I rarely write about a mundane day, and how a seemingly mundane day becomes one that leaves an impression for forever. Brace yourselves: this blog is about today, how normal it was, and how amazing it ended up being.
First, the back story. I have lived on an island almost the last three months working. Yesterday I returned to San Jose, Costa Rica, leaving Panama after spending more than 4 and a half months there. The reason for my return to Costa Rica? I will be working as a tour guide for a group of Deaf people that are coming from (literally) all over the world: Australia, England, Germany, and the US. This "job" will be a part of what I do from here until who knows when. A good friend of mine started a non-profit international deaf advocacy organization (check us out on www.discoveringdeafworlds.org), and they are the ones who put this trip together. So I hope to be leading tours at least once a year for the next good while! That is why I decided to stay in Panama for so long, and the reason I am back in Costa Rica right now....
SO. Yesterday I came back! My friend who started Discovering Deaf Worlds, Dave, is a friend from back in the Interpreting program; we haven't seen each other in over four years! Its been really great catching up...and we have had a LOT to catch up on! So this morning we met with the local Deaf man who will be working as the tour guide for our group, and hopped on a bus out to the school for the Deaf in a suburb of San Jose. There I participated and interpreted in English, Spanish, ASL and LESCO (Costa Rican Sign Language). Its crazy see how much my spanish has changed since I left here! I never could have done any of that before I went to Panama! The meeting was great; everything is ready for when the group all arrive on Thursday!
Dave and I decided to go and explore San Jose for a while. We walked down to the artisan market, had some pizza for lunch, wandered around the main street, and into another market I had heard about but had never entered. It is the Central Market, and it has everything. you walk down a ramp and into a semi-underground world completely different than the world above. There you can buy any and all of the following: a new suitcase, chicken feet, ground spices in bulk, touristy souviners, cow tongue, a typical lunch for three dollars, a puppy, fresh flowers, three different type of mangos, a hammock, hair accessories, fresh roasted coffee, and a machete. Its a labyrinth of hallways leading to more hallways, which lead to a few other hallways. We purposefully got ourselves lost, and took to asking questions about the things we saw. At the fruit and veggie stand, we asked about fruits that smell awful, a hard pod that holds sweet seeds, about root vegetables that are typically boiled, pitted, and filled in with mayonaise, fruit that can be juiced and drank (but only after adding a ton of sugar!) and another fruit/veggie that is apparently really good whencooked with rice. We inspected the bi-colored cow tongue. Speculated on how chicken feet would cook. Smelled the smell of fresh cooking tortillas and comida tipica that the locals were eating. Nonetheless, it was awesome. Its a market that you would see real, working class ticos go into to do their weekly shopping.
After emerging from the maze, and gaining back our orientation, we headed off to another small market that we saw marked on a map; and I think we found it. It looked similar to the central market: lots of glass display cases that showcased the various fish, seafood, and cuts of chicken and beef that are on offer. We decided to walk into the seemingly quiet market, and discovered a bar. It had a very simple, W shape to it. The only people there were men; they all had a bottle of Imperail beer in front of them or a shot of the local fire water with an orange slice on the side. On the television they were showing music videos from the 80's: Elton John, The Cars, you name it. So we decided to belly up to the bar and see what this super-local place was all about. After the first beer, I forget that I am the only girl sitting up at the bar. During our second beer, I notice that a patron across the way keeps on gesturing to a guy that is working behind the bar. For a second, I thought that he may be deaf...but then I heard him laugh. It was a very "hearing" laugh. So I abandoned the idea, remembering how much the Panamanians I know gesture to other Panamanians; maybe that is why he's doing that. But it continues, and at one point while Dave is talking I heard the man behind the bar get the attention of the previously mentioned patron: he totally has a deaf accent. So I mention it to Dave, and I gesture to him that I'd like another beer. Turns out, the barman is Deaf! Not only that; he has a friend sitting there who is also Deaf, and two more that showed up just as we were leaving. What a freaking small world. Our new friend, Noberto, is hilarious. And an incredible bartender! He sees everything that everyone needs and does not skip a beat. So we chat, joke, and laugh with our new-found friends over beer number three (purchased by our new deaf friend). And it turns out the guy across from us - the one I originally thought was deaf - is really hilarious! At one point he stood up and started singing along to the Elton John song that was singing. The began dancing when the YMCA started to play. He told us about where Van Damme lives in Costa Rica; about how he's lived in Los Angeles for the last 40 years, and he gives just as much shit to the deaf bartender as he is giving to him.
So why is this coincidence somehow meaningful enough for me to sit down first thing and write about it? Because it is exactly these moments -- the ones where you wander into a random market, then into a random hidden bar, that you meet the people that make leaving home worth it. It never ceases to amaze me that coincides such as today's just happen in my life abroad. It's stumbling upon the life of the average person in a place, and seeing those people in their natural element. In this moment, it was dudes enjoying a beer or two alongside a bowl of soup or rice and beans.
I have to admit, I am feeling renewed. Bocas wore me down in some ways. I loved being there for as long as I was there; but I knew I needed to leave. Things are too easy, too gringo, too removed from the rest of the world. If it was escape that I was seeking, I would say that I landed in the most perfect place. But I didn't uproot my life and head south to escape -- I really like my life back home! I came down here to learn the language, learn about different cultures, to give something of myself, and see where I ended up after deciding to just live freely for as long as I can or want to. So I can't explain how good it feels to be here and back on the track I'm on! The biggest lesson during the last 6 months has been learning to listen to my heart....learning to tune in and figure out what it is exactly that I am wanting to do! I could have taken things in every direction possible. So I'm learning to think through things and say no to the things I don't feel inclined to do right now. Its a good lesson. And, really, every day is some kind of lesson for me here.
I love it.
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