La Matanza

A few months have passed since I arrived here in Costa Rica and in that time I have done quite a few interesting things. Yesterday I got to do something I have looked forward to since I began thinking about entering Peace Corps.  

One of Peace Corps goals is to share American culture with the people we come in contact with.  As this past Thursday was Thanksgiving we decided to throw a Turkey day feast with all the fixings for our beloved family.

There are three of us in our community and we had to cook for 25 people but first we had to make sure that we had all the necessary foods.... mashed potatoes... check.... green bean casserole... check.... stuffing, scalloped potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie... all check.  Unfortunately when we went to purchase a turkey, we were disappointed to find that the only turkey available was small and 85 dollars.  Apparently they take advantage of our insatiable need for pavo this time of year.   Clearly this wasn't a viable option, so we began exploring different possibilities. 

Of course there is always chicken but that’s kinda boring, ham would be nice but we would be missing out on the whole Thanksgiving fowl theme.  So there we were in quite the pickle.  I relayed our predicament to my host family and my madre Miriam told us that there were some wild ducks that had taken up residence nearby.  I got really excited, changed in to appropriate attire and began my search for an appropriate weapon.  I chose a heavy stick for the job. 

This was my time to tap into the barbaric instinct we all have to kill and eat.  It’s an element of survival we as Americans generally aren't in touch with.  First we had to ask the neighbors permission if we could duck hunt on their property. They said yes but the ducks that were there had since "flown the coop."  Major bummer, she suggested that we try one of the other neighbors who owned some ducks.  Off we went in a group of 10, 3 hunters and 7 children that wanted to witness the deed.  

We arrived at the neighbor’s house and were greeted by the welcoming quacks of a flock of ducks.  After the customary greetings and small talk we got down to business.  We wanted 2 of the biggest ducks they had. We weren't so sure how much they would cost (a chicken typically cost $8.)  So we were happy when we agreed upon the price of 8000 colones or $16 for both patos.  We picked our ducks put them both in a sack and went off on our merry way. 

It was decided that we would kill the ducks in the morning and eat them that night so they would be nice and fresh.  I quickly volunteered to be one of the decapitators.  Aside from bugs, a few large spiders since I have been here, a squirrel with my car, and a snake that I shot with a slingshot when I was a kid (after which I felt terrible) I haven’t really killed anything.  Would I be able to go through with it? Would I freak out? Would it fight back?

There was only on way to find out. Killing should be a natural part of every human’s life, we are on top of the food chain.  Hypothetically we should be able to kill and eat anything we like whether that be a deer, cow, bear or duck. Like most college aged Americans most of the meat I have eaten over the last few years has come frozen, pre-breaded and in a Tyson’s re-sealable bag.

I woke up that morning with one thing on my mind… death. Not for me but for the unfortunate duck that had the audacity to taste delicious, when baked in an oven and served with gravy.  I went to our neighbors house were the victim had spent its last fateful night in a chicken coop. 

How it would be done was the subject of some debate. I wanted to hold it across a log and do it quick with a machete. However I was quickly informed that they normally tie up its legs and cut saw off its head with a sharp knife.  Being new to the whole process. I decided to listen to the pros and go with option two.

My buddy John went first.  When he pulled his duck out of the coop it scratched the shit out of his forearms, really shredding him up.  Needless to say he had no qualms about the beheading, a few weeks ago he killed a chicken, so he wasn’t quite as new to it as I was. Watching the process was quite the experience pretty gruesome and awesome in its own right, it definitely gave me an idea of what was about to come.

I was up next, the duck was tied up, I had the knife in one hand and its neck in the other. Yes I was nervous, excited, scared and anxious all at once. I delivered a one liner,  I borrowed from Arnold Shwarzenager in Commando “Remember when I said I wouldn’t kill you?... I lied.” And then I started. Sawing and pulling as hard and as fast as I could (that’s what she said) but I was making little progress.  I was cutting in the wrong spot, I had hit a vertebra, and the only thing to do was continue.

So on I went, for what seemed like an eternity. At one point I had to readjust my grip on its head during which it began flapping and I felt the sensation of warm blood oozing down my hand. And just when I thought it would never be over the head came free and the deed was done. It was all over, my heart was still racing and I was super pumped.

After the two minutes of involuntary movement from the carcass began the bad part… plucking.  What you do is put the bird in boiling water for a little bit and then go at it…  pulling out all the plumage. Unfortunately the ducks were in the process of growing new feathers so what is normally a ten minute process turned into an hour and a half of tedious plucking until we finally got them halfway looking like something you would buy at Food Lion.

If you haven’t already guessed it by now la matanza means the killing.  The night was a great success; all of the food was amazing.  We had more food than we could eat. As such my Tico family did what most Americans do on Thanksgiving… eat, get sleepy then eat some more.  We also had a few mojitos, which may or may not have had something to do with it, but regardless it felt like a proper Thanksgiving.  Which is a hard feeling to capture when it’s not cold outside and everyone is speaking Spanish. All in all, I felt good about that day. I felt connected to my family and connected to what I was eating.  I felt like I deserved to eat that duck and given the chance I would do it again.

The funny thing is that while this may have been an epic moment in the life of Eric Mitchell there are millions and millions of people who do things like that each and every day and think nothing of it.  It’s just how they go about living.  

Something funny

I find this a comical aspect of what has become my everyday life, perhaps you will too...

My family only has one bathroom.  Entering the situation, this is something that I expected and was prepared for.   What I wasn’t expecting was that it would be in the kitchen situated right between the kitchen sink and wood stove, with nothing but a dinky door separating myself and my bowel movements from what’s going on in the kitchen.   In fact the other day I got was talking to my Gerardo and got up to go to the bathroom… instead of waiting for me to finish, we simply continued the conversation it was pretty funny.

What’s more is that as in the states, the kitchen is the center of family activity, it’s where they hang out, eat, and watch TV.  My diet consists mostly of rice and beans, as such there is not much I can do to be subtle.  The bathroom always kind of smells bad so that is not an issue I worry about.  It’s just that the door does little if anything to prevent unwanted sounds from traveling to the unsuspecting ears of my gracious host family. 

    I also live on the same piece of property as my host parent’s kids and grandkids so more often than not there are a lot of people around.  While on the subject I embarrassingly clogged the toilet and had to ask my padre for a plunger which they didn’t have.  So he taught me a good trick that I am sure some of you may put to good use.  All you have to do is fill a bucket with water and pour it in the toilet, it took care of the clog no problem.  When you think about it pouring water directly from a bucket creates a lot more power than your average flush.  Another thing is that septic systems don’t work like they do in the states so instead of flushing the toilet paper you simply put it in a trashcan right by the toilet.  Surprisingly it doesn’t smell bad.  In the grand scheme of things I try to keep in mind that since I am in Costa Rica I actually have electricity a TV and potable running water, even a microwave.  Which is a lot more than a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers can say.  I am glad to say that I have yet to wipe my ass with a leaf, though I am sure it will happen eventually.

Both of these photos were taken in my town

A Time to Adapt

A Time To Adjust

Now that I have been in country for more than a week and all my nervous jitters have come to pass I am now entering a transition phase, adjusting to my new Costa Rican life.  Like most things some of it is awesome and some of it kinda sucks.

The town I live in is small so that means there isn’t too much to do we have a restaurant, a pulperia (convenience store), a candy shop, a café and a coffee shop and that’s it.  No bar, no market, no plaza no mucho. What is cool about the situation is that I don’t really feel like we need any of those things.  I always have something to do and chilling with my family has turned out to be one of my favorite things to do.

This is my family... and Allen (the tall Chinese guy) who I spend most of my time with, we are quite different but we have a good time


My average day…

Yesterday in Spanish class we had to talk about our daily routine here vs. in the states, it wasn’t until then that I really stopped to think how different my life is now.  Sometimes I even forget I am in Costa Rica and I just think I am in a small town where they happen to speak Espanol.

Here is what I do most days…
I wake up around 5:45 or 6 am sometimes I chill in bed, sometimes I read and sometimes I finish my homework. Regardless which I do at 6:30 I head next door to meditate with Allen in his room.

I have been meditating for about 2 weeks now and it isn’t very easy.  The type of meditation we practice is one where you memorize a passage containing some sort of wisdom and slowly repeat it in your mind.  We do this for about 30 minutes sitting Indian style with our backs upright.  Its amazing how hard it can be to concentrate your mind on one thing, I often find my mind drifting in about a million different directions, and once it starts meandering its hard to get back on track.  Some days are better than others but every day I’m glad I took the time to do it. I feel alert and ready to start my day.

After that its time for breakfast, which consists of a full plate of gallo pinto (rice and beans), tortillas, an egg and coffee, I have the same thing almost everyday.  Sometimes there will be a variation, instead of an egg and tortillas I will have an empanada with gallo pinto.  Its always good, but it took me a while to learn to start my day off with a full stomach.

At 8 I head of to one of two places Spanish class or technical training.  Spanish class consists of 4 people, John, Allen, myself and our professor Fiorella.  Our teacher just turned 25 that being the case it isn’t really much of a classroom setting. Oftentimes we go outside, go to the café or go on field trips.  The goal for our language training is that we learn to communicate and feel comfortable interacting in the Tico (Costa Rican) culture.  So most days we are sent on missions to interview local business owners, teachers and anyone else that will talk to us.

Technical training takes place in my town, that means that every other volunteer has to take a bus some are only like 15 minutes away and others are more like an hour.   Each day we talk about a bunch of different things, ranging from learning styles, classroom management, interviewing techniques, mostly its boring, but since some of this stuff may be useful once I get to my site,  I try to keep an open mind about it and pay attention. 

Regardless of whether we go Spanish class or technical training I have to walk up a monstrous hill, every time I end up panting by the time I get to the top of it. While it has gotten a little bit easier I am beginning to wonder whether or not I will ever be able to walk up it easily.

We come back for lunch at noon until 1 which means more gallo pinto.  We go back to class until 5 or so and call it a day.  By the time we get home its getting dark.  Being close to the equator there is 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of daylight all yearlong and it gets dark quick.  That makes it seem like its really late after my 6:30 dinner. 

After dinner we normally chat and play some cards, I taught them to play war, a game called 31, and am in the process of teaching them spades.  It is always fun and its something we can all do.  My niece Maybel and I got in a “fight” when I caught her cheating and told her I don’t like playing with “tramposas” she didn’t talk to me for a day, it was pretty funny.

Afterwards I go next door to do whatever homework I have with Allen and normally by this time I am beat and ready for bed its 9:30. I brush my teeth contemplate on whether or not I can go another day without showering and read until I’m too tired to keep my eyes open.  This normally happens before 10:30.

Were I in any other place, doing any other job I would say that my life is lame.  But the fact is that I feel really lucky to be here.  Each day is a new experience with new challenges, sites, and happenings.  For example today I found a dead coral snake in the middle of the road, its one of the most poisonous in Costa Rica and my Padre told me its been years since he has seen one in this area. I go to bed each night knowing I had a full day so I don’t feel bad about going to bed early.

Here safe and sound

Here and safe,

Well I am glad to say that I have arrived safely in Costa Rica.  Somehow I forgot how much traveling can really suck, for whatever reason Peace Corps decided that it would be best for us to check out of our hotel at 2am for our 7:20 flight. When we got there no one was at the airport we had to wait like an hour and a half before the airline workers got there. It sucked.

Finally we boarded the plane ready to go.  We taxied, fired up the engines raced down the runway only to suddenly come to a screeching halt. We were all super tired and not really sure what was going on. Then the pilot came on the radio explaining that we had just aborted takeoff because a window had popped open, and that in 24 years of being a pilot this was the first time that he had ever had to abort a takeoff… weird. I didn’t even know that airplanes had windows that open, for what reason could they possibly need a window that opens? To let in some fresh air? Talk to the airplane next to them?  Needless to say that after the 30 minutes needed for the brakes to cool down and have a mechanic check the window we were all quite nervous for take off.  It was a little nerve racking.

We made it to San Jose and then headed to our retreat in the mountains above the city. This place is super nice and is apparently an old convent that has been converted into a convention center, it has soccer fields and is rather quaint. I decided to take a nap in my hammock right away it was amazing I woke up though very disoriented thinking I had slept through a meeting. As soon as I had woke up this car rolled up and the people started asking me questions about the place in Spanish.  Having just woken up I wasn’t of much help I was still very confused and it was very weird sensation.

We went to bed nice and early to get a good nights rest, it was an epic sleep the kind you wish you could have every night. Before I knew it, 6 am had come and it was time to wake up, to an excellent breakfast of beans and rice, eggs and fruit, it was amazing. The day went on with many meetings about a bunch of different stuff. At one point we had to go to the medical officers and get our weight and blood pressure taken, much to my surprise I had high blood pressure. I don’t know what that means but what I do know is that I am 24 and shouldn’t have high blood pressure, and that I have never had anything close to being high. She said that perhaps the lack of sleep and stress of traveling had something to do with it, and that she would be keeping an eye on me. I don’t feel unhealthy so its kinda weird.

The retreat went very well over the next few days I got a chance to get to know my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. Everyone is nice, and interesting to talk to as you may have imagined. Another thing that I found to be cool is that everyone is uber qualified. Almost everyone has done a good amount of traveling, has a relevant education or experience and seems to be a excellent candidate for service.  The US is pretty well represented, we have people from 23 different states, a great grandmother who I believe is 75, a recently retired business man, two married couples, every sort of race and creed and a good amount of people in their mid twenties. 

There are two different programs in this training class, one is my group the Community Economic Development Project (CED) and the other is Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).  My group is the smaller of the two with 20 of the 45 volunteers and mostly comprised of dudes. I think there are only like 4 or 5 guys in TEFL.

When I first got to the site I was super excited that there were parrots just flying around.  That lasted maybe a day when I realized that parrots seem to be as common as pigeons here except they make a lot more noise, particularly at inconvenient times like when you are trying to sleep. Other cool nature things I have seen are a big beetle, a moth the size of my hand and a moth shaped exactly like a leaf that when I got to close pretended to fall like one instead of fly away. It was one of the coolest adaptations I have ever seen. 

The next few days were spent in and out of meetings with a lot of down time to talk to everyone, we also did a lot of eating. If it wasn’t breakfast, lunch or dinner it was coffee and tea with heavy snacks, it’s been nice.  My project seems to be super cool however it is still one of those deals that I don’t know what I’ll be doing until I get to my site and assess their needs.

This is a view from the retreat

Before we knew it, it was time for our pre-service training to come to an end and split up into smaller groups to live with our host families and receive language training. I didn’t do too well on my language placement. I got placed in intermediate high, which is pretty pathetic for how much experience I have, but when I read about it, they got it spot on.  I can communicate and understand but don’t conjugate too well, and have to stop often to think of a word that I used to know but have since forgot.  It made me feel better that a few people who grew up speaking Spanish were only placed in advanced low, one step ahead of me. My goal for language training in the next 10 weeks is to reach advanced mid, we will see how it goes. 

On Friday we all went on a little field trip to the city of Cartago, which used to be the capital of Costa Rica until it was destroyed by an earthquake and they decided to switch the capital to San Jose.  While there we were split into groups and given certain tasks to perform. One of ours was to go to the old military fort and get some information about it.  Since Costa Rica doesn’t have a military the old fort was turned into a museum. While walking around the museum we came to a giant mural in progress, it was huge with awesome bright colors about the history of Costa Rica.  The artist was on site working on it, and she was nice enough to put down her brush and spend the next 20 minutes talking to us about the mural and the history of Costa Rica. Apparently when it is done. It will be the largest in Costa Rica and the only one painted by a woman. It was a great experience, afterwards she invited our group to climb the scaffolding and take a picture.  Aside from being so amped for the cultural exchange, I couldn’t help but stop and think how nice she was and how something like that would never happen in the states.  The Costa Ricans or Ticos as they call themselves truly are a warm and welcoming people.

On our last night of the retreat we had a BBQ, while we were eating we felt a little vibration that turned into a bigger one and before we knew it we realized we were in a mini earthquake. It was awesome, since it wasn’t a big one it was kinda fun we all started cheering.  Apparently ones like that are fairly common its just one of the many things about Costa Rica that I will have to get used to.

Today is my first full day with my host family, the father Geraldo, the mother Miriam and my hermanita Mercedes. One of my friends Allen, this Chinese guy from Texas is right next door with their daughter and her family. We live in the town of Tarbaca, which is in the mountains outside of San Jose in a cloud forest. Where we live most of the trees are coniferous, mostly cypress.  Today we walked a few towns over and about a thousand feet down to where my friends live and the environment became a lot more tropical, its cool how here you can simply walk to a different climate zone.

My family is super nice and inviting, they don’t have that much but you can tell that there is a lot of love to go around.  I am the fourth volunteer they have hosted so I know that I am in the best of hands. My padre Geraldo is especially charismatic and you can tell that he is beloved in the community.  Today on our 3 hour walk he knew almost everyone.  Since we are in the mountainous region the hills are incredible steep. So steep that your legs get tired going down them as well as up them, and they are everywhere. When I turn out of my house I am met by a monstrous hill that once I reach the top of I’m out of breath.  Before I got here I really wanted to start running but with hills like these I wouldn’t be able to run longer than 10 minutes without dying.  I’m still gonna try but I am keeping my expectations low.

This is my padre

One other thing about my host family is that all it seems we do is eat and drink coffee… not that I’m complaining.  Every time I turn around they are offering me coffee or some sort of snack like a plate of sausage with tortillas. When it comes time for a real meal my plate is as big as at Thanksgiving.  Its crazy, on top of that today my padre told me that I don’t eat that much, all I could think of is that this is the most I have ever eaten. I have yet to be hungry, I have two modes here full and not hungry. It seems that as soon as I go from being full to not hungry is when my madre Miriam is offering me something else.  The coffee here is amazing, as you would guess, I love it and drink it a lot. I imagine that when I go back to the states, I will be a coffee snob, it’s that good.  The Costa Ricans find it weird about that I drink it black.  Coffee here comes with milk and sugar, if you say you want it black it still comes with sugar, and a lot of it. So when they offer me a coffee I have to explain to them that I want it completely plain. That’s when they look at me weird.

Aspiration Statement

So one of the first things the Peace Corps asks you to do after you receive your invitation is to write an aspiration statement so the people I will be working with will have an idea of what I am like. 

The professional attributes that I plan to use, and what aspirations I hope to fulfill, during my Peace Corps service.

Having graduated from college with an International Business degree and a concentration in finance I believe I have a good base of knowledge that will serve me well while working with the CED. My internship with the Bolivian Land Titling Project gave me a chance to work in and see how an effective development project is run. I will use these tools and knowledge to the best of my ability. Talking to RPCVs one thing that I have taken away is that Peace Corps requires patience and an open mind. I understand that working with my local resources whether they be people or assets will be integral in the success of my Peace Corps service. Being young with limited professional experience I think may serve me well as I am aware that I don't know everything and am always ready to learn, no matter what the source. Something else I have taken away from talking with RPCVs is that I should try my best to not have too many expectations. I see the importance in keeping my aspirations realistic as change may be slow and difficult to achieve. My main aspiration is to be the best Peace Corps Volunteer that I can be soaking in as much as I can in a new and exciting environment. I hope to foster trust and understanding between myself and my community then contribute in any way I can.

My strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

What I think will be the key to working effectively with host country partners is establishing patience first, then understanding and finally trust. Trust is not easy to build and change cannot come without it. With the amount of tourism Costa Rica receives I imagine most Costa Ricans have a pre-conceived notion as to what Americans are like. I will certainly face challenges in breaking down these stereotypes and forming genuine relationships with my Costa Rican counterparts. No matter what the situation I will be a hard worker and hopefully gain the respect of my co-workers. I hope to partner up with others and work together to find solutions to benefit the community.

My strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to my own cultural background.

Adapting to a new culture is not new to me. Being the son of an American father and Bolivian mother, I have grown up toeing the line between cultures. Unfortunately I have not grown up speaking Spanish and have learned it the same way as everyone else, in school. When I was sixteen I spent a summer attending school in Paraguay, as the only American student I had no choice but to adapt. In 2007 I studied abroad in Spain followed immediately by my internship in Bolivia. I like change, it is during these times in my life when I have felt the most alive. After such experiences I have found that no matter where I go, people are just that, people, some are funny, some are quiet, some are laid back and some are uptight. I have never had a problem adjusting, I am somewhat outgoing and am not very reserved. I have found that letting my personality shine through while actively trying to respect local ideals and customs to be instrumental when adapting to a new culture.

The skills and knowledge I hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve my future community and project.

While in pre-service training my main goal is to develop a good base of technical skills that will put me in a position to succeed during service. I hope to have these abilities developed to the point that I feel not only competent but confident when entering the field. I know that a lot of my learning will probably occur on the job but I do want to have firm platform on which to build. Fine tuning my Spanish will be important. While I have an excellent base in the language it has been some time since I have been fully immersed in it and I am sure it will take some time to adjust to the Costa Rican dialect. I have heard from RPCVs that there may be some difficult unforeseen situations that I may witness or be involved with during service. Learning some techniques to deal with such situations beforehand would put me more at ease if for some reason I find myself in a difficult position.

How I think Peace Corps service will influence my personal and professional aspirations after my service ends.
 

After Peace Corps my professional aspirations will probably be the same they have always been, to pursue a career in economic development. The manner in which I pursue this goal may take many different forms. Whether I find a job in the US, stay in Costa Rica or go back to school to get my MBA, I am sure that I will have left the Peace Corps with a broader perspective and having grown as a person. Regardless of what I do I am sure that I will take the lessons I have learned from the Peace Corps and use them in every day life. Even if it is just taking the time to appreciate all that I have I know that I will have left the Peace Corps a changed person, probably for the better.