Upon further conversations about food we have discovered that in reality most of the volunteers in the past paid $10.00 a day for food, which included meat. I guess Steve had a conversation with the owners prior to us coming here and somehow waived that fee. So technically if they agreed to waive the free, yes they should probably provide us with meat. But at the same time I understand now that this isn't something they have done before with volunteers so it is new and awkward for them too. I think in the end the lesson is that communcation is really important. For one, Steve talked with the owners about all of the details of the lodge so all of my expectations were from Steve's word and I don't know what was actually discussed between them. Details may have been mixed up or exceptions were made but not fully understood. I also had a conversation with one of the owners today about my expecations when they are gone...which include working with all of the guests and helping them feel comfortable. While I may be doing some odd jobs here and there as well including cleaning it is important for me to understand the expecations of what the lodge should look like and also to put in some hard work with the local workers so that they can see that I have a good work ethic so that they can respect me more when the owners are gone.
I think that having these conversations today leads me back to my blog earlier today about things I want to improve. And a huge one I forgot is communication. Communication, being clear with what I want and what my expectations are, and being willing to ask questions when I am unsure. Sure this can make things awkward sometimes, but I think it is better to have your facts straight rather than be upset about something you don't have the full picture of. I think that communicating more clearly with others will not only help my relationships in work but also with family, friends and my husband. Throughout this journey Steve and I have ran into a quite a few "situations" or arguments because he becomes frustrated that I can't (or don't) communicate what I want clearly. For example, sometimes when I am hungry, I'll ask if he is hungry...and when he says no, 10 minutes later I'll see a store say, subway and I really want it, so I'll ask if he wants subway...even though he just said he wasn't hungry. Instead of clearly communicating I am hungry and want subway for some reason I "beat around the bush" and ask in weird ways that end up causing frustrations and communication problems. How do I fix this? Not sure. At least I am aware of it...and will focus on trying not to do it or at least acknowledging when I do and apologizing (which can be hard sometimes once he is frustrated). But truly I think if I focus my number one self improvement goal on good, clear communication it will impact all different aspects of my life. So here we are now, at this beautiful lodge with lovely owners who are kind and generous in other ways such as advice, friendship, conversation, helping teach us how to cook, providing us with cooked meals a lot of nights and allowing us to be a part of their family for a few weeks. In the end I am grateful for the opportunity they have given me, and while their have been compromises and communication errors along the way we are slowly beginning to understand each other better. All it takes is clear communication and no assumptions and everyone will be happy :)
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Today I took some time to reflect on my experiences here. Working on one one with people in a peaceful quiet environment full of hummingbirds, rivers, tropical trees and waterfalls has given me some perspective on things I want to change about myself. Yes, they are things that I always want to change about myself but watching others here interact with each other gives me insight into characteristics I know I display myself that I am not proud of. Watching others act in a way that makes me feel negative and then realizing I act that way myself a lot of the time is hard. It's hard because no one likes to admit their faults or realize how poor they look to others at times. Some of the things I want to change based on my reflections include keeping my negative thoughts to myself (and hopefully one day they will go away!), not criticizing others, acknowledging others work and not complaining as much. I know I am a complainer...I always have been. But I realize more than ever that this is something I really need to change. Hopefully if I change my words, eventually my thoughts will change and my entire perspective will change. Working with others here has not only made me think of the negative things I want to change about myself but also positive aspects I see in others that I hope one day others will see in me. Some of these things include being more easy going and fun, going more with the flow and having a good attitude all the time....even when others may have a negative attitude towards me. All of these thoughts got me thinking about how I want to be remembered one day when others think of me, and I plan to continue to reflect on that thought and the things I want to improve in myself.
For those of you who don't know me. I'm the worlds pickiest eater. My meals of choice back home consist of chicken fingers & fries, hamburger (plain),grilled chicken bagels, some fruit, restricted veggies, etc. I'm very picky about what I like, and not just taste but also looks & texture...meaning if it's chicken with bones in I probably won't want it. I like my food to be clean, no evidence of it being an animal and plain. I order my subs at subway with no sauce or veggies and everyone there thinks I'm crazy. Thats been my life for the last 26 years. I went on a yoga retreat (2x now) with my dad and started to open up to other food there as we were trying to be very healthy and I decided it was time for me to open up to veggies. During those trips I did add a few food to my "Okay" list. Coming to Costa Rica I was terrified. For one, I don't like fish, or rice or beans! So what am I going to eat??? Just in case it was as terrible as I feared I packed protein powder, granola bars, etc. :)
Well...the places we went out to so far had lots of options. I could get chicken almost anywhere. All the restaurants have traditional Tico choices but also American choices. But to be fair I've only been to Manuel Antonio and Quepos both of which are tourist towns, so it makes sense to have other options besides traditional Tico food. The lodge is where I spend most of my time and meals, and I have had to try A LOT of food I've never had before. Luckily we have two people here who make it all taste good! Usually breakfast is eggs and fruit or occasionally I'll have a granola bar I brought from home. But honestly almost every meal I have had has been good. It could be that I don't have choice, or that I am working long days. When your hungry everything tastes better. But truly most things taste really good and some I can tolerate...there hasn't been much that I wouldn't eat again. I've tried plantains in numerous forms...but the fried ones are the best, they taste like warm fruity sugar with a crunchy boarder. Guacamole here is better than home, I can't stop...it is SO good...I didn't used to like it. I have had foods with tomatoes mixed in and tolerated them (I hate tomatoes). I've also had a lot of potatoes, which I still don't love but can tolerate. Rice here is great! I mix it in with everything when its available. And believe it or not...I tried BEANS. I wasn't planning on it until on of the cooks made rice and beans with eggs for breakfast and already had my plate made. It was a HUGE plate. No one should ever eat that many rice and beans. So I had to try it. It really didn't taste like much and I ate half a plate! Would I ever choose to make it? No probably not but I'm happy I tried it. The dinners here are really good and I've also tried a few of the plates only guests get including chicken in some AMAZING sauce, and chicken breaded with coconut and LOVED them both...better than most restaurants. It has also helped being able to buy chicken from the grocery store to supplement veggie meals here as I don't eat enough veggies in on sitting to be full. But overall, food hasn't been too bad! We will see what happens in a week when one of our cooks is gone and I am on my own for most meals! Wish me luck. Trip plans:
In case anyone is curious what this trip is all about here is a synopsis: Where: Costa Rica, Panama, Ireland, Zambia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand When: March 19-May 28 & June 20-November ? When will we be home next: Three weeks in June Why?: Steve was at a point in his job where he was ready for something new, I just graduated from my masters program…we are starting to think about settling down and starting a family but have always wanted to travel the world…so why not now! Why so long?: Steve would love to live somewhere out of the US for a few years, and I would like to travel to each of these places for a 2 week vacation…so we compromised on a 7 month “adventure”. How do you afford it?: We have been saving money for the last two years, book the cheapest flights, stay in hostels, find places to WWOOF which means working on organic farms (or bed and breakfasts) in return for food and lodging, and we are pet sitting (staying at someone’s house for free internationally but agreeing to love their pet as our own) Any questions I didn’t answer? Feel free to ask in the comments and I will add them in to my post! Day 7 (Wednesday)
We woke up at 7am and got ready for our work day. That morning the owners told me that Marta was not working so I needed to be in charge of a lot of the cleaning for the day. This meant sweeping, mopping, cleaning bathrooms, changing sheets, doing laundry, etc again. I was anxious about this because I felt like once again…I’m the maid….when I thought I was going to be working with people. However, even though none of those tasks are fun I had the independence to work on my own, at my own pace and clean in my own way! That felt good, and it made the experience much more tolerable. I didn’t feel like I was in the way or doing everything wrong. I was happy to be able to help out with cleaning in my own way and everything looked great then I was done! It took more time doing it alone but it was worth the freedom. Earlier that morning the two guests from the night before checked out. They were fun to have around, very hippy like attitudes and free spirits. They left one of the workers an entire cooler full of pot! I didn’t understand what was going on at first, but they were being weird and so was the worker…the worker told the lodge owner that he was given the cooler and would be taking it home….while the lodge owner was claiming well you work for us so technically the cooler is ours…..little did the lodge owner know what was in the cooler!! So long story short the guests kept insisting to the lodge owner that the cooler was only for the worker and in the end he got to keep it and the lodge owners never found out what was in the cooler. Pot is illegal here in Costa Rica and the lodge owners do not allow its use on the property but Steve and I did not feel it is our place as volunteers to let the owners know what was going on…this guy has worked here for a while and will continue working here and we didn’t want to add any tension or make any awkward situations when we are just volunteers for 7 weeks. Day 5 or Wednesday was our last day of work before our four day weekend!! That night we packed what we needed in a small backpack. The next morning we were going to catch a ride in to town with the lodge owners. Day 6 (Tuesday)
On Tuesday I was assigned with Marta again to clean a room and get it ready for the guests coming that night…I took a different strategy this day and tried to do tasks I knew needed to be done that Marta wasn’t working on yet so that we could work “separately” towards the same goal. This helped a little, but there were still times where she didn’t like how I was doing things but I get it…she is used to her routine she has developed here and I’m intruding. Anyway, we worked separate and together to get the room ready and clean up the rest of the lodge. It wasn’t as stressful as the first day but still not what I had imagined I would be doing. That day for lunch we were sitting around waiting as food was being cooked and usually our meals were made for us…however when Steve asked what was for lunch the lodge owner said we were on our own…that the food they were making for lunch had meat in it. OK. Whatever. We made our own lunch, but later that night when they left the other owner offered us their leftovers from lunch for dinner. It is really hard to grasp what is okay to eat here and what isn’t. One day we asked what we can have from the kitchen, we told them we wanted to know what is off limits, etc and they say nothing is off limits! Use whatever you need and eat what you want…but now I guess meat is off limits? But then we are given their meat leftovers? Hmmm…still haven’t figured this one out yet. Anyway, Tuesday we had our first over night guests…we were told the night before that when guests came around to “disappear”, while it seemed like they may have been joking…it also seemed somewhat expected that we do that. We didn’t see much of the guests and they were always in opposite places from us, their dinner was kept very private from the rest of us. Which is completely normal! I get it respect the guests privacy and give them space. Something interesting happened while we were working that day though….the two guests came down the path we were working on and said a quick hello. They seemed nervous and told us they hoped they didn’t get us in trouble by talking to us and that they were so excited to hear our story and requested to have dinner with us, but the owners wouldn’t allow it. They also told us they felt like they were being watched over and shouldn’t chat with us too much because they didn’t want to add tension. It was weird for guests to say these things…but interesting that they picked up that vibe. They also mentioned that they went to the waterfall earlier that day and that there were a lot of locals there. They told us they heard that the lodge owners do not allow locals on the waterfall and how they felt that was wrong of them…that “doing things like that could get someone killed”. While we felt the same way and had since the day the lodge owners told us that the waterfall is “private”, I hadn't really thought about the danger with the locals. Its true they could get upset and retaliate some how? Maybe? I don't know. I still don't know much about the culture around here, but I do know when they are turned away they drive by the lodge slowly and stare us down and it is intimidating. The locals have been using this waterfall forever, but now the lodge owners are trying to make it so they don’t have access anymore. Technically the road the locals use to get to the waterfall is owned by friends of the lodge owners…and those friends want it to be private and so do the lodge owners. So, because the road is private, the locals are not allowed to access the waterfall even though the waterfall is NOT private…so the lodge owners have said that the locals can use the waterfall if they walk up the river but not if they use the trail…and believe me most people would not be able to walk up this river. I understand why they want the waterfall private, especially when guests are here but in the end I have to say if it were me, I would allow the locals to have their fun...I just believe too much in Karma and kicking them out seems like bad karma. Steve and I feel a bit weird about it and don’t plan to kick any locals out ourselves…we don’t like being put in that position. It is something to community enjoys doing and I don’t think it is a good idea for a bunch of Americans to show up and tell them they can’t enjoy one of their favorite pastimes. I'm at odds with things right at this point. The lodge is beautiful, but food is confusing. I thought I would be working with guests, but now I'm cleaning and were supposed to disappear. Trying to piece everything together and figure out where our place is here and what were supposed to be doing and what is okay. Maybe were too accommodating? Truly we are doing them a huge favor as well…they get to go home to their family for a month and know their lodge is being looked after… But I think there will be more freedom once we are looking over the lodge, at the point it will be expected that we interact with and take care of guests and we can buy our own food easily because we will be able to use the car to go to the grocery store. As of right now we haven't been able to go for a ride into town with them because their car was broke or not enough space, but we have been able to request them to pick us up stuff. I think going to the store ourselves and seeing the options and using our own money instead of paying them back will make the food situation a little easier and less awkward. Day 5 (Monday)
A new work week was starting. Our work schedule for the week was 3 days, 10 hours a day, so that we could take a long weekend away. After Saturday was tough and completely unexpected, Steve and I took it in our own hands to work on some of the outdoor projects they wanted done because no instructions were given for Monday. I did do sweeping and mopping of the entire lodge that morning, while Steve changed the bird feeders but after that we worked together to rearrange any stones in the walk way that were loose. Not the most exciting job, but I was excited to be outside and working with Steve. We worked on that until lunch time and then ended the day with weeding the garden. Overall the work day was nice and relaxed; we worked at our own pace outside in the Costa Rican air! After work we showered off (yes, there are HOT showers here!!!) and got ready for dinner. While I was getting ready, one of the owners walked by my door and said “I hate to be weird about this, but were having pork with dinner tonight, if you guys want some let me know but I am going to have to charge you for any meat you eat”. WOW. That was interesting. While we didn’t expect meat with every meal here because we eat “Tico style” which means Costa Rican style, which is usually rice, veggies, beans, fruit and sometimes meat…we had been told that sometimes we would get chicken, pork or fish. So while she said she didn't want it to be weird, it was....finding out after committing to working here that we now have to pay for any meat was a real shock. Especially when we are working 10 hour days of labor in the hot weather and are used to eating meat back home….by the end of the work day your ready for protein! So I said we wanted pork chops and that we would pay for it…not that I was happy about that. We were also in the works of planning a 4 day trip for Thursday through Sunday after we finished our work week…so we wouldn’t even be taking advantage of our daily meals for 4 days of that week….yet we have to pay for meat. Interesting…but what can you do but say okay...they make the rules. Day 4 (Sunday)
On Sunday there is no work! Woohoo! We got to sleep in, relax, lay in the hammocks and explore the river. I took my kindle down to the river and read for a while and Steve explored the river. Later we went for a walk and took a bunch of pictures of the nature. Overall and AWESOME day! Day 2
On the second day we went on a tour of the hot springs near the lodge to get a feel for what customers do when they go on a trip up to the lodge. We met our guide in the morning, he also works at the Lodge as a cook and guide when customers are here. We went with him and a family he was guiding up to the hot springs. I thought the hot springs were nearby, turns out there are FAR. We hiked for about 2 hours before we even got to the Hot Springs! We did stop to look at a lot of things like a waterfall, bugs, plants, frogs, etc. but it was not nearly as close as I thought. And it was a difficult trail, lots of up hill and then down hill on stones (which can get slippery!) We had to cross two sets of rivers, which were flowing with good speed and had lots of rocks….and I slipped a few times. We also had to use our hands and feet at one point to get up a steep ledge. When we got there it was pretty (but so was the rest of the walk). It just looked like a little pool with hot water….yes, it was natural hot water but I was expecting it all to be natural…not a man made cement pool with hot water. Besides, when we got to the top we were way too hot to want to get in a warm pool! But, it was still cool to see and an adventure to get there. Behind the hot springs is another waterfall and that was worth the trip up for, it was peaceful and beautiful! I didn’t take my camera on the first hike because I wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t want to break it. I may attempt (with help from Steve) to get my camera there another day. On our walk we saw numerous tropical plants, wild banana trees; a baby watermelon and two poison dart frogs (wished we had the camera for those!). When we got back we grabbed lunch, we were told we could have some of the rice and chicken in the kitchen….so we put some on our plates and on the way out of the kitchen were told NOT that chicken, that was for guests not us, apparently the rice had some chicken in it? (We could barely see it). Anyway, it was already on our plate so they told us to just eat it. But it was awkward; nothing had been explained to us about food so at this point were still in the dark and are trying to do our best to make our hosts happy. We took the rest of the day to explore the property, see the river and lay in the hammock. We had dinner with the lodge owners and some of their friends who were in town. Dinner consisted of pork chops and veggies…it was pretty yummy but little did we know that was going to change in a few days (I’ll tell you more later). Then we took the night to organize our small room, realizing we brought WAY too much stuff with us. On the second night here I still struggled a lot with being away from home. It is different being away and knowing you aren’t leaving for a long time…harder to enjoy the beauty of Costa Rica, which I know may seem crazy but I am out of my comfort zone and still trying to figure out how to fit in with our hosts. Day 3 Our work schedule for the week was 3 days, 10 hours a day, so that we could take a long weekend away. Day three was the first day of work. Day three was TERRIBLE. At the end of this day I considered leaving the lodge early. We started work at 7am, in the beginning it wasn’t so bad…Steve and I wed together to fill the hummingbird feeders and sweep the front porch. After that Steve went with one of the owners to survey the property and see what work needed to be done outdoors. I was put on cleaning duty with Marta. Before I tell you what that meant, let me start with my expectations or what was implied I would be doing on a daily basis…when signing up for this work stay I was to be in charge of guest services, helping out with guests, setting up the dinning room and putting out pretty flowers, making sure the guests were happy and had everything they needed…maybe some cleaning here and there but mostly interacting with the guests. Well on day three, I worked with Maria (the maid) and followed her around all day “learning” from here. With no instructions from the owners, my only instructions came from Marta, who spoke no English and I speak no Spanish. She seems like such a sweet lady, but it was hard for both of us since we could not communicate. Now, you would think, well its cleaning that shouldn’t be too difficult, but it was 90 degrees and I was scrubbing bathroom toilets, showers, sinks, sweeping a large building, mopping, making beds, doing laundry, scrubbing windows, etc all while Marta kept trying to give me directions, and when I tried to clean things I just kept getting “No, no no…” from Marta who tried to get me to do things a different way. Now I understand they don’t do things the same as we do, but the way she was having me clean things made no sense, I was cleaning things that were clean, using weird cleaners that I wouldn't use on what she was using them on and asking questions got me no where because she didn't understand. All day in the heat I was cleaning (the wrong way apparently) and not only that, I was cleaning things that weren’t dirty AND Marta was “re-cleaning” everything I did. Every window I cleaned she re-cleaned immediately after I was done.. It was EXTEMELY frustrating. I know how to clean, and this just felt like a waste of time and energy. The entire time one of our hosts kept walking by saying, “Marta just doesn’t stop does she”, and I’m thinking, “Do you not see how hard I’m working and how much I’m sweating?”. Not fun feeling unappreciated. So I did this for from 7am-3pm, then entire time feeling like “forget this, I’m done after today”. I was miserable. Then at 3 Marta went home for the day and I got to work outside with Steve. It felt so nice to be outside. We worked on the garden. I picked weeds in the sun for the next 2 hours and it was amazing. I did things my own way, was productive with my work and our other host was super happy with what Steve and I got done. That night Steve and I discussed staying or not. I knew we made a commitment to the hosts, what would they do with out us when they are traveling home? But at the same time I just found out I passed my NBCOT exam and I was supposed to be celebrating and traveling the world. This just did not meet my expectations and I was missing home more than ever. Steve on the other hand was happy with the work he got to do and loving the future opportunities for work here. So I agreed we should stay because I am not someone who likes to let anyone down and by leaving I felt I would let down too many people. I cried that night, which is hard to admit because I’m in Costa Rica…I am supposed to be living the dream…this just wasn’t the dream I had in mind. More updates later! Welcome to my blog! This is my first post. I have been in Costa Rica about a week and haven't had time to begin my blog until now...so I will try to back track as much as I can so you can get a feel for the whole experience.
Here is the plan for our trip to Costa Rica in case you don’t know: we are working at a Costa Rica Hot Springs Lodge in the mountains 30 hours a week in exchange for meals and a room. We will be there for 6 weeks total, the first 2.5 weeks the owners are teaching us the ways of the lodge and then the last three weeks they will be headed back to the states to see family while we run the lodge! I'm excited and nervous, it’s a really cool crazy adventure we are about to go on! But I am struggling with leaving behind the comforts of home including my two wonderful pets who I love more than anything in this world, Murphy and Sox. I am also worried about food options in Costa Rica, hot showers, safety, getting electronics or important documents stolen, being bite by a snake, etc. but I will blog more about how I handle the worries and stress and what it is actually like in Costa Rica. Oh and we are doing this with just hiking backpacks...yes, I fit my life for the next three months in one small bag! (I will post later on what I packed). Day 1: We had to be at the Detroit airport at 4am; we made it through the airport with some hiccups (long long lines) but got on our flight and made all our connections. We arrived in San Jose from Detroit (flew with Southwest Airlines) around noon and navigated our way around the San Jose airport. We found a stand where we could get a phone sim card with refillable money and a local number, we bought $10 of talk time each in case we need to call each other or make local calls; and then officially put our Verizon contract on hold until we are home in June (so we are not reachable at our American numbers!). Then we exchanged some US dollars for Costa Rican money, at the AIRPORT, big mistake...paid a lot in fees. (We later found out the US dollar is easily accepted most places). Security and customs were pretty easy and they didn't say anything about my large bag of granola bars, which I packed in case I have trouble with meals here. Anyway, we sat down and got our first meal right outside the airport...Steve decided to get a very Tico meal with just rice and some sauce....while I got a burger; wasn't ready to leave American food behind yet. I even got a coke with my burger, but it tasted different and I didn't like it....that will help break the addiction fast! Then we tried to find a taxi that was willing to take us to the Hot Spring Lodge, two hours away...prices started at about $200 but we kept saying no until we got a taxi who was willing to drive us for $120! Our taxi driver was fun, young and spoke some English...he pointed out things for us to look at during the drive while Steve and I both tried our hardest to stay awake. We were exhausted from flying, carrying heavy bags and being in the heat. Then we arrived at the lodge. First impression: beautiful. Located in the middle of no where, but beautiful. Exactly what we were hoping for. We met our hosts for the next 2 months, the lodge owners, who were both welcoming and nice and they showed us right to our room. They knew we had a long day of travel and told us to take a night to adapt and take it easy. They let us know they were going out to dinner and there were leftovers for us in the fridge for dinner. We were on our own for the night. We took a look around, set our stuff down, investigated the wifi availability, and then finally when the sun went down everything cooled down to perfect sleeping temperatures (the mountains are not hot at night and it’s amazing!) and we slept great. Oh I was very excited to find out the lodge has a dog and a cat)! They are both extemely lovable and enjoable animals...haven't decided if that makes leaving Murphy and Sox behind easier or harder.... Exhausted tonight but I'll post about day 2 and on tomorrow. Update on day 1: Here were some feelings I found that I wrote down the first night here, I may have been exhausted from the plane ride and driving but it’s good to share how I honestly felt: I miss home. I am a homebody. Home is where the heart is and my heart just isn’t here yet. Maybe it’s the idea of being here7 weeks or maybe it’s that I am here on someone else’s schedule, eating limited unfamiliar foods and dealing with high humidity and heat. I love the idea of this place as a vacation…truly, it’s beautiful. But right now the idea of being here for 7 weeks working for someone else feels useless. I don’t get to enjoy things in the same way; I feel like I am constantly under watch and need to make myself useful. Not only does it feel like starting a new job, where everything is unfamiliar but needs to be completed in a specific way but its in a new country where English is not the first language. A few things were unsure about so far: the food situation (we thought they were taking us out to dinner, but actually they were just going out on our first night there…it was a bit strange) and we still weren’t sure what we were allowed to eat in the kitchen nor did we know what to do with half the food items in the kitchen! Xo, Kelsey |
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