That's what it feels like being back in old Santa Rosa. In 2005, some of these girls and I started a soccer team. I also taught English at the school behind us.
One of my favourite students was Wilmer. The kids called him "jirafa" (giraffe) because of his long neck, and I think we bonded over our physical similarity..
Nat and I came back in 2008 for a visit and played a long hot soccer game with the kids. Here she is with Wilmer and his cousin Kevin, and another little cousin of theirs.
The sweaty boys..
On Sunday, Ina and I walked the familiar road to Santa Rosa. It was so surreal. This was the 'pulperia' where I used to get my groceries...
The school... (mostly the same)...
And this is Wilmer and Kevin. They are both finishing up high school. Wilmer is hoping to study chemical engineering in university, and Kevin wants to study civil engineering. Last night I helped them study for their English final.
I've kept in touch a bit with these two, but lost contact with the other students I had. It's been bizarre walking to town, meandering through the grocery store, driving Sarah to and from school, and seeing these vaguely familiar faces that are now basically adults. One former student I recognized in the grocery store was at least 6 months pregnant. A lot of the kids have moved away, to better schools and bigger cities, and a lot of things have changed in Santa Rosa -- there is an internet cafe (would've killed for that in 2005), a big-ish grocery store, and the bridge over the currently-dry river doesn't have huge holes in it anymore. But overall things still look just the same as when I left 8 years ago. And I feel mostly the same as I did 8 years ago. So it's weird that the kids have changed and grown up and aren't the same.
I had a total grandma moment last night, when I asked Wilmer if he could write down his address so I could mail him the photos we took. Then an ingenious thought crossed my mind and I asked if he had .... (drumroll) an e.mail address. He laughed and said uhhhh, of course he had an e.mail address, did I have facebook? And he promptly pulled out his phone, looked me up, and added me. Technology is crazy and makes the world feel so much smaller, which I like.
One thing I forgot about living here 8 years ago is how vibrant the neighbours are. The house I'm in is enormous and yellow, sits on a hillside, and is surrounded by scrappy, typical Costa Rican shanties or small cement homes. Most of the inhabitants of the homes on the hill to the left are family or know each other well, so there is constant yelling up and down the hill... (translated for your convenience)
"MANUEL!" (silence) "MAAAANUEL!" "WHAT??" "DO YOU NEED SOME RICE? " WHAT???" "DO! YOU! NEED! RICE???" "YES! GET 3 BAGS!" "WHAT?" "THREEEEE! BAAAAAGS!" "OKAY!"
It's like the Costa Rican version of my family.
On the other side, there's some very dry forest, and an Aztec-ish looking home of an old American white guy, who LOVES singing karaoke. From early in the morning til late at night, he has the music playing and is singing loudly and slightly off tune. We've enjoyed such classics as 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', Sinatra's 'My Way', and several love ballads from Elvis. On top of this there is some kind of dog pack living nearby that yelps and howls every 5 or 10 minutes and occasionally sounds like they are killing one of the less popular canine members. There are cat fights, parrots squawking, kids wailing after being punished, and chickens clucking. From 2am in the morning on, there are a few demented roosters that crow very loudly. This morning one was incorporated into my dream of a hurt child screaming "MAAAMAAA"... that was weird.
This morning the car stalled only 4 times getting Sarah to school, and I was relieved to park it in the driveway and know that I would not have to go near it again. We're taking several buses back to Corral de Piedra tonight and have 2 intense days of presentations before the last weekend at the base, and then making our way to San Jose to depart.
Miss all of you greatly! Will write more from the base.
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