Different Realities...

Hello all, I am back from a refreshing weekend away in Monteverde. The purpose of my trip was both academic and for pleasure. What relief fresh mountain air can be! I was in a bit of a bad mood at the end of last week, despite the fact that I have been re-affirming positive mantras daily, and felt a huge weight lifted as soon as I stepped off of the bus and took a deep breath. Brittany and I decided to stay at an affordable family-run place called Cabinas Don Taco, which offered a view of the Nicoya Peninsula and an electrical outlet on the large porch, so that we could work oon our computers and enjoy the natural environment at the same time.

We arrived on Friday night, and I immediately started calling people for appointments for the next day. Monteverde is an interesting place, as there is a huge permanent population of extranjeros [foreigners]. I have been interviewing poor Nicaraguan immigrants in San Jose, and wanted to contrast this with the documentation of immigrant experiences form the entire opposite end of the spectrum. This weekend I met with people from Argentina, USA, Israel, Austria and Canada. Although they all had different reasons for moving, one element was common, all came out of desire not out of necessity. Here they are able to create a more intentional and idyllic life, as opposed to the Nicaraguans I have interviewed who have come out of necessity, to keep their children from starving, and still live in slum, urban areas. The people in Monteverde all had the resources to move, whereas the Nicaraguans don't have the resources NOT to move {if that makes any sense}. It is an interesting comparison of needs versus wants, or even the relative perception of needs to one's previous life experiences. For people in Monteverde it was a need to live in a tranquil place, close to wildlife and a vibrant natural environment. For the Nicaraguans in San Jose, and all over Nicaragua it is a need to simply meet basic needs and continue surviving, however they are able.

For a laugh...

If you were wondering Google's political affiliation, go to google.com, type in failure and hit 'I'm feeling lucky', what comes up is pretty amusing.

From Naciente Poas

For two days we have been travelling to more rural areas of the country studying Costa Rican participation in the global market (characterized by agriculture production), and the environmental consequences of this participation. These are pictures I took yesterday. I am sure you all are admiring the lush, green scenary. What a vibrant looking ecosystem, right? Unfortunately looks can deceive, and in this case they do. On this hike we were headed down to the point of emersion of a natural spring, that is located down the hill from a large fern plantation. Ferns, which are a huge crop for export for the use of filler for flower bouquets in the United States and Europe, bring riches to the large farmers of the area and contribute to the contamination of the water source that provides drinking water to a large population living in the central valley. The agro-chemicals, sprayed onto the ferns to keep them 'healthy' end up in the watershed, and eventually in our bodies. As we learned the day before, this is not a phenomenon unique to ferns, the production of all of the crops for export, including coffee, bananas and pineapples, contribute to the contamination of water sources throughout the country. Many people will claim they are taking environmental precautions, but it is obvious that business is the most important consideration.

Over two days we visited a Dole banana plantation, a fairtrade coffee cooperative, a fern farm, and spoke with some people working with environmental NGOs. Through this experience I have learned a lot about the human and environmental costs of Costa Rica's participation in the global market. On many of these farms, they use (or have used) chemicals that are illegal in the United States, which have caused sterilization in thousands of workers, as well as mutations in children. To my surprise, we also learned that Costa Rica has the highest occurence of gastro-intestinal cancer in the world, which leads me to suspect that the chemicals ingested by way of food and water are the main culprits. It is difficlut for me to look at bananas and flower bouquets in the same way. Of course when picking out a beautiful bouquet, I never consider that the fern in the background has contributed to the destruction of ecosystems, or that for me to put banana on my cereal, some poor fellow has sacrificed his ability to have a family.

These things are difficult to take in, because we are now so tied to the world market, that it is almost impossible not to support these activities. However, we also started learning about the important role that the consumer plays. The philosophy of the production of these crops is "more for less", by using agro-chemicals they maximize and push production, that they then sell for a very low price. This results in environmental degradation, as well as human degredation. Not only are people vulnerable to health effects, they are also not paid a fair or often even a living wage. With the fall of the market price for coffee in recent years, the price per pound has been as low as $.48, while the cost of production is $.75/lb. This is not a savings that we see in the supermarket, and yet thousands of coffee-farmers are living in destitute conditions due to an unfair market.

How is this even possible? How does a system persist in which many producers are making back only half of what it costs to produce? How can we even still question why developing countries cannot pull themselves out of poverty, and in some cases become more impoverished? We as part of the group of consumers must become informed. In the long-run this is a system that is obviously not sustainable, and we must participate in the change. Part of the answer to this dire situation is buying products that have been fairly traded. We visited Coopesarapiqui, which is a part of the much larger Coocafe. Coopesarapiqui has a membership of over 200 small farmers, who bring their harvested coffee to the larger processing plant. Through the fairtrade coop, farmers are guaranteed a constant minimum price of $1.26/lb. no matter the fluctuation of the regular market. To me this still seems like a piddling amount, and yet it is enough for them to sustain their livlihoods, and it offers stability that the regular market does not. I came to the realization that this is a difference that I as a consumer can afford, but they as producers cannot. To me it is a question of priorities and small sacrifices, to them it is a question of survival. I encourage everyone to reflect upon this seriously, and choose to exercize your power as a consumer. As a response to the increasing momentum of the fairtrade movement, more and more farmers and coops are trying to participate. Not surprisingly, the fairtrade and organic movements seem to go hand-in-hand. Many consumers interested in fairtrade are also interested in organic products, thus many of the farms and coops are also making the transition to organic production. This is one of the keys to solving a huge problem, and we can participate in the change.

Holidays...

Thursday, Frisay and Saturday of last week I was participating in a service learning project. While most students went in groups to one of the sites proposed by the school, I chose to donate my time and energy to the group of people that I have already been working with (some of whom I owe a lot for the sharing of their migration stories) in La Carpio. A group of local men and women are building their own daycare center, recognizing the need for places for parents to take their children, and for children to learn- My three days were full of moving furniture, digging, building and lots of cleaning. Not the most interesting, but helpful nontheless.

Sunday I went to the football game between Heredia and Alajuela, two regional teams. People were fully decked out in their red and yellow jerseys, pants, hats, bandanas and face paint. I had never been to a soccer game before, but this seemed to be more violent on the field than I would expect from a non-contact sport. A lot of guys spent a lot of time writhing around on the field, clutching ankles and knees, and in the end Heredia lost. Alas.

I came home to a lunch of fried fish and and french fries. Food is still the greatest mystery of travel to me. Despite the fact that I have discussed with my host mom several times that I don't like eating humongous meals, I'm still always served the largest portion of everything. Exercize in self-assertion.

Last night my friend Susannah invited me out to a fancy dinner with her and her boyfriend. We went to a fancy Asian restaurant in a not very nice part of San Jose. The interior decorating was beautiful, with a room representing the art and cultural of each of the countries represented on the menu. There was an India room, Thai room and Japan room. We ate sushi, samosas and I had eggplant Thai curry. Oh what a delectable change from beans and meat and rice. I felt very envious of Kyle eating sushi all of the time in Japan.

Today is a holiday, but I am at school seeking refuge from the constant feeding that happens when I spend entires days at home. I am working on a paper about urban segregation in response to my accumulative experiences in La Carpio, however my attention has wandered over to email. I am excited because I also found a restaurant in Heredia called 'Petit Paris' that actually serves imported beers! Next time I have the urge I'm heading in for a Forbidden Fruit. Refreshing in some many ways.
Hope all is well with all.

A weekend away...

Unfortunately Heredia, the city where I live in Costa Rica, is an exception in the land of nature and beauty. Although there is a lot of access to the concentration of population and all corresponding services and resources, it is not the place that people come to Costa Rica to visit. That said, after a few weeks of not travelling anywhere out of Heredia and San Jose, I decided that I needed a change of scenery; in fact my concentration and sanity depended on it. A few friends and I decided last week that we would visit the Atlantic 'Caribbean' side of the country, to eat some good food and play in the waves. The rest of our adventure was just good luck.

On Friday morning, I went to the clinic in La Carpio as usual. I was interviewing more women there. I had the most amazing interview with a woman who was so incredibly articulate, despite the fact that she has very little education. She said waht so many others had been trying to say, but in words that could move a mountain. As I watched ehr explore a range of emotions, from joy and gratitude to sorrow and despair, I realized that this is the voice that people need to hear for there to be any compassionate change in the way we treat other human beings. Much of the population in Nicaragua is destitute, and family members move to Costa Rica to earn money to send back for the very survival of their families. When they arrive here they are treated as criminals, and discriminated against in almost every way possible. I can{t imagine how wnyone could listen to this woman's story without feeling the gravity of her prior situation and the desire to help her and her family. No one could fail to recognize her humanity and that anyone in her shoes would be compelled to become a migrant.

After this interview, Gail the founder if the Foundation, asked me if I would like to visit an indigenous village on the Caribbean side on Saturday. She had arranged to take a group that had since backed out, but the people in the village has prepared an activity for the visitors and there was no way to cancel since they lived on a mountain with no electricity or phone. She said that if a few other students and I would come with her, she would take us to the beach town we had been planning to visit afterwards, of course we agreed.

On Staurday morning, five of us got up at five and went to San Jose to meet her for our ride. By 9:30 am we were fording a river up to our waists and climbing up a mountain side among banana plants and other lush greenery. Through puddles of mud we trudged (and some of us fell) for about two miles, until we reached a clearing where two stilt houses stood, a school and a round, thatched, open air pavilion stood. Underthe pavilion the people of the village were gathered with their readymade crafts and materials for showing us how they make them. They create fabric from bark and make dolls; create twine and rope from leaves and bark and make bags and hammocks, they let us try some of the fruits that they grow; showed us how to build a fire and plant Yucca, a popular tuber in Costa Rica. We also met their curandero (medicine man) and heard some of their traditional belief stories. It was all very fascinating. During our time there, it started to pour, so our walk back down the mountain was a drenched slip and slide. By the time we got back to the river, the water level had risen, but we were still able to get across.

Our next stop was Cahuita, a little beach town where I plan to take my mom and Ray when they come. I enjoyed being next to the sea and eating great seafood, and was talked into going with the whole group into the larger town for Carnaval celebrations. We hired the bootleg cab driver from Cahuita (cabs aren't allowed in the city), a young guy named Johnny to take us into the city. Along the way we got a flat tire that poor Johnny had to change in the dark, his only light coming from the face of his cell phone. Luckily he knew what he was doing. When we got to Limon, he decided to walk around with us, since he knows the way. I was grateful to have him with us.

As for the Carnaval, the real parade is next weekend, and this whole week seems like one big 'pre-party'. The streets are teeming with people, and rows of tents have been pitched that are makeshift bars and dance clubs. It was all bad canned music and lots of drunk people. Not my favorite scene, but I have of course heard a lot about Carnaval in my life, so I suppose it was an interesting cultural experience. In the middle of the night we got another cab back to Cahuita (Johnny unfortunately left earlier, after he decided we would be okay on our own). I was glad to get back in time to wake up and enjoy the beach the next morning.

At 9:00, I was awoken by our friend Nochi at the door. He had rented a bike and offered to take me for a ride on the back road where it is less crowded. I took the chance, and thoroughly enjoyed the music of the birds. We explored around, trying to decide where to have breakfast. After we all stuffed ourselves with gallo pinto, coffee and fresh tropical juice, we hit the beach. The water was so warn, it felt like getting into a bathtub. Oh, letting the waves wash over me was just what I needed to clear my head. By the time we got back on the bus I felt like I had been away for a lot longer than two days.

Unfortunately we hadn't bought our return tckets ahead of time (note to self: never do that again, and we ended up riding in the aisle 'de pie' (on foot). At the police check point we had to get off the bus so that they could get on and check everyone's passports. I now realize why illegal immigrants are forced to cross into the country on foot, through the mountains, because on the buses the officials are looking for them. Thankfully when we reached Limon, there was another bus waiting to take the overflow on our bus and we had seats the rest of the way. I slept the remaining three hours, and then went right to sleep again when I got home. Not too much relaxation over the weekend, but a lot of needed adventure.