Pins and Needles

jueves el 11 de octubre

It is still weird to me to be writing the date as October. By the time I get used to it it will be November, and then what will I do. There are a few pumpkins out in the vegetable markets, and I saw one costume display, but there is not the usual festivity for Halloween I’m used to, especially from living in Orange, the land of the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses yard displays. I guess that’s good because it means the US hasn’t foisted all of its culture on the rest of the world yet, but I’m realizing that having lacked a real fall for the last several years, I have clung to Halloween and Thanksgiving as my vestiges of celebrating the dark and the harvest even where those things don’t coincide with "autumn."

This week’s challenge is that my insulin pump went on the fritz, so I stayed in Curridabat while the rest of my class travels to Guanacaste, doing the multiple shots thing and trying to figure out a way to get my replacement over international boundaries without needing a dozen governmental forms and paying hundreds of dollars in taxes. I’m actually really enjoying my time to myself; the intense Field Course schedule was beginning to grate and I’m taking pleasure from five days without anything I have to do on a schedule. I’ve been getting up and coming to ICADS anyway, but using the time to procrastinate on Facebook, to read about social change, and to write about immigration. Hopefully it will leave me refreshed and happy for the journey to Nicaragua Monday, which I’m going to take regardless of my pumplessness because I am so excited.

lunes el 8 de octubre

Yesterday was the big election – sí o no al TLC – on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Clearly voting here is more a part of the national consciousness, with all the schools crowded with voters and dozens of campaigners of all ages for both sides at all the polling places. Sí won, much to my sadness, and by the time I worked up the nerve to go chat with the campaigners, they didn’t have any more t-shirts for the neighborhood I live in, "Curridabat dice NO al TLC" with a really cool image that I’m told is the Curridaba for which the neighborhood is named.

Today was mostly good. It started with the for some reason always awkward conversation with my Tico parents over breakfast; my dad has this habit of asking me questions without any context whatsoever. This has the dual effect of making me irritated at the irrelevance and confusing me because I have no context from which to draw meaning out of the Spanish he speaks, frequently quickly and somehow without moving his lips. Then at ICADS I helped Tess deliver "our" presentation on our Nicaraguan immigration project, which was made only slightly awkward because we agreed that she would do the analysis/presentation and I would write the paper, which is great except that I had to try to pretend I had any idea what was in the presentation. Then, being the Katie show, I had to give my presentation on our agroforestry project, which was great until David pointed out that none of it really met his scientific expectations, a result of our being crappy samplers of scientific data and my apparent inability to do math. Then David gave his presentation, and I wished that I had been able to pay attention because I feel like it could have been interesting if I were in a different mood.

After that, I felt like I just desperately needed some peanut butter, so for lunch I bought crackers and a banana and a jar of peanut butter, of which I ate like four tablespoons and then felt much better about life; I think I needed some protein in my life. Then we had the afternoon free, so I facebooked and e-mailed and worked on my application for my fellowship and on my immigration paper that I should be working on now. I also went to the bank to finally get my messed up traveler’s check fixed, which was a fun adventure with ever-crazier professor Matt.

On the way home, we stopped at Pequeno Mundo, and I bought footy pajamas to match the hat I bought for Magnus, my sister's baby, who is confirmedly a boy (as I told her from the beginning). Upon coming home, I discovered that we were to have dinner with Laura and the nietos, and I am very glad I have no children. Valeria is cute enough, but she is ever-present, and Axel gave me the disgusting cough I have, and he is whiny, and I have to lock the door to keep them from walking in on me, and it’s kind of leading to a seething hatred for them, which is not the best thing ever. Also, my fingers smell like bad pizza. I guess the best thing that can be said for the day is that I did a lot; now I think I will do some Spanish reading and try to sleep through the obnoxious children noise.

miércoles el 3 de octubre

I’ve decided that when I get home I will touch people more. I will embrace the tactile part of myself, hold hands with my friends, kiss strangers, and generally fondle anyone who happens to be sitting on my bed or couch. I imagine a sign reading something like, "If you don’t want your personal space violated, find a chair in the corner. If you feel you’re lacking human contact, sit on down." I don’t know how guests will react to this, but so far I think positively.

For now I am listening to the rain and Sam is fiddling about on his guitar.