 |
| Mi casa |
As
I type I’m actually living back in gringo-ville. We left our families on the 17th
and quickly took over the station once more! I love living with my friends
again (it’s kind of like summer camp, and who doesn’t love summer camp?) but I
really miss my family. I spent my last week riding around all of Monteverde and
learning about the behind the scenes action that goes into making tourists
happy. Things get really complicated when people cancel horse tours last
minute—don’t ever do this if you can help it. You cause many
people a great inconvenience—and money. I also got to see how tight-knit the
community of Monteverde really is. One day we were supposed to take a family of
9 on a tour, and although Cristobál has 13 horses, 7 of them are off in some
mystery pasture that I never got to see. In order to accommodate this family of
9, Cristobál called on cousins and friends—instantly his horse herd grew to 11.
Another day, while already on a tour, Cristobál got a call saying that there
was going to be another tour that afternoon. These tourists wanted to
their tour at the exact time we were supposed to finish the tour we were
currently leading. From horseback, Cristobál organized the gathering and
saddling of his three other horses by a friend.
 |
| That's my host dad, and the lead horse is Pamela. That rope is connected to my HAND. |
After dropping off the tired
horses we had just used, we swung by this mystery friend’s house, where the 3
horses were waiting in the front yard. Cristobál tied the horses together,
reins to tail, and passed the reins of the lead horse to me. Cristobál drove
and from the back of the 4-wheeler I towed the horses. It was a bit like
walking a dog (that was never trained by Jim Berglund) with one of those
retractable leashes—your arm gets jerked all around, and you’re constantly
taking in and letting out the leash, I mean, reins. Oh and the “dogs” weighs
somewhere around 2,500 lbs collectively.
Once
again I found myself using the phrase that has become a common part of my
vocabulary this semester—this is not real life.
 |
| I was sitting on this |
On
a different horse adventure, I found myself riding with a Vietnam veteran from
who was truly a global citizen (Cristobál was there too, although he kept trying to get me to guide the tours by myself--it was his favorite joke). The man’s father had worked for the US State
Department, and he had spent his first 18 years of life living in 7 different
countries! He spoke English and Spanish fluently, so most of the ride took place
in hilarious Spanglish. He was convinced that I needed to marry his son,
and both he and Cristobál found hilarity in my refusal; “Los novios son
demasiado trabajo.”
 |
| Looking out over the Pacific Ocean |
 |
| If I was a tour guide, all my ponies would be pretty! |
I
spent my last week with the family, playing with (read: getting bossed around
by) Christopher and bonding with Elieth and Katerine over Combate. Combate is
my new favorite TV show—it’s like if the Real World: Road Rules and Wipe out had a baby—that would be this show. It’s hilarious and a great way to
learn Spanish! I’m hoping that I get to see them this week, and maybe even go
with Cristobál on a tour tomorrow. But it’s also finals week around here, and
balancing my two lives here isn’t easy…the horses win every time!
The thing that
really shook me about leaving is how close my semester here is to ending. I can
remember so vividly the anticipation with which I looked forward to traveling
here, thinking when I arrived how far off my homestay sounded. I have really
grown to love this place, and all the people here. The 22 people that were complete
strangers in August have become an extension of my family in a few short
months, and saying goodbye to them is going to be extremely difficult. But, I’m
thankful for technology. As exasperating as it can be, however detrimental to
society the experts say it is, I am grateful it will enable me to stay in
contact with my friends from here with ease. Even my host cousin and I are
facebook friends! However, speaking of technology…
We
have approximately a week left here in Monteverde, and then we hike to the Arenal Volcano, take a bus to San Jose, and go our separate ways on December 1st.
I’ll fly to Belize with my friend Hannah on the 3rd, and I have no
idea what the internet situation will be there. I’ve been told that at the
Manatee Sanctuary where I’ll live there is enough to check e-mail occasionally,
but probably not enough for facebook, and definitely not enough to upload blog
posts and photos. There might be an internet café in town? There might be a
touristy place with some wifi? But it’s the Caribbean coast, life is pretty
Pura Vida, and I’m expecting little to no internet. So, this is probably the
last post for awhile, but I promise to share details when I’m back in the grand ol’ U.S. of A!
 |
| This is my puppy. He's a 6-month old Boxer-Rottweiler mix. Dad you would have been obsessed with him! |
No comments:
Post a Comment