A Very Full Day

The vast expanse of knowledge, information, and sensory input we absorbed over the course of the past ten hours could be digested for days to come. Everyone is pulling their own weight, plus more. Complaints are few and far between and the willingness to jump in wherever needed is allowing the group to function and move successfully.

It was a day of multiple surprises. The first, and perhaps most significant, was that our interviews will all be conducted in Spanish, with translation from our guide Matt. This is both an exceptional opportunity for us to be exposed to large amounts of Spanish, and an unexpected challenge. Our interviewees have so far been so expressive and animated that students have little trouble keeping interest despite long gaps between moments of understanding. They struggle to understand the words flowing out passionately in Spanish, then, almost visibly relax as they hear the capable translation.

Obregon offered a brilliant analysis of the externally driven attempts to create economic unity within Latin America, claiming that it took a hundred years and a bloody civil war for the US to achieve true unity, and sixty years following two world wars for Europe to attain unity, but organizations such as the WTO and World Bank are pushing for similar changes within a few years and listening very little to the concerns and aims of the people involved. What's more she explained brilliantly the many ripples that flow out from events within nations, claiming that Costa Rica won the first battle of the American Civil War by beating back William Walker, the southern adventurer who tried to annex Latin America to create a new region safe for slavery with his private army.

It's endlessly fascinating how completely connected and interconnected our stories are with those in other parts of the world, and how very little we even consider these possibilities in the midst of our regular routines. What if these vast unintended and intended consequences of actions, big and small, could be made manifest to us? Would we act with more purpose and integrity, or simply be paralyzed by the awesome impact of each small choice?

Campbell was truly inspiring and could very well be the future president of this nation. An Afro-Costa Rican woman not afraid to challenge power or speak her mind, yet wildly popular with large sections of the population. Perhaps a vision of what we might aspire to some day in the future...

The students continue to impress and entertain us. Fueled by an afternoon caffeine boost they remained awake and engaged through every interview until the bitter end and made no complaints even though we didn't get dinner until almost 9pm and have to be up tomorrow at 6:30. So far the awe factor appears to be keeping them humble and in good spirits. It's like one continuous "moment of wonder", and their already good natured souls are especially caring and conscious of others.

Enough for today. We are up early to build beds in the morning, plus two interviews in the afternoon and I am starting to fade.

Our best to all those back in Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

Oliver