest things about being in the Peace Corps is that going to things like this and hanging out with people (in Spanish and in a culturally perceptive way) is actually a necessary and important part of my job! How many people can say that?

So anyway, things are going really well and I'll keep you all informed on new and cool things that happen!

[All the views and opinions expressed in my blog are mine and have no official tie whatsoever to the Peace Corps.]

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Introduction

Hello folks!

I've never done this before, but, since I've been blessed with so many people who care about me (and are interested in my experiences volunteering in the Peace Corps), I think the best way to keep everyone up to date is through a blog. On my blog I will write posts about what I am doing and anything that I think is interesting about my time in the Peace Corps. 

Right now, I am at home and waiting (excitedly and anxiously) to go to my "Staging event" in Washington D.C. This will consist of a brief, half-day, orientation to the Peace Corps and my service. At the Staging event I will finally get to meet the other Youth Development volunteers. I'm excited to meet a group of people who are all willing to spend 27 months serving needy youth in Costa Rica. It's pretty unique to be in the company of over 30 people with such similar interests in service. Additionally, I'm anxious because I really have very little idea what it will be like to serve as a Youth Development volunteer in Costa Rica. Though I'm bringing with me some experience with Spanish, being in Costa Rica, and working with needy youth, it's hard to say exactly what it will be like.

For now, I'm waiting and I hope you all will be able to, in some way, experience my service right along with me through my blog.

Patrick

P.S.
In the future, I'll probably establish a set pattern for blog posts.

[All the views and opinions expressed in my blog are mine and have no official tie whatsoever to the Peace Corps.]