Baby Alonso

While feeling crappy and recovering on the 4^th of July from my fun experience with food poisoning.  It taking me three hours to eat my breakfast, baby Alonso  was my entertainment.  He truly is one of the cutest babies ever and fills my heart with laughter.  He has discovered the noises his mouth can make and uses them to his fullest.  He does this thing where he seems like he is clearing his throat and an elephant sound as well.  He is quite the little mimic and can almost redo any noise you make, pa, ma, ca, etc.  it’s quite the entertainment!  He also about flew off the couch and I almost crapped my pants for the second time that day.  He made a fake out which I jumped at and than did a real one which I still jumped at luckily almost had a heart attack that followed. 

He is such a fun baby and it’s fun to see a baby changing everyday.  I know so many friends and family back home with their babies or about to have their babies and it makes me think them and all of the exciting times that lay ahead.  I can’t wait to see them all when I return home!!!!  It’s incredible how fast time flies and what comes with that fast paced journey.  

Send Off Dinner

Friday afternoon was filled with rain.  Glenn, Sam and I went to my cabina where we had tea  and reminisced over the last few months spent together.  We watched a movie on my laptop called Righteous Kill, we aren't sure if we liked it or not.  

From there we separated to get ready for the evening.  While everyone in the states was getting ready to celebrate the 4^th of July, I was sending off my friends back to England.  We went into Puerto Viejo and had some cocktails.  We waited for Glenn’s co-worker Lauren (another volunteer from the States) and ended up deciding to stay at Chile Rojo (a local favorite of ours).  We were there for countless hours having a great time and chatting the evening away.

It was a sad night as we realized that it was the last time the three of us would ever be in a room together.  We hugged good bye and I wished them well on their way to Pacuare where they would be doing a week’s volunteer work on a turtle project.  

When they return to England they will begin University in the fall.  It was nice to spend time with them and get to know them.  I am excited to see what becomes of them in the following years and hopefully will stay in touch.  

That night I woke at 3:30 in the morning sweating and with a strong urge to throw up.  I ended up throwing up for an hour straight, fever and all.  It was the worst feeling ever!  I am now convinced of food poisoning as I couldn’t keep anything down and had a strong fever.  I am also now convinced that among food, I will also being staying away from mix cocktails with fruit and ice.  Most of the restaurants in town I am afraid can’t be trusted with those sorts of things.  

Local Tradition

A popular fruit in this region is the Mango.  Now, I guess this is my first time really having mangos.  I am used to mango flavoring and have always enjoyed the flavor.  The fruit I am not so sure of.  

A local traditional way of eating mango's is to eat them with vinegar and salt.  Jorge made some the other day, but with lemon instead of vinegar.  I am still not quite sure how I feel about it.  Sometimes I liked it and others I didn't.  I had two kinds, one that was not as ripe and another that was ripper so I guess the same kind really.  Still undecided, at first I liked the ones that weren't ripe the best, but towards the end I shifted and like the ripper ones more... SOoo not sure where I stand with the mangos.  

Tea Time

An English tradition that has been brought to my little cabina in Cahuita is the socialization over tea.  At least a few times a week we have started to make tea on my nice little stove.  Sam’s father brought over three kinds of tea with him.  Traditionally the English but milk in their tea and serve it with biscuits or as we would call cookies.  There are some phrases I simply can’t get used to which is the usage of crips and chips… I honestly still can’t tell you which one is French Frie and which one is chips… it confuses me!!

Typically the boys sit in the hammocks and tell stupid stories and I sit in the middle on the wooden bench.  We have had many laughs here.  There are a lot of games played such as “what would you do if…..”  It’s amazing how creative we can get.  

The boys are disgusted by the tea in this country.  Truthfully I can't tell the difference between good tea and bad tea, but shhh don't tell them that!  

Dance Off

Having two local bars in Cahuita, the competition between the two gets high.  The local bar on the main high way has been drawing quite a bit of attention lately.  The owner of the bar on the highway, mind you a large drug dealer who just go out of jail (how comforting) has been throwing concerts, competitions, etc.  This bar typically has been the spot for locals to attend where the other bar has drawn more tourists.  Cahuita is a center point for many people coming from Limon (a larger city towards the north) and Puerto Viejo (a town towards the south), a perfect stopping point.   

This past Friday night Aires (the bar on the highway) threw a dance competition.  When the evening started at around 9 o’clock, I was already ready to go home!  The dance competition intrigued us since there was a local boy dancing that we knew.  The competition was supposed to start at 9, than 10;30, than 12, than 1:30.  SOOOO I was tired when the damn thing finally started. 

It was the birthday of a girl in town, who originally had come to Cahuita as a volunteer and is now set to be married next year.  Amazing how many foreigners meant to stay for only three months…  Soo far there is no local love development on my end… No worries family!  So while we were waiting for the competition and to begin shots of sambuca were being passed around. This was my first time with sambuca and I don't typically take shots, but I can't be a party pooper!!  But oh boy does the just clear the system right on up!!!

The moment of the evening commenced.  Needless to say, being the only white girl in this club and rather conservative, I about shit my pants seeing these kids dance.  It was and I am not exaggerating 15 to 17 year old girls and boys dancing.  Now there were four groups total, two groups of guys and two groups of girls.  The girls were wearing practically no clothing and had quite the provocative dance moves.  I was ashamed to be there and actually had to step outside.  I was embarrassed to be seen watching the dancing going on.  I felt like such a pervert and what was worse surrounded by men who could be their dads cheering them on and shouting at them.  It’s one thing to do activities around your own peers and it’s another in the environment we were in.  I was disgusted, some cultural differences will never change or be accepted.  It's easy to see how some cultures don't advance as well, seeing the environments they were in it's not wonder these girls are pregnant at 15 and 17.  Hard to watch.  I will give the dance groups the benefit of the doubt, for having guts to get up there in front of people and dance their hearts out.  They all tried their best and put forth a lot of effort, in that sense it was fun to watch them work so hard to win!  

Nonetheless a good evening with friends and interesting one at that.  Never a dull moment!

Work Work Work

Lately there hasn't been much time for soul searching and reflection.  Luckily I have been able to pick up a few more shifts and have been working 8 hour days!!!  It is nice to get a few more shifts in and be making a few more dollars a day...  It makes life not that exciting but it's nice since my funds are running low.  

I have taken to going to the beach between shifts and reading and relaxing.  I never realized how much the ocean truly cleanses my soul.  I literally could be having the worst day ever, see the ocean and it restores everything.  Not that I have had that bad of a day here because truthfully I haven't!  

It has however made me consider if living away from the ocean is something I want to do right now.  It seems to do wonders for me!!  Just a thought, maybe that will help me determine my next destination, because lord knows that is a slow process for me!  Time will tell, for now it works perfectly.  I work 8 to 12 and than 4 to 8.  It's nice to get able to have a break in the middle and get some beach time and time in the sun.  Otherwise I think I would go nuts without that special day break!!

And Another One Bites the Dust

It's been a while since I last wrote, nothing has really been going on here.  

Scott made a return visit to Cahuita before returning to work in the States.  It was nice seeing as how he had a rental car and we were able to move around easier up and down the coast.  We jumped in the car and headed on down to Puerto Viejo.  After driving for a while we ended up in Punta Uva, a beach that in January we had come to love.  It was very secluded and isolated, the waters overtook dead coral where birds would sit and play.  

I had forgotten how much the beaches had changed during that time and how much at the same time they hadn't.  The beach now was quite long where you could in fact walk for a while.  The ocean itself, changes whenever it feels like it!  

Now, when we were at this beach in January the surf was quite strong.  You had to get out past the break in order to not get smashed by the waves.  Mom had a little bit of a struggle figuring this out where in fact the break ended.  In fact one time as I was laying out and watching mom in the waves, I heard her calling out "Alex, Alex is this how far I go."  Right as she was yelling Alex's name I said, I think mom is calling you but I am not sure.  Alex sat up and right than a huge wave came up from behind and I said "uh oh" and bam it took out mom.  It was the funniest thing I had ever seen, so funny I could not stop laughing about it and still can't!! It was priceless.

Well as I am telling Scott and Glenn this story, of course laughing my ass off, I got taken out by a wave.  For this particular moment I thought it was funny.  You know ha ha karma.  As I was getting out a second time, I got taken down and bad.  This was not a funny wave and I have been fearful of going into the water since!!  I was literally smashed into the sand, I couldn't get up, and my swimsuit had come off.  I kept getting knocked back under, I literally had sand everywhere.... everywhere!!  The waves and the sand left a huge bruise and scratches on my back while everyone in the entire world saw my hair in disarray and my struggle to replace my swimsuit to it's proper position.  I looked like I had been hit by a sand storm and I couldn't get any of it off!! 

I was not a very unhappy camper when I came out onto the sand and was very pouty....  All in all I survived... but barely!!! I guess lesson learned the beach hears everything you say and when making a joke upon others beware!! Never turn your back on a wave!!!!

I did manage a beautiful picture though!  One good thing from that trip!