Two days ago, it was an important day in the United States: Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving here in Costa Rica. Also, seeing that I'm in Costa Rica, I was not able to spend time with or see my family on this holiday. So, it was slightly a hard time for me. But good for me, I was blessed with a friend named Shyle that I met here and we helped each other make sure we weren't sad and down all day. She is also from the states and we go everywhere together (as you've probably already seen in previous blogs lol). For thanksgiving, we decided to make our own American dinner and cook for her host family. We threw down in that kitchen! Lol. We also laughed a lot and listened to music and it gave me a little taste of home. The host family really enjoyed the food and kept saying, "Que Rico!", which means "How rich!" literally but is an expression to say that the food is really good. We were proud of ourselves then because we were kind of nervous cooking for them. We made cornbread, fresh green beans, homemade mashed potatoes, baked mac n cheese, rotisserie chicken and bought an apple pie for dessert. It was delicious! Before dinner I took some pictures of Shyle and her host family then we said grace. I said one in English and then the host dad said one in Spanish. Also, the host mom tried to say a prayer in English and it was so cute. I liked that moment. She eventually started praying in Spanish because she was having a hard time. We enjoyed nice conversation, wine and our dinner, and a funny and entertaining joke from the host mom in Spanish. After dinner the host dad taught me and Shyle how to play a few card games then the family took me home. It wasn't what I necessarily would have wanted for my Thanksgiving but it was great! I really enjoyed myself and feel really blessed to be able to share Thanksgiving with them. God is good! I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I had the opportunity to go on a volunteer trip to "Save the Turtles". It's an important project here because a lot of people here sell and eat the eggs (which is illegal) and the turtles are almost extinct. The objective of the trip was to find turtle eggs, put them in a nest we made, wait until they hatch, take some data, then let me out into the ocean. Unfortunately, not many turtles make it, for several different reasons. They either didn't hatch or when they reach the ocean, predators see them and eat them or they die. Overall, I did not like the trip because of many reasons, but I liked that I got that experience. I didn't get a lot of turtle action, but when I did get to see a few baby turtles it made it all worthwhile. We were only at the place, Matapalo, for two nights and three days. During that time I never got a formal introduction or clearly explained what I had to do. It was very unorganized, much like everything else in the country. We had to dig weeds up out of the gardens at the place we were staying (which had nothing to do with turtles). We also had to clean a lot and there were night shifts, that I wasn't aware of. I had hatchery duty the second day at noon then at 1:30am I had beach patrol. We had to walk up the entire beach and walk back, looking for poachers and animals that could be looking for eggs and also searching for nests that the momma turtles laid. I highly disliked the walking because it was late, raining, and I didn't have the right shoes but it was a cool experience to find and dig up the turtle shells and take it back to the hatchery. Sometimes they can lay up to 100 or more eggs. I think I would have liked the trip a lot more if I was better prepared. A girl had all the information but failed to relay the information to us. I got bit by mosquitoes and sand tics they have there. That wasn't fun. Also, I didn't like the showers and sleeping arrangements. (That seems to always be a problem when I travel lol). And like a million ants found their way to my purse and bag and I almost had a meltdown lol. If you are an outdoor or adventurous person, you will love this trip, but if you are like me, don't go lol. But it felt good to be in another country on a volunteer trip. And I learned three new words in Spanish that weekend: vivero (hatchery), ácido (sour), and tramposo (cheater). Fortuna was great! One of the best trips while being here in Costa Rica! I enjoyed the beautiful hostel and especially seeing the volcano. Take a look at the short video and the pictures to see what all I experienced!
Since I am studying abroad, I got a student visa. This allows me to stay in the country for 90 days, then I have to leave the country for 72 hours to renew my visa. To do that, a group of us decided to go to Panama for the three days. We had an amazing time. It was so peaceful and relaxing, and that's exactly what I needed. Some people saw a dolphin in the water while we were in the boat headed to our island. And I was in a Panamanian commercial while drinking the juice from a coconut! I will definitely go to Panama again later in life. It's such a beautiful country. The people there are also very welcoming. While I am abroad, there are so many opportunities to get involved. I'm glad I took advantage of it. I was offered the opportunity to participate in an event called "We all Smile in the Same Language". It was a great experience and a good event. For this event , a professor asked international students if we would like to participate. Surprisingly, only the students from the US opted to participate. What we had to do was to research cool and interesting facts or events about our country and send them to the professor in charge of the event. We then had to print out pictures to put together to show about our country, regarding the information we researched. The objective was to not put any words but to have big, colorful, interesting pictures that invokes others to ask questions. This was for the students that were learning English. They had to ask us questions to practice using their English for their class. In doing this, I learned about a really cool event called The Burning Man that happens in Nevada each year! This leadership opportunity helped me to learn something new about my own country and realize how others feel when trying to speak English to a native speaker, especially since I thought English was an easy language. I had to learn how to be patient, talk slow, and communicate in an easier way for them. Since we volunteered and took out time to put together the presentation and do research, we were given certificates of leadership from the professor.
Two weekends ago I went on a trip with 15 other people to see an indigenous territory that still exist here in Costa Rica. I believe there are 8 of them in total. They are all dispersed around the country in various parts deep in the mountains. This weekend I was fortunate to be able to travel there and see their culture and way of living. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures during our stay, out of respect for the people. The name of the tribe is called Jameikari and their language is called Quabequa. Even though it was a great opportunity, I will probably not do this again. Seeing the people in the tribe and interacting with them was fun and I enjoyed it, but I did NOT like being in the jungle and the sleeping arrangements. The shower was also something else. I commend them for being able to live in such conditions.
The first day was not good for me. We rode on a bus for about three hours, then had to walk through the jungle for two hours, WITH OUR BACKPACKS (AND sleeping bags if we had one). I was so drained. I do not like hiking at all. There were so many steep hills. My legs and but got a work out though. But this was something very new for me and very challenging. When we arrived we didn't do much. Most of us sat in a classroom in the school that they built, and we talked and pretended to have a class. We learned some German phrases and phrases in other languages some people may have not known. Later that night we sat around a bonfire and talked. The next day we were able to talk more with the tribe. We had a workshop to learn some phrases and words in their language. They also taught us about how they live day to day. A lady was on the side breast feeding her baby. It was fine but how she did it was not normal for me. There were so many people in the room and she just whipped her breast out and started. She had no blanket or covering while she did it either. But anyway, the workshops were cool. We also learned how to make Chicha, which is an alcoholic drink they LOVE to drink. It's all the Costa Ricans talked about while anticipating the drink. Apparantly, the indigenous people drink it as if it's water, but those who don't drink it can get drunk fast I guess. It didn't look that good but I tasted it and it tastes like beer a little because it has yeast in it. There was no actual alcohol from a store in the drink. Later we walked higher in the woods and found plants they use to make medicine and a tree they use to make clothes. They also talked to us about traditions and rituals such as what happens when someone dies and "marriages". I put that in quotes but they don't actually believe in marriage. (If you want to know more about how they do that, leave a comment below or contact me through the contact page.) While up in the mountains, a girl passed out and it slightly frightened everyone. We were just doing so much walking and she didn't have much to drink. We quickly gave her water and rested for a while before heading back down the mountain. That night we slept in a tent inside the school (which wasn't that well built in my opinion). While putting up the tent, one of the boards that makes the floor, broke, and my friend's leg fell through. Then a little boy came a little later and fell in the whole but he got up and kept walking like nothing happened. Showering was also not the best. It was in a little building behind the school. There was a huge spider at the top of the door and the door didn't even close all the way. It was super dark and there was no light in the shower. I had to use a flashlight on my phone. The water was freezing. While showering I could see outside and just see all trees around me. I was really one with nature at that moment. Never again. The day we left had to be the most memorable part of the trip. We were all trying to leave quickly because we could tell rain was coming soon. But before we left we had to do a goodbye/farewell dance with the people from the tribe. It's traditional. At that point I was fed up and so ready to get back to San Jose. While we were walking back down I prayed to God that he would watch over us and hold off the rain until we reached the bus. When we were almost half way there it started to rain. It quickly got harder and before we knew it, it was pouring raining. My hair, clothes, shoes, everything was getting soaked. At first I was a little frustrated but quickly had a change of heart. I was actually quite surprised at my response. Instead of getting angry I just thanked God for the rain because he made the rain and nature and is proud of it and happy with it, so I have no reason to complain. I also felt like it was a way for God to strengthen me, to show me that I can get through whatever he allows me to go through and that He is in control. Despite the rain, the slippery hills, the mud, the sweat, and being exhausted, I had peace. We had to eventually walked through basically rivers of mud. I had not planned on having to do that. I had on tennis shoes. By the time we got to the bus, my Jordans were completely trash, and also the socks I had on. Needless to say, it was a cold 3 hour bus ride back home for me. I had never be so excited to see my host home and family lol. I missed the food, the warm bed, hot shower, and heat. I'm glad I am now able to say I experienced such a thing as that though. It has really strengthened me. |
AuthorThis is to keep record of my experiences here in Costa Rica while I study abroad. Enjoy! Archives
February 2016
Categories |