The volunteer quarter makes me feel like a chicken kept in a chicken cage. While there are
actual walls defining each room, there are no fully enclosed walls separating
the inside from the outside. The
wall-like barriers are roughly three feet tall, with bamboo sticks tall enough
to reach the ceiling to fill the void every 8 to 12 inches or so. I later learned that the bamboo sticks
were an after thought. The word on the trail is that the Nicaraguan day
laborers come to CR to do the jobs that the locals don’t want to do (ie
construction) and are often accused of stealing stuff in and around
neighborhood. Apparently, the volunteer quarter experienced some theft in the past, hence the attempt to enclose the quarter. The pitched roof and
overhang were also made from bamboo sticks. The space, as far as I could see, was full of lines made
from bamboo sticks and I couldn’t help but feel trapped in a cage.
A creek meanders behind the volunteer quarter, right next to
my “window.” The melodic sound of
water flows downstream without ever missing a beat. Idyllic as it may seem, I was weary of the mossy
situation. When I approached the bed with some sheets after being shown this as my space, I noticed trails of ants
and tiny spiders were busying themselves on the mattress to who knows where. With a big sigh, I brushed them off as
much as I could and hoped for the possibility of not getting eaten alive. Hung above the bed was an old mosquito
net, so old and worn that it had big holes in them. At least I came prepared…so I thought. I slide the old one aside and set up my
own. I came to find out that night that sleeping in a mosquito net diminishes air flow and could be somewhat
suffocating.
