10. At Home and at Peace Sunday, November 11, 2007
I woke up this morning to a day that feels magical. The constant, pounding rain of the last four days has finally stopped and it is quiet and peaceful. Even the brazen Howler Monkeys are taking bit of a a respite.
I am here in the jungle cottage that is to be my new home. I feel relaxed and my heart is content. It seems that my new life is finally taking form.
In the past few months, I have been through many challenging and stressful changes. All by choice. From my preparations to move to my landing here and floundering around for a while, life has called upon all my inner resources, nonstop. But now, at last, I feel a reprieve.
Having a home really helps. I had wondered how I would fare with my open plans of living where ever I found work. I am so domestic. All my life, my home has meant a lot to me. I spend much time and energy focused on my surroundings. Even my work as an interior designer, my window covering business and my art have all been oriented toward domesticity. But I see that following my mural painting business around the country is not what I am moved to do. Where I live is more important than what I do. And without too much effort, a home seems to have found me.
This charming little place belongs to a woman, Ruthie, from Florida, who runs a business there and will be going back and forth for the next few years. In Costa Rica, if you do not live full time in your home, it is really important to have it looked after, preferably by someone who is living on site. Jungle homes are generally not very secure, with only screens on the Windows. These are not the fortresses of San Jose. Thievery is common, as is trees falling on your roof. Constant maintenance is vital. And Costa Rica has some weird property laws. If a person, probably a Costa Rican citizen, squats on your land, manages to stay there for a period of time and does some kind of “improvement” like cutting down a tree, they can claim ownership. I have been told that there have been situations where paid caretakers have done this to their employers! Ruth is lucky to have me here and I am equally fortunate to have this opportunity.
As I sit here and write, I am surrounded by huge tropical plants and trees of a zillion different kinds. Every color of green that has ever existed is here within sight, with punches of brilliant reds and yellows dotting the landscape. And I am only a ten minute walk from the beach. This is an active place with birds and monkeys, lizards, huge insects, Blue Morpho butterflies, funny little agoutis and who knows what else is out there, all very busy and noisy.
The feast for the eyes does not prevail over the the jungle music for the ears. Right now I hear cricket like sounds and the soft rustle of the wind through the trees. Not unlike home in Montana, except for the ocean waves in the background. In the middle of my first night here I suddenly awoke to the sound of lions roaring, blasting into my bedroom window! If I had not know that they were really only little Howler monkeys, it would have scared the crap out of me! I smiled, went back to sleep and dreamt of lions in the yard and a monkey, making mischief in the house. There is a lovely cement and cobblestone pool that the bullfrogs love to indulge at night. They are just common frogs, not much bigger than a man’s fist, but to hear them you would think they are three feet in diameter! All night, they went on and on with their long, drawn out, almost electronic sounds. As I faded into sleep I got the picture of a Latin military general giving a long and boring speech on a fuzzy microphone.
And here’s some good news! I’ve got my place to Salsa dance. Every Saturday and Sunday night there is dancing at the bar, Maritza, with a live 6 to 8 piece band and some really good dancers. Last night I was out with my new friend, Connie, who won second place in the dance contest, until 4 a.m.! I have not stayed out that late in years! My friend, Gina, introduced me to Connie, a 30 year old Tica, single mom, who is just full of life and energy. And she introduced me to tons of people out last night - mostly cute young guys, some, her former boyfriends. I can be a bit shy at times and it’s hard to break into a different world. But these people make it easy. They are open, friendly and every body just wants to smile and have fun. There is some truth in that Rasta / Reggae love philosophy, I feel it.
Now that I am more settled and secure, I will find an art project to do. As there is not the kind of money here to support lots of big projects for me (to say the least), Gina suggested I teach English. When you follow your heart you must use your feelings as a guide. Teaching English struck a really positive chord! And I have already been doing it with taxi drivers and my Spanish speaking friends in San Jose. In the pharmacy, after being robbed, I was lamenting to Emmy about my missing Victoria’s Secret bras. She wears the same kind, but you can’t buy them in Costa Rica. Gustavo, the doctor on staff, overheard us. “What is that word - bras?” I had to write it down. He repeated, “bra, bras.” And what is that called, under the bra. Oh, breast! He then wrote for me, the word in Spanish - the medical term, the common one and the slang. Soon he was walking around the break room, pointing at his female colleague’s breasts and in his broken Engish - “bra, breast, I like your breast...” It was so funny! Yes, teaching English is something that I can do.
There are many poor people here. Some have come from Panama and Nicaragua, where the yearly income is around $900.00, to earn more money. I met an ebonista (fine furniture maker) who has studied for six years. He earned $10.00 per day in Panama. He makes $20. to 30.00 here. Most don’t know any English, yet the people they work for or sell to do. Gina says they are very anxious to learn and very appreciative of someone who will teach. I won’t charge much, probably $1000 colones per class. That is about $2.00. It will help put food on the table and that is really just about all I need to do!
