Well, ive been here three days now, and am having a lovely time. As I believe that having gratitude keeps us grounded and present in the moments of our lives, let me start my CR journaling by sharing a few things I am thankful for here.
#1: I have a lovely host family here – a single mom and her adolescent son. Maritza has lived in this home for almost twenty years and knows everyone in town. On my second morning here, we walked to the nearby university, then walked the town so she could show me where everything is. She also kindly introduced me to the neighbors. Several of the neighbors were quick to invite us in for drinks, snacks, and conversation; so much so that by the time it was lunch, I was still full from the wonderful juices and snacks I had been having all morning. I thought that was a really thoughtful and nice way to quickly get me feeling comfortable here.
#2: It seems as though there are much fewer mosquitoes and biting things et al in this small town than in Santo Domingo (guess its also possible that im just desensitized now). Either way, its great to not have to use so much bug spray! Ive come across a few spiders in my room. If you’ve known me for awhile, you’d know that previously, this would have been a problem. Indeed, I am making a conscious effort to be in harmony with the spiders, and thankful that they probably eat some of the even less desirable bugs in my room. Its hard when im face to legs with one, though; and that moment is a very active one for me, sometimes involving deep breathing, prayer to GOD, and closing my eyes (not always in that order). So far, so good.
#3: The neighbor from Jersey. Yesterday, on our way out, we ran into another one of Martiza’s neighbors. We chit-chatted in Spanish about how things were going, how my Spanish is coming along, about Santo Domingo, the weather, that kind of stuff. Then, he asked where I was from, and I said ‘Soy de los Estados Unidos,’ and he said where in the states, and I said (in my usual semi-grammatically correct way), ‘una ciudad se llama Baltimore, cerca de Washington D.C., la capital’ and he said in the most perfect Sopranos accent ive heard in months, ‘yeah I know it, I’m from Jersey.’ I cracked up (inside). Anyway, turns out that the neighbor from Jersey has WiFi (sweet!)which ive offered to pay him to have access to. Though I wanted to unplug from technology a little during this sabbatical, I really do need more consistent internet access now for job hunting and to do more research for my book.
#4: Of course, I can not be in a place like Costa Rica and not be thankful for being on sabbatical in a place with such an amazing backdrop. Beach bum that I am, and as much as I love the water, I must say, the mountains here are just pristine – majestic. Im not yet in water-withdrawl :). The flowers are brilliant, and I cant wait to see more of the landscapes here (the rainforests, the beaches, the volcanoes). As my last sunburn/tan wears off, im also thankful that it’s been a little cloudy ‘up here’ the last few days.
That’s all for now. I’ll post a few of the pics ive taken here. ciao….
jt
