Stop This Train, John Mayer

Well, I ended up slacking on this whole journaling thing, which we all assumed would happen eventually right? Anyway, things have gotten crazy here and I rarely use my computer while I’m at my house. This means that I don’t get much time to post. I promise that I am keeping the stories in my mind and if you want to know more about my trip, thoughts, experiences, etc, please call me.

I was out of town this past weekend, staying in a lousy hotel right next to the beach (8 bucks a night, I also paid for the bugs in my bed, oh and the rat that ate our food!) I’m still weighing the pros and cons of that decision. Tomorrow I leave at 6:45 in the am for a school trip. We’re going to the east coast to check out a school that promotes eco-friendly business. Then after getting some background info, we are driving across the country to San Carlos, where we’ll be seeing lots of eco-tourism/ sustainable businesses and such. I’m not too great at explaining the details of what we’re doing, but I’m sure it’ll be more fun, er, educational than how it comes across.

So, don’t worry about checking the blog for the next week or so. There is a good chance that this will be the last blog. Bummer, but it’s been real.

peace

The Lightning Strikes, Snow Patrol

Alright, sorry it has taken me so long to update. I was in class over 40 hours this week and never got my laptop out at nights. Anyway, classes are going well and I’m beginning to fear the day that I have to leave. I only have about three more weeks in San Jose and then it’s off to Guatemala to work on a coffee plantation.

I’m currently working on two large projects, one being the consulting project for the coffee farm and the other being a ‘personal project’. Since many believe that Obama is planning on ruining the healthcare system (he can’t change it in 4 years, don’t worry), and the fact that I enjoy learning about healthcare systems work; my personal project is a look into the ins and outs of equalities and the quality of care given to people of the Americas. The first thing that I realized is how odd it is that the US is the last of the developed nations with no publicly funded healthcare and we’re ranked (36^th) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Yep, that is just on place after Costa Rica. People here laugh at the thought of paying for healthcare. However, some do pay a little in order to go to a “private care” clinic which consists of a quicker process depending on your needs ie. If you have a cold, go to a private clinic, but if you have cancer, go to the public clinic. Anyway, I just started thinking about the US and the insurance policies that at times don’t cover the importance stuff like ambulance rides or necessary tests. If you guys have any examples of insurance falling short, or doing a great job, send me an email at jdt05h@acu.edu.  Or , if you would like to look into  the topic of healthcare inequalities on  a global level, I would suggest starting with the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. It is a story about one of my biggest heroes, Paul Farmer.  Another big hero being Greg Mortenson  (Three Cups of Tea).

Good news, I’m back on a running schedule, but I think I’ve been talked into the 50k-ultramarathon (31 miles) at Cowtown. Good ol’ brother-in laws.

At some point I need to tell you people the story of my mom and Dwight zip lining in the cloud forests when they were down here. Good stuff, but best saved for a later date.

peace

Lifeboats, Snow Patrol

Wake up and slow down. I’m back from all the crazy trips. I’m glad I’m back home in San Jose. The bug got after me and did a good job of getting me out and moving. I guess that it also had some help from the program. Anyway, like I said, it’s good to be back and have a schedule to follow for a few more weeks.

So, I’ve decided to only reference the Nicaragua trip instead of giving you guys the nitty gritty. Out of the ten days that I was there, I wrote the first 6 days in a journal–it was over twenty pages and I had to write two papers over my stay/experiences. I don’t really want to think about it for a while. The week following Nicaragua, I went to the cloud forest. It was Heaven. There was a washer and dryer! It was a biological field station, so I got to pretend that I was a biology student again. I hike, slept, star gazed, played spades, hearts, and rook, and hiked some more. We didn’t end up going to chiripo, but settled on the 2nd highest mountain instead. It was a great 7 hour hike.

Today was the beginning of the ‘Concentration’ portion of the program. For the next 6 weeks, I will be part of a consulting group for a coffee/banano/honey plantation from Guatemala. The owner of the farm got his mba from Yale and he’s in town for the next two weeks to get us started with all the business. These projects that will be working on look to be pretty legit.

Thank you all for the prayers. The trip was a blessing and I will share with you guys a bit later, or in person.

peace

Bold as Love, Hendrix

I’m not sure if you guys ever pay attention to the music or song that I happen to be listening to while blogging, but they are usually important for setting the mood, tone, feel, or what have you of my posts. With that said, I don’t expect you to look’em up and purchase them on iTunes—just a sort of clarity that I wanted to present.

As you may know, I spent the last two weeks in various places in Nicaragua. I only have a short amount of time to write this and if you are anything like me, you have a short attention span when it comes to articles pertaining to ideas, issues, and etc. which are foreign to your own interests. With this in mind, I plan on making it brief, and just know that no matter how I describe it; the experience exceeded what is written.

Trans Nica, good for long bus rides across Central American countries. Managua is the first city that we went to, it also happens to be the capital city as well. We stayed as a group here for the first three-four days. We listened to several speakers and learned a little bit more about what we had gotten ourselves into with this whole CCCU/ Latin American Studies Program… We did many things from going to the dump and watch people gather food, talking with political representatives, eating lots of food, going to the mall, and frankly I cannot remember too much from that period. I got really sick one day and went to the hospital. It was a fun adventure. I’ll write that story out in way more detail next week; it had to do with the movement of bowels and the like. The hospital trip was only to ensure a pleasant home-stay the following day.

The home-stay is hard to write about and I haven’t really recovered enough to do it. There was an amazing amount of input overload. The communication is no longer a problem and it didn’t bother me, but the dozens of people and chickens and puppies and servings of food and thoughts about life did. A quick rundown of the structure of my stay is as follows: I was in Masaya, the barrio was Monimbó. Cesar (host dad/grandpa) owned a shoe factory. Mama Gloria made artisan dresses, shirts, and the like. The two aunts, or daughters of Cesar and Gloria, helped sell shoes while one of their husbands worked on the largest exporting coffee plantation in Nicaragua. That man and his wife also taught folklore dance lessons (the dance of the native people) in their spare time. That dance proved to be a very common occurrence throughout my time with them. One son drove a taxi. The other son worked in the factory and helped run the business.

Tomorrow I’m leaving to go to the cloud forest and might climb the tallest peak in Costa Rica, Cerro Chiripó, 3,727 m (12,228 ft). I’ll be back on Tuesday in order to write more and explain myself, for now, sleep must come.

Listening to: Don’t Speak, No Doubt

After a few hours of sleep, I’ll be headed to Nicaragua in the proper way, by bus. I’ve added a few things to the pack, but she’s still not pressed for space. I’m supposed to read a thick packet of lectures and such, but not too sure if it’s going to get read.

I’m excited about this trip. Like I said the other day, my family is a recipient of a microloan, so they will have their own business of sort that I get to be part of for a week or so.

This past week was a bore, but this weekend was fun. Saturday morning I woke up really early and went to an organic farmers’ market. I ate a carrot without washing it and walked around for the next few hours wondering if I would die from E.Coli or not. Thankfully, I didn’t. While walking around, we stumbled upon a quaint park/sitting area. We (as in a few of my friends) decided to go purchase bread and grape drink and go back and have a picnic. It was a success. After the mid-morning lunch/communion, we went to a theatre to watch BELLA. I highly recommend this movie, it is beautiful. Sometime later, we found ourselves playing Hearts (card game) outside of a coffee shop/bread/pastry shop (Mussanni). What a scene! Four gringos sitting outside under an awning, scrunched around a table in three green plastic chairs, drinking coffee, and playing a card game while it’s raining like mad. We played till dark and then walked a few miles home.

Yep, tomorrow at a half past four, I’ll be waking up and walking down a dark “El Carmen” to join a few friends for a taxi ride to the bus stop (TransNica). Don’t worry about anything either. My family laid hands on me and prayed for me tonight and I know a few others are praying for me as well, and I appreciate all the prayers! I will also try and keep myself out of those sorts of situations.

Peace

Dios le bendiga

listening to: Sparks, Coldplay

It’s been a week since I last posted. I figure it’s about time to write an updated post. Last weekend with the family was great. Tiring, but one of the best experiences in Costa Rica so far. Just picture it; five grown-ups and one youngin’ packed into a Pontiac coupe for a five hour ride up through the mountains—speaking rapid fire Spanish… Once there we hung out and ate a bunch of Tico food, saw the volcano, and then went to some hot springs. Funny thing about those waters is that I was got really excited about relaxing in a creek/river, but had no idea what to expect. We all packed into the car again, plus one (Victor) and drove for a good 30-45 minutes until we got to a bridge. We got out and walked down under the bridge, and sat in the water. As you can see in my pictures, it was beautiful and not your everyday-under-bridge scenario; no bums here.

This week started out well on the weekend, but the worst two days of my life ensued directly after. Yeah, those papers and presentations made me feel bad, to say the least.

However, Wednesday of this week was the best Wednesday I’ve had in a good while. I had an oral that morning, which went well, and then we (a small group of friends) went to the mall and spent the next several hours playing cards and minding our own business. After we got tired of awkward stares and whatnot, we guys decided to hacer spinning so we took the bus back to San Pedro in order to walk home. I lost my water stopper (umbrella) somewhere along the way and wouldn’t you know that it began pouring buckets as soon as we got off the bus. What a bummer, not really, I enjoyed the experience. Today I don’t have to be at school until 11. We have group presentations, mine is over globalization—fun times.

Next Monday at 6:30 I board a bus for a 12 hour bus ride to Nicaragua. The only thing I know to expect is poverty. I’m taking a backpack with an extra pair of underwear, a toothbrush, a journal, a book, flashlight, soap, and stomach medicine—for two weeks. So, don’t expect to hear from me for a while after this weekend. I’m staying with a family who has been given a microloan. Microcrediting is a fascinating way of fighting poverty, you guys should look into it at worldvision.org or Grameenfoundation.org. Also, Dale Stephens is raising more funds for the Devisthan school in Nepal. They are planning on building a secondary school which will be called the Beladevi Secondary school. It will have approximately 300 students and cost around $30,000. 100 bucks a student isn’t too bad. With my studies here, I’m finding that education and health are the most important way of fighting poverty. I also find this quote funny: “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
- Mark Twain

Peace

Currently listening to: All these things that I’ve done, The Killers

Howdy, it’s been a while. Good things are happening in my life though. I’ve been “Hacer Spinning” twice this week. Yes, that does mean that I have gone to a spin class (indoor cycling). A month without my bike was beginning to do a number on my mental state. I do realize how absurd this statement may seem, but I have some pretty intense addictions to my cycling, or at least I’m dependent on it? At any rate, this weekend instead of working on all of the homework that I have due next week (it’s finals week!), I’m going to San Carlos with the familia in order to check out some thermal pools (Dante’s Peak?) and a sweet volcano. I’m stoked.

Other than that, life is the same and I’ve gotten into a pretty constant way of changing things on a daily basis.  Yep, things change here daily/hourly/ every minute. I would say that the only constant is rain, but even that varies a little. Oh, I just remembered, the other day we went to an organic/ fair trade coffee plantation. This was legit. One man did everything and it was one of the purest, simplistic, beautiful thing I have ever seen. I might just change my degree to agronomy, thanks dad. No, but really, it was great being out there and getting to play in the dirt a little. The best part about the trip was the treats we got whenever we were done touring the place; a bunch of fresh fruit (bananas, plantains, oranges, caz, guayaba, and more), banana bread, and um some great coffee. Sign me up for some gardening when I get back into the states.

Running has been a bit slow here lately. Hope I can get the mileage up for Cowtown 09.

peace

Wrong Side of Reno, Rocky Votolato

After rereading some of my posts and talking to a few people, I realize that a few of my posts are condescending towards the reader. That is not my intention. I do not think that the United States are terrible, or the people in it for that matter. The perspective on the outside is different though and it is sometimes hard to articulate the emotions in an appropriate manner. I find myself frustrated with life situations (which we all do…) and the subject of American politics and their influence on my current situation in Costa Rica. When this happens, I tend to rant. I do not want you people thinking that I am too easily persuaded into a certain thought or belief (though it is true that I am terrible with peer pressure and my sense of ‘truth’ varies from situation). It is true that we all have problems (Inside the U.S. as well as outside). One can observe them on many levels, beginning with a two-person relationship to, as I am quick to mention, an international relationship. Everything in between is fun to discuss too, I just haven’t had much on my mind, except for preachers and whatnot.

So, I feel like I avoided explaining all of the details as well as my thoughts toward many topics, but it was necessary to somewhat clarify these “biased” perspectives that keep coming out.

Often, I experience an overwhelming sense of helplessness when it comes to solving the world’s crisis. I’ve learned that the small stuff can be just as significant. My approach is something like this: become aware of injustice (many levels), help others/ be more thoughtful (volunteer somewhere/ write a note!), and try to live a life of simplicity (easier said than done ie too many bikes, but wanting more). I want to find community within my churches, school, and neighborhoods.

Now, think about the last time you spent some time sharing your life with someone. Remember the moment, you can probably recall the scene perfectly, the lighting, aromas, discussions, etc. This moment was rich and part of what the Ticos call ‘Pura Vida’. I call these times “the good stuff” and I’m a pretty big fan of this. Make some time and try and get some good stuff this week. It doesn’t have to be with a spouse (I know this), but yeah, just share yourself a bit this week and cherish it.

As I write, I remember the importance of relationships. Deaths are real, and they are a bummer to ‘deal’ with. Though we wish that they did not exist, or hurt as badly as they do, these are a couple of life’s inevitabilities.

How one responds to these experiences throughout life, depends on many variables, but growing in community eases the pain and enables one to see some glimpse of beauty or joys in life. This is point is crucial, because everyone goes through hard times and needs some reminders of what goodness even is…

currently listening to: So Long to the Holidays, Ugly Casanova

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but nothing exciting has happened. This past week may have been the shortest week of my life.

On Friday we had a spiritual walk. I had three minutes to some up my ‘spiritual journey.’ I thought to myself, “they obviously do not know who I am…” In short, I told them that the defining themes in my life are “death, adventure, and the search for authenticity.” I think the latter two are the same, but I felt like three points would be better than two would.

Today I watched the office via a Chinese tv broadcasting website… NBC blocks everything outside of the US, which is a good idea, but makes things tricky for the international travelers. After this, we had a few games of futbol cinco. That was fun.

I have wanted to make some cookies for my family here, so after futbol, Rachel and I went to the store in order to get the necessary items. Once home, I ate some sopa (soup) which was delicious since it was cold, dark, and rainy outside. Then the family watched the futbol game on the tele while Kattia and I made some cookies! They were great, but the horno (oven) works a little differently here. At any rate, we enjoyed some crispy bottomed, dried fruit (including pineapple, banana, and more!), dark chocolate, oatmeal cookies. ¡Que rica!

That is about it, tomorrow is church, and then I’m going with Pablo to help him do some work… We are delivering a load of materials to some “pretty area” right outside of San Jo.