I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to have had many wonderful experiences. Getting to know Alfredo though, has definitely landed pretty close to the top. Alfredo is a member of the indigenous Bribri tribe from Costa Rica. He grew up in the mountains and has never had electricity, running water or a bathroom. He grew up in an abusive home and never had anyone to teach him basic life principles or skills. He left home at the age of 14 and found sporadic work in the mountains. He also started learning Spanish at the age of 14.

Alfredo is now 17 years old. About two years ago he ventured down the mountain and landed in Puerto Viejo, a town of about 2,600 people. He was frightened. He knew nobody and this big “city” was very overwhelming for him. He discovered drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. But thankfully, after experimenting for a while, he found that he did not like that lifestyle.

For about a year now, Alfredo has been working for friends of mine, Roberto and Colin. They have
really taken Alfredo under their arms, given him new skills and mentored him in ways he never had. They taught him how to tell time, use a fork and knife and many, many other things. Just recently they built a caretaker’s unit for Alfredo so he could live on their property with them.

Alfredo had been asking me for a long time to take him to visit my house in the Cartago area, as well as to see San Jose. We finally made that happen this past week. It was an amazing experience.

It was also a strange experience. Here we were, a gringo with 2 years of Spanish trying to play tour guide to someone who was born in Costa Rica, but only has 4 years of Spanish under his belt. But we made it happen! Alfredo got to see his first mall, first movie and lots of other firsts. He spent time with our horses, watched TV and loved having his picture taken.

He is one of the most polite and appreciative people I’ve ever met. Because of his experience growing up, he is a very mature 17-year-old. But at the same time he is very naïve about many things.  I found out he didn’t know what the word “furniture” meant in Spanish. When I thought about it though, I figured it kind of made sense that someone who never had any furniture wouldn’t know what it meant. He’s also very committed to his education. He leaves work at the end of the day, takes his bike over 20 miles to the town of Bribri, stops to bathe in the waterfall, changes his clothes and attends night school. Then in the dark he rides his bike all the way home. He tells me someday that he wants to get his masters degree.

It was such a nice feeling sharing lots of “firsts” with Alfredo. He is very intelligent and I could see his world and dreams open up in front of my eyes. I’m very appreciative of the experience and look forward to hosting Alfredo again, and possibly some more kids.