My one month anniversary

Today marks one full month in Costa Rica. It has been an adventure like no other. I feel like I’m in a movie, or maybe in an investigative news program like 20/20. Week 4 was a whirlwind of drama. Where to begin…

This week we went from 5 volunteers, down to 4, then back up to 6 on Monday. Two that we gained are a married couple (Allen & Carol) who were having bad wwoof experiences here in CR and had nowhere else to go. To summarize who is here now and their relationship with Frank, which may be important as the saga unfolds:

-Martha (24, Wisconsin, can’t stand up to Frank though she probably despises him the most)
-Gerome (24, Belgium, told Frank off yesterday, earning major respect from me)
-Justin (20, Massachusetts, kind of like teacher’s pet, acts as sort of a mediator between us and Frank)
-Carol (28, New York, also outspoken with Frank)
-Allen (26, Argentina, totally agreeable with everything)

Prior to Allen and Carol’s arrival, Frank told us that they were here on a trial basis for one week, possibly because there may be some upcoming space issues but more likely because he gets off on that kind of power. Suffice to say that the first few days of their stay were quite uncertain. Frank also made up a new rule just for them that they would have to work 7 days in a row in their first week. Bitching about Frank rose to its highest level. (I’m far less involved in these talks, as they have lost their fun for me.) Things got really uncomfortable on Wednesday. I wasn’t there to witness it, but some of the others saw Frank parading around the farm, holding hands with some young girl. They said she looked like she was 16, tops. Let me say again, Frank is 50 years old. Needless to say, we were all repulsed. Repulsion then grew into serious concern, as we may have become witnesses to something illegal (prostitution is legal here, but not under the age of 18). It definitely adds a new layer of complexity to our situation.

Justin had a talk with him about it. Frank says that he doesn’t sleep with them but admitted that he gives them money because they’re in need. Hmm, not sure if 1) I believe it, or 2) that that makes me feel any better. Then I was brought up. Frank has come to believe that I am “poisoning” the group and referred to me in a metaphor as a moldy orange. Ha. Since I had been the only one to confront him about anything, he believed that I’m persuading the others to dislike him. He also expressed disappointment in our not including him in our Thanksgiving festivities, assuming that I was the primary reason for that.

That brings me to our happy day. Who knew I would have one of my most memorable Thanksgiving meals in Costa Rica. Justin, Marta and I cooked for the group, and we pretty much rocked it out in our tiny kitchen. I made cornbread, mashed ñampis (tastes sort of like potato) and sweet potatoes, which are yellow and not as sweet as the US version. Justin made this incredible stuffing using some old bread, some butter, some herbs, celery, and homemade vegetable stock. Martha takes the cake though…or the pie rather. In addition to making green beans, she made these two incredible pies (pictured), one squash and the other banana cream. The squash was out of this world, better than any pumpkin pie I’ve ever tasted. Top it all off with some blackberry wine and there you have it, our Costa Rican Thanksgiving. The best part of all was simply being able to celebrate the holiday with food from the farm. No canned or boxed anything. Never in my life had I ever felt so connected to my food or more inspired to grow my own some day.

It was hard to get up the next morning, but we managed to drag ourselves out the door to go to work. First thing, Frank told me he needed to talk to me and to wait outside his house. I headed over, while he continued talking to the others. Allen and Carol were in Frank’s kitchen and gave me the warning: he’s planning on kicking you out. Oh brother, just what I feel like dealing with at 6 in the morning. So he came over and we moved to the table. I was feeling mostly calm and confident, though I had no idea what I was going to say. He started by saying that he’s not happy and neither am I and that it’s not working out. I said that I needed to tell him something that would basically explain my behavior that I should have mentioned a while ago. And so I brought up all those creepy things he did to me that first week I was here. He definitely didn’t see that coming. I mentioned his invitation to go in his jacuzzi tub with him, and he interjected “but with a bathing suit,” as if that makes it okay!!! Anyway, it turned out to be a great way to start the conversation, because 1) it explained why I’m so distant with him and 2) he ended up apologizing several times. At that point, I could tell he wasn’t going to ask me to leave.

We continued to talk for another 45 minutes or so. He brought up a number of seemingly petty things I’ve done that have bothered him, like leaving my laundry in his washing machine overnight, and I brought up things that are real problems, like his sexism. He asked me to be the Anti-Gossip Ambassador, which involves stopping any gossip I hear and running to grab him so he can be included in the conversation. I never actually agreed because that would just be too exhausting. He seemed most concerned about the gossip going on about him and the young girl. I think he’s scared of getting in trouble, as I’m noticing this new strange nervous energy about him. I said very little about it, since I didn’t actually see the girl, and it seemed that that worked in my favor. While nothing was actually resolved (we agreed to continue talking later), telling him how uncomfortable he made me was definitely a much-needed cathartic experience.

I found out a bit later that he had told all the volunteers, right before talking to me, that he was going to kick me out. He asked them individually if they would leave if he did kick me out. I was touched to learn that Martha told him that she would.

Overall, I felt pretty good after our talk, but then found out that during lunch, he told Carol and Allen that he was going to make things hard on me for a while. Sure enough, next day, he was prepared to test me. He came over to the cabin and seemed rather angry. Martha and I were giving ourselves egg white and lemon facials. He saw this and then asked if he can use some. So we said okay and he stuck his dirty hand in the bowl and started to complain again about the gossip that’s going around about the girl, saying that he’s disappointed and disgusted with us. This is while the nasty old pervert is slathering egg whites on his face, dripping egg whites on the floor. If I could draw better, I would make one sick cartoon out of this scene.

Then, in yet another power trip, he tells us he’s implementing a new rule. If we want to continue to use his washing machine, we have to work an extra hour in advance, cleaning “common” areas of his house that we don’t even use. It is such total crap, but at this point, I’m not even surprised. There was no way I could agree to that. My heart was racing. He’s slathering on more egg white, telling us how good it feels. At this point, I’m thinking that this man is actually crazy. Is this how he’s going to test me, by treating my like his slave? Well, he’s got another thing coming, because I don’t want to stay here that bad. I told him I was unwilling to do that and that I prefer to wash everything by hand. Unfortunately, Justin and Martha agreed and ended up spending an hour of their day off cleaning his house. However, when I told Jerome about the new rule, he ran over to Frank’s house and told him off! That was pretty exciting, but I think the new rule still stands.

So that’s where things left off yesterday. Despite a lot of wavering, Frank decided that the new couple could stay, which I’m very happy about. Supposedly, two more people arrive today.

This is the saga of volunteering on an organic farm. One month full of drama, but also full of life and adventure and beautiful scenery:) I feel like I have finally adjusted to the physical demands of the work, to living in a small space with others, and also to just being dirty A LOT. Going to go celebrate my anniversary now with some beer and maldito, my favorite new card game. Adios!