Posts made in May, 2009
Studying in Costa Rica Rule #1: Shower
The institute gave us a list of rules for our stay here in Costa Rica, and one of the rules was to shower daily.
Culture Fact of the Day: Costa Ricans highly uphold the value of cleanliness.
I was intrigued that showering was a verbalized as well as written rule. Is that not understood? Yet, now that I’ve entered the culture I’m beginning to see the depths of the necessity to be clean and the little tolerance for the smelly.
Here is why:
1. The temperatures are high and coupled with humidity, you get a workout crossing the street.
2. Most people use buses and thus are in close proximity to crowds at all time.
3. The sky empties itself every afternoon and consequently you can expect to get completely drenched.
4. Houses are generally small and much time is spent together with one’s family (the closeness is to be admired.)
I’d hope visiting students would know to shower but I certainly respect (and thoroughly understand) why such rule is explicitly written. By the end of my day, I covet my shower—especially now that I know how to use the hot water.
Eyes opened. Seeing where they were closed.
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CommentStudying in Costa Rica: Melting Pot in the Canopy
Culture Fact of the Day (why not learn as I do?): The day starts between 5-6 a.m. and ends by 10 p.m.
The United States is always deemed the melting pot of the world, but Missouri seems to be sheltered a bit. However, I’ve concluded that Costa Rica is the pot where everyone has chosen to gather this week.
I’m currently sitting in Café Delicias with my Papaya milkshake waiting for the daily promised rain to pass. Here with me is my friend Anaisa, and we’ve been talking about home all afternoon. Being from Denmark, she offers a fresh view of what I deem my “normal lifestyle.” The melting pot has broadened my understanding of the culture of both Costa Rica and abroad.
As of yesterday, I am a graduate survivor of the canopy tour. Although securely strapped, knotted, and fastened, I felt as if I were careening out of control through and above the trees in the National Park. The view reiterated the extreme imagination of God as Costa Rica has its own very distinct personality—a lively personality of active and busy nature.
In between the ziplines, the melting pot seemed to be brewing. There was a group of computer programmers from Canada and China, and although they didn’t mean to be comedians, no one could help from chuckling. They verbalized every fear they had of the zipline, and then screamed and kicked (like children!) the whole way down. By the final line, they announced that they finally understood whereas we all understood after the first instructions. Not to judge a book by its cover, but below is a picture of the men. Do you see how it could be comedic? 
After the zipline the men went to ride horses. We were all concerned on their behalf but secretly wanted to watch.
I also made friends with someone from Yugoslavia in our canopy group; he stood back from the group intrigued and in awe of the childlike men . I felt the need to tell him that how they were acting was not… well… normal—whatever that is.
Learning much. Appreciating more.
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CommentStudying Abroad in Costa Rica: Confessions
Hola from Costa Rica!
Confession Time.
When I came to Costa Rica I didn’t come with the intention of learning Spanish, yet now that I am here, I have an authentic desire to grasp, understand, and communicate in Spanish. I never thought I would say such a thing.
On Day 1 Spanish was used for survival. Just 4 days later, my vocabulary and comprehension has increased greatly, and Spanish has transformed into a challenge that I have 4 more weeks to conquer.
My mornings consist of 4 hours of Spanish class with only 5 students in my class. The class is taught solely in Spanish, and if we use English, we owe our professor 5 dollars.
The picture to the right is my class with Senor Luiz in front.
The first two days we visited Grecia and Alajuah—two cities in the area—and now the afternoons are free with an invitation to fully explore the cities. Today I took a taxi to a coffee shop in nearby city in the mountains with several girls from Wyoming. The shop produces its own coffee in a nearby mill and in the taste it is clearly obvious the quality and authentic nature of the coffee.
If such places were in the US, I’d be there everyday. The view was indescribable (as seen below), so these are two pictures that try to do it justice.
Yesterday we visited a wood factory where scraps of wood are utilized to produce furniture, jewelry, exports, and jobs. Costa Ricans represents the poster “Go Green” country. They waste nothing, recycle, effectively use public transportation, and genuinely love their environment.
For example, my host mama is currently folding the few plastic bags she owns. They gleen everything possible from nature and the fruits (in all forms) it produces.
To the right is one of many rooms of the factory. Employing hundreds of workers, such work stimulates the city economically, yet for more, such experiences rekindled my awareness of the blessings I hold in the United States.
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CommentCosta Rica: Snapshots
PURA VIDA is the response to everything here in Costa Rica. How was it? Pura Vida. How are you? Pura Vida. Translated roughly to “this is the life,” it is the anthem of the life here.
My stay here will determine if that’s the truth. In the meantime, however, I will say Pura Vida simply because it is a Spanish phrase I know. I’ll use all I can.
Snapshots of the past few days:
On the flight to Costa Rica from Houston I sat by an artist who “expressed herself” to me by explaining her art. Her expertise is sculpting two-headed baby fountains. To add pizzaz she uses real hair from salons to give a lifelike appearance. I’d choose a gnome for my yard any day but probably just a plant.
I arrived safely in Costa Rica around 2:00 p.m. and mindlessly made it through customs. In the airport everything was labeled using both English and Spanish. No problemas. Exiting the airport, however, I became fully alert as my language ceased. Taxi drivers beckoned, security officers paced, and paper signs plastered the windows. Chaos ensued; stress level rose; confusion set in, and American-itus in another country became fully apparent.
In theory, I knew my family would have a sign with my name on it, but in reality, I began to second guess whether or not I read the email correctly. I found a man with a sign reading GENA GEAR– my last name but not exactly Caroline or Jane. The last thing I wanted was to motion “ME! ME!” when the man was expecting a house cleaner or mail-order bride. We’ve all seen too many scary movies.
After a broken Spanish conversation I accredited the family with being mine. The family speaks no English, and coupled with my lack of Spanish, you can only imagine the riveting conversation on the way to their house.
As noted below, I knew little about Costa Rica when I came. Thus, everything I saw made a first impression. The city is much like what I’ve seen of Mexico, yet the people are overtly welcoming and compassionate and patient with the language barrier.
It’s an underestimation to say the first night was overwhelming. The couple’s two children, their spouses, and grandchild all visited (as I’m finding they do each night). Everyone spoke at one time, very quickly, and loudly. That night understanding Spanish seemed a farfetched concept. Here, just two days later, my mindset is shifting to see the attainability of understanding and communicating. Yet, Sunday, in all honesty, was one of the most trying and draining days I’ve ever experienced. Drawing near to the Lord became a comfort more than before because He certainly understood my English.
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Preparing to Study Abroad in Costa Rica
Maybe I should invest in an English-Spanish dictionary
Tonight at Target I heard a family speaking Spanish and reality struck: I don’t understand Spanish at all. Tomorrow this reality is going to do more than strike; it’s going to jumpstart a lifestyle for the next five weeks.
May 16th—June 20th I am studying Spanish in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Tomorrow at the airport my host family will be holding a sign with my name on it. From there, my immersion into the culture will begin and hopefully, my lacking Spanish skills will tag alongside.
Tonight I’ve been researching my next five weeks. Here’s are the basic facts (and then you’ll know as much as me):
Location: Central America; 12 miles northwest of San Jose
Weather: Warm days and mild evenings; the dry season runs from December through the end of April. I’m just in time for the rainy season.
Temperatures: Daily from 72 to 85 °F; evenings range 61 to 70 °F
Population: 200,000 including suburbs.
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CommentHey There
In a matter of days I'm going to marry my college sweetheart Clayton. I'll be the resident chaplain at a girls dormitory this year... which will add a few quirks to our first year of marriage. I've been adopted into Texas culture and I keep Sonic in business. I blog about faith and the struggles with faith. My first name is Jane; I'm Caroline.
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To my single friends, I just posted a cute picture of Clayton and I on Facebook. 10 minutes later we were sitting in my driveway talking about how his stress was overwhelming me and how he was stressed because I was overwhelmed. Dumb. […]
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