"a la parilla"...spanish for "on the parilla"

Today is Tuesday; no work today because the teacher I work with, Laura was sick, and it is very difficult, if not impossible to find a substitute teacher that knows sign language. I relaxed today and we later celebrated the birthday of Erin(one of my roommates.) It was enjoyable; Italian food, little vino, cake and laughs.
The weekend was enjoyable. Friday night there was a work party with carne a la parilla which basically is marinated grilled meat...it was awesome. It was excellent to hang out with and get to know the people with whom I work outside of the workplace. Sunday after an delicious meal with the Friars at lunchtime; Liz and I decided to venture to a free concert up in the mountains. The name of the group was "Malpais" a well-known Costa Rican group. It was a worth-while experience. They reminded me a little of Dave Mathews band in that they have a violinist, pianist, flautist mixed with a bit of rock. All in all, the past few days have been enjoyable; but I look forward to seeing my friends and family in ten days!
I came across this quote today which I reflected on a bit and I think is interesting.

"Where your deep gladness meets with the deep hunger of the world, there you will find a further calling."
~Frederick Buechner

Tico Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! We, the community, went to Marta's house for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, which was an excellent "taste" of home, (pun intended.) Her husband is from the United States, so that was the reason of the traditional dinner and football (americano) being watched. It was a great substitute to the Thanksgivings at the Smith Household, but it was still a substitute. I missed being awoken by the smell of cooking turkey, watching the Macy's Parade and having my mother have fresh muffins and coffee ready. It just makes one appreciate more the familiar amenities.
The weekend was enjoyable; relaxing and reflective. Today was the beginning of Advent, and so we celebrated with a turkey lunch with the friars and the community after mass. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon; much enjoyed.
For prayer this evening, I found this excerpt and thought it appropriate for the beginning of Advent:
We prepare lists of things to do; We prepare lists of things to buy; We prepare lists of names for sending greeting cards; We prepare to decorate our homes, trim a tree, plan a Christmas dinner We spend hours of time in preparation Preparation is also a time for anticipation: We anticipate having a great holiday celebration; We anticipate reunions with family and friends; We anticipate the excitement in giving and receiving gifts. Within the preparation and the anticipation, do we make time for waiting? Waiting in quietness to hear God speak Waiting in wonder to know Christ being re-born in us; Waiting in silence to experience the Holy Spirit enfolding us. Let us prepare, anticipate, and wait during this season of Advent. God of my quiet times, you know how difficult it is to be still when I am busy preparing to celebrate Your birth. Give me the will to create quiet spaces in the everyday, as my life gets busier.
Amen.

Karaoke Bond

The Internet gods decide that Sunday is an appropriate day to work, usually gods rest on the seventh day...any who, all is well down here in Costa Rica. The Internet was down all week, but not too much had occurred this week. I did not have work on Friday, so I took that day as a day of relaxation and cleaning. In the evening, a friend of ours, Katherine invited us to go out near the University down here, so we had some good times and enjoyed the night time. We went to a karaoke bar and did some dancing. All the songs were familiar to the Spanish speaking natives, but foreign to me; it would be the equivalent Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" being sung at a karaoke bar in the US...everyone knows it. It was an interesting and fun night.
Last night, Liz, Erin and I went to see the new James Bond movie; entertaining as usual. It was drastically cheaper than the US theaters...entrance was roughly 2200 colones (4 US dollars) and a large popcorn and pop was 2600 colones (5 US dollars). You can't even get a small coke at Crocker Park for 5 dollars, so this proved to be an awesome find for me.
Today, we had the standard awesome lunch with the friars, and soon i am heading to mass with Fr. Jorge. Other than that, things are going well...
I'll leave you with Padre Pio's daily thought on courage

“It is always necessary to have courage, and if some heaviness of soul or weakness of spirit comes upon you, fly to the foot of the Cross, place yourself amidst the heavenly perfumes and you will be unduly comforted and refreshed.”

Jaco Rhymes with Taco

This weekend, Mike and I went to Jaco Beach and it was awesome. The people who live here said that the beach was dangerous and not a "typical" beach of Costa Rica. I did not find it too dangerous, and the beach, although was not pristine, was still breath-taking. It is surrounded by mountains and palm trees, and the water was luke warm.
We left Saturday morning after we had some breakfast in downtown San Jose, then headed off to the beach for the 2 and a half hour bus ride. This distance is more or less equivalent of Cleveland to Columbus; however, here in Costa Rica, the bus cost roughly 1,980 colones, or a little less than 4 dollars; pretty amazing contrast. Bus rides are about the only thing down here that are inexpensive, that and rice and beans.
It was an enjoyable weekend of good conversation and relaxation. As for now I am prepping for the long Monday which is coming soon. Hope all is well on your ends!

Communication is Key

Today, was another manic Wednesday. All went well actually, standard day at the school and an enjoyable English tutoring session in Escazu. The 3 and 1/2 hour tutoring after work can drain me a bit; however, I cam home to some birthday cards and a package with Erin's famous cookies in it, so that made it all worth while! I am blessed to have great family and friends.
In other news, on Monday during my sign language course I met an interesting person. He had audiophones in his ears, and during the class did not speak; surely he was deaf. He was, but suprisingly he said "hey, how's it going?" To my complete surprise, because he had darker skin and hair and appeared to be of Costa Rican decent. We got to talking, and he was in fact costa rican, but had lived in the US for 10 years where he learned english. Here I was talking to a deaf man, one who happened to be bilingual and learning the sign language of Costa Rica. It is difficult enough to be hearing and be bilingual; I cannot imagine how you learn to speak several languages without the ability to hear. The conversation was awesome, and cool because he did not hear my English words, he read my English-speaking lips...mind blowing.
We got to talking about our future goals and why we are where we are. He said while living in the US, the education for deaf is focused on speaking and to communicate in society, and in Costa Rica the focus is lacking and accepting of only signing rather than speaking. I am not saying he is wrong or right, it was just interesting to see his persepctive; I am sure there are people of the deaf community who are against learning voiced language because it detours from the deaf identity. Like all things, there are pros and cons, I look forward to learning more about the issue...

P.S. This picture is of Liz and I at Volcano Poas...not relevant to the entry above.

Hot Off The Press

I apologize for the delay in this post; it is a combination of laziness, occupied time, and faulty Internet. The past week has been similar to that of others; however, the past weekend was Halloween and a visit to Volcano Poas. Both were fun times! We had a Halloween party here at the house; it was an eclectic group of people from all of our ministry sites, the gym, and a friar or two. There were simply two rules to the party: 1. enjoy yourself and 2. must be in a costume. It was a great success. I was dressed as "Mr. Musculo" something of a Mr. Clean equivalent here in Costa Rica. The picture indicates what it looks like next to Fray Reto.
Saturday, Liz and I went to Poas to see the volcano; it was a bit foggy, but the experience was cool. You could smell the sulfur; but not see too much until the wind blew the fog and mist away. A friend of Liz's named Alfredo drove us there, and after we did lunch in San Jose at a cheap but awesome "diner-ish" place. I think I might frequent it today.
As for my birthday evening on Wednesday, November 5th, we had a good time. The community gifted me a chorreador which is a costa rica's version of the french press more or less. We had some wine and preprandials before we went to a sweet mexican restaurant called "La Antojita." The meal and conversation was enjoyable. Upon our arrival home, Lara frosted the cake she baked and a good ol fashioned "Happy Birthday" was sung. All in all it was an awesome birthday in Costa Rica. Thank you for all your birthday wishes, and I look forward to seeing you all at Christmas.
P.S. I will be more diligent in the entries from here on out.

Points of View or Point of Views?

Last night, I met Lara downtown in San Jose to visit the french alliance house in the capital, and we saw a movie by Luis Buñuel. It was in french subtitled in spanish, but I understood the majority of it. The movie was called "Cet obscur objet du desir" or The Dark Object of Desire. It was weird, funny and interesting. If nothing esle it was a cultural experience to add to the arsenal when I hear someone speaking of their favorite french film "Cet obscur objet du desir" I can now comment intelligently (in English). After that we found a (the only) Irish Pub in San Jose and enjoyed a Guiness.
As for today, not too much new here; had an awesome breakfast this morning at Yami's house (co-worker at St. Francis College.) Every Saturday she has her family over for a huge brunch, and we are kindly invited. It was also a cool cultural experience to be speaking spanish and enjoying the local fare. It was interesting to hear their perspective on the US election coming up in ten days. The majority were pro-Obama and anti-TLC (trato libre comercio) or free-trade with the US. I remained relatively reserved and just listened to all their opinions to gather a new point of view. Similarly to the US/Mexican issue of immigration Costa Rica has their own issues with the people of Nicaragua immigrating to Costa Rica. You can travel anywhere in the world and I guarantee there will be immigration issues; for this reason i look forward to working with immigration policy after law school. The issue has been around since the beginning of time and I don't see it becoming less important or prevalent in the future. With that said, I am off to take a siesta...

To Turrialba...

Had an excellent weekend. Saturday, around noon, Laura, her sister and I headed to Turrialba to visit their family for the weekend. I work with Laura, and it was a nice gesture of her to invite a foreigner to the land to enjoy some local fare and a cultural experience. The trip to the house was about and hour and a half, but it was great scenery and solid conversations;learning new words and ways to phrase things. Upon our arrival, her mother and father were introduced, and then we had a top-notch "almuerzo" or lunch of chicharones (pork) rice, beans, platano maduros and some homemade fresco made from a sweet fruit called "cas." It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and the mountains that surrounded us made for a great vista. After lunch we headed around town, and later went to mass with all of the family. It was a good way to start the evening. After mass, we went to a little bar in the mountains and enjoyed the night.
Today, Sunday, I was awoken by the sweet smells of something cooking in the kitchen; it was a traditional Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto (rice and beans with seasoning,) eggs, tortillas and coffee made through a chorreador. A chorreador is an unvarnished 12 inch wooden frame with a round hole at the top where a wire rimmed cloth filter or strainer is placed. Fine ground coffee was placed in the filter and boiling water was poured in filtering down to the coffeepot below; it was one of the finest cups of coffee I've had.
This meal was a great precursor for an enjoyable day visiting the ruins of the Guayabo people who were the indigenous population of Costa Rica from 1000BC to 1400AD. The ruins were an awesome display of creativity of civilization before modern tools and technology. The Guayabo had advanced aqueducts and village housing for the people. It was awesome to see another ancient culture through what they had left behind.

"Sunday is the core of our civilization, dedicated to thought and reverence. "
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Back in 1952...

Today, I again traveled to Escazu to tutor the four children in English; it gets better each time I go. They are becoming more comfortable around me, and in turn I am able to teach more clearly. The week is going a little slower than usual, but then again we only have two days until the weekend; however, I do not mind work at all. There is one kid giving me a bit of a problem; but today for some reason he was well-behaved. I know he does not have a father figure at home, so it makes my approach a little different hopefully resembling a male role model. Knowing that, he in turn has made me more appreciative of the male role models I have in my life, namely my father.
In other news, I have a yearbook picture that perhaps ya'll will find funny...it is supposed to be me in the year 1952...enjoy.

Yazz Flute

Last night, we went to a cool jazz place in San Pedro called "Jazz Cafe." (not just a clever name.) It was interesting, we arrived around 845, and they said the set went on at 930, but in actuality it was 10. It was well worth the wait...a lot different from the "Green Mil" in CHI with Caitlin which consisted of a man improving on the trumpet. This band last night played funky jazz...similar to GAP Band, Earth Wind & Fire with a hint of Steely Dan. It was a most enjoyable evening.
Today was cool as well; met up with a friend for an "intercambio" close to the University of Costa Rica. It was nice to be near a college campus again to rekindle nostalgia of Mercyhurst. It was neat to see the universality of a college atmosphere...loud tunes, buku bookbags and beer. After that campus visit, I went to a bookstore and almost bought a book by Paulo Coehlo in spanish, but I resisted the urge to spend money; which is a difficult task for me. I read his book , "The Alchemist" about a month ago, and I loved it. Mike Sweeney gave it to me before I left, so I will leave you with a quote from it before I leave this blog entry.

"It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work. Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years."
Paulo Coehlo (The Alchemist)

Midweek Rant

Wednesday night, feeling good. Two more days until the weekend, and it feels as if the week is flying by. Last night i traveled to Escazu to tutor English; pretty good trip, nothing too worthy of note. Although I am going to bring in an episode of "The Office" next week to watch with one of the kids so we can discuss the characters, plot and some colloquialisms...should be entertaining.
Today was a solid day, relaxing at work, although I was a bit tired. The perhaps highlight of the day is an email I received from Erin with an awesome quote. It is fitting for working with deaf children, and it goes as follows:

When it is genuine, when it is born of the need to speak, no one can stop the human voice. When denied a mouth, it speaks with the hands or the eyes, or the pores, or anything at all. Because every single one of us has something to say to the others, something that deserves to be celebrated or forgiven by others.

- Eduardo Galeano,
The Book of Embraces

Pondering Pic

Panda watch; the mood is intense. (Anchorman Quote.) Anyways, I am writing here on a Monday evening. I had my second sign language course tonight, and it was awesome. I am really digging learning another language; they say it gets easier with each new one, and I think "they" are right. "They" say a lot of things though.
Tonight I did some prep for the tutoring session tomorrow evening. It is going to be a long day, getting up early to workout because I won't be able to when I get home from work/tutoring because our community shares a meal a day; that is just a recipe for a solid slumber tomorrow night...got to find the positives.
In other news, Lara's prayer tonight was one of reflection, closed with a solid prayer from Pedro Arrupe, S.J. I'd like to share it with you all. Until next time...

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

Happy St. Francis Day

Today, October 4th, is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. In accordance with this, our community is going to the Friary across the street for mass at 4:00pm followed by what I am assuming will be a "feast" of a dinner...pun intended. Today was an excellent Saturday...slept in until about 10, made some banana pancakes with bananas from the banana tree in the backyard, and cleaned house. I saw a friend of mine from the gym while I was outside, and he invited us to a party tonight; maybe we will head there after the Francis Festivities.
Yesterday, our school went on a field trip to Cartago to interact and do some fun activities with the Cartago School for Deaf. It was an awesome time; i filled up about 134 water balloons, met some new people, and learned a little more sign language. Other than yesterday's field trip, and today's events, all is quiet on the Costa Rican front...

Here is a prayer from St. Francis to commemorate his day:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

No Words, No Problem

Yesterday, Monday the 29th of September, I started a Costa Rican sign language course; it was awesome. After the work day, the class started at 2:00pm and ran until 6:00pm...it was long , but the time flew by. The professor of the course is deaf, and one of the rules is no talking in class, so after class outside I felt the urge to let out a "yelp."
One would think that there's no way you can learn in this arena, but it was quite the opposite; your attention is focused on the task at hand, no distractions, and there are many words classified as "iconicas" or words that are signed the way you would think they would be. I.E. Crocodile is opening and closing your two hands as if they were in fact the jaws of a croc. However, not all words are iconical, so that is where the alphabet comes to assistance. Next Monday we have an exam on the alphabet, so I have been getting that down. It is difficult, because I already have a "speech impediment" due to my hands haha, but I'll make it work.
Earlier this evening, I partook in a yoga class at the gym after I did a chest/tri's workout; it was a horrible idea. Yoga is solid, but it was outrageously difficult because of working out prior and the instruction being in Spanish. I hope this not to be a hindrance, because it is a great way to relax and release some stress.

"God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
-C.S. Lewis

Volcanos Smell Like Eggs

Tuesday evening I had the pleasure to meet Marty's friend Mike Joyce; rock-solid guy. It was cool to meet an American down here, especially one from Lakewood, who shared a similar background. We talked about life here and in the states, and how they differ. He's been living here for over three years, so he knew a good Italian joint where we had dinner. It was a most enjoyable evening.
On Wednesday, I traveled to Escazu, which is about an hour away and tutored four children in English. It was a good experience, but also a demanding one. Teaching English to non -native speakers is difficult; also it was an hour for each child, so four more hours after work was not fun. However, it was cool to see a new part of the country, meet a knew family and get some extra pocket change.
Yesterday, was The International Day for Deaf People, so there were no classes, only a celebratory fair at the school. It was interesting to see an assembly with little or no sounds, only signs. After the speeches and dialogues, there was local fare for sale, so I tried nearly all of it, most of which I enjoyed (arroz con leche was my favorite.) After the fair, myself and a couple of co-workers went out. It was interesting to be at table where there were people speaking Spanish and signing. I learned how to cheers in LESCO, which is very simple and similar to a normal cheers, except you hold your glass and clink your hands rather than the glass...
As for today we traveled to see a volcano called "Vulcan Irazu." It was breath-takingly desolate and beautiful. The smell of sulfur coupled with sitting above the clouds really made the experience feel official. After our visit at the volcano, John, an employee at St. Francis College who took us there, introduced us to an awesome cafe. It was called "Kaffa Cafe" and had excellent food for next to nothing. I finished off my rice and beans plate of the day with an awesome chocolate and nuts crepe with a cafe con leche...one of the best meals that I have had here. After those awesome couple of hours, the only way it would get better would be have to taken a siesta...so I did. All in all, things are going well here, I don't have much reflection today, only sharing some experiences.

Mountain Man

Later in the evening on Sunday, Fr. Jorge and I traveled to the mountains of central Costa Rica so that he could preside over a mass in a “pueblo” called Puriscal; a little over an hour from San Jose. This was a most enjoyable experience. It was just He and I accompanied by tranquil conversation and useful practice of Spanish learning new words and phrases. His homily was tied in with Franciscan charism and lay vocations; perhaps the most passionate homilist I have seen. I think that’s important, because he held a captive audience and left them with ideas to reflect on.

"Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion."
-Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Vamanos a Cartago

A most enjoyable weekend. As for the end of the first "official" work week down in Costa Rica; our community imbibed in a few "cuba libres" after the work day on Friday. We had saw a local pub called "Caballo Blanco" which had live music so we spend the majority of our Friday evening in that establishment enjoying the local fare and dancing to the soothing sounds of latin music.
As for Saturday, Lara, Liz and I travelled to Cartago to visit a statue called "La Negrita." It is Costa Rica's version of the Virgen of Guadalupe, Fatime, or Lourdes. Apparently she appeared to a woman sometime around the 17th century. It was excellent to see a cultural aspect of Costa Rica. The church and surrounding falls of holy water were beautiful; Cartago is located to the southeast of San Jose up in the mountains. The mountains and the tranquil atmosphere of the shrine made for a majestical view. After viewing the sites, we then visited a "panderia" or bread shop and enjoyed a "cafe con leche" and some conversation.
As for now, we just got back from mass, and are soon going to head to the Friary to have lunch with the Franciscans; it is always a delicious meal.

The Silence is Deafening

I am quickly learning sign language. It is unusual because in the classrooms, there are no words; the occasional sound check from a deaf child and the rapid movement of fingers. I spend the mornings with a kindergarten class, which at first i thought was a bit uninteresting, but in reality i need to be with them, because we are at about the same level in sign language, they're actually much better from the previous 5 years of communicating with their parents. But it is important to learn the colors, days of the week, simple important things.
In the afternoon I am with a first grade, and it is a bit more intense, they now have subjects and the teacher won't speak while signing. On Monday I start a class for learning LESCO (lengua de señas costarricense) Costa Rican sign language. It is every Monday for two months from 2pm - 6pm.
Normally, a deaf person has difficulty communicating in "society" if no other person around signs. I found that in this school I was for all practical purposes a "deaf" person because I am one of the only ones that does not know what to say, how to say it, or what the others are talking about. It is an extremely humbling experience; I now have a better understanding for the importance of communication and how frustrating it can be if you are lacking it.

"Humility like darkness reveals the heavenly lights."
-Henry David Thoreau

Argentine Steak is Awesome

Last night, Saturday the 13th of September, Brother Jim took the volunteers and Costa Rican Friars out to a dinner for their generous hospitality to us throughout our stay. Fr. Victor selected a an Argentine Steakhouse called "Donde Carlos" and it was "muy rico." We had excellent conversation around the table, and enjoyed the fellowship of eachother.
I met some friends from the gym, and they were having a party, so later that evening, the volunteers and I went to our first "Costa Rican Fiesta." It was interesting to say the least; I expected it to be difficult to communicate, but it was far easier than I had imagined. They were very interested about life in the states and my degree in Intelligence Studies; so that was the brunt of our conversations. I met a guy studying law in Costa Rica, so we talked briefly about how it differs from the U.S. It's good to know that a week in country and we have some local acquaintances to chill with.
As for today, mass in the morning followed by an awesome "almuerzo" (lunch) at the Friary. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, being it is the Independence Day of Costa Rica; lo pasara bien

a short and provocative film clip...

http://videos.komando.com/2008/09/10/the-miniature-earth/

first day on site...

Today, Friday September 12, 2008, I visited for the first time the site I will be working on; and it was impressive. The center is called Fernando Centeno Guell, which serves as a special education school for either blind, deaf, or mentally retarded children. The facility was awesome, and my boss seems pretty solid; Pablo...not Escobar, but Vargas.
I believe I will be rotating between each school, but I can have a focus in one. I'm leaning toward working with the deaf...it seems awesome the way to sign and speak volumes with body language. The floors are wooden and 7 inches dense so that the teachers and administrators can tap their feet, and communicate with the deaf children. When we first arrived, the deaf children were playing percussion for the band, and low and behold, it was loud as sin so that they could feel the vibrations to get on beat. It's pretty cool to see how the human body can adapt to nearly anything.
After the orientation, Brother Jim, myself and the other volunteers went for a little "costa rican" lunch filled with rice, beans and coffee. It was delicious and authentic.
As for this evening, we are due at St. Francis College (high school across the street) at 5:00pm to watch the parade which kicks off the weekend festivities of Costa Rica's Independence Day which is Monday, the 15th. I hope all is going well stateside and elsewhere...hasta luego.

El Primer Post

Welcome All! I am glad to have the technology available to share my thoughts, feelings, insight with all of you who are interested; I look forward to this experience and the lasting memories it will have for us to share. As for now, I am going to live in the moment with a nice cup of Costa Rican Coffee...hasta luego.