Alright, because I've been so lame about posting on the blog for the past month (or two...), I'm going to hit you with a long-yet-relatively-undescriptive list of Cleome's Favorite Things while having been a volunteer at the Fauzi Azar Inn.
Which I figured I should do before I set off on my true backpacking adventure on Sunday (!)
Cleome's Favorite Israeli [fill-in-the-blank]:
Ruins~
•Caesarea- Huge city complex from Caesar's era.
•Megiddo- Where "Armageddon" is supposed to take place.
•Arbel Castle- Crusader castle carved out of the cliffs. A real-life Treasure Island playground.
•Heridion- Kind Herod's castle on (and under) a hill.
Museums~
•Yad Vashem- Holocaust museum. Surprisingly not as depressing as I'd been expecting.
•Israel Museum- Lots of exhibits and art about/from Israel (duh).
People~
•Guests
- ones I learned from
- ones with crazy adventures
- ones I connected with and were fun to talk to
- ones that became possible contacts throughout the world
• My Israeli family I'd seen only once before (and definitely didn't remember). So cool to have relatives in other countries!
• Locals. Extremely hospitable and interested in showing off their culture. Extremely friendly, for the most part.
• Other volunteers/staff members. Of course. Who I worked with and chilled with. They're the ones with the most impact on making this experience what it was. Shout out to Jess, Pat, Mike, Jake, Hagai, Elisa, Linda, Yafit, Marwa, Norhan, Maoz, Suraida, Gangaanai, and James.
Hikes and Nature~
•Yehudea- Golan Heights nature reserve with amazing natural pools and views.
•Arbel Cliffs- Crusader castles.
•Jesus trail- Varied landscapes on a fairly easy (but long) hike.
•walk from kibbutz to Nazareth- a six hour/30 kilometer walk I'm very proud of having accomplished completely on my own due to the lack of public transportation on Saturdays. And I still made it back in time for my shift. Booyah!
Events~
•going out (Patra, tel aviv, Jerusalem)- always fun
•visiting Jess- I stayed at her Kibbutz for a day and had a blast seeing her again :)
•peanut butter find- yes, I am including inheriting two jars of peanut butter left by guests as one of my favorite events. Stereotypical American, what can I say?
•learning Arabic- sort of...
•guitar playing at the Fauzi- I have been practicing, Dad.
Extended Trips~
•Jerusalem- Breaking the Silence tour of the South Hebron Hills, seeing Israeli family, free official pub crawl, stalking Obama, visiting museums, walking around, seeing Bethlehem & Banksy originals
•Tel Aviv- meeting cool people, getting a taste of the nightlife, visiting the old port city of Jaffa
First Times~
•smoking hookah/nargila- didn't really like it, but was definitely entranced by the smoke rings others could make.
•official pub crawl- at 18. In Jerusalem. Totally free. Yeah.
•hitch-hiking alone- during daylight and picked up by a girl. Stop freaking out Mom.
•visiting west bank- my second week I went to the town of Jenin with Jess. It really stuck with me as I honestly hadn't even imagined I'd feel safe enough to go to the West Bank. Clearly perspectives change when you actually arrive in a place you'd heard nothing but negative things about before...
•staying on a kibbutz- yeah, I really liked the night I spent on the kibbutz with Jess. Do I think I could live on one (or even volunteer there for a couple months)? Probably not. But for a short visit it was incredibly fun to experience a different way of life.
And those are just the highlights I could come up with off the top of my head. I've had an amazing time being based in Nazareth, and am conflicted about leaving in a handful of days. On one hand, I've grown comfortable here and have a community, friends, and bed to sleep in that I can call my own. Alternatively, I think my life here is now too familiar. I more or less have a daily routine, talk to the same people (mainly), and have lost the motivation to explore/go on day trips [though being sick the last week may have contributed to that also...]. Anyway, I think it's a good time to be moving on. I'm not yet sick of the place, but I am getting there. Some days have been almost boring, and at times I've wanted to punch a few people in the face I was so annoyed by them... so it's probably best I'm on my way soon ;)
Being a hostel volunteer at the Fauzi has been by far my favorite volunteer experience I've had on my year abroad- I've met some incredible people and had some unparalleled experiences. I can't imagine having chosen anything more fun or beneficial, and I know what I've learned here will help ease me into traveling on my own [regardless of how terrifying that still seems].
I thank the Fauzi, Nazareth, and all the incredible friends I've made for a great two months volunteering.
And here's to a fucking awesome final two months of my walkabout- bring on the backpacking!
xoxo, Cleome
Showing posts with label Volunteering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volunteering. Show all posts
Friday, March 29, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Versus
While my time in Israel has so far followed a similar theme to my time in Central America (volunteering for an extended period/traveling during service work breaks, etc.), there are some poignant differences between life here compared to anywhere and anything I've experienced before.
Israel vs USA
I'll try not to spew the obvious differences (like the fact that Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey or that the official languages don't include English here), but instead delve a bit deeper into dissimilarities.
•Israel is a land of extreme differences, in every way: socially, geographically, politically. We all know that the US is famed for the multitude of cultures/ethnicities/traditions it combines, yet Israel has all that plus some. You've got your wealthy citizens living in high rises on the coast, while not even 20 minutes away a Bedouin camp has been erected and the nomads are out taking their goat herds to pasture. (The juxtaposition of a Bedouin shepherd tending the flock while being immersed in a texting conversation via cellphone gets me every time.) Then there is the less comical distinction between Israel proper and the West Bank. The separation (physical or not) of Jews and Arabs.
Land-wise, Israel's small chunk of the world contains mountains, deserts, forests, seas, the lowest point on Earth (the Dead Sea), and both extremely habited and uninhabited land. An impressive amount of unique ecosystems.
And lastly, the political extremes found here top probably most places in the world. I'm not even going to get into that.
•Israel is both more forward and more backward than the US. For example, the amount of solar energy used here far surpasses that of America. And (though I'm not sure that this proves any sort of higher level of modernity) Israel has the largest per capita use of cellphones in the entire world. Yet they drive here almost like the only requirement to pass their test was being able to turn on the car. And separation of church and state (a basic foundation of the US) is essentially non-existent here. Which leads to a bunch of issues, as one can imagine... or hear on the news.
•People are extremely open. The good kind of openness that moves complete strangers to invite you into their houses for tea or coffee and to tell you about their lives. And the kind of open that nearly reaches the point of hostility when people discuss their political and social views, and urge you to state your opinions on the matter.
•Religion is paramount. While levels of religiousness differ, the majority of the population attends some sort of regular services, and on days of rest (be it Friday night-Saturday for Jews or Sunday for Christians) cities and public transport completely shut down. Quite inconvenient for traveling, I'll admit. Along those same lines, there is no such thing as a civil union here- you must be married in a religious institution (or alternatively flee to Cyprus to elope). And lastly, everyone wants to know what YOU are. Makes for an awkward situation when I confess to an Arab my mother is Jewish... I generally follow that up by quickly saying my father is Christian and that I personally am non-religious. Which is hard for some to understand. (Don't get me wrong- not everyone is biased for or against one religion/nationality. But in smaller, predominantly Arab cities like Nazareth, it's best to play it safe and not admit Jewdom unless directly questioned.)
•Guns are on display. I'm still not used to seeing the 18, 19, 20-year olds dressed in military garb casually having their M16's slung across their bodies. And whenever I'm overtaken by a group of them, I feel very uncomfortable. Though if I was raised in Israel I'm sure I wouldn't think twice about it.
Israel vs Central America
Certain aspects here are surprisingly reminiscent of my time in Costa Rica/Nicaragua. Like how the guys are pretty aggressive, or how the society is relatively chauvinistic (especially out of the big cities). And the copious amounts of stray animals (though in Israel it's cats instead of dogs) or trash in the streets. But being in Israel does provide some novelty.
•Food is waaaayyyyyy better here. Just look at the local fast foods of choice- hummus, falafel, or shwarma as opposed to McDonald's. And non-fast foods are inevitably more impressive than the ubiquitous rice and beans. The Mediterranean-infused cuisine regularly includes cucumber and tomato salads, fresh goat cheese, tabbouleh, omelets, kebabs, and baked eggplant. And while the selection of fruit in Central America was more impressive, the amount of fresh veggies at any time here is to die for if you're a salad junkie like me.
Don't even get me started on sweets here. Let's just say it's incredible what they can do with sesame seeds- grind them, spin them with sugar, bake 'em into cookies, the list goes on and on. Yum.
•The culture is much less risqué here. In Costa Rica, I literally saw people's grandmothers wearing short shorts and lace-backed tank tops. Maybe since it was so much warmer there, the culture just moved away from conservative dress out of necessity. But in Israel (especially the more traditional places), skirts above the knees/without tights, cleavage, and bare shoulders are a no-no. Here's to hoping I'll get to wear the tank tops and dresses I brought in Europe....
•I'd love to say public transportation here far exceeds that of Central America, but alas I would be lying. I guess the nicer thing is that here they have shared taxis called sheruts as an alternative to the bus system: large vans you can take to places that cost as little as the buses and don't take as long.
Israel vs Nazareth
You may be wondering about this comparison, as Nazareth is a part of Israel. Let me explain.
•Nazareth is unlike the majority of Israeli towns. It is a predominantly Arab city, and parts of it appear (at least to my uncultured eyes) almost indistinguishable from the West Bank. The city doesn't shut down for Shabbat (instead, nothing is open on Sunday), Muslim call-to-prayers are heard in time with the tolling of the church bells, and the most common language spoken is Arabic (so much for my "Hebrew for Dummies" book). You're much more likely to see a woman in a burka than a man wearing a yarmulke here. A bit different from the rest of Israel, I'd say....
Nazareth vs Atenas
The two towns I've had as home bases are quite different, leading to very different experiences and relationships with each.
•Nazareth is a much larger city, with acclaimed restaurants, bars (sort of), a huge shopping mall, and pretty much any knick-knack you could think of. We were able to find a guitar and a capo in one of the jumbled shops. That would've been left for a shopping trip to San Jose in Costa Rica.
Plus, as there's more to do in town, it leads to staying out/getting to bed later, and it's harder to force yourself to get out of town. Sort of.
•While Nazareth is no tourist hot spot akin to Jerusalem, it certainly draws more foreigners than the sleepy town of Atenas did. So not only do you meet more travelers in day-to-day activities (working in a hostel helps that, too...), but the majority of the locals speak English.
•Nazareth's layout is way more confusing than that of Atenas. After one day of exploration (and yes, getting lost) in Atenas, I had the geography of the town down pat. Here, not only are the Old City streets super twisty and confusing, but once I get a bit away from the Old City I'm completely in unknown territory. I really only venture through the Old City, the restaurant district, the path to the top of Mount of Precipice, and the part of the Jesus Trail that doubles as my running route... anything outside of that sphere, and I could be on Mars. A Mars with atmosphere and civilization....
Hostel Work vs Orphanage
I've come to the conclusion that I much prefer the volunteer work I'm doing here in the hostel in Nazareth to helping out in the children's home in Palmares.
•As the local staff I'm interacting with are adults, not only am I making new friends I can talk with, but I'm also meeting people who I can go out with, or who can introduce me to more of the local community of Nazareth. Kids are cute, but their social lives are pretty bland.
•Along that same vein, I'm meeting just more people in general, as one of the main jobs of working in a hostel is talking with the guests. Some you just exchange pleasantries with and answer questions, while other you find yourself talking to for hours and going out with after shifts. I love that! (Originally I was apprehensive about working in a hostel, as I don't immediately label myself a social butterfly. But either my self-perception is really off, or traveling/working at the Fauzi has stretched my social ease. I've found it pleasingly fun and easy to get into conversations with total strangers. I feel the sociable persona is half a type of act and half genuine until you get to know someone and it's all genuine. A major plus of this increased comfort in initiating conversations with strangers is I think I've essentially become immune to feeling socially awkward. It's become so commonplace it barely phases me anymore, haha.) This work is certainly doing more for my Facebook friends list ;)
Major Differences in this Trip vs the First Four Months of my Gap Year
Just some general other differences I'm too lazy to try and categorize.
•I don't at all speak the national language(s) of Israel. The Spanish I started out with might have been basic, but it did allow for communication beyond "hello" and "thank you" (the extent of my Arabic... but I'm working on it!).
•I'm supposed to provide all my own food (though we get free breakfast, fruit, cake, and leftovers from the Fauzi, so...) instead of being provided with three home-cooked meals a day.
•There's a much more extreme time difference between the States and Israel than the US and Costa Rica. Like, eight hours vs one. Which makes it more difficult to communicate with people back home.
•My schedule changes daily. No set weekly routines of knowing exactly when I'll be working and when I'll be free. I guess for all the inconvenience that gives, it also inspires me to be more active in taking day trips and researching locations to visit.
•I'm sharing a room with the other volunteers instead of doing a home-stay. First extended dorm room experience?
•The hostel work (while in no way difficult) is stuff I've never done before, whereas I felt pretty confident I knew how to entertain children.
•This time abroad I'll be spending equal time volunteering and actively traveling. Instead of just tacking on the traveling at the end (besides weekend trips).
•Since Israel is a bit further from Minnesota, I won't get to see my family at all for these four months. Sadface.
•Going out, getting connections through the hostel and local staff, and being a bit more into exploring the town has led me to be much more immersed in the local community of Nazareth. Which is incredibly fun.
I've loved everything I've done so far, and every place I've traveled. This "gap year" just keeps getting better and better.
Now I'm off to learn the "Cooking by the Book" remix by Lil Jon. A farewell request from the lovely Mike Chong. Parental advisory suggested.
xoxo, Cleome
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Fauzi
Alright, seeing as I've been volunteering at the Fauzi Azar Inn for pretty much two weeks now (excluding the days I was in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv), I can finally, with total confidence, give you the gist of the place and my duties as Volunteer Supreme.
About the Fauzi
I know earlier I provided some background information concerning the Inn that I took directly from its website. However, now that I've actually seen and experience the place, I can tell you about its history and characteristics with a few more details.
How the Fauzi Came to Be
The Fauzi Azar Inn was originally an extremely gorgeous mansion belonging to a wealthy Arab family, the Azars. However, when the War of 1948 occurred and the state of Israel was created, the majority of the citizens of Nazareth fled to nearby countries- mainly Lebanon. Fauzi Azar (the head of the Azar family and the owner of the house) was the only one in his family, as well as one of the only Arabs in town, who chose to remain in Nazareth- he couldn't bear to give up his magnificent house.
After successfully living alone for some time, one day disaster struck for Azar- fire! In the process of saving the carpets of the mansion, Azar suffered intense burns that sent him to the hospital and eventually caused his death. The magnificent house sat empty for many years, as the rest of the family didn't want to live there, but couldn't bear to part with it.
The Inn may very well have remained empty until it crumbled to the ground from lack of use, had a young Israeli backpacker named Maoz not happened upon it. Maoz was a visionary who believed that not only would the house provide the perfect location for a hostel, but the city of Nazareth would be the ideal spot to begin a hiking trail he was developing with an American friend- what would later become known as the Jesus Trail. But convincing the surviving family of Azar that opening a B&B in their old, prized home was a laborious process, so I'm told. Maoz got in contact with the granddaughter of Azar, Suraida, and while she was not convinced by his proposal, she agreed to pass on his contact information to her mother for further discussion. I'm not quite sure how long the issue was debated, or who finally gave in, but eventually an agreement was reached that allowed Maoz to open his hostel, with Suraida as co-owner and her grandfather's named immortalized in the name.
The hostel opened in 2005, and since then has accrued an amazing reputation. [Sorry if the next part sounds like a preachy ad- I'm just not sure how else to convey its awesomeness....] The Fauzi consistently receives highly rated reviews on travel sites, is top pick in Lonely Planet guides, was awarded an Environmental Tourism Award in 2011, and has received TripAdvisor's "Travelers' Choice" Award for the years 2012 and 2013. Plus, the Jesus Trail is constantly getting more and more press for being an impressive hiking trail that roughly follows Jesus's path as he performed his miracles. Though of course non-Christian pilgrims walk it for the scenery as well. [Oh, and Tony Blair visited the Fauzi a few years ago. How about we start a petition for Obama to come by next month....?]
What Makes the Fauzi Special?
I'd like to think after five months of staying in a wide variety of hostels, I've a pretty good idea of what a hostel is- and what makes one good or not. Hostels span a wide spectrum, from the crazy party ones on one side to the super chill, laid-back ones on the other. I've discovered my personal favorites tend to lie closer to the party side, but with a good dose of relaxation thrown in as well.
The Fauzi embodies all that a decent hostel should. And then it goes a bit beyond. Features that all hostels tend to have include:
-cheaper accommodations than hotels
-both dorms and private rooms
-shared bathrooms
-an available kitchen for guest use (some are even affiliated with a bar/cafe)
-free coffee all day and some sort of free breakfast
-a common area meant to foster meeting people
-routine activities, whether it's trivia night, Sunday afternoon BBQs, open mic night, or a pub crawl
-help in setting up tours
-a book exchange
Fauzi is special (in my opinion), thanks to:
-the unique free old city tour (purposefully leaves out the main tourist attractions, and instead focuses on the local community)
-the amazing complimentary smorgasbord breakfast (delicious, contains a wide variety of traditional Arab and Israeli foods and is cooked by staff with actually culinary skills)
-the history you can feel radiating out from the aged, muraled walls
-the most in-depth (and longest) reception shpeil I've ever witnessed [I have to learn it by heart- a daunting task]
-and finally, one thing that I personally am most impressed by, is Fauzi's ties/commitments to the local community. Before the Fauzi, Nazareth literally had 0% gains from tourism. The city used to just be a tour bus stop where religious tourists would get out to ogle the churches and then pile back on to hit the next site. This day-trip tourism for solely the holy places didn't contribute at all to the local economy in Nazareth, and that may still have been the trend today had the Fauzi not opened and begun to market Nazareth as a place to stay for at least a few nights. Some absurdly large (maybe 80) percentage of businesses in the old city are recent developments that appeared only after the Fauzi began attracting tourists who came to see all of Nazareth, not just the Basilica of Annunciation (the largest church in the Middle East). The Inn promotes local restaurants, souvenir shops, market vendors, etc. to its guests, and in gratitude most Nazareth-based businesses give discounts to guests of the Fauzi Azar as a way to say thanks for sending patrons to frequent their establishments.
Enough yapping about the Fauzi, Cleome (we can tell you're infatuated), what do you actually do?
Right, my oh-so-difficult volunteering duties.... I bake cakes. I help with reception and answering the phone/guests' questions. Sometimes I choose which music to play. I take out the trash. I do dishes and make sure there's always hot water available for tea or coffee. I tidy up the kitchen and the lobby. I restock the free fruit bowl. I do whatever the staff (two bosses, four managers, a Mr. Fix-It and a handful of cookers/cleaners) ask me to. I get to talk with guests. I meet really interesting, varied types of people. I play chess with the other staff/volunteers. If nothing's really going on I'll read or write. Or check Facebook. Or plan my next trips out of Nazareth.
Pretty chill "work."
Now don't get me wrong- what we do as volunteers aids the Fauzi considerably. We accomplish the menial tasks required of running a hostel day to day. And like I said, it's not hard work, but I've had shifts where it felt like I spent the entire six or so hours rotating between washing dishes and bringing out tea trays for newly arrived guests. Just depends on the day.
Overall I'm a huge fan of this set-up. I work roughly six hours, five days a week. The shifts are either 7:30am-2pm, 1-7pm, or 6-11pm, so it gives you time to do stuff either earlier and/or later in the day. Plus in your two (generally consecutive) days off, you can get a bit further out of Nazareth than just a day trip. There's usually at least one other volunteer free to hang with, though longer trips are generally embarked upon solo. And during your shift you tend to get free time for about half of it, so it honestly doesn't even feel like work.
Plus, the travelers that pass through the Fauzi are incredibly varied. In the few weeks I've been here I've met families on vacation, religious tourists, school study-abroad groups, pro-Palestinian activists/documentarians/journalists, travel bloggers, avid hikers, and plain old curious backpackers that have heard of the Fauzi's amazing rep. I've gotten to meet and talk with incredibly interesting people who've taught me a lot. Or just had amazing conversations with the coolest people.
I'm feeling incredibly lucky right now.
Plus, I think I've convinced Moaz to get the Inn a guitar! Life is pretty damn good right now.
xoxo, Cleome
About the Fauzi
I know earlier I provided some background information concerning the Inn that I took directly from its website. However, now that I've actually seen and experience the place, I can tell you about its history and characteristics with a few more details.
How the Fauzi Came to Be
The Fauzi Azar Inn was originally an extremely gorgeous mansion belonging to a wealthy Arab family, the Azars. However, when the War of 1948 occurred and the state of Israel was created, the majority of the citizens of Nazareth fled to nearby countries- mainly Lebanon. Fauzi Azar (the head of the Azar family and the owner of the house) was the only one in his family, as well as one of the only Arabs in town, who chose to remain in Nazareth- he couldn't bear to give up his magnificent house.
After successfully living alone for some time, one day disaster struck for Azar- fire! In the process of saving the carpets of the mansion, Azar suffered intense burns that sent him to the hospital and eventually caused his death. The magnificent house sat empty for many years, as the rest of the family didn't want to live there, but couldn't bear to part with it.
The Inn may very well have remained empty until it crumbled to the ground from lack of use, had a young Israeli backpacker named Maoz not happened upon it. Maoz was a visionary who believed that not only would the house provide the perfect location for a hostel, but the city of Nazareth would be the ideal spot to begin a hiking trail he was developing with an American friend- what would later become known as the Jesus Trail. But convincing the surviving family of Azar that opening a B&B in their old, prized home was a laborious process, so I'm told. Maoz got in contact with the granddaughter of Azar, Suraida, and while she was not convinced by his proposal, she agreed to pass on his contact information to her mother for further discussion. I'm not quite sure how long the issue was debated, or who finally gave in, but eventually an agreement was reached that allowed Maoz to open his hostel, with Suraida as co-owner and her grandfather's named immortalized in the name.
The hostel opened in 2005, and since then has accrued an amazing reputation. [Sorry if the next part sounds like a preachy ad- I'm just not sure how else to convey its awesomeness....] The Fauzi consistently receives highly rated reviews on travel sites, is top pick in Lonely Planet guides, was awarded an Environmental Tourism Award in 2011, and has received TripAdvisor's "Travelers' Choice" Award for the years 2012 and 2013. Plus, the Jesus Trail is constantly getting more and more press for being an impressive hiking trail that roughly follows Jesus's path as he performed his miracles. Though of course non-Christian pilgrims walk it for the scenery as well. [Oh, and Tony Blair visited the Fauzi a few years ago. How about we start a petition for Obama to come by next month....?]
What Makes the Fauzi Special?
I'd like to think after five months of staying in a wide variety of hostels, I've a pretty good idea of what a hostel is- and what makes one good or not. Hostels span a wide spectrum, from the crazy party ones on one side to the super chill, laid-back ones on the other. I've discovered my personal favorites tend to lie closer to the party side, but with a good dose of relaxation thrown in as well.
The Fauzi embodies all that a decent hostel should. And then it goes a bit beyond. Features that all hostels tend to have include:
-cheaper accommodations than hotels
-both dorms and private rooms
-shared bathrooms
-an available kitchen for guest use (some are even affiliated with a bar/cafe)
-free coffee all day and some sort of free breakfast
-a common area meant to foster meeting people
-routine activities, whether it's trivia night, Sunday afternoon BBQs, open mic night, or a pub crawl
-help in setting up tours
-a book exchange
Fauzi is special (in my opinion), thanks to:
-the unique free old city tour (purposefully leaves out the main tourist attractions, and instead focuses on the local community)
-the amazing complimentary smorgasbord breakfast (delicious, contains a wide variety of traditional Arab and Israeli foods and is cooked by staff with actually culinary skills)
-the history you can feel radiating out from the aged, muraled walls
-the most in-depth (and longest) reception shpeil I've ever witnessed [I have to learn it by heart- a daunting task]
-and finally, one thing that I personally am most impressed by, is Fauzi's ties/commitments to the local community. Before the Fauzi, Nazareth literally had 0% gains from tourism. The city used to just be a tour bus stop where religious tourists would get out to ogle the churches and then pile back on to hit the next site. This day-trip tourism for solely the holy places didn't contribute at all to the local economy in Nazareth, and that may still have been the trend today had the Fauzi not opened and begun to market Nazareth as a place to stay for at least a few nights. Some absurdly large (maybe 80) percentage of businesses in the old city are recent developments that appeared only after the Fauzi began attracting tourists who came to see all of Nazareth, not just the Basilica of Annunciation (the largest church in the Middle East). The Inn promotes local restaurants, souvenir shops, market vendors, etc. to its guests, and in gratitude most Nazareth-based businesses give discounts to guests of the Fauzi Azar as a way to say thanks for sending patrons to frequent their establishments.
Enough yapping about the Fauzi, Cleome (we can tell you're infatuated), what do you actually do?
Right, my oh-so-difficult volunteering duties.... I bake cakes. I help with reception and answering the phone/guests' questions. Sometimes I choose which music to play. I take out the trash. I do dishes and make sure there's always hot water available for tea or coffee. I tidy up the kitchen and the lobby. I restock the free fruit bowl. I do whatever the staff (two bosses, four managers, a Mr. Fix-It and a handful of cookers/cleaners) ask me to. I get to talk with guests. I meet really interesting, varied types of people. I play chess with the other staff/volunteers. If nothing's really going on I'll read or write. Or check Facebook. Or plan my next trips out of Nazareth.
Pretty chill "work."
Now don't get me wrong- what we do as volunteers aids the Fauzi considerably. We accomplish the menial tasks required of running a hostel day to day. And like I said, it's not hard work, but I've had shifts where it felt like I spent the entire six or so hours rotating between washing dishes and bringing out tea trays for newly arrived guests. Just depends on the day.
Overall I'm a huge fan of this set-up. I work roughly six hours, five days a week. The shifts are either 7:30am-2pm, 1-7pm, or 6-11pm, so it gives you time to do stuff either earlier and/or later in the day. Plus in your two (generally consecutive) days off, you can get a bit further out of Nazareth than just a day trip. There's usually at least one other volunteer free to hang with, though longer trips are generally embarked upon solo. And during your shift you tend to get free time for about half of it, so it honestly doesn't even feel like work.
Plus, the travelers that pass through the Fauzi are incredibly varied. In the few weeks I've been here I've met families on vacation, religious tourists, school study-abroad groups, pro-Palestinian activists/documentarians/journalists, travel bloggers, avid hikers, and plain old curious backpackers that have heard of the Fauzi's amazing rep. I've gotten to meet and talk with incredibly interesting people who've taught me a lot. Or just had amazing conversations with the coolest people.
I'm feeling incredibly lucky right now.
Plus, I think I've convinced Moaz to get the Inn a guitar! Life is pretty damn good right now.
xoxo, Cleome
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The Big Intro to Israel Post
Hello there! It's been a little while since I last posted, and I've finally gotten a good chunk of time to sit down and write, so I thought I'd take advantage of it.
I left for Israel a week from today (though technically I've only physically been in Israel for five and a half days, thanks to an amazingly long 19.5 hours of travel time between home and here...) and have experienced a lot of newness in these past seven days. But let's start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start....
Flights and Firsts
So, like I said, it took me 19.5 hours (three different flights) from taking off in Minneapolis to touch down in Israel. I left MN late morning on my first flight and arrived in Newark, NY mid-afternoon. After waiting a few hours in the airport, I boarded the airplane that would jet me away from the US, over the Pacific, and allow me to step foot for the first time ever on another continent. <- That flight was the longest one I've ever been on- seven hours. I flew on SAS, a Scandinavian airline, and was quite impressed by their level of service. Not only did they show recently released movies [I got to watch Argo, what what], but they actually served MEALS on the plane. Free of charge. And they came in the most adorable little portion-sized containers. I was so awed I took a picture, haha.
Although that second flight was great in many ways, it wasn't my favorite simply because
1) It was a "red eye" flight, but I couldn't sleep.
2) There was a freaky amount of turbulence as we were exactly in the middle of our trip aka over the ocean. I won't deny that images of a watery grave briefly flitted past my eyes before I shut them out and mentally chanted think positively over and over again.
3) We changed what felt like a million time zones in those seven hours, and so by the time we arrived in Copenhagen it was 7am in Denmark, while my body still thought it was 1am. After zooming through the cute and sleepy Copenhagen airport [they have hardwood floors, open lounge areas, inviting colors, and a little mermaid statue- how much more adorable can it get?] to find the gate for my third and final flight, I shlumped over and blearily stared at passersby through half-closed lids. Yeah, I felt pretty gross at that point compared to all the sharp-looking European travelers. And
4) I was located in the back of this huge airplane, in the middle row of three seats, and I just had to be put with this older guy who (even with the empty seat between us) had stinky farts. Not very conducive for trying to sleep....
My last flight was about four hours and landed me in Tel Aviv around 2:30pm Israel time on Sunday. Luckily the passport control guys didn't give me too much grief and I was riding in a shared taxi to Jerusalem half an hour later. I arrived at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem- recommended to me by the GoEco project- a bit before 5pm and immediately took a shower and tried to sleep. Key word: tried. I was physically exhausted, having at that point slept only about four hours of the past 36, but mentally I couldn't quiet down. I think I fell into a restless sleep around 9pm that night, but certainly woke up the next morning still feeling tired.
Orientation in the Old City
Monday was a jam-packed day.
It began with a two hour meeting in the hostel with GoEco (the volunteer agency) representatives. They gave myself and two other soon-to-be-volunteers [we were all leaving for different projects, however] an explanation of our volunteering projects and some basic information about Israel. Then one of them, Yan, acted as our tour guide for the rest of the day.
First, we explored and had lunch in the major Jerusalem marketplace [he managed to get us millions of free samples of cultural dishes by explaining in Hebrew to the vendors that we were foreigners and had no idea what any of the dishes were] before heading out to Jaffa Gate to take part in a free tour of the Old City. [The term Old City in any area refers to the location where buildings, monuments and historical places built hundreds of years ago remain intact and are still used/inhabited by people today. However, the Old City in Jerusalem is one of the most well-known as it contains many incredibly important religious sites.]
I was extremely awed on our walk through the Old City. We hit all four quarters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian) and our guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of each quarter and their development. It was amazing to think that we were walking through streets and archways that had been there and seen by people for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. And to just actually be in this place I'd heard about for so long felt incredibly unreal. I mean, it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was literally standing 100 feet away from the Western Wall. Wow.
Since the free tour was a general overview of the Old City but didn't actually take us into buildings, once it was over Yan guided our volunteer group back to a couple of impressive sites. We watched the sun set while standing on the top of the Austrian Hospice, taking in the scenic view of the entire Old City; we walked through the [amazingly unpopulated] Church of the Holy Sepulchre once darkness had fallen, and then window-shopped in the new mall outside the Old City on our way to dinner. After dinner (my first authentic Israeli hummus experience!) we explored a few more buildings that had nice views (including one incredibly swanky hotel that impressed me almost as much as the Old City had, haha) and then headed back to the hostel to sleep.
Tuesday was the day I needed to catch my bus to Nazareth to actually begin volunteering, but that wasn't until 4pm, so I had a bit more time to wander around Jerusalem. I went out with Antonia, the girl volunteer I'd hung with the day before, and we saw the Western Wall up close (I did indeed put a piece of paper with a wish on it into an unused crack in the wall). We also walked up to the Dome of the Rock (an extremely holy Islamic site) and marveled at the detail and gorgeousness of the mosque. Finally the time to head to the bus station rolled around, and after a bit of messing around with a temperamental ticket machine, I was on my way.
Finding Fauzi Azar
I sat next to a very... talkative... guy on the bus who also happened to be going to the Fauzi Azar Inn. He came in handy, though, when asking for directions [we arrived at night and the Inn is tucked away in a part of the Old City that takes some maneuvering to get to] and in making me feel a bit more secure when hiking past groups of smoking guys in black leather jackets. But finally we found it, and I had arrived to the place I'm going to be calling home for the next two months!
[I'll be posting specifically about the Fauzi and my duties in another entry very soon!]
I met the other three volunteers that I'll be working with for the next few weeks at least (since two are leaving in a few weeks and new people may be showing up):
Pat- extremely sociable Australian guy working here for his summer break.
Jess- another girl taking a gap year! She's from London and will spending eight months (until August) in Israel doing a variety of activities. Once she's done volunteering at the Fauzi she's heading to a kibbutz for five months. You can bet I'm going to be visiting her.
Mike- Canadian, eh? ...Sorry, he's taking some time off from studying software engineering to travel and has a bunch of short-term volunteer gigs lined up in various parts of Israel.
(Oh, and there's also a long-term volunteer lady, Linda, who gives all the guided tours. But she's pretty much a permanent fixture as she's been here for four years.)
Pat and Jess have both been here for roughly a month and only have a few weeks left, while Mike will be leaving only two weeks before I am. I really like them all, and the vibe is great because there's enough of us that we won't get sick of each other too soon, but not too many that it's hard to get to know everyone. Though I do hope that when Pat and Jess leave, other volunteers show up. I like you Mike, but some new blood potential friends would also be nice.
The night I arrived was a first-ever movie night, so I dropped my backpack off at the volunteer apartment (about 20 feet up the street) and went back to watch Life of Pi. After the movie I went out for a late-night snack with Pat, Mike, two German guests, and a local named Fadi. The food was good, but I was pretty much falling asleep at the table, so it was relieving to just head back to the apartment and go to bed finally at 2am.
Navigating Nazareth
Wednesday began with free breakfast at the Fauzi and then a guided tour of the Old City. It was a great, alternative tour that ignored the holy places (since you can do that on your own) and instead focused on getting to know the locals and the back roads of Nazareth. It was a great introduction to this city I'm going to be based in for the next while. I then grabbed lunch with Mike, hung out and explored the city some more with Jess, and had the most touching hospitality experience I've felt in a while.
A local Christian Arabic family that Mike and Pat had met earlier had invited them to dinner, and since I was free, both I and a Fauzi guest Jackie were invited along. However, when we got to the family's house after running through the winding alleyways in the pouring rain, we discovered that the electricity in their area was completely out. No lights, no heat, no nothing. Certainly no cooking, we surmised [<- like my word choice, Pat&Mike?]. But the family surprised us, and after an hour of sitting in the candle-lit living roomexchanging broken English and Arabic talking with the daughters Ruth and Jessica, we were informed dinner was ready and we were ushered into the kitchen.
An amazing spread of traditional Arabic food lay on the table before us. The four of us sat down with Ruth and the dad, Adell, and had a wonderful meal highlighted by lamb, rice with a special yogurt sauce, and Italian champagne. The food was very tasty (and they managed to magically heat it somehow- candles?), but there were about a million dishes and each was heaped onto our plates in such great quantities that I couldn't even finish half of it. After dinner the electricity came back on (of course) and we moved back to the living room to join the rest of the family (mom, brother, Jessica and fiance) in smoking hookah (first time for me!) and listening to music. And when we finally excused ourselves after lavishing thanks upon the family, the brother insisted I take the sweatshirt of his I'd been wearing for warmth as a parting gift. To be honest, I'm a little wary that somehow I've bound myself to a romantic obligation... but I'll admit its oversizedness had come in handy as a makeshift tent-like changing room, as there is no real privacy in our tiny volunteer apartment. Alla in all, I was incredibly touched by their generosity in feeding four guests (two of which had been perfect strangers before that meal) in the middle of a power outage. And we have plans to go back soon and learn how to make authentic felafel, so yay! Free food and good company is always something to look forward to.
Experiencing Everyday Events enjoying the alliteration of the section titles?
Thursday I was shadowing Jess on the afternoon shift, but beforehand we walked up a scenic hill named Mount Precipice and on the way to the Inn stopped by a small cafe for Qatayaf (a traditional Ramadan sweet- essentially a small pancake filled with either soft cheese or walnuts, fried, and then drizzled in syrup. As delicious as they sound). We were kept at the Inn for a while after our shift had technically ended, so just came back to the apartment and slept after.
Friday I attempted to find the Jesus Trail (a hiking trail that starts at the Fauzi- more on that in the next blog post!) and failed dismally- got a good run in anyway, though. Then half slept half read in the sun, and was on evening shift with Mike. Bed.
Today I hiked the Jesus Trail with Pat and Mike and five Fauzi guests. Luckily we didn't get lost, as Pat is an expert Jesus Trail navigator. The first leg takes roughly four hours to walk, and really is pretty gorgeous once you get past the highway. We hitched back to Nazareth (a somewhat depressing only 15 minutes away by car) and grabbed a late lunch before coming back home to chill.
I can't believe I just used the word "home" so naturally. I must really feel pretty comfortable here.
Tonight we're heading out to a local restaurant to see some sort of music. Maybe dancing will be involved? Whatever it is, should be interesting.
Off to find Mike and ask him about that stir fry he's supposedly making....
xoxo, Cleome
I left for Israel a week from today (though technically I've only physically been in Israel for five and a half days, thanks to an amazingly long 19.5 hours of travel time between home and here...) and have experienced a lot of newness in these past seven days. But let's start at the very beginning. It's a very good place to start....
Flights and Firsts
So, like I said, it took me 19.5 hours (three different flights) from taking off in Minneapolis to touch down in Israel. I left MN late morning on my first flight and arrived in Newark, NY mid-afternoon. After waiting a few hours in the airport, I boarded the airplane that would jet me away from the US, over the Pacific, and allow me to step foot for the first time ever on another continent. <- That flight was the longest one I've ever been on- seven hours. I flew on SAS, a Scandinavian airline, and was quite impressed by their level of service. Not only did they show recently released movies [I got to watch Argo, what what], but they actually served MEALS on the plane. Free of charge. And they came in the most adorable little portion-sized containers. I was so awed I took a picture, haha.
Although that second flight was great in many ways, it wasn't my favorite simply because
1) It was a "red eye" flight, but I couldn't sleep.
2) There was a freaky amount of turbulence as we were exactly in the middle of our trip aka over the ocean. I won't deny that images of a watery grave briefly flitted past my eyes before I shut them out and mentally chanted think positively over and over again.
3) We changed what felt like a million time zones in those seven hours, and so by the time we arrived in Copenhagen it was 7am in Denmark, while my body still thought it was 1am. After zooming through the cute and sleepy Copenhagen airport [they have hardwood floors, open lounge areas, inviting colors, and a little mermaid statue- how much more adorable can it get?] to find the gate for my third and final flight, I shlumped over and blearily stared at passersby through half-closed lids. Yeah, I felt pretty gross at that point compared to all the sharp-looking European travelers. And
4) I was located in the back of this huge airplane, in the middle row of three seats, and I just had to be put with this older guy who (even with the empty seat between us) had stinky farts. Not very conducive for trying to sleep....
My last flight was about four hours and landed me in Tel Aviv around 2:30pm Israel time on Sunday. Luckily the passport control guys didn't give me too much grief and I was riding in a shared taxi to Jerusalem half an hour later. I arrived at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem- recommended to me by the GoEco project- a bit before 5pm and immediately took a shower and tried to sleep. Key word: tried. I was physically exhausted, having at that point slept only about four hours of the past 36, but mentally I couldn't quiet down. I think I fell into a restless sleep around 9pm that night, but certainly woke up the next morning still feeling tired.
Orientation in the Old City
Monday was a jam-packed day.
It began with a two hour meeting in the hostel with GoEco (the volunteer agency) representatives. They gave myself and two other soon-to-be-volunteers [we were all leaving for different projects, however] an explanation of our volunteering projects and some basic information about Israel. Then one of them, Yan, acted as our tour guide for the rest of the day.
First, we explored and had lunch in the major Jerusalem marketplace [he managed to get us millions of free samples of cultural dishes by explaining in Hebrew to the vendors that we were foreigners and had no idea what any of the dishes were] before heading out to Jaffa Gate to take part in a free tour of the Old City. [The term Old City in any area refers to the location where buildings, monuments and historical places built hundreds of years ago remain intact and are still used/inhabited by people today. However, the Old City in Jerusalem is one of the most well-known as it contains many incredibly important religious sites.]
I was extremely awed on our walk through the Old City. We hit all four quarters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian) and our guide was quite knowledgeable about the history of each quarter and their development. It was amazing to think that we were walking through streets and archways that had been there and seen by people for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. And to just actually be in this place I'd heard about for so long felt incredibly unreal. I mean, it was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was literally standing 100 feet away from the Western Wall. Wow.
Since the free tour was a general overview of the Old City but didn't actually take us into buildings, once it was over Yan guided our volunteer group back to a couple of impressive sites. We watched the sun set while standing on the top of the Austrian Hospice, taking in the scenic view of the entire Old City; we walked through the [amazingly unpopulated] Church of the Holy Sepulchre once darkness had fallen, and then window-shopped in the new mall outside the Old City on our way to dinner. After dinner (my first authentic Israeli hummus experience!) we explored a few more buildings that had nice views (including one incredibly swanky hotel that impressed me almost as much as the Old City had, haha) and then headed back to the hostel to sleep.
Tuesday was the day I needed to catch my bus to Nazareth to actually begin volunteering, but that wasn't until 4pm, so I had a bit more time to wander around Jerusalem. I went out with Antonia, the girl volunteer I'd hung with the day before, and we saw the Western Wall up close (I did indeed put a piece of paper with a wish on it into an unused crack in the wall). We also walked up to the Dome of the Rock (an extremely holy Islamic site) and marveled at the detail and gorgeousness of the mosque. Finally the time to head to the bus station rolled around, and after a bit of messing around with a temperamental ticket machine, I was on my way.
Finding Fauzi Azar
I sat next to a very... talkative... guy on the bus who also happened to be going to the Fauzi Azar Inn. He came in handy, though, when asking for directions [we arrived at night and the Inn is tucked away in a part of the Old City that takes some maneuvering to get to] and in making me feel a bit more secure when hiking past groups of smoking guys in black leather jackets. But finally we found it, and I had arrived to the place I'm going to be calling home for the next two months!
[I'll be posting specifically about the Fauzi and my duties in another entry very soon!]
I met the other three volunteers that I'll be working with for the next few weeks at least (since two are leaving in a few weeks and new people may be showing up):
Pat- extremely sociable Australian guy working here for his summer break.
Jess- another girl taking a gap year! She's from London and will spending eight months (until August) in Israel doing a variety of activities. Once she's done volunteering at the Fauzi she's heading to a kibbutz for five months. You can bet I'm going to be visiting her.
Mike- Canadian, eh? ...Sorry, he's taking some time off from studying software engineering to travel and has a bunch of short-term volunteer gigs lined up in various parts of Israel.
(Oh, and there's also a long-term volunteer lady, Linda, who gives all the guided tours. But she's pretty much a permanent fixture as she's been here for four years.)
Pat and Jess have both been here for roughly a month and only have a few weeks left, while Mike will be leaving only two weeks before I am. I really like them all, and the vibe is great because there's enough of us that we won't get sick of each other too soon, but not too many that it's hard to get to know everyone. Though I do hope that when Pat and Jess leave, other volunteers show up. I like you Mike, but some new
The night I arrived was a first-ever movie night, so I dropped my backpack off at the volunteer apartment (about 20 feet up the street) and went back to watch Life of Pi. After the movie I went out for a late-night snack with Pat, Mike, two German guests, and a local named Fadi. The food was good, but I was pretty much falling asleep at the table, so it was relieving to just head back to the apartment and go to bed finally at 2am.
Navigating Nazareth
Wednesday began with free breakfast at the Fauzi and then a guided tour of the Old City. It was a great, alternative tour that ignored the holy places (since you can do that on your own) and instead focused on getting to know the locals and the back roads of Nazareth. It was a great introduction to this city I'm going to be based in for the next while. I then grabbed lunch with Mike, hung out and explored the city some more with Jess, and had the most touching hospitality experience I've felt in a while.
A local Christian Arabic family that Mike and Pat had met earlier had invited them to dinner, and since I was free, both I and a Fauzi guest Jackie were invited along. However, when we got to the family's house after running through the winding alleyways in the pouring rain, we discovered that the electricity in their area was completely out. No lights, no heat, no nothing. Certainly no cooking, we surmised [<- like my word choice, Pat&Mike?]. But the family surprised us, and after an hour of sitting in the candle-lit living room
An amazing spread of traditional Arabic food lay on the table before us. The four of us sat down with Ruth and the dad, Adell, and had a wonderful meal highlighted by lamb, rice with a special yogurt sauce, and Italian champagne. The food was very tasty (and they managed to magically heat it somehow- candles?), but there were about a million dishes and each was heaped onto our plates in such great quantities that I couldn't even finish half of it. After dinner the electricity came back on (of course) and we moved back to the living room to join the rest of the family (mom, brother, Jessica and fiance) in smoking hookah (first time for me!) and listening to music. And when we finally excused ourselves after lavishing thanks upon the family, the brother insisted I take the sweatshirt of his I'd been wearing for warmth as a parting gift. To be honest, I'm a little wary that somehow I've bound myself to a romantic obligation... but I'll admit its oversizedness had come in handy as a makeshift tent-like changing room, as there is no real privacy in our tiny volunteer apartment. Alla in all, I was incredibly touched by their generosity in feeding four guests (two of which had been perfect strangers before that meal) in the middle of a power outage. And we have plans to go back soon and learn how to make authentic felafel, so yay! Free food and good company is always something to look forward to.
Experiencing Everyday Events enjoying the alliteration of the section titles?
Thursday I was shadowing Jess on the afternoon shift, but beforehand we walked up a scenic hill named Mount Precipice and on the way to the Inn stopped by a small cafe for Qatayaf (a traditional Ramadan sweet- essentially a small pancake filled with either soft cheese or walnuts, fried, and then drizzled in syrup. As delicious as they sound). We were kept at the Inn for a while after our shift had technically ended, so just came back to the apartment and slept after.
Friday I attempted to find the Jesus Trail (a hiking trail that starts at the Fauzi- more on that in the next blog post!) and failed dismally- got a good run in anyway, though. Then half slept half read in the sun, and was on evening shift with Mike. Bed.
Today I hiked the Jesus Trail with Pat and Mike and five Fauzi guests. Luckily we didn't get lost, as Pat is an expert Jesus Trail navigator. The first leg takes roughly four hours to walk, and really is pretty gorgeous once you get past the highway. We hitched back to Nazareth (a somewhat depressing only 15 minutes away by car) and grabbed a late lunch before coming back home to chill.
I can't believe I just used the word "home" so naturally. I must really feel pretty comfortable here.
Tonight we're heading out to a local restaurant to see some sort of music. Maybe dancing will be involved? Whatever it is, should be interesting.
Off to find Mike and ask him about that stir fry he's supposedly making....
xoxo, Cleome
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Coming Up Next
My plans for the rest of my "walkabout" have changed a lot since a few weeks ago, not to mention last fall before I'd even embarked on the first part of it.
[I just went back and reread my predicted plans for the year... wow have those been tweaked a lot.]
I got back from Costa Rica at the beginning of January and set a goal for myself to be off on the next part of my adventure by the beginning of February. I gave myself a month to relax, be at home, have parents, see friends and figure out what the heck I was going to do next. And where I was going to go. And for how long. <- I had a lot to figure out.
Wait, Cleome, I thought you were going to Europe for four months to backpack around? Yeah, let me finish. As I was saying, I'd been thinking hard about my next steps, and for a multitude of reasons ended up coming to the conclusion that I actually didn't want to aimlessly backpack around Europe for that long of a time. Because, like:
1) It's still cold in much of Europe at this time of year.
2) The tourist Schengen Visa is only good for three months out of any six month period (and I don't want to try and jilt the authorities, thereby risking never being allowed into the EU for the rest of my life). And the visa includes most of the countries I actually want to travel through.
3) Thanks to actually having traveling experience now (yay!), I know that straight traveling for one month, let alone four, is exhausting. AND
4) Europe is ridiculously expensive. More than I was originally imagining. I'm a soon-to-be poor college student- I can't be going into debt before starting school.
So I was pretty jittery for a while, as I had no real idea of where to even start now that my semi-solid plans for February-May were out. You'd be surprised how hard it is to decide on a course of action when you can do essentially whatever you want. It'd be great to use the time I have to work on maintaining my French or Spanish, or participate in something that might serve to guide me/provide me with experience for a future career path [not that I have any idea what that would be], but.... Honestly, when you really have no limitations, there are about a jillion amazing things you could do. And you don't want to squander this awesome opportunity by choosing something stupid, or uninteresting, or pointless, or or or
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, but as you may be able to tell, I was a bit fragile concerning my future plans for a while. However I managed to calm down and reason rationally with myself, and figured out a few things concerning what I did want to happen on the next part of my year off:
WHAT I'LL ACTUALLY BE DOING. (Just got confirmation!)
[I just went back and reread my predicted plans for the year... wow have those been tweaked a lot.]
I got back from Costa Rica at the beginning of January and set a goal for myself to be off on the next part of my adventure by the beginning of February. I gave myself a month to relax, be at home, have parents, see friends and figure out what the heck I was going to do next. And where I was going to go. And for how long. <- I had a lot to figure out.
Wait, Cleome, I thought you were going to Europe for four months to backpack around? Yeah, let me finish. As I was saying, I'd been thinking hard about my next steps, and for a multitude of reasons ended up coming to the conclusion that I actually didn't want to aimlessly backpack around Europe for that long of a time. Because, like:
1) It's still cold in much of Europe at this time of year.
2) The tourist Schengen Visa is only good for three months out of any six month period (and I don't want to try and jilt the authorities, thereby risking never being allowed into the EU for the rest of my life). And the visa includes most of the countries I actually want to travel through.
3) Thanks to actually having traveling experience now (yay!), I know that straight traveling for one month, let alone four, is exhausting. AND
4) Europe is ridiculously expensive. More than I was originally imagining. I'm a soon-to-be poor college student- I can't be going into debt before starting school.
So I was pretty jittery for a while, as I had no real idea of where to even start now that my semi-solid plans for February-May were out. You'd be surprised how hard it is to decide on a course of action when you can do essentially whatever you want. It'd be great to use the time I have to work on maintaining my French or Spanish, or participate in something that might serve to guide me/provide me with experience for a future career path [not that I have any idea what that would be], but.... Honestly, when you really have no limitations, there are about a jillion amazing things you could do. And you don't want to squander this awesome opportunity by choosing something stupid, or uninteresting, or pointless, or or or
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry, but as you may be able to tell, I was a bit fragile concerning my future plans for a while. However I managed to calm down and reason rationally with myself, and figured out a few things concerning what I did want to happen on the next part of my year off:
- I realized I wanted to do another volunteering project for at least part of the rest of year. I just like feeling useful and helping others. But while an organization in Ghana serving to educate the local population about HIV/AIDS and trying to prevent the spread of the disease sounds incredible [trust me, I looked it up], I don't feel like I necessarily have to be volunteering in a super intense situation trying to save lives to feel successful. I really loved the type of volunteering I did at the orphanage- helping out but also being able to have my own life in the community. (Also, I'm currently done working with children. I'll be doing that this summer as well and I just need a break.)
- I am really interested in going to a country where the primary language is not English. Or another language is spoken prominently, at least.
- Ideally, I'd go somewhere that is still close to Europe, so I could maybe travel there after volunteering.
- And I didn't want it ("it" being the flight, program, living costs, etc.) to be extraordinarily expensive.
Somehow [don't ask me how], this all lead me to determining a location: Israel! Now I just had to find a program that was affordable, open to 18-year olds, and sounded interesting....
Idea 1: Eilat Hotel Volunteer
Summary: A 5-month program where I'd live/work in a hotel in a southern resort city with a bunch of other volunteers from all over. Hebrew lessons would be included, as well as a public transportation pass.
I quickly ditched this idea as a 5-month long commitment was just too limiting for me.
Idea/Attempt 2: Kibbutz Volunteer
Haha, yes, "attempt" is the key word here. This plan was almost a go, until about two weeks into the process of applying....
A kibbutz is a uniquely Israeli socialist-type community (all members work for the community itself). Historically agriculturally-based, many kibbutzim have branched out into tourism and industrial work. But the majority accept volunteers for 2-6 months at a time simply because there are more jobs than members available to do them. Living there while working is free (room and board all payed for), but you make no money and the work is often quite demanding, with long hours and can often be tedious [for example, stuffing pillows in a hot, windowless factory for eight hours a day? No thanks]. But there are always lots of volunteers who come from all over. Plus the members of the kibbutz are more often than not pretty interesting. It's supposed to be hard work, a bit isolated, but a lot of fun, too.
Anyway, after sending in all my forms in record time (and my full placement payment), they informed me that I was apparently ineligible for the program. Because of my age: 18.5 instead of 19. Get this- all kibbutzim welcome volunteers aged 18-35, except for Americans and Canadians. WE have to be 19 in order to join.
Anyway, after some frustrating back and forth with the Israeli office leader (who is very firm in her "no exceptions" rule), it became apparent that being a kibbutz volunteer just wasn't going to work out right now. Which maybe was for the best, as it required me to step back, leading me to-
WHAT I'LL ACTUALLY BE DOING. (Just got confirmation!)
Idea 3: Ecotourism Development in Nazareth
Third time's the charm, huh?
I'm going to be volunteering at the Fauzi Azar Inn for two months, beginning February 2nd.
Third time's the charm, huh?
I'm going to be volunteering at the Fauzi Azar Inn for two months, beginning February 2nd.
The Fauzi Azar Inn is a beautiful 200 year old Arab mansion that was converted into an inn in 2005. The Fauzi Azar Inn promotes ecotourism in Nazareth and works with the community to contribute to its development in various areas. The inn uses local resources to create new work places, to raise the self- image of the local community, and to encourage economic growth while preserving the universal values of natural and cultural preservation. The aim is to introduce in Nazareth, which is the largest Arab city in Israel, a new model of tourism and thus "bridge the gap" between Arabs and Jews. At the same time the Inn is creating a model for increased tourism along the Israel National Trail (Shvil Israel) and the recently completed Jesus Trail in order to promote both trails and the corresponding economic potential.
Volunteering duties include hosting guests and reception work, working in the kitchen, maintaining hiking trails, and guiding tours of the old city of Nazareth. I'll be sharing a nearby apartment with the other volunteers (three others, I think?), and have all the time when I'm not working to explore the city of Nazareth, not to mention the rest of Israel.
Nazareth appears to be a very interesting part of Israel. It is located in Northern Israel, near the Sea of Galilee, and is supposed to be very beautiful. The city contains the largest population of Arabs (both Christian and Muslim) in the country, yet there is still a Jewish presence in the north of the city, which should make for a complex melting pot of cultures, opinions, and ideas.
Yeah, I'm going to work in a renovated mansion, bridge the gap between cultures, and meet a bunch of cool travelers. No biggie.
After
After volunteering through the end of March, I'll take some time to explore the parts of Israel I haven't gotten to yet (maybe hit up Egypt for a bit?) and then fly over to Western Europe [finally the European aspect of my trip comes into play]. I'm free until the beginning of June, at which time I need to come back in order to work over the summer as a camp counselor, so I could potentially be in Europe for six weeks or so. Clearly the last few months of my free time need to be molded into shape a bit more, but there's plenty of time for that.
I'm just incredibly relieved to finally have a semblance of a plan for the rest of the year.
SO. EXCITED. And I should probably start getting all my crap together.
xoxo, Cleome
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Weekend Trip #5: Monteverde
This trip occurred the weekend of Friday, November 6- Sunday, November 8. We only were out of town through Saturday, though.
Monteverde
Monteverde is best known for its famed cloud forest. The town itself is actually called Santa Elena, but they're essentially two names for the same place. Lindsay and I decided to go to Monteverde in order to accomplish a specific goal: zip line! We'd heard from multiple other travelers that the zip lining course there was gorgeous and really fun. While Lindsay had zip lined her first weekend here [the one trip she took without me], her experience was lackluster, so I managed to convince her it'd be fun to try again; I, on the other hand, had never been.
We figured this weekend would be a good one to hit Monteverde, because our services as volunteers were required in Atenas Saturday afternoon, so we could only stay over some place for one night [we'd promised the volunteer coordinator we'd help set up for a major dance recital she was putting on through the community center]. Since we'd booked a 7:30am tour for Saturday morning, we felt confident we could both fit in zip lining and helping with the recital.... Yeah, to assume things makes an ass out of u and me.
Let the Chaos Commence
By this point, it's a given that our carefully researched transportation information would fail us, so Lindsay and I barely glanced at the route from Palmares [where we'd be starting from right after work] to Monteverde. All we saw was that a direct bus existed from San Ramon, so figured we'd just head into the town and go from there.
We debated about stopping for lunch at a small restaurant, or /soda/, that we always pass on our walk to the Hogarcito, but decided we could wait until we got into San Ramon- a wise decision we'd realize later. We made it to the bus station in San Ramon around noon, and ambled over to the dollar store where our "informer" works [<- a nice lady who's helped us out in terms of bus schedules at least three separate times. We've come to feel so thankful for her, we legit discussed bringing her a flower that day. Maybe it was better that we forgot to...]. But when I asked her about the direct bus to Monteverde, she looked very confused and shook her head. No, there was no direct bus to Monteverde. You had to catch a bus to Puntarenas first, and then find one to the cloud forest. Lindsay and I thanked her, and made our way to the other bus station to catch the 2.5 hour bus ride to Puntarenas. Figures it wouldn't be as easy as a "direct bus."
We took the 12:35pm [which showed up closer to 1:00pm] to Puntarenas, getting in around 3:00pm. This is where our decision not to grab lunch in Palmares proved itself to be a life-saver: there were no more buses from Puntarenas to Monteverde on Friday. What? How does saving 20 minutes by not having lunch make a lack of buses any better? Here's how: while there was no bus to Monteverde itself, there was a bus leaving at 3:15pm to Liberia, and we were assured that the driver could drop us off at the entrance to Monteverde- whatever that meant. Had we sat down and gotten a real lunch, we would've had to spend the night in Puntarenas. So yay for not eating!
Another traveler also happened to be in our exact situation [a guy who's social skills had severely regressed thanks to just coming from 8 weeks of volunteering in the jungle...], so the three of us boarded the bus to Liberia. An hour into the ride, the bus pulled over beside a gas station, and we were informed this was the entrance to Monteverde. Huh? Extremely confused, we exited the bus and were immediately enshrouded in the dust cloud the bus left behind. We walked over to the store inside the gas station and asked the lady behind the counter how to get from there to Monteverde. She assured us a bus would arrive at 5:15pm, and we'd just have to flag it down. That gave us an hour to wait at the gas station, which we passed by becoming friends with the clerk [a motherly Nicaraguan named Maritza], and encountering yet another backpacker trying to get to Monteverde- Nonny, a volunteer in Nicaragua who was in Costa Rica to renew her visa.
So darkness begins to fall, 5:15pm comes and goes, and we've yet to catch a bus to Monteverde. We're sure we didn't miss it because a few locals are also waiting by the gas station, and just as Lindsay's on the verge of a panic attack- an empty tourism van drives by, backs up, and the guy inside says he'll take us to Monteverde for $4 each. We're so relieved to have a ride there that we just nod and climb in- turns out we payed $2 less than if we'd caught the public bus, anyway. It turned out to be a good thing we were in a small van, since the road was quite pockmarked by potholes, the street was scarily narrow, and [most noteworthy] the weather was terrible. By terrible I mean it was sleeting and windy and cold. But for Costa Rica, where even in the rainy season there's only precipitation a few times a week for a couple hours, the cold and the wind felt extremely foreign. [Lindsay later remarked it was almost refreshing to experience something other than heat and sun. Not sure if I agree, but I know what she means.]
We were dropped off in the center of town around 7:00pm, and said goodbye to Weirdo and Nonny [though we'd convinced Nonny to sign up for the same zip line tour as us, so we planned on seeing her again], as we'd all booked different hostels. Our hostel turned out to be small and sort of dumpy, but the wifi worked, an adorable fluffball of a dog lived there, and the guy who ran the place was totally awesome and into having a good time [he offered us shots even before we'd checked in...]. Plus, we'd find out later that the free breakfast was an amazing smorgasbord of food.
While grabbing dinner at a nearby restaurant [having braved the wind/rain to get there], Lindsay and I developed our new favorite time-passing game to play [trying to name all 50 states, and then their correct capitals. You may scoff now, but I dare you to try. We've tried it on other Americans, and most people can only make it to the low 40's before giving up], and then raced back to the hostel. We were content to just relax, seeing as we had to be up early tomorrow, but not having some sort of fun on a weekend in a hostel is pretty much impossible. The five other guests plus the host and Lindsay and I ended up playing some card games, and then Alonso [the person in charge of the hostel] suggested we go out to a bar in town. It wasn't an extremely appealing offer, but Lindsay and I figured we'd be stuck videotaping a little kids' dance recital the next night, so we might as well.
The bar we went to was sort of a weird situation because 1) you had to pay to get in [the first time I've come across that in Costa Rica- luckily, Alonso was nice enough to pay for Lindsay and I], and 2) there was a live band playing Latin music, but barely anyone was dancing, Tico or not. Luckily, Lindsay and I always bring the party ;). But actually. After hanging off to the side for a bit, we were both invited by Ticos to go dance, and after that I never left the dance floor- just swapped one partner for another. Eventually everyone had had enough of dancing, though, so we snuck downstairs for a quick game of [terrible] pool, and then headed back to the hostel and hit the hay.
Into the Jungle...
Saturday morning Lindsay and I awoke to our alarm blaring at 6:15am. We were getting picked up at 7:00am for our tour, so we wanted to give ourselves enough tine to wake up. Unfortunately, the day didn't look promising. Especially not for zip lining. We'd been hoping that the wind and rain would've died down overnight, but no such luck- it was just as nasty and wet and gray as when we'd arrived. After much debating about whether zip lining in these conditions would be worth it [we already knew it was going to be miserable, but the question was whether the tour would be cool enough to outweigh the misery or not], we decide to just go for it- we had come all this way to zip line, after all.
We were picked up by one if our guides, grabbed Nonny at her hostel, and headed out to the forest. After being suited up in harnesses, gloves, and helmets, we signed our waivers and were off! The two guides showed the three of us [the only people on our tour] to a huge Tarzan swing first, which swung you through a clearing out over the tree tops- extremely exhilarating. Then we began the actual zip lining. There were 15 cables we zipped on, as well as a huge fig tree we descended and then climbed up through. Zip lining was fun, and even in the not-so-great weather, the views were amazing. However, besides the first and last few cables [one of which the wind was so strong it stopped me 15 feet from the ending platform, and I had to pull myself the rest of the way], zip lining itself wasn't all that exciting. I guess I was just expecting something a bit more adrenaline-inducing. We had a good time, though. And luckily the weather eased up throughout our time in the tree tops, until eventually we could see bits of blue sky and the rain had pretty much stopped. The tour took about two hours, and afterwards we thanked our guides, stopped by the bus station to buy tickets to San Jose on the 2:00pm bus, and headed back to the hostel.
...And Out to the Town
We spent the time between the tour and catching our bus chowing down on our hostel's free breakfast [bananas, chocolate cereal, peanut butter, bread, and coffee- what more could you ask for?], visiting the local ice cream shop, and checking out a souvenir store. Eventually we said goodbye to Alonso and Nonny, and walked over to catch our bus. The ride took four hours to get to the highway leading to San Jose. Remember, we were supposed to be back around 5:00pm to help set up and then attend this dance recital. We figured we probably wouldn't make it in time to set up, but we could definitely be there to help clean up around 9:00pm, no problem, right? Not quite....
We would've made it, had it not been for a bridge that was down. Thanks to being unable to continue on its normal route, our bus turned off the road we were familiar with [and where our sketchy highway stop is located] and instead headed to downtown San Jose. As soon as we realized where we were headed, we knew we were screwed. Going into San Jose was an hour more bus ride in itself, not to mention the amount of time we'd have to wait at the bus station to then catch another hour-long bus back to Atenas. Grrr. We got into the capital around 7:00pm, and [thanks to being escorted by a kind, young, paramedic-to-be] made it to our bus station only to learn that we had an hour and a half to wait before the next bus to Atenas. We sat in the creepy station trying not to fall asleep [by trying to name the state capitals, actually], and finally hopped on the 8:30pm bus home. Needless to say, we arrived well after the dance recital ended.... We're sorry, Tina!
A Day in Atenas
Sunday, November 8th was the only entire weekend day Lindsay and I spent together in town. It was actually quite relaxing to wake up and not have to do... anything. No volunteering, no bus rides :to miss:, no nothing. We spent out free day just chilling in the morning, venturing out for iced coffee (her) and scalding hot coffee (me), and then she accompanied me to the grocery store [ohmygodilovethoseplaces] so I could buy ingredients for the chicken & wild rice soup I was making. <- I'd brought wild rice down as a present for my host family, but seeing as they didn't even know it existed, I offered to make them a meal with it.
The soup took me four hours to make. I attribute this to 1) I hadn't cooked in over two months, 2) I'd never actually made the soup before, and 3) only one burner worked on the stove. But by 7:00pm there was piping hot soup ready, and while it didn't look or taste anything like what my mom makes at home [oh the joys of eyeballing measurements and improvising ingredients], it was still deemed "rico" by my host family, so I guess it was successful. Or they just were kind enough not to hurt my feelings....
Yep, the weekend of zip lining and soup. Pura vida.
xoxo, Cleome
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Atenas- Intro and General Life
I guess it´s about time I posted about the second part of my time {of service} in Costa Rica- I have been here for two weeks (since October 5th) now....
Atenas
So alrighty, I´m now stationed in the small, mountain community of Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The town is one hour west of the capital (San Jose), meaning it´s located nicely in the very center of the country. The town itself is pretty sleepy and uneventful- there´s exactly one {unpopular} sports bar, one church, one "mercado," and one bus station. Although if you were looking for shoe stores or dental clinics, Atenas is the place to be. But I didn´t realize exactly how small it was until I set out my first day here to explore the place, and ended up walking down every street in town in less than two hours. Definitely a change from the Twin Cities.
While the lack of activity and excitement at first made me hesitant about whether or not I was going to like it here, I´ve decided that the comfort of a small town is a much better place for a home base than some large, crazy city. Especially after a fun-filled weekend of traveling (<-- more on this later), having a safe, quiet town to return to {and recover in} is quite welcome. And it´s nice to be able to walk around at night (though, yes, usually with at least one other person), and not feel like I´m going to be molested by every guy I see. {However, while the guys´ manners here are better than on the beach, or in San Jose, walking around is still always accompanied by whistling/hissing/honking- men in Atenas just don´t feel the need to enter your personal space as much.}
Familia Nueva
So what exactly is my home base like? Well, I live with Arelis Rodriguez (my "mom" while I´m here) and her two boys, Alejandro (17) and Fernando (almost 16). They´re a middle-class family who have a house only five minutes from the center of town. I´ve also gotten acquainted with the grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc., since staying connected with {extended} family is a big thing here. And interestingly enough, no one in the family really speaks English. They´ve been having {primarily American} volunteers living with them for at least five years now, but from what it sounds like, there´s always been some communication issues, since most of the volunteers haven´t spoken much Spanish. They were happily surprised that I could hold at least basic conversations.* And my Spanish has definitely improved since being here. I just need to work on verb conjugations and some vocab, and I´m golden.
*Funny story: the first night at dinner, I was sitting at the table alone (having been served first). The younger brother grabbed his plate and sat down awkwardly next to me, and then looked up and asked in Spanish if anyone else was going to come sit at the table. When his mom asked why, he replied "So I won´t have to eat alone." I looked at him pointedly, and said in {halting} Spanish, "You are not alone. I´m here." It caught him so off-guard, and everyone started laughing. He mumbled a sorry to me while looking down at his plate, cheeks red. He confided to me later that he had no idea I could understand what they were saying.
From speaking with other volunteers about their families- and specifically their host moms- I´ve realized there are two general types: those where the host mom babies the volunteer, and those where the host mom doesn´t. I´m experiencing the latter; it´s a good thing. I´ve just come from 18 years of having a mom {I swear, nothing negative is implied here, Mom}, and it´s a nice change (plus what I´m sort of looking for in my year off) to be an essentially independent being. Arelis is nice and I like her a lot (and she´s a good mom to her boys), but besides cooking and changing my sheets, she lets me take care of my own shit, sola. Which is just how I want it. I mean, I´ll soon be traveling entirely alone in Europe, and it´d be a lot harder to visualize taking care of myself if I´d been under motherly care up until that point. {I think the reason she´s not a babier is because she´s pretty young (about to turn 33), and still has kids at home, so I in no way represent a chance to have a child living at home again- she´s currently got two.}
I have my own room upstairs to sleep in, but when I´m at home I generally spend time downstairs in the living room- reading, talking, using the computer, or watching dubbed American movies/over-the-top dramatic Spanish soaps on the TV {which is almost always on}. Besides the first few days, I haven´t spent too much time at the house. Generally I´m out volunteering, at the community center through which the volunteer program is run, taking dance/exercise classes, running, or hanging out with the two other volunteers currently living here.
Arrival
Right now, I´ve completely settled into a good routine here, and am really happy with how everything is going- but it wasn´t always like this. The first three days I was in Atenas, I was miserable. I felt homesick, awkward, unhappy, uncomfortable, bored, etc. It was just not a good point in my trip- but I´ve found that´s pretty common of {my} transition periods.
I think I was feeling so down because I´d just come from the turtle project, where I´d gotten familiar with the routine, I had met some great people, and I was having a lot of fun. Instead, I found myself in a small, boring town {with no beach} where I didn´t know anyone, was living in a home full of strangers who spoke only a foreign language, and {since my time at the orphanage didn´t start until Tuesday, and I arrived Friday afternoon} I had essentially nothing to do all day. I found myself doubting my decision to stay in one place for a whole two months- a lifetime, considering I´d only done a little over two weeks at the turtle place. Plus, I could finally make contact with my family (and friends) through email, facebook, and Skype, and I suddenly felt an overwhelming need to speak with my family, and hear their voices.
But luckily, literally the day after I Skyped with the fam for my first time ever {a horrendous ordeal... long story short, bad internet connection + confusion about whether or not to press the microphone button on the headset when speaking = major frustration/possible tears}, it all changed for the better. I had my orientation with the volunteer coordinator, was given a mini tour of the town, met both Lindsay and Dean {which was an amazing experience, considering just learning of their existence filled me with joy, aha}, had my first Spanish class, and went out that night to the sports bar where I ordered my first "legal" beer. A life-changing day, let me tell you. And from then on, I´ve been in an extremely positive state of mind. It´s amazing the difference one day can make {<-- a thought I´ll be storing for later use in Europe}.
{Week}Day in the Life {of an Orphanage Volunteer Living in Atenas, Costa Rica}
This is my general schedule Monday-Friday morning:
5:30am- wake up {usually naturally- it gets light/loud outside early}
6:00- run
7:00- shower, eat breakfast, fill up my water and grab a snack for later
7:45- meet Lindsay {more on her later} and walk to the bus station
8:00- get on the bus to Palmares {where the kids´ home is located}
9:20- arrive at the childrens´ place after a 20 min. walk from the bus stop
9:30-11:40- play with kids!
12:15pm- catch the bus back to Atenas, eat aforementioned snack
1:20- arrive home for lunch, write emails/blog posts, read
2:30- head to the community center Su Espacio with Lindsay for Spanish classes (the first week)/ independent-study (now)
4:30- Spanish studying ends, leave either for home or to the town center {if I need to buy something}
After 4:30- dinner happens sometime between 6 and 7, and some nights I´ll go out to dance/spinning classes, to the sports bar, or out to hang with Lindsay and/or Dean, Otherwise it´s more writing/reading/relaxing.
8:00-10:00pm- bedtime occurs within this window, on average around 9:00 or 9:30, but last night it was 7:30, and the night before it wasn´t until 11:00 {since I was watching the Costa Rica vs Guyana "futbol" game- veerrryyyy important; luckily they won}
Repeat
The weekends are when the schedule goes out the window, and craziness ensues. I´ll have to go over those in a different post, haha.
Other {Important} People
Not sure how surprising this is, but I may actually interact more with the two other volunteers stationed here right now than my host family.
Lindsay and Dean are the two other volunteers in Atenas right now, and with whom I´ve been spending lots of time with (especially {as Dean likes to point out, in a total show of FOMO, aka fear of missing out} Lindsay). They´re both American, in their early 20´s, and pretty cool. Lindsay is not only volunteering for almost the exact same period of time as me (she´ll be leaving only one week earlier), but she´s also working at the childrens´ home- we´re together a lot. Dean is teaching English in the community center, and actually only has about 1 1/2 weeks left here in Atenas. But Lindsay and I traveled with him last weekend, and I´m pretty sure we´ll be doing so again this coming one, so I´ve definitely gotten to know him. It´s fun having the three of us together- we´ve got a good dynamic going: Dean meets people, who then invite Lindsay and I to go do stuff, and we bring him along. It´s also become a thing to make fun of him, so Lindsay and I are a little worried about how we´re going to pass the time once he´s gone....
I´m so glad there are those two to hang out with here, because like I learned at the turtle project, it´s the people who really help make an experience.
So yeah, that´s my situation for the past few weeks now. I´ve officially been in Costa Rica/away from home for more than a month, and I honestly couldn´t tell you whether it feels like I´ve been away for shorter or longer. My perception of time has gotten so screwed up here. But however long it´s been, I´m not ready for it to end anytime soon.
Off to a spin class with Lindsay {Dean, feel the FOMO}.
xoxo, Cleome
Atenas
So alrighty, I´m now stationed in the small, mountain community of Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The town is one hour west of the capital (San Jose), meaning it´s located nicely in the very center of the country. The town itself is pretty sleepy and uneventful- there´s exactly one {unpopular} sports bar, one church, one "mercado," and one bus station. Although if you were looking for shoe stores or dental clinics, Atenas is the place to be. But I didn´t realize exactly how small it was until I set out my first day here to explore the place, and ended up walking down every street in town in less than two hours. Definitely a change from the Twin Cities.
While the lack of activity and excitement at first made me hesitant about whether or not I was going to like it here, I´ve decided that the comfort of a small town is a much better place for a home base than some large, crazy city. Especially after a fun-filled weekend of traveling (<-- more on this later), having a safe, quiet town to return to {and recover in} is quite welcome. And it´s nice to be able to walk around at night (though, yes, usually with at least one other person), and not feel like I´m going to be molested by every guy I see. {However, while the guys´ manners here are better than on the beach, or in San Jose, walking around is still always accompanied by whistling/hissing/honking- men in Atenas just don´t feel the need to enter your personal space as much.}
Familia Nueva
So what exactly is my home base like? Well, I live with Arelis Rodriguez (my "mom" while I´m here) and her two boys, Alejandro (17) and Fernando (almost 16). They´re a middle-class family who have a house only five minutes from the center of town. I´ve also gotten acquainted with the grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc., since staying connected with {extended} family is a big thing here. And interestingly enough, no one in the family really speaks English. They´ve been having {primarily American} volunteers living with them for at least five years now, but from what it sounds like, there´s always been some communication issues, since most of the volunteers haven´t spoken much Spanish. They were happily surprised that I could hold at least basic conversations.* And my Spanish has definitely improved since being here. I just need to work on verb conjugations and some vocab, and I´m golden.
*Funny story: the first night at dinner, I was sitting at the table alone (having been served first). The younger brother grabbed his plate and sat down awkwardly next to me, and then looked up and asked in Spanish if anyone else was going to come sit at the table. When his mom asked why, he replied "So I won´t have to eat alone." I looked at him pointedly, and said in {halting} Spanish, "You are not alone. I´m here." It caught him so off-guard, and everyone started laughing. He mumbled a sorry to me while looking down at his plate, cheeks red. He confided to me later that he had no idea I could understand what they were saying.
From speaking with other volunteers about their families- and specifically their host moms- I´ve realized there are two general types: those where the host mom babies the volunteer, and those where the host mom doesn´t. I´m experiencing the latter; it´s a good thing. I´ve just come from 18 years of having a mom {I swear, nothing negative is implied here, Mom}, and it´s a nice change (plus what I´m sort of looking for in my year off) to be an essentially independent being. Arelis is nice and I like her a lot (and she´s a good mom to her boys), but besides cooking and changing my sheets, she lets me take care of my own shit, sola. Which is just how I want it. I mean, I´ll soon be traveling entirely alone in Europe, and it´d be a lot harder to visualize taking care of myself if I´d been under motherly care up until that point. {I think the reason she´s not a babier is because she´s pretty young (about to turn 33), and still has kids at home, so I in no way represent a chance to have a child living at home again- she´s currently got two.}
I have my own room upstairs to sleep in, but when I´m at home I generally spend time downstairs in the living room- reading, talking, using the computer, or watching dubbed American movies/over-the-top dramatic Spanish soaps on the TV {which is almost always on}. Besides the first few days, I haven´t spent too much time at the house. Generally I´m out volunteering, at the community center through which the volunteer program is run, taking dance/exercise classes, running, or hanging out with the two other volunteers currently living here.
Arrival
Right now, I´ve completely settled into a good routine here, and am really happy with how everything is going- but it wasn´t always like this. The first three days I was in Atenas, I was miserable. I felt homesick, awkward, unhappy, uncomfortable, bored, etc. It was just not a good point in my trip- but I´ve found that´s pretty common of {my} transition periods.
I think I was feeling so down because I´d just come from the turtle project, where I´d gotten familiar with the routine, I had met some great people, and I was having a lot of fun. Instead, I found myself in a small, boring town {with no beach} where I didn´t know anyone, was living in a home full of strangers who spoke only a foreign language, and {since my time at the orphanage didn´t start until Tuesday, and I arrived Friday afternoon} I had essentially nothing to do all day. I found myself doubting my decision to stay in one place for a whole two months- a lifetime, considering I´d only done a little over two weeks at the turtle place. Plus, I could finally make contact with my family (and friends) through email, facebook, and Skype, and I suddenly felt an overwhelming need to speak with my family, and hear their voices.
But luckily, literally the day after I Skyped with the fam for my first time ever {a horrendous ordeal... long story short, bad internet connection + confusion about whether or not to press the microphone button on the headset when speaking = major frustration/possible tears}, it all changed for the better. I had my orientation with the volunteer coordinator, was given a mini tour of the town, met both Lindsay and Dean {which was an amazing experience, considering just learning of their existence filled me with joy, aha}, had my first Spanish class, and went out that night to the sports bar where I ordered my first "legal" beer. A life-changing day, let me tell you. And from then on, I´ve been in an extremely positive state of mind. It´s amazing the difference one day can make {<-- a thought I´ll be storing for later use in Europe}.
{Week}Day in the Life {of an Orphanage Volunteer Living in Atenas, Costa Rica}
This is my general schedule Monday-Friday morning:
5:30am- wake up {usually naturally- it gets light/loud outside early}
6:00- run
7:00- shower, eat breakfast, fill up my water and grab a snack for later
7:45- meet Lindsay {more on her later} and walk to the bus station
8:00- get on the bus to Palmares {where the kids´ home is located}
9:20- arrive at the childrens´ place after a 20 min. walk from the bus stop
9:30-11:40- play with kids!
12:15pm- catch the bus back to Atenas, eat aforementioned snack
1:20- arrive home for lunch, write emails/blog posts, read
2:30- head to the community center Su Espacio with Lindsay for Spanish classes (the first week)/ independent-study (now)
4:30- Spanish studying ends, leave either for home or to the town center {if I need to buy something}
After 4:30- dinner happens sometime between 6 and 7, and some nights I´ll go out to dance/spinning classes, to the sports bar, or out to hang with Lindsay and/or Dean, Otherwise it´s more writing/reading/relaxing.
8:00-10:00pm- bedtime occurs within this window, on average around 9:00 or 9:30, but last night it was 7:30, and the night before it wasn´t until 11:00 {since I was watching the Costa Rica vs Guyana "futbol" game- veerrryyyy important; luckily they won}
Repeat
The weekends are when the schedule goes out the window, and craziness ensues. I´ll have to go over those in a different post, haha.
Other {Important} People
Not sure how surprising this is, but I may actually interact more with the two other volunteers stationed here right now than my host family.
Lindsay and Dean are the two other volunteers in Atenas right now, and with whom I´ve been spending lots of time with (especially {as Dean likes to point out, in a total show of FOMO, aka fear of missing out} Lindsay). They´re both American, in their early 20´s, and pretty cool. Lindsay is not only volunteering for almost the exact same period of time as me (she´ll be leaving only one week earlier), but she´s also working at the childrens´ home- we´re together a lot. Dean is teaching English in the community center, and actually only has about 1 1/2 weeks left here in Atenas. But Lindsay and I traveled with him last weekend, and I´m pretty sure we´ll be doing so again this coming one, so I´ve definitely gotten to know him. It´s fun having the three of us together- we´ve got a good dynamic going: Dean meets people, who then invite Lindsay and I to go do stuff, and we bring him along. It´s also become a thing to make fun of him, so Lindsay and I are a little worried about how we´re going to pass the time once he´s gone....
I´m so glad there are those two to hang out with here, because like I learned at the turtle project, it´s the people who really help make an experience.
So yeah, that´s my situation for the past few weeks now. I´ve officially been in Costa Rica/away from home for more than a month, and I honestly couldn´t tell you whether it feels like I´ve been away for shorter or longer. My perception of time has gotten so screwed up here. But however long it´s been, I´m not ready for it to end anytime soon.
Off to a spin class with Lindsay {Dean, feel the FOMO}.
xoxo, Cleome
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