The Volunteer Project in Pochote

Pochote, is a small fishing village in the South of the Nicoya Peninsula between Paquera and Montezuma, not at all touristy but it has many better things that I will try to explain in the following lines, but in reality you have to live it to fully understand.
At the bus stop nothing reveals this magical place; you can see a road bordered by weeds and dry trees accompanied by cows, then you arrive to the first building in the village, the public school.
The few people on the street curiously watch the foreigner with a backpack, maybe she is lost? – they answer a hello with a simple “pura vida” Here everything is “pura vida”
(“Pura Vida” translates to pure life but it is really a friendly acknowledgment meaning everything is good, life is great, all wrapped into one.)
I see some children and their parents in front of their house, they look at me with large eyes full of warmth. It seems to me that in this village nothing more than the present moment exists lest the hour or date. Asking for Hansel their faces illuminate even more, they now know that I am the new volunteer that they have been waiting for. An older gentlemen shows me the way to the Harmony Music School.

Arriving to my house for the next month it exceeds all my expectations. I am in paradise!!, 50 meters from a deserted beach and right beside the mangrove.

“Welcome to Pochote” I’m Hansel, I hear at my side. My boss is an exceptional person, full of love for life and tranquility and is “pura vida”. I see some other people that I am going to see every day, people from the village having a beer in the restaurant, people that work at the school, the boat captains and we are all immediately friends. Friends for life that I never want to forget. I feel happy and treated as a member of the community. I am at home.

Little by little Hansel shows my room with a private bathroom and direct view of the ocean. We walk through the village to get to know the people and everything that there is, it is not much but it is enough: the public school, the catholic and protestant churches, the general store and another bar restaurant on the other side of the village. Hansel tells me lots about the people and the village and its problems. I want to help with all my strengths and ability and feel that here I can .

During the next 4 weeks I will help in the painting of the school, the cabins and the restaurant, in maintenance, learning activities with the children, translations and offer classes in French, German and English to the boat captains that offer tours to tourists.

After work I can take advantage of the ocean and walk on the beach, make new freinds, compete in pool, chat with the people that are open and curious and as such better my Spanish to a point that would not be possible in a language school.

Now I am in my last days is Paradise, where the famous “pura vida” is lived with total integrity, and the tears come thinking about having to say good-by. I hope to return again very soon to help but next time, god willing, it will be forever and not only a month.

Thanks everyone for everything!!
Reason to come to Pochote and work in the Harmony Volunteer Project::

- To help where it is truly needed, to see the changes you can make and the happy and appreciative faces of the people.

- To enjoy the most delicious food ever, prepared by the passionate cook Hansel

- To have fun pool competitions

- To live in a small paradise

- To live the true “pura vida” without stress, hours and dates and with happiness

- To see it raining ants, listen to the children laughing and playing instruments, the ocean when you go to sleep and when you wake up.

- To have a great time

- To have a meal with the people and listen to their stories and jokes

- To learn lots of Spanish

- To meet people that become friends

- To admire the children’s playground tree

- To see poor people live happily with very little

And many, many more reasons!

POCHOTE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC CAMP 2010

The 2nd Annual Pochote International Music Camp took place during the first two weeks of the year, representing a new landmark on the Costa Rican cultural landscape, combining young talent and energy and the international expertise of guest conductors, Mr. Joseph Lee (), Mr. Paul York () Blancalicia Silièzar and Gabriela Mora, in addition to the program’s own outstanding teaching staff: Guido Calvo, Patricia Gonzales and Jorge Silièzar, thus bringing to fruition the plan proposed by Ms. Jenny Chèvez, head coordinator of the camp.

Our thanks to Mr. Paul York, whose great humanity and social sensitivity will live forever in the heart of Pochote and Mr. Joseph Lee, a man who irradiates passion, energy and patience and inspires those around him in the search for their “inner Music”. Nor can we forget the privilege and joy of experiencing the passion and commitment embodied by Gabriela Mora, she is a testament to the great talent and potential of the Costa Rican people and it is truly an honor to have her as a part of the CIMP family.

The guest of honor, however was the Music itself, which before long had filled the balmy tropical air. Violins, violas, “contrabajos” and cellos could be heard through-out the fishing village of Pochote, a small town whose name has begun to circle the globe as an example of hope and change.

The long hours of practice were spent on the beach in front of the Harmony Music School in the shade of palm, mangrove and almond trees, on driftwood benches. Gradually the Orquestra came together, its harmonies, rhythms and cadence merging with the sound of the waves.

In the evenings, everyone gathered around the firelight for the feast of music and entertainment provided by such artists as Humberto Vargas, Dionisio Cabal, Azhaar Zafaar, Maria Woodward, Jose the storyteller, as well as the folkloric dance group Nuestra Tierra. Theirs is the gift of culture and beauty, the proof that Solidarity need not be some unattainable utopian concept, a hollow catch-phrase used in political campaigns… It is the born right and responsibility of all, and the only true path towards a truly sustainable future.

It is Harmony Developments stated goal to reconcile the “bottom-line” of touristic development with the true, sustainable progress of local communities. It is our belief that, far from being opposed to one another, these concepts are in fact intrinsically related in a reciprocal cycle: This is Social Symbiosis. Thus, we continue our efforts in 2010 with renewed faith and resolve, to bring quality musical instruction for all, reaffirming the CIMP as the most important music camp in the region.

The Camp ended in a series of three concerts, the first taking place under the starlit sky of Playa Pochote, followed by ”standing room only” concerts at Los Delfines Golf and Country Club and the Eugene Oneil Theater, in San Jose, demonstrating the amazing progress and effort made by the students, the professionalism and commitment of the staff and the support of a Community committed to change.

Solidarity and Reciprocity as a bridge to a sustainable future…Culture a means for change…Music and Art as the tools to forge a better world… the renovation of Hope and the fulfillment of Dreams. For the moment at least, we feel we have begun to accomplish these goals, one step at a time.

THE SOUL OF THE WORLD

“Hay que cambiar el alma del mundo.” ~ Isabel Allende, Eva Luna

“The soul of the world needs to be changed,” states Isabel Allende in her novel Eva Luna. Just how does one set out to change the soul of the world? Not through politics or revolutions, nor through protests or demonstrations. Rather, there are small things that touch the soul: acts of kindness, humor, art. Manifestations of love and hope. Charity.

Perhaps without knowing it, and certainly without knowing the full potential of our actions, various dedicated individuals have set out to change the soul of, if not the world, at least one small, coastal community in Costa Rica. We came to share, each in our own way, our knowledge. We ended up sharing (and receiving) much, much more.

I arrived in the community of Pochote one sunny morning in February 2008, after receiving a frenzied, somewhat overwhelming, phone call from the school director. I stepped off the bus on the main road that runs through the Peninsula of Nicoya and started walking down the only, lonely road in sight. With tropical dry forest on one side, and pasture on the other, the pothole-filled road seemed to lead towards nothing but the distant sound of waves, until it opened up into the entrance of the tiny town. I quickly recognized the school, the smallest that I (born and raised in the city of Philadelphia) had ever seen. Three rooms, three teachers, and some 50 students greeted me; the teachers warmly, the students with somewhat more reservation. It wasn't my obviously North American appearance that confused them... these children live near large hotels and fabulous beaches that attract tourists by the bus load. Rather, I imagine that these children, used to the comings and goings of foreigners, were biding their time, to see if the promised English teacher was really there to stay.

After the grand tour (which took very little time), I agreed to give English lessons in the school two days a week. I soon learned that some of the students were also receiving music lessons “on the beach” as part of an after school program. However, having seen what many music programs in Costa Rica consist of, I didn't expect much more than a plastic flute and possibly, some drums; especially in such a rural, impoverished community. I was surprised to hear the students speak of pianos, violins, and even cellos. It was a few months before I made my way over to the beach, and found myself in front of Harmony Music School.

One of my students lead me to the entrance, where I was greeted by Teri Lee Thompson, who owns the music school along with her husband Don, and Doña Gina, then director of the program. I introduced myself as a Peace Corps Volunteer, learned about the project, and asked how I could help. Soon thereafter, I found myself giving English classes at various levels to the staff of the school, and some 30 members of the community.

I was impressed by the accommodations that were made for my classes, but much more impressed by the hospitality of the entire staff, who invited me into their homes, allowing me to give classes well into the evenings. But this hospitality was nothing compared to the friendship that they offered me, something that I needed much than a bed, being so far away from my family and friends in the States. I'd found something of which I'd been deprived for months: people with whom to talk late into the nights, to joke and laugh, to discuss our varied futures, our shared present, and our very different pasts.

Change has been the overwhelming theme of my two years here in Costa Rica. I have changed in many ways: my Spanish has improved; I have scars to record memorable interactions with animals and barbed-wire fences; I have learned and grown in ways I'd have never thought possible. I've seen my friends and family, both here in Costa Rica and back home in the State grow and change as well. But the biggest change that I've witnessed over the past two years has been in the community of Pochote.

I've been granted with the amazing opportunity to watch my students grow into young musicians. Students whom I can hardly keep in their seats in my English classes wait for their violin lessons with a patience that surpasses that of many adults. Music students have grown into teachers and role models for younger children, and look with open eyes towards the future. In this community, most parents haven't been to college, many never finished high school. Still, their children talk about studying music in the National University, becoming music professors and professional musicians. It's a dream that many might have thought impossible just two years ago. And yet, as some of our students play in a national orchestra of young musicians, while others study in their homes and cart their instruments back and forth to the music school on their bicycles, I can't help but feel like this, and any other dream that these children might foster, is completely possible. I've seen their dedication, their commitment, and most importantly, I've seen the support that they receive from their families, their music instructors, and each other.

Little by little, the soul of Pochote is changing. From a community of hard working fishermen and farmers was born a generation of dreamers and artists. A generation walking through the wide open door of opportunity, towards a world they might have never known existed if not for a few dedicated music teachers and a Canadian couple with a vision of socially responsible development.

Christine O'Neill is a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Children, Youth and Familes at Risk program in Peace Corps/Costa Rica. She completes her two years of service in September 2009, and will be moving to San Jose to serve for a third year in the Peace Corps office.