Expectations and Flexibility in Potrero

At the Omprakash Cross-Cultural Conference last week, two videographers interviewed me about volunteering through Omprakash and what it has meant to me. One of their questions was “If you could give future volunteers advice about volunteering abroad, what would it be?” My answer was that I would want volunteers to really consider their goals and realistic expectations for their experience before they and also to continuously monitor themselves in terms of whether they are achieving their goals and meeting their hopes for the short time they have in the community abroad. I have tried to take my own advice this summer and it has been interesting comparing my expectations and actual realities in Portero. A lot has gone as I expected or hoped, but a lot has also turned out differently than I thought. The following list includes some things that haven’t gone quite as expected:

Expectation: “I’m going to Costa Rica. I’m going to get to practice my Spanish skills all day long”

Reality: I came to Costa Rica to volunteer with Abriendo Mentes, a really organized, established non-profit that hosts tons of volunteers year round. While I chose AM because of its impressive programs and organization, so did many other English-speaking volunteers, some of whom have limited Spanish knowledge. I spend much of my day in the office with other English-speakers so I have not gotten the Spanish immersion I thought I would. Also, the programs I’m working on here are about English education so I work on the English curriculum in the office and am supposed to speak as much English in the classroom with the children and adults in class. In order to help me achieve goal of practicing my Spanish, I took some private Spanish lessons, which were really beneficial and overall, my Spanish has improved from talking in the community and taking the classes.

Expectation: “I’m going to a tropical country. Fresh fruit and smoothies are going to be cheap and plentiful!”

Reality:  I live in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica in a small beach community where rice and beans are much more available than fruit. There are small grocery stores with mangos, papayas and bananas, but they are more expensive than I expected and the closest fruit stand is a 20 minute walk.

Expectation: “I’m going to live near the beach. I’ll be able to go out hang out and swim all the time!”

Reality: I do live near the beach and I go regularly, but not nearly as much as I thought I would. Between meetings and classes during the week, I’ve been busy here. During the week I have to really make an effort and a plan if I want to make it to the beach. Many days I’ve been really busy, but have just run down to the beach to take a quick swim to cool off, which has been nice. The past two weeks (my last two weeks), I have gone to the beach every single day. This has been a challenge, but it’s been absolutely worth it!

These disappointments or different realities than I expected aren’t necessarily bad (and there have been tons of good surprises too!) but I think they show that when we come to volunteer, we need to be flexible and realize that not all of our expectations will be met. Another thing they make me realize is how hard a volunteer needs to work to make sure it’s the experience they want. For example, once I realized that I wouldn’t be speaking as much Spanish as I thought I would, I started taking some private Spanish lessons to improve my language skills. Nearly anything is possible to achieve when volunteering abroad, but it might take some work and dedication to fulfill both your work goals and personal goals during the time abroad. 

Celebrations in Potrero

For the most part, Potrero is a pretty quiet community and day to day volunteering doesn’t change much. Usually I get up pretty early (between 6 and 7:30) and head to the office to check email (the main form of communication between everyone at AM) and work on the curriculum or plan lessons for my adult classes. There are classes in the afternoons and sometimes volunteers get together at night or go to the beach to see the sunset. Most of the members of the communities go to work or are at home during the day. A big soccer game sometimes happens on the plaza during the weekend and that’s generally the biggest party around. People enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and spend time with each other.

However, a few days out of my time in Potrero have been really exciting because of celebrations or activities that have been going on here. I’m a little behind on writing since some happened a while ago, but I’ll write briefly about each of them and add some pictures of each event.

Día de la Patrona de Potrero

In July, Potrero celebrated their patron saint. During a four-day period, there was a parade and special masses and decorations in the church. For the most part, there not too much seemed different during the day, but I ended up being part of the parade one of the days. The community members had told us there would be a parade starting at the school so I headed over there to see if I could find the festivities. The parade was one truck that had been decorated by one of the moms and the statue of the saint was carried onto the float. All of the kids and some of the parents got on the truck too and they invited me along. Curious to see what it was all about, I jumped in the truck too. The truck carried us around the square and then out onto a few roads to reach the families that don’t live right in town. A few hundred feet from the square on the way back, we met the priest and people brought the statue off of the truck. They then walked the rest of the way back to the church with the priest reciting prayers along the way. The kids had a great time throwing candy to people watching along the road and to any children in the houses that we passed. I’m really glad that I caught the parade and got to go with the kids because the one float would have been easy to miss since it left town for most of the route. Once the statue was taken into the church, mass started (I think), but I left the parade at that point to go watch our Abriendo Mentes children be filmed by the CNN crew that was in town that day.

I did go to the Catholic church the next day to see what the mass was like. I went with another volunteer and we weren't quite sure what was going on for parts of it. The group sang very joyous songs (something like Let God come in, and then God is Here) and then began praying in partners. Becca and I were each picked up with two Costa Rican women and joined in their circles. We definitely weren't quite sure what was going on the whole time, but it was a nice way to see a different part of life in Potrero and to learn about one of the very important celebrations for the people here.

Carerras de Cinta

On Sunday, horses and riders started showing up early in the morning and staked out places around the plaza. By mid-morning, there were horses all around the square and flags had been set up on one of the sides of the plaza where the races would take place. Once the races got underway, people came out to see the horses run down the dusty road with the riders trying to put a stick through a small ring strung across the road. Two horses and riders started sprinting down the road and then the riders had to ride one handed using their other hand to try to point their stick perfectly to capture the ring. If they did get a ring (which was pretty unlikely), they then had to keep the stick upright so that the ring didn’t fall to the ground. It was pretty crazy to watch and really incredible to see the riders that did manage to get a ring down. These races are held all over Guanacaste in different cities with different levels of competition. Many people from town came out to see the races and food was sold all around the plaza too. It was a really fun afternoon!

Guanacaste Day

On July 25, the province of Guanacaste celebrations it’s annexation from Nicaragua in 1824. Much of the celebration occurred in Liberia (formerly named Guanacaste), the capital of the province. We almost went to Liberia to see the horse parades, typical dances, and bull riding, but instead we stayed in Potrero and watched the children in the town’s parade. School wasn’t in session, but all of the children had to attend the parade in their uniforms or traditional dress. The school band led everyone around the plaza a few times for Portrero’s celebration of the holiday. It was fun to see which of the AM kids played in the band and some of kids dressed up in their traditional colorful skirts.

These celebrations are nice additions to the more regular days we have in Potrero. They’ve allowed me to learn more about the important celebrations for the families that we serve in the community and how they celebrate. All of the events centered around coming out to the plaza and spending time with family and friends on special days of the year.

Where has the time gone?

In four days, I will be on a plane back to Philadelphia. I’m amazed at how fast my time volunteering in Costa Rica has gone. I’m not quite sure how I feel about going back home but I do know that 3 months is an entirely too short of a time to really get to know understand a community abroad. I feel like I just got here even though I’ve been here for two and a half months. Yes, most of the faces I pass as I walk to the AM office are familiar now and many of the kids wave or stop to say hi when they are outside playing. Just today one of the girls in preschool eagerly told her big brother “Ella es mi maestra!” (she’s my teacher!) as she pointed to me walking by.  However, I still have a lot to learn about the Costa Rican culture and I’m really just getting accustomed to the slow way of life here. There’s still much to learn:

I want to learn about the education system here and how people make a living in Portero.

I want to know more about the Nicaraguans’ lives before they came to Portrero.

I want to learn how to cook Costa Rican food.

I want to spend more time teaching English to the kids.

I want to teach more English lessons to my adult students.

I want to keep teaching my host mom how to use a computer.

I want to see more monkeys in the trees and I want more days hanging out with other volunteers at the beach.

Last week, after traveling for nearly two weeks, I was really ready to go back to the U.S. I was tired of living in hostels and wandering new cities every day. I was ready to eat my own food again, have hot showers all the time, and be completely understood every time I opened my mouth. Now that I’ve been back in Portero for a few days, that’s completely changed. I’m not ready to leave at all- partly because of all of the things I listed above, but also because there are so many things I’d like to help AM with too. I’m finishing up my projects here and am excited about bringing my experiences with Omprakash and AM back to my own community, but I’ll definitely be sad to goodbye to this sleepy little town on the coast in Costa Rica.

Some things I’ll miss:

                Smiling children singing “The Wheels on the Bus” and “The Hokey Pokey” in class

                Adult English students working so hard to learn a very confusing language (why is glass part of a

                                window and what you drink from, why do read and red sound the same, etc.?)

                Beach sunsets

                Warm weather

                Monday staff meetings where we talk about all of the events of the week

                Fun Fridays with the kids

                Speaking Spanish

                Passing soccer games on the plaza

                Having everything I need within walking distance

                Casados

               

Some things I’m pretty excited about having again in the US:
                Hot showers!

                A lack of everything being covered in dust

                My car / being able to get around

                My job and getting to share my summer with my students

                Friends back home

                My own food

                Paved roads

Although I think it’s possible to have a very rewarding experience in just a month or two for some people, I really would have liked to stay longer. However, in my time here I’ve learned a lot about rural education, beliefs and values of families here, and issues they face. I want to continue thinking about how volunteering abroad can be made as beneficial to both the volunteer and community members as possible and how to continue spreading the word about the wonderful opportunities Omprakash has to offer.