Posts Tagged "travel"

Studying Abroad in Costa Rica: Confessions

Posted by Caroline on May 21, 2009 in The Backpack | 0 comments

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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Costa Rica: Snapshots

Posted by Caroline on May 19, 2009 in The Backpack, Uncategorized | 0 comments

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

Posted by Caroline on May 16, 2009 in The Backpack | 0 comments

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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