12/1/2011

7:21pm

And so the culture shock continues...

Two hours drive later and I wouldn't have believed we were in Costa Rica if I hadn't already spent a week here.

But it's so different. As I write this, wind and rain are raging outside the window. I'm literally living in a cute little house on a hill in the middle of nowhere. Well, the town is called San Cristobal Norte, in the region of Los Santos, but it is nothing like a typical preconception of Costa Rica. It's a tiny little town where everyone seems to know everyone. Stray dogs wander the streets, which is pretty random. And the views are breath-taking. The mountain tips disappear into the clouds, and the hillsides look like something from a postcard, picture perfect.

I'm staying with the only other guy on the project, in a family that couldn't be more different from my home stay in Heredia. Mother, father, two teenage sons and a little girl of about 8 years. She is adorable, and the sons are currently playing video games with my Australian partner. It's a soccer game though, and I'm terrible at those.

We had our introduction to the project, it sounds like such an incredible experience for all involved. Tomorrow starts with a three day workshop , where we'll learn all the things we'll be teaching the children at the school.

The whole point of this project is to build a better community and educate them about recycling and environmental issues through the creative arts. Being a musician myself, I am so thrilled to be able to give kids the opportunity for a creative outlet that I literally do not think I would be alive without. I'll write more details on what we do as they happen, but just knowing the long-term differences we will hopefully make on these individuals, and the entire community and environment, has got me all excited, and feeling warm and fuzzy.

These weather conditions in particular are something fierce (I prepared for 'chilly', not 'blowing a gale'), but I'm keen for the challenge, and am more than ready to be thrown out of my comfort zone and into the deep end.