On Friday Allie and I headed out to our first big dance. It was hosted by a nearby stake, and we were excited to brus
h up on our salsa skills. The theme was "country", which meant that people were supposed to wear jeans and some kind of plaid shirt (I failed to comply in the plaid department). We got there, and warmed up to some reggeatón before getting ready to do some "real" latin dancing. I stepped out of the cultural hall for a few moments, and was surprised to hear the music change from reggeatón not to salsa or cumbia, but to some good old fashioned country music. I stepped back inside to see what was going on, and was shocked to see a blonde kid with blue eyes teaching some country steps to a group of hesitant latinos. As I walked back up to Allie, I wanted to laugh, but as the song changed, "country kid" looked around for a new partner as he tried to get the group on the dance floor to learn, and before I knew it, I was dead center trying to follow his country lead. (I knew I should have gone country dancing all those times Kirsti tried to get me to go!) I think I bluffed my way through it alright, but it definitely wasn't my area of expertise, and not really how I was planning to make my debut into the dancing world of San José. Stranger yet, when the song was over, the mysterious country boy dissappeared into the crowd without ever telling me who he was or what he was doing there. Before too long, the salsa kicked in, and I got to do my thing (though I also discovered that Ticos salsa a bit differently than my beloved Mexicanos). Fortunately for you (I know you're all dying of curiosity) I ran into country boy a little later at the drinking fountain. They call him Memo, but his name is Bill. He is from Logan, UT. He's an exchange student at the University of San José. He served a mission in Paraguay and has been home three and a half years. He used to speak Guaraní. And he usually travels on weekends.
h up on our salsa skills. The theme was "country", which meant that people were supposed to wear jeans and some kind of plaid shirt (I failed to comply in the plaid department). We got there, and warmed up to some reggeatón before getting ready to do some "real" latin dancing. I stepped out of the cultural hall for a few moments, and was surprised to hear the music change from reggeatón not to salsa or cumbia, but to some good old fashioned country music. I stepped back inside to see what was going on, and was shocked to see a blonde kid with blue eyes teaching some country steps to a group of hesitant latinos. As I walked back up to Allie, I wanted to laugh, but as the song changed, "country kid" looked around for a new partner as he tried to get the group on the dance floor to learn, and before I knew it, I was dead center trying to follow his country lead. (I knew I should have gone country dancing all those times Kirsti tried to get me to go!) I think I bluffed my way through it alright, but it definitely wasn't my area of expertise, and not really how I was planning to make my debut into the dancing world of San José. Stranger yet, when the song was over, the mysterious country boy dissappeared into the crowd without ever telling me who he was or what he was doing there. Before too long, the salsa kicked in, and I got to do my thing (though I also discovered that Ticos salsa a bit differently than my beloved Mexicanos). Fortunately for you (I know you're all dying of curiosity) I ran into country boy a little later at the drinking fountain. They call him Memo, but his name is Bill. He is from Logan, UT. He's an exchange student at the University of San José. He served a mission in Paraguay and has been home three and a half years. He used to speak Guaraní. And he usually travels on weekends. Earlier Friday we were at the center doing a bit of homework when our managers asked us if we wanted to accompany them to a bilingual job fair to do some resource development. The idea was to talk to the companies as if we were applying for jobs, and to get as much information on the application process (and hiring managers names and numbers, etc.) as possible. Af first it was a little weird, but in the process I got two on-the-spot interviews, one with IBM and the other with Western Union. They seemes to be intrigued when I said that I spoke English, Spanish and Portuguese, and both companies actually interviewed me in Portuguese. Too bad I wasn't actually looking for a job...I think they were impressed.
Saturday we had a pretty amazing experience. We went with Edwin, our manager, to one of San José's ghettos, a neighborhood called 25 de julio. We taught a workshop there to community members who tend to have very few opportunities, and who are looking for ways to better their lives. Including the two coordinators from city hall, we had 13 participants. We taught them an abbreviated version of the workshop (it usually takes 10-12 hours, we did it in 5), and it was a really amazing experience to see some of them change their perspectives about their goals, 
and who they can become. We were also introduced to an amazing program that adjoins to the community center called the "Clubhouse" where they provide all kinds of experiences with technology (less like an internet café and more like a place where disadvantaged youth can learn to use Microsoft Office, learn graphic and web design, record their own music, make and edit videos, etc). I was really touched by the mission of the project (started at MIT, and now with over 200 Clubhouses worldwide) and the way that it is opening doors for those kids. It was a really touching and humbling experience to work with those people- many of them, both youth and adults, looking for jobs with no more than an elementary school level education.
and who they can become. We were also introduced to an amazing program that adjoins to the community center called the "Clubhouse" where they provide all kinds of experiences with technology (less like an internet café and more like a place where disadvantaged youth can learn to use Microsoft Office, learn graphic and web design, record their own music, make and edit videos, etc). I was really touched by the mission of the project (started at MIT, and now with over 200 Clubhouses worldwide) and the way that it is opening doors for those kids. It was a really touching and humbling experience to work with those people- many of them, both youth and adults, looking for jobs with no more than an elementary school level education. Today we went to Church, and already got to help fellowship some investigators. We were wholeheartedly welcomed into the ward, and the bishop told us he'll put us right to work, so that's exciting.
Other news from the week...We're going to Panamá! They bought us our plane tickets last week, and we're super excited to head down and help prepare people to qualify for P
EF, which became available in Panama about three months ago. Also, we knew it was the rainy season, but what we didn't really know was that it would dump down tropical rains every day starting at around 1pm. We've had our share of wet everything, and I have pretty much stopped doing my hair or wearing makeup. Back to natural for us! Life is good here. We are happy and well taken care of, and hoping that you can all say the same for yourselves.
EF, which became available in Panama about three months ago. Also, we knew it was the rainy season, but what we didn't really know was that it would dump down tropical rains every day starting at around 1pm. We've had our share of wet everything, and I have pretty much stopped doing my hair or wearing makeup. Back to natural for us! Life is good here. We are happy and well taken care of, and hoping that you can all say the same for yourselves. Sarah
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