El Trampolín: March 2010

March 2nd is my birthday. I always love birthdays-- mine, friends', complete strangers', doesn't matter. I just think they are a great excuse to go out of your way to make someone feel like royalty. I have a roommate who shares this view, but she takes it to the extent of a birthday week. While we didn't intentionally do that, I feel like it's been a whole week of fun and refreshment. We kicked of the weekend with a double birthday celebration up on the northern pacific coast in Tamarindo. We met up with friends and spent 2 days soaking up the sunshine and dancing around in the waves. The weather was perfect, and it was a wonderful change of senery. Upon returning to the city, my birthday was celebrated eating my favorite meal with my friends and teammates, eating cake with kids at the Tutoring Center, watching a documentary at an outdoor showing, and sharing a delicious meal with dear friends at my favorite restuarant.

Now the birthday week is wrapping up, with another fun weekend with friends centered around lots of tasty food. I'm remained through all the shared meals this past week, how much joy it brings me to prepare and share food with others. It is was makes me feel part of a community. Since I was in college I've had the tradition of doing Family Dinners once a week. I make a bunch of food and then whoever can come, joins together for food and fellowship. When I look back on my time in San Luis Obsipo or Visalia, most of favorite memories center around these times or relationship built through these weekly meals together. I'm sure there are other ways to create community, but sharing food is definitely my favorite. One of the things I love about the SI staff, is that everyweek we share a meal together after our staff meeting. It is in these times that life is shared, relationship fortified, and community is built. Recently, I've been longing to start up Family Dinners again. To be honest, my biggest inibitions is wondering who I could invite and if anyone would actually come outside of my teammates. It is my dream that it would be a community representing the diversity of life around me, but I don't understand the cultural norms well enough to know if it something that would work wtih Costa Ricans. In many ways community already appears to be firmly established amoung Costa Rican as a results of proximity of extended families and life, long friends. Most people have lived in the same neighborhood their whole life. Sometimes it seems like no one has time or interest in being part of another community. But there are many of us who don't have those connections. And while the majority of us are from the US, maybe it's okay to start there. Perhaps in time, it will grow to fullfill my dream.

This week full of meals with friends has given me hope. Maybe it's time to step and start Family Dinners again.