All of the students arrived on Thursday (and one on Friday) with all of their luggage--thank goodness! They met their Tica moms and seemed to have a good first experience with food and families. Of course, their first priority was to get "plugged in" and say hi to friends and families.
Yesterday we began with an orientation of San Jose and the program, took placement tests (written and oral) in Spanish, had lunch at a local restaurant, and had a downtown walking tour of San Jose. The restaurants are typically very small, but meals are great. I got the casado (means married), which is the "blue plate special" in CR. You get rice and black beans, salad (usually some sort of pickled cabbage and carrots), fried plantains, choice of fish, chicken, beef, or pork, and then an interesting mix of some sort of soft yellow fruit (don't know its name yet) and ground beef. All for 1700 colones--or about $3.00. Wonderful food on a budget!
I didn't take pics of downtown San Jose. We were a large group of gringos--so obvious that one student heard someone call out "field trip" when we were walking. Public displays of cameras might target us as easy marks. I'll try to post some later. The buildings in downtown SJ are sandwiched on either side of a 6-block pedestrian mall of shops, and large beautiful parks are everywhere. The streets were crowded since the children are not back in school yet, but our hosts told us that SJ is like this everyday. Not the most picturesque city I've ever been in, but there are some beautiful old buildings, and the people are fascinating.
After our walkabout, we returned to Mesoamerica to have a birthday party for the young man who was delayed by the storms in New Jersey and who had arrived while we were out. I've posted some pics of his birthday party and some of our students enjoying the large lounge at Meso. The Tico families came to walk or drive the students back home, and the kids were making plans for grocery shopping and nightly activities as I left for home.
Today, I'm meeting some for lunch at the mall, and we'll decide what to do afterwards--maybe take in a Saturday market or take in the local "culture" at the Hiper Mas (a Walmart, basically). Tomorrow we take a day trip to Cartago, Orosi, and Volcan Irazu (just like the coffee shop in Burlington, which is owned by a Costa Rican family). Small world.
I've put up a picture of the front of my apartment, and will post pictures of our real field trip when we get back.
Chao!
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Hola desde Costa Rica! Although we have a class blog (http://eloncostaricaspring2009.blogspot.com), I wanted to do an individual one for my friends and family. This is the easiest way for me to communicate what an exciting experience this has been so far (and I'm sure will continue to be)without doing individual e-mails that ask, "How are you doing?" So, welcome to my Tica blog!
I arrived in San Jose a week ago, and while I've not had any problems with food, I was really tired for the several days, even though we're only one hour behind EST. I think it's a combination of the excitement of travel, being away from the comforts of home and family (I miss you guys!!), and the altitude. I have much more energy now and have been doing quite a bit of exploring and random riding of buses, which I've found to be the cheapest way of getting around (35 cents a ride around the city). I got on the wrong bus yesterday and ended up in a surburb, miles away from where I wanted to be, so I just got off, got on another bus, and made it to my destination, and it was fun to note the differences in the neighborhoods and see and listen to the people.
The apartment I am living in is in a lovely part of Los Yoses (a suburb of SJ) and is huge, so I find myself wandering around in a lot of quiet space. At least until the evenings, when my neighbors' kids kick into high gear. There's a lovely fountain in the back courtyard where I usually have my morning coffee with Scottie, the puppy who lives behind my apt. He is a rascal and loves to play. He doesn't quite make up for Ms. Kitana, my sheltie at home, but it's company. When I first arrived, I was a little unnerved by the gates on the houses--all the locks and bolts. Apparently crime is not rampant (you do have to be very careful in certain parts of the city and after dark), but muggings are on the increase--the economy and all--so I think it must be a combination of prevention and a competition to see who has the most impressive ironwork. The flowers are very tropical and beautiful, and the birds sing all day.
I very much miss my family and friends, but will see Landis in February and Rich and Roth in March, as well as friends who are promising to visit. The weather has been a bit cooler than is seasonal here, but usually the skies are Carolina (Costa Rican?)blue, w/soft to medium breezes, and around 70-80 degrees. San Jose is in the Central Vally region, so it's not very humid here, and can get very chilly at night. Sorry, I know it's been nasty at home. The other things I miss (for those of you who know me well) are my television shows. Non US residents can't view episodes of any shows online, so when Lost airs and the Amazing race starts in a couple of weeks, I'll be sad. I think I'll be downloading a lot this summer! I do get CNN, HGTV, HBO and CineMax, Travel Channel--and several others. Many of the others are either Spanish shows or are dubbed in Spanish though, and mine is not good enough to get the gist yet. The most fascinating ones to watch are those in English with Spanish subtitles--a good way to learn how things are translated.
Costa Rican food is delicious, and I've been cooking a lot--and hope to work it off with all the walking I've been doing. The pastries are especially yummy! Many of you know that I had toe surgery 6 weeks ago, so my toe speaks to me loudly in the late afternoons, and I've trying to limit walking and keep off of it when I can, but it improves every day. The students arrive this afternoon, so my life gets kicked up a notch now. I've really enjoyed getting to know the people Elon works with down here, Linda and Cliff Holland and their staff at Mesoamerica. They've been so nice and patient with me--when I lost a set of keys my first two days here, retelling me directions and bus information, and encouraging me to use my Spanish (a word here--if you think your high school/college--or even El Centro Spanish will work easily down here, think again. It's a whole new world when you have to listen and respond to those not using your language. This has been the biggest challenge so far.)
Feel free to comment on the blog. I'll post pictures of the apartment, Mesoamerica, and places we visit, and I've put a few up now from a day trip I took with a former Greensboro College student, Ana Solano, who took me around her hometown of Heredia on Sunday, as well as to a biodiversity park.
Hola a todos! Hasta luego.
Kathy
I arrived in San Jose a week ago, and while I've not had any problems with food, I was really tired for the several days, even though we're only one hour behind EST. I think it's a combination of the excitement of travel, being away from the comforts of home and family (I miss you guys!!), and the altitude. I have much more energy now and have been doing quite a bit of exploring and random riding of buses, which I've found to be the cheapest way of getting around (35 cents a ride around the city). I got on the wrong bus yesterday and ended up in a surburb, miles away from where I wanted to be, so I just got off, got on another bus, and made it to my destination, and it was fun to note the differences in the neighborhoods and see and listen to the people.
The apartment I am living in is in a lovely part of Los Yoses (a suburb of SJ) and is huge, so I find myself wandering around in a lot of quiet space. At least until the evenings, when my neighbors' kids kick into high gear. There's a lovely fountain in the back courtyard where I usually have my morning coffee with Scottie, the puppy who lives behind my apt. He is a rascal and loves to play. He doesn't quite make up for Ms. Kitana, my sheltie at home, but it's company. When I first arrived, I was a little unnerved by the gates on the houses--all the locks and bolts. Apparently crime is not rampant (you do have to be very careful in certain parts of the city and after dark), but muggings are on the increase--the economy and all--so I think it must be a combination of prevention and a competition to see who has the most impressive ironwork. The flowers are very tropical and beautiful, and the birds sing all day.
I very much miss my family and friends, but will see Landis in February and Rich and Roth in March, as well as friends who are promising to visit. The weather has been a bit cooler than is seasonal here, but usually the skies are Carolina (Costa Rican?)blue, w/soft to medium breezes, and around 70-80 degrees. San Jose is in the Central Vally region, so it's not very humid here, and can get very chilly at night. Sorry, I know it's been nasty at home. The other things I miss (for those of you who know me well) are my television shows. Non US residents can't view episodes of any shows online, so when Lost airs and the Amazing race starts in a couple of weeks, I'll be sad. I think I'll be downloading a lot this summer! I do get CNN, HGTV, HBO and CineMax, Travel Channel--and several others. Many of the others are either Spanish shows or are dubbed in Spanish though, and mine is not good enough to get the gist yet. The most fascinating ones to watch are those in English with Spanish subtitles--a good way to learn how things are translated.
Costa Rican food is delicious, and I've been cooking a lot--and hope to work it off with all the walking I've been doing. The pastries are especially yummy! Many of you know that I had toe surgery 6 weeks ago, so my toe speaks to me loudly in the late afternoons, and I've trying to limit walking and keep off of it when I can, but it improves every day. The students arrive this afternoon, so my life gets kicked up a notch now. I've really enjoyed getting to know the people Elon works with down here, Linda and Cliff Holland and their staff at Mesoamerica. They've been so nice and patient with me--when I lost a set of keys my first two days here, retelling me directions and bus information, and encouraging me to use my Spanish (a word here--if you think your high school/college--or even El Centro Spanish will work easily down here, think again. It's a whole new world when you have to listen and respond to those not using your language. This has been the biggest challenge so far.)
Feel free to comment on the blog. I'll post pictures of the apartment, Mesoamerica, and places we visit, and I've put a few up now from a day trip I took with a former Greensboro College student, Ana Solano, who took me around her hometown of Heredia on Sunday, as well as to a biodiversity park.
Hola a todos! Hasta luego.
Kathy
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