Today, I see it. I could write a post viewing experience review of it here but who needs that? Everyone knows it’s going to be amazing and everyone knows that it’s a real tear jerker when we have to truly say goodbye to Paul Walker. I thought about writing about my week or something but c’mon man, I just wrote over 1000 words about it a couple days ago. I have light hearted thoughts too. Plus, I didn’t want to write too much right now because I’m about to go to the gym. Or walk to the gym. Yesterday I walked there only to find out it was closed and then eventually shooed off by the police. I have no idea if today or tomorrow will be any different. I was telling a pal that apparently Thursday and Friday are bigger days here than Easter weekend. This imprisonment and execution of Jesus is more important by the resurrection that comes afterwards. That’s a little bleak. And know what people do when bleak things happen? They see a movie where Brian and Dom and the family race fast cars and blow up stuff. Just like Jesus would have wanted it. So it goes.

Sixty something? Maybe. I go through thoughts of potential titles and alway squash them but then I have to squash the generic titles because I think I may have already used them. I’m getting to a point where I can’t think of original or generic titles. Blank Space? Oh garsh, now I’m just stealing Taylor Swift songs. You’re right. Maybe I should just use Taylor Swift songs as my blog titles. Starting with the next one I’ll try it out. So what is this post about. Who knows? Random thoughts. Maybe I’ll type stuff out and it’ll form into more coherent thoughts. If not, you can enjoy it regardless. It’s still great. So what’s happened this week? I bought pre-workout from a guy that barely spoke English so I have no real idea what I’m ingesting into my body. Still feeling good though. Smelling good? Not entirely. I can’t help I have a limited amount of shirts and I gotta endure the sweat. Some people are into that? I’m not one of those people but I’m getting used to it. I’m not, I think I smell gross. It appears I’ll be alone again for my last week here in Costa Rica. Which should be bearable, I think I can handle it. It is pretty crazy this week because of Holy Week and school being canceled so we have twice the amount of kids. We’re surviving though. It does help when you have two very well prepared ladies as the other volunteers assisting you. Without them, I’d probably be lost. Oh great, I’ll be without them for an entire week. Hope you enjoyed this one kids, it’s all going downhill from here. That’s not true. Or I hope that’s not true. What is true though is that I was told that I need to enforce the discipline a bit more and well, I saw that coming. Compared to the other volunteer placements I’ve had in both Costa Rica and Peru, this is definitely the most unstructured one of the bunch. In that we’re essentially given free reign to do what we can and what we want. I do assume it would be pretty different if we could communicate on a fluent level but we make do with what we can which boils down to essentially lots of games, lots of crafts, etc. Even in the other placements, it did have its moments of looseness but there was always that overseeing presence right around the corner. In Peru it was even more structured than that but whatever. The only problem with the entirely unstructured system is that I’m a little looser with the kids than I need to be. Or should be. Knowing the kid’s situations and knowing this isn’t an ideal spot for them influences how I think because I tend to think “Well, I gotta make sure they enjoy themselves, they aren’t in the best place.” Though I wouldn’t say that means I need to allow anarchy. I mean, I’m glad that someone here did mention it because I was thinking it myself. But I was also thinking, “Well, I can’t be that bad.” And maybe I’m not that bad. Still doesn’t mean I should let kids be crazy without consequence. It’s true that I did allow a child, children to hang a baby doll with a jump rope acting as a makeshift noose and throw rocks at it. For a half hour. It’s also true that I might have thrown a rock or two myself because I found it amusing. At the time I didn’t realize that I was furthering and supporting sociopathic behavior. I’ve made some mistakes, I’ll admit that much. That’s what I’m trying to change. At least, today I was. And tomorrow. And the next day. I can’t have them all be wild animals when it’s me there alone. It’s just hard when there’s a communication barrier. Meh, that’s just an excuse. It’s harder sure, but it’s not impossible. I guess I’m just thinking that if I’m the bad guy, I won’t be the fun guy anymore. Even though it always seems the people of authority who set no limits at all are what create the monsters. I’m not creating monsters. I am no Dr. Frankenstein. I don’t know what they might become later in life, but I don’t want to be that guy that spurred them down that path. See, I almost didn’t want to write about this part. Because the more I write about it, I’m like “Damn Hank, you were messing up there.” Which is true. I was. It’s just that if I write it out, everyone knows that I was. Except if I don’t write it out and people don’t know then how can I be held accountable? Look at what happens when I try to hold myself, I realize there’s a problem and blah. I ain’t perfect. I never said I was. Man…the more I write about this, the more I realize I should have been changing my tune as soon as I realized I was definitely the most lenient out of the girls I was volunteering with. One is a substitute teacher right now and going into teaching. Of course they know better than I do. Rock throwing at babies isn’t a healthy activity. Well thank you blog. For being cathartic healing. Or something like that. I got a week and a half more to make my mark. I might as well do the best I can. It seems apt to end here. But I’m not! Because I could have lice. You didn’t think I’d mention that did ya? I hope I don’t have lice. I forgot to mention lice. On Monday, a girl had fifteen giant lice bugs combed out of her hair. She was one of six children who had them. They like clean hair. I shower every morning. Can’t help I gotta look fresh for those children. I’m teaching them how to be a better person and how to be fly like a white guy. Oh yeah. I was also crucified on Monday. Glad they’re celebrating Holy Week right by miming faux crucifixions with me as Jesus. Have I called myself Jesus before? White Hulk. The Great White Hope. Now I’m White Jesus. If I wasn’t already. So it goes.

Sometimes I put a lot of thought into a title that someone might appreciate and other times, I do this. I couldn’t think of anything exciting so I just made the most boring, generic title that I could. I really wanted to title this post, Prostitutes. Except that’s probably going to be a sentence or two and didn’t really warrant that great honor. Who am I kidding? I’m gonna make the majority of this blog about the two possible prostitutes I saw for about five minutes. Jaco, Costa Rica is apparently a sleazy town. Sleazy because it’s a beach town populated by tourists. Sleazy because tourists are probably sleazy in and of themselves and they desire sleazy things. Wait. No. I don’t want to come across saying drugs and hookers and gambling are sleazy. Maybe not to me, but in the general sense of the word, we’ll go with sure. It doesn’t matter. I’m just going with what I was told, not what I’m saying is my opinion. All I know is that I was expecting prostitutes aplenty and drugs offered me on every street corner like that gosh darn travel guide said. Sadly, I was not offered drugs in a variety of different languages. Nor did I see people snorting crack off of scantily clad women or men of the night. But I did see pudgy, balding men with latina women twenty years their junior. I could maybe believe it if I saw only one of these phenomenons but when I saw a guy walking off holding hands with two beach babe beauties saying “Let’s go back to my place,” I lit up with a smile and thought this is why you sit at the resort bar alone having cocktails and watching wrestling in Spanish. What I’m trying to say is that this weekend, a girl and I went to Jaco and just spent the night in a lavish resort and it was great. They had pillows you could rent just to have them smell like lavender. They had robes that felt like…something really comfortable that a robe could realistically feel like. They even had a phone with cool touch screen technology that ultimately didn’t do much more than let you schedule wake up calls. It was pretty nice. It had a pool. It had a beach. It had a bar. It had the most white people I’ve probably seen in the past few months and then most english I’ve heard spoken as well. I believe I did mention casinos and of course it had one built into it’s lobby. Along with a nightclub! A night club that I didn’t go to at all but I definitely heard a man grumpily complaining about how it wasn’t soundproofed and how he got no sleep at all because of that. The obvious solution would just be to party himself if he can’t sleep but he didn’t seem to pick up on that and I didn’t want to tell him his mistake because he already seemed pretty peeved. The casino though! I didn’t go because I don’t gamble because I don’t believe in handing out handfuls of my money but I observed, oh, I observed all right. When I say I observed, all I’m trying to say is that they had Titanic themed slot machines and a game just called Dogs. It resembled a slot machine but I can’t say for sure. I just know it had Lassie on it. I didn’t want to check because I knew such a game would instantly pull me in. Seeing Rose and Jack was almost too much for me to bear. Had Lassie and those lovers been right next to each other instead of ten feet apart, you wouldn’t be seeing any blog posts of mine because I would have pawned my laptop to keep playing those remarkable creations. I abstained. It was hard. I still think about it today. I also had my first alcoholic beverage in the past month. Not bad! Glad it hasn’t lost its appeal. Again though, no, I made sure to cut myself off before I could give in to the temptation of DOGS. Man, I really do miss that game. I miss it this much without even having played it. The weekend was just basically what the upper middle class and above do when they go and take a vacation to Peru. They stay in an extravagantly nice place, they don’t ingratiate themselves in the culture at all, and they pay a lot of money to have all you can eat buffets. I managed to not spend 40$ to eat shrimp off the barbie, and I even held my tongue when a woman said “This is how you say thank you in Spanish.” I know lady, I know. It was a nice weekend. It was a fun weekend, but I’m definitely glad I’m here for the length of time I am and I’m definitely glad I haven’t spent my entire trip in luxury. It’s nice to know Costa Rica is more than just bi lingual hotel staff who cater to every need and whim of the white tourists who flood their hotel accommodations. Still though. It was a fun experience. And it’s quite nice to sleep in a bed that isn’t twin sized for once. Can’t believe I only have three weeks or so more speaking Spanish before I’m off into an entirely new culture where I can’t comprehend anything around me. Arabic? French? Oh golly. Until then, I’m gonna soak up every moment I can in Costa Rica and then Spain. I’m over halfway done with this trip. Wow. We’re like a week away from four months. Yowza. So far, so good. So it goes.

Working out is fun! Not drinking is probably good for you! But who really cares about either of those when you’re on a beach getaway for the weekend and you can finally kick back and have a brewski or two? Really though, I gotta chronicle that I’m actually going to the gym and having my butt kicked day in and day out when I do thanks to a partner. Oh sure, let’s add that to the PSA. Workout with a partner! No matter their size or stature, just make sure they can actually get you working hard and not slacking like I know us solo goers are apt to do from time to time. It’s nice. It feels good. I feel good. I still feel good. Mind and body. So yeah, I also need to write this so when this girl leaves next week and I realize I still have a week here and two weeks left on a gym membership that I actually enjoy it and sure, sometimes I wake up too sore to even get out of bed but dang nabbit, that’s good. I think it’s good. Or else I broke my body. But seeing as the other stuff I’ve put it through, I’d rather feel that than other things. That’s really it kids. Work out. Be healthy. And realize that putting it off isn’t doing you any favors because then you just think about how dumb you were and how much time you missed out on when you get back into the groove. Now to continue this for the next few months. That’ll be the true test. Keep on motivating me blog. I say this like I go back and read my own posts but I’m more writing this for others to realize that I’m saying this with great exclamation and exuberance that I’m feeling really good and I know this is contributing and I don’t want to stop but I know me and I know I might want to stop but I need to realize that I really don’t because I’m better off not stopping but but but but but. I wanted to see how many buts I could put in a sentence. I lost count. Probably because I did not count. The point is to be healthy and keep doing things to make you healthy and even if it’s hard, it’s worth it in the end because I feel great. I want to keep feeling great. Let’s make sure that happens. So it goes.

This blog post today is just a shout out to a couple people who helped me with some things. To David and Michael, I had some great conversations with you and I hope one day I can look back on this and realize today was the day when things changed and I can thank you all over again. It’s nice after hating the word passion because I never completely understood it that I’m beginning to feel it here. Or maybe I have felt it and I’m finally realizing this is what I’ve felt. I hoped this journey would make me grow and it may not have happened in a single instance, but I feel I’m starting to see the seeds of new thoughts and ideas and perspectives develop inside of me. I’m not going to go into detail here because I’m just brainstorming of the future but it’s at least nice to think of something less  vague than “I want to adventure.” I am adventuring currently and I’m reaping the results of it. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling motivated. I’m feeling passionate. It’s a good feeling as I literally mentioned ten or so words ago. If anyone cares to ask what I’m even thinking about in this blog post, then feel free. I’ll probably clam up and say it was nothing which is why I’m writing this here. Because I want to remember that I felt this way and I want to remember that it’s okay to be scared as long as you don’t quit because of it. Oh man, reading this I realize it sounds extremely vague and platitudes-esque and that’s not what I’m going for. I have thoughts, I have actually ideas, it’s just some things I don’t want to share with the world when they might come to nothing. Oh cripes, I’ll probably regret this post. I guess in a week or so, I’m gonna have to write an apology for this one and try to be a little more specific. I would delete this all and write it over but I already did that once. Now I’m almost 500 words in! I can’t do that again. Whatever, it’s the internet. If I don’t post my mistakes then that’s no fun. No one wants to see Mr. Perfect on here. Geez. This post really veered off the rails here. Thank you Michael and David for giving some guidance and support today. Thank you for whoever is reading this and still reading this as I keep rambling on. And thank you for people who will care enough to maybe ask me to be a little more specific because even I feel bad how vague this is. Should have kept it short and sweet and just thanked them! Ugh. So it goes?

[Editor’s Note: This blog post will break the self imposed swearing ban that Hank had implemented.][Editor’s Note Round 2: There is no actual editor other than myself which is why some of this can be so slipshod but I like to pretend I have an omniscient figure throwing in random notes from time to time.]

The Tias of Pani tend to suck. I had horror stories of them before, from a girl who is much kinder and probably less judgmental than I, so I should have probably believed her a little more. I mentioned before that my views of orphanages tended to be askew due to having only a reference of them from film and literature and not the real world. It’s true that the orphanage isn’t a dreary, sad place like I may have originally thought but it does tend to have the same overseers who don’t tend to give a shit about the children there. That might not be entirely true, they probably care about the children than they do care about the volunteers because I think that we may be lesser than ants to them. At the very least is it that hard to say goodbye when someone specifically says it to you? Multiple times? Apparently it is. It’s okay though, at least we aren’t chastised for behavior that they then replicate the next day like complete hypocrites. If you don’t want us to play songs for the children then we completely understand that and are very cordial in turning it off and making sure it doesn’t happen again. However, it’s not all too fair for you to condone that behavior and then do it yourself the next day. Especially when we were making sure not to play questionable music, and then you play extremely questionable Top-40 tunes for children. It would also be different if you showed any effort towards the children at all, regardless of us being there or not. We are volunteers, we aren’t paid to work with these children for close to five hours a day. Just because we don’t show up doesn’t mean you can completely skimp out on your responsibilities and half ass your job. Which would be a compliment if we’re saying what they do is half assing. To leave us alone with the children is fine, it routinely happened with my old  Tia and she used that time to make food, to do paper work, to do anything that benefited the children that she couldn’t entirely focus on when she was taking of the kids on her own. Instead these women sit in a room alone and talk and gossip and go on YouTube. Or text. Or Facebook. They literally do not set their phones down the entire time we are there. On Friday, I was happy to see a Tia come outside when all the children were there and sit next to a toddler. Upon sitting down, she whipped out her phone and went to business offering only nods when a child tried to communicate with her. It’s disgusting. Apparently we aren’t the first people to notice this and it’s even been brought up with the Tias but they offer a range of excuses stemming from we aren’t paid enough, to we drive hours to be here, to other bullshit excuses that you can make up yourself. Which again is bearable, it’s okay, the kids are great and at the very least I want to give them the most support I can. The thing that really pissed me off though, and I believe Maria as well, is that we had an incident with taking pictures. As mentioned before, we used a phone to play some music before that was shut down. During our musical adventures, a child or two did take our phones and just started taking photos and selfies of themselves and the other children. We knew we weren’t supposed to take pictures of the kids and post them on social media for privacy reasons but we just figured we’d let the kids have their fun for a little bit for our own personal photos and to entertain the kids. This was also shut down, and then we apologized and made sure to keep our phones away and not let the children go after them if they tried. It seems simple. We made a mistake, we fessed up, we apologized and we moved on. Except when we came to get picked up and the first thing the Tias do is scream about us to our driver about our photo taking and go on for a solid few minutes or so. The Tias who leave us alone with the children, who don’t watch the children, who ignore the children when they cry or in pain, who dick around on their phones four hours straight. They never said Hello or Goodbye to us but they’re more than willing to talk crap about us as soon as we make a mistake of which we immediately apologized for and rectified the situation. Oh, and I did forget to mention that one of the Tias or the cook (which I think is entirely different position entirely) danced with the kids while we played music. She didn’t tell us to shut it down, she seemed to embrace it and utilize it as a way to interact with the kids. Just like the one Tia who watched me lift kids to reach the ceiling for about an hour straight, or for the next day a different Tia to yell at us for giving a child a hug. So the hypocrisy is even confusing because we’re always not sure if what we’re doing is allowed or not or it all depends on who even notices it happening. Though there’s still a small chance of anyone noticing it happen because they mainly interact with the children for a few minutes a day out of the hours we are there and that seems to be only to complain about something we did. Constructive criticism is okay, of course it is, how else are you going to grow and improve without it? Gratitude is a little nice too. It wouldn’t even be half bad if they literally did nothing when we were there if they were at least thankful that it is because of us that they are afforded that opportunity. A simple thanks bye would go a long why but it seems outside of their comfort zone. Because they’re the type of people that watch as I trip over something and bang up a knee only to laugh at me and then point it out to another Tia so she can join in on the hilarity too. Never asking if I’m okay or if I need help but I wouldn’t ever expect from that them. They’d have to show a shred of human decency to expect something like that. At the very least, and really the saving grace of everything is that they have some amazing kids there. Amazing kids that are smart, loving, fun, and just so happy to have someone to hang out with and play with. I might have significant qualms with the staff at the program, but I’d rather do all I can and work my ass off for those kids while I’m there then leave them alone with the Tias. I’m not expecting much from the Tias over these next few weeks and I frankly don’t even really care. I’ll be working with one girl for the next three weeks and another girl for two of those three and as long as we know we’re helping the kids that what matters to us. I don’t expect a goodbye or even a thanks for your month of service but I’ll know that I helped those kids significantly with a month of my time and I hope it impacts them even further than that. Until then, I’ll just keep giving it my all and that’s all I can really do. So it goes.

USA. Greece. It’s all the same to a single digit Costa Rican child. As long as you are some semblance of white than you’re a gringo. Or maybe it’s just if you don’t speak a lot of Spanish, but I’m definitely leaning towards the white theory based off how much they speak to me in their native tongue. It’s just that there are some kids that are definitely on the light shade of the spectrum and they don’t get called anything but their actual name. It’s only been two days and I do eventually reckon that I’ll be called by a name that was ascribed to me by parents and not young children but I’ll be okay however it turns out. I normally wouldn’t write another post detailing the day so close to the first one but since I did have a new girl join me today, I figured I might as well post another update. Maria Eleni, or better known as Gringa, is a nineteen year old girl from Greece who is here for six weeks. When posed with my hilarious joke question “So I imagine this in your first time working at an oprhanage huh?” she promptly replied with “No.” and I was later to find out she’d also volunteered at both a hospital and a children’s cancer ward as well. She’s a better person than me. Still though, it is quite nice to work with someone else just from a company standpoint, the fact that she has experience in similar locations makes it all the better. The only downfall is that this is another placement where they think I’m the more intelligent Spanish speaker just because I understand a couple more words than someone who isn’t well versed. Though when I think about it, I should probably know far more than I already do since I’ve been in Latin America for three months but until these last couple of weeks, I’ve seemed to always have the privilege of being with at least one person who is fluent in Spanish and I can kind of ride their coat tails. No more. Or should I say “No mas”?Hey-oooooo! Just love to incorporate Spanish snippets into this post. I feel like I’m educating all of my dear, constant readers. The only thing we both noticed which I may have briefly commented on in the last post is that the Tias here do not seem to care. Apparently it’s because they’re lowly paid government employees, but to us at least, it seems that you don’t go exactly into the orphanage business expecting to make the big bucks. From my last placement, the Tia might not have been the most attentive at least when she had volunteers around but you could definitely tell that she cared for the kids. Also, it’s not like she was blatantly ignoring the kids when we were around, but she was doing things like preparing food, or cleaning the house, things that she needed to get done regardless. These Tias sit around on their phone and go on YouTube. They also eat. They also send a multitude of text messages. They gossip with one another. One woman, who is a cleaning lady, works around the entire duration of our stay. She is the only woman who seems to do work while we are there. It’s not an exaggeration, I’m not just saying they aren’t the most attentive, but rather they completely ignore the kids and what they’re doing while we are there. While doing nothing beneficial for the children. Then to top it all off, they completely disregarded a point that Maria made when one of the children fell. At first we were playing a game of spin the children around really fast while they fly through the air and Hank gets super dizzy, and the Tias didn’t seem too fond of the game. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that they did come to the room that we were in. Because it had an outlet for her to charge her phone. So the Tias get mad at that, we stop, and begin to resume a game of tag or somebody’s a wolf, or the two gringos are possibly attack dogs for a little girl, and a girl falls on the concrete when running. Let’s step back a moment. This girl is Eva. This girl is a child that would make you think, “Why should I have a child when they’re are amazing children like this girl out in the world who might not have a home of their own in the near future and could have to survive with the evil Tias?” That may very well be a long though but it’s popped into my head and I’m sure into Maria’s. This girl, of who I have no idea how long she’s been there, is a beautiful child. Her eyes are bright blueish-gray and I’m glad Maria noticed them too immediately because I thought I was crazy that I was so amazed by them when I barely could tell you the color of anyone’s eyes of who I know. She just seems to understand our struggle and I have no idea if that’s true or I make up those thoughts in my head. She rolls her eyes when children fake cry, she shrugs her shoulders when someone’s fighting and I can’t get them to stop, we had an entire conversation about plates and she seemed to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She also made me help color her drawing provided I did it from the perspective of a panda stuffed animal who’s hand I had to control while it used a crayon. She’s great! She also seems pretty white and doesn’t get called anything like gringa but that’s a story for another day. The point is that we played the game, and then we played tag, and then she fell. She busted her knee up pretty good, and it was bleeding in well, multiple areas. She was crying. We didn’t know what to do, or where a first aid kid was so we called the Tias and they looked her over and then sat her down. Then went back to their cell phones. Then about ten minutes later while she was still bleeding they decided it might be a good idea to get a first aid kid and to at least bandage her knee. I could understand not liking your job, not being stellar at your job, but I couldn’t understand the lack of human decency and sympathy that was being exuded in that moment. The sad thing is that this doesn’t seem like it was a singular moment and has happened before. Basing this off a prior volunteer’s experience, the Tias were entirely unsupportive and she frankly had quite a distaste for them. Either way, the Maria and I aren’t discouraged and we just figure we’ll do as much as we can to interact with the children as we can. We’ll show them affection, we’ll show them love, we’ll show them a good time, we’ll show them new things, we’ll do what we can to help influence and shape their lives into something better. If the Tias aren’t going to help us, then we’re just going to ignore them and do things our own way and make sure the kids are in the most caring hands as possible for the extent of our stay. They deserve that much at least. So it goes.

To be fair, it’s not like I know their names either. Day one of the orphanage is complete. I do seem to base some of my expectations off of classic literature or movies or Broadway plays it seems. I’m not entirely sure what version of Oliver I base the idea of an orphanage off of so I wanted to make sure I covered all the paces. The word just seems cruel, it seems bleak, it seems harsh. I did expect to see me boys and girls of all ages lining up to be served gruel (or porridge) and then maybe dance on the tables and sing about stealing stuff, but doing so in raggedy, raggedy clothes. That was not the case. Which is okay because even if they did spontaneously burst into song it would definitely be in Spanish and I’d still find it quite appealing but a little part of me would be like, “Can I at least get subtitles or an interpreter? “before I bought another ticket to the show. What I’m trying to say is that it was a pretty good first day. The staff here might have made it out to be more of a horror show than it was as well, but I don’t think you can fully know what to expect out of these situations. If they aren’t orphans, they’re people separated from my families by social services due to some form of abuse or neglect that stemmed from the parent. It’s a bad situation for everyone involved, and you really do wish the best for the kids, especially once you’ve met them. One might assume kids that are living in these unfortunate circumstances might be a bit somber, deflated, and melancholy but they embody such joy and passion that it really is a delight to see. Plus, once again I’m a white giant. Who is now literally called a name that just means White Person. Gringo I am! We’ll see if it morphs into something badass like Hans but so far I’m just that tall white guy. It is nice to know that I’ll have a partner starting tomorrow and for the rest of my stay, along with another woman staying for at least two weeks I reckon. These kids are just like they were injected with adrenaline straight into their heart before I arrive. It’s insane. They’re insane. But it’s good. It’s good. It’s just a little more kids than I’m used to and more control than I’m even used to. By control I mean, the “Tias” leave me alone in a relatively big area with them and then seem to piddle paddle along on their phones. I believe there are four women there but at most I had two watching the kids with me, and for the majority of the time it was one or less. Which is fine, it’s just a bit difficult for one person to handle especially when it’s just you and fifteen children spanning a range of fifteen years and you’re not entirely sure how to communicate with any single one of them. Still. First day! I got it done. I believe they enjoy me. Even if it’s just for the fact that I can lift them up to where they touch the ceiling then that’s enough. At least it’s a good way to start off bonding. They finally get to experience being tall and they think I’m super strong in the process. I will never tire from small children think I’m the next Arnold Schwarnandzkahkadadwsudaeger. Eventually I’ll learn my names. Eventually I’ll learn theirs. Eventually tears will be shed when their favorite gringo has to leave. I just got a ways off before any of that happens. Until then, I’m just going to be an enjoyable presence in their life. So it goes.

Oh right! Thoughts about Tia. I’d say the end of my time with Tia with anticlimactic but that’s only because I didn’t get cake. Now I truly have no idea if she actually thought it was Sarah’s birthday on her final day or she was just subtly (okay, not subtly at all) implying that Sarah was her favorite. And it’s true that I didn’t get cake but I got something better. A hug? A handmade card? Stuffed animals? A facebook friend request from the Tia herself? Cinnamon buns? Tacos? All of those answers ring true. Because of course they do. I was a beloved soul there, beloved by all and despised by none. Or one. By the time of my departure, I was actually pretty convinced that all of the kids were real, sweet, good hearted children and only one might be a possible sociopath. Except he did seem sad when I left, though that could be because someone stepped on his foot and he was bawling. Physical pain sure, but I’m fairly certain that the emotional pain was what pushed him over the edge into tears. It’s true that Justyn and I didn’t have the most tearful of goodbyes, but we did start the bonding experience of him yelling at me whenever I tried to close the bathroom door while he was peeing so I just had to stand there awkwardly while he went. That is a tender moment in and of itself. To me. Probably not to just anyone. The moral of the story is, tears were shed (I promise it was emotional pain first and foremost), hugs and kisses given, and I marked my end there with the Tia. I do feel bad knowing that new volunteers won’t be working with her for another month or so because she sure needs as much help as she can get. Even if we didn’t communicate on the best levels, I hope she did appreciate the work that I put in to make her job easier and she’ll remember me after I went. Not just because she’ll be overwhelmed when she’s there alone but there will just be a fond spot for the boy who pretended to know spanish. I am off to an orphanage next and it’s good to know that besides Monday, I’ll be at least with one other person for the next four weeks of my stay in Costa Rica. It is expected to be a more challenging experience though I’m up for it, and especially so if I can put a more positive image of male figures in some of the kid’s lives because so many of them have been affected negatively because of those people. The title of this blog post does in fact reflect upon the new volunteers arriving tomorrow and all the hullabaloo that will accompany them. I am also very proud of myself that I spelled hullabaloo correctly on the first try. It doesn’t seem like a very complicated and is almost a poster word for “Spell it like it sounds” but I’m impressed nonetheless. I have said eighteen new volunteers are arriving and that is true. However, I do have some new info regarding them. Thirteen of them are from University of Indiana, with eleven being students alongside two chaperones. I figure the chaperones are more just professors that wanted to both organize an alternative spring break and enjoy it themselves and not simply chaperones but I’m going by how they were described to us. So thirteen people there who are only staying one week, alongside five new volunteers who range from two weeks to six weeks. There’s actually not a range there. It’s two weeks or six weeks. Four people are two. One is six. Which is nice especially since one girl who was slated to stay the whole eight weeks while I was here is departing this next weekend and I thought I might be alone again, it is nice to know someone is going to be here for the extent of my stay. Plus, they get the added benefit of getting to volunteer alongside me for their duration. If that doesn’t make them love Costa Rica, then I don’t know what will. By this time tomorrow, I imagine the home base will be in shambles and anarchy will be in full swing but at the very least I hung my clothes for the first time beforehand. I’ll be able to enjoy this one day of organization and tranquility and then watch it all crumble before my eyes. If I don’t make it out alive, it was nice knowing you all. So it goes.

That’s really all I wanted to say. I guess it happened yesterday? I should probably know because I’m pretty sure it happened in our area. I should probably know that too. Regardless, all the ash and stuff floated into San Jose which seems to be the norm. Everyone’s fine. Here and in the country. It’s just lots of ash. Which I did not believe would burn the eyes or even get in the eyes near as much as they said it would when we visited San Jose today but I was proved wrong. It did. It also canceled all the flights in the airport for about half the day today. I only mention this because one of the girls here is planning on leaving tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping she has safe travels. Just wanted to notify everyone that I was fine though in case anyone worried. Seeing as how I didn’t know about a volcano that happened and I’m close to it probably means that people in the United States don’t know a volcano erupted in Costa Rica. But if you did. And if you were worried, know there is nothing to fear. I’m still here. Still here who will be coming at ya with a big blog post tomorrow or Saturday reflecting on my past four weeks with Tia. Along with the epic conclusion to the Justyn saga. It might not actually be that epic. It seems like we’re becoming buddies. Which means I won. Because I broke him. I am the king. So it goes.