So much about my life now strikes me as bizarre and
completely random. The seating
arrangement in my new house goes as such: one, the corner piece of a couch set
that has two gaping holes in the upholstery that I’m pretty sure I found a rat
bone in, two, the dilapidated reject chair from a local high school which was
on its way out, and three, a fold-up beach lounger from ‘Mundo Magico’, shit
you not, there is a store named magic world. The way I managed to scrounge up
the seating for my new house probably pretty accurately depicts how I have met
some of the most awesome people in my life over the past year, a series of
random happenings that leads to something unexpected but worthwhile. Peace Corps points a random finger on the
globe and off you go. Then more finger pointing at maps and boom you’re living
in the hottest region in Costa Rica that looks more like the African savannah
than the rain forests touted on post cards. Then last but not least Peace Corps
gifts you a host family and you’re in it for better or for worse.
If Peace Corps has taught me anything it’s to
be open to meeting friends in odd places; be it at 4 a.m. in a hostel when
you’re scrounging around for ibuprofen for a splitting headache or when you are
supposed to be some place in less than an hour and it’s more than a two hour
hike and some kind soul offers you a ride.
Yes, perhaps these situations have potential for you to be abducted but
instead your instincts tell you this stranger is a-okay, so why not? Similar to my hodgepodge seating I have
accumulated a range of worthwhile friendships in my first year here in Costa
Rica. Some of these friends were gifted
to me, such as the awesome group of volunteers from training, but most were
happenstances from a random gringa being plopped down in the middle of the
campo in the part of Costa Rica most tourists zip past in their air conditioned
cars. So yes my life is “random” but
I’ve come to really enjoy it and am thankful that living abroad has helped me
break out of certain monotonies and encounter people from all walks of life.
Guardia
I live where the road turns to dirt,
and my bike wheels bump over dusty stones.
My home has a zinc roof
that turns into a mirage at the hottest part of the day.
We sit in the yard
during the omnipresent mid-day heat.
Everything slows, and swings on hammocks.
High school students dance the mambo
and their clothes sticks heavy to skin.
I live on a street where everyone
is brother, sister, cousin, or mother.
