Earlier this week, I spent a long afternoon working on this week’s blog post. I wrote about the seasons changing and how perfect it has been to see the shift between summer and winter here. For me, it helps me understand the culture a little deeper…the way cultures develop has a lot to do with the weather that surrounds them. Life rhythms are formed around when the rain comes and when it goes, and watching this community fall back into the rhythm of the rainy season has been really intriguing.

However, after I wrote the post, I forgot to save it and now it’s gone. But that’s okay. Sometimes my thinking goes in cycles, and that post was like the first round that led to a better articulated second round In March I remember having a conversation that went something like this: “I feel like I’ve hit that point where I’ve learned all I will learn here. Another three months here won’t teach me that much.” I know–I have no idea what I was thinking either. At the time I had begun to feel like because things weren’t new anymore, because I had fallen into a rhythm, what else was there to learn? I can assure you that I was wrong. Of course I was wrong–I had reached that place where I was just living life here, and there is always, always something to learn there.

Watching the seasons change has been exactly one of those things. Understanding the rhythm of a people who live by nature’s hand, people who are up with the sun and in bed when she goes down, has been like finding an idea I want to carry with me always. To provide for their families, they have to steward their time well. They don’t fight against nature, they roll with what comes. They work while there is sun in the morning and when the rain comes in the afternoon, they gather at home to eat and to visit. It’s simple, and lovely.

In our fast paced culture, I feel like we fight against nature in the name of progress. Technology has allowed us to add hours to our days, and in many ways it’s an incredible thing that we are able to do all we are able to do. And as a perfectionist, I love the security that progress gives me–I can guarantee things. I can guarantee when a project will get done. I know for a fact when I’ll be able to call you back. I can look up what the weather will be for next weekend, so I know whether to plan a trip or not. Always being able to follow through on things…I never knew that was something I took for granted.

In the last five months, I’ve written a hundred to-do lists. Every time I write one I think, “That’s totally doable. I can finish this today.” And every single time, it doesn’t happen. It seems like every project has been delayed. Sometimes it’s because I’m still learning how to do life here, and the little things you just know intuitively in your own space don’t come quite as easily here in an unfamiliar space. Other times it’s because of the rain, or because a neighbor drops by. I am only just now learning to anticipate those happenings and plan for them.

It’s been a battle with those perfectionist tendencies to let those things go, to relax and roll with things. Some days I do that better than others. Learning that no matter how hard I work does not guarantee a certain outcome has been a good, hard lesson. The important part is knowing that I worked at it…like I said, it’s something I’d like to carry with me always. That’s why I love living so close to nature, it makes you take a step back and not take yourself (and your plans) quite so seriously. I’ve got one more week here, and it’s going to be quite a different one. Julia and Robbie are in for Solin’s wedding, and then a few more people will be here working and living until after I leave. I’m excited to see what these days bring. I’ll fill you in next week.

Until then! -mariah

A few weeks ago, Solin was able to attend a workshop at Rancho Mastatal, another one of the organic farms in the area. It was an agroforestry workshop led by Peter Kring from Finca Isla Botanical Garden in Puerto Viejo. Peter founded his farm over 25 years ago, and he is an incredible source of information on growing organically in the tropics. The folks at Rancho Mastatal were really excited to have him out. The class lasted three days, from 8am-3pm each day. I think Solin enjoyed the time and when I asked if he wanted to write a blog on it, this is what he wrote:

“Hola. Estaba buena la clase pero dura porque era traducida y es difìcil. Se compartieron criterios con vecions y un muchacho del ministero de agricultura y ganaderia. Entonces no me senti tan raro.

Hubieron varias cosas interesantes. Salak fue una de ellas, y la vainilla, pero son cosas locas porque hay gue polenizar artificialmente. Es como un jobi.

Hubo una practica de acodos aereos y eso me gusto mucho (si quiere saber lo que es, haga el curso). Yo lo concia pero no recordaba. Aprendì a polenizar vainilla, la teoria. Tambien hubo de ingertos. En fin, algo se aprobecho la clase. El man que iso el curso sabe mucho. Ha viajado bastante, y conoce.

Estaba tuanis. Chao!”

Translation:

“Hi. The class was good, but hard because it was translated and that is difficult. They shared ideas with their neighbors and a guy from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. So I didn’t feel so strange.

There were various interesting things. Salak was one of them, and vanilla, but they are crazy because you have to pollinate them artificially. That’s like a hobby.

We practiced aerial layering and I liked this a lot (if you want to know what it is, take the course ). I knew about this, but I just didn’t remember. I learned the theory of pollinating vanilla. Also, there was grafting.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the class. The guy who taught the course knows a lot. He has traveled a lot, and he knows.

It was cool. Chao!”

Thanks for writing, Solin, and thanks to Rancho Mastatal for hosting the class. We are so happy to have resources like you guys so close by.

A week and a half ago, I said good bye to our visitors and headed back to the Choza. Since that time, we’ve all been processing a bit, and the guys have been editing all the photos and footage they took of the trip. They’ve got one Facebook album up so far (check it out!), and I can’t wait to see the rest! I think I said it before, but these guys are super talented, and it was so much fun getting to watch them work.

The last blog I posted was written by Victor Saad, a friend of mine who spearheaded the trip and invited Dan and Grant along with him. This next post was written by Grant, a photographer and creative.  He does a great job capturing the trip and I loved getting to read his perspective on the place. So, without further ado, here’s Grant!

We left Chicago at the early hour of 3 am to begin our trip. Dan and Victor met me at Ohare bright and early and we were on our way with great thoughts of venturing into Costa Rica. We sleep a bit on the plane and arrive to our foreign destination. Greeted by Mariah and Joel in a small orange jeep, we load in the back and head off into a nearby town to pick up groceries and hop on a bus. After getting settled on the old school bus, Mariah informs us that its about a 2.5 hour ride. We laugh and then make the best of it. A kind local named Francisco and a boy named Michael introduce themselves. Michael took his seat on a motorcycle on the back of the bus and joined us for the bumpy ride through the rainforest. We are chased by a small horse and pass by many waving, friendly families before we finally arrive at the farm, La Choza. Walking up to the front porch, we are greeted by a few local pups and a medley of insects. The porch has a long table and two hammocks, all of which is well used, but well kept. It already looks like an exciting place to spend a week. We walk out to a clearing on the farm and although it is dark, I know the view is amazing. We look up, and witness our first glimpse of the wonderful Costa Rican night sky. Its wonderfully beautiful, and although it was raining most of the day, it is somehow perfectly clear.

The next few days consist of learning, reading, writing, and getting to know everyone a bit better. The farm is settled in the middle of nowhere. We could walk onto the porch and look off into miles and miles of rainforest and mountains. Behind us was a dirt road that leads through the twists and turns of Costa Rican countryside. We went for a jog on a few mornings, and although it was brutally difficult, the views at each turn were stunning.

We did some self reflection about our upbringing and our past experiences — things that may have shaped us into the people we are today. We laughed as we told stories and shared about our experiences. Learning about other’s pasts has always been interesting to me. We may be in the same place now, but looking back at our experience before middle school, all of us had completely different adventures, and family lives. It is great to hear how friends have experienced holidays, or neighborhoods, or first days of school. We were also tasked with painting the shed. We used a bright aqua blue color and it was beautiful after we completed it. We had a few more plans to add to it, but down the road we hope another artist will add their own touch to it.

We proceeded to go on a few excursions, like a 2 million mile hike up the tallest mountain in all of the world. Okay, not quite. BUT it was one of the most difficult hikes I have ever completed. The view from the top was beyond beautiful and made it worth while. We also spent a day on a chocolate farm learning about the entire process of how cocoa is made from the flower, to roasting, to making our own chocolate. There were some Americans living on the cocoa farm as well as a few foreigners. They were all very pleasant and showed us around in their tree-fort-like home. I was somewhat jealous of their lifestyle; but, I know they work extremely early everyday, which I do not envy. Still, working on a cocoa farm in Costa Rica isn’t the worst job.

After a long bus ride to the beautiful beach of Manuel Antonio, with a few complications. We took the last day to soak it all in — laughing about the hard stuff, and reminiscing about the good memories from our time together.

Time moves slow in Costa Rica. The people appreciate the people, and they appreciate the land. Their mindset is extremely refreshing. Costa Ricans greet you at every turn and never hesitate to share a smile. It was an exciting time to be off the grid, totally cut away from life’s busy, everyday distractions. If nothing else it reminded me of the futility of material possessions. We only made one trip to a grocery store in our time together and we hardly ever needed anything more than a few simple articles of clothing and some light meals (and our cameras of course!) It’s true…experience is one of the most important aspects of life. We can talk about retreat, reflection, community, and creativity — or we can take the time to explore and experience those things together. I choose the later. That’s what we did on this trip, and that’s what I hope I do more of in the years to come.

So, here’s to taking the leap together — and loving every moment.

- Grant

Grant Legan is a photographer and designer from Geneva, Illinois. When he is not freelancing for model agencies and beautiful couples, he hangs with great companies like Groupon and a myriad of non-profits organizations. He’s also a part of the #lyproject family and is friend to nearly anyone he meets.
Website:  www.grantlegan.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Grant-Legan-Photography/
Twitter: @grantlegan

This past week, I had the immense privilege of hosting three creative guys from the States–one old friend and two new friends. It ended up being a perfect fit, and we packed a lot in to a quick seven days. We took time to rest, to cook, to hike, to learn, to read, and to reflect. Now that they’re back home, we’re all writing about the experience and I’ll be sharing as much as I can on the blog here.

Victor (the old friend) was leading the trip for him and his two friends. A few days into the trip, he wrote a blog to share with us. Here it is!

In December of 2011, a dear friend of mine, Mariah Savage, told me that she would be interning at a farm in the mountains of Costa Rica. She explained that four people working in technology and space exploration purchased land and a home on the mountainside. If you’re like me, people who work in tech and space elicit visions of computer labs, geniuses, and white rockets barreling into outer space – not farms in Costa Rica.

She explained that the four friends were interested in exploring ways to invest in humanity here on earth, not just abroad. After much conversation and research, they created this space, La Choza, for people to connect and collaborate on projects intended to better humanity.

For Mariah, the internship was a perfect fit for her interest in international development, organic lifestyle, and community building. It also seemed like a perfect way to spend one of my twelve experiences this year. We quickly began brainstorming what a visit could entail. I invited a few friends and two decided to join.

Meet Dan and Grant

Dan Kelleghan and Grant Legan, are incredible artists. They are photographers interested in using their craft to spread positive messages and empower people doing great work around the world. They have already been accomplices on a few projects and their presence on this trip seemed fitting for them and exciting for me.

So what are you doing?

We’re here for a week long artist in residency program. I simply wanted to give us space to observe our past & present and then prepare for whatever might come next.

Here’s how:

READ
I’ve brought a smattering of books that range from creative thinking and business plan development to memoirs and introspection.

WRITE
We’re creating timelines of key memories from our past while also documenting our leanings from our time here.

OBSERVE
We’ll be learning about farming, Costa Rican culture, and about one another.

CREATE
Being in Costa Rica gives Dan and Grant a new palette for their craft in photography and video. It has been amazing to see them come alive in this new setting.

WORK
We’ll help with one or two projects while we’re here. The main one entails painting an 8×10 building for La Choza.

All of this has already been an incredible journey – from Mariah’s initial decision to move to this home, to Dan and Grant’s willingness to join me without knowing many of the specifics.

Victor

Note: Part of my personal Leapyear Project is to create my own MBA around business, design, and social change. The format consists of twelve internships/experiences in twelve months. This Artist in Residency program is April’s experience.

Have you ever considered the electricity of human contact?

This is something I’ve found myself thinking about recently. With friend’s visits and errands to run in town, I’ve found myself in the city more, and constantly with people more often. A day in the life at the Choza for me is a pretty quiet one. Usually it’s just me, the work in front of me, and a routine of little things that make up the day. I chat with Solin, hang out with his family, visit with neighbors…but the pace is slow, contemplated, and quiet. My inner conversation is really the focus of everything.

Needless to say, life in the city is a marked change. The other day I spent a few hours at the mall, and almost couldn’t fathom the incredible number of people that passed by me in that time and the journeys that brought them there. The entire place was buzzing, vibrating human interaction.

Even just sitting together…enjoying someone’s company has taken on a new meaning for me.

I’m a firm believer that our lives are meant to be lived with people. A friend’s blog has the quote, “It is in the shelter of each other that we live.” Having this time to myself has almost been a study in that very idea. The difference between a day at the Choza, and a day in town is incredible. The theme of my thoughts, the stressors I face, the influence people have on where the day takes me is fascinating to observe…we are extremely affected by the people around us (even if we don’t know them), and for me it has taken this time of away to understand just how extreme that is. I am not saying it’s a bad thing–not at all–just that it is so very much. I think if we understood that a little better, maybe we would be able to understand ourselves a little better and the impact that we have on those around us.

This will be a different week for me, as we’ve got a group coming through for the next seven days–our first group this season! I am unbelievably excited, and you better believe I’ll be savoring and considering the time with these guys, and all the ways life at the Choza changes. We’ll hopefully be updating as the days go by, so be sure to look out for those!

What an amazing thing it is to be human, hm? Until next week, friends!

-Mariah