Costa Rica, Day 3-- kayaking, chocolate, and waterfalls

Woke up to the sound of rain. Warm rain. No complaints. Scarfed a snickers (breakfast of champions, need the calories for these long active days) and then hit the REAL breakfast-- rice and beans; fresh papaya and pineapple; and some funky sausagey thang. Then we went out kayaking on the second largest lake in Costa Rica, around the Arenal volcano. Obviously, every kayak got flipped and it was a grand ol' Costa Rica time floating around in the water with soaking wet clothes and sore paddling arms.

Then we went and toured a chocolate plantation to learn how chocolate is made. Again, like the coffee plantation yesterday, I had NO idea so much went into it. We got to see every step the cacao beans go through, from growing, fermentation, roasting, winnowing, etc. the final product was a bowl of melted chocolate. Hhhhhh. The highlight was eating spoonful after spoonful of freshly made chocolate and mixing in all sorts of things-- sea salt, cumin, chilies, sprinkles, cardamom, raisins, EVERYTHING. So good. Will I ever be able to eat a Hershey's bar ever again?!?!???! (Lez be honest, the answer is yes, but I'll know what I'm missing).

Hit another waterfall this afternoon (500+ stairs to get to it. Helloooo, quads) and am currently lounging at some hot springs. I have no idea where we are, but it's Costa Rica-y and I'm content. 

Haven't checked my email (okay, maybe once) and haven't even LOOKED at my capstone (nope, not even once). Much needed vacation. 

Costa Rica day 2

Coffee plantation tour.

 Had NO idea so much went into coffee production. Pickers wear these huge bins around their waists called cajuelas, holding 28 lbs of berries. 75% of the fruit is cast off and used for compost, while 25% are the actual beans inside the berries. When they're picked, they look like little red cherries. When the outside is peeled off, there's a slimy, sugary coating and a shell. They're sorted by quality and then sit fermenting for a few days. Then roasted. The premium coffee beans are roasted out on these huge patios and turned every 45 minutes for several days, while the lower quality is roasted in an oven for less time. 

Most coffee plants produce berries that contain 2 coffee beans, but there's a genetic mutation that caused only a single bean in each berry. It produces a kind of coffee called peaberry and its sweeter and a bit smoother than regular coffee. It's not exported, only available in Costa Rica. I will DEFINITELY be taking some home with me. 

The first part of lunch was tripe soup, which is cow stomach with vegetables. Slightly icky texture, but I DID IT. Then rice and beans and papaya juice.

(Here's where I start getting tired and lazy with the blogging....) Hiked up Paos volcano, 9,000 ft, to Laguna Botos. Gorgeous. Saw a cute little guy, maybe a coati?

Humongo waterfall. HUMONGO. La Paz.

Wine tasting on the side of the road at a tiny kiosk. Delicious strawberries, passion fruit, eggnog (lol?).

Dragonfruit icecream stop across the street from an area known for ENORMOUS iguanas. Several feet long, bright orange, roosting in the trees. 

So exhausted. Must sleep. 6 hours until tomorrow's activities a start...

Day 1: San Jose, Costa Rica

Costa Rica day 1! Departed from Burlington, VT in blustery, freezy conditions, and so showed up in Costa Rica wearing wool socks, a down jacket, and a warm beanie. Boy, was that interesting. After stripping off any and all possible layers and making it through the airport frenzy, Eliza and I found each other and we boarded a bus to our hotel. 

Low key night over here. Went out to a touristy overpriced restaurant ($19 for rice and veggies? Huh.) for dinner and hunkered down for an early bedtime. We're POOPED. Long day tomorrow-- coffee plantation tour, hiking a volcano, and hot springs maybe?? 

Feels weeeeird and surreal to be out of the country. I missed this feeling of being surrounded by different languages and a culture so different from my own. And the people watching is INCREDIBLE. I've only been in San Jose for a few hours, but I like it. 

Here's the only picture I've taken so far:

Bye, Toluca! :(

I'm flying back to Denver today. So sad to be leaving Mexico. The Starkey mission will continue here until next Wednesday and I so wish I could stick around and keep helping. This experience was AMAZING. Everyone at home was saying "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, you have to take it!" So I did. But I don't think it's going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, I think I'll be doing this (or something similar) many more times in my lifetime. this has opened my eyes to how so few people can make such an enormous impact in a short amount of time. I was involved in 4 days of fittings and collectively, with about 15 fitting stations, we helped over 2,000 people. INCREDIBLE. Tani tried to put it in perspective-- at home, by the time I've woken up, eaten breakfast, and gotten to class, the Starkey team has already fit a couple hundred patients that day somewhere in the world. Think about that. I know I will be.

How does one go back to Colorado and the mundanity of studying in grad school after something like this? I just want to up and GO.

Mission day 3

Remember yesterday when I blogged about how grateful I was to have a translator? Yeah. Well. This morning, I knocked out a couple dozen fittings WITHOUT a translator. We were short a translator, I guess, and holy MOLY, that was the hardest couple hours of my life. I flailed for a while, trying to search out someone bilingual, but once I committed to just winging it, things started going a little more smoothly. It forced me to connect using my crappy half-ass Spanish and some wild gesturing. It was hard and rewarding and I felt so much more accomplished completing a fitting without Spanish help. 

Here are a couple pictures with my two go-to translators (where were you guys this morning?!!)

The first person I fit today was so frustrating I had to step away and try not to cry for a second. I had no translator and he kept asking for "más volumen, más volumen!" So I kept increasing the power of his aid, until it was skull-crackingly loud. He liked it. Two minutes later, after I'd fit the other ear, he gestured that it was too loud and we ended up back at square one. Over and over again. I almost lost it. Eventually, he was happy and I was happy to see him go. For every 10 amazing, easy patients, there's one who's tough.

That's another thing-- here in Mexico, a fitting takes us 5-10 minutes. They're happy immediately. In the US, fittings take hours and the person may come back over and over again to have the programming tweaked so that it sounds just right. There's an immense difference in expectation between the patients I see here and the patients in the US.

Mariachi dreams come true!

Tonight's event was a welcome dinner held by the Secretary of Social Development and the State Council for Women & Social Welfare. Apparently, formal dinners are very formulaic here. First, we were seated at the most decadently set table I've ever seen.

Then, there were several songs performed. And by several, I mean almost an hour. And THEN, dream of all dreams, an enormous mariachi band came out and performed. And much to my delight, they continued playing throughout the entire 5 course meal. 

The meal was quite interesting. The first course was cheese-filled thingies covered in more cheese and gravy. I'm not one to skimp on cheese, but that was more cheese than you could even shake a stick at. That seemed to be the general theme of the meal. Cheese, gravy, and mariachi music. And tequila. 

3 hours later, I'm finally back in my hotel room, stuffed, and (dare I say it) glad to be away from the mariachi band. Time to hit the sack for another long day of Starkey-ing tomorrow! 

Toluca Day 2 - Peds!!!

Day 2 went by even faster than day 1. I can't thank my translator enough. A handful of university students have volunteered to be on site every day to help with communication since there is such a language barrier. My translator, Melissa, and I have it down to a science and we're a juggernaut fitting duo. The most amazing feeling is standing eye to eye with a happy patient. They're speaking a mile a minute to me in Spanish, shaking my hand, sending blessings, etc, and I don't need Melissa to tell me what they're trying to communicate. There's such a strong connection between people despite the fact that we don't speak the same language and have entirely different cultures. I'm so sappy and there's no stopping the flow of sap.

It has been mostly adult patients, but a couple profoundly impaired kids showed up today. I was lucky enough to be able to fit one. He's nonverbal, so we were just watching for behavioral reactions to see whether he heard the sound. When I had reached his threshold of amplification, he whipped his head to the right, the side I was fitting, and kind of growled at me. Good sign. When I'd for both aids, he jumped off his chair and barreled straight into my chest and wanted pictures. So we took 'em, by gosh! 

Another nonverbal boy screamed when he heard for the first time. He jumped out of his seat, hugged the starkey volunteer fitting him, and then sprinted around to hug everyone he could see in a red Starkey polo, screaming the whole time. I've never seen such a strong reaction. This kid was overwhelmed and SO. HAPPY. I have never seen that level of happiness. Here's a quick shot-- he ran into Derek's arms before Brittany was even done with the fitting! 

This is exhausting, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Every 5-10 minutes, we're changing the courses of peoples' lives. How cool is that? HOW COOL IS THAT?! SO FREAKIN COOL.

When in Argentina!

Just got back from the most ridiculous dinner I've ever attended. The lot of us got on a bus and were whisked 500 meters down the street to an Argentinian restaurant. I'm just gonna list out the courses. Make of them what you will. I tried to be adventurous. 

- Fried cheese. Actually called provoletta or something, but really it was just a fried cheese wheel the size of a tennis ball.

- A spicy sausage thing

- Questionable salad drenched in something beige 

- Steak tacos

- GUAC. ALL THE GUAC. I recognized this stuff and therefore went to town on it.

- The most incredible thing-- French fries in a bowl made out of potato chips, lying on a bed of potato skins. *jaw drop*

- Warm tortillas in a leather mitt?!?

- Huge platter of mystery meats

- Chocolate mousse

- Neopolitan ice cream cake

- Ice cream with a caramelized sugar doohickey on top

- Dulce deleche

- And drinks, duh-- margaritas, wine, cappuccinos, weird blends of tequila and tomato-y juice, blah blah on and on 

Unfortunately, this wasn't the kind of place that gives to-go boxes. Heartbreaking. I shoulda shoved the remainders of the fries/chip bowl/potato skins combo straight into my purse. Ah well. 

Toluca Day 1

WOW. Incredible day. All the volunteers hopped on a bus (18 in total, I think) pulled up to the mission venue and there were HUNDREDS of people. People clogging the roadway, a sea of people, all here to see us. We looked out in awe, waving through the tinted windows. I cried, I laughed, I stumbled my way through dozens of hearing aid fittings. I saw a man with hooks for hands, I saw a woman frantically needle pointing a toilet seat cover, I saw a woman so overcome with gratefulness she had to give me something. She gave me a bruised yellow apple from the depths of the trash bag she used as a purse and I've never felt so overwhelmingly happy. 

We're using a fitting system I've never heard of and it's so easy to question the validity and reliability of it, but the sheer volume of people we help makes it worth it. I learned today that Starkey's mission is to give the gift of hearing so that the person may hear well enough to go out into the world, obtain a job, and be able to support themselves so that they may afford a better hearing aid down the road.

I feel so fortunate to be here, so fortunate to be in a position where I can provide help and hope.

Also, on an unrelated note, I had my first Big Mac today. Starkey is sure taking advantage of my burger weakness. 

Denver --> Mexico

What a surreal day. This Starkey mission opportunity felt so far away, even just this morning. Even now, here in the hotel bathtub reading the itinerary, it still feels far away. 

I woke up this morning, threw clothes (and HELLA snacks) in a suitcase and hit the road for the airport. It was the most uneventful travel day in the history of ever, and for that I'm grateful. The flights were a blur, thanks to my body's ability to stop drop & nap wherever/whenever I tell it to.

Exited the baggage claim area frantically searching for the mystery someone who was supposed to pick me up. There was a dude with a Starkey sign and for the next hour and a half, he didn't say a single word. I got in the back of a car and off we went, my imagination getting the better of me. Don't worry, haven't fallen in with any drug cartels yet.

Made it to the hotel (Quinta del Rey in Toluca) and it's SWANKY as all get-out. I'm writing this post from a bubble bath with swan-shaped gold faucets. I kid you not. I'll post a picture of the view from my room tomorrow. It's insane. It feels sort of weird to be staying in such a lovely place when we're here to help people who have very little. Can't say I'm complaining about the swanky hotel by any means, but I'd like to be a bit more immersed in Toluca's culture.

Starkey University Mission Opportunity

1.     How can audiology support the mission of Starkey Hearing Foundation?

“Starkey Hearing Foundation uses hearing as a vehicle to reflect caring and sharing and improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities around the world.” There are so many ways to care and share, and just one way is by providing a service we know best: audiology. There is need all around the world for food, water, medical help, the list goes on and on. Giving the gift of hearing aids to hundreds of thousands of people in need is something within Starkey’s realm of possibility and they have grasped it with both hands, putting forth an immense effort to improve individual lives and communities all over the world. It is life changing, for both those receiving the care and those giving it.

2.     How do you want to help spread the gift of better hearing?

After speaking with several Starkey employees who have traveled all over the globe with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, I would love to volunteer on a mission myself. Hearing them talk about fitting thousands of hearing aids on people who have traveled hundreds of miles to meet them and waited hours to see a volunteer makes my heart seize up. The Starkey Hearing Foundation makes an enormous impact on peoples’ lives every day in a big, dramatic way. I want to be a part of it. But I can’t forget about the impact I make every day in the clinic.

As a first year graduate student at the University of Northern Colorado, I have fit a fair share of hearing aids and have seen what joy the gift of hearing can bring to those ready to accept it. One of my favorite experiences in my short career thus far was reprogramming hearing aids on a man who was once a wonderful musician, but hadn’t been able to stand the sound of music with his new aids. After adding a music program and making some slight adjustments, we tried out the sound by pulling up a youtube video. I will never forget the look on his face when the first chords of Willie Nelson’s “Always on my Mind” came on. Spreading the gift of better hearing doesn’t have to mean going to the ends of the earth, you can make a big difference right in your own backyard.

One of my first hearing evaluations, coming up on 3 years ago! 

Part of my wonderful graduate cohort at the Starkey U Workshop! From left: Erika, Brenna, Dani, me, Christine. 

A happy Monday, a happy list of Monday things

1. Scratchy soft grass to my waist. (sorry Christine, didn't know you were allergic to the world)
2. Giggling like 5 year olds as we mix all the slurpee flavors together (blue raspberry forever)
• Fun fact: If you fill your slurpee and then look on bewilderedly as the cashier bangs it on the counter for 30 seconds, it'll settle right down, leaving you enough space for another few inches of slurpee fill-space. AMAZING. 
3. Nepalese food for the first time: saag with naan, lentil soup, basmati rice (I'll be back, Sherpa's)
4. Signed a lease for a wonderful condo with wonderful people and now there's a wonderful, manageably small dent in my wallet. (POOLSIDE ALL SUMMA LONG)
5. Found a beautiful, beat-up leather suitcase. (Me n' my suitcase got our eyes on SoCal this weekend)
6. Benjamin now wears hearing protection at work. (my heart nearly burst with happiness)
7. Being in over my head at school, but just flowin' with it (this is temporary, it'll end sometime, things'll get done, breathing through it)

Up and down and all around and exciting and scary, but overall comforting. 

Sending all sortsa love and well wishes to all who need 'em.

Hi
I hope you're good
And already asleep
And proud of all that you accomplished
(even if it was just getting through it)
And feeling confident in getting through tomorrow, too
(even if there are breakdowns and miscommunications and tests of patience)
And I hope you remember that one funny time
And that other time, too
And and and
Sleep tight, my love.

Gotta remember this day.

• Straight-from-the-ground-rhubarb
• Mud squishing between toes
• Pokes from cacti and thistle and yucca 
• Being barreled over by a mastiff puppy covered in swamp water
• Persian/oolong/rose tea in a teacup made for mustaches
• Ladybugs that sit contentedly in your palm for miles and miles
• 20 minutes in Persian time equals roughly 2 hours, but no one gets mad.
• Hand holding/bird calling/dandelion blowing/puddle jumping
• Eyes lighting up with chocolate covered honeycomb
• Voice cracking shy singing
• Sitting between a banjo and a sitar

Haphapyhappy.

Today's List of Great, Wonderful, Happy Things

I keep a nightly journal of the good stuff that happens each day and I thought today's was good enough to share with the world.

1. Annie's gluten free, single-serving, microwavable mac n' cheese.
2. Recognizing the comical side of things when Annie's gluten free, single-serving, microwavable mac n' cheese blows up in the microwave. 
3. Diving into a pile of warm laundry.
4. The simple joy of getting to go outside during class to use a sound level meter for measuring traffic noise and leaf crunching.
5. Discovered a creepy basement meditation class full of old ladies and a monk who looks uncannily like an ex-boyfriend (it turned out to be AWESOME and I'm going back every Monday)
1. Tonight's lesson: staying alert to where our minds wander and setting intentions for the day.
6. Learned that buying soda at Zoe's Cafe includes UNLIMITED REFILLS. You know what that means? I can comfortably sit in that goddamn cafe all goddamn day for $2 and not feel guilty about it. 
7. Discovered the band Phox and cannot stop listening.

Today's list is shorter than usual, but each item packs a bigger punch than usual. Today was a great, happy day. Here's a toast to more great, happy days to come. *raises bowl of soggy, half-cooked mac n' cheese*

Loving-Kindness

I've been dabbling in the world of meditation on and off for a while, but I've recently gotten more serious about it. (And by serious, I mean I try to fit it in a few times a week and I still find myself either dropping off to sleep or completely unable to calm everything going on in my head. But. It's something.)

Within the past couple months, some intense anxiety became a more prominent thing in my life and I've found two things that best quell that monster: restorative yoga and mindful meditation.

Tonight, I tried out a kind of meditation someone strongly recommended for me: loving-kindness meditation, or metta meditation. Its purpose is to bring warmth and goodwill into your life by repeating mantras such as "may I be well, may I be loved" (etc) and directing them towards yourself, loved ones, strangers, and people you may not like so much. Before sending out warmth and well-wishes to others, you must first practice appreciating yourself.

...That's when things went unexpectedly wonky, right at the beginning. The guided meditation youtube video had me put my hands over my heart and tell myself, "May you be well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful. May you be loved." This immediately made me cry and the video seemed to know exactly what was going on because that random recorded voice encouraged me to feel whatever I happened to feel, even if it was unexpected.

I've been so intent on being gentle with myself and trying to be encouraging with myself, but I think I've been going about it wrong. I'm still not sure exactly the right way to go about it, but loving-kindness meditation is definitely a step in the right direction.

Workin' on it.

In case you wanted to try it out and maybe have yourself a little cry-fest, this is the video I used, and also the first one I clicked on. There are probably better ones, but this'll do fo' now.

Be Gentle with Yourself.

"Here are some things to remember when you are feeling like the world is going to explode: Take such gentle care of yourself, please. Listen to your body and not your brain as much as you can. Make yourself lots of tea and tuck yourself in at night like you are a tiny, fragile baby. Remember that you will not always feel like this and that you are not alone. I am here for you and there is lots of love for you in lots of places."

-Eliza Spalding (on overwhelming anxiety, grad school, and general shittiness)

...This resonated so deeply with me. Two weeks after receiving this bit of advice, I've made leaps and bounds of progress in learning to be gentle with myself and how to listen to what my body needs in the present moment. I'm so grateful to have a friend who has also been through the ringer and always has words of encouragement. Although these words were meant for me, I think they're important for everyone to read. Take what you will from it.  

OVERWHELMED

I haven't blogged in years. And by years, I mean it FEELS like years and is, in fact, an entirely different year since my last post. Hi, 2015. You have come in with a bang and here it is February and I'm still feeling the reverb. It's been a roller coaster of a month, both good and bad. But that's a whole 'notha blog post in itself.

So. I just finished week 4 of the new semester and week 5 is when things start blowing up. Two exams and a presentation. One of those exams is about electricity and alternating/direct signals and how voltage effects resistance effects current, etc etc etc i don't care etc etc. There's SO MUCH cramming to do this weekend and I'm overwhelmed with how little time I have to study. But then I started thinking about it and realized that I don't have time to study because of all the amazing things going on. One of my New Year's resolutions was to put self care at the top of the priority list, and that's exactly what I'm doing. But maybe I'm overdoing it? Nah.

A friend and I are making cookies tonight, there's birthday brunch to be had on Sunday, I wanna spend at least one of these weekend days hiking somewhere big and beautiful, there's the pink wine and trashy tv date that definitely cannot be given up for study time, I bought tickets to not one, but TWO concerts (Brett Dennen and St. Paul & the Broken Bones, two of my favorite artists), and there's a new Jodi Picoult novel in my backpack whispering at me to curl up in a coffee shop with a cappuccino and read until the morning light runs out.

THERE'S SO MUCH TO DO. I'M OVERWHELMED WITH WEEKEND AMBITION. 

So here's my plan: I'm gonna do everything. I'm going to enjoy the birthday weekend and fit study time in when I can. I have faith that what needs to get done will get done because I'm not one to let things go.