LASP…Learning Alternative Sanitation Procedures….Lice and Scavies Program…??

We had no idea….life on Cartí Mulatupu for 6 days… Dec. 6 through 12...

12 LASPers, our intern and prof stayed on 2 indigenous islands in the Caribbean with the Kuna…to simply live in solidarity with them and learn to communicate in more ways than verbally.

We drove in trucks across the Panamerica Highway to arrive to Cartí, the shore of Panamá where we took small wooden boats across the ocean to the 2 islands where we would live for the week. It was a gray and dreary day. We were nervous and excited about the unknown and the challenge. I had expectations to speak a bit of Kuna, learn differences and similarities between Kuna and Bribri, learn how to express gratitud without the word ‘thank you’ (because it doesn’t exist in Kuna) but by my actions, facial expressions, and attitude, and live without the concept of time.

Little did we know that we would endure a tropical depression and the effects of la Niña…rain every day, island flooding..¡que difícil!...the most challenging and difficult week of the semester! Wow.

The Kuna - The comarca of the Kuna includes land in Panamá and several islands off the coast where around 32,000 semi-autonomous Kuna live. My island - Cartí Mulatupu had over 900 Kuna living on it. Each island has its own government/laws while also protected under the Panamanian governemnt/law. (When it is not raining) the men go out to fish or to the mainland (Panamá) to gather firewood, hunt, get fresh water, etc. The women prepare the food, take care of the children, and sew their molas for their own clothing and to sell to tourists. The children do have a school on the island and they play together. Men will also weave baskets or other utensils out of grass plants. For celebrations, the community dances and drinks ‘chicha’ (fermented traditional drink) and plays music. Each night the community has Congress…a meeting led by the Sila who chants in Kuna and then another person interprets the message. The Kuna are truly creative, open, beautiful people.

Mi familia…I lived with a grandma and her two daughters Isidelia and Marline. Each daughter had two children: Reye, Marelinez, Josué, and Jacob….all 5 and under. They all slept in hammocks in the main room of the hut but gave me the queen sized bed in the separate room…which was a blessing to have privacy but I got flea bites from the mattress. My family showed me hospitality through giving me the seat of honor….the lawn chair…in the hut. They prepared me food…even special Kuna dishes that took extra time. They always accompanied me…to the latrine, to take my bucket bath, to wander the island. My mom gave me the traditional bracelet and a necklace.

Gratitud…and all I could do to show my thanks was to eat the food and to use facial expressions and the few kuna words that I had learned. It was challenging to not be able to communicate with my family because they only spoke a few words of Spanish.

A typical day of this rainy week consisted of getting up around 8 am…going to the bathroom in the latrine over the ocean, accompanied by my aunt…eating a breakfast of 2 homemade Kuna breadsticks with 2 Kraft singles…sitting and watching my mom sew molas (the artesanía (quilting/traditional dress) of the Kuna)…journaling…playing with balloons/bubbles/play dough/paper with my siblings….playing Uno and Old Maid with Laura and her older siblings….eating a lunch of plaintain soup and boiled fresh fish…touring the island during the one moment when it stopped raining in the afternoon, playing with other Kuna children…dinner of rice and tuna or pasta or some strange mixture…going to a church service or the community congress…sitting under the one lamp with the family…bedtime around 9 pm. O to pass the time…the days seemed so long because we were stuck inside most of the time because of the rain. I felt trapped. I always felt relieved when I would see one of the other students on the island. It was encouraging to have a few people who could relate to challenge of adapting to a different culture.

By the end of the week, the tropical depression stayed strong. We actually did not know if we could leave on Saturday as scheduled! It was quite the anxiety for our leaders to figure out. The Panamanian government had closed the Panamerican highway…the only route back to Panama City out of the comarca of Kuna. The other option would be to take boats to another island that has a small airport in order to fly out. But that was doubtful as well because the waters were too dangerous to travel in the first place. So we did a lot of waiting in desperation because we did not want to stay any longer….because of God’s hand and also being privileged Americans with connections, we were able to get out of Kuna land safe and sound. We did travel by boat in the rain singing Christmas carols for an hour to the airport island. We did get on a 20 passenger Panama Air airplane, which we were unsure if it would be able to come or not….We are privileged….other people had been waiting in that airport more than a day to get out of the area because it was the only option.

It is not fair…yet at the same time we were so thankful to be out of there, to return to the hotel, shower, de-lice ourselves, and be clean! We like to think that all people are equal…but in that moment, why did we think that we deserved to leave that island when that is the reality the Kuna are living? I was uncomfortably stretched through immersion in a different culture during an oppressive situation….and for that I do not know what light I just painted of the experience…I do not know really how to say, but I did anyway. Let me share my stories when I come home!

My last moments in Costa Rica…

After my 3 week stay in kéköLdi with the bribri and a few days of reflection in San José, I spent the final weekend of Costa Rica in San Gerardo de Dota with two amigas McCall and Madison. They are students at Southern Nazarene University, which runs QERC – Quetzal Education Research Center – in the valley of Talamanca mountain range. San Gerardo is the sanctuary of quetzals, in the tropical cloud forest. The first trip to this beauty of nature, I was oblivious to that. But after watching birds for 3 weeks with my indigenous brothers in the Caribbean, I took advantage of the opportunity to go with Maddie and McCall to another distinct climate/diversity zone of the Talamanca mountain range…with hopes of relaxing, just being, and perhaps doing a bit of birdwatching!

The ‘paseo’ was a refreshing closure to my time in Costa Rica. I never imagined what range of biodiversity thrives in a country the size of West Virginia. It was like crisp fall weather…sunshine…no rain! Glorious. Maddie, McCall, the director of QERC, Michael, and I hiked the trail to the waterfall and another trail in the primary forest. We paid a bit of dinero to hike up the back of a man’s property to see some quetzals as well! They love to perch in aguacotillo trees. The resplendent quetzal is in the trogon family….and it is known for its brilliant green, blue, and red colors and flowing tail feathers. Of course the male is the favored one over the duller colored female…she’s still a beauty.  It was a blessing just to be and soak in God’s creation with a few wonderful women.

On Saturday afternoon, I spent my final moments back in Guadalupe/San José packing for Panamá and saying goodbyes at my favorite bakery, my neighbors, and my familia. It was a simple goodbye with my host family. We took some pics in front of the Christmas tree, and they gifted me with a Costa Rica “¡pura vida!” tshirt and a letter. I was not super close to my family, but I truly value the experience. They welcomed me in treating me like a daughter. I got to see how a single mother survives on a low income supporting her 3 children….the good and bad of the family…real. I appreciate all the “cafecitos” (coffee breaks) that I shared with Mami when she shared with me her life and perspective….all the games of Clue and Uno and Dutch Blitz that I played with my brothers…all the fútbol games of Alejandro on the weekends, the Disney movies with Sebastian, the rainy weekend trip to the beach. It was challenging to live in a house with different values of ‘cleanliness’ and nutrition. What I can now look back on and laugh about is the ridiculous fact that one of the mini poodles – Sakoomi – would sometimes poop and pee on my bedroom floor…guacala! (gross)…I never understood those 2 dogs that were not disciplined in the house…but I endured. Craziness. Like Mami told me, I had the opportunity to learn from a variety of familias…my tica familia, nica familia, Bribri familia, and Kuna familia. Indeed I did, and I learned to respect each one in a different way…there is no ‘perfect’ familia.

I am also glad that I made a few connections with other ticos while in San José. Although most ticos do not interact with their neighbors…they are super family-oriented…I met my family’s neighbors and would go over to cook with the señora here and there or have ‘cafecitos.’ I also hung out at the local Panadería (bakery) of Joaquín…who makes the best bread (and cinnamon rolls) in Costa Rica…and made connections with him and the other employees. I got to know a few other LASPer’s tica familias by going over to their houses and taking weekend trips with them.

Goodbyes were simple and sweet in San José. It was time for the challenge of Panamá and Kuna Yala…living on an indigenous island with the Kuna….

In harmony with nature while battling modernity...

Estar en harmonia con la naturaleza mientras combatir la modernidad...

Where to begin?! How do I explain to you my experience of living in the Caribbean in the mountains of Talamanca with the bribri – a pre-Columbian indigenous group struggling to maintain their culture, history, language, and history amidst a the modern world. The indigenous reserve of keköLdí (3500 hectares2), there are 250 bribri – 50 families. I lived with Gloria and Juanita and Duaro and Keswar. Gloria and Juanita are two single women in their 50s who never got married. Juanita takes care of her mother Catalina and aunt Eustasia. Gloria raised her niece Sobi and two nephews Duaro (18) and Keswar(16)…the case of alcoholism, abuse, infidelity is all too common among spouses.

21 years ago, 7 bribri families joined together to begin the Green Iguana Project with funds and resources from outside organizations in order to preserve the population of green iguana…in route to extinction. With slow progress at developing the iguana farm, some of the families gave up on hopes of gaining profit from the farm. The families of Gloria and Juanita have maintained the Iguana farm, and have released around 38,000 iguanas in Costa Rica, in reserves and mostly in the surrounding area, achieving the purpose of preserving the nearly extinct species iguana iguana. Tourists visit keköLdí to see the iguanas and receive tours or charlas about the iguanas, medicinal plants, bribri culture/history, birding, and more. And in this way, Gloria and Juanita tell their story and have enough to live day by day with their people.

A basic day for me with the bribri….
-Wake up around 6 AM and listen to the magnificent chorus of birds, dogs, chickens, etc.
-chat with Gloria in the kitchen while she prepared my breakfast
-eat breakfast-always a large spread of toast, cereal, fruit, and coffee
-feed the iguanas, scrub out the water containers, give them fresh water
-birdwatching
-chat with random tourists/foreigners who visit the iguanas
-help/watch Gloria and Juanita…with whatever they were doing
-lunch
-chat with Gloria and Juanita and learn about the bribri
-journal
-more birdwatching/exploring the mountain trails
-watch the news with Juanita
-supper
-hang out with Duaro and Keswar and learn about birds/revise my growing list of new bird species!
-read in the hammock

ALSO…
-tours in the morning/afternoon/night with my personal guide Keswar..birding in the forest/mountains/plantation/lookout
-making chocolate from cacao…the complete, natural process
-traveling in the mountains to other indigenous areas/towns with Gloria and Juanita
-taking in the sun on the beach (Manzanillo) with Gloria

My “job” was to feed and water the iguanas…my excuse to live with the people. And out of that reasoning, I had the incredible opportunity to live with the bribri through their daily lives and see the struggles and responsibilities they face as they are active participants in preserving the land, nature, language, culture, history, etc. I learned their stories, from their creation story to their traditions. I picked up a bit of the language, which was originally only spoken, not written. Nowadays, the language has been written and is still taught in some indigenous schools in the area. However, the children prefer to speak Spanish in the home, even the parents. So the children are losing the language and the significance. Honestly, sometimes I felt like I was at my Amish neighbor’s house, as the family conversed in their own tongue and would switch to Spanish here and there so I could understand. And the simplicity of daily life as well.

From my brothers, Duaro and Keswar, I observed the clash between living the indigenous life and fitting into the modern world of Puerto Viejo. The boys have iPods, a laptop, computer games, facebook…etc. Gloria and Juanita say that the boys understand the value of preserving the land in danger of deforestation and the animales/nature, but lack the complete picture of the value of the stories and language. Yes they know the stories and the language, but it is not their priority as they enjoy their youth.

What a privilege to live in keköLdí…I felt more at home in the mountains/forest with the bribri than in San Jose with a modern family! To live freely in communion with nature, what beauty that cannot be explained with words! To listen to the symphony of birds in my “backyard” and up into the mountains…toucans, hummingbirds, oropendulas, and so much more! To see wonders such as the mountains, tropical forest, ocean. To eat from the land…fruits and vegetables, to smell PURE air…and to simply BE amidst it all.

And who would have thought that Joanne would become a birder in Costa Rica…but I now have a respect for the avid birdwatchers that I know! Keswar especially took me under his wing  and was patient and willing to teach me and help me learn how to identify birds. In keköLdí, there are 325 species of birds; 240 are resident species. In Costa Rica, there are 893 species!! Of those, I managed to see 136.

This is a brief summary of my experience in keköLdí. Now I am back with my family in San José for the week to reflect with my peers on our individual experiences and to prepare for our journeys to either Cuba or Panama. On Sunday, I leave for Panama, to an indigenous island of “los Kuna” for one week of learning through being with the people yet again! I fly to Miami on December 14 for 2 days of group reflection. December 16 I face reverse culture (and climate) shock and get to see my beloved family, boyfriend, and friends and transition into life as you all know it. And while I am looking forward to seeing you all again, I have 16 days left to soak in…each day as it comes.

Blessings, Joanne

A recap from the past two weeks…and a peek into the next 3...

the past 2 weeks:

We divided into our concentration areas. I am in Advanced Language and Literature with 13 peers. We had charlas in the mornings with guest speakers that shared their lives with us…marginalization and homosexuality, violence and war, poetry, transcultural service, and Gestación (a recent and respected Costa Rican film that portrays teenage pregnancy and its consequences in an authentic light while criticizing the socio-economic gap between rich and the poor, religion, discrimination, the absence of a father figure in the home…and on!!)

I especially enjoyed Gestación because I was able to understand it from a Latin American perspective, and since it was filmed here in San José, I could identify with the places where the film took place!! The director presented the film to us at LASP because it is not out in stores (yet?) because once a film goes public in Latin America, you’ll be able to find it on the streets … pirated. I hope they do sell it publicly. I was impressed, and I rarely get excited about movies, if you know me!

Elmer Rodriguez, a Salvadorian, visited us yet again, this time to share his poetry and his inspiration for doing it. Elmer was one of our first speakers at the beginning of the semester and told us his life story of growing up with his family squatting land near the dump and scrounging for food each day to survive. He lived through the wretched civil war time in El Salvador also. He is an example of a person who keep hold of hope and has persevered to live a dignified life, although still lower class, with his 6 children. This man is a guard who works 24 hour shifts to support his family and still MAKES time to express himself through poetry and art. It is his way of rebellion, to have a VOICE where he otherwise would never be heard. He writes to feed his soul, to express the pain and despair that a privileged person like me cannot fathom. Since the first charla when Elmer shared his story, he has challenged me to think about how I can live in solidarity with the poor or oppressed instead of just knowing poverty or marginalization as a theme.

The lang and lit students also had language classes for 2 hours every afternoon with the best tica Spanish teacher Xinia. She was one of our profs at ICADS and came especially for these two weeks to push us along even further in our language acquisition! We trudged through the fearful subjunctive verb tense which doesn’t exist the same way in English. I feel like high school Spanish teachers make it out to be a big deal to reach the subjunctive verb tense and freak out their students! But this tica profs always tell us that it is not that glorious. Relieving to hear and know! In these Spanish classes, we dialogue about everyday stuff, but Xinia challenge us to talk about themes of life using newspaper articles…talking beyond ourselves and what we know to higher academic themes! We also learned typical latino sayings, false cognates, nominalization, other uses of common verbs, and more! So much to know and then to apply to daily speech! Wow. I have a ways to go! But Xinia was very encouraging and gave us useful advice to continue our second language learning. She pushed us by pointing out our mistakes and correcting us and reviewing them with us each day. This could seem intimidating and humiliating, but for us, it made us want to improve. I wish all the LASP students could have had more Spanish classes these 2 weeks. We were blessed.

the next three weeks:
Monday, November 8 through Tuesday, November 30, I will be living with Gloria y her two nephews who are 16 and 17. They are the main family who manages the Iguana Project. So I will be helping them with whatever dirty work that consists of…cleaning cages, change water dishes, feeding them, watching the iguanas lay eggs…who knows! In reality, this “concentration” is an excuse to live and relate to the people. It may mean that I really do not do anything at all, that I will feel useless, that I won’t accomplish anything, that I will sit in a hammock each day and relax. I have the opportunity to BE instead of to DO…to listen and observe and learn from this indigenous people group who is content with simplicity of life. Each LASP student has the opportunity to be and to participate in the latino culture in a different way outside of the americanized capital city for three weeks!

I am ready to face this challenge. And for me, I may even get to learn the Bribri tongue and their traditional stories and heritage….a different view of the world and God’s creation. I know that I have asked this before, but I have come to its value even more…to have an open heart and to be completely humbled in my thoughts, words, and actions. Pray for patience as I learn (continuously) to be present and not wish the time away. Today is what we have!

“El diálogo demanda amor, humildad, fe en los seres humanos, esperanza, confianza y un amor verdadero.” - Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

May you dwell in the presence of God today, Joanne

Indigenous life...here I come!

“It may seem absurd to believe that a “primitive” culture in the Himalaya has anything to teach our industrialized society. But our search for a cure that works keeps spiraling back to an ancient connection between ourselves and the earth, and interconnectedness that ancient cultures have never abandoned.” – Helena Nonberg-Hodge

On November 7, I will be traveling to the mountains of Talamanca in the province of Limon to live with the indigenous people group the Bribri for three and a half weeks! They have a preservation project of protecting iguanas. I will live with a famila and do what they do. This "work" or iguana project is the excuse to live with the people.

This second half of the semester, LASP focuses on Faith and Praxis. We are being challenged to live out our faith and the knowledge that we have gained from the experiences from the first half of the semester. This is a life long process to discover how to practice faith in God! But I am looking forward to learning much wisdom from a "primitive" culture who sees and hears the Divine through creation and has a respect for nature and its preservation. The goal is to "be" with the people and relate to them...not to "DO" and "ACCOMPLISH" something grand!

I do not want to make great expectations for this concentration...good or bad! I just want to "be" in it! What comes, comes. What happens, happens! I strive to be PRESENT in the day; therefore, I will take advantage of the final week in San Jose before the next adventure!

How are you living out your faith today?

Three Cups of Tea

– Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

When the porcelain bowls of scalding butter tea steamed in their hands, Haji Ali spoke. “If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways, “ Haji Ali said, blowing on his bowl. “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die,” he said, laying his hand warmly on Mortenson’s own. “Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time.”

“That day, Havi Ali taught me the most important lesson I’ve every learned in my life,” Mortenson says. “We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We’re the coutry of thirt-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders through their ‘shock and awe’ campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.”


I have been enjoying a bit of leisure reading among my language and literature readings this week. The message of sharing tea with the people relates to sharing coffee with people in Latin America. I have been valuing the relationships that are built around the table, asking questions, listening, sharing stories, learning...God is present in this dialogue!

May you make time to share a cup of tea...or coffee...with someone soon! And then another cup...and a third!

Cultural perspectives….What is success? What is enough?

here is a little 'cuento' to ponder...Enjoy!

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

“Not very long,” answered the Mexican.

“But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs…I have a full life.”

The American interrupted, “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start be fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and more to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.

“And after that?

“Afterwards? That’s when it gets really interesting,” answered the American, laughing. “When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”

“Millions? Really? And after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the cast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!”