Fútbol!!!
22 May 2004
San José, Costa Rica

"There was a big futbol game last night and my family´s favorite team won... all very exciting.  Kind of epic, it was raining and right at the end, the other team scored a goal, so everybody freaked because the game could have been tied.  The tension was thick and tempers ran rampant.  Costa Ricans are very serious about futbol, so it got a little violent there at the end.  I learned later that the fighting was a tactic used by the winning team to run the clock out, very clever. 

    I realize now that in some of my notes I begin writing in Spanish because I´m starting to think in Spanish again.  Last night I dreamed in Spanish! But, I was in the Bowl at Millsaps..."

En la Iglesia
23 May 2004
San José, Costa Rica

“Its Sunday today and I went to church, but there was definitely something different about this service.  It started at 9am and for about the first hour and half we all stayed standing singing the same phrase over and over again... ¨Espiritu Santo, toma mi vida y con esta cancion a Jesus.¨ The congregation got more and more into it as time went on, but we sang nothing, but that phrase.  Then, the droning began again.  People being overcome by the spirit and the feeling was thick and permeated the room.  Suddenly, a woman near the front began moaning and wailing above the noise and music and praying to God, but it definitely was not in Spanish.  Some words were, but the rest were some strange language I don´t think any of us had ever heard before.  I looked around to see if anyone else thought this was strange, but no one even turned around to look.  The players up front did not even look down at her.  Then, Hilda started gibbering, but it was a more personal gibber.  Then, another lady joined the one up front and they began singing together, but not Espiritu Santo.  It was something completely different and they were singing it right together.  Its hard to explain, but next time I hope to get a recording.  A very interesting day!”

“I brought about 7 books to read and take notes on and I'm working on a kinship chart for the family.  Soon, I'm going to meet Carlos' mother (Mr. Monge's mom) who is usually spoken about with great respect and reverence.  Apparently she loves coffee, so I'm excited about the chance to meet her. 

        I write everyday, but I know I can write more.  I went to the library yesterday and looked up some local ideas about culture and stuff and found something very interesting.  The Ticans break down their own culture into 5 different elements... Art, Sports and Leisure, Youth, one more thing thats in my notes and not with me and lastly Women and Family.   This book was written by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Leisure himself... strange ministry, eh?  Anyway, the library was cool, really easy to use, so i´ll probably keep going back.  I read the newspaper everyday so that Carlos and I will have something to talk about.  All he thinks about are sports and current events and he worries about Luis because he plays video games too much.  I told Carla about my trip to the library and what I read and she said she'd like to sit down and talk with me about it.”

Jessica se casa?
10 June 2004
San José, Costa Rica

“My family seems to be going through some major changes. Last Thursday, Hilda´s Catholic mother came to church with us and the spirit took her as well. Hilda is convinced that is was God's Will that brought her mother there that day and it was the first time I´d learned that Hilda was actually Catholic before she had Luis. Today I went up to the stage and got annointed by the pastor and I remember wondering if I would suddenly lose consciousness, but I did not. I realize now that I need to ask a few more questions about Espiritu Santo because Hilda's wayward sister, Maris, also had a possession/encounter with the Spirit; however, somewhat more violently. Sometimes I look at Hilda as the backbone of her family and I believe she is, but I also think her husband thinks of her as kind of a fanatic for God. Another interesting thing... Luis Carlos proposed to me the other day by saying "In 3 years, I'm coming to the United States, after I have finished school." I said, "That's cool, what are you going to do there?" Luis, "I'm going to get married." I said, confused, "To who?" He says (oh here's the kicker) "To You" without the smile or laugh that I'm used to when he jokes with me. Let me just say that I was sort of unprepared for that, but apparently he's told almost everyone he knows and Hilda thinks its hilarious. Its good coffee conversation, at least. Oh and the best part was, when I told my father over email, he sends me back "Hey, you only live once! Have some fun, honey!" Lord.
Ok, but the research is going fine. Yesterday, I played cards with Hilda's father and we talked about the good ole' days before the crack houses and gangs that seem to rule the city now. They're family used to live in the city and he showed me pictures. Hilda said it was the first time he'd laughed in a long time. We played an interesting game called "Tonto" that I'll introduce the dept. to as well as Slap Jack, which was a big hit. Last night I took bunches of pictures and I think I have pictures of almost every person I've spent time with or talked to since I've been here. They promise to let me take a group picture, too. Well, that's all for now.

It's the day before the big wedding between Walkiria and Benjamin and tonight there will be a great celebration. It's a traditional mariachi band performance in the bride's house the night before called "la serenade." Both families will meet tonight for a pre-celebration celebration. I took about a gazillion pictures and both families were very tolerant of me. They did have to ask and make sure that I spoke and understood Spanish. Even then, they would ask Carlos or Hilda a question about or directed at me rather than ask me personally.
Carlos's sister's daughter's daughter, Carolina and I had a great time throwing "bombas" back and forth. Bombas are traditional Costa Rican jokes told during musical performances usually during a break in the music by the performers. Carolina had a book of them and we just picked some out and started yelling them at each other. It was hilarious! There were jokes about the Pope, women, men, sex, love, and marriage. All of the things that seem to rule the Costa Rican spirit and thought. At the end of every joke, the teller is supposed to yell "Uyuyuyu, Namasita!" I've heard Esteban do that many times before, but I've never understood why until now.

As Nicaragua, Honduras, San Salvador and Columbia are all countries that Costa Ricans tend to caste down as nations of poverty, they caste down peoples within. "Nica" is a derogatory slur against Nicaraguans and to be called such a name could cause many doors to slam in one's face in the way of housing and work. Costa Ricans tend to believe that these peoples are invading their country, increasing the crime and drug use rate, and taking would be Tican jobs. Indeed, the color of one's skin and the look of one's face tells the tale of such ethnic origins so that the more "oscuro" or "indio" one looks signifies a lower status. Luis always seems to be promoting his Castilian heritage and Hilda talks about how she needs to get a tan because she is so white. Upon looking around the busy street corners or in shopping areas, I saw many tanning salons, some looking very high class, where women walked out with tans that some American girls would envy a great deal. However, I'm not entirely convinced that they're tans were entirely manufactured. As I write this, I think its more important to go to the salon than it is to be in need of a tan. If you don't need a tan, than you must already be dark and we all know the connotations of being "negra" or "oscura."
I had the unique opportunity today to speak to the Nicaraguan woman who lives in the Monge household names Julia. She came to Costa Rica 4 years ago, but has been living in the Monge house for the last two. Julia told me that the fa Hilda took her into their home when other people would have wanted nothing to do with her. Julia's former matrons became more and more abusive as time and the steady I must say I was guilty of assuming at first that Julia was a housekeeper helping Hilda with the mountain of chores she must do everyday; in fact, I had no idea she actually had room and board in the house until 2 weeks after I'd arrived. Her room was in a shut off part of the house that was as close to being outside as one could get. The door that lead to the main part of the house was blocked by bicycles and a table and chairs, which was not there 3 years ago when Luis lived there. Yet, when Hilda talks about her it is with a great deal of pity and respect for her plight.
Today, I had an opportunity to speak with her as she went about her chores. Today is her only day off from work and she takes advantage of these few free hours to do her laundry. She was very friendly and open about her experiences and I believe it was just a relief to talk to someone. She was not an uneducated woman. In Nicaragua, she earned a degree in accounting, but could not find enough work to sustain her mother and 2 children (boy and girl); so, she moved to Costa Rica where wages were far better. She could only find work as a cashier at a fast food chicken restaurant, Rosti Pollo, and she can only afford to see her family once a year at the most. The cost to travel between the two countries is very steep and she knows most of that money should go towards her children's food, clothing, and school. At this point in our conversation, Julia had tears in her eyes and, as I think of her now, I must say I have tears in mine.
I asked her if she ever encountered the discrimination that I'd seen and heard so much about. She said, "you probably read a lot about how Nicaraguans cause all of the problems in the papers. I don't like to think about my country that way because it is not a country of criminals. However, many of the Nicaraguans that come into Costa Rica are criminals and they do bring that in with them. Its hard for me to find work or a place to rent because no one wanted to rent to Nicaraguans. At one time, I thought I could work as a domestic housekeeper, but all the advertisements asked for San Salvadorians, Hondurans, or Ticans. Nicaraguans were left off of the list of desired peoples."
"En Costa Rica hay bastante [discriminacion] contra del nicaraguense."