Pizza and the Basilica de Los Angeles

The next morning (Sunday), I got up at 6 AM to shower (I haven't showered since Friday morning!) I guess that's what happens when you travel... The night before everyone was complaining how cold the shower was but when I took my shower I had warm, almost burning hot water. It pays to be patient ;) We left our hostel around 8:30 AM to head to the market for some souvenirs. I was on a search for hammocks for my parents. I didn't get any because I thought they were too expensive. Little did I know that they were actually cheap compared to the other shops I would see in Costa Rica. We split into two groups for breakfast. I opted out of beans and rice and had a pastry with meat instead. We could smell the fresh baked bread from down the street.

We headed back to the hostel to meet our drivers from Cross Cultural Solutions (our third party organization). We met the other two volunteers, Christine and Gina, who came on their own to volunteer. The drive from San Jose to Cartago was 45 minutes. Along the way we saw a million pizza restaurants, Dennys, Mc Donalds, and KFC. It was obvious that there was a lot of western influence. Before the trip, we were educated during our group meetings about the western influence and the increased obesity in Costa Rica because of it. Ironically, only the rich Costa Ricans could afford these American eateries. They were used as status symbols.













We arrived at the homebase before our 3 pm orientation so we decided to visit the town. We walked to the Basilica de Los Angeles, which was only a 10 minute walk from the homebase and it was absolutely gorgeous! It was the largest Catholic church I have ever seen (Catholicism is the predominant religion in Costa Rica). Cartago was the original Costa Rican capitol and every year thousands of Costa Ricans participate in a pilgrimage to the basilica. We learned that people come to the basilica to pray for a cure or a job and once their prayers are answered they return with a silver pendent that signifies their answered prayers. From the first visit, I witnessed how special the basilica was to the people of Cartago.

We went back to the homebase for the orientation and dinner. During our orientation we were introduced to, Manos de Jesus, the site of our volunteer work. Manos de Jesus is a nursing home for abandoned elders who suffers from a variety of physical and mental illnesses. I was bit nervous and wasn't sure what to expect from myself. As I flipped through the binder filled with the resident's interests and dislikes I became unsure of why I was there. I felt as though there was nothing I could do to help them. I was not medically trained, nor was I fluent in Spanish. Before I went to bed that night I thought hard about what I wanted to accomplish the next day and I prayed that I would allow myself to help the elders in any way possible.