Mapless in PZ

I am now on the tail end of what was a fantastic site visit to my future home, where I will return on May 31st and, si Dios quiere, remain for two years. Saturday night I went out with my new friends Inez and Ritchie, the volunteers from Portugal and Spain, respectively. We went to a bar called Las Cascadas with big screen tvs and American music and it felt like we could have been in any college town, except the drinks were cheaper and the nachos were better. Sunday was filled with more family time. We headed back downtown in the morning for mass and to watch a parade of "caballitos de palo," which consisted of a bunch of cute little kids in western costumes riding on stick-horses. I still can't really follow what they are saying at mass, but I just try to do what everyone else is doing and look like I am deep in thought, and I think I fit in just fine. We spent the afternoon hanging around the house, playing dominoes, and I made guacamole to serve with dinner. Probably goes down in history as one of the most domestic days of my life.

Monday I ventured off on my own to get to know downtown San Isidro. My first order of business was to find a map and orient myself, but this was harder than I had imagined. I went into three different bookstores, two hotels, a travel agency, the office of tourism for greater Perez Zeledon, and the local library and NOBODY had a map. The worst part was that nobody thought it was strange that apparently a map of San Isidro, the biggest city in Southern Costa Rica, doesn't exist! I guess it is a relatively small city and Ticos aren't that into directions or street names anyways, but come ON...So I ended up walking in a lot of circles before realizing I had already been on that block, but after a while I felt fairly familiarized with the city. It is by no means glamorous, but definitely has everything I could possibly need, including many Internet cafes, beauty salons, a mega sports complex that soccer fields, basketball, tennis and squash courts, and a swimming pool that is free to the public, a library, and a few coffee shops that serve moccachinos and other American treats, such as the one I am luxuriating in right now, which also has WiFi and smoothies that taste strikingly similar to Jamba Juice.

Tuesday was an exciting day, because I finally got to see where I will be working and meet some community members. At 8 am, Jorge, my official counterpart, picked me up and we drove up to FUDEBIOL, the nonprofit environmental preservation organization that I will be working with. First of all, the drive is beautiful but a little longer than I'd expected, since I will have to walk or bike there most days. I will try to upload some pictures that can capture it better than I can describe, but the reserve is really beautiful and peaceful. There is an albergue (cabins) with a kitchen where educational groups or tourists can stay, a nature education center, an tiny office, and then a LOT of green. There are trails along the river to waterfalls and amazing vistas, a little lagoon surrounded by an herb garden, a mariposario (butterfly farm), and lots of little tables and benches to sit and enjoy the nature. The area has a lot to offer, but also a lot of room for improvement. I immediately understood why it doesn't currently attract many tourists who aren't part of educational groups, as it is very difficult to get to without a car, the website is barely functioning, there is nowhere to buy food, etc. But this means lots of work for me over the next two years! On our back down to Quebradas Jorge introduced me to a few of the women who are part of a group called AMOSA that makes recycled paper products and to the director of the local elementary school, both of whom I may also have the opportunity to work with. But the BEST part of the day was after I got back, when my host mom, Sylvia, and I spent the afternoon making cheese empanadas and cinnamon bread. Actually the best part was eating it right when it came out of the over, but I actually helped back these things and they turned out delicious! We now have a standing date to make a different kind of bread every week, which bodes well for my baking skills but not so much for my waistline...

I said goodbye to my new host family this morning and will be heading back to Tarbaca this afternoon for my last week and a half of training. It is going to be hard to go back to class after we have all been to our sites and are SO ready to get started, but it will be the last time to spend with my new Peace Corps friends before we are spread all over the country. It will be sad/weird to say goodbye to everyone, but I feel very lucky that I know I am heading to a beautiful community with no lack of activity and culinary delights!