5 new volunteers get in tomorrow. The 2 who were here when I arrived (2 girls, from Canada and England) left this weekend. I feel like I am finally getting into a good position with the staff. I feel like because so many people pass through, everyone here is a bit reticent about making friendships, and so just having been here for a while and having a while left is what I need to form relationships. It´s also interesting interacting more in Spanish...I feel like I´m in middle school again, where I wasn´t exactly shy, but just didn´t have the first idea of how to make small talk. Also, Tico slang.
Got my first tip of $10 from a tour...nice! Pretty unexpected, considering that I only did half of it and the people were quite-mmm-pushy, maybe is the word. Louis, the grandfather, was on the news lately over an issue of closing off some of the property with a fence and more building which the neighbors (mostly squatters) are really unhappy with. Last week was entirely crazy with running around doing a PR job on that, so hopefully this week I´ll be able to move along with my projects. It´s looking right now like the Arryos are going to have me work on the entrance, painting a couple of signs and looking at ways to try to make the gate and general entrance from the road more attractive. I´m reading a lot and writing at least a page a day, which adds up nicely. But I find I´m not that worried about ¨productivity¨, partly probably because figuring out the social scene is project enough, and partly because now I´ve moved on a bit to thinking about stuff to do back in St Andrew´s (job? auditing classes? theatre company? street theatre?). I find myself quite content at the moment. We´ll see what the arrival of new volunteers does.
Still not sure how I feel about volunteering in the 3rd world, or animal rescue, or ecotourism. The road to hell and all that. There´s got to be a way to make it all WORK.
Reaggeton is good. Cahuita rum is not really, although I´m not a rum person so I´m biased. Sloths are good. Tourists are at least interesting. Adam Sandler is perhaps not as deplorable an actor as I once believed. The book Darkmans by Nicola Barker is awesome so far. I wish I could live everywhere at once, always.
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3 comments:
Thanks for the post, Brian. I always feel I have more of a handle on what you're doing and how you're feeling about stuff after I've read one. Living everywhere all at once, huh? I can see that in you.
Small talk in Spanish. Ummm, interesting. There is always "de donde eres, y como llegaste aqui de todos lugares?" What you really need are a few good questions to get the other person talking! Maybe other blog readers have good one-liners to get strangers to talk? Good luck... Dad
Thanks for the posts... Eventhough they are few, I still get a good idea of your doings. 3rd world? I think of CR as "developing"...
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