Last week I was in San Jose for the entire week living with a different host family. San Jose is the complete opposite of where I am living in Miramar. Miramar is what you would think of as a really safe town where no one has to lock their doors and you never have to watch your back. Everyone is friendly and says hi as you walk by. In contrast is San Jose, where you don’t leave your house after dark, you have a taxi pick you up at the front gate because it’s not safe to walk the streets during the middle of the day. Complete opposites. However, in the safe parts- San Jose was also a lot of fun.
We visited different clinics and hospitals in downtown San Jose. The first private hospital that we visited was actually much nicer than any hospital I have seen in the U.S. We also visited that National Theater where some of the world’s best known orchestras play. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever set foot in. Then we enjoyed shopping downtown, American-style malls, and of course, eating American food like McDonalds and Subway. Their menus were very similar than in the U.S. except McDonalds sold fried chicken and taco bell sold French fries. That was a little different.
Then during the weekend we went to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. The culture there is very different because there have been a ton of immigrants that came over from Jamaica. We even listened to some live reggae music one night. It was so very beautiful and even the trees were different that what I am used to- it is true tropical rainforest instead of cloudforest where I live. We saw howler monkeys and a sloth while we were driving down the road. I am going to miss all this wildlife when I go back to Wisconsin.
Right now I am sitting in my room with my laptop unplugged from the electricity praying that the house won’t get struck by lightning. When I was gone last week there was a lightning bolt that hit right outside of our house and messed up my host parents’ computer. I have to admit that I am actually a little bit scared of thunderstorms here- it seems like we get a crazy one every other day. (It’s okay mom and dad- I’m making sure to be safe)
I’ll try to update more often now since I don’t have as many classes during the day for the next week. Its crazy to think that I’m going to be back in Wisconsin in 11 days.
Pura Vida!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Random Facts about Costa Rica
Disclaimer: These facts may not be true for all of Costa Rica, but they are true according to my host town and my host family.
• The people let their dogs or cats randomly wander the streets.
• People thing that it is fun to drive as close as they can to the side of the cliff when driving up the mountains.
• There are vendors that walk or drive through the streets selling fruit or vegetables. Some cars have a sound system on top of their car’s roof which advertises what they are selling.
• Electric wires decide to fall down while you wait for the bus.
• There are a ton of TV shows in English and only have Spanish subtitiles.
• Shampoo is way more expensive.
• Kids only go to school for half a day, but only have a few weeks off throughout the year.
• Each family has a nickname. When I tell native people who I live with I have to tell them my family’s nickname because they won’t know who I’m talking about otherwise.
• People pass time hanging out on the front porch. When company comes over, this is where you visit with each other.
• The garage door opens left to right, not up and down.
• Costa Ricans eat gallo pinto (a food made of rice and black beans) EVERY morning for breakfast
• When eating meat, they use their hands to pick it up rather than using a fork and knife.
• Their idea of a salad is cabbage shredded with mayonnaise and ketchup as the dressing.
• They make fresh fruit juice, fresco, everyday for lunch and supper.
• Costa Ricans have a coffeebreak every day at 3 P.M.- its called cafecita
• For the nurses/nursing students: all IM shots are given in the butt. They don’t understand when you ask why they don’t give shots in the arm or leg.
• The people let their dogs or cats randomly wander the streets.
• People thing that it is fun to drive as close as they can to the side of the cliff when driving up the mountains.
• There are vendors that walk or drive through the streets selling fruit or vegetables. Some cars have a sound system on top of their car’s roof which advertises what they are selling.
• Electric wires decide to fall down while you wait for the bus.
• There are a ton of TV shows in English and only have Spanish subtitiles.
• Shampoo is way more expensive.
• Kids only go to school for half a day, but only have a few weeks off throughout the year.
• Each family has a nickname. When I tell native people who I live with I have to tell them my family’s nickname because they won’t know who I’m talking about otherwise.
• People pass time hanging out on the front porch. When company comes over, this is where you visit with each other.
• The garage door opens left to right, not up and down.
• Costa Ricans eat gallo pinto (a food made of rice and black beans) EVERY morning for breakfast
• When eating meat, they use their hands to pick it up rather than using a fork and knife.
• Their idea of a salad is cabbage shredded with mayonnaise and ketchup as the dressing.
• They make fresh fruit juice, fresco, everyday for lunch and supper.
• Costa Ricans have a coffeebreak every day at 3 P.M.- its called cafecita
• For the nurses/nursing students: all IM shots are given in the butt. They don’t understand when you ask why they don’t give shots in the arm or leg.
It's been so long...
Following is a blog that I wrote back in June-since I had problems with the internet and did not have access to the internet last week in San Jose...here is a look back into the past.....
Wow! It has been a long time since I’ve blogged…there is so much to say. I can’t even remember so far back because I’ve done and learned so much. But first of all I have to say that the time is flying by. I am halfway over with this experience and I am already starting to feel sad that I will have to leave. Costa Rica is an amazing country- they have everything from waterfalls to volcanoes to some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! The most fun thing is that the most random things happen here and you never know what is going to happen next. For example, my friend and I were waiting to catch a bus to go see a beach that is about 20 minutes away. While we are waiting at the bus stop there is a semi truck that drives down the road and knocks down a power line. Sparks are flying everywhere! The thing was that the people didn’t even pay attention to what is happening, like it is an everyday occurrence (it’s not).
Last week for our healthcare class we observed nurses in the clinic. It is so different from what I have seen before and so many of their instruments are so outdated, but they still work just fine. I was able to go out with an ATAP to people’s houses and observe his unique job. He goes from house to house documenting people’s names, state of health, any new births or deaths, and gives the people anti-parasite pills so they do not get sick. They way they do things here are so different, but very efficient. The U.S. should learn something from the Costa Ricans.
Random things that happened/I learned last week…
• There was a highly venomous corral snake within inches of my feet during Spanish Class.
• On my way walking home from the bank I was caught in a treacherous storm.
• I realized that Costa Rica has many teenage pregnancies.
• Costa Rican’s do NOT like to exercise, at all.
• It likes to rain almost every afternoon during their winter season (which is now).
Last weekend was the best weekend trip that we have taken in Costa Rica. We rode with our private bus driver, Henry, to a beach in Samara. When we arrived at the beach one of the girls began to barter with a man who was offering to rent us his horses to ride on the beach. She was able to talk him down to about $4 U.S. dollars and we were able to ride for as long as we wanted. It was beautiful while we rode the horses along the beach for about an hour. One of the girl’s horses had a lot of attitude. It tried biting my horse and I almost fell off when my horse started freaking out. A while later I checked to see if the attitude-stricken horse was near me. As soon as I looked back I saw the horse just plop down on the ground, with the girl on its back. I have never seen anything so funny in my life. It’s like it thought “ oh I’ve had enough, I’ll just lie down right here”. I still laugh about it when I think of it.
Later that day we drove up to a small town on the ocean, named Brasilito. We found a hotel right on the beach, and again, got an amazingly cheap deal. I’m so glad that I am with people who can barter! We ate dinner and then went out to a dance club, where most of us learned how to dance the Costa Rican style- which is a mix of salsa and meringue (in my opinion). The next morning I woke up and walked the beach and simply enjoyed the beauty. We then drove to what the tourist books call the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica. It’s named Playa Conchal (translated Shell Beach), which simply had an entire beach of seashells. We moved further on the beach to soft sand and hung out, swam, and relaxed all day. It was perfect.
On Father’s day I felt very sick and pretty much lied in bed all day. The upside was that I was able to read an entire Nicholas Sparks book during that day. I am feeling much better now and am enjoying another week in Costa Rica. This week my group is going into the schools and doing health assessments, including hearing and vision tests, height and weight, and teaching about hand washing and healthy eating. There is a lot to do for Spanish class this week, but it is bearable because I don’t have any classes next week.
I’ll try to do my best to update my blog more often.
Until next time! Pura Vida.
Wow! It has been a long time since I’ve blogged…there is so much to say. I can’t even remember so far back because I’ve done and learned so much. But first of all I have to say that the time is flying by. I am halfway over with this experience and I am already starting to feel sad that I will have to leave. Costa Rica is an amazing country- they have everything from waterfalls to volcanoes to some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen! The most fun thing is that the most random things happen here and you never know what is going to happen next. For example, my friend and I were waiting to catch a bus to go see a beach that is about 20 minutes away. While we are waiting at the bus stop there is a semi truck that drives down the road and knocks down a power line. Sparks are flying everywhere! The thing was that the people didn’t even pay attention to what is happening, like it is an everyday occurrence (it’s not).
Last week for our healthcare class we observed nurses in the clinic. It is so different from what I have seen before and so many of their instruments are so outdated, but they still work just fine. I was able to go out with an ATAP to people’s houses and observe his unique job. He goes from house to house documenting people’s names, state of health, any new births or deaths, and gives the people anti-parasite pills so they do not get sick. They way they do things here are so different, but very efficient. The U.S. should learn something from the Costa Ricans.
Random things that happened/I learned last week…
• There was a highly venomous corral snake within inches of my feet during Spanish Class.
• On my way walking home from the bank I was caught in a treacherous storm.
• I realized that Costa Rica has many teenage pregnancies.
• Costa Rican’s do NOT like to exercise, at all.
• It likes to rain almost every afternoon during their winter season (which is now).
Last weekend was the best weekend trip that we have taken in Costa Rica. We rode with our private bus driver, Henry, to a beach in Samara. When we arrived at the beach one of the girls began to barter with a man who was offering to rent us his horses to ride on the beach. She was able to talk him down to about $4 U.S. dollars and we were able to ride for as long as we wanted. It was beautiful while we rode the horses along the beach for about an hour. One of the girl’s horses had a lot of attitude. It tried biting my horse and I almost fell off when my horse started freaking out. A while later I checked to see if the attitude-stricken horse was near me. As soon as I looked back I saw the horse just plop down on the ground, with the girl on its back. I have never seen anything so funny in my life. It’s like it thought “ oh I’ve had enough, I’ll just lie down right here”. I still laugh about it when I think of it.
Later that day we drove up to a small town on the ocean, named Brasilito. We found a hotel right on the beach, and again, got an amazingly cheap deal. I’m so glad that I am with people who can barter! We ate dinner and then went out to a dance club, where most of us learned how to dance the Costa Rican style- which is a mix of salsa and meringue (in my opinion). The next morning I woke up and walked the beach and simply enjoyed the beauty. We then drove to what the tourist books call the most beautiful beach in Costa Rica. It’s named Playa Conchal (translated Shell Beach), which simply had an entire beach of seashells. We moved further on the beach to soft sand and hung out, swam, and relaxed all day. It was perfect.
On Father’s day I felt very sick and pretty much lied in bed all day. The upside was that I was able to read an entire Nicholas Sparks book during that day. I am feeling much better now and am enjoying another week in Costa Rica. This week my group is going into the schools and doing health assessments, including hearing and vision tests, height and weight, and teaching about hand washing and healthy eating. There is a lot to do for Spanish class this week, but it is bearable because I don’t have any classes next week.
I’ll try to do my best to update my blog more often.
Until next time! Pura Vida.
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