smalltown joys and difficulties

This past weekend was wonderful.
I went to spend some time with my mother-in-law and extended family in E's hometown. It is a tiny little pueblo, and it is quite a ways away...talk about 3 hours from where we live, a grand total of 5 hours if you are coming from San Jose. And it is a long and winding road. I got to downtown Upala and waited a bit for the bus, but ended up getting a ride from my sister-in-law, B. By bus it is about an hour from downtown Upala to the pueblo where E is from.

I have not eaten so much since Christmas with my family! My suegra (mother-in-law) is much like my grandma in that her way of showing affection involves feeding you...I had so much rice and such hearty servings that I always felt full, but still ate a little bit of everything. It was wonderful to spend time with her, we talked about life in the pueblo, about her dficulties with her kids and grandkids, about her past, family, memories of E as a kid and how things are now...she is truly an amazing and incredibly strong woman, who I admire and love very much.
It is amazing too how small the town is...everyone knows everyone else! My suegra comes from a family of 10 kids, and 8 of them live there in the same town, walking distance from each other. Just 150 meters down the dirt road lives B with her 3 daughters, my nieces. Being from such a smalltown is nice, you feel at home, you feel safe. But it is sad too, to see how stuck in the past some people are. Many of the people my age have not completed elementary or high school. There are some folks living in poverty, or at least with a low quality of life...you know everyone's failures or difficulties, your neighbor's business, the good, bad and ugly of it. It is a beautuful and tranquil place, but it is a little too small.
On Sunday we went to "mass" though it was really just a service, since the priest can only come once a month. My suegra taught me how to make arroz con piña, or rice with pineapple. She sent me home with homemade ice creams, a kilo of cheese, tamales she saved from Christmas (which I ate for dinner last night) and a pineapple. I have really grown to love my extended family, and I am glad that I get along so well with my suegra...sometimes relationships with mother-in-laws can be difficult. But I love my extended family, and seeing where he came from makes me love and appreciate E even more.

On Saturday I will get to see E! So excited, cannot wait!

Pura Vida