The Costa Rican Workday

It ends at 5pm. Not in the way that a day, say, in Council Member Garcetti's office "ends at 5"- I mean that at 4:55, one of the higher ups in the office came by my desk and said, "you know we all leave at 5 right?" And she meant it. She meant that at 5, they turn off the lights, turn on the alarm, and kick you out.

My Gringa self barely knows how to process this.

But, in a way, it makes sense. Because it gets dark at 6 here. All year long. So, the sun, even, is on a Tica work schedule. That's cool. I think this journey will be an early to bed, early to rise one... Pappa Hochberg will be so proud.

Work was good. The day began with me meeting Ana Yancy and Lizeth ( I think that's her name... good lord I'm bad with names), and they proceeded, for an hour, in incredibly quick Spanish, to explain the Safe School/Safe Community program, and some of the successes and challenges, and I can't quite believe it, but I actually understood about 95% of what they were saying. I was VERY happy to learn that I will be doing field work. They have the Safe School/Safe Community program in 4 districts, and around 30 schools all together, and I'm gonna get to visit a good portion of them.

They sent me out of their office with around 200 pages of more detailed aspects of the program, which meant that I spent the rest of the day reading, slowly, and looking up words in the dictionary, and then reading some more. At lunch, I went out with some new colleagues to a traditional Costa Rican lunch spot (they call them "sodas") and had some rice and beans and really delicious fish. Then, back to the reading.

It's interesting: like Garcetti's, this office is mainly made up of women. Probably 15 women and 5 men. Ahhh, how the ladies like the social justice.



Right now I'm in my hotel room, which I've grown quite fond of, jesus and mary candles blazing, resting, watching "so you think you can dance" on You Tube (thank god for Claudia, who I met today and showed me where I can find it). (The internet, by the way, is really a very incredible thing. I've never been so appreciative.)

Buenas Noches,
I miss you people,
K