So we’ve been in Costa Rica for a week. Excuse you clock,
please slow down.
To everyone who knows me, knows that I tend to go through
cycles of following my really stupid diet, thanks stomach, and just really not
following it at all. So we were on the plane from Guatemala to Costa Rica, and
the airlines we went through serves meals on every flight, and of course the
“meal” we were given was a juicy, buttery, flaky croissant filled with
processed, milky cheese. My self-control lasted maybe 2 minutes. An airtight
plane with the smells of this deliciousness circulating through the ventilation
system, I was consumed by it. After a short therapy session with
Savannah, we decided that not only could I eat it, I deserved every single bite….and
the ice cream later that day….and the bite of delicious bread that night….and
then cream in my coffee the next morning…the cycle of “well I already broke it,
what’s the harm now?” and every time after about a week of fooling myself,
karma comes around to bite me in the ass. Worth every bite, after a short
relapse I’m back in recovery.
So to the stuff that actually matters…
I really thought that after I got through culture shock the
first time it would be a breeze for the rest of my trip. I was wrong. I didn’t
realize how much I loved Xela until I entered San Jose, the capital city of
Costa Rica. WOAH. This place is big. In Xela we were able to get around to most
places just by walking and could reach many different café’s, restaurants, and
bars within 10 minutes. That is not the case here; the neighborhood we have
been living in the past week is a 25-minute car ride to the University. Where
as in Xela I practically shared a wall with my school.
Aside from the size of this city, it is clear that the “Rich
Coast” lives up to its name. Everything is nice, the city is newer, and there
are stores from the states on every strip downtown, McDonald’s on practically every corner.
It was confusing to all of us when we toured the downtown area on the second
day. And a lot of the confusion stemmed from how comfortable it felt and how
much we didn’t necessarily like that. We are surrounded by places we recognize,
the familiar. The media and persona of the United States has exploited this
country and it sucks but after being as far as possible from our comfort zone
in the past month it feels good, and I don’t like it. Clearly I am still
processing this thought and it probably doesn’t belong in my blog just yet but
whatever.
After spending a week in a house with my favorite travel
companions, we met our host families today, or “adoption day” as my real mom
likes to call it. It has become harder and harder as we move from family to
family to decipher when someone is referring to their mom from the states or one of our several mothers along our journey, for
the first time in my life I’m finding myself referring to mama as my “real mom” or “home mom”.
On that note, MY MOM WILL BE HERE IN 3 DAYS AND I AM REALLY EXCITED. AND I TURN
21 IN 4 DAYS WHICH IS ALSO REALLY COOL. We’re going to wake up and take shots,
she already happily agreed and I will not let her out of this one. We will be spending two days in a beautiful
resort just outside of San Jose, where we booked the “romantic package,” group
massages and romantics dinners! It’s normal. After a short break from reality,
she has bravely agreed to come along to our rural stay for the weekend, and we
are ending the trip with a surprise adventure that I am going to let her know
about when she gets here hehehe. I miss her. More than I ever thought I would.
I am just feeling really happy. Life is good. One Direction
is still the best. And I am doing my best to stay between a 4 and a 7 (just for
you dad).
I am currently sitting in my bed at my new host families
house, they have welcomed me whole heartedly with wide open arms. I am still
trying to figure out the dynamic, as it is a single mom with I believe has a
daughter who is my age and one son, but that’s up in the air. There are many
students who also rent out bedrooms and live here, and her son has friends over
often. So there are young people around always, which also is right in my
comfort zone, aside from the fact that they all speak another language than me
in a completely different accent than what I’ve been practicing with for a
month. But I’ve decided that I can’t let language create a barrier anymore,
because I can very easily show my gratitude and happiness in other ways.
Side note: The daughter is the epitome of who I wish I could
be. She has dread locks that have grown out into this long beautiful mess of
hair, curls flowing above them. She is so sassy and has already figured me out
down to the T, and I’m okay with it. She also teaches art classes to young children. I just want to be her, that’s all.
Dreadlocks are still on my bucket list and will be until the day I die.
Tonight before dinner my mom asked if I can eat everything,
assuming that yes I can, and I broke the news that I can’t eat gluten and was
about to tell her that cheese isn’t really apart of my life either…but before I
could get it out she went off. It was fabulous. I figured she already knew of
my diet because past host families did, but we laughed and played about it.
Shortly after Billy, a guy that lives here, googled it and read off everything
I can eat, instead of everything I can’t. The concept of gluten is not really a
thing here. He listed off things like: beans, vegetables and meat, foods that in
the states are commonly known to not contain gluten, but not here. It was a
great experience. And for the next 3 weeks I will be eating cheese.
The history of Costa Rica is really interesting and gives us
a different dynamic to compare and contrast the history of the other countries
we’re visiting. A big dumb idiot white male tried to conquer Latin America and
I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t know a thing about it until a few days
ago. We have also started our liberation theology class, and it's giving me a
whole new perspective into what religion is and can be. Aside from the 10-page
paper that’s due in less than 2 weeks, things in the education department are
going swell.
As for personally, I am learning more and more about myself
every single day, I am living into each moment one at a time and am remembering
to just slow down, because time flies if you don’t stop to pay attention to it. I'm also working on that whole concept of having a filter, it isn't going well but there's nothing surprising about that. I have my highs and lows every day, but over all am very content and happy to
be here.
As for my excessive blog post, that is all I’ve got.
However, anticipate many photos coming soon of my mother and I crying together
of pure joy and bliss of being in each other’s company again. I am going to
peak at a hard 14 the second I see her walk out of that airport (sorry dad).
Hasta la pasta,
Hannah
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