Finally Settled!

Today was the first day that I felt at home in Monteverde! Last night after dinner I met up with some of my friends in my program at the bar, which was much less fun than the previous night because we were all so exhausted. Most of us were on the verge of falling asleep, and on account of our drowsiness, Libba and I called it an early night. Libba is my neighbor, so we usually walk most places together, especially at night after an evening of drinking. When I got home, I watched an episode of Friends. Gotta have a little taste of home while I'm away :)

This morning I was able to sleep in, and I didn't get up until about 9am, which wasn't a problem because everyone else in my house woke up around the same time. It was nice to finally have a day to sleep in. After breakfast I did some reading, and then I went to church with my family. I was somewhat nervous before going because I didn't pack many nice clothes, but my mamatica told me it was fine to wear jeans and a nice shirt. Since my jeans and only nice shirt were hanging up to dry (they had just been washed), I wore the only skirt that I brought and my mamatica lent me one of her shirts. Attending a church session in Spanish was quite a cultural experience. There was nothing to follow along with except the social cues of those around me, so I knelt and stood and sat when everyone else did, but I wasn't exactly sure what was going on. I was able to catch a few words and phrases, but for the most part I was completely lost. I have to admit, though, that I often feel somewhat lost during a church session in English. Maybe I will continue to attend church with my family during my stay.

After church we had a potluck lunch at the study center with everyone and their host families. It was nice getting to know some of the other families, and the food was DELICIOUS! Most of the food was traditional Costa Rican dishes, although I couldn't begin to tell you the names of them. I will ask someone tomorrow. Oh that reminds me: my mamatica told me that she would teach me how to cook. I plan on writing down the recipes so that I can bring my share my knew cooking with you all at home! After lunch we, the students, gave a short presentation.  Natalie, our TA, made a slideshow from pictures we gave her of our friends and family, and so we each got up in front of all the families and talked about ourselves and our families. In case you're curious, I used the picture of my family laughing at my senior lacrosse game, a picture of my friends at the top of Camels Hump, and a picture of me skiing.

After the family meet-and-greet, I went for a run around Monteverde/Santa Elena. Running here is very difficult for a variety of reasons: Sorry to scare you, Mom, but there are barely any sidewalks, so you need to be very cautious about cars flying by. I wore bright clothing and had to switch which side of the street I ran on so I would be on the outside of a curve rather than the inside. In fact, I have gotten into the habit of switching sides of the street when walking because the streets are extremely windy, and I want to maintain maximum visibility. Hope that puts your mind a little at ease, Mommy :) Another reason is that there is ZERO flat land, so I am either running straight up hills or straight down. Also, we are up in the mountains, so the altitude makes it more difficult to work out. I hope that by the end of these four months, if I continue to run up here, I will be in great shape!

After my run I went home, took a shower, and played Uno with Estebán (my 12-year-old brother), Elena (my 9-year-old sister), and Coco (their 10-year-old cousin). It was really nice to finally bond with them :) Today was the first day I truly felt comfortable and at home here, probably owing to the fact that we had lunch with all the families and that I finally went for a run! I am now at the Study Center about to complete some more reading. This week we are going to visit a few places in and around Monteverde that are potential internship opportunities. Can't wait for my first full week in Monteverde, my new home!

It is raining outside, of course! Rain is a daily occurrence here, and so I quickly got in the habit of bringing my raincoat with me wherever I go, even if the sun is shining bright. Speaking of rain, I have been getting several emails and seeing facebook statuses about Hurricane Irene. I hope everyone is safe and well at home. My thoughts go out to all those who have been affected. Stay well, everyone. Miss and love you all!

Monteverde

The past few days have been quite crazy! After breakfast on Wednesday, we loaded our stuff onto the bus and departed our hotel in Alejuela to visit La Carpio, a very poor slum, which is viewed by many Costa Ricans as a Nicaraguan no-mans land. Because La Carpio is extremely impoverished and has little influence over their conditions, the government has established a landfill in the town. At first glance the landfill seems to be quite well managed, and even somewhat clean, relatively speaking.

In contrast to an open-air dump, a landfill is prepared with a coating of clay, and then equipped with a geo-membrane made of high-density rubber. These steps are utilized in order to prevent the waste from leaching into the soil and the surrounding watershed. Machines are used to compact the trash and push out the water, which is filtered through a drainage system and treated. In addition, the gases that are produced during the process are captured, filtered so that they are less contaminate, and released back into the air in a more pure form. The landfill has plans to capture these gases and turn them into electric energy to be sold within the next two years. Once the landfill is completed, the company has plans to regenerate the vegetation and turn the area into a park.

Although the landfill appears to be managed quite well, it is unfortunately employing unjust practices, which have adverse effects on the citizens of La Carpio. For example, the landfill makes about $30,000 per month from their trash collection and the give only $200 a month to the projects in La Carpio. The citizens of La Carpio are extremely poor. We had the opportunity to enter some of the “houses” in La Carpio, which were one-room shelters with a bed and a kitchen area. Many of these shacks housed families of four or more. It was very sad to witness people living in such adverse conditions.  

Fortunately there is a group called the Fundación Humana, which started working in La Carpio about 20 years ago. Their mission is to support at risk populations so they can improve the quality of their lives and to raise the consciousness of those providing services and goods so they will make more aware decisions in the future. Funded solely by donations, Fundación Humana has been working with the citizens of La Carpio to educate people about the quality of the water, to provide job training, basic food needs, and health care, to build shelters, and several other projects. To support the citizens of La Carpio, I bought two handmade bags from the local women.

After visiting La Carpio, we loaded into the bus and set off on a four-hour journey up the mountains to Monteverde. Once we arrived in Monteverde, we took a group photo in the rain to send to our advisors at home (just so they knew we made it safely) and then proceeded to have a quick homestay orientation. We were then dropped off at our new houses to meet our families and spend our first night in Monteverde. For dinner we had rice and beans (or course!) and a chicken stew. I gave them my gifts (a Frisbee, a soccer ball, and a container of Vermont maple syrup), which they loved! For breakfast the next morning, Alba, my Mamatica, made pancakes and we ate them with the pure syrup. So delicious! After breakfast my Papatico drove me to class, which was only a few hundred yards up the hill, but I was grateful to have a ride so that I could orient myself.

Once everyone arrived at the Study Center, Matt, one of our teachers, took us on a walking tour of Monteverde. On our walk we saw a family of howler monkeys up in the canopy jumping from branch to branch. It was quite a sight! Upon returning to the Study Center, we ate lunch (my Mamatica had packed me leftovers from the night before) and then had another SEES class. After class we walked up to CPI (The Spanish Center) and got a tour of the center. The center is quite luxurious, with features such as a gym, a Jacuzzi, and free internet and a free Skype phone which we can use to make international calls. After our tour of the Center, we took a written and an oral placement test to determine which Spanish class we would be in. After receiving the results of our tests, we had our first Spanish class. There are four students in my class total: Carly, Korey, Carrie, and me. After Spanish we went home to spend our second night at our homestays.

Yesterday, Libba (my neighbor) and I walked together up the hill to the Study Center, where we had two back-to-back (with an hour break in between) classes of Tropical Conservation Biology with Matt. After class we walked up the hill to CPI for a second 3-hour Spanish class. During Spanish there was a torrential downpour outside for about an hour, making it quite difficult to hear anything anyone was saying. Since it’s the rainy season, it rains every day in Monteverde, so this was not a huge surprise for any of us.

Last night after having dinner with our families, the group met up in Santa Elena to go to the bars. The first bar we went to was a very gringo bar where everyone was a tourist and everyone spoke English. We wanted more culture, so after a beer at the gringo bar, we went to a local bar around the corner, where there was latino music and dancing. We all bonded over some beers and got to know each other! It was very fun to let loose a little after a few days of structured activities and awkward meetings.

This morning the group met in downtown Santa Elena, where we had breakfast at the Farmer’s Market and then took a walking tour of Santa Elena. We now have the rest of our Saturday free! I am currently at the Study Center preparing to do some homework, but first I had to blog because so much has happened since my last entry. I couldn’t wait too much longer, otherwise this entry would be much longer than it already is. I hope to get into a routine where I can blog every day or every other day. My future blogs will consist of slightly more interesting and detailed, not to mention edited, accounts of my adventures. ¡Pura Vida!

Getting Oriented

The past day and a half have been about getting oriented. Last night we had a group meeting where we essentially just ate snacks, drank beers (drinking age is 18, as in most countries except the US) and got to know one another. After an hour or two of socializing, we all went to bed, exhausted from a full day of traveling.

This morning we woke up at 7am, bright and early, to enjoy a typical Costa Rican breakfast of fruit, eggs, fried plantaine, toast, cheese and, you guessed it, rice and beans! For beverages I enjoyed a glass of some sort of rice-based fruit juice and a steaming cup of coffee, which was quite necessary at 7am. I'm going to have to get used to this new schedule. Karen, our program director, told us that because we are so close to the equator, there are only about 12 hours in a day. The sun rises around 5am and sets around 5pm, so Costa Ricans typically wake up and go to bed with the sun. This will certainly take some getting used to, but I'm sure I'll adjust fairly quickly. According to the calendar we received at our meeting, it appears that classes will be held every day from 8am-6pm.

After breakfast we had an orientation presentation where we introduced ourselves again and viewed a slide show about what to expect for the next four months. I am very excited about heading to Monteverde and meeting my host family tomorrow! After breakfast we walked to the market and did an activity where we had to inquire about the prices in colones per kilo of a variety of foods. The markets here are incredible! There is one central location with a variety of specialized stores such as a meat shop (carnicería), a cheese shop (quesería), or a vegetable stand. During our discussion later, we compared the prices to those in the US and talked about some of the reasons behind various price differentiations, such as the cost of living and government subsidies.

After taking a nap, we had our first lecture in the hotel about urbanization and we got our syllabus for our Sustainability: Environment, Economy, and Society (SEES) course. The program appears to be very demanding already, but I'm excited for the challenge. After our lecture we went out to dinner at a local restaurant that specialized in corn. The food was delicious!

Tomorrow we will go to a slum town called La Carpio where we will be looking at a landfill and learning more about urbanization, poverty, and the environmental factors associated with shantytowns. Afterwards we will head to Monteverde, where we will have an orientation about our homestays and then head off to meet our new host families! Can't wait!

MADE IT!

I made it to Costa Rica! After a 3 hour flight from Boston to Miami, a lonely stay at the Holiday Inn in Miami last night, and a 3 hour flight from Miami to San José (the capital city) I am finally here! The time here is 2 hours behind the east coast, so I left Miami at 10:05 AM and after flying for three hours I arrived in San José at 10:55AM. I barely lost any time at all :)

On the plane I sat next to a couple from San José who gave me their contact info and offered for me to stay with them during my travels at the end of my program. I havn't yet decided what I will be doing during that week, but it was certainly nice to have a contact before I even entered the country :) If anyone knows a contact who I might be able to meet up with or stay with in Costa Rica during my final week of travel, I would love that information! Any and all suggestions of places where I might wish to visit are also more than welcome. You can email me at Lysaboo222@yahoo.com or at alhansen@uvm.edu.

As I flew over Costa Rica I looked out the window and glimpsed my first sight of Costa Rica from the air. The country is very green and quite mountainous, and it appeared that there were several farms and villages down below. A huge grin crept across my face as I took in the sight of the country that I will be calling home for the next four months.

When I arrived in the airport I was approached by a girl my age who is in the other CIEE Program, which is Tropical Ecology. Together we made our way through customs and retrieved our luggage from baggage claim. After exchanging most of my American cash into colones, the local currency, I approached the exit and was delighted to see a CIEE Sustainability and the Environment sign pressed against the window. I had made it! I was greeted by a CIEE staff member and was put in a taxi with two other girls in my program. We were taken to our hotel in Alejuela, which is about 10-15 minutes from the airport. Not too shabby!

After settling into our hotel room (where we will be staying for the next 2 nights), we went out to lunch along with our TA and one of the program staff members. I had a sandwich and a delicious pineapple drink! The fruit drinks here are incredible! I can't wait to try more! After lunch we headed back to our hotel to beat an approaching storm. It's somewhat comforting being in our hotel while thunder crashed outside. It is now about 3PM, so we have about 6 hours to hang out and relax before our meeting at 9. More people from my program should be arriving within the next few hours. I can't wait to meet everyone else, both students and staff. ¡Pura vida!

Fun Facts

Well, I'm all packed up and about to head to the airport, where I will have one last family lunch at Legal Sea Foods before my trip. The more I think about it, the more this trip makes perfect sense for me. For one, I am going to Monteverde, which translates to Green Mountains, and my school is UVM, or Universitas Viridis Montis, which is latin for University of the Green Mountains. So I'm going from the University of the Green Mountains on the East Coast to the Green Mountain region of the Rich Coast (Costa Rica means rich coast in Spanish)! It couldn't be more fitting!

From the East Coast to the Rich Coast: Let the Adventure Begin

Well, I'm about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime! My bags are packed, and I'm getting ready to set off to Costa Rica for the next four months. For those of you who don't know about my program, it is a Sustainability and the Environment program through Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) located in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Monteverde is a region in northwestern Costa Rica that "lies along the continental divide at the crest of the Cordillera de Tilarán mountain chain" (Yeah, I'm not quite sure where that is either--this was taken from my CIEE Student Handbook). Hopefully this map will make it easier. Monteverde is not only a region composed of 10-12 small towns, but it is also the name of the town closest to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.

My program is extremely academic. We will usually have classes on Saturdays and we will go on several weekend field trips. I know this isn't like most study abroad programs where there is a lot of free time to party, hang out, and lay out on the beach, but I think I will gain a lot from my experience. I tend to do better with a little bit more structure anyway, and I am staying in Costa Rica for a week after, so who knows? Maybe I'll extend my stay a little longer and travel around for a bit more.

When I arrive in Costa Rica on Monday, August 22nd I will be picked up at the airport and brought to a hotel in Alajuela. My first full day in Costa Rica (August 23rd) will consist of a full day orientation, a class about urbanization, and hopefully some ice-breaker activities. The next day, August 24th, we will go to Monteverde where I will meet my new host family!

My host family is the the Varela Brenes family! My new host parents are Alba Iris, a 39 year old receptionist and her husband Roy, a 36 year old waiter. They have two children, a 12 year old son named Roy Steven and a 9 year old daughter named Alina Lorena. I can't wait to meet them! I plan on bringing them some Pure Vermont Maple Syrup, a soccer ball, and some jam. Maybe I'll also bring a doll for little Alina Lorena.

Classes in Monteverde will begin on Thursday, August 25th at the CIEE Monteverde Study Center. I will be taking 5 courses:
1. Tropical Conservation Biology and Policy
2. Sustainability: Environment, Economy, and Society
3. Costa Rican Natural History
4. Conservation and Sustainability Internship (this will be a one-month long internship, but I'm not sure yet what exactly I will be doing for it)
5. Spanish Language

All of my classes will be taken with the 8 other CIEE students who I will be meeting in just a couple of days. We will take two 2-week long field trips throughout the semester. Our first trip will be from September 11-24 around different parts of Costa Rica (more on this later) and our second trip will be from October 22-November 5 to Nicaragua. I wonder if they celebrate Halloween in Nicaragua...

I'm a little nervous about this whole thing because I don't know anyone in my program and I have never been out of the country for longer than 5 weeks, but I know that once I get there I will have an incredible time, learn a ton, and make life-long friendships with the people in my program. Everyone I know who has been to Costa Rica (or who knows someone else who has gone) has raved about the place! Everyone says it is one of the most beautiful and interesting places they have ever been to! I can't wait to experience it for myself! Let the adventure begin!