Regresaré a los estados unidos hoy. Tengo un mil emociones. No quiero salir este país, porque me encanta muchísimo, pero estoy emocionada a ver todas mi familia y amigos. Gracias por todo, fue un gran experiencia, y nunca olvidaré la gente y mi tiempo en Costa Rica. Regresaré para viajar mas y ayudar los niños y el eco finca. Con amor.
Well, I am heading home today. I have a million emotions running through me right now, I am excited to come back to the states and see everyone, but I will miss my life here. I feel like I really experienced the culture here, I can say I lived here, among the people, for 2 months. I will miss my familia tico and all the people I met. We became close to our Spanish teachers, and the other workers at the school. Everyone is so friendly, and wants us to write them and come back and visit again.
Yesterday in class we talked about reverse culture shock, the feelings about coming back to the states. The lifestyle here is so laid back, and pura vida (pure life) is their moto. If there is a conflict or a problem, they just say pura vida. The friendliness and everything is amazing and I will miss it, but I am excited to come back to the organization of the states. Where roads have names and houses have addresses and the streets go in a logical order and not in a maze. Also, I plan on eating fresh vegetables and no rice or beans for a while :)
Overall the experience was incredible, and I could not have asked for more. I successfully have immersed myself in the culture, and have grown as a person because of it. I can communicate with any Spanish speaker (not prettily, but we get by) and feel confident in my ability to travel the country alone. Costa Rica is amazing, the people, the sights, the life. I have a new found passion for life coming here, and I encourage you all to make it to CR some time. You will not be disappointed, and I can show you more pictures to prove it!
See you all back in the STATES soon!! Sorry if my English is bad for a while, or if I slip into Spanish randomly :)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tamarindo
Hola,
Como fueron el fin de semana para ustedes?
I had a fantastic weekend in Tamarindo, a little beach town in Guanacaste Costa Rica. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach, and got to watch a beautiful sunset. On Saturday we hung out at the beach and watched the local surfers, there were so many and the waves were perfect. We spent a good deal of time riding the waves and swimming in the water. we met an awesome couple on the beach we talked to for a while, they have been in CR for 3 weeks traveling and volunteering, and it was cool to hear their stories.
There is a river that opens into the ocean right near Tamarindo, and we visited the mouth of the river. Crocodile are really common here during high tide, but we went during low tide and were still able to see one on the other side of the river. There are boat tours that go up the river, but we just took a little walk and saw some monkeys and the crocidle. There were also monkeys at our hotel, we saw them climbing the fence by the beach.
Well I hope everyone had a good weekend back home, and the weather was really nice. I will be home in 5 days so I hope it stays nice!
p.s. wish me luck on my presentation today :)
Como fueron el fin de semana para ustedes?
I had a fantastic weekend in Tamarindo, a little beach town in Guanacaste Costa Rica. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach, and got to watch a beautiful sunset. On Saturday we hung out at the beach and watched the local surfers, there were so many and the waves were perfect. We spent a good deal of time riding the waves and swimming in the water. we met an awesome couple on the beach we talked to for a while, they have been in CR for 3 weeks traveling and volunteering, and it was cool to hear their stories.
There is a river that opens into the ocean right near Tamarindo, and we visited the mouth of the river. Crocodile are really common here during high tide, but we went during low tide and were still able to see one on the other side of the river. There are boat tours that go up the river, but we just took a little walk and saw some monkeys and the crocidle. There were also monkeys at our hotel, we saw them climbing the fence by the beach.
Well I hope everyone had a good weekend back home, and the weather was really nice. I will be home in 5 days so I hope it stays nice!
p.s. wish me luck on my presentation today :)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
el fin de semana
Hola! Well, I am headed off for my final weekend in Costa Rica. We are going to another beach in the peninsula part of CR. Tamarindo is supposed to be one of the favorite tourist destinations in Costa Rica, and has a great beach and surfing. Considering how beat up I got last weekend surfing, I doubt I will try it again, but it is always fun to watch the locals catch the waves. A 5 hour $5 bus ride will take us on our journey tomorrow morning, and I will spend the majority of the time working on my oral presentation for Spanish. I am preparing a 15 minute presentation in Spanish about the advantages and disadvantages of immigration, so it should be interesting.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend back home, and the weather stays nice.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend back home, and the weather stays nice.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tortuguero y Jaco
We spent the remaining week in Tortuguero, an island off the Caribbean cost that is only accessible by boat through a series of channels and canals. I believe John and Karen have visited this amazing location before in their journey to Costa Rica. An hour boat ride brings you to a long and very narrow island that has a population of around 2,000 people. We became very close to the community as we worked with them to rebuild a playground for the children. We added monkey bars and swings, and fixed and painted the see saws and painted the benches. The children enjoyed helping in the painting projects, and added designs to our base coat. They were playing on the equipment even before the paint dried, and it was incredible to see their happy faces.
We also took a tour of the canals where I learned so much about the animals and plants of the area. For instance, I never knew that blue herons were born white, and then become a patchy light blue during their early years, and only become gray blue when they are full grown. we also saw toucans and parrots. During our walk through the rain forest we saw spider monkeys only a branch above our heads as well as several poisonous spiders, and 3 tiny but deadly snakes. the guides are amazing at pointing the animals out, I never would have been able to see them if it was not for the guides.
That night, we took a sea turtle tour from 10 pm until 1 am. We walked on a path along the beach for 2 miles until we heard their was a sea turtle making her nest. We then turned our lights off and walked to the beach, and with only a red light watched her lay several eggs. It was the most amazing experience ever, she laid near 80 eggs and we watched her for a good 15 minutes. The same turtle will return to shore 6-7 times during the season, laying less eggs each trip, but laying a couple hundred eggs in total. The reason we can observe the turtles is the fact that they feel no pain and have no idea of their surroundings when they are laying the eggs. We then watched her bury the nest, a process of around 45 minutes, and watched her slow trek back to the ocean. We were able to follow her journey across the sand behind her. The experience ranks in the top three experiences of my life and was absolutely incredible. Only 200 people are allowed this tour per season, and my group of 20 students were the first ones allowed on opening day. Of 1,000 turtle eggs laid, only 1 green sea turtle will survive into adulthood. Several group members chipped in to sponsor a turtle for a year, so we will be receiving the news letter on their progress.
After arriving home to San Jose, we turned around in 45 minutes and got on a bus to Jaco, a tourist beach about 2 and a half hours from San Jose. My classmate participated in a 2 K race in the ocean to benefit child cancer, and we went to support him. Jaco is a great town, but definitely very touristy.
It was a great week over all, and one that inspired me to continue with service work in the future. the connections I made will stay with me forever, and the people of Santa Rosa y Tortuguero will forever be in my heart. It is important to remember that the earth is not money, but life. This is true, and protecting it and becoming sustainable is important. I have learned to appreciate nature, and not to take anything for granted.
We also took a tour of the canals where I learned so much about the animals and plants of the area. For instance, I never knew that blue herons were born white, and then become a patchy light blue during their early years, and only become gray blue when they are full grown. we also saw toucans and parrots. During our walk through the rain forest we saw spider monkeys only a branch above our heads as well as several poisonous spiders, and 3 tiny but deadly snakes. the guides are amazing at pointing the animals out, I never would have been able to see them if it was not for the guides.
That night, we took a sea turtle tour from 10 pm until 1 am. We walked on a path along the beach for 2 miles until we heard their was a sea turtle making her nest. We then turned our lights off and walked to the beach, and with only a red light watched her lay several eggs. It was the most amazing experience ever, she laid near 80 eggs and we watched her for a good 15 minutes. The same turtle will return to shore 6-7 times during the season, laying less eggs each trip, but laying a couple hundred eggs in total. The reason we can observe the turtles is the fact that they feel no pain and have no idea of their surroundings when they are laying the eggs. We then watched her bury the nest, a process of around 45 minutes, and watched her slow trek back to the ocean. We were able to follow her journey across the sand behind her. The experience ranks in the top three experiences of my life and was absolutely incredible. Only 200 people are allowed this tour per season, and my group of 20 students were the first ones allowed on opening day. Of 1,000 turtle eggs laid, only 1 green sea turtle will survive into adulthood. Several group members chipped in to sponsor a turtle for a year, so we will be receiving the news letter on their progress.
After arriving home to San Jose, we turned around in 45 minutes and got on a bus to Jaco, a tourist beach about 2 and a half hours from San Jose. My classmate participated in a 2 K race in the ocean to benefit child cancer, and we went to support him. Jaco is a great town, but definitely very touristy.
It was a great week over all, and one that inspired me to continue with service work in the future. the connections I made will stay with me forever, and the people of Santa Rosa y Tortuguero will forever be in my heart. It is important to remember that the earth is not money, but life. This is true, and protecting it and becoming sustainable is important. I have learned to appreciate nature, and not to take anything for granted.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
El Cairo, Banana Plantations, EARTH University
Last week also proved to be an educational and ethical experience as well. We visited a banana plantation and learned about the worker's conditions and the problems surrounding the businesses. The United Fruit Company was given land for a hundred years to use as banana plantations, and while that time is now up, there are several enormous plantations in Costa Rica. The workers work with such speed and strength, and are extremely impressive but must suffer harsh conditions. The banana trees only give one bunch of bananas per tree (a bunch is around 150 bananas, and groups we consider to be bunches are actually called hands). The workers wrap the bananas in plastic to protect from bugs, and cut down the bundle. They then pad the bunch for travel, and hang it from a long cable that will pull them to the factory. The workers must then cut down the rest of the parent tree so the son tree might grow to produce its own bananas. The workers work in groups of 3, one cutting the bananas, one carrying them to the cord, and when there are 5 bunches hanging the other worker pulls the cord the mile or so back to the factory. They are paid per bunch, and make on average $20-$25 a day. They are provided with housing on the plantation, but these houses are tiny and they must pay for their own electricity and food. The workers live a hard life. EARTH University (to be discussed later) provides all the bananas for Whole Foods, and I encourage you to buy these bananas :)
Pineapple plantations use an enormous amount of pesticides, and are an enormous problem for the citizens of Costa Rica. We visited a small town, El Cairo, that is located right next to a pineapple plantation. This town does not have safe drinking water, and it must be trucked in every day. the water has a high level of bromacil (i think) form the pesticides from the plantation, but the government will not step in and help due to the size of the plantation. 10 people died from cancer in one month in the small town, due to the effects of this chemical. The water is not safe to drink or to shower in, but the government only trucks in a certain amount of water, and therefore the town must shower with the infected water. They cannot create a resovoir for the rain collection due to the air pollution by the plantation, and citizens are constantly ill with stomach problems and aches. Our class plans to write letters to the plantation and to the local governments (one town person is going to trial next week) to see if our support can change anything at all. It is an awful situation, and terribly sad to hear about.
We also visited EARTH University, which I absolutely fell in love with. It is a non-profit University that actively seeks young leaders from the humid tropics as well as 20 other countries and provides them with the education to make a change in their communities. They are founded on a belief that People can change the world, and are a catalyst for change in local communities. The students live on campus with roommates from different countries and economic backgrounds and are not allowed cars on campus to minimize the economic gap between students. They are completely carbon neutral, and planted over a million trees world wide on their annual plant day. (I plan on participating this year) The university is agriculture based and grows most of the food served on campus. We ate the bananas on their farm, and drank the milk from their cows. They have a yogurt and dairy line served on some air lines and export to Whole Foods Co. (Look for the EARTH label). My favorite part of the university is the community out reach program where they must volunteer in local communities. The students also start their own business plan and put it into action throughout the year. My friend's deals with rural tourism. The students must spend a semester in a different country doing an internship, and he plans to come to northern Michigan to work in rural tourism here. I am extremely impressed with the university and all that they do. CR has a goal to be completely Carbon Neutral, and EARTH is helping in this goal. They have installed over 100 biodegraders world wide, and have a sustainable garden using trash. The soil is carbon and tire parts and something else I don't remember, but mixed in with the plants are pop cans to take up space and help with water drainage. They also use old jeans, tie them off and fill them with soil. They cut holes for plants, hang the pants and use them as planters for peppers. The students are innovative, using old trash cans and tires for planters. It is not a pretty garden, but it provides the herbs and vegetables for the university. Lettuce is not usually grown in such a humid climate, but with their new soil, they can grow it.
EARTH is also a leading technological and research institution. They conduct several projects, and I urge you to check out their website. They accept 100 students a year, and grant 50% full scholarships, and 30% partial scholarships. They care more about a student's leadership and ethical potential than their academics, and provide remedial classes for those students who do not have access to a proper high school education. MSU has a study abroad program with EARTH, and students can also come just for research purposes. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL campus, and if I was going into agriculture I would definitely spend a semester at EARTH. As it is, I hope to continue some of their practices at home. My favorite: Every month citizens of CR have an option to pay $5 to combat the carbon admissions of their cars. this money is then collected to purchase trees which are planted in an area to help reduce the carbon admissions. I hope to use this idea in a smaller way in my own life back home. Another thing San Jose does is limit the cars on the road. Once a week, every car is not allowed to drive. For example on Mon if your license plate ends in a 1 or 2, you cannot drive your car in the San Jose area and must take a bus, taxi,walk to work. Then on Tuesday, cars ending in 3 and 4 must not drive. Of course this only works in a city area, and can be combated by owning more than one car, but it has increased car pooling and bus use in the city.
Well here is my update up to Wednesday, next will be in Tortuguero where I was blessed with the opportunity to see a sea turtle lay her eggs.
Pineapple plantations use an enormous amount of pesticides, and are an enormous problem for the citizens of Costa Rica. We visited a small town, El Cairo, that is located right next to a pineapple plantation. This town does not have safe drinking water, and it must be trucked in every day. the water has a high level of bromacil (i think) form the pesticides from the plantation, but the government will not step in and help due to the size of the plantation. 10 people died from cancer in one month in the small town, due to the effects of this chemical. The water is not safe to drink or to shower in, but the government only trucks in a certain amount of water, and therefore the town must shower with the infected water. They cannot create a resovoir for the rain collection due to the air pollution by the plantation, and citizens are constantly ill with stomach problems and aches. Our class plans to write letters to the plantation and to the local governments (one town person is going to trial next week) to see if our support can change anything at all. It is an awful situation, and terribly sad to hear about.
We also visited EARTH University, which I absolutely fell in love with. It is a non-profit University that actively seeks young leaders from the humid tropics as well as 20 other countries and provides them with the education to make a change in their communities. They are founded on a belief that People can change the world, and are a catalyst for change in local communities. The students live on campus with roommates from different countries and economic backgrounds and are not allowed cars on campus to minimize the economic gap between students. They are completely carbon neutral, and planted over a million trees world wide on their annual plant day. (I plan on participating this year) The university is agriculture based and grows most of the food served on campus. We ate the bananas on their farm, and drank the milk from their cows. They have a yogurt and dairy line served on some air lines and export to Whole Foods Co. (Look for the EARTH label). My favorite part of the university is the community out reach program where they must volunteer in local communities. The students also start their own business plan and put it into action throughout the year. My friend's deals with rural tourism. The students must spend a semester in a different country doing an internship, and he plans to come to northern Michigan to work in rural tourism here. I am extremely impressed with the university and all that they do. CR has a goal to be completely Carbon Neutral, and EARTH is helping in this goal. They have installed over 100 biodegraders world wide, and have a sustainable garden using trash. The soil is carbon and tire parts and something else I don't remember, but mixed in with the plants are pop cans to take up space and help with water drainage. They also use old jeans, tie them off and fill them with soil. They cut holes for plants, hang the pants and use them as planters for peppers. The students are innovative, using old trash cans and tires for planters. It is not a pretty garden, but it provides the herbs and vegetables for the university. Lettuce is not usually grown in such a humid climate, but with their new soil, they can grow it.
EARTH is also a leading technological and research institution. They conduct several projects, and I urge you to check out their website. They accept 100 students a year, and grant 50% full scholarships, and 30% partial scholarships. They care more about a student's leadership and ethical potential than their academics, and provide remedial classes for those students who do not have access to a proper high school education. MSU has a study abroad program with EARTH, and students can also come just for research purposes. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL campus, and if I was going into agriculture I would definitely spend a semester at EARTH. As it is, I hope to continue some of their practices at home. My favorite: Every month citizens of CR have an option to pay $5 to combat the carbon admissions of their cars. this money is then collected to purchase trees which are planted in an area to help reduce the carbon admissions. I hope to use this idea in a smaller way in my own life back home. Another thing San Jose does is limit the cars on the road. Once a week, every car is not allowed to drive. For example on Mon if your license plate ends in a 1 or 2, you cannot drive your car in the San Jose area and must take a bus, taxi,walk to work. Then on Tuesday, cars ending in 3 and 4 must not drive. Of course this only works in a city area, and can be combated by owning more than one car, but it has increased car pooling and bus use in the city.
Well here is my update up to Wednesday, next will be in Tortuguero where I was blessed with the opportunity to see a sea turtle lay her eggs.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Eco-Finca (ANDAR part 1)
This past week was an absolutely life changing event. We traveled to Santa Rosa and Cartageno, two very small rural towns with a completely different lifestyle. The people there were passionate about life, and about their own unique culture. We spent 5 days living with a family, and really getting to know life on the farm.
The first day, I woke up and gathered eggs with my homestay mom, and helped her prepare the eggs for our breakfast. Then we went to a neighbor farm to help milk the cows, however no one in our group was successful. As in I did not get a single drop of milk. Then the Tica daughter stands up and finishes milking the cow in less than three minutes and all of us gringos felt so stupid. It was hilarious though, and the family got a kick out of watching us struggle.
Later that day we went to the eco-finca, a local farm that is completely organic. The farm utilizes the forest land around it, and the owners know the farm inside out. Julio, the owner of the farm is so passionate about life and about his farm. To him, the land is not money, the land is his life. He has over 64 types of fruit on his farm, as well as many medicinal plants. He pays town citizens to work on the farm, and to cook for the visitors of the farm, in order for the women to make a living. In the area, jobs for women are very hard to come by, and have very low wages and harsh conditions. By allowing them to cook a few days a week on the farm, and by opening their homes up to us, Julio helps them become independent and help support themselves and their family.
We cut down 1,300 plants of a medicinal plant used to make tea and help with upset stomachs. It was hard work, and really muddy because of the rain, but it only took a few hours for us all to cut and bundle and hang out to dry in the drying building. The next day we planted organic pineapple and cleared some fields to plant rice. The food we planted will go to help feed the town, and the students in the school. The school in Santa Rosa is tiny and only has 7 students. (12 live in the town) and high school students must take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the high school in a larger town.
My favorite part of my time in Santa Rosa was playing soccer with the ninos. We played two different nights, and it was so much fun to talk and play with the town people. We had a huge group the first night, but even more came the second day. By that time, we all had our favorite ninos who would want us on their team, and it was an absolute riot. We took pictures and the kids went crazy. They cam running to see their image on my camera, and were so excited to spend time with us. The town has only had electricity for 20 years, and telephones for 2. They still have no internet, however they do have potable water.
Learning about life here was absolutely amazing, and I grew as a person talking to the townspeople. the culture they have, and the close relations they share with everyone is so uplifting. The families help each other and work together to create changes in the town.
Hope everyone is great at home, and I will finish the rest of the week in later posts. It feels so weird to be back in San Jose, and to have class for the first time in a week!
The first day, I woke up and gathered eggs with my homestay mom, and helped her prepare the eggs for our breakfast. Then we went to a neighbor farm to help milk the cows, however no one in our group was successful. As in I did not get a single drop of milk. Then the Tica daughter stands up and finishes milking the cow in less than three minutes and all of us gringos felt so stupid. It was hilarious though, and the family got a kick out of watching us struggle.
Later that day we went to the eco-finca, a local farm that is completely organic. The farm utilizes the forest land around it, and the owners know the farm inside out. Julio, the owner of the farm is so passionate about life and about his farm. To him, the land is not money, the land is his life. He has over 64 types of fruit on his farm, as well as many medicinal plants. He pays town citizens to work on the farm, and to cook for the visitors of the farm, in order for the women to make a living. In the area, jobs for women are very hard to come by, and have very low wages and harsh conditions. By allowing them to cook a few days a week on the farm, and by opening their homes up to us, Julio helps them become independent and help support themselves and their family.
We cut down 1,300 plants of a medicinal plant used to make tea and help with upset stomachs. It was hard work, and really muddy because of the rain, but it only took a few hours for us all to cut and bundle and hang out to dry in the drying building. The next day we planted organic pineapple and cleared some fields to plant rice. The food we planted will go to help feed the town, and the students in the school. The school in Santa Rosa is tiny and only has 7 students. (12 live in the town) and high school students must take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the high school in a larger town.
My favorite part of my time in Santa Rosa was playing soccer with the ninos. We played two different nights, and it was so much fun to talk and play with the town people. We had a huge group the first night, but even more came the second day. By that time, we all had our favorite ninos who would want us on their team, and it was an absolute riot. We took pictures and the kids went crazy. They cam running to see their image on my camera, and were so excited to spend time with us. The town has only had electricity for 20 years, and telephones for 2. They still have no internet, however they do have potable water.
Learning about life here was absolutely amazing, and I grew as a person talking to the townspeople. the culture they have, and the close relations they share with everyone is so uplifting. The families help each other and work together to create changes in the town.
Hope everyone is great at home, and I will finish the rest of the week in later posts. It feels so weird to be back in San Jose, and to have class for the first time in a week!
Friday, July 2, 2010
los hospitales
Este semana fue dedicado a visitar los hospitales de San Jose. We visited an EBAIS in a very poor area of San Jose, and toured the government housing. There is an area of temporary housing, much like squatters or shacks that people build to wait for the government housing, which were tiny shacks in themselves, but at least they were equipped with electricity, and some running water. We then wen to the geriatric hospital, which had a very impressive occupational and physical therapy program. The hospital serves as a nursing home as well. Since it is a public hospital, everything is covered by the government, so patients do not need to pay for their care.
Next we went to CIMA which is advertised as a hospital and a hotel all in one. It is a nice and fancy private hospital in which patients pay for all care. Many patients from other countries come for plastic surgery, and the wealthy Costa Rican's pay to get their treatment here. The service is incredible, and I was able to have a private tour of the PT room. The presentation was in Spanish, so a little was lost in translation, but I was impressed there as well, and it was nice to see other therapists at work.
The next day, we went to the children's hospital which was so beyond sad. It is public, and the Best Children's Hospital in Latin America, but was heartbreaking to see the over crowded waiting rooms of critically ill patients. There is a burn unit that fits 12 children at a time, and only one transplant team, that frequently has to turn patients away due to lack of space. It is heartbreaking, but inspires me to do so much more to help.
It was an eye opening and inspiring week.
Love to all back home :)
Next we went to CIMA which is advertised as a hospital and a hotel all in one. It is a nice and fancy private hospital in which patients pay for all care. Many patients from other countries come for plastic surgery, and the wealthy Costa Rican's pay to get their treatment here. The service is incredible, and I was able to have a private tour of the PT room. The presentation was in Spanish, so a little was lost in translation, but I was impressed there as well, and it was nice to see other therapists at work.
The next day, we went to the children's hospital which was so beyond sad. It is public, and the Best Children's Hospital in Latin America, but was heartbreaking to see the over crowded waiting rooms of critically ill patients. There is a burn unit that fits 12 children at a time, and only one transplant team, that frequently has to turn patients away due to lack of space. It is heartbreaking, but inspires me to do so much more to help.
It was an eye opening and inspiring week.
Love to all back home :)
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