Music: Mago de Oz - Hoy Te Toca Ser Feliz
Two things to comment on today.
Numero Uno: Now I'm one hundred percent sure - History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America is going to be my favorite class. Last night, we had an awesome discussion that intertwined Christianity, the Cult of the Goddess, and feminine free will.
Okay, show of hands, who knows about Lilith? [Of course YOU would know who Lilith is.] For those who don't, they say Lilith was Adam's first wife, before Eve. God made her out of clay, same as Adam, and not from his rib. The thing is, Lilith was independent, and believed that she and Adam were equals, and that she was not to be subservient. She wouldn't obey Adam, so God threw her out of Eden and started again with Eve. Of course, Lilith isn't in the Bible, because an all-knowing, masculine god would never screw up like that.
But here's the thing: Lilith IS in the Bible. As the story goes, Lilith marries a demon and transforms into a serpent, and makes her way back into the Garden. And of course, anyone with even a basic knowledge of Christianity knows the rest of the story - Serpent tempts Eve, Eve eats from the Tree of Knowledge, original sin, we're all screwed.
Now, keep in mind, Lilith stands for female independence, our right to free will. And it was Lilith, a woman in serpent-form, who showed Eve, another woman, how to find unlimited knowledge. Here's where it gets (more) interesting. The serpent has been the symbol of the Goddess, of Mother Earth, for 35,000 years. The monotheistic religions took the symbol of the Goddess, united it with a known representation of feminine free will, used this combination to tempt another woman, and through three women all together, completely ruined the human race forever by not letting a man have his way.
And even better, this whole discussion was in Spanish. Goddess, I love my life.
Numero Dos: Today, IFSA-Butler brought in a Costa Rican doctor, licensed by the University of Costa Rica (keep this in mind for later), to give us a talk on preventing tropical diseases. Everything was well and good as he talked about Dengue fever, and he was going strong as he hit malaria... But then he instantly lost all credibility with me when he blamed malaria on the illegal Nicaraguans. I'm sorry, but malaria isn't contagious. Care to explain that one to me?
He then continued on to inform us that we shouldn't take our anti-malarial medications, which were prescribed in certified travel clinics, and recommended by the CDC, because "they just don't work". We also shouldn't eat any salads while outside of the central valley, because we'll get Leishmaniasis. It's okay to sit on the grass, though, he promised.
But you know what makes me almost certain this guy was a hack? He didn't know the facts about A-H1N1 Influenza, even in his own country. First, he said that the biggest symptom of Swine Flu is "congestive mucus". Wrong. Swine Flu comes with a DRY cough, and a RUNNY nose. It's not congestive at all. [Source: http://www.vidaestudiantil.una.ac.cr/salud/influenzaah1n1. This is the handout our university gave us, taken directly from the bulletins handed out by the Ministerio de Salud/Ministry of Health]. Second, and perhaps even stupider? He informed us that the death toll from A-H1N1 in Costa Rica was at 12 people. Wrong again. When he gave us that talk this morning, the count was at 22, and three more died today, for a total of 25. [Source: http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2009/agosto/04/pais2048833.html. An article from La Nacion, the Costa Rican newspaper.]
Sorry, Dr. Embustero, but your threats of malaria don't make the cute Nicaraguan boy at the corner store any less attractive.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
garua - drizzle
somera - slight/superficial
recalcar - to stress/emphasize
corregimientos - country subdivisions (ant.)
aunar - to combine
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