Free to be me!

On this day in Rey Curré, I began by unpacking my moist, sandy clothes from a weekend at the beach with a group of the volunteers, headed to church where we celebrated Father's day with a good game of cornhole, and rounded out the day teaching my fourth adult English class.  

On Friday, I dished out $6 for a bus ride and three hours later, I was at the beach settling into the hostel with an early morning beach walk on the schedule.  Though the walk was delayed by some much appreciated beach lounging, it was nonetheless breathtaking.  Without a camera in hand, my mind searched for the words to describe the beauty I was seeing, feeling, and hearing.  The waves crashed in and stretched for meters up the deserted beach, fauna-covered hills rising up in the background.  We admired the hundreds of crabs making their castle in the black, porous boulders, walking through the waves as they rushed in and parted quickly, meeting again on the other side.  My eyes were opened wide under the cloud-covered sky, and my hair whipped around my face in the wind which foretold of the coming rain.  While my feet sunk into the drenched sand and I stared out into the empty horizon, I remembered what a blessing it is to be here in Costa Rica, and I wondered at the Artist of such a scene painted before me.  Afterward, we arrived back at the hostel and soaked up one another's company, relating stories of our small-town Costa Rican lives. 

Sometimes when I start taking myself too seriously, a change of scenery puts me back in the right mindset.  For that reason, going to the beach this weekend was a good decision.  I returned to Curré, anxious to see my host family and friends, to begin another week of classes, to meet the unexpected, giant insect or two, but most pertinently, to be myself.  With so many amazing past and present volunteers, I sometimes feel like I have big shoes to fill.  But, I embrace the thought that I have the freedom to be exactly who I am right now, no more and no less.