“Cómo Amanecieron?”
“Cómo amanecieron?” my teacher asks, as my classmates and I ready ourselves for another exciting hour of phonetics. The question--literally "How did you wake up?"--has become an anticipated one. It comes right after taking out my pen and notebook and right before the morning prayer. The routine response is, of course, "bien." (It may not always be true, but it certainly is the easiest thing to say in Spanish at 7:30 in the morning.) And typically, "bien" is a fairly accurate description of the way I awoke. I consider myself a sound sleeper; I usually fall asleep soon after my head hits the pillow and wake up when it starts to become light. But lately, my sleep has been interrupted in some interesting ways, and I just can't, in good conscience, answer "bien" when asked, "“Cómo amanecieron?” And so, I begin to tell my story...
It started with the rooster. I was actually warned about the "gallo" before it came on the scene. Apparently the student who lived with my family before I did came to school with dark circles under his eyes day after day. When asked what was wrong, he admitted that a rooster was frequently waking him up before 3:00 in the morning. He finally talked to the family and the rooster was sent to the neighbor's house. (The neighbor must be hard of hearing or something). I imagine that my Tico family was probably mortified that the rooster had been causing poor Pablo so much lost sleep. Anyway, within my first week in Costa Rica, I heard about the rooster, and my host parents asked me if I thought I would be bothered by the animal. "No, I'm a heavy sleeper; don't worry about it," I replied fairly confidently. And I really thought that this would be the case. I have lived near roosters before, and I typically get used to them quickly and tune out the morning noise. But...I've never slept within five meters of a chicken coop, and this makes for a different story.
A rooster isn't necessary for eggs, but I guess that it is necessary for chicks; apparently Marivel wanted some chicks, so one afternoon, the rooster returned from the neighbor's house. At about 3:45 the following morning, this rooster began to crow...and crow...and crow...at intervals of about every 3-5 minutes. There was no sleeping through this commotion and putting cotton in my ears and a pillow over my head really didn't help much. Needless, to say I became quite irritated with the rooster, and was actually relieved when 5:15 rolled around and it was time for me to get up and go running. In an unkind manner, I told the bird to "shut up" as I passed the chicken coop on my way out the door. The same incident repeated itself over the next following mornings. I had taken just about as much as I could stand when the rooster one day returned to the neighbor's house. Although I still frequently see him walking around the street--an escaped criminal, apparently--he hasn't awoken me during the past week.
But the rooster was not the end of my morning encounters with poultry. Last week I walked into the kitchen around 7:00 to get some cereal. Upon reaching for the box of cornflakes, what should I observe, but a chicken standing on the cupboard--the real kind. Very irritated with chickens, roosters, etc, by now, I attempted to shoo the bird out the door. But she didn't make it easy for herself or for me: instead of hopping back to the coop, she proceeded to fly around the kitchen and dining room, squawking, nearly getting stuck behind the refrigerator, knocking objects to the floor, and, at one point, narrowly missing my head in her frantic attempt to escape. Finally, she landed on an armchair where she pooped. Not willing to go near the bird again, I yelled for assistance and my Tico brother came to the rescue and returned the chicken to the coop. My goodness! “Cómo amanecio?” Well, in a very interesting manner.
Fast forward a few days. Returning from a long run, I walk into my room and leave the door ajar behind me as I go to get a drink of water. A few seconds later, I turn around, and what is perched on my bed...but a chicken! Will the chickens not leave me in peace? I yelled at the bird and this time she quickly scampered back to where she belonged.
Although I have had no further chicken encounters (well, since Saturday), my sleep continues to be interrupted in somewhat interesting ways. There was, for example, the fervent prayer meeting last Friday night and the phone call at 3:00 this morning. The phone's ring tone plays Bach (which seems an interesting choice, as it is one of the only examples of classical music I have heard in Costa Rica thus far). I believe that the little ditty was becoming oddly woven into my dream before I awoke and realized that the phone was ringing and heard Marivel answer it.
Well, every day is new and promises unique experiences, and while some mornings may begin a bit earlier than I would like, I'll try to remember that the chance to begin each day anew is a gift from God--an incredible learning opportunity. So, cómo estan amaneciendo?
It started with the rooster. I was actually warned about the "gallo" before it came on the scene. Apparently the student who lived with my family before I did came to school with dark circles under his eyes day after day. When asked what was wrong, he admitted that a rooster was frequently waking him up before 3:00 in the morning. He finally talked to the family and the rooster was sent to the neighbor's house. (The neighbor must be hard of hearing or something). I imagine that my Tico family was probably mortified that the rooster had been causing poor Pablo so much lost sleep. Anyway, within my first week in Costa Rica, I heard about the rooster, and my host parents asked me if I thought I would be bothered by the animal. "No, I'm a heavy sleeper; don't worry about it," I replied fairly confidently. And I really thought that this would be the case. I have lived near roosters before, and I typically get used to them quickly and tune out the morning noise. But...I've never slept within five meters of a chicken coop, and this makes for a different story.
A rooster isn't necessary for eggs, but I guess that it is necessary for chicks; apparently Marivel wanted some chicks, so one afternoon, the rooster returned from the neighbor's house. At about 3:45 the following morning, this rooster began to crow...and crow...and crow...at intervals of about every 3-5 minutes. There was no sleeping through this commotion and putting cotton in my ears and a pillow over my head really didn't help much. Needless, to say I became quite irritated with the rooster, and was actually relieved when 5:15 rolled around and it was time for me to get up and go running. In an unkind manner, I told the bird to "shut up" as I passed the chicken coop on my way out the door. The same incident repeated itself over the next following mornings. I had taken just about as much as I could stand when the rooster one day returned to the neighbor's house. Although I still frequently see him walking around the street--an escaped criminal, apparently--he hasn't awoken me during the past week.
But the rooster was not the end of my morning encounters with poultry. Last week I walked into the kitchen around 7:00 to get some cereal. Upon reaching for the box of cornflakes, what should I observe, but a chicken standing on the cupboard--the real kind. Very irritated with chickens, roosters, etc, by now, I attempted to shoo the bird out the door. But she didn't make it easy for herself or for me: instead of hopping back to the coop, she proceeded to fly around the kitchen and dining room, squawking, nearly getting stuck behind the refrigerator, knocking objects to the floor, and, at one point, narrowly missing my head in her frantic attempt to escape. Finally, she landed on an armchair where she pooped. Not willing to go near the bird again, I yelled for assistance and my Tico brother came to the rescue and returned the chicken to the coop. My goodness! “Cómo amanecio?” Well, in a very interesting manner.
Fast forward a few days. Returning from a long run, I walk into my room and leave the door ajar behind me as I go to get a drink of water. A few seconds later, I turn around, and what is perched on my bed...but a chicken! Will the chickens not leave me in peace? I yelled at the bird and this time she quickly scampered back to where she belonged.
Although I have had no further chicken encounters (well, since Saturday), my sleep continues to be interrupted in somewhat interesting ways. There was, for example, the fervent prayer meeting last Friday night and the phone call at 3:00 this morning. The phone's ring tone plays Bach (which seems an interesting choice, as it is one of the only examples of classical music I have heard in Costa Rica thus far). I believe that the little ditty was becoming oddly woven into my dream before I awoke and realized that the phone was ringing and heard Marivel answer it.
Well, every day is new and promises unique experiences, and while some mornings may begin a bit earlier than I would like, I'll try to remember that the chance to begin each day anew is a gift from God--an incredible learning opportunity. So, cómo estan amaneciendo?
Comments
I enjoyed your story about the rooster. It reminds me of the bottled gas truck in Mexico that travels the streets early morning and screams GAAAAAAS!!from the megaphone sounding speaker on the roof. The missions team has been praying for you and hopes that all is well with you. Thank you for your card on August 30th - I shared it with the team and had it on the Missions table during the Ministry Fair a couple weeks ago. Faith Promise is in full swing at MCC and will wrap up next Sunday with financial commitments to missions being made. Billy Loft from Latin American Ministries will be sharing the morning message and the Faith Promise challenge. If you get a chance to send me a short update on how things are going I would like to share it during worship next week.
Thanks!
Jon Rice
MCC Mission Team
jajrice@yahoo.com