We are back and very sorry that it has taken us this long to post. We really don’t have a great excuse as to why we have not posted. One week turned into two and then before we knew it a whole year had gone by!!! Once again our apologies, so we are back now, and ready to update you on all our adventures!!! The last time we wrote Tony and I were on the verge of embarking on a new adventure; we were changing sites for Tortuguero to Barbacoas de Puriscal. We went from one beautiful place to another and feel very blessed to have the luck to live in two very different parts of Costa Rica but both equally gorgeous! So let’s get y’all acquainted with Barbacoas de Puriscal!!! We are located in the Central Valley about 1 hour away from the Costa Rican capital San Jose. Our area is very mountainous and has a ton of hills and beautiful views. Barbacoas the community we live in is on one of the higher hills, so we can see our entire big town center Puriscal. Being higher up also means we have cold weather!!! Which we absolutely love!!! Blankets, sweaters and socks oh my!!! Our community has a school, high school; EBAIS (clinic), CEN (Children’s Education and Nutrition Center) and we are about 15 minutes by bus to our big town center Puriscal. In Puriscal we can find all the things a major town center provides. And if it is not there the country capital is just an hour away and with the amazing bus service we have we can practically leave and come back anytime of the day or night :)
We started off living with a host family and were there with them for the month of October and some of November. Unfortunately the situation was not the most comfortable and instead of staying thru December we had to find a home in November. Since we did not stay the whole 3 months with the host family this caused them to be very upset with us and they demanded we pay them for the month of the December because they said we owed them. Thankfully my program manager was there for this big show down and she had our backs the whole way through. It was yet another stressful situation and made us once again question our service.
Thankfully we were able to find a home to rent!! We have been here for a year now and we love our home! It is perfect just for us. Our neighbors are kind to us, and my counterpart Maritza who lives one house away has made it her mission to care for us. The first week of living here she brought us groceries. She lets us borrow her washing machine, which is a God send because washing clothes by hand is not joke folks, she constantly sends us food she has prepared or invites us over to eat. Thanks to her and her family we have a television, couches, a desk, dinning table with chairs and even an extra bed for our guest room. Yes we have a guest room, and y’all are invited whenever you want!! So on the getting to know people front we have done well for ourselves. A year later we are developing stronger friendships and meeting new people. At times it is a bit frustrating that our fellow volunteers have had more time in their site and therefore more developed projects, but regardless we feel good about our service and where we are at this point. We hope to finish our service strong.
So speaking of projects here is what we are doing:
Tony is teaching English at a neighboring community school to 5th and 6th graders, I am working with 4th, 5th and 6th grade girls at our community school doing a project called Chicas Poderosas, which is about girl’s empowerment. Both Tony and I go to the local children’s shelter and do various activities with the kids. As the school year is winding down here in Costa Rica so are our projects. The school year ends in December and picks up again in February.
Other highlights this year for us were: taking a trip to Nicaragua with fellow Volunteers. We went to San Juan del Sur, Granada and Isla Ometepe. It was an amazing experience, we had a great time! Tony and I went to Honduras. Considering it was Tony’s first time in Honduras and meeting the rest of my family he did quite well. But then again who could not like Tony ;) I had not been to Honduras in about 10 years so going back was great! We had an awesome time and got very spoiled by my family!! We also went back home to California in February and took the opportunity to visit Tony’s parents in Mexico. It was my first time visiting that part of Mexico and we had an amazing time and we were once again spoiled by Tony’s family. We also had lots of Tequila and a ton of tacos :) And most recently Tony did some bungee jumping off a very high bridge here in Costa Rica, I waited for him at home and was very thankful when he returned all in one piece :) I also won a photo contest here in Costa Rica that was for all Peace Corps Volunteers here in country for the Peace Corps 50th anniversary!!! Over 200 photos were submitted and my picture was one of the top 25!!
It is so hard to remember the things we did this past year, but all in all we have had our ups and downs but we are still here! And we will be till the very end of service, Si Dios Quiere (God Willing--- A very common dicho( saying) here in Costa Rica). Speaking of the end of service it is approaching very quickly May 20, 2012 to be exact!!! Yikes time has flown by!!! Tony turns 31 next week on the 15th and I turned 31 back in August, which deserves another yikes!!! We also celebrated our 2nd year of marriage this past June. And last but not least we have a new address, and would love to hear from you any way shape or form!!!
New Address:
Tony Casillas or Patty Casillas or The Casillas-----As you wish :)
Apartado 159, 6000
San Jose, Puriscal, Santiago
10401-6000 Costa Rica
Anyway we promise to keep up the blogging this time around. Here are some pics
