i miss costa rica

when i got back to the u.s. of a. i bought skype minutes on my computer so i could call my host family. i remember this nervous feeling before i dialed the numbers on that little phone pad staring at me on the screen.

i've called my family a few times since i've been back for a year and our conversations usually sound really similar

rrrrrriiiinnnnngggg

mami: HAAAALO? (like "hello" but accent the "a" ..it's funny how Costa Ricans don't answer the phone in the spanish "hola", but with "hello" in a spanish accent)

me: hola mami! soy alísa

mami: Alíííííííísa! Cómo está?

and then we proceed to talk about things i'm doing - like school and work. and they ask me how my family is. and then papi usually gets on the phone.

papi: Alisa cómo está? in that sweet voice that carries with it so many laughs and jokes that we shared. when i hear it i get the biggest smile on my face. papi will then usually tell me where he and mami are -- perhaps visiting some family members in a beautiful part of the country...

one day (one day soon i hope) i'll go back to costa rica.

i'll visit mami in the galería and i'll sit in that rocking chair that sits in the far right corner where i remember trying so hard not to cry during my first day in san josé

one day soon i'll be at Bible study on a Wednesday night and we'll eat sandwiches for dinner at 10 pm and drink agua dulce and i'll smile at Tío Fran who just preached with as much gusto for a small living room full of people as someone does at a huge Bible conference.

maybe one day soon papi will drive me along the streets leading up to our house -- and he'll drive really slow because he'll be talking about special Costa Rica stories and plants and landmarks and more things he wants me to see (mira alísa, mira, mira// look alyssa, look)

maybe one day soon i'll listen to cows mooing as i fall asleep ...and taste the deliciousness of food fried in canola oil and black beans and good meat and rice (always cooked with red pepper, onion, garlic, and oil). and i'll make the coffee for the morning and i'll make sure to get papi's special sugar on the shelf next to the refrigerator and mami will put more milk in her coffee than the coffee itself. i'll eat crackers with my special jam (jelea de piña -- pineapple jelly) and i'll take my lunch from the kitchen counter and head out the door.

i miss it all. but maybe, just for now, i'll sit here in my bed on a massachusetts summer evening and simply be grateful for latin america and remember as much as i can.