Futbol in Central America - Buenisimo!!

            Last night, Laura and I went to a Saprissa home futbol game.  The game was against Real Salt Lake, an MLS team from the States.  Saprissa had lost to Real Salt Lake earlier the month before 0-2 and had to win the game last night by at least 2 goals in order to be able to advance to their league’s finals.  Let’s just say that the game was FREAKING AWESOME!!!  First off, we bought tickets from a scalper which was an experience in itself.  Second, we sat right behind the ‘crazies’ or as they are called here, the ‘ultra morada.’  We stood the entire game, sang chants the entire game, and made fun of the gringos the entire game. 

Honestly, this is how futbol is supposed to be played and enjoyed.  I think soccer fans in the States could learn a lot from Costa Rican fans.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I took some pictures of the match so that you too could enjoy the game through me.  Also, there’s a video of some of the highlights from the game below too.  If you look closely after Saprissa scores its first goal, you can see me and Laura in the stands.

 

We arrived a little early but it was fun to sit and take it all in.  Plus, it was cool to see the stadium fill up.

Of course, I was sporting the Saprissa jersey.  I think if I had worn a Real Salt Lake jersey I would have been murdered, honestly.

Notice the Saprissa fan flipping the 'bird' to the left of the photo.  When Real Salt Lake came out to do their warm-ups, the middle finger was the choice signal to use by most Saprissa fans.  Also, dirty words, both in English and Spanish, may or may not have been yelled by the fans.

As seen in this photo, the row of seats literally right in front of us was the pep band/crazies section.  My ears hurt but boy was it worth it.  They have such passion for the game!

My Saprissa buddy for the night.  I mean Laura, not the guy behind me with his shirt off.

A live action shot of the game.  Saprissa is in purple and RSL is in white.

Another shot of the ultra morada (aka the crazies) in front of us with their huge bass drums, snares, trumpets, etc.

Two things, first, look how full the stadium is compared to the first picture I posted above.  Second, my favorite chant of that night was: "Vamos!  Vamos morados!  Esta noche, tenemos que ganar!"  It was amazing!  What a great night of futbol, jumping around, and chanting in Spanish.

       

           Okay, here's a highlight clip of the game.  If you look really closely between the 1:18 mark and the 1:20 mark, you can see me and Laura in the stands.  Okay, I'll help you out a bit finding me.  See the white and purple sign across the screen?  It says 'ultra morada.'  If you follow the 'M' in the sign up, you'll see a man in a tank top in front a huge bass drum, playing it.  Off the right shoulder of that same man, at a 90 degree angle, you'll see 2 people with Saprissa jerseys on.  One of those persons has his arm and hand sticking straight up in the air and is jumping up and down, that's me!  My 2 seconds of international fame.   

 

R.I.P. Senor Facial Hair

            So today is a sad day for my facial hair.  Yes, it was fun when it lasted but it must go.  Too often I find mustache hairs in my mouth and too often I catch myself stroking my chin hairs, caught up in some distant reverie, ignoring the world passing by around me.  To be honest, it is a liability to my health and education and I have to part with it.  We’ve become close over these past few weeks, taking walks together in the park and honing our Spanish speaking skills against one another.  Mr. Facial Hair, I will always have a place for you in my heart.  Goodbye.  If you would like to share a few parting words as well, please comment below.  In fact, write an ode if you so desire.  I know I will appreciate your kind words and I’m sure Mr. Facial Hair will hear and enjoy them from beard heaven as well.

The day before we had go our separate ways.

Tony Hawk and Children

            So, for those who don’t know, the month of April is the month I volunteer in Costa Rica.  The first three months were school stuff and now it’s volunteer stuff.  When I first signed up to study abroad, I noted that I wanted to help with a soccer program when I volunteered.  However, when I arrived in Costa Rica, the director of the volunteer programs said that soccer wasn’t an option since it had already started and only volunteering for a month wouldn’t work (not sure if she really tried but whatever).  Since soccer was a no go, I had planned on volunteering in the zoo, working with the animals, cleaning up poo, and possibly leading tours.  The director said the zoo would be fine. 

I found out this past Tuesday, the day before we started our volunteer work, that the zoo too wasn’t an option now.  Thanks for telling me in advance, right?  Anyways, the director said I could volunteer in Santa Ana at a nature preserve but that I would be working with plants, doing botany stuff.  I politely said no thank you because I wouldn’t get much interaction with people while looking at leaves, plus it would cost me $10 in travel expenses each day and I’m cheap.  So, I asked what else I could do instead of Santa Ana.  The director suggested a school.

Turns out, there’s a school near my house within walking distance that I could volunteer at and help out the physical education teacher, playing games and soccer with the kids all day.  Duh, why wouldn’t the director have suggested this in the first place?  Anyways, the director wasn’t sure if I could get ‘in’ since there was already three other volunteers at that school.  However, that same Tuesday, the director took the other three volunteers to look around the school and said I should tag along so she could ask the principal if it was okay for me to volunteer there too.  The principal said yes!

My first day of full volunteering was Wednesday, two days ago.  The school is ages 1^st-6^th grade and is a public school.  Let’s just say all the kids loved the volunteers.  The kids want to show us everything, tell us everything, learn what we like to do in the US, who we know in the US, what it is like in the US, how old we are, what are names are, etc.  I was bombarded with questions and did my best to answer them in Spanish.  Not many kids speak English at all and those that do can really only say things like ‘Hello’ and ‘What’s your name?’

I accidentally made the mistake of telling some kids I know Tony Hawk.  I thought they were asking if I knew of Tony Hawk so naturally I said yes.  Little did I know that I had just told them I was friends with Tony Hawk which quickly spread around the school like fire.  Later that day and all day yesterday, Thursday, I had kids coming up to me and asking me if Tony Hawk was my best friend and if I would sign their notebook since I was a friend of Tony Hawk.  I guess in their eyes being a friend of Tony Hawk makes me famous too.  Oh well, I feel like I’ve dug myself too deep to tell them the truth.  I guess Tony Hawk and I really are friends now.

Well, these past two days have been a blast with the kids.  I’m remembering their names, building relationships, and practicing Spanish.  I have basically been playing soccer with these kids all day long or being a monkey with them on the swing set.  But let me tell you, 4 hours a day with 300 kids really tires one out…Whew.  But in all, I think God filled the zoo with volunteers for a reason.  I think He wanted me at this school with these kids.  And so far I’m glad that I am here, with these kids, being their friend, learning and growing from them while also teaching them the things I know.

Panama and Starfish

             I haven’t done a picture post in awhile so, to fill you in on my 3 days at Bocas del Toro, in Panama, I have decided to do a picture post.  Que bueno, verdad?  So here it goes, enjoy the pictures and my captions.  Hopefully, by way of the pictures and captions you can garner enough information about my weekend and how awesome it was.  However, if you want to ask a question, please feel free to do so in the comment box below and I will be sure to answer it for you.  Enjoy!

Walking across the bridge/border to Panama after our 7 hour bus ride.  We still had about another hour bus ride after this.

The person who was supposed to check our bus after we crossed the border into Panama was eating lunch so we had to wait outside for him.  It was hot so I tossed this heat-fighting outfit together.  Stylin'

After our 1 more hour bus ride, we got to a port and boarded a water taxi so it could take us out to Bocas del Toro, an island and where we stayed for 3 days while in Panama.  By the way, we 'had' to go to Panama in order to renew our visas since our 90 days in the country was almost up.

After arriving late Friday, we didn't do much.  However, the next day, Whitney and I decided to go on a bike ride around the island.

On our bike ride, which took us all day and we basically rode on every street there was to ride on, we saw some monkeys just hanging out in a tree.

We stopped at a really pretty beach with clear blue water and nice sand.  We were the only 2 there but the waves were monstrous and destroyed us so we continued on our bike ride.

We passed a photo-worthy church.

We based 2 lone tombstones.

Finally, after riding for about 20 miles up and down hills, we arrived at where we were headed, Boca del Drago.  We had to walk the last 800m because the chain on Whit's bike decided to fall off and stay off.  However, we were finally there!

Of course, the water was clear and calm and PERFECT!

I just had to get in and pose for the camera.

I saw some seagulls.  They all had their own posts.

There wasn't much at Boca del Drago except for one expensive restaurant and a few huts like the one above.  So, being the adventurous gents we are, me and old Whit decided to explore along the coast some.

Good thing we did because just a bit up the coast was Starfish beach!  There were countless starfish.  It was amazing!!  After that, she and I just laid in the water along the beach and talked for a few hours.  Lemme tell you, that water, that sun, the atmosphere was so relaxing and tranquil.  I had the 3 most relaxing days ever this past weekend.  God-like is the only way to describe that beach.

Since Whit's bike broke and because we were soo very tired, we waited around for the next shuttle to come by at 5ish.  We found some hammocks and just relaxed while also attempting to talk to each other in Spanish.  While waiting, we also met 2 gringos from Montana, Les and Mike, who are building a house on the island.  They were great guys and it was fun talking to them.  You meet the most interesting people when you travel and are open to talking to others.

The next day, Laura, Whitney and I spent the day on another island at Red Frog Beach.  It was so very relaxing.  I just laid out, explored, and napped in the shade all day for about 7 hours.  Perfect.

The old gang at Red Frog Beach (Laura, me, Whitney).

A map of the area and islands.  We stayed at Bocas del Toro which is on the southern tip Isla Colon.  The island with the giant frog is where we went to Red Frog Beach.  Also, right next to the name Isla Colon, to the left of Isla. there is a small dot (it's a starfish).  That is where Whit and I biked to.  We also biked up the east side of the island to where the surfer guy is in the ocean on the map. 

A cool shot of Bocas del Toro in the morning.

The main street in Bocas.  There were lots of gringos and bars but it was a really cool and relaxing place.  We met a local man named Nester but he told us everyone calls him Snoop.  He was very nice and proceeded to tell us how he learned the F-word.  Surprisingly enough, it was from a Bob Marley song.

The one thing I didn't like about Panama was that they didn't sell bananas like they do in Costa Rica.  I'm not sure why.  And if they did have bananas they were green like these.  Yuck!

The flag of Bocas.

Sadly, while I was enjoying my time in Panama, a lot of people live like this in poor conditions along the water.  There were tons of trash too in the ocean and around these houses.  It puts things in perspective sometimes to see others with less than you.  You begin to realize that you yourself don't need all the things that you have in order to live.

On the way back to San Jose, in a little town in Panama, we saw some school kids playing kickball.  I love how kickball is universal.

And finally, we crossed the border bridge again but this time from Panama into Costa Rica.  On the Panama side of the river was this lovely Panama flag.  While Panama was relaxing, cheaper and fun, it was certainly nice to be back in Costa Rica, my home away from home.

What Would You Do For God?

           This past Saturday, Mr. Brian and his family from the States came down to visit my host family.  Mr. Brian was a student here in Costa Rica 2 years ago when he was getting another degree (he’s 50 years old or so).  He wanted to come back and visit with his family so they, the 6 of them, have been living in our host family’s house since Saturday.  Now, with me and my roommate and my host family, there are 11 of us in the house.  Talk about busy and crowded.  Plus, since basically no one in Mr. Brian’s family speaks Spanish, I’ve been up to my clavicle in translating for them and for my host family.  But I can’t complain because it’s great practice.  

The front of the Basilica that we worshiped in this past Sunday.  It was my first ever Catholic mass too.

It’s a little strange that having ‘outsiders’ stay with us in the house makes me feel more like a part of my host family because I’m no longer the ‘outsider’ now.  Whenever I help wash the dishes or clean up around the house, my host dad tells me “It’s okay” or “Don’t worry, I can do that.”  What I’ve been telling him in return is that “This is my house too so I need to help out around it.”  It’s nice being accepted and feeling as though you are part of the family.  

A view of the inside of the Basilica and the altar way up front.

Anyways, this past Sunday, I went to the Basilica with my host family and Mr. Brian’s family.  As I’ve mentioned in some other posts, the Basilica is probably the holiest place in Costa Rica for Catholics.  It’s huge.  Well, my host parents always sing there on Sundays.  Since my host family has been singing there every Sunday for the past 11 years, they were able to give us the star treatment.  By this I mean that we sat up next to the altar the entire service, went back in the sacristy and met the priest after service, and we were given a tour of the Basilica with access to places where the public is not allowed to see.  It was a very awesome experience.  But what was even more amazing were the people who came to worship there.  Here's a short clip of the inside of the Basilica.  Sorry that it's a little wobbly.  At around the 2:10 mark you see some benches up by the altar, that's where we sat for the service this past Sunday.

These people love the Lord so much that they were willing to stand for 2 hours during the length of the service because there was no room to sit.  The Basilica was so full that people were standing in the aisles, around the back of the church, in the entryways, and anywhere else they could find.  People were sitting on the steps that lead up to the start of the altar area because there wasn’t enough room.  During the service, I started to think about how awesome it was that these people wanted to hear the Word of God so badly that they were willing to stand the entire service and not complain one bit verbally or nonverbally.  Some of these people had multiple kids they were also looking after or babies in their arms.  Even most of the children were intent on the service too.  I guess, after this past Sunday, I had to ask myself the question: “Would I stand for 2 hours to hear some pastor or priest speak about Jesus for 2 hours?”  I encourage you to ask yourself the same question and think about where you have placed the Lord in your life.  What do you value most in life and what should you value most in life?  I think sometimes we all need a little different perspective to help us see what’s really important in life.