samasati bliss

Even though I arrived back in Oregon last Thursday, where I spend my last 4 days in Costa Rica definitely deserves a post.  I was fortunate enough to go to the Caribbean coast...what  privilege it is to travel!  I went to a nature retreat center called Samasati, which means anyone can be Buddha and or attain the highest state of enlightenment.  While I didn't reach enlightenment, the escape from the the city, the warm thick tropical air, the pulsating jungle sounds, the delicious yoga classes, and some much needed quiet time was more than enough to leave me feeling totally rejuvenated.

I left San Jose early, so I arrived there mid-day, ate lunch (3 vegetarian meals a day where included in my stay) and took a nap by the jacuzzi.  Samasati is located on the hill up above the the town of Puerto Viejo, so it has glorious views, but there is literally nothing else around.  It felt a little like being a yoga summer camp.

The view from the restaurant, you can see puerto viejo is nestled in that little bay.

This surprise visitor greeted me as I came out the shower! Fortunately a woman from the reception came to help me get rid of it.  In the evening there is a guard that watches the property, but all the lights on the paths are turned out, so guests are expected to find there way to reception, turn on the radio, and yell "EMERGENCIA".  Good thing I found this before everyone went home, I'm not sure I could have managed all those instructions!

 The food was incredible!

I spent Monday down in Puerto Viejo, checking out the town and the beach.  I hadn't spent a day at the beach since I had been in Costa Rica, so I fully enjoyed soaking of the caribbean vibes and relaxing on Playa Negra.  The ocean is so salty there, it literally supports all your weight.  One of my favorite moments was just laying back in the water and being cradled by the gentle rocking of the sea.

playa negra

river flows into the ocean

 

 

 

 

 

 

little self portrait on playa negra

Mornings at 6:30am was yoga.  The AM practice was Ashtanga, which I haven't practiced a lot of, but it was great to try.  And evenings at 5pm was the restorative gentle class.  It was such a great combo, and Danielle the instructor was kind, knowledgeable and so sweet.  

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On Tuesday I took a little hike to the waterfall.  I cannot begin to explain how noisy the jungle is...by the time I was finally leaving, I felt like I was adjusting.  It was like being on auditory overload.  And at night when I was alone in my bungalow it was down right scary to not know what in the world was creeping through the bushes just outside your window.  While I never saw what it was that was rustling around, I began to trust and find comfort in the sounds.  On this hike I tried to walk very slowing to see what all the racket was, but again, I was only left with sounds.

Self portrait at the waterfall

cute little waterfall

i loved the pattern that some insect had cut out of this leaf.

On Wednesday morning, my last morning, I woke up early (like 5am) to see the sunrise over the caribbean.  Being a born and raised west-coaster, it is such a novelty to think that the sun could rise OVER the ocean...funny how it looks exactly the same, just in reverse.

After one last yoga class with my new found traveling friends, Danielle the yoga teacher, and Kristina, I began to say my farewell to Samasati.

As I was down there I was reading The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, which was a fitting anthem to the end of my trip.  Just like the protagonist, I felt like I was leaving behind civilization and living out of my rucksack.  Though I realize I was partaking it some yoga, and eating some delicious food, not just beans from a can, I was in fact living out of my backpack, traveling light and for the first time ever traveling alone.  While I certainly missed the companionship of my dear partner Jon, there is something about traveling alone that in some ways allowed me to connect with new people and new experiences in a way that I don't normally.  Perhaps the insecurity of being alone allowed me to surge out of what is normally safe and protected to find new connections.

It was a beautiful experience and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunities I have had on this trip.  I will be posting more as I reflect on and decompress from the trip.  I will be writing a final paper for my class, most likely about gender roles, and will hopefully be sharing those thoughts and ideas with you.

Until then, have a buddha-ful day!  Om shanti, shanti, shanti!

sneak peak of the quince

Saturday was the big quince birthday party for my dear prima tica, Tiffany.  Much like the quinceanera of Mexico, this is a tradition that has been revived in Costa Rica in recent years.  It was an amazing evening, full of delicious food, music and entertainment.  It is common to pick a theme for the party.  For Tiffany's sister's quince 2 years ago, she had a theme of "Arabian Nights", so they had belly dancers and fire dancers.  I watched the video. =)  For Tiffany, the theme was "Master Queen", so she did a dance to "Dancing Queen" by Abba (in spanish) with her friends, and then a dance with her dad to "Mama Mia". 

This is me with Tiffany.  The dress I'm wearing is on loan from Tiffany's mother, Rosie.  Tiffany's dress is rented.  For most quinces and weddings, women usually rent their dresses instead of buying them, which makes sense.  Where else could she wear this??

To end the night, there is a "Carnival".  everyone puts on crowns, masks, mardi gras beads and for this evening we had these dancing men on stilts.  Quince is such a beautiful "rite of passage"...we seem to have a lack of those in our own culture.  FYI, men celebrate their equivalent to a quince at 18.

Sunday morning was filled with tearful good-byes to my tica familia.  I have been overwhelmed by their generosity, care and kindness.  I will miss them all so much, and have made promises to come back with Jon, especially we have nietos that they have to meet.

For now, I'm safely down here on the carribean coast, close to puerto viejo.  I'm soaking up some mellow vibes at Samasati...it is exactly the perfect ending to my stay in costa rica.  I have a darling bungalow, and the jungle sounds pulsate through the day and night.  Also included are 3 veggie meals a day...ahh, so blissful!! 

Okay, more to come when I reconnect to the real world on Wednesday.  Until then i'm yoga-ing in the jungle. Stateside on Thursday.  

a visit to san jose & escazu

On Tuesday we had a visit to San Jose and surrounding towns with Laura Guzman, the social work professor from University of Costa Rica.  We started out with lunch in the Mercado Central in downtown San Jose.  I suppose the most surprising part of the whole day was my reaction to being in downtown San Jose on the Avenida Central.  Back in 2006, when I first started working at Intercultura in Heredia, I would commute from Sabanilla by bus (close to San Pedro and the University), to downtown San Jose, walk about a mile to my other bus down the Avenida Central, and then catch my bus to Heredia.  An hour, hour and a half later, I'd arrive at work.  Everyday the most challenging part was walking the avenida central, clutching my messenger bag in front of me, avoiding eye contact, and trying desperately, and unsuccessfully to blend in.  When Laura Guzman put her small backpack on her front, for some reason all of a sudden I was thrust back into feeling totally unsafe again.  It was fascinating to watch my experience of feeling tightness in my chest and I noticed how insecure I felt.  

On this trip I read Eve Ensler's book Insecure at Last (thanks for the loan, Kirstin!)  It was nice to reflect on all her words of wisdom as I sat with my feelings of insecurity.  It made me realize how protected and safe I had felt throughout this trip, and what a contrast that was to how raw and vulnerable I had felt in 2006.  However, I think Eve Ensler is right, we "…find freedom, aliveness, and power not from what contains, locates, or protects us, but from what dissolves, reveals, and expands us."

 

After our lunch in the Mercado Central, we headed on a little tour.  We saw the "proyectos" of Hatillo, and how they had changed over the years, from the 60s to the 90s.  The government mandates that all "proyectos" have areas for kids to play.

Then we went to Escazu, also known as gringo-ville.  It is where the US ambassador lives, behind large gates and lots of protection (talk about security).  They have the Multiplaza, which is a mall like you'd find in any place in the US.  It really does feel like you're back in the US when you are there...good preparation for the reverse cultural shock that awaits me.  About less than a mile away, across a canyon are extremely poor neighborhoods.

It is always shocking to see poverty and wealth living in such close proximity without regard for equality.  This was a pretty stark contrast, but I know that it exists in the US as well, what neighborhoods can you think of where this happens near you?  What sort of conditions exist to allow this to continue?

Bajo Tejares

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to go back to the little neighborhood just outside of San Ramon, Bajo Tejares and visit the Centro Comunidad Cristiana.  It was amazing to hear the story of how they began.  It really started with a group of considered citizens in Costa Rica and the USA.  They new of this community and wanted to find a way to help, so they started an after school program for children, and from there it grew into the program it is today, advocating for the neighborhood rights, drug and alcohol programs, teen programs, and it continues to grow.  One of the huge accomplishments was getting the government to assist with creating sustainable housing, and now many of the inhabitants have new, but very humble homes.  Though there is not enough for everyone, and the majority still live in tugurios, or homes made completely of corrugated metal, with dirty floors.

And many people have taken to renting out their back yards.  Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, right?

While the poverty can seem overwhelming, I was amazed about all the great programs they had created, many by there own residents, including a Co-op, or Cooperativa.  In the Co-op they grow veggies for the community.  Many of the women who live in Bajo Tejares work there.

In the greenhouse I also met this darling little boy.  When I asked him, "como se llama usted?", he replied, "me llamo bebe"  Awww...so cute!!!  His older sister later told me, its actually "bebe andres", and her name was "dulce maria".  It seems spirit and hope are unstoppable, even in the midst of extreme poverty...how beautiful.

We had the opportunity to do some more arts and crafts with the kiddos.  Jenna was enjoying making tortugas with these ones.

We also had the opportunity to talk with the social worker there, Jessica.  Wow, talk about an amazingly dedicated individual.  Her job seems gargantuan.  Aside from the normal social work stuff, like organizing programs, working with families to get their basic needs met and doing counseling, she has worked within the legal system, advocating for housing rights, etc.  AND she does all the program management, from writing reports and managing the financial component...WOW!  Here is Jessica organizing all the students.

And of course, I couldn't resist to reunite with my friend, Karla.  As she was leaving she asked me when I was coming back again, aww, the heartbreak to explain I would not be back.  I had to recall to all my generalist practice class about terminations.  But we ended with good-byes and I told her how wonderful it was to meet her.  She had told me earlier that day how she wanted to be teacher, because she loved to read...I truly hope that her dreams come true.

This past weekend we had some time relax in Grecia.  We celebrated my papa tico's birthday, made it on a hike to the waterfalls, Los Chorros, watched the world cup (viva espana!), it was great!
How can you not love it here when you wake up to this view every morning, te amo, grecia.

Here is a darling pic of my teacher Ariana and her son Justin...both gorgeous.

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And some hiking pics from Los Chorros:

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Jenna y Mariya:

El bosque:

Coming up this week:

• visit is a poor neighborhood in san jose
• more spanish classes
• and tiffany's quincera on saturday! 

Hasta pronto bloggies!!

San Ramon

Today we had the opportunity to visit a community center in one of the poorer areas of San Ramon.  On the way there our guide told us that there are lots of Nicaraguans that live there, who are very poor, and as we probably know where there is poverty there are also problems with drugs and crime.  It is also a common opinion in the USA that poverty goes hand in hand with addiction or crime.  Yet, we rarely connect "white collar crime" or drug addiction to higher socio-economic classes.  However, it is blatantly clear that drugs and crime occur throughout our society, regardless of socio-economic status, yet, we are quick to scapegoat these types of problems as a linked to poverty.

I also had an interesting conversation with our professor from PSU, Alba.  In the past, she had asked the school where we are studying ACCE if would be possible to visit secular social service agencies.  Apparently that was a foreign idea to the school, and in fact, there are few if any social service agencies in Costa Rica that are without religious affiliation.  In fact, the Costa Rica government is Catholic itself!  Separation of church and state is non-existent, which has its benefits as draw backs as you can imagine.

So, the community center we visited today was religious based, and there was a church group there volunteering with the kids as well.  We did some arts and crafts with them.  Here is Mariya (from PSU) working with a charming, but timid girl.

We also had the opportunity to play some games with the kiddos.  They were so sweet, and appeared to be fully immersed in the experience of playing.  It doesn't seem to matter a person's background, kids all play the same. One sweet girl decided to stick by my side throughout all the games.  She hardly let go of my hand the whole time.

Tomorrow we are going back to play with them some more.  I sometimes question the value of being such a brief and possibly insignificant event in their lives, and whether that brings any sort of benefit to them.  However, when a sweet kiddo takes your hand and is ready to play, regardless of background, appearance, language skills, its difficult to repress my own desire to be there.  Obviously I am swayed by the benefits I experience, but what do you think...what do the kids really get out of it?  Is it of any sort of benefit to have such brief interactions?

Rancho Margot

I made it back to some familiar territory, just outside the national park at volcan arenal. Left hand photo is from 2006 trip with my parents, and right from 2010.

MUSADE

Last Thursday we visited MUSADE, which stands for Mujeres Unidas en Salud y Desarollo (Women United for Health and Development).  They were founded in 1986 by a group of women who worked in a community hospital that was called "Hospital sin Paredes" (hospital without borders).  The women working there found that female patients were coming to the hospital, not because of physical problems, but because of emotional problems, which mainly were rooted in experiencing some sort of violence, often domestic violence.  So, the women in the community clinic began to offer mental health services for women, and as a result women felt safe going there without being judged.

The director, Enid spent some time explaining their history and various programs.

The agency has 4 primary focuses:

1. Ending violence against women (violencia contra mujeres)
2. Human rights (derechos humanos)
3. Reproductive rights (derechos reproductivos)
4. Creating a feminist economy (la economia feminista)

Much of their work is focused on prevention.  One way that they do this is working with youth, primarily they said they prefer to work with younger kids to start addressing gender inequalities from the beginning.  Having worked in the schools providing prevention driven information, I thought it was awesome they were able to work with young kids around this topic, since in the U.S. it is often so taboo.  Usually the response I received from schools was either, we don't have that problem, OR if we start talking about it people may come forward and we don't have the resources to support them.  While Costa Rica is a country of 4.5 million people that only has 3 women's shelters, they are still making the effort to talk about it, so why can't we??
The education for youth is primarily focused on:

• Handling power
• Gender and sex
• Conflict management and creating a culture of peace 
• Constructing the male and female identity

MUSADE is an international agency that partners with other countries addressing gender inequalities, including El Salvador and Nicaragua.  They also work with the Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres, a government run organization. 

While MUSADE still provides crisis intervention for women who have been abused, so many of their programs are driven by a prevention attitude, which is something that is still catching on the U.S.A.  One activity that they do, which I thought was super interesting, is they ask children to draw pictures of their mother's job for mother's day.  Most of the pictures show women doing typical "ama de casa" (housewife) duties.  After that, they do some education with the kids and have them draw the pictures again, and the drawings change drastically.  The final product is pictures of their mother as powerful, smart, and in charge.  Then they display all the photos in San Jose to create more awareness about the inequalities and messages children receive around gender roles...so cool!

I also loved all the messages of equality they presented at the agency.

Though, I have to say this was my favorite, and probably the most thought provoking.  It reads "yo decido", or "I decide".  What do you all think??

After the presentation, we had the opportunity to do a little shopping in their store.  In order to create economic empowerment, many of the women they work with get training to make artisan items, so they can support themselves after leaving an abusive spouse.  This program is called REMOC, Red de Micro Productoras de Occidente (network of micro-producers of the west).

 After visiting Roble Alto, which took a pretty paternalistic attitude toward working with children and families, it was refreshing to see a truly grassroots organization inspired by the feminist movement.  It definitely made me think of all my beautiful coworkers at Mid-Valley Women's Crisis Service, and how amazing it is to have agency guided by anti-oppressive ideology.

So, whats on the agenda for this week:

• Lectures from social work professors from the University of Costa Rica
• Volunteer Work
• And more spanish class!!

This last weekend we visited Volcan Arenal...so beautiful!  It was difficult to pull myself out of the hot springs to come back to Grecia, but its great to be back with my host family!