Rain, Rain, Rain

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November 8, 2010

Some of you may have seen about the rains we had in Costa Rica. It was raining for about a week, from last Saturday to two days ago. We all just made it back from our site visits on Tuesday. A couple days later and we would've been stuck at the sites until the roads were cleared so that was lucky timing. On Thursday morning, my family as well as people all over the country woke up without electricity and without running water. The telephone lines in my community were fine, but most people only had phones that needed electricity to work, and so we were without landlines as well.

We were lucky in my community because we got electricity back the same day at about 2 pm. The phone lines had trouble the next day, but that was fixed quickly as well. Some people are still without phones and water. Running water was a little more complicated as the aqueduct piping had been severely damaged, so we were using mostly rain water for about four days until that was fixed. I was showering again with a bucket like I did in India. I had forgotten how little water you actually need to bathe. One large bucket is enough compared to all the water you use when the shower is running continuously. It seems like such a waste now to go back to the regular way.

Getting all of these basic services back up and running became even more complex because many of the roads were impassable due to landslides. It took crews from Thursday to Sunday to get all of the roads cleared. It was a quiet long weekend for Costa Ricans without work, buses, etc.

Other places weren't so lucky. Provinces like Cartago and Puntarenas are dealing with massive flooding and damage to homes and businesses. It will take a long time to clean up and recover from all that water damage.

I've been impressed with how organized the government is in getting basic services back online, clearing the roads so life could return to normal today, and the minimal loss of life. Peace Corps has been in contact with every volunteer individually to make sure we're all okay and to see what the status of our house is. Some staff even drove out to training sites to check on volunteers in person. They've been very attentive and have made sure we're not only physically safe but also mentally healthy.

Obviously, this has put our already tight training schedule behind by several days. We'll find out soon how we'll be making up the time we've lost. But that's nothing compared to the fact that we're all healthy and safe.

On a lighter note: my training community group and I have been taking dance lessons from my host sister. So far we've learned the basic steps for cumbia (a Costa Rican dance), merengue and bachata. We're hoping to learn salsa next! It's so much fun! I'm looking forward to practicing more.

P.S. I have some photos of damages and other things on my flickr site if you're interested. www.flickr.com/photos/travelmonger