Arbol Hueco
On Sunday we went on a hike to a tree they call Arbol Hueco. We wlked up a hill in a nearby village for about an hour and we had an amazing view of San Jose. We walked down a narrow dirt path along a mountainside through a forest. We got to the tree and it was one of the craziest things I had ever seen. There was a monstrous tree that was over taken by a parasitic vine that encirled the tree and eventually killed it. THe tree eventually died and decayed. What remains is the vine like tree that is of solid wood. THere is hollow tree made upo of vines that wind around forming a cylinder of about 2.5 feet. YOu climb up the center of the tree like a jungle gym and come out about 30-35 feet from the ground and climb an additional 5 feet to a natural chair like depression in the tree. You look out and you are in the canopy of the forest looking out over San Jose. It was amazing, so beautiful and unique. THe tree jetteed out of the side of the mountain so we were even higher from the ground it was an incredible site. My friends got some good pictures of the tree and as soon as I get them I will post them.
Yesterday we had to shadow someone in the community at their job all day. i shadowed another volunteer´s mom. She runs her own seamstress shop. So I hung out wiith her from the mornin g through the evening. We talked, joked around, and she taught me how to sew. I sewed some buttons onto a shirt and a pair of pants. I also did some sewing on her super powerfull industrial type sewing machine with 3, yeah 3, threads going in crazy directions. There is a blade on one side of the machine that trims the excess material from the items as it passes through the sewing thing. I did pretty well, especially for my first time, but I did make one mistake. As I was making a pass the fabric was bdoubled under so i cut a little hole in a shirt, but thanks to some quick thinking by the resident sewing master, that is not me, she was able to fix it and we all lived happily ever after.
Anecdote #2
American culture never fails to reach any part of the globe and Costa Rica is no exception. I have seen a few American shows and movies on TV, which is no surprise. But what has surprized me is what has filtered its waydown here. Problem CHild 1-3, WWF wrestling, Monster Jam (monster trucks), and of course they need their fix of Chuck Norris, so we get Walker Texas Ranger. AMerican culture is being represented by the Undertaker(wrestling), Grave Digger (the monster truck), crappy 90´s family movies, and Chick Norris. But fear not there are a few beacons of AMerican Culture that represent us well. On saturday mornings they have Animanics and Pinky Y el Cerebro ( for those of you who do not habla español Pinky Y el Cerebro is spanish for Pinky and the Cerebro ).
Yesterday we had to shadow someone in the community at their job all day. i shadowed another volunteer´s mom. She runs her own seamstress shop. So I hung out wiith her from the mornin g through the evening. We talked, joked around, and she taught me how to sew. I sewed some buttons onto a shirt and a pair of pants. I also did some sewing on her super powerfull industrial type sewing machine with 3, yeah 3, threads going in crazy directions. There is a blade on one side of the machine that trims the excess material from the items as it passes through the sewing thing. I did pretty well, especially for my first time, but I did make one mistake. As I was making a pass the fabric was bdoubled under so i cut a little hole in a shirt, but thanks to some quick thinking by the resident sewing master, that is not me, she was able to fix it and we all lived happily ever after.
Anecdote #2
American culture never fails to reach any part of the globe and Costa Rica is no exception. I have seen a few American shows and movies on TV, which is no surprise. But what has surprized me is what has filtered its waydown here. Problem CHild 1-3, WWF wrestling, Monster Jam (monster trucks), and of course they need their fix of Chuck Norris, so we get Walker Texas Ranger. AMerican culture is being represented by the Undertaker(wrestling), Grave Digger (the monster truck), crappy 90´s family movies, and Chick Norris. But fear not there are a few beacons of AMerican Culture that represent us well. On saturday mornings they have Animanics and Pinky Y el Cerebro ( for those of you who do not habla español Pinky Y el Cerebro is spanish for Pinky and the Cerebro ).