Headin’ Down South

I never expected to write this sentence in this context, but there just may be a downside to Costa Rica not having a standing army.  For those of you who were unaware of this, Costa Rica has no standing army and has, traditionally, channeled that would-be money into education, literacy, and economic development.  However, as I discussed in class today with my highly-respected Spanish teacher, Costa Rica may just be cresting into a new era where strict rules, secure borders, and experienced men and women with armed weapons might be helpful.  As you may have already guessed, this has to do with the drug war and the dramatic increase in Mexican (very violent) and Columbian (not as violent) drug cartels in Costa Rica.

So, what prompted this conversation, you may be asking?  In summary, a helicopter carrying 396 kilos of cocaine crashed on Friday in the south central mountains of Costa Rica.  Turns out, the cocaine was 1) the same cocaine that was ¨confiscated¨ by ¨police¨ earlier this year, 2) the helicopter is partially owned by executives of the Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, and 3) three cell phones with many many many contact numbers were found at the crash scene (two people are dead, another passenger may have escaped).  Obviously, this story is not yet complete.

As I´ve heard since I arrived, Costa Rica is becoming a hot spot for drug transport within Central America, to the United States, and to Europe.    Perhaps this isn´t a news-breaking story in other countries, but in Costa Rica, this is very different from recent history.  Tourists do not help the situation, as many vacation in Costa Rica for pretty beaches,  the ¨pura vida¨ lifestyle, and relatively easy-to-find drugs.  It´s not all paradise, and the Ticos are beginning to get wrapped up in it all more than ever.

Earlier this morning, my professor, Caitlin (student and good friend), and I dove into the newspaper, trying to make sense of this complicated story that is currently unfolding.  Through hours of conversation, our professor conveyed a novel (to me) idea, basically stating that with a history of an army, with strict laws and protected borders, Costa Rica may not be such a guinea pig, an easily-penetrable point for drugs in Central America.  Now, I have not fully processed the entire conversation, but her connection of an army (as a positive thing) to the drug war was fascinating, considering Central America´s history of guerilla warfare, civil war, and decades of deadly strife.  From her perspective, people are poorly trained here in criminal investigation, the handling of weapons (though many people, including bank guards, have them), and in criminal prosecution.  The consequences for drug trafficking are relatively minimal, the borders are easy to cross, and the wealth of Costa Rica can cover drug trafficking as something else, like online gaming or tourism.

In conclusion, I am not exactly sure what to think about this situation, nor do I have set opinions one way or another on Costa Rica´s need for armies or tighter controls, as my knowledge is limited.  I did, however, find it fascinating to hear the first EVER ¨support¨ of armed forces in Costa Rica, considering much of the foreign press and marketing outside of Costa Rica hails it as a no-army country.  Maybe that is good for perceptions, for tourism, but is it actually protecting and improving the lives of Costa Ricans at this point?  Now, I am not sure…

This past weekend, my friends and I traveled once again, this time heading north to the famed Volcan Arenal.  Here, I´ll bypass most of the praise that I have for the beauty of the green countryside, the awe-inspiring volcano (it´s much closer to La Fortuna than I expected), the powerful and intimidating waterfall (¡yo vi cascadas, Adam!), and the hot springs (las aguas termales), and last but not least, the friendly people. Instead, I want to focus on my tri-life as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, as a Spanish student, and, most importantly for this post, as a tourist.

Believe it or not, all three are perhaps irreconcilably intertwined here in Costa Rica. To be gringa and to be in Costa Rica largely means that you are a tourist in one way or another. Perhaps this is true of all countries that one visits without long-term residency plans, but the vibe and economic drivers of this country further highlight this perception.  This has been difficult for some of us (other students and friends) to accept– one close friend in my class is profoundly bothered each time someone speaks to us in English, or when prices are in dollars (as they were in Arenal and La Fortuna).

As a result, we´re all slightly frustrated (and proud of ourselves) when a Tico is obviously surprised by our ability and desire to speak in Spanish. We take pride in speaking the language, and being able to say that we´ve studied here for two months, or that we are a member of the Rotary family. But, at this time, I am not convinced that it is enough. The attempts are not futile, but at the end of this wonderful experience, I will go home, and I will have to take my lessons with me, rather than having made an unforgettable influence on this country. Does that make me just a tourist, or simply a never-ending learner?

Overall, I feel both the urge and the hesitancy to apologize for my tourism here. Why in the first place I feel the need to apologize for tourism, why tourism gets a bad rap, is a different story. Here, I seek to apologize because I do not want to be ¨that¨ kind of gringa, one that comes and explores and doesn´t learn the real Tico ways. At the same time, I hesitate to apologize for two main reasons- one, we have been deliberate in learning about and blending with the culture as best as possible; and two, Costa Rica proactively markets itself in many ways to just this type of visitor. In many ways, it is my tourism, and those of many others, that is able to sustain a way of life that Ticos choose for themselves. Maybe it isn´t the ¨old way,¨ but it is a way that many Ticos believe provides (overall) more/better opportunities than before.

I am still struggling to reconcile this and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of my time here. In the end, I will just be a tourist if I do not make a concerted effort to keep up my Spanish and maintain my Costa Rican connections when I return to the States. This will include connections with Rotary, with my gringa friends, with some Tico friends, and with Conversa. And I hope that I succeed, because although I have only been here for two months, I have learned a lot about myself and others, and a part of me will always be indebted to the people, places, and culture of Costa Rica for this experience.

I have discovered a problem with blogs… you have to keep up with them.  This is a bit difficult to do without regular computer and internet access, but alas, here I am!  Perhaps this will seal the deal for me as a non-dedicated-blogger in the future minus travel blogs, of course!

It’s been a while since I’ve written, and I won’t take up too much time today, but I wanted those of you who have been emailing to know that, yes, I am still around!  I’ve been busy uploading photographs onto the tab above, and more will follow soon.  The past few weeks have been very hectic between supporting my Heels as they took the National Championship in men’s basketball (sorry, Sean!), visiting Puntarenas in an exhausting and exhaustive swing of the Pacific region, diving back into my Spanish studies with the typical energy of a Week #7 student (committed and actually comprehending, but tired at the same time), reading the Tico newspaper front to back almost every day (love it), and preparing for my final weeks here before traveling to Guatemala.  It is amazing sometimes to realize that I am more than half-way done.

As a quick note, yesterday was probably the best day I’ve had with teaching English to the bomberos (firefighters) and cruz rojistas (Red Cross).  It has been a difficult week, and their smiles and welcoming nature and humility was just what I needed.  I know that none of them will likely ever see this blog, but my thanks goes out to them.  My best friends here, Myla and Beth, came with me and provided their great teaching expertise to my unorganized, and somewhat Tico-like, lessons.  My enjoyment of my time with teaching Ticos has reinvigorated my interest in pursuing ESL teaching certification in the States.  I want to maintain a mutually-beneficial connection to Latin America when I return home through helping working adult learners.  So, if you have any information on how to go about this in the States, or know where I should look, don’t hesitate to send the information my way.  I’ve had little time to track down details here, but it’s high on my list when I return.

Les amo!

Word to prospective travelers:  Never give up hope or dismiss the possibility that you just may get to see your favorite adrenaline-rushing sports via the miracle (para mi, only in this case) of satellite television, no matter where you venture.  Yes, Costa Rica is not the remote South Pacific or central Africa, but the sheer luck of my sports-filled weekend is enough to warrant a blog post. 

This past weekend, I passed the time with bingo, futbol, basketball, loud shreaking tico children, happy gringos, and sad ticos.  Let me explain. 

Friday night consisted of bingo, shrieking tico children, and happy gringos.  La Escuela de PanAmerica (private, bilingual school where Myla, Beth and Kelsey teach) had a bingo fundraiser, and what an experience.  Visiting this beautiful, open air school with well-to-do ticos playing for grand prizes like wine, tennis lessons, plane tickets to the States, and beach trips.  This event attracted a different crowd than I´ve seen in Costa Rica, or typically see in los EEUU for that matter, and it was a loud but worthwhile experience.  Our group definitely took away more parenting tips (what NOT to do) than we did prizes… no, I do not have a flat screen TV to regift to my host family, que triste.

Following a striking conversation with my taxi driver about the fidelity of Costa Rican men versus EEUU men (congratulations, EEUU men, you are widely believed to be more faithful), I arrived at Amigos to witness a beautiful UNC v. Gonzaga basketball game.  Well, actually, it was so beautiful that I actually didn´t get to watch it– CBS showed the much closer Kansas-Michigan State game (congrats to Sean!)–but, sometimes not watching a game because your team is dominating is just as fulfilling.

Saturday consisted of the futbol and sad ticos.  Costa Rica lost to Mexico 2-0, and while it was expected, there were plenty of rowdy ticos to compensate.  Unfortunately, Mexico dominated the whole game, and my futbol experience was so-so.  However, I may get to see Soprissa play tomorrow… fingers crossed.  At the end of the CR-Mexico loss, we smoked dry cigars from Quepos as a conciliatory, we´re-with-you gesture to the ticos, and let me just say- I´ve never fully appreciated the impact of humidity-controlled rooms on cigar enjoyment until now.

Sunday was just as glorious (though HOT!).  Admittedly, this day was largely gringo-centric because after visiting with my new friend Kate (one of those great I never get to meet you in the states but somehow we find time to meet in Costa Rica stories), we watched some seriously good basketball (again, go UNC and Michigan State!).  Kudos to Costa Rica, and specifically to Amigos, for providing cable and nice televisions for our viewing entertainment.  No sad ticos involved with this story, because other than one person I´ve met here, no one seems to care about college basketball!  Alas…

OK, so for my non-sports lovin´friends, or for my friends wondering where Davidson is in this sports blog (uh….), I am sure that this post was pretty uneventful for you.  But just remember, when you´re studying law or endlessly searching the internet next weekend during the Final Four, just think of me, chilling in Santa Ana, trying to drag some ticos into the lovely fold of appreciating…well, being obsessed with… EEUU college basketball.  This is some serious cultural sharing underway here, and I´m not even joking.

Hola una vez mas de la tierra de Pura Vida!  The past two weeks have been quite busy, and I have a feeling that this will only continue.  Month One is about to be finished, and today I can’t believe how quickly it passed (earlier this week, it was a different story!…)

Entonces, the past two weeks were filled with Rotary activities, meeting new people, seeing gorgeous sunsets, and visiting the HOT Pacific Coast.  To Rotary first.  Courtesy of the Epals program at UNC-Chapel Hill, I am now communicating with Shiloh Elementary School in Indian Springs, NC through Ms. Kane, a Spanish teacher to 5th graders.  Her students just finished a lesson on Central America, and I am keeping them informed about Costa Rica through this blog, other emails, and answering specific questions from students.  I look forward to sharing more about Costa Rica and Latin America with them.

In other Rotary news, I attended a lunch meeting of my host club last Thursday (one week ago).  A wonderful tico named Manuel has become a great contact with the club, and I was able to meet many Costa Ricans and long-time extranjeros from Canada, Belgium, and the United States.  The club is mostly comprised of men, but there are some younger Rotarians as well, including Shawn from Morganton, NC who works for Outward Bound in Cartago, CR.  Small world!  I look forward to getting more involved in Rotaract while I’m here and completing some volunteer projects, but Tico Time slows things down a bit!

The main volunteer activity that I am getting most excited about are my English courses to the bomberos (firefighters) and cruz rojistas (Red Cross workers).  I work with them, at the fire station, every Tuesday afternoon and am having a wonderful time!  I am a bit nervous each day that I go, but by the time I leave 2 to 3 hours later, I’m relaxed and smiling.  The bomberos in particular are so willing and eager to learn, and I serve as someone to just speak English with them because, unfortunately, they do not have much of a chance to practice their English.  Just like me and my Spanish in the States.

Seeing as a few of my best friends here are Irish, it behooved us to celebrate St. Patty’s Day last week in style.  Turned out to be a fun night, including some green hats (which, for some reason, I couldn’t quite pull off… must be my Swedish roots), and joyous games of pool with Shikira in the background. Enough said on that…

My Spanish classes are running much more smoothly now, and goodness, we are learning a lot quickly.  I feel more comfortable speaking with my family, and I am less and less tired after each day of classes.  The latter is incredibly important because then I feel more interested in striking up conversations about topics I’m unfamiliar with.  My vocabulary is expanding slowly which is a welcome occurrence because I’m becoming more and more tired of using gustar, necesitar, querer, gracias, and hola all of the time.  My dictionary is becoming a close and personal friend, I’ve even purchased some overpriced tape to bind together some pages to keep her going strong!  So yes, my classes and Conversa in general are wonderful.  I would recommend this place to anyone, and I’m in the process of contacting Davidson to get some Spanish-major students here during the summer.  Everyone would benefit so much from the practically one-on-one instruction you can get here– increible.

With all this work comes travel as well!  This past weekend, we spent two days in Quepos and Manuel Antonio, a town and national park respectively.  Both are on the southern Pacific Coast, and we took another 4-hour public bus to get there (the ride there was awesome, the ride back terrible with the stereotypical American man making a fool of himself and making us all look bad…).  First off, it was HOT.  I mean, I know hot with North Carolina summers, but this was incredible.  It must have been the fact that we were only 9 degrees north of the Equator… wow.  To accommodate for the heat, however, was gorgeous clear blue water, a HUGE raccoon that stole a Tica’s food directly from her bag (which was preceded by me running out of the water, waving my hands wildly to scare it away, and the raccoon practically laughing at me and eating the bread anyways), and sloths sloths sloths galore.  We had a great time chilling in the hostel-like hotel, watching some March Madness throughout the weekend, and eating fried chicken with some Aussies and a Belgian.  A true multi-cultural experience through the weekend.

Ok, so that is a long post… thanks to those of you who’ve made it this far!  Honestly, I have no real words-of-Costa-Rican-wisdom to wrap up this post, so I will not attempt to do so.  It has been a fun but difficult couple of weeks, seeing that the one-month mark is here and I’m settling in for two more.  But, today is a better day and there are great Rotary, Spanish, and travel adventures ahead of us.  We’re off to Tihany tonight, basically the circus or Latino version of Circ de Solei.  I have no idea what the expect!  Love to all of you, and hope everyone is healthy, happy, and safe.    Buena noche!

After two weeks and three weekends in Costa Rica, I finally feel as though I’m beginning to settle in.  The language study has been difficult and I have not (re)absorbed the information and quickly as I would like (or expected, frankly–yes, a really important wake-up call and I appreciate it!), but I’m really enjoying being in class.  Every week, Jillian (una amiga y otra estudiante) and I change teachers, and it’s wonderful to have different accents, modes of teaching, energy levels, etc.  This week, mi maestra se llama Amira, and she is very nice and tranquilo– an old soul-type of person. 

Rotary relationships are starting to grow, slowly but surely.  Everything here is on the famed Tico Time, and it’s a welcome albeit hard-to-get-used-to change of pace.  This week, I’ll attend my first lunch meeting of my sponsor club in San Jose.  I do not know if I have to give a presentation yet, but I’ll work on my spanish just in case– I do not want to get caught off-guard!  Many Rotarians have already emailed me and I am finding ways to participate as much as possible.  School takes up a lot of time, but I am starting to volunteer with los bomberos (firefighters) tomorrow.  My goal in my volunteer work here was to work in affordable housing, but only if needed.  Because my host town is relatively well-heeled, there are other more pressing needs, including teaching basic English phrases to the firefighters.  There are many Americans (and other gringos) living around Santa Ana and in emergencies, it is obviously very dangerous to not have an English-speaking emergency personnel.  Thus, I’ll be working on basic phrases like body areas, medical conditions, questions like “Is there anyone else in the burning house?”, etc.  As long as I can not be too nervous and they can deal with an elementary Spanish speaker, I think that it will be a lot of fun and very useful for all involved! I am actually continuing a project of a former student, and an employee here at Conversa wants to continue it after I leave.  Que bueno.

In amongst all of the studying and settling in, I did do a little travel this weekend with friends   Although the Pacific Coast receives a lot of attention for its beaches and beautiful parks, the Carribean coast has a unique vibe.  Up north around Tortugero, there is a large Spanish-speaking population of Chinese descent, originally brought to CR to build the railroad, along with an important sea turtle population.  In the south, around Puerto Limon and Cahuita, there is a huge Spanish- and English-speaking Afro-Carribean population, originally brought to CR to work in the banana plantations (among other reasons).  Our group had a relationship with the owner of cabinas in Cahuita, and we traveled there this past weekend.  Four hour busride for $8, and we were in a very reggae, rastafari, laid-back community.  Gorgeous weather and activities included hiking in Parque National de Cahuita, dinner and dancing in Puerto Viejo, running into a former Davidson student (Patrick, played soccer) who shouted “hey, Davidson!” to me from a bus (while I’m sitting in the bus terminal), and fabulous Jamaican food–pollo ahumado (smoked chicken) con salsa dulce is one of my new favorites.  This was a wonderful cultural experience, as this area is in its own niche away from the typical hustle and bustle of touristy Costa Rica.  Don’t travel here if you expect deluxe comfort, but its perfect for backpackers who love evening rainstorms and hot, humid days.  And I had the first cold, yogurt and fruit crepe of my life.  Que interesante.  (PS, check out the photos on Snapfish from the link under “Photos”).

This week is pretty packed with introductions to Costa Rican Rotarians and Spanish studies… we’re starting to dive into the complicated subjunctives, imperativos, present participles, etc.  I have to say, my lack of technical English-language training at Davidson is kindof hurting me at this point…!

To finish, a couple of real-life and fascinating things I’ve learned about Costa Rica this past week(s).  Amacas (hammocks) are the best thing ever invented.  There is a huge cocaine and crack trade running from Puntarenas (south) through to Puerto Limon (north)–both are shipping cities.  Papaya has amazing nutrional properties for the skin and GI system, and creams made of papaya and carrots are supposed to be revolutionary for the skin.  Cold crepes are almost too unusual for my tastes.  If you visit CR, bring at least one VISA card; not everyone takes Mastercard.  And lastly, everyone here thinks I’m 18 years old, while I couldn’t correctly guess the age of a tico to save my life.  That’s all for now; now, go check out the pictures!

Esposa (wife) and Esposas (handcuffs)

Autoayuda (self-help)

Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps)– shout out to Lucy and Krista

Portate bien!  Si quieres…(Behave, if you want to)– shout out to Adam

Vivo mi vida (I live my life [the way that I want to]).

mis nombres favoritos– Emilce (mi profesora), Maricruz (mi mamatica), y Barusca (el perro viejo–chihuahua– de mi familia)

Hola mis amigos!  I am finally in Costa Rica, and I just wrapped up my second day at the language school.  Quite a bit has happened in the last week or so, but I’ll try and stick to the basics.  I am currently nursing blistered feet from my first game of futbol… owwww!  But, thank goodness, that is about the only ow I have thus far!

The Pre-Test:  The first official email from Conversa, asking me to complete my ‘pre-evaluation’ of my language abilities, sat in my inbox for days, purposefully unopened.  Only after receiving a reminder email did I give it a try, as I dreaded discovering how little Spanish I’d retained since freshman year of college.  After 100 gruelling questions about ‘por v. para,’ ‘estar v. ser,’ ‘lo v. la,’ and various conjugations, the sinking, not-really-all-that-excited feeling in my stomach was ‘oh, wow, I’m definitely going to get the challenge I’ve been asking for.’  My introductory score?  48%.  Let’s hope I improve upon that!

Davidson Davidson Davidson–OK, well this was actually only two Davidsons.  The first was on the plane from Charlotte to San Jose–on a plane full of people, the flight attendant walks down the aisle asking if anyone forgot their Davidson sweatshirt in the waiting area.  Yes, I was leaving from Charlotte on the first day of spring break, but still– esta un mundo pequeno!    The second Davidson was even better– I hung out with Kendal on Sunday!  She was in Costa Rica, and yes, another small world moment, we were able to meet in Costa Rica for TCBY and dinner when we have a hard time catching up in EEUU.  And, I met Carlos– finally!  Nice catch, Kendal.

Riculoso– this is the only word that can describe Santa Ana and Conversa, and in a good way.  Nestled in the mountains above San Jose, the weather is windy and sunny.  No rain yet, and there shouldn’t be as this is the dry season.  85 degrees here, and the Ticos are wearing fleece jackets because of the wind– hace frio para los ticos!  Whereas I am burning up following the soccer game, a game that I might have to force myself to like while Costa Rica is doing so well in the World Cup.

Where to go?  The language school, and just the gringo way in general here, encourages us to travel on the weekends.  My feeling is that it gives our host families some time to themselves too, as many of our families host students back-to-back.  (I am in a house full of women, and I love it.)  I’d like to head somewhere towards the coast and practice my spanish in an area with a few less tourists than some others.  It’s a bit difficult, I’m learning, to get around by bus for a quick weekend trip, but perhaps Playa Hermosa?  Any suggestions for a quick weekend getaway for me and my other classmates? 

OK, nothing especially unique to report, but I wanted to let everyone know that I got here safely.  Thanks again to Rotary, and I’ll be figuring out how to work to Rotary clubs within the next week.  Most if not all have their meetings during the day, so I will have to coordinate more closely with my language school so that I don’t miss too many classes… we’ll see!

Pura Vida!

Big breath folks…I’ve become a blogger.  I can’t say that this adventure into ‘new’ technology is natural to me, but in the interest of keeping Rotary and my loved ones informed of my whereabouts, here I am!

Here’s just a quick note to introduce you to my travel blog for my four months in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and every unpredictable place in-between.  In place of mass emails, I’ll be updating this blog with photos, stories, and suggestions of places to visit and avoid in Costa Rica.  I also hope that you’ll use this blog to pass along your knowledge of CR, posting your favorite places on the page tabbed above.

At this point, I’m not sure about a cell phone in CR, but my email will still be active, so keep in touch.  If there is one thing I learned while studying abroad during college– it does not sustain me to (temporarily) sever ties with those people and places that I love.  After all, what else is all of this blogging and technology for but to keep up with people?

I’ll be studying Spanish at a language school outside of San Jose for the first three months, followed hopefully by a week or so in Guatemala to visit family (and reset my CR visa), and then back to CR for June.  If you’re interested in visiting in June (a month for which I currently have NO plans except to explore!), please keep in touch.  Supposedly, there is no more beautiful time to travel to CR than in June