Written: 11:53pm Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Buenas dias!
My classes are so wonderful. The teachers are really cool and the students really want to be here. Even the 8AM class is fun (go figure). I have Spanish M-F 8-11, Latin American Politics Monday afternoons, followed by Latin American Cuisine, then on Tuesday afternoon I am auditing Tropical Conservation Biology (with many political undertones), Wednesday I will have Latin American Dance (mostly Salsa and Merengue), and finally—on Thursday I may audit a Costa Rican culture class. Whew! It sounds like lots of school, but really is not. It is much more laid back here due to the Pura Vida attitude around here. My beginning Spanish (also teaches culture class) teacher is so interesting, funny and intelligent. He speaks English, Polish, Italian, French, and, of course, Spanish. Amazing. The politics teacher has many valuable things to say, on subjects that I’m very interested in- including US involvement in LA Politics and current issues like Venezuela/Hugo Chavez. The biology teacher is an ex-pat who has been here for 9 years, but never bothered to learn Spanish. Funny. There will be many field trips with that class. There’s not better place to study Tropical Biology than in the tropics!
I will find out about the dance class tomorrow, but some students had it today, and loved it. Several friends will be in that class.
I had such a good dinner tonight- it was a big salad with tomatoes and warm pieces of fried chicken breast on it. Of course, to accompany it, there was rice and beans- although my mom doesn’t serve them every meal like most. After dinner, I finished my homework and Fernando corrected it. I helped him last night to study for an English exam. I can understand most of what my mom says and I am trying to speak as much as possible. I can’t believe it’s been less than a week. Most students feel like this is home and we don’t want to leave! We will see if that is the case in 4 months. Some have never been out of the country or even away from home! Tonight, a student from U.Mass, Derek invited us to a piano bar his host family runs. His dad opened it just for us, so it was really cool. A few professors came by too. I have made friends with 2 students (Agatha, who is Polish, and Tony) from Chicago, so we can root for the Cubbies together! I also made friends with a pre-med student, Lauren from Tulsa. Also Kelly from PA- see picture on the beach at the link to the right.
I am getting a bike tomorrow, it is the best way to get around town and most students have one at this point. I am pretty close to school- about a 15 minute walk- but it’s so hot to walk that far with a backpack. The heat makes us all sleepy in the afternoon. My family is so nice and tries very hard to make it comfortable for me here. The only (very small) thing I don’t like is--- cockroaches. They are only in the bathroom and only at night. But it scares me to go in there if I wake up in the middle of the night. Ewww. However, it is very clean here and my mom tries had to maintain everything. She told me she will do my laundry tomorrow and any day I want.
This weekend is our first group field trip. Because there are so many students, half with go on Saturday and half on Sunday. I’m with the Saturday group with my friends, and most of us will travel together on Sunday to another beach across the gulf, probably Montezuma.
I think I may be adjusting to the heat, or I’ve given up on being cool. Our classrooms have A/C, thankgoodness! I’ve posted a few more photos, so check it out.
Hope everything is going well back home. I would love to have visitors, I think I will extend my stay until the 1st week of January, so come travel with me! (Mom, A. Kathy, Cheryl, Janet—this means you!) ;)
Love to all.
August 30, 2006
August 28, 2006
Playa!
Written:
9:15pm Sunday August 27, 2006
Ok, so much has happened since Friday night. I got really sick between midnight and 4am so I didn’t sleep much. Then my mom served me “gallo pinto” (spotted rooster) which is rice and beans mixed together and a fried egg and bread for breakfast. The food is so good, but I was still feeling sick (maybe because of travel or the malaria pills) so I only ate half. I felt terrible that I couldn’t finish it all, but they were such huge portions! My “mom” (from now on I will refer to my host family here by “mom”, “brother”, “cousin,” etc—when referring to my family in the states I will say “my real mom”) asked me what kinds of foods I like, and I told her anything but fish. Fernando came to walk me to where I was to meet the group for a city tour. He told me that as soon as breakfast was over my mom called him because she thought that I didn’t like the food. She told Fernando to ask what I like and she will cook anything for me. I told him that I loved the food, but I am a little person and need smaller portions! We met another USAC (University Study Abroad Consortium) student who lives near me. His name is Ryan and he’s from U. Mass. His host mom was explaining the directions in Spanish and he was very confused so he walked with us. The city tour wasn’t very helpful, but I learned where the red light district is! Also, I lied in my last blog about the humidity and the heat not being bad. My tank top was SOAKED in sweat, but most others were too. I thought I was going to pass out a few times. My cousin (Fernando) came to pick me up. We ran into some other students that were planning to go to the beach. About 17 of us went to a beach that was 18 minutes away by taxi. There were 11 people in one taxi and 8 in another! It was crazy but very cheap. About 10 of the 17 brought surfboards, and the rest of us swam and body surfed. The beach was so beautiful and secluded and the water felt amazing. We swam/surfed for 3 hours then dried off so the cabs would pick us up. When we walked back to the meeting spot, there was a torrential downpour and we were dripping wet and DIRTY. My mom was very nice about it and wanted to wash my clothes right away. I think my mom was still worried that I didn’t like rice and beans so she served me a big plate of watermelon, mango, and pineapple for dinner. It was funny. Sandra (mi mama), Fernando, Fernando’s sister Maria Jose (9 years old and VERY bright) and Fernando’s mother talked with me and taught me many things in Spanish. They are so kind and fun. Sandra gets frustrated that I don’t understand her very well, but I told her that I will learn very soon. Later, about 25 USAC students met at a local bar. It is fun meeting everyone. I am learning many names. We went dancing too. It was so hot, but a blast. My mom told me that a male must walk me home at night, so since Ryan lives close I asked him to do it. I also learned that another boy, John from Point Loma, lives across the street. All the guys here try to make sure that none of the girls walk home alone, so don’t worry, I will be protected. I slept like a rock after my late night! Today, my mom made me the best omelet I’ve ever had- I have no idea what was in it, but it was GOOD. We also had fruit and fresh bread that she gets daily from a bakery. Today was orientation in a very hot building with 84 students. 3 students were from Australia (including Sophie, a friend of mine) and 2 students from Germany. Very interesting. Orientation was boring, but I added a Latin American Cuisine class. One of the main office workers here in Puntarenas, Sebastion, was a professional chef in Uruguay, so he will be teaching it. I may also audit Conservation Biology (taught by an ex-pat from NY) or a Culture class. I think it would be fun to sit in on a couple extra classes, we are only allowed to take 6 for actual credit. Finally we all went to a Chino (Chinese) food place for dinner. It was buffet style and very very good. The fried rice tasted a little different, but the sweet and sour pork was very similar and a chicken dish also very similar but had cilantro too. I met a bunch of students from Reno, which is cool since I didn’t know anyone before the trip.
Talked more with my mom tonight and Fernando came over for a bit. We spoke very little English and I am learning so many Spanish words. It’s still hard, because they teach me words, but not full sentences, so I can say “beach” but can’t say; “I’m going to the beach.” So tonight I tried to learn phrases. It really helps me when it is written down. I have been reviewing new words every night and the Spanish-English dictionary that Kale gave me has helped so much. Ohmygoodness! I just had a visitor in my room, a little lizard about the size of my finger! He’s running on a walls, and I hope he doesn’t crawl on me when I go to bed! Yesterday I had some creature run behind my backpack, but I didn’t know what kind of creature it was so I was very scared. I moved my bag to reveal a little mouse which promptly ran out of my room. I was relieved to see it was something I recognized. Other than that, there are less bugs than I expected. I’ve seen ants and flies, but no mosquitoes really.
Sorry I am writing so much, there is so much to say- everything is new and exciting right now and I want to tell you everything! My stories should get more interesting and less informative as time goes by. If you click the link to the right that says, “See my photos HERE” you will see a few pictures of my room and the beach that is 2 blocks away from mi casa.
Buenas noches!
9:15pm Sunday August 27, 2006
Ok, so much has happened since Friday night. I got really sick between midnight and 4am so I didn’t sleep much. Then my mom served me “gallo pinto” (spotted rooster) which is rice and beans mixed together and a fried egg and bread for breakfast. The food is so good, but I was still feeling sick (maybe because of travel or the malaria pills) so I only ate half. I felt terrible that I couldn’t finish it all, but they were such huge portions! My “mom” (from now on I will refer to my host family here by “mom”, “brother”, “cousin,” etc—when referring to my family in the states I will say “my real mom”) asked me what kinds of foods I like, and I told her anything but fish. Fernando came to walk me to where I was to meet the group for a city tour. He told me that as soon as breakfast was over my mom called him because she thought that I didn’t like the food. She told Fernando to ask what I like and she will cook anything for me. I told him that I loved the food, but I am a little person and need smaller portions! We met another USAC (University Study Abroad Consortium) student who lives near me. His name is Ryan and he’s from U. Mass. His host mom was explaining the directions in Spanish and he was very confused so he walked with us. The city tour wasn’t very helpful, but I learned where the red light district is! Also, I lied in my last blog about the humidity and the heat not being bad. My tank top was SOAKED in sweat, but most others were too. I thought I was going to pass out a few times. My cousin (Fernando) came to pick me up. We ran into some other students that were planning to go to the beach. About 17 of us went to a beach that was 18 minutes away by taxi. There were 11 people in one taxi and 8 in another! It was crazy but very cheap. About 10 of the 17 brought surfboards, and the rest of us swam and body surfed. The beach was so beautiful and secluded and the water felt amazing. We swam/surfed for 3 hours then dried off so the cabs would pick us up. When we walked back to the meeting spot, there was a torrential downpour and we were dripping wet and DIRTY. My mom was very nice about it and wanted to wash my clothes right away. I think my mom was still worried that I didn’t like rice and beans so she served me a big plate of watermelon, mango, and pineapple for dinner. It was funny. Sandra (mi mama), Fernando, Fernando’s sister Maria Jose (9 years old and VERY bright) and Fernando’s mother talked with me and taught me many things in Spanish. They are so kind and fun. Sandra gets frustrated that I don’t understand her very well, but I told her that I will learn very soon. Later, about 25 USAC students met at a local bar. It is fun meeting everyone. I am learning many names. We went dancing too. It was so hot, but a blast. My mom told me that a male must walk me home at night, so since Ryan lives close I asked him to do it. I also learned that another boy, John from Point Loma, lives across the street. All the guys here try to make sure that none of the girls walk home alone, so don’t worry, I will be protected. I slept like a rock after my late night! Today, my mom made me the best omelet I’ve ever had- I have no idea what was in it, but it was GOOD. We also had fruit and fresh bread that she gets daily from a bakery. Today was orientation in a very hot building with 84 students. 3 students were from Australia (including Sophie, a friend of mine) and 2 students from Germany. Very interesting. Orientation was boring, but I added a Latin American Cuisine class. One of the main office workers here in Puntarenas, Sebastion, was a professional chef in Uruguay, so he will be teaching it. I may also audit Conservation Biology (taught by an ex-pat from NY) or a Culture class. I think it would be fun to sit in on a couple extra classes, we are only allowed to take 6 for actual credit. Finally we all went to a Chino (Chinese) food place for dinner. It was buffet style and very very good. The fried rice tasted a little different, but the sweet and sour pork was very similar and a chicken dish also very similar but had cilantro too. I met a bunch of students from Reno, which is cool since I didn’t know anyone before the trip.
Talked more with my mom tonight and Fernando came over for a bit. We spoke very little English and I am learning so many Spanish words. It’s still hard, because they teach me words, but not full sentences, so I can say “beach” but can’t say; “I’m going to the beach.” So tonight I tried to learn phrases. It really helps me when it is written down. I have been reviewing new words every night and the Spanish-English dictionary that Kale gave me has helped so much. Ohmygoodness! I just had a visitor in my room, a little lizard about the size of my finger! He’s running on a walls, and I hope he doesn’t crawl on me when I go to bed! Yesterday I had some creature run behind my backpack, but I didn’t know what kind of creature it was so I was very scared. I moved my bag to reveal a little mouse which promptly ran out of my room. I was relieved to see it was something I recognized. Other than that, there are less bugs than I expected. I’ve seen ants and flies, but no mosquitoes really.
Sorry I am writing so much, there is so much to say- everything is new and exciting right now and I want to tell you everything! My stories should get more interesting and less informative as time goes by. If you click the link to the right that says, “See my photos HERE” you will see a few pictures of my room and the beach that is 2 blocks away from mi casa.
Buenas noches!
Arrived
Written: 8:45pm Friday August 25, 2006
So, I had a terrible time in Houston with the airline, but I got on and arrived in San Jose on schedule. There were about 5 other students with our program on the same flight so we all attached to one another. I think all of my film got ruined going through customs, although the man there said they would be fine. I’m a little upset about that. Alright, on to the fun stuff. The bus ride to Puntarenas was about 2 ½ hours and it was fun to get to meet more students. Everyone seems very nice and fun. I didn’t really meet anyone from UNR though. When we arrived at the school site here in Puntarenas and the staff gave us name tags with our hosts’ names on it. Then families drove up and walked around looking for their “child.” We were all a little nervous because they just picked kids up and we didn’t see them again. None of us knew when to go back to school or anything about where we were going. We kept saying “see you someday” to each other. A nice man (who I still don’t know the name of) picked me up. He didn’t speak any English, but they brought my host sister (6 years old named Sofia) and an older boy. I didn’t know who he was because they didn’t tell me I would have a brother that age. I found out he is my cousin and he was sent because he speaks some English. His name is Fernando (after the grandfather who lives here) and is 16. He showed me my room and tried to ask me questions. My host mom was still at work when I arrived, but I met my little brother, Alejandro (he will be 10 later this month), and Mario (I’m guessing is 13-15, but don’t know) who is apparently my brother also. As soon as I sat down, the man who drove (who may or may not be my host mom’s boyfriend/husband or he may be an uncle) started cooking. Fernando said he was the chef. Little did I know they were cooking for me! He made me a pork chop that was very tasty, white rice and beans. Then he brought out a cabbage salad with cucumbers and radish. Finally, he asked if I like avocado and I, of course, said yes. This avocado was 10 TIMES the size of the ones we get in the grocery. It was so ripe and tasty. He put rock salt on it, which was a little too much for me, but still excellent. I wasn’t hungry but tried to eat most of it because it was very good. I finally told Fernando “No tengo hambre” and he took the food away. I was still feeling awkward and decided to unpack. I gave Fernando the presents I had brought for all of them, and Sofia her coloring book. She is very sweet and tries to talk to me too. The kids were outside playing and I passed out on the bed, I was so tired. It is very hot and humid in my room, but they put a fan in there so it is ok. Puntarenas itself is less humid than I expected, much less than Houston! I woke up about an hour later and felt very shy about leaving my room, but decided to venture out. Fernando took me to the “playa” (beach) and showed me where other students live and how to get to my school. When we got home, I met my host mom, Sandra. She is so nice and was very interested in my photos and understands some English, but does not speak in English to me. They are very patient and I’ve had Fernando repeat words so many times! They even understand my gringo Spanish. I was scared my first few hours here and now I feel like this will soon be home. I will send a picture of my room too. It’s just what I expected- simple with a dresser and mirror, a bed with attached nightstand and a tv. They get all the cable channels, it’s funny. I think that Alejandro has a Playstation too.
Wow, I’m going to have to learn to edit or I’ll lose readers, huh? ;)
This was a set up for all future blogs. I’m really happy to be here. I’ll be speaking Spanish in no time. Love to you all.
So, I had a terrible time in Houston with the airline, but I got on and arrived in San Jose on schedule. There were about 5 other students with our program on the same flight so we all attached to one another. I think all of my film got ruined going through customs, although the man there said they would be fine. I’m a little upset about that. Alright, on to the fun stuff. The bus ride to Puntarenas was about 2 ½ hours and it was fun to get to meet more students. Everyone seems very nice and fun. I didn’t really meet anyone from UNR though. When we arrived at the school site here in Puntarenas and the staff gave us name tags with our hosts’ names on it. Then families drove up and walked around looking for their “child.” We were all a little nervous because they just picked kids up and we didn’t see them again. None of us knew when to go back to school or anything about where we were going. We kept saying “see you someday” to each other. A nice man (who I still don’t know the name of) picked me up. He didn’t speak any English, but they brought my host sister (6 years old named Sofia) and an older boy. I didn’t know who he was because they didn’t tell me I would have a brother that age. I found out he is my cousin and he was sent because he speaks some English. His name is Fernando (after the grandfather who lives here) and is 16. He showed me my room and tried to ask me questions. My host mom was still at work when I arrived, but I met my little brother, Alejandro (he will be 10 later this month), and Mario (I’m guessing is 13-15, but don’t know) who is apparently my brother also. As soon as I sat down, the man who drove (who may or may not be my host mom’s boyfriend/husband or he may be an uncle) started cooking. Fernando said he was the chef. Little did I know they were cooking for me! He made me a pork chop that was very tasty, white rice and beans. Then he brought out a cabbage salad with cucumbers and radish. Finally, he asked if I like avocado and I, of course, said yes. This avocado was 10 TIMES the size of the ones we get in the grocery. It was so ripe and tasty. He put rock salt on it, which was a little too much for me, but still excellent. I wasn’t hungry but tried to eat most of it because it was very good. I finally told Fernando “No tengo hambre” and he took the food away. I was still feeling awkward and decided to unpack. I gave Fernando the presents I had brought for all of them, and Sofia her coloring book. She is very sweet and tries to talk to me too. The kids were outside playing and I passed out on the bed, I was so tired. It is very hot and humid in my room, but they put a fan in there so it is ok. Puntarenas itself is less humid than I expected, much less than Houston! I woke up about an hour later and felt very shy about leaving my room, but decided to venture out. Fernando took me to the “playa” (beach) and showed me where other students live and how to get to my school. When we got home, I met my host mom, Sandra. She is so nice and was very interested in my photos and understands some English, but does not speak in English to me. They are very patient and I’ve had Fernando repeat words so many times! They even understand my gringo Spanish. I was scared my first few hours here and now I feel like this will soon be home. I will send a picture of my room too. It’s just what I expected- simple with a dresser and mirror, a bed with attached nightstand and a tv. They get all the cable channels, it’s funny. I think that Alejandro has a Playstation too.
Wow, I’m going to have to learn to edit or I’ll lose readers, huh? ;)
This was a set up for all future blogs. I’m really happy to be here. I’ll be speaking Spanish in no time. Love to you all.
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