This short chapter in my life is coming to a close sooner than expected. My father has been sick, my parents need my help and my property in Montana needs attending to, so in a few days I will be on a plane back to the States. Time for another culture shock!
Life in the Caribbean has been sweet and slow. I specify the Caribbean because it is an area unique to Costa Rica and possibly unique to the world. Here, there is such a cultural mix, it is common to meet people that speak three languages and often more. The tourists and the residents alike are from not only the U.S. and Canada but Italy, Germany, the Eastern Bloc countries, many from Spain and all the South American countries, I know several people from Switzerland and of course all the lovely blond Scandinavian girls who just love the beautiful black surfer boys and vice versa. English is the common language and most all but the local Ticos (Costa Ricans of Spanish and Indigenous ancestry) can speak it. Perhaps because there is such diversity, no one seems to judge. People go about their business in a casual way with a "don’t worry be happy" attitude. Once you shed your American sense of urgency and efficiency in getting things done life can be a delightful series of surprises!
The people here are so unusual. I’ve come to think that even the most normal looking person probably has quite the eccentricities and the history to go along with it. I’ve heard this place called a place for the “wanted and the unwanted.” Wanted as in by the authorities and unwanted by anybody else. And there are certainly some shady characters, usually involved with drugs. But shady or not, everyone I have met has been amiable and friendly. It seems that the people who are drawn to this place are all kind of odd, nonconformists. Having that in common they bond and create a social world that is mixed with rich and poor, black and white and everything in between. Lots of fun!
And so many stories..... Stash is an excellent chef, born in Canada of a Polish father and a South American mother. His father was a pilot who died in a crash. His mother, married another pilot and they lived with her five kids, in Guyana where she was born. Sadly her second husband died in a crash, too. At that point the country's communist government was in turmoil and became dangerous. The woman escaped with her kids to the nearby island of Trinidad. I don’t know how Stash ended up here!
Gibb is a Canadian Saxophone player of the caliber you would never expect to see for free in a bar on the beach. He is married to a Japanese women. They are sending their 7 year old to a Waldorf School nearby.
James, handsome black man in his 40s is a former Broadway actor / singer / dancer. I’ve seen him perform, just for me, on the beach. He lives in the jungle and shoots squirrels to feed his four dogs!
Connie, a Tica, is a sweet 30 year old single mom who’s husband and parents are deceased. Fortunately, her husband’s parents, American hippies who moved here in the ‘70’s, are around to provide family for her and her seven year old daughter.
Connie
The artisans are another interesting group. These are people who sell anything from trinkets made in China to beautiful handmade crafts. In Puerto Viejo they display their wares on outdoor tables along the street. Some sell on the beach and others take their things around town, stopping in all the restaurants. Roberto is from Chile. He has been making and selling lovely silver jewelry for 20 years. He has been all over Central and South America and Europe and speaks Spanish, Italian, German and a little bit of English. I got the chance to join them in an attempt to sell my paintings.
It was a fun peek into a different world. Some of the vendors are local but many of them have chosen this life to travel. Most are dressed kind of hippie/gypsy style with dreds, piercings and tattoos and the age range that I have seen runs from 17 to 60! Alberto, a 20 year old Chileano doesn’t like to approach people on the beach to sell, except for in Venezuela. He says that the people who come to the beach in Venezuela are just dripping with money. They call him over, sit him down and give him food and drinks and buy. At the end of the day he has made good money and he is drunk!
One of my goals in living here was to have take the time to really be with people, see their inner spirit and listen to the stories of their lives. I certainly have had the opportunity and have enjoyed it immensely. And of course I still enjoy the beach and the jungle.
Some days I spend just walking around talking to people and taking pictures. These boys on horseback ride through the mountains from their little town of Margarita, to play on the beach on Sundays. The pig is one of two that wander freely around town. Laylie, my friend Gina’s 25 year old daughter, bought them and then set them free so they would not be eaten!
Another goal was to find a way to give of myself to others, to contribute to the world. Gina suggested I teach English to the locals. There is a real need for this. People get married young, here and have families to support. Many come from Nicaragua to earn money to send home. Most jobs are in the service industry, like the hotel where I teach. English is the common language for their customers but most employees cannot speak it. My students are sweet, funny, friendly, hard working young men and women in their 20s and early 30s. I feel privileged to have been able to do this.
Alvaro, Rafael, Senia, Betania, Jaime
I thought teaching English would be easy, after all it is my native language. I approached the hotel owners with my idea and they loved it, regardless of my lack of experience. That is the thing about countries like this. You don’t have to have certificates, insurance, proof, diplomas. You just have to be motivated and talk someone into believing in you! Which I did. And why did I believe in me? I know not - I just thought I could do it. Having had no previous experience and no lesson plans or guides, I just had to wing it. It was extremely challenging but it has been a rewarding experience. I have learned a lot about teaching - mostly that I need to learn more. I would like to take a course in teaching English as a second language. It is a language that the rest of the world is hungry to learn.
So what have I learned during this brief adventure? I have learned to see the world from a different perspective, slower and less achievement oriented.
My attachment to material things is continuing to diminish after having some things stolen and then not having the money to create the kind of lifestyle I had in Montana. I am so careful with the things I have now. I don’t waste anything. I make sure I use that last little bit of soap or toothpaste and the things I might have thrown away are saved for creative recycling.
I have been faced with nothing to do in the evenings - living alone, no TV. I’ve been lonely at times and really sad. One evening I was so sad. It was raining and I was crying. I decided to take a walk on the beach and began singing old, sad Motown songs about the rain. And you know what? In the midst of it all I realized that I was having a great time being sad, enjoying my own company.
I have learned to appreciate myself. I spent my birthday in Panama, in a town I did not really like, alone. I tried to make the best of it. I put on my best dress and heels and went out to the nicest restaurant I could find. I got a great table, right on the water, but when it takes the waiter half an hour just to come to take your order and then the rest of the meal requires even more waiting time, it can be really boring eating alone.
The next day I was back in Puerto Viejo, dancing with Connie, to a fantastic Salsa band. It was a special concert with a famous band in the nearby town of Manzanillo, celebrating the final night of Semana Santa (Easter week). Semana Santa is the biggest holiday of the year in Latin America and there was at least 1000 people at this concert on the beach. Connie is a really good dancer. She had us up at the front of the crowd. I noticed the band had been calling women up from the audience to dance on stage but it was totally unexpected when the keyboard player motioned to me. I vehemently shook my head, no. He kept insisting so I pointed to Connie. He called her and she went up. Apparently she has done this many times before. I never have! I hoped this would satisfy the musican, but he still wanted me. Finally I relented and let him grab my hand and pull me up there. People were yelling and clapping. The band was hot! And I was up there dancing! Do they know this is a woman who just turned __???? Yesterday was my crappy birthday, this is my happy one!
