If you know much about Costa Rica, then you know that the country is most frequently associated with the phrase Pura Vida. Literally translated, it means “pure life” and it describes so much about the atmosphere here. It’s a totally legitimate response to the question “How are you?” and even an adjective to describe people.  It can be a greeting, a farewell, or anything in between.

To live pura vida is something that the Ticos seem to have grasped and are embracing to it’s fullest. At first, I thought it was only a phrase for tourists- something to put on t-shirts and mugs and for hotel owners to say when you walk in. I felt like the whole “pura vida” idea was just an act, an elaborate show put on for foreigners. But the more I listened, the more I heard the phrase spoken between locals all the time and saw what it looks like to live out pura vida.

Costa Rica isn’t the kind of place you come to experience the “culture.” It doesn’t have the super clear cultural distinctions that you might find in exploring somewhere more “exotic.” But I think that most Ticos (Costa Ricans) would describe their own culture as pura vida. Pura vida signifies full of life, things are going great, all is well. Think “hakuna matata.” It’s the laidback appreciation for everything that’s passing around you. Running on a clock that’s a lot slower than that of the United States lets you actually enjoy life instead of packing it as full as we love to do.  Instead of running a million miles a minute, Ticos have a better idea of what it means to enjoy the smaller (and bigger) things and revel simply in existence. There’s a certain sense of peace and contentment that comes with being happy where you are. Not constantly striving to get out of a situation or living in discontent. Giving thanks in all circumstances. I think we could all use a little more pura vida.

I’ve now wrapped up my two months teaching in Liberia and am off on the next chapter of my summer- a week in the jungle and then another 2 ½ weeks to backpack through parts of Panama, more of Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. I thought I’d stop for a moment to reflect a bit on my experiences here before moving on.

First, I’ve been so blessed to have the opportunity to serve the community here. I’m so grateful for the Loewenstern Fellowship having given me the opportunity to have this time here. I’ve had so much fun teaching and getting to know the kids and teachers at Tomas Guardia. I really wasn’t a fan of saying goodbye to all of the people at the school.

That said, I definitely connected more there than with the volunteer community of Projects Abroad. I found it extremely difficult to relate to most of them intellectually, spiritually, or even culturally. Fortunately I got to build relationships with the teachers at school who were more than willing to share with be and be patient with me as I worked my way through convoluted Spanish sentences.

My Spanish has improved, but not as drastically as I could have hoped. I wish I ‘d had classes so I don’t forget all of those fun little grammar rules that I’m so inclined to lose. But even though I know my Spanish isn’t perfect, I was persisent about trying to get my points across and wasn’t shy even when I knew I was making mistakes. The kids were especially patient with the crazy gringa standing in front of the class trying to explain the concept of an apostrophe-S.

I found it curious the number of things the kids called me as the two months progressed. I started as muchacha (woman), and progressed through teechair (teacher), Mehgahn (Megan, with an accent), and finally arrived at niña (little girl). It still strikes me as completely odd, but all elementary school teachers are referred to as niñas both by their students and by each other. When I asked about it, I got a puzzled “Hmm. I’ve never really thought about it. It’s just the way it’s been since I was a little kid.”

As sad as it was to leave the school, I’m excited to be going back to Barra Honda. Of all my trips over the past two months (quite a few of them if I actually go back and count), Barra Honda was my favorite place to be and I can’t wait to be there again. And after that, my grand adventure awaits!

I’m really excited about this month of travel. It has the potentially to be incredibly exciting and rewarding. But I also know that it will also be extremely challenging: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  Especially starting off with a week of hard work in Barra Honda, it’s going to be tough to stay safe, healthy, and well-rested as I travel. Emotionally, I need to be focused on appreciating the experiences as they come at me. It’s been almost seven months since I’ve been home or seen my family and I’m really excited about being back home but I can’t let that detract from the time I have here. I’m also going to be traveling by myself the majority of the time. While I do really enjoy travelling alone, I have no expectations of it being “easy.” Situations arise when it’s nice to have somebody to talk to, to trust in, or to lean on and I’m not going to have a travel companion for that. On the plus side, this means a lot of me-and-God time that I’m really looking forward to. I’m going into this month acknowledging that there are a lot of challenges that I’m going to face but that the experiences and growth that can come of those are more than worth the cost.  Prayers and encouragement will be much appreciated.

I’ll be online pretty sporadically over the next month but will definitely continue blogging about my travels as I go. I love getting to share these experiences with you and know that, even when I’m traveling alone, I can “bring” people along, at least in some small way. Happy travels!

I’ve created a really big new photo album on Facebook. It includes:

• My trip to Manuel Antonio national park with Stephanie
• Our trip to the Irazú volcano
• Our commercial shoot in Liberia
• My “daily life” in Liberia
• Activities that I’ve been involved in at the school
• My students and the people I’ve been working with for the past two months

Click here for pictures. Enjoy!