The fifth meeting of the Emo Community Country Club, an initiative hosted by the Emo-La Vallee Healthy Communities Coalition, had its members “traveling” to Costa Rica last Thursday afternoon—without even leaving their seats.
Emo resident Josette Vargas, along with her adult daughter, Jenny, gave a presentation about their homeland to a group of seniors gathered at the Golden Age Manor.
“Costa Rica is a great country,” stressed Vargas, who moved to Canada in 1985 with her husband and children. “But many of the people [there] are very poor.
“We thought Canada would offer better opportunities for our children.”
She recalled when she was a young girl, her mother baked a special bread that she would take door-to-door to sell.
“We didn’t have any toys,” she noted. “And my children do now, but sometimes they take that for granted.”
About 10 years ago, Vargas was able to take her family back to Costa Rica to visit the relatives she had left behind.
“It was good for the children to see how good they have it here in Canada,” she remarked.
Still, she said, it wasn’t bad growing up in Costa Rica.
“Everyone had the opportunity to go to school,” she recalled. “And we learned not to waste anything—you don’t throw good away and you always handed down your clothes.”
Because of the rain forest terrain, noted Vargas, there are a lot of different plants and animals in the Central American country, as well as volcanos.
Members of the community country club also learned about the country's capital (San Jose), flag, and coat of arms.
“The coat of arms incorporates seven stars for each province, three volcanos, two ships, and a sun rising in the sky,” explained Jenny Vargas, noting the volcanos separate the water to represent that Costa Rica borders both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
She also described the flag (two horizontal blue stripes on either edge, two white stripes, and a red stripe in the middle) and how each colour represents important aspects of the country.
“Blue means the sky, opportunities at reach, intellectual thinking, perseverance to accomplish a goal, infinite, eternity, and ideals of the religious and spiritual desires,” she read.
“White means clear thinking, happiness, wisdom, power and beauty of the sky, the driving force of initiatives to search for new endeavours, and the peace of Costa Rica.
“[And] red means the warmth of Costa Rican people, their love to live, their blood shed for freedom, and their generous attitude,” she continued.
She added a trademark saying in Costa Rica is “Puda Vida,” which means “Good Life.”
The pair encouraged any of the country club members to visit the country if they are looking to go somewhere on a vacation.
“It is different than it used to be because now it is a large tourist destination, and there is regular food and people to speak English to accommodate the tourists,” she noted.
Josette Vargas said she really would like to spend the winters there when she retires from being an educational assistant in local schools, but also said she really enjoys living in Emo.
“It’s been great—everyone is so friendly and helped take care of my kids,” she said. “And I’ve even had the opportunity to teach a little Spanish . . . and I like to help in the community because the community gave us so much when we came here.
“I try to give it back.”
Vargas taught the group on how to count to 10 in Spanish and also offered up a Spanish rice dish for people to try since rice, beans, and tortillas are common foods there.
“I’m very proud of being from Costa Rica,” she stressed. “Even though many people there are poor, they do have a really big heart.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
