The Zorro of Harmony
Every Monday night the boys at Harmony all get together and play soccer down the road on a small mini football pitch covered with Astroturf. This mini stadium has lights, which allow them to play in the evening. Its quiet an experience finding such a field anywhere let alone on the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica. They each put about five dollars into the pool, which covers the costs of the field and then they play football with small rotating teams.
It was here that I learnt the word Zorro and the person they called Zorro was Esteban. Esteban is twenty-seven and started working at Harmony on the first day of 2006. He attended Harmony’s opening party, which happened to be New Years Eve and then he started his job the following day. The word Zorro means fox, and once you get to know him you start to realise how he acquired his name.
Esteban got his job through his friend Contantino, the gardener at Harmony. After working on the gardens for seven months he got a job as an office assistant. He worked here for another six months and then progressed to the front desk. During this whole period his English went from near nothing to near perfect and after one year of working the front desk, Zorro got a job in reservations.
This is one of those stories where one starts at the bottom and moves his way up to the top! Harmony really changed his way of thinking and Esteban is another classic example of the effectiveness of sustainability. His father pasted away when he was just eighteen and he was forced to work to support the family. He could only dream of doing what he does now and again this is another example of how Cayuga works. He is now saving money to make a journey to Egypt and Sweden. That is where is friends are! Friends he made at Harmony before he even met them.
Working in reservations allows Esteban to meet customers over the phone before meeting them in person. This has made his job a lot of fun and he says it’s the best job to have at Harmony. Considering his history and his experience I must say I believe him. For someone who has never ventured out of Costa Rica Esteban has a lot of friends all over the world that he has never met yet. Only over the phone does he know them by their first name and he dreams of one day being able to meet them all in person.
Watching him playing football with the boys that Monday evening showed me the morality and team spirit they all have on and off the pitch. They all get involved and play a big role in the bigger picture of The Harmony Hotel. A place I look forward to coming back to.
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