Buenas noches, mis amigos.
Que pasa! Para mi, esta bien.
It's been a little while since I posted last. Haven't been doing much except studying and hanging out with some of the other students. They are, of course, tons younger than me, but seem to put up with the geeezer hanging around. We've been to San Jose several times, viewed a few museums and eaten at several interesting little places. This weekend I plan to take off on my own across country to Guanacaste, to Playa de Coco to do some scuba diving. It's been more than a year since I've dived, so I'll have to do some reading and boning up on the rules and signs, although I'll be doing dives with a dive master so they'll go over everything with me. Looking forward to it. The place I'm headed has sharks, eagle wrays, dolphin, and even whales this time of year. Should be spectacular.
Yesterday I had a wonderful experience.
Back in Stillwater there is a group of women who have been friends for a long time. They get together periodically to hang out and just talk, eat, drink a little wine. As far as I have been able to ascertain, their main purpose in being together is indeed a noble one: it is to remind themselves that one of the most precious gifts in the world is to have good friends, and one of the most necessary roles a person can have is to be a good friend. If anything else comes out of their association (and plenty does) well that's just gravy. They fondly call themselves "the biddies" and have allowed a few others of us to benefit from what happens when they are together. I will not divulge names, except to say that I count all of them among my most cherished of friends, which means that their main objective noted above, is indeed fully functional.
Yesterday I met 'the biddies' of San Jose, Costa Rica.
Sunday afternoon Nury's sister was by the house and she and Nury invited me to go with them to take a leisurely afternoon drive to see someplacae whose name I never did quite catch, but which was advertised by both of them to be "muy lindo" (very precious and beautiful). They had to stop at one of their friends houses first, "but just for un poco minutos".
We got to the friends house, were offered libation (beer for Nury, wine for her sister and I, beer for our hostess. They started talking (spanish of course). They touched on lots of things. We were then offered some prochuto (probably spelled wrong) wrapped around some cheese chunks, some olives, and a "little more (wine, beer). They continued to talk. Got into some political discussion in which it was clear even to the casual observer, that they were on opposite sides. A little more wine. A little more beer. A little more food.
Well, we had arrived at two. At six-thirty we finally left, with the little bag of something they had stopped to retrieve, and never did get to the 'muy lindo' place we were supposed to have visited. It was great!
So, then, yesterday, Nury said her sister had invited she an I to the little hotel she owns and operates, for a homemade meal, after which we might take in a concert at the Teatro Nationale.
In a pouring rain we caught a cab right after I got home from class (about 1:00 p.m.) We arrive at the little hotel (seventeen rooms, with free wi-fi, free breakfast, hot showers, etc. about 10 blocks from the center of town, all for the whopping price of $14 per day.) and another of Nury's sisters was there, along with the friend whose home we had visited on Sunday. We all greeted each other with the typical latin kiss to both cheeks. In a few minutes we were joined by another friend, whom they affectionately call 'the China' (because she is part asian). Everyone had brought something to add to the meal.
Within moments it dawned on me that I had been invited to one of the meetings of 'the biddies'. We had wine. We had beer (my could those ladies drink beer) and we had a wonderful meal, the center piece of which was hand-made gnoche (potatoes grated and rolled with three kinds of cheese and a little garlic and lots of butter, then rolled out into a long tubular shape and cut into finger-sized pieces and boiled like dumplings, upon which was poured a simple sauce of crushed tomato, garlic, bacon, and olive oil). The information in parentheses are for a couple of my friends who love to cook.
But the main ingredient of the day was the conversation, delivered in spanish(of course) and a breakneck speed, usually involving three to five of them talking at the same time. The level of the conversation rose or fell depending on the subject and the passion with which each individual was invested in the subject. I understood that they were talking about: husbands/lovers/boyfriends, shoes, manicuring tips, politics. sex, rememberances of times past, recycling, fashion, children, grandchildren,jewelry and accessorizing, and a range of other topics that kept them all laughing, drinking, eating, and generally enjoying the company of one another.
They told stories on each other, some of which they translated so I could get in on the fun. One was of a time the five of them took a vacation weekend together to the home of another friend, who own a particulary annoying duck, kept in the house as a pet. Finally la China had had enough of its quacking and began to feed the feathered annoyance part of her beer. The duck got reeling drunk, and when the owner saw it falling down and asked what might be wrong with it, all of them denied any knowledge. I don't know if they ever told the truth.
It was a marvelous experience and I felt privileged to have been invited to be part of it.
Hospitality is a way of life here, not just something you do for points or to insure a return. Nury is a prime example. She opens her home, and her heart, to those of us who come here seeking to add something to our lives and are far from home. She makes us a haven and invites us to share her life. I am truly grateful.
That's enough for now.
Next time I hope to be able to tell you about swimming with the fishes.
Until then,
cherish your friends. And the best way to do that is to be one.
That's my sermon for the day.
Adios, amigos
Que le vaya bien (take care of yourselves)
The wandering Aramean
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