Mood: Frustrated/Sad
Music: Flogging Molly - Rebels of the Sacred Heart
"Es solo una india, no le haga caso."
That statement has been bugging me all weekend. See, on Saturday, we were out shopping for a Mother's Day present, and we passed a homeless lady on the street, begging for spare change. Nothing unusual, right? What caught my eye was that she had on the most beautiful dress - it was dirty, but undeniably beautiful, with no holes or threads out of place. She was barefoot, and didn't even have a cup to beg with - she was just putting the change into a pocket in her dress. I mentioned to Sofia that in the US, the homeless are generally more... well, tattered, and often somewhat crazy... and that it was something unusual for me to see someone begging in such pretty clothes. And Sofia responded "She's just an indian, don't pay attention to her."
Really?
I keep trying to write some kind of deep commentary on the social situation in Costa Rica, and how it's completely unjust that the indigenous populations here are so discriminated against, but I can't seem to find the right words. All I know is that those thirty seconds of my life really, really upset me, and I know I'm never going to forget that woman's face.
-Sarah
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
I have THREE left feet, and I'm still gonna do it!
Mood: Ready for school to start already
Music: Weezer – Pink Triangle
Yesterday, we started the day by meeting at UNA to get our fingerprints taken, as part of the process of converting our tourist visas to student visas. I didn't want to do it – fingerprinting is a little too “Big Brother” for me – but I bit the bullet and dealt with it. I don't want my study abroad screwed up over a bit of ink.
After we finished with that, we all took one of the public buses into San Jose. Kate, Alex, Kelsey, and I went with Mariana, the same girl who took us around UNA two days ago, and her friend Yeimi. She took us down the avenida central, which is closed to all but pedestrian traffic. We got to look around in the mercado central, where they sell a bit of everything. Then we went to lunch at the Teatro Nacional, were the kids from UCR (Ashley, Michael, and Katie) met up with us. We got a private tour of the theater, and they informed us that student tickets can cost as little as 240 colones (about 50 cents american, though those are nosebleed seats). After that, we split up again, and Mariana took us through a bunch of parks and two artisan markets. The first was apparently kind of a big deal – it was the first day they had ever held the market, and they asked us all to sign our names in a memory book. For some reason, they found it really awesome that gringos had come to their market, haha. I found a Mother's Day present for Dona Dimia there – a little dish made from coconut with a butterfly hand painted on the inside (I checked with Sofia, she says Dona D. will love it). The second market was the Mercado Nacional de Artesania, which was actually a lot like the mercado central, minus the food. I got myself some presents there – a Sele jersey (La Sele is what the Costa Ricans call their national soccer team; it's short for 'seleccion'), an Imperial t-shirt, and one of those hand-woven bracelets that you see everywhere.
We got home around 4:30 or 5. I had about a half an hour to relax before Dona D.'s family showed up to watch the game – La Sele played Mexico at 8, and before that we watched the US play Honduras. Unfortunately, Honduras lost to the US (2-0), and even though Costa Rica and Mexico tied in points (1-1), Costa Rica lost on the penalties. Sigh. But still, it was a good excuse to sit around, drink Imperial, get tipsy with the family, and scream at the television. Dona D. informed me that I should call her “Mami” the same way her own girls do; I'm part of the family now.
Today was the last day of orientation. All of us (UCR kids included) took a microbus up into a hotel in the mountains, where IFSA had rented a conference room for the day. The view of the valley from up there was absolutely gorgeous, but I forgot to take pictures... Not to worry, though, at least five other people did, ha. The orientation itself was kind of pointless, like most of their orientation activities have been, but it was a good bonding experience. The only planned part of the day that was actually fun was when the dance team showed up. That's right. IFSA payed a local dance studio to send up an instructor and some students to teach us how to dance salsa, merengue, and swing tico (or cumbia). Now, if you know me, you know I don't dance (unless I've had tequila, ha). I took the opportunity to be the photographer, but even then, I still somehow got pulled onto the floor. As predicted, I danced like an idiot, but it wasn't tooo bad... The dance instructor was hottttt (*fans self*) and I jokingly told Ashley that I wasn't big on dancing in public, but that if he wanted to give me private lessons (*wink wink*), I would be more than willing.
Now I'm just at home, relaxing. A bunch of people went back to Liberia for the weekend, and a bunch of other people are going out. We're just having a night in with the family though - I plan to go to bed early-ish and sleep in late-ish. I'm sure I can get Naty and Sofia to go out tomorrow night. Hasta manana.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
Apretarse To Make out
(care)picha (vulgar) dick
Esta hecha picha (vulgar) It's ruined
chocante annoying
eructo burp
Esta cayendo un pelo de gato It's misting
lodo mud
curita band-aid
arbitro referee
portero goalee
renovar renew
guanabana chewy white fruit
Music: Weezer – Pink Triangle
Yesterday, we started the day by meeting at UNA to get our fingerprints taken, as part of the process of converting our tourist visas to student visas. I didn't want to do it – fingerprinting is a little too “Big Brother” for me – but I bit the bullet and dealt with it. I don't want my study abroad screwed up over a bit of ink.
After we finished with that, we all took one of the public buses into San Jose. Kate, Alex, Kelsey, and I went with Mariana, the same girl who took us around UNA two days ago, and her friend Yeimi. She took us down the avenida central, which is closed to all but pedestrian traffic. We got to look around in the mercado central, where they sell a bit of everything. Then we went to lunch at the Teatro Nacional, were the kids from UCR (Ashley, Michael, and Katie) met up with us. We got a private tour of the theater, and they informed us that student tickets can cost as little as 240 colones (about 50 cents american, though those are nosebleed seats). After that, we split up again, and Mariana took us through a bunch of parks and two artisan markets. The first was apparently kind of a big deal – it was the first day they had ever held the market, and they asked us all to sign our names in a memory book. For some reason, they found it really awesome that gringos had come to their market, haha. I found a Mother's Day present for Dona Dimia there – a little dish made from coconut with a butterfly hand painted on the inside (I checked with Sofia, she says Dona D. will love it). The second market was the Mercado Nacional de Artesania, which was actually a lot like the mercado central, minus the food. I got myself some presents there – a Sele jersey (La Sele is what the Costa Ricans call their national soccer team; it's short for 'seleccion'), an Imperial t-shirt, and one of those hand-woven bracelets that you see everywhere.
We got home around 4:30 or 5. I had about a half an hour to relax before Dona D.'s family showed up to watch the game – La Sele played Mexico at 8, and before that we watched the US play Honduras. Unfortunately, Honduras lost to the US (2-0), and even though Costa Rica and Mexico tied in points (1-1), Costa Rica lost on the penalties. Sigh. But still, it was a good excuse to sit around, drink Imperial, get tipsy with the family, and scream at the television. Dona D. informed me that I should call her “Mami” the same way her own girls do; I'm part of the family now.
Today was the last day of orientation. All of us (UCR kids included) took a microbus up into a hotel in the mountains, where IFSA had rented a conference room for the day. The view of the valley from up there was absolutely gorgeous, but I forgot to take pictures... Not to worry, though, at least five other people did, ha. The orientation itself was kind of pointless, like most of their orientation activities have been, but it was a good bonding experience. The only planned part of the day that was actually fun was when the dance team showed up. That's right. IFSA payed a local dance studio to send up an instructor and some students to teach us how to dance salsa, merengue, and swing tico (or cumbia). Now, if you know me, you know I don't dance (unless I've had tequila, ha). I took the opportunity to be the photographer, but even then, I still somehow got pulled onto the floor. As predicted, I danced like an idiot, but it wasn't tooo bad... The dance instructor was hottttt (*fans self*) and I jokingly told Ashley that I wasn't big on dancing in public, but that if he wanted to give me private lessons (*wink wink*), I would be more than willing.
Now I'm just at home, relaxing. A bunch of people went back to Liberia for the weekend, and a bunch of other people are going out. We're just having a night in with the family though - I plan to go to bed early-ish and sleep in late-ish. I'm sure I can get Naty and Sofia to go out tomorrow night. Hasta manana.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
Apretarse To Make out
(care)picha (vulgar) dick
Esta hecha picha (vulgar) It's ruined
chocante annoying
eructo burp
Esta cayendo un pelo de gato It's misting
lodo mud
curita band-aid
arbitro referee
portero goalee
renovar renew
guanabana chewy white fruit
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
How many ADD kids does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Mood: Lazy
Music: Wisin y Yandel – Sexy Movimiento
I didn't bother to write yesterday, because the only interesting thing that happened was that I registered for classes in the morning. I'll be taking: Advanced Spanish, Costa Rican Spanish, The History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America, Culture and Development in Latin America, and The Costa Rican Cultural Identity. Baller. I also got to hear the story of Dona Dimia's ex (Naty and Sofia's dad), and see him from the upstairs window, where Dona D. and I sneakily spied on him (she won't let him in the house). Dona D. is rather scandalous, as it turns out. We're going to get along fabulously, I can already tell ;-)
Today hasn't been especially eventful, either. This morning, we were shown around UNA and Heredia by a student guide. She was a lot of fun, and I think I can find my way around campus now. The Heredia tour was kind of useless, though; I got hopelessly turned around. Going to the market was cool, though – we got to try all different kinds of fruit and the program paid for it. We surprised Mariana (the guide) when we already knew how to eat mamones chinos, haha. She also showed us where the nearest gym is. The school has one, but you have to pay an extra fee to use it, so she told us we might as well go to one of the nicer gyms off campus. I'm thinking about maybe signing up for the few months I'm here – it's only 14.000 colones a month (roughly $28) for a plan which gives full access to the machines and the indoor track, and that also includes aerobics and spinning classes and a personal trainer at no extra charge. We'll see, though. Anybody who knows me knows that the gym and I are not friends.
I got home about two hours ago, and I've just been relaxing since then. My eyeball started to hurt on the tour today (of all the random body parts) and I had been rubbing it, so I didn't really want to go do anything with it looking all gross. Some people think I might have pink eye, but I'm pretty sure it's just allergies; the same thing happened back in Ohio over the summer, now that I think about it. Anyway, I think it's about time for a nap.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
Tiritita Band-aid
Alfareria Pottery
Se me hundio el barco Wedgie
Escampar To let up
Music: Wisin y Yandel – Sexy Movimiento
I didn't bother to write yesterday, because the only interesting thing that happened was that I registered for classes in the morning. I'll be taking: Advanced Spanish, Costa Rican Spanish, The History of Women in Costa Rica and Latin America, Culture and Development in Latin America, and The Costa Rican Cultural Identity. Baller. I also got to hear the story of Dona Dimia's ex (Naty and Sofia's dad), and see him from the upstairs window, where Dona D. and I sneakily spied on him (she won't let him in the house). Dona D. is rather scandalous, as it turns out. We're going to get along fabulously, I can already tell ;-)
Today hasn't been especially eventful, either. This morning, we were shown around UNA and Heredia by a student guide. She was a lot of fun, and I think I can find my way around campus now. The Heredia tour was kind of useless, though; I got hopelessly turned around. Going to the market was cool, though – we got to try all different kinds of fruit and the program paid for it. We surprised Mariana (the guide) when we already knew how to eat mamones chinos, haha. She also showed us where the nearest gym is. The school has one, but you have to pay an extra fee to use it, so she told us we might as well go to one of the nicer gyms off campus. I'm thinking about maybe signing up for the few months I'm here – it's only 14.000 colones a month (roughly $28) for a plan which gives full access to the machines and the indoor track, and that also includes aerobics and spinning classes and a personal trainer at no extra charge. We'll see, though. Anybody who knows me knows that the gym and I are not friends.
I got home about two hours ago, and I've just been relaxing since then. My eyeball started to hurt on the tour today (of all the random body parts) and I had been rubbing it, so I didn't really want to go do anything with it looking all gross. Some people think I might have pink eye, but I'm pretty sure it's just allergies; the same thing happened back in Ohio over the summer, now that I think about it. Anyway, I think it's about time for a nap.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
Tiritita Band-aid
Alfareria Pottery
Se me hundio el barco Wedgie
Escampar To let up
Monday, July 20, 2009
Mmmm Internets
Mood: Settled
Music: Britney Spears – Circus
My host family has wireless!!! Okay, not really, we steal it from the internet cafe down the street. But still.
Today was almost entirely travel. We left Bahia Salinas at nine and got back to Liberia at 10:30. I just had a quick hour for brunch with Dona Melida and Don Carlos (unfortunately, Edgar and Angeles weren't able to leave San Jose until 15:00, sad), and then after goodbyes and well-wishing all around, we hopped on a giant bus to leave for Heredia.
We got into Heredia around 16:00, and our host families picked us up outside UNA (the Universidad Nacional Autonoma, where I'll be studying this semester). My host mom looked... well, angry, and I was kind of nervous, but as it turns out, she always looks that way and never actually is :-). I live with Dona Dimia (my host mom) and her two daughters, Natalia, 23, and Sofia, 21. Natalia is studying to be a dentist, and has her last exam for her license coming up in September. Sofia is studying special education, though she still has a year to go. They're both really nice. Sofia reminds me so much of my friend Stephanie (especially with her facial expressions) that I constantly have to remember to call her the right name, haha.
Anyway, I haven't done much since I got here except unpack, talk and hang out with my family, and catch up on all the things I've been missing on teh internets. The house here is gorgeous – huge cathedral ceilings and open, well-lit rooms. Not to mention a view of the mountains out every window. My room is great, too. I have a corner room, so two windows, and one is an enormous bay window that lets in so much light and so much breeze. I have my own bathroom, complete with jacuzzi bathtub and hot water (which is a commodity here, let me tell you). And my family has a washer and drier, and knows how to use fabric softener!!! My life is officially perfect.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
P.S. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! You're old, dude.
Music: Britney Spears – Circus
My host family has wireless!!! Okay, not really, we steal it from the internet cafe down the street. But still.
Today was almost entirely travel. We left Bahia Salinas at nine and got back to Liberia at 10:30. I just had a quick hour for brunch with Dona Melida and Don Carlos (unfortunately, Edgar and Angeles weren't able to leave San Jose until 15:00, sad), and then after goodbyes and well-wishing all around, we hopped on a giant bus to leave for Heredia.
We got into Heredia around 16:00, and our host families picked us up outside UNA (the Universidad Nacional Autonoma, where I'll be studying this semester). My host mom looked... well, angry, and I was kind of nervous, but as it turns out, she always looks that way and never actually is :-). I live with Dona Dimia (my host mom) and her two daughters, Natalia, 23, and Sofia, 21. Natalia is studying to be a dentist, and has her last exam for her license coming up in September. Sofia is studying special education, though she still has a year to go. They're both really nice. Sofia reminds me so much of my friend Stephanie (especially with her facial expressions) that I constantly have to remember to call her the right name, haha.
Anyway, I haven't done much since I got here except unpack, talk and hang out with my family, and catch up on all the things I've been missing on teh internets. The house here is gorgeous – huge cathedral ceilings and open, well-lit rooms. Not to mention a view of the mountains out every window. My room is great, too. I have a corner room, so two windows, and one is an enormous bay window that lets in so much light and so much breeze. I have my own bathroom, complete with jacuzzi bathtub and hot water (which is a commodity here, let me tell you). And my family has a washer and drier, and knows how to use fabric softener!!! My life is officially perfect.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
P.S. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! You're old, dude.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A Senate of Crabs
Mood: Ballsy
Music: El Canto del Loco – Canciones
Today was easily the most adventurous, outdoorsy day I've had so far. After breakfast this morning, we caught a boat for a tour of Isla Bolanos, that island that we saw yesterday that's just off the coast. It's home to the greatest number of bird species in Costa Rica (or so they say), some 200 different birds. Anyway, when we left, it was looking gray, but not too bad – our guide, Adrian (who we think also owns or runs the hotel) said it would probably just drizzle. Fail. For the entirety of the twenty-minute boat ride, it poured. We were all soaked to the bones when we got there. But most of us didn't let it screw up the day.
Corin and I started the morning by walking around the beach. On Isla Bolanos, there are tons of perfect conch shells, and they are everywhere. They aren't especially large, but seriously, they're flawless. There are also these crabs, and they're so pretty that they look fake – you would think they had been painted by how colorful they were. Anyway, after we walked around for awhile, Adrian said we were just going to wander the beach for the rest of the morning. We were confused, because we were under the impression that we were going to hike to the top of the island to see the birds' nests. But Adrian said we couldn't, because it had been raining, and Ecoplaya (the hotel) didn't want to be held liable if one of us fell in a mudslide and snapped our necks.
Well, Alex and I decided we were going to try and hike up anyway, even if Adrian couldn't (wouldn't?) send a guide with us. Corin came with us, and we literally scrambled up the hill to the top of the island (carefully avoiding the crabs all the way up – they don't just chill on the beach, they're all over in the forest, too). When we got up there, the view was too amazing for words. We took so many pictures, of the view, and especially of the birds. They're everywhere! There were big black ones called garsos negros, and littler white ones called garsos blancos. There were pelicans, too, and one ginormous iguana (or rather garro – the males are garros, the females are iguanas). It turns out that a bunch of other people had decided to climb up, too, and I had to laugh because Adrian gave in and sent two guides along, Marven and Manuel. He probably figured that we would sue either way if we got hurt, so better to have a guide than not, haha. I was glad he did, because Marven knew a ton about the birds, and pointed out to us which ones were recently hatched and told us how to tell males from females. Both the guides were clearly at home with the climb – they both did it barefoot. And they both scrambled back and forth like mountain goats in order to help the girls who were having trouble getting back down to the beach.
When we got back down, a few of us decided to just go swimming with our clothes on, since we were still soaked from the boat ride out. Just my luck, ten seconds after I take off my hiking boots, I manage to step on a pointy something or other that's sticking out of the sand and gouge out a bit of my foot (gross, right?). Fortunately, Corin is a walking pharmacy, and soon had my wound disinfected, gauzed over, and taped up. Of course, it didn't do much good, because I decided to hell with it, I was going swimming anyway, and the bandage was off five minutes later, ha.
After a quick lunch back at the hotel, 13 of us jumped in a microbus with Teresita, Yanori, and Xiomara and went to a nearby virgin beach called Playa Rajada (the others stayed back at the hotel to lounge around the pool). I was really glad I went, because Alex and I had a grand island adventure. There's a little island that's not even a half kilometer out from Playa Rajada, and Alex and I decided to swim out to it. Nobody else would go with us, because the hilos de mar (those baby jellyfish) were out in force at this beach. But we said screw it, and swam out anyway. When we got out there, we decided to walk all the way around the island, just to have a good look. It's really cool, because at one point, there's a fissure in the island that runs almost all the way to the top, but stops just short to where there's a little bridge thing over the crack. The awesome part is that the waves crash right through the fissure, from one side of the island straight through to the other (it's not very big). And even cooler – there had to be 2,000 crabs, just hanging out. We decided that a group of crabs would be called a senate (you know – pack of dogs, pride of lions, pod of dolphins. Though as it turns out, it's actually a cast of crabs [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html]. Whatever, I like senate better).
After we had gone all the way around the island (ask me about our daredevil stunt to get across the fissure on one side :-)), we swam back. This was the only part of the day that sucked. Apparently, the hilos de mar had had enough of gringos in their waters, and I came out with so many red spots from their stings that I looked like I had a rash all over. It was really sore, but I wasn't about to let anybody pee on me, and we didn't have any vinegar, so when the shuttle driver offered to take one van load of people home early, I went willingly.
Now I'm back in the hotel room, relaxing after a shower and watching Friends in Spanish. I would save this until later, but the truth of the matter is that I don't think I'm up for much more tonight than going down to dinner. And I doubt I'll even get out of my pajamas for that, ha. But whatever, I explored two islands in one day. I think I deserve a night off, don't you?
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
canegua/caricaco hermit crab
garro male iguana
garsos species of birds
Music: El Canto del Loco – Canciones
Today was easily the most adventurous, outdoorsy day I've had so far. After breakfast this morning, we caught a boat for a tour of Isla Bolanos, that island that we saw yesterday that's just off the coast. It's home to the greatest number of bird species in Costa Rica (or so they say), some 200 different birds. Anyway, when we left, it was looking gray, but not too bad – our guide, Adrian (who we think also owns or runs the hotel) said it would probably just drizzle. Fail. For the entirety of the twenty-minute boat ride, it poured. We were all soaked to the bones when we got there. But most of us didn't let it screw up the day.
Corin and I started the morning by walking around the beach. On Isla Bolanos, there are tons of perfect conch shells, and they are everywhere. They aren't especially large, but seriously, they're flawless. There are also these crabs, and they're so pretty that they look fake – you would think they had been painted by how colorful they were. Anyway, after we walked around for awhile, Adrian said we were just going to wander the beach for the rest of the morning. We were confused, because we were under the impression that we were going to hike to the top of the island to see the birds' nests. But Adrian said we couldn't, because it had been raining, and Ecoplaya (the hotel) didn't want to be held liable if one of us fell in a mudslide and snapped our necks.
Well, Alex and I decided we were going to try and hike up anyway, even if Adrian couldn't (wouldn't?) send a guide with us. Corin came with us, and we literally scrambled up the hill to the top of the island (carefully avoiding the crabs all the way up – they don't just chill on the beach, they're all over in the forest, too). When we got up there, the view was too amazing for words. We took so many pictures, of the view, and especially of the birds. They're everywhere! There were big black ones called garsos negros, and littler white ones called garsos blancos. There were pelicans, too, and one ginormous iguana (or rather garro – the males are garros, the females are iguanas). It turns out that a bunch of other people had decided to climb up, too, and I had to laugh because Adrian gave in and sent two guides along, Marven and Manuel. He probably figured that we would sue either way if we got hurt, so better to have a guide than not, haha. I was glad he did, because Marven knew a ton about the birds, and pointed out to us which ones were recently hatched and told us how to tell males from females. Both the guides were clearly at home with the climb – they both did it barefoot. And they both scrambled back and forth like mountain goats in order to help the girls who were having trouble getting back down to the beach.
When we got back down, a few of us decided to just go swimming with our clothes on, since we were still soaked from the boat ride out. Just my luck, ten seconds after I take off my hiking boots, I manage to step on a pointy something or other that's sticking out of the sand and gouge out a bit of my foot (gross, right?). Fortunately, Corin is a walking pharmacy, and soon had my wound disinfected, gauzed over, and taped up. Of course, it didn't do much good, because I decided to hell with it, I was going swimming anyway, and the bandage was off five minutes later, ha.
After a quick lunch back at the hotel, 13 of us jumped in a microbus with Teresita, Yanori, and Xiomara and went to a nearby virgin beach called Playa Rajada (the others stayed back at the hotel to lounge around the pool). I was really glad I went, because Alex and I had a grand island adventure. There's a little island that's not even a half kilometer out from Playa Rajada, and Alex and I decided to swim out to it. Nobody else would go with us, because the hilos de mar (those baby jellyfish) were out in force at this beach. But we said screw it, and swam out anyway. When we got out there, we decided to walk all the way around the island, just to have a good look. It's really cool, because at one point, there's a fissure in the island that runs almost all the way to the top, but stops just short to where there's a little bridge thing over the crack. The awesome part is that the waves crash right through the fissure, from one side of the island straight through to the other (it's not very big). And even cooler – there had to be 2,000 crabs, just hanging out. We decided that a group of crabs would be called a senate (you know – pack of dogs, pride of lions, pod of dolphins. Though as it turns out, it's actually a cast of crabs [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html]. Whatever, I like senate better).
After we had gone all the way around the island (ask me about our daredevil stunt to get across the fissure on one side :-)), we swam back. This was the only part of the day that sucked. Apparently, the hilos de mar had had enough of gringos in their waters, and I came out with so many red spots from their stings that I looked like I had a rash all over. It was really sore, but I wasn't about to let anybody pee on me, and we didn't have any vinegar, so when the shuttle driver offered to take one van load of people home early, I went willingly.
Now I'm back in the hotel room, relaxing after a shower and watching Friends in Spanish. I would save this until later, but the truth of the matter is that I don't think I'm up for much more tonight than going down to dinner. And I doubt I'll even get out of my pajamas for that, ha. But whatever, I explored two islands in one day. I think I deserve a night off, don't you?
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
canegua/caricaco hermit crab
garro male iguana
garsos species of birds
Saturday, July 18, 2009
I stepped on it!!!
Mood: Utterly Content
Music: Green Day – She
For once, I'm not completely exhausted as I write this. How odd.
Today was our last day of classes at UCR. We had to present the recipes for the foods we made last night, and then we read an article and had a debate over the pros and cons of vegetarianism. My half of the class got stuck on the anti-vegetarianism side, which sucked, because the article we read had absolutely no helpful information. So we just made up really ridiculous arguments, i.e. Costa Rica is a Catholic country, and since Jesus ate meat (see the story of the loaves and fishes), then so will we! Today was probably the best day as far as the snack they gave us: a little spiky red fruit called “mamon chino”. The seed-spitting contest we had was pretty epic, to say the least.
After class, I had a quick lunch of leftovers with Don Carlos (Dona M. was out giving a cultural discussion). A lot of people said goodbye to their families at lunch today, since we're supposedly only coming back on Monday long enough to get our suitcases, but I know Dona Melida is planning to have brunch, so I didn't get into goodbyes with Don C. Afterwards, I rode with Jen and her host mom to the Burger King at the edge of town, where 19 of us (Brittany is spending the weekend with her host family) crammed into a microbus to leave for Bahia Salinas. We stopped along the way at the prettiest overlook I think I've ever seen – on the top of a hill, looking out over a valley down to the Pacific coast.
We got to the hotel we're staying at, Ecoplaya, around 16:00, and we all had a snack (ham sandwiches with butter and cheese whiz. Weird, I know). We had 2 hours until dinner started, so Corin and I changed into our bathing suits and went down to the beach. There's this island about a kilometer off the coast, and I joked that we should swim to it. Well, we started wading out into the water, and it turns out you can practically walk to it! About halfway in between the island and the shore, I could still touch the sand with my head above water. If it hadn't been so late, I probably would have convinced Corin to walk/wade/swim all the way, but the sun goes down around 18:00 here, and we didn't want to be caught alone on that island in the dark. When we got back to the hotel, everyone was in the pool, so we hopped in with them for a bit, but after a while, Ashley and I got cold and went back to our rooms.
We all met for dinner at 16:30, and then afterwards went for a night walk on the beach. Alex had his flashlight with him so we could (kind of) see what we were walking on, but even so, Emily and Stephanie L. were completely terrified of stepping on the crabs that were everywhere. Of course, neither of them had anything to worry about, as it was inevitably me who ended up stepping on one. I don't think I killed it, because I'm pretty sure I didn't put much weight down before I felt it under my foot (I was barefoot at the time)... I hope not, anyway.
Now I'm laying in bed, watching Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley/Matthew MacFadyen version) in Spanish, and well, writing this. I'm out of things to say, and it just got to the part where Darcy proposes to Elizabeth at Rosings, so I'm going to leave off for now.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
jerga slang
rocío dew
transgredir to transgress/to break
testarudo stubborn/pigheaded
Music: Green Day – She
For once, I'm not completely exhausted as I write this. How odd.
Today was our last day of classes at UCR. We had to present the recipes for the foods we made last night, and then we read an article and had a debate over the pros and cons of vegetarianism. My half of the class got stuck on the anti-vegetarianism side, which sucked, because the article we read had absolutely no helpful information. So we just made up really ridiculous arguments, i.e. Costa Rica is a Catholic country, and since Jesus ate meat (see the story of the loaves and fishes), then so will we! Today was probably the best day as far as the snack they gave us: a little spiky red fruit called “mamon chino”. The seed-spitting contest we had was pretty epic, to say the least.
After class, I had a quick lunch of leftovers with Don Carlos (Dona M. was out giving a cultural discussion). A lot of people said goodbye to their families at lunch today, since we're supposedly only coming back on Monday long enough to get our suitcases, but I know Dona Melida is planning to have brunch, so I didn't get into goodbyes with Don C. Afterwards, I rode with Jen and her host mom to the Burger King at the edge of town, where 19 of us (Brittany is spending the weekend with her host family) crammed into a microbus to leave for Bahia Salinas. We stopped along the way at the prettiest overlook I think I've ever seen – on the top of a hill, looking out over a valley down to the Pacific coast.
We got to the hotel we're staying at, Ecoplaya, around 16:00, and we all had a snack (ham sandwiches with butter and cheese whiz. Weird, I know). We had 2 hours until dinner started, so Corin and I changed into our bathing suits and went down to the beach. There's this island about a kilometer off the coast, and I joked that we should swim to it. Well, we started wading out into the water, and it turns out you can practically walk to it! About halfway in between the island and the shore, I could still touch the sand with my head above water. If it hadn't been so late, I probably would have convinced Corin to walk/wade/swim all the way, but the sun goes down around 18:00 here, and we didn't want to be caught alone on that island in the dark. When we got back to the hotel, everyone was in the pool, so we hopped in with them for a bit, but after a while, Ashley and I got cold and went back to our rooms.
We all met for dinner at 16:30, and then afterwards went for a night walk on the beach. Alex had his flashlight with him so we could (kind of) see what we were walking on, but even so, Emily and Stephanie L. were completely terrified of stepping on the crabs that were everywhere. Of course, neither of them had anything to worry about, as it was inevitably me who ended up stepping on one. I don't think I killed it, because I'm pretty sure I didn't put much weight down before I felt it under my foot (I was barefoot at the time)... I hope not, anyway.
Now I'm laying in bed, watching Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley/Matthew MacFadyen version) in Spanish, and well, writing this. I'm out of things to say, and it just got to the part where Darcy proposes to Elizabeth at Rosings, so I'm going to leave off for now.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New Words:
jerga slang
rocío dew
transgredir to transgress/to break
testarudo stubborn/pigheaded
Friday, July 17, 2009
BOMBA!!! (No, not bomb. Dance!)
Mood: Exhausted. Again.
Music: Pitbull – Calle 8
Classes today were all right. A lot of people complained, because we had to go out and find a tico to interview on the UCR campus, and it was really awkward. Well, not for me, because me and the cafeteria lady, Xelmira, are biffles. Our class had to pair up, so Ashley and I went straight to the dining hall, and Xelmira was nice enough to put up with the stupid questions we had to ask. She's such a sweetheart, and she's pregnant!! She wants a girl; she thinks a boy would be too difficult, ha.
We got out at 12:30, so I stopped by an internet cafe on the way home and checked my email and facebook. This one was much, much better than the first, though still slower than snails. I only stayed about an hour, and then went home for lunch with Dona Melida. She was still cooking when I got there, so she told me I should go over and look around La Ermita, the little church that's across from our house, which also happens to be a religious art museum (I don't remember if I mentioned before that Dona M. is on a cultural preservation committee). It's small and simple, just big enough for mass once a month and for the nuns who come to pray at three o'clock every day. There was nobody there when I got there, so I just looked around for a few minutes and went home.
After lunch and a nap, Dona Melida and I were going to discuss how to make horchata, but she wasn't quite awake from her nap yet, so I went with Jen to see La Ermita again. Jen's host grandma (who happens to be Don Carlos's sister) is also on the cultural preservation committee, so she gave us a full tour and explanation of the cultural heritage of the church. We still didn't stay too long, though, because the church was supposed to be closed to visitors (we borrowed the keys from the caretaker).
When I got back home, Dona Melida taught me how to make horchata. She had made a big jug of it to take to the party later at UCR. We were technically supposed to make it together, but she wanted to make it in the morning so it would have time to chill. Anyway, we had a big long discussion on how to get the measurements just right, and about the history of packaged horchata.
Dona M. and I left around 6 to go to the farewell party at UCR. Our program, IFSA, puts this party on every semester for the students and their host families, and they do a potluck, where every family brings a Costa Rican food (hence the horchata – which is sort of like a chocolate/vanilla/cinnamon/clove spice smoothie, AKA delicious). They also invited a dance troupe that performs traditional dances of Guanacaste, which was really cool to watch. After we ate, part of the party was a dance for us, but well... I don't dance. Not to mention I once again found myself about to fall asleep in my food. Dona Melida and I went home around 9, I packed up my things to leave for the beach tomorrow, and now, like always, I'm going to go pass out (has there been a single night yet that I haven't been exhausted? I don't think so...)
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
Cordura Sanity
percha/colgador hanger
estuche case (for a camera)
grumulas granules (like in hot cocoa)
agriarse to spoil/to go bad
recular to back up
pegajoso sticky
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY!!! Finally legal, but go figure, across the world in a country where it doesn't matter, and suffering from malaria to boot. Hope you feel better soon. Love you!!!
Music: Pitbull – Calle 8
Classes today were all right. A lot of people complained, because we had to go out and find a tico to interview on the UCR campus, and it was really awkward. Well, not for me, because me and the cafeteria lady, Xelmira, are biffles. Our class had to pair up, so Ashley and I went straight to the dining hall, and Xelmira was nice enough to put up with the stupid questions we had to ask. She's such a sweetheart, and she's pregnant!! She wants a girl; she thinks a boy would be too difficult, ha.
We got out at 12:30, so I stopped by an internet cafe on the way home and checked my email and facebook. This one was much, much better than the first, though still slower than snails. I only stayed about an hour, and then went home for lunch with Dona Melida. She was still cooking when I got there, so she told me I should go over and look around La Ermita, the little church that's across from our house, which also happens to be a religious art museum (I don't remember if I mentioned before that Dona M. is on a cultural preservation committee). It's small and simple, just big enough for mass once a month and for the nuns who come to pray at three o'clock every day. There was nobody there when I got there, so I just looked around for a few minutes and went home.
After lunch and a nap, Dona Melida and I were going to discuss how to make horchata, but she wasn't quite awake from her nap yet, so I went with Jen to see La Ermita again. Jen's host grandma (who happens to be Don Carlos's sister) is also on the cultural preservation committee, so she gave us a full tour and explanation of the cultural heritage of the church. We still didn't stay too long, though, because the church was supposed to be closed to visitors (we borrowed the keys from the caretaker).
When I got back home, Dona Melida taught me how to make horchata. She had made a big jug of it to take to the party later at UCR. We were technically supposed to make it together, but she wanted to make it in the morning so it would have time to chill. Anyway, we had a big long discussion on how to get the measurements just right, and about the history of packaged horchata.
Dona M. and I left around 6 to go to the farewell party at UCR. Our program, IFSA, puts this party on every semester for the students and their host families, and they do a potluck, where every family brings a Costa Rican food (hence the horchata – which is sort of like a chocolate/vanilla/cinnamon/clove spice smoothie, AKA delicious). They also invited a dance troupe that performs traditional dances of Guanacaste, which was really cool to watch. After we ate, part of the party was a dance for us, but well... I don't dance. Not to mention I once again found myself about to fall asleep in my food. Dona Melida and I went home around 9, I packed up my things to leave for the beach tomorrow, and now, like always, I'm going to go pass out (has there been a single night yet that I haven't been exhausted? I don't think so...)
Pura Vida,
Sarah
New words:
Cordura Sanity
percha/colgador hanger
estuche case (for a camera)
grumulas granules (like in hot cocoa)
agriarse to spoil/to go bad
recular to back up
pegajoso sticky
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY!!! Finally legal, but go figure, across the world in a country where it doesn't matter, and suffering from malaria to boot. Hope you feel better soon. Love you!!!
Spoiler Alert: Dumbledore Dies
Mood: Worldly
Music: Harry Potter theme
Today, class didn't start until one, so I got to sleep in... until 9:30, sigh. I guess tica families think Americans are really lazy for how late we sleep, so I tried to get up as early as I could. I couldn't bring myself to do any earlier though, god knows nine thirty is hard enough for me. Once I dragged myself out of bed, I sat and had brunch with Edgar and Angeles, and said goodbye to them, because they were taking off to San Jose until Monday, and I won't get to see them again. After they left, I sat and read the paper for a while (in the news today: ninth person in the country dies from swine flu, PAC candidate criticizes PUSC candidate), then left to go to UCR an hour early to try and use their wireless internet (epic fail).
Class went from one to five thirty, and it felt a lot like kindergarten again – we had to write a song called Ojala and use the subjunctive in it, and then we were forced to sing it for the class. That was about as eventful as it got for the day.
At five-thirty, we all went home and got showers and dinner, and then we cabbed out to the mall to go see the new Harry Potter movie. It was interesting, because in English, the title is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, but in Spanish it's Harry Potter y el misterio del príncipe, which translates to HP and the Mystery of the Prince. That sort of thing has always seemed cool to me, and I spent a good half an hour wondering why they translated it like that, ha. The movie was in English with subtitles, so it was still relatively like seeing it in the U.S. Spoiler: Dumbledore dies.
After the movie, Alex and I shared a cab home, and now, like every night, I'm about to pass out from exhaustion.
Pura vida,
Sarah
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!!! Sorry I couldn't call you, darling. You know I love you!
Music: Harry Potter theme
Today, class didn't start until one, so I got to sleep in... until 9:30, sigh. I guess tica families think Americans are really lazy for how late we sleep, so I tried to get up as early as I could. I couldn't bring myself to do any earlier though, god knows nine thirty is hard enough for me. Once I dragged myself out of bed, I sat and had brunch with Edgar and Angeles, and said goodbye to them, because they were taking off to San Jose until Monday, and I won't get to see them again. After they left, I sat and read the paper for a while (in the news today: ninth person in the country dies from swine flu, PAC candidate criticizes PUSC candidate), then left to go to UCR an hour early to try and use their wireless internet (epic fail).
Class went from one to five thirty, and it felt a lot like kindergarten again – we had to write a song called Ojala and use the subjunctive in it, and then we were forced to sing it for the class. That was about as eventful as it got for the day.
At five-thirty, we all went home and got showers and dinner, and then we cabbed out to the mall to go see the new Harry Potter movie. It was interesting, because in English, the title is Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, but in Spanish it's Harry Potter y el misterio del príncipe, which translates to HP and the Mystery of the Prince. That sort of thing has always seemed cool to me, and I spent a good half an hour wondering why they translated it like that, ha. The movie was in English with subtitles, so it was still relatively like seeing it in the U.S. Spoiler: Dumbledore dies.
After the movie, Alex and I shared a cab home, and now, like every night, I'm about to pass out from exhaustion.
Pura vida,
Sarah
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA!!! Sorry I couldn't call you, darling. You know I love you!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Playa Hermosa
Mood: Sick (sunstroke?)
Music: Ben Kweller – Penny on the Train Track
This morning, they split us into intermediate and advanced Spanish classes and we met the professors for the semester. 12 of us are in advanced with Lucia and the other 8 have intermediate with Gaby. But... the classes are, well, easy. Today, we reviewed the pretérito and the imperfecto, and then we had to write (and act out) a fairy tale. We all kind of felt like we were in kindergarten again, especially since we got to have arts and crafts time to create “scenes” for our fairy tales.
Our fairy tale was pretty fabulous. Literally. The gay prince Michael and his fruit fly Kate are locked in a tower by his homophobic parents until they fall in love and have a baby. The witch of the mountain keeps them trapped there, and for seven years, they can't escape. Finally, the brave and handsome prince Sarita rescues Michael from his (incredibly phallic) tower, shoves aside the witch, and he, Michael, and Kate ride off into the sunset. But then they all faint and die of swine flu. The end. It's very postmodern.
After school, 17 of us got on the bus and went out to Playa Hermosa. It was (you guesses it) gorgeous – crystal clear water, palm trees, and blue skies all afternoon. The water was the perfect temperature, just warm enough to be comfortable but cold enough that it was sooo refreshing. We played monkey in the middle with a water frisbee for a while, but it got a little boring when it was constantly Corin and Stephanie in the middle. Also, there are what the ticos call hilos de mar – little baby jellyfish that sting you all over. They aren't bad stings, just really uncomfortable, like somebody pinched you. They leave these little red marks, but they're gone an hour later.
Once we got out of the water, Alex, Ashley, and Kate went to go pick up some booze, and I had Alex bring me back a six-pack of Imperial. It was a perfect afternoon on the beach. About 12 people decided to go back on the five o'clock bus, and then Ashley and Kate took off to Playas del Coco with Michael and his family, so only Alex, Corin, and I stayed to eat dinner at the little seafood restaurant on the beach and watch the sunset (which was amazing, and only lasted about two minutes).
The three of us caught the seven o'clock bus (the last one for the day) back to Liberia. I went home and grabbed a quick shower to get all the sand off, and then we went out to the Bar Palermo again. I didn't stay too long, though, because after one beer, I felt kind of sick and more than a little exhausted. I think it's either sunstroke or dehydration, so I just walked home and now I'm going to drink some water and crash.
Pura vida,
Sarah
Music: Ben Kweller – Penny on the Train Track
This morning, they split us into intermediate and advanced Spanish classes and we met the professors for the semester. 12 of us are in advanced with Lucia and the other 8 have intermediate with Gaby. But... the classes are, well, easy. Today, we reviewed the pretérito and the imperfecto, and then we had to write (and act out) a fairy tale. We all kind of felt like we were in kindergarten again, especially since we got to have arts and crafts time to create “scenes” for our fairy tales.
Our fairy tale was pretty fabulous. Literally. The gay prince Michael and his fruit fly Kate are locked in a tower by his homophobic parents until they fall in love and have a baby. The witch of the mountain keeps them trapped there, and for seven years, they can't escape. Finally, the brave and handsome prince Sarita rescues Michael from his (incredibly phallic) tower, shoves aside the witch, and he, Michael, and Kate ride off into the sunset. But then they all faint and die of swine flu. The end. It's very postmodern.
After school, 17 of us got on the bus and went out to Playa Hermosa. It was (you guesses it) gorgeous – crystal clear water, palm trees, and blue skies all afternoon. The water was the perfect temperature, just warm enough to be comfortable but cold enough that it was sooo refreshing. We played monkey in the middle with a water frisbee for a while, but it got a little boring when it was constantly Corin and Stephanie in the middle. Also, there are what the ticos call hilos de mar – little baby jellyfish that sting you all over. They aren't bad stings, just really uncomfortable, like somebody pinched you. They leave these little red marks, but they're gone an hour later.
Once we got out of the water, Alex, Ashley, and Kate went to go pick up some booze, and I had Alex bring me back a six-pack of Imperial. It was a perfect afternoon on the beach. About 12 people decided to go back on the five o'clock bus, and then Ashley and Kate took off to Playas del Coco with Michael and his family, so only Alex, Corin, and I stayed to eat dinner at the little seafood restaurant on the beach and watch the sunset (which was amazing, and only lasted about two minutes).
The three of us caught the seven o'clock bus (the last one for the day) back to Liberia. I went home and grabbed a quick shower to get all the sand off, and then we went out to the Bar Palermo again. I didn't stay too long, though, because after one beer, I felt kind of sick and more than a little exhausted. I think it's either sunstroke or dehydration, so I just walked home and now I'm going to drink some water and crash.
Pura vida,
Sarah
Noches de Palermo
Mood: Tipsy
Music: Michael Jackson – Thriller
This morning at breakfast, Dona Melida was really excited to get me to go to an orchestra concert put on by the Liberia Youth Orchestra. She told me I had to invite everybody, ha. After breakfast was my first adventure with the Liberia city bus. Jen and I got to the bus stop and Stephanie was already there. Her host mom was busy harassing a tico boy who was also waiting for the bus; she ordered him to help us with paying the driver and telling us where to get off. We later realized that she didn't even know the kid – she was just ordering around some random dude.
We got to UCR right on time, but Teresita, Yanori, and Xiomara (the other assistant) showed up on hora tica (about fifteen minutes to a half an hour late). The actual orientation wasn't all that interesting, but getting to know people was cool. People here are pretty relaxed. Everybody's really open and chill, and Michael (the gay guy) is a riot to be around. Corin, one of the other AU girls, is really nice, too, though a little bit awkward. Ashley's fabulous, too, and such a crackup.
While we were at orientation, we decided to go to the beach tomorrow, because we have the afternoon off. Go figure I got stuck going to the bus terminal and figuring out how to get there, since I'm one of the top three speakers in the group. I wasn't sure how far my host family's house was from the terminal, so I ended up walking a half an hour to get home, but all in all, it wasn't a bad time. The lady at the terminal was very patient with me, and wasn't rude about answering all of my stupid questions (which were already answered on the time table in front of me).
I got home around 5:30 and got a quick shower, and then tossed back a quick dinner with Dona Melida and Don Carlos (Edgar and Angeles were off scuba diving somewhere). After that, I picked up Jen and Alex, and we walked to the parque central to meet up for the orchestra concert. Probably three quarters of the group came, and we all squeezed into three pews in the Iglesia de la Concepcion Inmaculada. The music was all right (no TYO, haha) – almost all well-known classical pieces. It was a little awkward, because Michael and I gossiped all the way through it, and Corin was apparently really upset that we wouldn't shut up. I think she forgave us, though, because after the concert, ten of us went out for drinks and she came along.
Nobody really knew where to go for drinks, so I suggested this cocktail bar that I saw on the avenida central, close to Alex's house. It was called Bar Palermo, and we ended up going there. I tried the Costa Rican beer Imperial, and then started throwing back liquor drinks, including the Costa Rican version of the screwdriver. Their screwdriver is made with Cacique (a guaro liquor). Our waiter was freaking hot, his name was Johan. More than one of us (cough Emily and Stephanie L. cough) would have gladly gone home with him, haha. People sort of trickled out as they needed to get home to their host families, and there were only five of us left by the end of the night. Alex and I stumbled home, and now I'm in bed, and kind of astonished that this doesn't have too many spelling and grammar errors (god bless open office).
Pura vida,
Sarah
Music: Michael Jackson – Thriller
This morning at breakfast, Dona Melida was really excited to get me to go to an orchestra concert put on by the Liberia Youth Orchestra. She told me I had to invite everybody, ha. After breakfast was my first adventure with the Liberia city bus. Jen and I got to the bus stop and Stephanie was already there. Her host mom was busy harassing a tico boy who was also waiting for the bus; she ordered him to help us with paying the driver and telling us where to get off. We later realized that she didn't even know the kid – she was just ordering around some random dude.
We got to UCR right on time, but Teresita, Yanori, and Xiomara (the other assistant) showed up on hora tica (about fifteen minutes to a half an hour late). The actual orientation wasn't all that interesting, but getting to know people was cool. People here are pretty relaxed. Everybody's really open and chill, and Michael (the gay guy) is a riot to be around. Corin, one of the other AU girls, is really nice, too, though a little bit awkward. Ashley's fabulous, too, and such a crackup.
While we were at orientation, we decided to go to the beach tomorrow, because we have the afternoon off. Go figure I got stuck going to the bus terminal and figuring out how to get there, since I'm one of the top three speakers in the group. I wasn't sure how far my host family's house was from the terminal, so I ended up walking a half an hour to get home, but all in all, it wasn't a bad time. The lady at the terminal was very patient with me, and wasn't rude about answering all of my stupid questions (which were already answered on the time table in front of me).
I got home around 5:30 and got a quick shower, and then tossed back a quick dinner with Dona Melida and Don Carlos (Edgar and Angeles were off scuba diving somewhere). After that, I picked up Jen and Alex, and we walked to the parque central to meet up for the orchestra concert. Probably three quarters of the group came, and we all squeezed into three pews in the Iglesia de la Concepcion Inmaculada. The music was all right (no TYO, haha) – almost all well-known classical pieces. It was a little awkward, because Michael and I gossiped all the way through it, and Corin was apparently really upset that we wouldn't shut up. I think she forgave us, though, because after the concert, ten of us went out for drinks and she came along.
Nobody really knew where to go for drinks, so I suggested this cocktail bar that I saw on the avenida central, close to Alex's house. It was called Bar Palermo, and we ended up going there. I tried the Costa Rican beer Imperial, and then started throwing back liquor drinks, including the Costa Rican version of the screwdriver. Their screwdriver is made with Cacique (a guaro liquor). Our waiter was freaking hot, his name was Johan. More than one of us (cough Emily and Stephanie L. cough) would have gladly gone home with him, haha. People sort of trickled out as they needed to get home to their host families, and there were only five of us left by the end of the night. Alex and I stumbled home, and now I'm in bed, and kind of astonished that this doesn't have too many spelling and grammar errors (god bless open office).
Pura vida,
Sarah
Monday, July 13, 2009
Familia Guanacasteca
Mood: Even more exhausted than yesterday
Music: Mago de Oz – Posada de los Muertos
We didn't have to be ready to leave this morning until 8, so of course my body woke me up at 6:30. I sat on the porch of our room and just watched it drizzle for a bit. Everything here is so freaking green!!! Mango trees grow in the hotel yard, and instead of spiders, there's a gecko infestation (I want a gecko infestation!). We went to a restaurant called Pan y Miel for breakfast. Apparently it's a chain, though I never would have guessed. Breakfast was rice and beans, some kind of carne and some orange juice. It was also not air conditioned... we've been informed that just about nowhere is, unless it's a brand new building or the owners are loaded.
Orientation was a couple of kilometers out along the highway (a kilometer is .6 miles, fyi), and they made us walk. Which was great for digesting breakfast, but not so great for someone who sweats buckets, and especially not in a climate this humid... It wasn't too bad, though, and at least the orientation room was air conditioned. They're having orientation at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR)'s Liberia campus. There are 20 of us, 18 girls and only two guys, and one of them is gay (feels just like AU). We were only in session for about an hour and half before we took a break, which involved a snack - a potato-chili thingy on top of a tortilla. While it was really delicious, it seemed kind of unnecessary, because we ended at noon and walked back, at which point we met our host families, who took us home and fed us (they eat so often here).
My family is just a retired lady, Dona Melida, and her husband Don Carlos, who's also retired. They have three grown sons; two live in San Jose and the other lives in California. The youngest son, Edgar Eduardo is actually here to stay part of the week; his friend from Spain, Angeles, is on vacation, and he's showing her around the country. Dona Melida seems really nice. Even though she's retired, she keeps busy – she and Don Carlos are both in the Lions Club (apparently that's international?) and she's in some group for the promotion and preservation of culture in Liberia. She told me she wouldn't be able to do much with me, but I reassured her that it would be fine, that I could take care of myself. She showed me that one of the other girls, Jen, lives three houses down with Don Carlos's sister; I think she expects me to go hang out with Jen whenever she's not around.
After lunch (sopa de res), which was just Dona Melida, me, and their empleada Petrona, Dona Melida had a dentist appointment. So she made Jen's host sisters show us where Alex (the only straight guy) was staying – just around the corner from us – and then told them to show us where the nearest internet cafe was. We went to get Alex and then we all went sandal shopping (Alex broke his on the walk back from UCR). We stopped in a little book store on the way back. I bought a copy of Maria by Jorge Isaacs – it's one of the ones we read selections from in Latin American lit, so it should be pretty good: unrequited love and all that. After that, we went to the internet cafe, which was awful... I think I spent a third of the half hour I paid for waiting for pages to load.
I went home and had a nap afterwards. I met Don Carlos, Edgar Eduardo, and Angeles when I woke up. Edgar and Angeles were just back from hiking all day, so they both grabbed showers and then we all had dinner, though Don Carlos didn't eat. Edgar is a crackup – he's very worried about how the dry spell in Ohio is going to affect our corn. We spend most of dinner (gallo pinto [rice and black beans, the national dish of CR], garlic chicken, and plátanos) just talking about the United States and where things are, about AU and why I chose Washington, and how my Spanish got to be so good. Dona Melida also explained to me that I'm going to take the bus to school tomorrow, which required about half an hour's instruction on how the bus system works, ha.
Once we finished eating, I went to see if Jen wanted to take the bus with me (she's going to come). We went to see if Alex wanted to, too, but his family is taking him. The three of us went for a walk and ended up people watching in the parque central for a half an hour or so. I just got home a minute ago, said goodnight to everyone, and now I'm going to bed.
Pura vida,
Sarah
New words:
volar caite caminar mucho
vaquita lady bug
llave maya flash drive
Music: Mago de Oz – Posada de los Muertos
We didn't have to be ready to leave this morning until 8, so of course my body woke me up at 6:30. I sat on the porch of our room and just watched it drizzle for a bit. Everything here is so freaking green!!! Mango trees grow in the hotel yard, and instead of spiders, there's a gecko infestation (I want a gecko infestation!). We went to a restaurant called Pan y Miel for breakfast. Apparently it's a chain, though I never would have guessed. Breakfast was rice and beans, some kind of carne and some orange juice. It was also not air conditioned... we've been informed that just about nowhere is, unless it's a brand new building or the owners are loaded.
Orientation was a couple of kilometers out along the highway (a kilometer is .6 miles, fyi), and they made us walk. Which was great for digesting breakfast, but not so great for someone who sweats buckets, and especially not in a climate this humid... It wasn't too bad, though, and at least the orientation room was air conditioned. They're having orientation at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR)'s Liberia campus. There are 20 of us, 18 girls and only two guys, and one of them is gay (feels just like AU). We were only in session for about an hour and half before we took a break, which involved a snack - a potato-chili thingy on top of a tortilla. While it was really delicious, it seemed kind of unnecessary, because we ended at noon and walked back, at which point we met our host families, who took us home and fed us (they eat so often here).
My family is just a retired lady, Dona Melida, and her husband Don Carlos, who's also retired. They have three grown sons; two live in San Jose and the other lives in California. The youngest son, Edgar Eduardo is actually here to stay part of the week; his friend from Spain, Angeles, is on vacation, and he's showing her around the country. Dona Melida seems really nice. Even though she's retired, she keeps busy – she and Don Carlos are both in the Lions Club (apparently that's international?) and she's in some group for the promotion and preservation of culture in Liberia. She told me she wouldn't be able to do much with me, but I reassured her that it would be fine, that I could take care of myself. She showed me that one of the other girls, Jen, lives three houses down with Don Carlos's sister; I think she expects me to go hang out with Jen whenever she's not around.
After lunch (sopa de res), which was just Dona Melida, me, and their empleada Petrona, Dona Melida had a dentist appointment. So she made Jen's host sisters show us where Alex (the only straight guy) was staying – just around the corner from us – and then told them to show us where the nearest internet cafe was. We went to get Alex and then we all went sandal shopping (Alex broke his on the walk back from UCR). We stopped in a little book store on the way back. I bought a copy of Maria by Jorge Isaacs – it's one of the ones we read selections from in Latin American lit, so it should be pretty good: unrequited love and all that. After that, we went to the internet cafe, which was awful... I think I spent a third of the half hour I paid for waiting for pages to load.
I went home and had a nap afterwards. I met Don Carlos, Edgar Eduardo, and Angeles when I woke up. Edgar and Angeles were just back from hiking all day, so they both grabbed showers and then we all had dinner, though Don Carlos didn't eat. Edgar is a crackup – he's very worried about how the dry spell in Ohio is going to affect our corn. We spend most of dinner (gallo pinto [rice and black beans, the national dish of CR], garlic chicken, and plátanos) just talking about the United States and where things are, about AU and why I chose Washington, and how my Spanish got to be so good. Dona Melida also explained to me that I'm going to take the bus to school tomorrow, which required about half an hour's instruction on how the bus system works, ha.
Once we finished eating, I went to see if Jen wanted to take the bus with me (she's going to come). We went to see if Alex wanted to, too, but his family is taking him. The three of us went for a walk and ended up people watching in the parque central for a half an hour or so. I just got home a minute ago, said goodnight to everyone, and now I'm going to bed.
Pura vida,
Sarah
New words:
volar caite caminar mucho
vaquita lady bug
llave maya flash drive
Sunday, July 12, 2009
La Llegada
Mood: Exhausted
Music: The Offspring – You're Gonna Go Far Kid
So. Tired. I've been up for approximately twenty hours. I got up at 4:00 to go to the airport in Detroit, got there around 5:30, and got on the plane at 7:00, after two separate trips through security (they made me go back and check my carry-on – go figure the one time they actually bother to look is the time I have way too many liquids). The flight wasn't direct, obviously. I got into Houston at 9:30 and then left again an hour later. I finally made it to San Jose, Costa Rica at 13:00 local time (which is two hours behind Ohio/Washington. It's Central Time, but they don't do Daylight Savings Time here). Immigration and customs were a breeze, and so was getting to the bus station. The cab driver who took me there was really nice, and even helped me buy my ticket to Liberia, though there wasn't a seat available until 4.
Anyway, I finally got on the bus, and I was kind of freaking out, because I realized I was going to get to Liberia a lot later than I had originally thought, and I didn't know how to get ahold of the program people to let them know. I tried to use a pay phone and call my mom collect, so she could call them, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make it work. The same thing happened when the bus stopped at a little soda for a rest break – these phones are crazy difficult to use! The view from the soda was amazing – lush, green, jungle-filled valley. I could have stared for hours, but we only had ten minutes.
I made it to Liberia at 7:45, which was fifteen minutes late according to the travel guide, but actually turned out to be about two hours late, since they had taken all the students to dinner at 6. Teresita, the program director, literally came running from dinner and was like, “Oh my god we didn't know what happened to you, we hadn't heard anything from the program, and you hadn't called... What happened? Where were you?” I think she was even more freaked than I was in the bus station, ha. Well, she took me over to where they were having dinner and introduced me to everyone and then brought me a plate full of delicious spinach crepe and a salad. Everyone else had already finished eating and was about to head out, so I really only had a few minutes to talk with my roommates for the night, though Teresita and Yanori (one of the program assistants) sat and talked with me the whole time.
I went back to the room after dinner and rearranged my suitcases (too much OCD for my own good) and talked with my roommates, Stephanie F. and Brittany, and then we went for a short walk. Now we're back in the hotel, and I'm going to pass out. Honestly, I can't believe I managed to stay awake long enough to write this. Orientation starts at 8 tomorrow, so I'm going to go pass out.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
Music: The Offspring – You're Gonna Go Far Kid
So. Tired. I've been up for approximately twenty hours. I got up at 4:00 to go to the airport in Detroit, got there around 5:30, and got on the plane at 7:00, after two separate trips through security (they made me go back and check my carry-on – go figure the one time they actually bother to look is the time I have way too many liquids). The flight wasn't direct, obviously. I got into Houston at 9:30 and then left again an hour later. I finally made it to San Jose, Costa Rica at 13:00 local time (which is two hours behind Ohio/Washington. It's Central Time, but they don't do Daylight Savings Time here). Immigration and customs were a breeze, and so was getting to the bus station. The cab driver who took me there was really nice, and even helped me buy my ticket to Liberia, though there wasn't a seat available until 4.
Anyway, I finally got on the bus, and I was kind of freaking out, because I realized I was going to get to Liberia a lot later than I had originally thought, and I didn't know how to get ahold of the program people to let them know. I tried to use a pay phone and call my mom collect, so she could call them, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make it work. The same thing happened when the bus stopped at a little soda for a rest break – these phones are crazy difficult to use! The view from the soda was amazing – lush, green, jungle-filled valley. I could have stared for hours, but we only had ten minutes.
I made it to Liberia at 7:45, which was fifteen minutes late according to the travel guide, but actually turned out to be about two hours late, since they had taken all the students to dinner at 6. Teresita, the program director, literally came running from dinner and was like, “Oh my god we didn't know what happened to you, we hadn't heard anything from the program, and you hadn't called... What happened? Where were you?” I think she was even more freaked than I was in the bus station, ha. Well, she took me over to where they were having dinner and introduced me to everyone and then brought me a plate full of delicious spinach crepe and a salad. Everyone else had already finished eating and was about to head out, so I really only had a few minutes to talk with my roommates for the night, though Teresita and Yanori (one of the program assistants) sat and talked with me the whole time.
I went back to the room after dinner and rearranged my suitcases (too much OCD for my own good) and talked with my roommates, Stephanie F. and Brittany, and then we went for a short walk. Now we're back in the hotel, and I'm going to pass out. Honestly, I can't believe I managed to stay awake long enough to write this. Orientation starts at 8 tomorrow, so I'm going to go pass out.
Pura Vida,
Sarah
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