From: Amy

Subject: My year in Costa Rica

Hi! My name is Amy and I'm going to tell you a story about my experiences living and working in Costa Rica during 1995-1996. I lived in Arenal, Quepos and Manuel Antonio for a year and a half and had the most incredible time of my life.

I first went down to Costa Rica to do my "own" peace corps. I saved up my money and backpacked around the country for four months. During that time I "volunteered," which in Costa Rica means you pay a government organization 7$ a day to live and work, in the national park system. I first ventured up to Arenal National Park, the home of an active volcano that erupts every 20 minutes. My team included a graduate student from Colorado and two Danes. We distributed surveys or encuestas to tourists on behalf of the Costa Rican government. What I learned from that trip is never go off a marked trail as my friend and I got lost in the "danger zone" of an active volcano for 3 hours. After two weeks, we regrouped in San Jose and were then sent to the lush tropical Manual Antonio National Park to give out surveys as well. It was really rough hanging out on those beautiful beaches!

After that experience, I moved on to volunteer my time (or rather be treated like a slave) at Jardin Gaia in Manual Antonio which is a wildlife rehabilitation center for animals such as Scarlet Macaws, Parrots and the infamous Mono Titi. Basically I cleaned up poop.

During my stay in Manual Antonio I met a local and ended up living with him (dumb idea). I then got a job at Villas Nicolas hotel where I ended up living and working for about a year. I met the most interesting people and had some crazy experiences living in la jungla. Our clientele were mainly from the US, Canada and Europe. Every day at 4pm a troupe of mono titi and sometimes white faced monkeys would pass through the grounds of the hotel which was a real treat.

Las cucarachas were my friends! I was bit by a scorpian and had late night visits from lizards. Some days my bathroom would be invaded by a wall of ants which luckily weren't fire ants. I survived two earthquakes and one major hurricane and loved every minute of it. I could go outside my house and pick mangos off the ground. Sometimes I'd come home and find a sloth wrapped around a post on my porch or find giant iguanas hanging out on my roof.

My favorite thing to do was walk down to the beach via the Mariposa road where sometimes I could catch a glimpse of a sloth. Then I'd go to a soda (or open air restaurant) for a refresco natural at Soda Perla's (which no longer exists) or Soda Marlins. My preference was the banano con leche. I was also introduced to the world of latin music and dancing which I love. I brought this passion home with me to the US and continue today to frequent the latin clubs of Washington DC to dance some salsa, merengue or bachata. Quepos/Manual Antonio encompassed all types of people from all over the world. There were the trust fund babies living off their money, the eccentrics who wanted to escape the reality of the "real world," the partiers looking for a good time, the backpackers trying to find what they could learn and experience from the place. I lived in a transient world where you got used to having great and not so great people come in and out of your life. And the whole while we were surrounded by paradise. As a Washington DC surburbanite, it was an eye opening experience that in the end made me a better person and helped me develop where I am today. I am now Operations Manager for the Latin America/Caribbean region of a major educational computer based testing company.

Amy