3 Weeks Home -- 11/22/15

This is the end of my third week home now, and my eye is gradually getting better every single day. We were able to find the cause of the infection. It is a bacteria called pseudomonas. I was lucky because the medicine that I was given in Costa Rica was already treating for pseudomonas, so from the start the infection was being controlled.

 I am now able to sleep too! Instead of taking eye drops every half an hour around the clock (through the night), I am able to get 9 hours of sleep without any medication.  With the results from the tests confirming pseudomonas though, we hyped up the antibiotic that was most effective to the bacteria and took down the others. So now I am on two eye drops every two hours throughout the day and resting at night.

So basically I am on the right track to recovery and with a little more time and help from medicine, the infection should be eliminated and we can then assess the damage to my cornea. The doctors, because of the infection being right in the center of my eye, cannot see clearly any damage, but hopefully whatever scarring that there is can heal with time and my vision will be restored sufficiently. But we don't have to think about that now!

In other news, if you all were wondering, my Spain trip is still on! My vision in my left eye will still probably be healing when I leave, but  I was told that I should not worry. The doctor that I am seeing told me he'll find an eye doctor near where I will be staying and give him or her a full report of me and my status, just in case of an emergency.

So I'm keeping up with my Spanish doing all I can to make sure I am ready for the next part of my year!

There's for an update, I don't have any new pictures but here is a picture of me washing a bull at an integrated animal farm at EARTH University in Costa Rica! #sorustic

Day 45 - 54: San Jose, CR to Connecticut, USA -- 10/29 to 11/7/15

So this past week has been pretty hectic. I made apple crisp with my host mom, we did projects in Spanish class, and our group had a halloween party at our leader's house. After the many good times with "la familia gap" I unfortunately had to say a quick goodbye. 

Some of you may know, but I had some problems with an eye infection a couple of weeks ago. It was diagnosed as pink eye and I was put on medication which helped heal it fast. However, a couple days after it was healed completely, the infection came back much worse. The pain was unbearable and I could not sleep Halloween night because of the pain. There was a white-green film over my iris which made me look like a zombie or something out of a sci-fi movie. I'll spare you guys any further details as it was pretty disgusting and scary. 

Anyway, I got through the night and the next day, but then had to head to San Jose to get my eye checked out by an eye doctor. I went with one of my leaders Sunday night, and then saw the eye doctor at around 1030 pm. She diagnosed a severely ulcerated cornea and told me I needed to start an aggressive antibiotic treatment immediately in order to control the infection and any damage.  She said I would need to travel back home to the United States as soon as possible for further treatment and to have a corneal specialist take a look. For the antibiotic treatment I had to take eye drops every half an hour (I could not sleep) until I landed in the United States and was seen by a doctor. So, with the help of my parents and International SOS service I was on a 730 am flight out of San Jose and landed in Newark and went to the nearest eye clinic and was seen by a doctor. 

As of right now, I am on the right track for recovery. First we need to identify and then get rid of the infection--what caused the ulcerations--and then we need to assess the damage to my cornea and see what the next step will be. 

So this whole week has comprised of little sleep, a lot of doctors visits, and way too many eye drops. However I am lucky and glad to be in a place where I can access top-notch treatment and high quality medication to allow me to recover fully. 

As for my Rustic Pathways group still in Costa Rica, I miss them a ton and am hoping to see them again soon (maybe in Peru....?). 

On my trip I gained 3 new brothers: Mike, Tom, and Matt. Apart we were just four random guys on a trip in Central America trying to speak Spanish. Together we were a unit of strength, taking on any challenge head first and always working hard during service, class, and adventure activities. We are brothers and will always be. I'm already missing you all and will continue to hit you guys up everyday with updates. 

I also gained 12 new sisters--yes that was right 12 sisters. Ellen, Esther, Erin, Sarah, Julia, Saarah, Annika, Vanessa, Matilde, Lilly, Christine, and Kailey. From all the conversations I've had with each one of these girls, to the laughs shared, the glares I received from making a joke that might have been "over the line," and the connections made, I can't help but smile and laugh when I think about you all. Again we are family and will always be. 

I was also lucky enough to receive 2 awesome/crazy uncles and 1 amazing mom! Louis, Rolo, and Shannon I love you guys so much. Whenever I needed something or just felt like talking about whatever, I could always turn to you guys and expect a genuine response. Louis I love your poetry too and I hope that we can collaborate sometime in the future with my guitar and maybe do some open mic stuff! Rolo-- I am already planning my visit back to Costa Rica to surf with you and of course to mix more cement (the right way :D). Shannon I feel like we are always on the same wavelength. Every time I feel like something is going wrong and I have "genuine fear", and I hear your laugh behind me, I know that everything is going to be okay. Also, be ready to be buffalo-ed. Not now, maybe not later, but it will happen. Anyway you guys were the best leaders ever and really facilitated the creation of a family between everyone. 

So as I go through my recovery, I will try to post a little bit here and there with some reflections about my trip and my gap year so far. Looking at the computer screen is a little straining for my one eye right now, but its bearable! Anyway, thank you for tuning in and following, and I'll post in the next couple of days! 

Day 42-44: Start of Homestay in Turrialba, CR -- 10/26 to 10/28/15

Great start to my homestay with a family in Turrialba with my good friend Tom! We will be staying with the Aguilar family for the next 2 weeks. They don't speak English at all, so It'll be great for Tom and I to practice our Spanish! We are also taking Spanish classes and have homework every night so far to write a story, find out more about our host family, and tasks like those to get us to practice our speaking, listening, and writing skills in Spanish. 

I'll have internet more often while in Turrialba, so I'll be able to update a little more often, probably every couple of days. 

Anyway here are some pictures from the last 2 days! 

Here's Tom in our new room for the next 2 weeks! More space than we are used to! 

A typical and delicious breakfast made by our host mom. It consisted of Gallo pinto (rice and beans) which is a traditional Costa Rican dish that you will find everywhere, scrambled eggs, and toast. It was delicious and I could eat Gallo pinto every day and be totally happy! It's so good!

This morning when heading to school, we saw Mt. Turrialba, which is an active volcano, erupt with ash! It was so cool, and the volcano has been erupting just ash for the past couple of days. We are headed up to see the crater in the next week which will be awesome!

Here are a couple pictures from our waterfall hike today before classes! It was so cool because we hiked to the top of "la catarata aquieres" and then below it. It was a good start to the morning before classes! 

Here is our classroom perched on a hill above Turrialba! We have been talking a lot about Costa Rican culture, economics, politics, and the Spanish language in general, all in Spanish of course! 

We also started working in a community called "Noche Buena" near Turrialba. We started to build concrete sidewalks and floors in a house, and will continue to do so the next couple of weeks. 

Until next time! 

Day 37-41: Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica -- 10/20 to 10/25/15

Had a great couple days in Turrialba, the hometown of one of our leaders, Rolando! 

We spent a couple relaxing days exploring the city, doing some team building activities, repelling down some waterfalls, and a 3 day rafting trip! It was a good little vacation before our two weeks of homestays in Turrialba, with Spanish classes every morning and service in the afternoon. 

I already notice my Spanish is becoming faster and I am more comfortable and confident talking, asking for things, and explaining in Spanish. I still have a lot of work to do though, and hopefully these next 2 weeks will give me the push I need. 

Here are just a couple of pictures from the past couple of days! 

It was my first time doing yoga. It was taught in Spanglish. I was struggling just to touch my toes. Great way to start the morning! 

This was the view from the lodge we stayed on our rafting trip. The river is down below and was roaring all night. It was beautiful! 

Here was part of the creek where we hiked to slide down a natural water slide! 

Here's the water slide! 

Anyway! I'll keep you guys posted with more about my Spanish class, service, and homestay experience the next couple of weeks! 

Until next time! 

Day 28-35 : EARTH University in Costa Rica -- 10/13 to 10/19/15

We had to say goodbye to the DR, but everyone is more than excited to head to Costa Rica for adventures, sustainable farming workshops, and a lot more home stays! 

We are staying at EARTH University for a couple of days learning about sustainability in all respects -- waste management, animal farming, agricultural farming, and energy efficiency. With workshops focused around getting us to work and experience what EARTH students experience, we've learned so much just in a couple of days! 

Here are some pictures from EARTH: 

Beautiful campus! Students at EARTH learn through experience how to create, run, and sustain an organic or self-sustainable farm. We learned about a lot of the systems and processes that go into Eco-friendly farming, limiting waste, and reusing any waste materials. We also talked a lot about space efficiency and energy efficiency with regards to waste management and sustainable agriculture systems. 

These are some pictures from the process of harvesting and processing the cacao plant and the last picture is of the cacao peel that is reused and put into a compost pile to then go back into the soil for fertilizer. It is a good source of nutrients for several plants. 

This is just one example of the processes and systems that we saw at EARTH. It was a great couple days of learning through experience how sustainable farming works!

After a great stay at EARTH, our group split up into 4 groups of 4 to do a homestay at a farm in Pocora, CR. We spent 4 days waking up early to feed the chickens and pigs, harvest yucca roots, build a chicken pen, and to eat great food! A lot of rice and beans, but it never gets old, it just keeps getting better. 

We also made bread, paper, and enjoyed our host families company! I got to practice my Spanish a lot with my host-brother Dennis, who is also a juggler! We both put on a show where I accompanied his routine with some guitar. It was a great homestay, and I can't wait for our next ones! 

Here are some pictures:

Had a room to myself, it was a little weird! 

Somebody was really excited for their breakfast at 7 in the morning! 

This is where our rooms were! 

Some homemade bread, so good! 

Some great pictures of a couple of juggling shows Dennis put on for us! It got intense when he whipped out the torches too. It was firey. 

Headed to a river after a good days work and then to church that night! It was interesting to see the similarities and differences in the traditions of the Catholic Church and this parish we went to! 

Finally after 4 great days of amazing food, good Spanish practice, hard work, and fun nights, we had to say goodby e to our family and part our ways! Hopefully we can stop by sometime in the future! 

We're off to Turrialba, CR to do some rafting and Spanish classes. 

I'll update when I can! 

Day 17-27: Consuelo and Montecoca, DR -- 10/1 to 10/11/15

Our week stay in Consuelo staying at ASCALA was busy with service and training! We worked in a botey (a sugar cane farming community) building concrete floors and two latrines. It was quite an eye opening experience working in Montecoca and talking with the people who live there and learning about their experiences with cutting cane and their relationship with the sugar companies. 

For those of you who don't know, boteyes are some of the poorest communities in the Domincan Republic. They were created when sugar cane companies brought over Haitian workers and gave them places to stay and money for cutting sugar. However, the money was little to none, the quarters were tight and bare, and the Haitians usually did not receive documentation and were illegal immigrants. Due to this, the boteyes acted more like work camps. Workers would make maybe around 150 pesos for 5 days of work (which converts to around $3.50 a week). It turned into a subtle form of slavery as the workers would not make enough to move out of the botey, the barracks would be locked at night and guarded, and even if workers escaped they did not have proper documentation and could therefore not get another job or be at risk for deportation. 

Some of these issues are still extremely prevelant today, especially Haitian Dominicans being at risk for deportation, some of which have never been to Haiti. There is a lot of unrest between the Haitian Dominicans and the Domincans, specifically racial discrimination. The darker the color of your skin, the lesser you are thought of. Dominicans do not want the Haitians coming over and taking jobs or using their resources. Especially as elections draw nearer, I believe that the issue of Hatian Domincans and deportation will arise further and unfold-- either for better or for worse. 

Anyway, here are some pictures from the past 10 days in Consuelo and Montecoca:

Whenever we weren't doing service, all of us were in the classroom getting a Wilderness First Aid certification! From assessing a patient in the field, to learning how to clean wounds using pigs feet, to practicing using epipens, the course gave us the basics of first aid for a wilderness setting! 

Here are a couple pictures of our team making some concrete to lay on the floors of five or six different houses. It was hard work, but definitely rewarding to see how it directly impacted the people living in the community. 

Here's a picture of our group learning and helping out to build a latrine. The hole is 15 feet deep, dug out by two of the men in Montecoca. It will last the small family of 4 about 10-15 years. 

A little basketball to top of a great day of service! 

I had to walk by this big guy everytime I need to grab more sand to mix with the cement. He would give me the stink eye everytime I passed. We were good friends in the end though. 

Here is some of the group posing for a photo after we got poured rain on during our making of concrete. We were cold, tired, but we still managed to sing Build Me Up Buttercup at the top of our lungs to keep us going. 

Here is a picture of the head guy we worked with in Montecoca. His name is Roberto. He and I got along very well, and he was a great partner for me to practice my Spanish while at the same time get work done and build floors. I hope I can go back and visit him some time!

After a couple days of service, we took a trip to the beach and Tom and I got some good frisbee shots in the water! 

We ended our time at ASCALA in Consuelo with a beautiful sunset and then a bonfire to roast marshmallows! It was a great end to a hardworking week of service and Spanish speaking. 

We then tried out some more light painting! Here are some of the cooler ones! 

Found my house in the DR, everyone's welcome!

We are ending our last couple days in the DR with a weekend in the beach town Bahibe! It's a good relaxing way to end a great stay in a great country! With some kayaking, catamaraning, and a lot of beach time, we'll all be refreshed and ready to go to Costa Rica for some Spanish classes and service! 

I'll start now to post week by week, starting when we get into Costa Rica! 

Hope you enjoy!