Thanksgiving

Listening to: The Five-Gallon Podcast, You First, After Me


You can find said podcast on iTunes - it's my boss from Inlingua ranting and playing a bunch of very wide-ranging indie tunes (but be ready for some occasional choice words).

Without a doubt, my 22nd Thanksgiving seems like the most difficult one so far, but I'm not sure that's such a bad thing.  While it's been a bit difficult recently, I think that in the long run I will be a more thankful person for it.  That sounds awfully gloomy - things aren't so bad.

I guess I'll start where that last post left off.  That weekend, I went to a bar with a friend from work where his friend was celebrating a birthday.  We wandered around for a solid half hour before we found them, but when we finally did we had a good time.  It was an incredible bar - for example, the dance floor had a live DJ and a mic'ed hand drummer with djembes, congas, etc playing off each other continuously.  It was nice to finally just hang out with some people (who seemed to be) my own age.  Turns out, they were all at least five years older but thought I was as well.  Must be the beard.

Being in that setting made me think pretty hard about what exactly it is I'm here to do.  Am I here for myself, like the majority of the people at work?  I don't say that as a negative; these people had the courage to come to Costa Rica seeking a different kind of life for myriad reasons.  If having fun were my objective, I feel I'd be doing a terrible job so far - I don't have the time or money to do otherwise.  If I'm not here for myself, I must be here to work with the church, right?  While that's certainly on the way up, I'm really starting to realize the mortality and other limitations of my work here.  Am I going to leave a permanent and positive mark on the community I'm trying to serve over the next three months?  Maybe.  Am I doing the best job I could?  Absolutely not.  I could definitely give more time and maybe even financial resources to that effort.  So...what am I doing?  Lincoln said, "Whatever you are, be a good one."  I guess that's what I'm working on.

Last Tuesday, I cooked approximately 11 or 12 liters of an adapted version of mom's pheasant and wild rice stew (using turkey and a bunch of other different ingredients) for our community Bible study.  It turned out about halfway between her stew and a white chili, which was a success in my book.  It was a big hit among the other church members, as was my papaya seed dressing for the salad and my baked papaya a la mode.  Between serving everything and running back to my apartment to get the dessert, I only heard one or two of the four readings and their responses, but that didn't stop Gregorio from nominating me to preach on Sunday.  Not wanting to turn him down a third time, so I accepted on the condition that I could draft the sermon and have Sergio proofread it, then read more or less from the page.  They enthusiastically agreed.

On Thursday, I was fortunate to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kat and a few new friends.  We had a great time and it definitely lessened the sting of missing my favorite holiday.  Before you laugh and call me a fatty, think about what that holiday really means.  I think it may be the only non-liturgical holiday based on a virtue.  To me, it represents everything that is good about my native country's culture: thankfulness for the rich blessings with which we find ourselves, with and including our families.  It was especially hard not to spend those hours and days with my parents and brothers as I have for the last 21 years.  Unfortunately, we have packaged the ugliest aspect of our culture (Black Friday) with this beautiful celebration in the same 48 hour period.  I really do hate this "holiday," but I won't go into that any further right now.  Suffice it to say I'm very thankful for everything last Thursday represents.

On Friday, a bunch of the youth from Sola Fe, Sergio, Belky, Wendy, Job, and myself left for a weekend retreat somewhere in the mountains North of San Jose.  It was about a three hour drive, so we didn't get in until fairly late or get to bed until much later.  I really, really don't miss being 14.  Those kids ran, screamed, and otherwise boiled over with energy on no more than 6 hours of sleep total from 5pm on Friday to 4pm on Sunday.  I did not do so well - in fact, I was very cranky by the time we got back.  I believe one is supposed to gradually adjust to cultural behavior, but I'm really struggling with their habits surrounding attention, self-discipline, and respect.  To me, when someone stands up to speak to a group with which I'm involved, I owe that person my attention.  I will watch and listen to her with all the attention I can muster, and if I really need to shoot off a text or whisper something to someone I will try my hardest not to let her see/hear it.  None of these concerns seem to be shared by those kids, which bothers me equally as a participant and leader.  Anyway, I don't want to rant about this either...I have to stop doing that!  Long story short, I emerged from the weekend tired and increasingly frustrated compared to when I went in.  Church yesterday started about an hour late (since the majority of the congregations were still on our way there at 3:30) and I tried my hardest to preach the sermon I hadn't had time to write down whatsoever.  Needless to say, I don't exactly feel I succeeded.

That brings us to today.  I had a percussion lesson and an English class today, each of which went very well.  Unfortunately, to top off this weekend, my fridge decided to quit working when I got back yesterday.  I'll be throwing out a week's worth of milk, meat, eggs, etc as soon as I finish this post, which is continuing to put a bit of a damper on my outlook.  Hopefully Sergio and I can recharge the freon tomorrow and get it working again.

I'm very excited to see some of you in about two weeks!  As you continue to shop this Christmas season, please continue to consider involvement in Operation: Instrumental.  Your contribution will make a direct difference in the life of a child down here, and I personally thank any of you who choose to do so in advance for your generosity.