Leaving Costa Rica (July 1)

My last day in Costa Rica was mostly a disappointment. Knowing that I would be awake through the night leading up to our bus for the airport at 3:30am, I spent about six hours in the afternoon trying to catch a nap, but I could not fall asleep. After a delicious supper and then having to say goodbye to Flory and the rest of the host family, the bus I was taking downtown to see the national orchestra went so slowly that it was going to make me late for the symphony. I eventually got out of the bus to take a taxi, which brought me promptly to the performance hall about three minutes after the symphony started. However, a man standing at the gate told me that it was too late to buy tickets, and peering inside, I could see that the ticket sellers had closed and gone home. Since I was alone, I had little choice other than to simply go to the school on another taxi.

At the school, however, I borrowed Kara’s guitar and played it most of the night, transcribing tablature for some of my music and later playing some songs for people. Quite fittingly, I sung ‘Help’ by the Beatles for Gladys before she left. Although she would normally stay through the night with us, she had a wedding in the family the next morning and needed some rest.Needless to say, while we were in Costa Rica, Gladys made sure that we took all the precautions necessary to avoid being robbed or stolen from, and she negotiated excellent deals for us for our weekend hotels and activities. She even told us not to hesitate to email her if we needed help in Nicaragua or Honduras, and she also told me to audition for American Idol. Around midnight, someone set up his computer as a modem, so we all had wireless internet until we left. Others were actually able to sleep for a few hours.

The second month of the trip is revealing why the Central America Summer Institute contains only 25 students—maintaining the needed relationships with the extensive network which includes the doctors and staff at the hospitals, the host families, and other personnel is a very taxing enterprise. Administrative and staff changes occur in the hospitals throughout the year, causing many difficulties. Additionally, phone and internet communication is more limited in Honduras and Nicaragua, with the added barrier of language. For some groups, freshly surfacing difficulties of this nature are still in the process of being addressed, while for me and Tom, things remain in good order from last year and communication through this year.

At 3:30am, we gave our final farewell to the Academia Latinoamericano de Español and Costa Rica as we departed for the airport.