Las Heliconias! : Volunteering Part 1 7/4 - 7/6

From San Ramón, I traveled to Alajuela, near the international airport, where I met up with all of the i-to-i volunteers who were starting their volunteer placements at the same time as me. We had a typical Costa Rican dinner together (Casado and Tamarindo!) and an orientation the next morning. They said to remember that even though to us, it might look like things are in chaos - the Costa Ricans will know what is going on. Relax, and go with the flow...

I met the one other volunteer that was placed at Las Heliconias with me, a 17-year old from Scotland named Mark, and we got a quick orientation to the site and the area, by the man that coordinates all of the conservation placements in (and near) Costa Rica. Las Heliconias is an eco-lodge, on the edge of Tenorio Volcano National Park, nestled at the edge of the rainforest on the outskirts of the town of Bijagua. It looked absolutely gorgeous, a little remote, and not so built up. Perfect!

Our adventure to get there that day involved waiting with Fernando at the bus station (...and waiting...?) to get on the bus labeled 'Upala' - the biggest town past Bijagua - where the bus route terminated. Then, we had to be sure to tell the driver that we wanted to stop at Bijagua. We did that, and went to settle in...and then were asked to stand up. Looking around, and interpreting what little Spanish we could make out, we realized that they were making sure that the women and children were seated first. This made sense. Soon, a seat was found for me, and I was gestured toward it. I must admit that I was grateful.

Riding in a bus in Costa Rica is a very different experience than what you find here in the States. We learned quickly that it is not unusual to stand - for a trip that lasts a few hours! - and that you have to pay attention to know where you are en route, and when you've arrived at your destination. Poor Mark had motion sickness, because it is also usually a bit more up and down and curvy on the roads than what one might be used to. At a certain point, we stopped for a bathroom/snack break, which was welcome. Then when it came time to pay, we realized that the money we had been given wasn't enough. Thankfully, we had enough of our own in Colones at that point to cover it.

Afraid that we might miss the stop, I was paying careful attention, and made sure we got out when we arrived in Bijagua. It was, of course, raining. Hard. We had been told that there would be a taxi waiting for us, that knew where to go. There was none. There was a number we were given to call. The man that answered didn't really speak English, and my Spanish was still pretty poor. I found someone at the bus stop who spoke a little English, and we managed to get from that interaction that the man could pick us up for 3,500 Colones. But we thought we might be at the wrong stop, and that he was refusing to come and get us from the other? Finally, we saw a taxi at the restaurant across the way, and he took us up for about that much. (And again, thankfully, we had the cash to cover it!).

So, we finally arrived... after a steep climb in the taxi. It was beautiful (and still raining), and we went to the office to introduce ourselves. We said we were the volunteers that were supposed to arrive that day from i-to-i - and kind of got blank looks. We said, we were told to speak to Donald? Donald was one of the people there, but he seemed to be surprised that we were there. Not quite sure we were supposed to be there. Eventually all seemed to be sorted out... but, it was a little less than the warm and welcoming arrival we had expected.

Heeding the advice we were given, we took it in stride, and settled in to our quarters - taking in the glorious view. Lake Nicaragua in the distance, and Miravalles Volcano standing majestically across the valley. Right there, at the lodge, one felt the forest all around, teeming with life - many flowers and sweet smells and sounds - and, of course, the verdant, mossy trees seeming to spill out from the path entrances, and rise up over the rooftops.

As it happens, there was a kids camp happening that week, that Donald was helping to coordinate. My guess is that perhaps this was taking so much of his attention, that it had slipped by him that we were arriving that day. We were told that we would talk with Donald that night, or the next morning, about what we could do for our volunteer work. The possibility of helping with the Green Camp was offered, and we said we'd be happy to do that.











The first day went by, and there was no talking to Donald. The camp, we would come to know, took up quite a lot of each day. So, we swept the floors,and met the forest by walking the rain-soaked bridges path with Will (nicknamed 'Pepino') to clear slippery leaves, and otherwise took it easy. I noticed that the ground cover, that kind of looked like clover - was all 4-leafed. And that seemed right. That night, I was invited to dance a little salsa, as there was a little party happening. (As far as I knew, this happened every night? ;-)

Also, as it turned out, there was a young woman who had volunteered with i-to-i the previous summer, and worked with the kids camp they did then - who had returned, to help out again with the camp this year. She brought a friend along to join her, and we had arrived just after them. They were the reason for the party I attended briefly, and I had met them then (without realizing who they were). Laura and Sarah, from Wisconsin.

They were assigned to teams with the kids' camp, and we got more of an introduction to this impressive endeavor on our next full day of volunteering...

Capturing butterflies... San Ramón 7/1 - 7/4/10

My purpose, partly, in starting to write this blog was to document experiences, especially my travels. ...And somewhere along the way, just living in the moment took over (which is not a bad thing!). It's also been a bit to process, and not having time for that (while on my travels), has made it a little harder to be able to write about it.

At one point during this time in San Ramón, while doing some work with my host (more about that below), I spent an afternoon trying to catch a picture of butterflies that were coming and going quite frequently, fairly present and constant - and yet very hard to capture in a still moment, and put in that frame. In sitting down to write this segment, I realized that it was a good metaphor for more than just that day's story. It is also representative of all of the stories (not just my own) that I will feel compelled to share - and for what it is I'm trying to do (and perhaps…the way that this is ultimately impossible to achieve fully, but still worth attempting; like any good idealistic or creative impulse, that spurs us into action!).

So… early July, in San Ramón. I was only there for a few days, but I cannot imagine my trip without that experience. In the way that I believe things happen when you are on the 'right' path somehow - I ended up in what felt like the right place at the right time. And with a good working 'frame' for the part of my travels that happened next. I will attempt to give you all a good enough 'snapshot' to get a sense of the life within it…

I spent 2 1/2+ days visiting with my host, Dr. Miguel Karian, Director of Earth Education International (EEI). I stayed at the Hotel San Ramón, where he knows the guys that work there (it's where participants stay on the short programs).

The hotel is only a few blocks walking from the EEI Office, the Parque Central (and the central part of town), the bus station, the market (such a rich sight for the eyes, rich place for the palate!),

and easy walking distance from the two Universities (one of which holds the classrooms that the programs use). Also within that radius were most of the restaurants where we ate (I tried a lot of typical/ traditional foods on the menus, recommended and translated for me - ¡Gracias, Miguel!).

I quickly learned, especially by watching it happen, that taking the time to chat with people that you know - especially people that you have a working relationship with - is very important. I didn't understand everything that was said… but I did pick up something of the tone; it seemed quite good-natured, easy-going - and there was a sense that there was time for it, that it was enjoyed. All of the places that we visited usually had people there to see and chat with. My sense was that part of showing me around, was also a chance for him to check in with people, and maintain those important relationships.

I had offered my time as a volunteer, in exchange for learning about the operation of the programs and talking about the emerging interest in sustainability in the study abroad profession - and he had given some thought to a project that I might be able to help with. The thing that seemed to make the most sense was to work on developing a document that outlined the different sustainability practices that were followed - from the re-use of paper in the printer, to the way that there is as much community integration as possible - that represented what made the program itself 'sustainable.' This is something that I had a pretty good sense of and interest in - although not the theory behind it - already. And as much as he had designed and implemented it all - it was obviously something that was now more intuitive and less conscious knowledge on his part.

Having been around town a little bit, and visited the people that helped him make it happen, and seen and talked about what went into the programs (especially the importance of having the students hear people's own compelling and inspiring stories) - gave me a sense before we started this work, of what it was he was talking about - of what we were trying to articulate. So my task was to help him to think more concretely about what he does, and to help him to organize those practices into some kind of framework that highlighted what made them valuable in terms of 'sustainability.' We looked on websites to see what else had been written on the topic, and to double check our sense of what this important word and concept meant, against the online literature - in particular, as far as education was concerned.

At one point, we noted that there didn't seem to be anything like this document we were working on out there that we could find. It seemed like it needed a good name. We decided to call it - as it was proving to be a good self-assessment tool - the 'Sustainability Assessment Inventory', or 'SAI.' We daydreamed that someday, this moment of creation would be remembered…the day when the SAI was born. :)

I know that I enjoyed this collaboration, and I think that the feeling was mutual. We seemed to complement each other well, and work well together - and it felt really good to be useful to someone doing such good work, work that I believe is helping the world to be a better place! That is so important, I realized, and had been so lacking in previous jobs I've had - I know this intellectually, but to have the experience of feeling what it's like, to have what I do naturally be so helpful, and for someone/something that is doing something I care about - was very satisfying. There was a kind of integrity for me, too, adding to that - in the way that I was learning, experientially, about sustainability, by helping a program that taught it!

It was also fun. We ate mamones and rambutans from the local farmers market, we were up on the roof deck with beautiful views all around, sipping tea made from fresh mint and stevia (from a planter there on the roof), and there were butterflies zooming in and out of the bushes and flowers around us as we were working. I kept trying to get a picture of the butterflies…and I finally managed one or two decent ones. There was a poem I started…in our trying to put into words something so real and important, but that is hard to articulate…and the metaphor of trying to catch a butterfly in a frame…something so vital and in motion, so precious and delicate…important to appreciate, but hard to capture (and not certain if you really can – should?).

My time in San Ramón was also good on a personal level, as we had many thoughtful conversations about many things (and I love those!) – and because seeing someone having the kind of integrity with their work and their programs that I like to have in life in general… reminded me of who I want to and try to be (and that can be harder to live up to, when you are not around others doing the same thing). It reminded me of the importance of trying to live what you believe. That what happens…happens, and for some reason - even if we don’t know what it is. Whether or not we understand how, if we are listening to our heart, and acting accordingly – we are on the right path, and will be okay. (You know?).

This time helped me to acclimate culturally, as well: I learned (by living more within it) about 'Tico Time' ('Ticos' are how Costa Ricans are referred to) - how things don't happen according to a preset schedule so much. It's more about getting to things when they make sense, or whenever they happen. I got to hear more Spanish, and start to understand more of what was being said, of the particular accent and way of talking in Costa Rica. And I was able to learn more about the economics of the country, that tourism that preserves the natural environment and sustains traditional culture is more helpful and sustainable, and foreigners coming in to make money without thought to these things - and Costa Ricans who go along with it - are what is hurtful (to put it very simply! :).

As a special treat, on the day I left on my first visit, he took me to the 'finca' (farm) of a woman that he knows. She and her husband have cultivated an organic coffee farm, and interspersed the coffee plants with trees that provide shade (coffee develops best in shade). It was impressive to see, the dark green leaves of the coffee plants, and all of the other trees that grow amongst them, providing shade - just the sense of abundance and life. (And the work that went in to building it up - and required to keep up with it!). There were chickens, that she adores, and they give eggs, and make fertilizer. And also a lot of herbs, and sharing of information on the medicinal benefits and culinary uses of plants. I learned that the work of the farm and financial concerns are prompting them to sell the land…and it is not certain that the next owners will be stewards of it, care for it the way they have. This is still a problem in Costa Rica - that so much of the preservation/conservation is still dependent on individuals, and their choosing to make that commitment.

… I went on from San Ramón feeling a bit more acclimated: I had heard a lot of Spanish, gained some cultural insights, and was ready for an adventure. I felt I had made a new friend, and a good connection. It was a little hard to leave, but I was ready to go on... to aim my 'lens' at the next bit of inspiring life that I might find, in the hopes that what I can capture of it will help encourage others' hopeful flights and flittings…