So, my big news is that I'm going home for a very short weekend tomorrow to attend my old college roommie's wedding. I'd been going back and forth for months as to whether I'd be able to make it (whether plane tickets would be too much, or whether I'd be able to find flight times without missing class). It wasn't looking too good, so I held off. But then when I arrived here, I realized the atmosphere of the school is quite a bit more relaxed than I expected, and missing a day wasn't going to kill me. (To prove this point, I told my discussion leader today that I would not be in class tomorrow, and he said "I expect and hope that you will get wasted this weekend, but don't forget you have a paper due Wednesday." haha.) And, believe it or not, ticket prices stayed relatively low even a week before the departure date (I just booked the tickets earlier this week).
So, I am really excited to be home, even if it's very brief, and I'll be spending most of my time in Central Illinois, where the wedding is. It will be great to see a bunch of my old college friends, too. I think I would have regretted it if I didn't go. And it gives me the chance to bring back some stuff with me (like my printer! yeah!).
Not much else is new around here, so I'll leave you with one final thought that I found surprising: We may complain about rising gas prices in the States, but apparently we have it good. I always heard London had the highest prices, and they paid around $5 or more a gallon. But I assumed that was extreme, and most other countries paid less than we did in the States. It seems like that's not true. I talked to some people from Brazil, and they said they pay at least $5 a gallon. Even in Costa Rica, which in some ways is quite a bit cheaper than the States, their gas is something like $4 or $4.50 a gallon. Everyone I've talked to pays more for gas than we do in the States. And when I told them we are outraged at the gas prices in the U.S., they just laughed. Who knew.
Be back in a few days when I return from the States...
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Classes begin
We've now finished our first two days of classes. The actual class time is pretty short. We have lecture from 9:00 to 10:15, and then we meet in smaller discussion groups from 10:45 to noon. And then we're done for the day. This first class we're taking is a Foundation in Peace and Conflict Studies course, so the entire school (about 150 people) takes it. It lasts three weeks, and then we start our respective masters' classes after this class is over. We have readings to do every day, and we have to submit a short summary of the readings every single day to our discussion group leader. And we already have our first assignment, due next week. But so far, it's not too bad, and I actually welcome the work after quite a bit of downtime here.
As far as the other students go, everyone is incredibly nice and sociable. I'd say most people are in they're later 20s (very few are right out of college, and a few are quite older), so it's not at all like high school or even undergrad, where it's harder to make friends. Here you're welcome to just walk up to any group of students and join their conversation or each lunch with them. I've made a few friends who I tend to spend more time with, which is nice.
Sorry I don't have more interesting stories to tell! I'll work on that for future postings. :)
As far as the other students go, everyone is incredibly nice and sociable. I'd say most people are in they're later 20s (very few are right out of college, and a few are quite older), so it's not at all like high school or even undergrad, where it's harder to make friends. Here you're welcome to just walk up to any group of students and join their conversation or each lunch with them. I've made a few friends who I tend to spend more time with, which is nice.
Sorry I don't have more interesting stories to tell! I'll work on that for future postings. :)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The last days of freedom
Sorry I've been a little absent the last couple days. We had our last day of orientation Friday -- mostly procedural stuff like the library and Web access that I won't bore you with. But then we had our official welcome party Friday night, and that was a lot of fun. They had a handful of alumni there, so it was good to talk to them and ask them questions. We went to a local bar, and it was funny to see the professors and staff let loose and dance with the students. At one point this carnivale-type performance swept into the bar, led by a handful of guys playing the drums, and followed by some men and women dressed in Vegas-style feathered getups. It was really cool. Apparently these same people perform in the local parades.
A few students decided to organize a beach trip for Saturday and arranged a 14-person van to take us a few hours to the beach. Unfortunately, the beach day turned into a rain day. It was cloudy when we set off, but we were hopeful. We stopped along the way at this one place known for its abundance of crocodiles, and it did not disappoint. We walked onto this bridge and saw one massive crocodile sunning himself on a little muddy island, and then on the other side of the bridge, we counted 18 crocodiles in the water and on the land! It was really kind of freaky, and they were just lying there with their mouths open.
When we got to the beach, it was pouring rain, so we went and ate lunch. It was still pouring when we finished, so a few of us found a cozy lounge bar with a view of the ocean and sat on some couches and read for a couple hours (I brought Harry Potter with me to re-read, and I found another of the students is a huge HP fan! yeah!). Most of the group decided to go in the water anyway, despite the rain. It's a pretty big surf beach (most of them are in Costa Rica), and the waves were bigger than I'd ever seen (then again, the closest body of water I grew up next to was Lake Michigan). Some of the students rented some boards and attempted surfing. Being the "landlubber" that I am, I stayed far, far away from such activities.
The true excitement (fear) of the day came on the drive home. The van wouldn't start when we were ready to leave, so a handful of students pushed it until the driver could kick it into gear. (The driver was actually one of the university admission officials who also handles all the transportation stuff.) So, that got us started, but then about an hour and a half into the drive, it started getting dark, and we playfully reminded Eddy (the driver) that he should turn his headlights on. He replied, sorry, but the lights actually aren't working, and we're trying to get to Puriscal, where another van will meet us. We started getting a little nervous. (Mom, this is the part where you don't read.) We were driving through mountainous terrain, which is typically a little dangerous even in daylight. The little bit of twilight we had quickly turned into pitch blackness. There were absolutely no street lights, and we were on winding roads through the mountains with absolutely no lights. The hazards weren't working, the taillights weren't working, the defrost wasn't working, and the windshield wipers weren't working -- and it was raining. Eddy was of course driving very slowly and carefully, but our biggest fear was other traffic whipping around the curves and not being able to see us. Finally, a truck came up behind us, and Eddy signaled him around and asked him to lead us into the nearest town. The truck driver was very nice, and he turned on his hazards and drove in front of us. Then about 15 minutes later, for no apparent reason, everything in the van started working again. The headlights came on, and the windshield wipers and defrost started working. We met the other van in Puriscal, but by then we were only about 30 minutes from home, so we just followed the other van, in case the lights went out again, but they were fine the rest of the way.
But now I'm back in my apartment, safe and sound. We already have our first readings for class on Monday, so I better crack open a book and dust off those cobwebs! Here's hoping going back to school is like riding a bike.
A few students decided to organize a beach trip for Saturday and arranged a 14-person van to take us a few hours to the beach. Unfortunately, the beach day turned into a rain day. It was cloudy when we set off, but we were hopeful. We stopped along the way at this one place known for its abundance of crocodiles, and it did not disappoint. We walked onto this bridge and saw one massive crocodile sunning himself on a little muddy island, and then on the other side of the bridge, we counted 18 crocodiles in the water and on the land! It was really kind of freaky, and they were just lying there with their mouths open.
When we got to the beach, it was pouring rain, so we went and ate lunch. It was still pouring when we finished, so a few of us found a cozy lounge bar with a view of the ocean and sat on some couches and read for a couple hours (I brought Harry Potter with me to re-read, and I found another of the students is a huge HP fan! yeah!). Most of the group decided to go in the water anyway, despite the rain. It's a pretty big surf beach (most of them are in Costa Rica), and the waves were bigger than I'd ever seen (then again, the closest body of water I grew up next to was Lake Michigan). Some of the students rented some boards and attempted surfing. Being the "landlubber" that I am, I stayed far, far away from such activities.
The true excitement (fear) of the day came on the drive home. The van wouldn't start when we were ready to leave, so a handful of students pushed it until the driver could kick it into gear. (The driver was actually one of the university admission officials who also handles all the transportation stuff.) So, that got us started, but then about an hour and a half into the drive, it started getting dark, and we playfully reminded Eddy (the driver) that he should turn his headlights on. He replied, sorry, but the lights actually aren't working, and we're trying to get to Puriscal, where another van will meet us. We started getting a little nervous. (Mom, this is the part where you don't read.) We were driving through mountainous terrain, which is typically a little dangerous even in daylight. The little bit of twilight we had quickly turned into pitch blackness. There were absolutely no street lights, and we were on winding roads through the mountains with absolutely no lights. The hazards weren't working, the taillights weren't working, the defrost wasn't working, and the windshield wipers weren't working -- and it was raining. Eddy was of course driving very slowly and carefully, but our biggest fear was other traffic whipping around the curves and not being able to see us. Finally, a truck came up behind us, and Eddy signaled him around and asked him to lead us into the nearest town. The truck driver was very nice, and he turned on his hazards and drove in front of us. Then about 15 minutes later, for no apparent reason, everything in the van started working again. The headlights came on, and the windshield wipers and defrost started working. We met the other van in Puriscal, but by then we were only about 30 minutes from home, so we just followed the other van, in case the lights went out again, but they were fine the rest of the way.
But now I'm back in my apartment, safe and sound. We already have our first readings for class on Monday, so I better crack open a book and dust off those cobwebs! Here's hoping going back to school is like riding a bike.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sinkhole still sunk
Day two of orientation inside the Ciudad Colon gym. Apparently this sinkhole is going to take awhile to fix. We're supposed to start classes Monday, and I guess we're borrowing an auditorium from another university for next week. Supposedly the road will be fixed sometimes next week. I hope so, because I really want to see the school where I'll be studying this next year!
I also had a bit of a snag with my documents I needed for my student visa. Apparently they're not exactly "valid" or "authentic." The Costa Rican officials came in, and they fingerprinted all of us, and took all our information -- it was all rather intimidating. When I told the guy I was 5'6", he made me stand up to proof it. Seriously. Anyway, my certified copy of my birth certificate and my certified criminal record check (which I had to pay Massachusetts $25 for, and which I had to have notarized) is apparently not official enough. I was apparently supposed to get the secretary of state's office to certify each of these, and then go to the Costa Rican consulate in the States and have them certify them, too. What?! There are a handful of us in the same boat, and we're told to sit tight and they'd give us further instructions. Anyway, most of us were thinking we should just leave the country every 90 days, and that should solve things. Because U.S. citizens are allowed to stay in the country for 90 days, so we figure we can just hop over the border to Nicaragua or to Panama for a weekend, and come back to Costa Rica, and restart the 90 days. So we might do that.
Anyway, I promised photos of my apartment, so here they are!
I also had a bit of a snag with my documents I needed for my student visa. Apparently they're not exactly "valid" or "authentic." The Costa Rican officials came in, and they fingerprinted all of us, and took all our information -- it was all rather intimidating. When I told the guy I was 5'6", he made me stand up to proof it. Seriously. Anyway, my certified copy of my birth certificate and my certified criminal record check (which I had to pay Massachusetts $25 for, and which I had to have notarized) is apparently not official enough. I was apparently supposed to get the secretary of state's office to certify each of these, and then go to the Costa Rican consulate in the States and have them certify them, too. What?! There are a handful of us in the same boat, and we're told to sit tight and they'd give us further instructions. Anyway, most of us were thinking we should just leave the country every 90 days, and that should solve things. Because U.S. citizens are allowed to stay in the country for 90 days, so we figure we can just hop over the border to Nicaragua or to Panama for a weekend, and come back to Costa Rica, and restart the 90 days. So we might do that.
Anyway, I promised photos of my apartment, so here they are!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
First day of orientation
My school orientation didn't go quite as it was planned. Apparently a storm last night created some sort of sink hole in the road that goes up to the school. So our buses had to turn around and go back to Ciudad Colon. They improvised and held the first day of orientation inside a gymnasium in Ciudad Colon, instead. And they apparently plan to hold the next two days of orientation inside the gym, too. So I still haven't been able to see my school yet, which stinks. But it's been cool to meet everyone. Here's a photo of everyone in the gym.
I met people from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Cameroon, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Japan, Norway, Brazil, Italy, The Philippines ... and that's all I can remember for now.
At the end of the day, they had this group of local kids come and do this really cool dance for us:
I'm going to head out now to meet some of the people from the program, so I'll write more later!
I met people from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Cameroon, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Japan, Norway, Brazil, Italy, The Philippines ... and that's all I can remember for now.
At the end of the day, they had this group of local kids come and do this really cool dance for us:
I'm going to head out now to meet some of the people from the program, so I'll write more later!
Monday, August 20, 2007
An open letter to the person who translates Costa Rican dairy products into English
Dear Señor or Señora,
I'm not exactly sure what "leche agria" is, but you shouldn't translate it "skimmed milk." An American (for example, me) might interpret that as skim milk, and she might be very excited to find it considering she has found nothing but 2% milk since arriving in this country, and she is accustomed to drinking skim milk.
You can imagine her disappointment, then, when she had her bowl of Cookie Crisp all poured and waiting for milk when she opened the carton of this supposed "skimmed milk" and smelled something akin to bad sour cream. And then she took the tiniest taste and nearly wretched in the sink.
Perhaps this is my punishment for not learning the language before entering the country. But I'm trying. I swear! And I'm already onto you about the sour cream. I was thrown at first, I admit. But I did some Google research and found that Costa Rica seems to be the only Spanish-speaking country that calls it "natilla." You didn't even bother putting the translation on that one.
I'm off to buy some 2%.
I'm not exactly sure what "leche agria" is, but you shouldn't translate it "skimmed milk." An American (for example, me) might interpret that as skim milk, and she might be very excited to find it considering she has found nothing but 2% milk since arriving in this country, and she is accustomed to drinking skim milk.
You can imagine her disappointment, then, when she had her bowl of Cookie Crisp all poured and waiting for milk when she opened the carton of this supposed "skimmed milk" and smelled something akin to bad sour cream. And then she took the tiniest taste and nearly wretched in the sink.
Perhaps this is my punishment for not learning the language before entering the country. But I'm trying. I swear! And I'm already onto you about the sour cream. I was thrown at first, I admit. But I did some Google research and found that Costa Rica seems to be the only Spanish-speaking country that calls it "natilla." You didn't even bother putting the translation on that one.
I'm off to buy some 2%.
San Jose, lights out, and Project Runway
Not much new today. I'm pretty much just killing time till school starts. I still hadn't seen most of San Jose, so I hopped on a bus today and went into the city. It's pretty shabby. It's not your average skyscraper-type of city; in fact, I don't think I saw a building higher than six stories. There are a couple of nice churches and some decent shopping areas. I hear there are some museums and things, too. But so far, I'm not too impressed with San Jose.
So here are some other observations for you. My power keeps going out from time to time. It's only for about a minute, tops, and I'm apparently the only one who thinks this is weird. It happened a couple times when it was raining, so I thought it must be the storm. I stepped outside one of the times, and the whole neighborhood was black, yet I was the only one popping my head out the door, so I went back inside, and the lights came back on. Then, a day later, I was in the grocery store in Ciudad Colon, and all the lights went out. It was daylight out (and not raining), so I could vaguely see the other people in the store, and no one seemed fazed by this. The lights went back on a minute later. Apparently this is just something I need to get used to.
And here's a point of irony: The last two years when I lived by myself in Boston, I didn't spring for cable. I particularly remember thinking "oh man, I can't watch the finale of Project Runway" because that was on when I switched to no cable. So, I move to Costa Rica, and guess what's on TV? Project Runway. As I was typing this, I was watching an episode of Lost, and last night I watched Grey's Anatomy (two of my favorite shows). I've also seen Friends, Seinfeld, That '70s Show, and a handful of old but good movies. These have all been in English with Spanish subtitles, although they're not all that way. I was excited last night because I saw that Six Feet Under was on, but it turned out to be dubbed in Spanish. Overall, though, the English-speaking channels have been a godsend.
Finally, I leave you with a couple pictures of my 'hood. (I'll send more of my apartment once I take some pics.) Here's the little mini-mart a few minutes from my apartment. I go here for milk and bread or little stuff. Plus they have the most adorable little albino kitty who lives there:
And here are some random bikers on the road between my apartment and Ciudad Colon. I've noticed several people biking on this road. I think they like to train here because of the hills and the curves:
Another episode of Lost is coming on now! Sweet!
So here are some other observations for you. My power keeps going out from time to time. It's only for about a minute, tops, and I'm apparently the only one who thinks this is weird. It happened a couple times when it was raining, so I thought it must be the storm. I stepped outside one of the times, and the whole neighborhood was black, yet I was the only one popping my head out the door, so I went back inside, and the lights came back on. Then, a day later, I was in the grocery store in Ciudad Colon, and all the lights went out. It was daylight out (and not raining), so I could vaguely see the other people in the store, and no one seemed fazed by this. The lights went back on a minute later. Apparently this is just something I need to get used to.
And here's a point of irony: The last two years when I lived by myself in Boston, I didn't spring for cable. I particularly remember thinking "oh man, I can't watch the finale of Project Runway" because that was on when I switched to no cable. So, I move to Costa Rica, and guess what's on TV? Project Runway. As I was typing this, I was watching an episode of Lost, and last night I watched Grey's Anatomy (two of my favorite shows). I've also seen Friends, Seinfeld, That '70s Show, and a handful of old but good movies. These have all been in English with Spanish subtitles, although they're not all that way. I was excited last night because I saw that Six Feet Under was on, but it turned out to be dubbed in Spanish. Overall, though, the English-speaking channels have been a godsend.
Finally, I leave you with a couple pictures of my 'hood. (I'll send more of my apartment once I take some pics.) Here's the little mini-mart a few minutes from my apartment. I go here for milk and bread or little stuff. Plus they have the most adorable little albino kitty who lives there:
And here are some random bikers on the road between my apartment and Ciudad Colon. I've noticed several people biking on this road. I think they like to train here because of the hills and the curves:
Another episode of Lost is coming on now! Sweet!
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