Things I Have Learned During My Time in Costa Rica: Part 1

Things I have learned during my time in CR:

     1) The orange button by the wheelchair accessible seat on the bus is not the same as the red button on the poles. The orange button does not stop the bus; it sets off an alarm throughout the entire bus!

    2) “Que chevre”, a phrase meaning “that’s cool” in Colombia, is not a phrase used here. Instead, ticos say “tuanis.”

    3) Just because a car has a red light does not mean you can walk in front of them.

    4) If a person get his by a car (or a moto), it is not the car’s fault. Watch out!

    5) Sometimes, water bottles fall across the floor of the bus. It is okay to accidentally fall into a man and on the ground while picking up the water bottle and keys that were dropped during the process.

      6) The Ash Wednesday service at a Catholic church in Heredia, Costa Rica is not that different from Ash Wednesday service at First Presbyterian Church in Troy, Ohio.

      7) The cable to make the bus stop does not always work.

      8) When you take the same bus every day, you get to know the bus driver. And sometimes, when the cable does not work and he knows you need to get off, he stops the bus in a random place so you are not too far away from your school!

      9) The students in my classes here are the friendliest students ever…I hope that Queens’ students treat international students with the same level of care and concern as the students here treat me (I am sure we do!)

   10) Non-Profit Organization in Spanish is “una organizacion sin fines de lucro.”

   11)  A meal is not complete without rice and beans.

   12) There is a difference between juice and a refresco…juices are thicker. Here, most people only have refrescos.

   13) Reading in Spanish is not as hard as I thought it would be, especially when I have a friend who goes over what I have read with me to make sure I understand everything!

   14) “Caitlin Culp” is very difficult for professors to say. I am now “Cait” or “Catlin Colp.”

   15) Every time you join a new gym, they perform an evaluation on you that consists of everybody measurement possible, questions about health, and a workout plan. At UNA, the students from the exercise science school perform these duties.

   16) Now this one I already knew...87 degrees is hot, but I would much rather be in 87 degree weather than 0 degree weather.

Part 2 of Things I Have Learned While Living in Costa Rica will debut in a couple of weeks….until then, if you would like to become pen pals, my address is below!

Caitlin Culp

ISEP Apartado Postal: 86

3000 Universidad Nacional

Heredia, Costa Rica

America Central

Cafe Naranjo Coffee Plantation

Oscar, UNA student who has helped us since Day 1.

View from Naranjo.

Representing JBIP, Queens University of Charlotte

We had a painting lesson!

Actually, I painted this piece.

The top is how it was supposed to look, the bottom is how mine turned out...UNIQUE!

Last weekend at Manuel Antonio.

Meagan from Nebraska.

We love the Explanada, the meeting place at UNA.

Just reppin' Queens!

I LOVE COSTA RICA, CAN'T YOU TELL?

Cafe Naranjo Coffee Plantation

Soy Una Tica (Posiblemente)

Soy Una Tica (Posiblemente)

Yesterday, I did a lot: I took the bus to school, walked up a very long hill to the gym, was told I needed to pay first, so I walked all the way back down the hill and across campus and down the street, paid for my gym membership, did homework in the library, went to the gym and conversed with the woman working, signed up for a personal training session, exchanged money at the bank, ran some errands downtown, and came home on the bus. Yesterday was the first day that I felt like I could be on my own and be totally fine (all day, every day). I got off the bus at the MusManni and felt like I was home.

I feel like I can take on Heredia, sola; in part, because I survived my first week of classes. After making many changes, I went to three of my four classes last week. This week I will attend all four of my classes. I am enrolled in Morphology, Basics of Phonetics and Morphology, Feminist Thinking of Indigenous People, focused on indigenous people of Costa Rica, and a Learning Spanish and Costa Rican culture class. I also signed up for a tutoring program with a professor, in which I will learn more grammar and have homework assignments that will add to my knowledge of the Spanish language and support what I am practicing in each of my classes.

Today, I enjoyed eating lunch (that my Mami tica packed for me) outside in the main quadrant of campus. I am not sure if there is entertainment every day, but yesterday and today there was live music and some talent show type events going on during the lunch hour. I am enjoying being a member of the gym on campus. The gym is super small, but I feel revived after I work out. I never realized how much working out did for my body and my mind. Also, the gym has trained staff members that give new members of the gym a tutorial of how to use each machine. I have my tutorial on Friday, but today one of the men working there helped me with my technique. I am grateful to have a place to work out, although walking home today is going to be difficult because I am so sore!

There have been some issues with scheduling classes and the university being on the same page as ISEP and ISEP being on the same page as my family in the States, my family tica, and me. However, everything has finally worked out. I am getting into a routine and I belong here! My friends and family in Ohio and North Carolina are experiencing freezing cold weather and lots of snow. I am experiencing super hot days, no air conditioning, and sometimes forgetting sunscreen and dealing with the aftermath of that (although I am pretty tan now!), but I would not trade this time for anything. Have fun in the snow, my friends...I am thinking of you with a smile on my face! I will try to send some sun and warm weather your ways!

Manuel Antonio...a group of girls from ISEP went to this beach this weekend. We had a four hour bus ride and stayed at a hostel.

Learning to dance with my friend's tico cousin

Sunset on the beach with my ladies

Sunset

My new hat (it is perfect because it covers my face, neck, and ears!)

 

I tried to snorkel.

But the water was not clear, so I just swam.

Our hostel had a pool that was nice to shower in!

Claire's birthday celebration....we ran into Kenneth, who is one of the students from UNA that helped us schedule our classes.

Sometimes we like to play doctor after I get home from classes.

 My Papi tico loves to take photos.

Fuimos a La Playa....Jaco!

Fuimos a La Playa

4:40am – I woke up at my house to a few messages from my friends that I was meeting.

4:45am – I received and sent multiple messages to my friends, each of us letting each other know when we were leaving the house.

5:00am – My dad and I walked down the street to my friend’s house.

5:10am – She and I boarded the bus that we take to Universidad Nacional (UNA, our university).

5:15am – We deliberated whether or not to get off at our normal bus stop. We decided to take the bus to the stop after our normal one and hope it took us to the correct place.

5:25am – We pulled the cable and got off the bus at a random street that we did not know. We walked one block and much to our surprise, arrived at the bus stop where we were meeting everyone to go to San Jose.

5:30am – Only three of the seven of us had arrived at the bus stop for the bus to San Jose.

5:40am – My friend called the others because my phone did not have any minutes left (in Costa Rica, you add minutes to your phone by purchasing a card at any type of store).

5:45am – All six of us were waiting at the bus stop to meet our last friend who was on the bus that was going to pick us up and take us to San Jose.

6:00am – We receive a text from our friend telling us to “get on the bus,” but there was no bus in front of us.

6:01am – Six gringos stood in the street waving our hands at our friend and the driver of her bus as the bus driver laughed at us and waved back.

6:02am -- We missed our bus to San Jose. We talked to our friend on the phone and she told us we were on the wrong side of the corner so the driver would not stop.

6:03am – We asked many different people about where we should be waiting and we walked up and down the street. We stalked every bus that passed us, but we did not know which one would take us where we needed to go.

6:06am – We board a random bus that just said “San Jose” on it.

6:07am – One of my friends sat next to a nice man who spoke English. He had traveled to Texas before and said that he needs lots of helping understanding things and people helped him, so he would help us.

6:10am -- The man pulled the cable and got off of the bus with us. He told two taxis where to drive us.

6:16am – We arrived at the Coca-Cola Bus Station.

6:17am – We saw our friend walking down the street with a woman that walked her all the way to the bus station from the stop where her bus stopped (we were supposed to be with her on that bus and all walk to the bus station together).

6:25am -- We each treated ourselves to some sort of pastry (or hamburger, in Drew’s case, for breakfast).

6:30am – We gathered ourselves and made sure we were ready to go.

6:45am – Six of us boarded the bus to a beach called Jaco. One of my friends did not purchase her ticket ahead of time, so she waited for the 8:00am bus instead of the 7:00am bus.

7:00am – We wrapped our backpacks around ourselves, yet in our laps, because bus thefts are common.

7:15am – Most of us fell asleep and continued to sleep until we were about thirty minutes from the beach.

9:12am – We arrived at the bus stop at the beach! We walked to a store, I bought minutes for my phone, and one of my friends bought sunscreen and a towel.

9:30am – We found a spot on the beach and lathered each other up with sunscreen. We proceeded to take many pictures.

9:45am – We ran into the water and had fun playing in the HUGE waves.

10:15am – We returned to our towels, backpacks, and to a man in a truck with his baby…blasting his American music. One of my friends asked him to please turn it down. He agreed to turn it down.

10:30am – Our other friend arrived and we could not hear each other speaking. The man had not turned his music down. We searched for another spot on the beach.

10:55am – We moved to a spot under a palm tree closer to the cute shops and restaurants and away from the loud music.

The day consisted of playing in the water, walking around the beach town, searching for the cheapest food, tanning in the sun, and then sleeping in the shade because the sun was SUPER STRONG.

We took a long walk on the beach, took some last photos, and then I changed out of my bathing suit on the beach! We walked to our bus stop and my friends struggled to find a bathroom before we left for San Jose.

5:45pm – We boarded the bus back to San Jose.

6:30pm -- Some of us slept and others of us fanned ourselves (we were so hot, but the locals were not) and laughed and talked the entire way home.

8:10pm – We arrived at the bus station in San Jose.

8:15pm – We found our way to other bus station where we would take the bus to Heredia (we almost got run over by a moto, but luckily I yelled “wait, a moto!” so everyone ran across the street).

8:20pm – After asking a few people which bus we should take, we boarded the bus to Heredia.

8:40pm – We arrived at UNA and separated in different directions to make our ways home.

8:50pm – Two of my friends walked with me to our bus and we took the bus to each of our homes.

9:00pm -- My host dad met me at the bus stop and we walked home.

9:10pm – Instead of showering (I have never felt so dirty), I ate dinner and talked with my parents.

Wow…what a day! I have not laughed as hard as I did yesterday in a very long time. I am so proud of myself and of my friends for not losing anyone or anything! We traveled for the first time, in another country, all by ourselves. And the trip almost ran smoothly! Now we know what bus to take, where it will pick us up, and how to purchase the tickets online beforehand. I’m thrilled just thinking about the adventures that the rest of this semester will hold!

Now, onto our first day of classes tomorrow :)

Muchos Fotos

Disclaimer: These photos are not in chronological order. Lo siento!

My Mami watering her beautiful garden.

My Papi showing me one of the many plants in the yard.

Exploring the rainforest.

Trying out a workout machine at the local park.

In the Central Park of Barva (we live between Heredia and Barva)

 

My Mami and me in the Central Park of Heredia.

Ready for our banana lesson.

Banana time at a Dole farm.

Going bananas!

Excited for bananas.

Banana plants are banana herbs, NOT trees.

Inside the packaging center.

We each earned a shot of banana liquer.

And then we went on a chocolate tour!

Cocoa beans over time.

Making chocolate.

The festival we went to today was at this museum, which is a part of my university and is walking distance from my house....very neat!

A traditional game played at festivals in Costa Rica.

Traditional CR game.

Adonde Paseo? Adonde Pasea?

Adonde Paseo? Adonde Pasea?

I love this place. I love my new friends, both gringos and ticos. I love my host family. I love my late-afternoon workouts in the most beautiful garden and freshest air. I love the food. I love my bus rides. I love everything here (except maybe the hills that I ran yesterday that made my quads super sore!)

Today was our third day of orientation with ISEP and Universidad Nacional (UNA). Our group consists of eleven students from all over the USA, two students from UNA, and our ISEP resident director. Orientation consists of language placement tests, tours of the campus and city, tips for studying at UNA, safety tips and precautions, and many other helpful hints. Today, we walked to a bus in downtown Heredia and from there we took the bus into San Jose. We relaxed at a famous park (very big and beautiful), ate lunch at a seafood restaurant, and then went to Museo de Salle, Ciencias Naturales. The museum displayed the natural history of Costa Rica and had collections of fossils, dead animals, real fetuses, dead insects, rocks/stones, and pottery. I enjoyed the museum because I am not much of a “go to the museum and read” girl. So, walking around and just observing was perfect for me. The best part of the day was after our four mile walk around the park and museum.

We arrived at our bus to take us home to our university and instead of being empty like in the morning, the bus was full of people. There were enough spaces for most of us to sit next to strangers. So, we did. I sat next to a kind tico man. The first thing he said to me was “adonde paseo?” I had no idea what this meant. I proceeded to ask three or four of my friends in front of and behind me and none of us knew what the phrase translated to in English.

After much deliberation, discussion, and loud laughter, the man sitting next to one of my friends told her, in English, that it was like asking “where are you traveling?” or “are you a tourist?” or “where are you coming from?” The man who translated this for us was just observing our laughter and discussion, knowing we thought he did not speak English. Once he helped us, my friend ended up talking to him for a while. I ended up talking to the man beside me and answering his original question. And our resident director helped us understand the full meaning. The bus ride home was simple. We enjoyed ourselves. We learned a new phrase. We made new friends on the bus. We shared the tangerine that my Mama Tica packed for me as a snack. We had fun!

When I arrive at my house after orientation, tired and with blisters on my feet, I cannot do anything but smile. I look forward to catching up with my family about my day and telling them everything that I did. I cannot wait for all the days to come; the stories to share, the phrases to learn, the words to repeat, the friends to meet, and the connections to make with people on the bus.

One view of my university.

The university greenhouse. One student in our group said our campus feels like a zoo....and it is true! There are different types of plants and flowers everywhere.

Son-In-Law and Granddaughter of my host parents. She loves to take pictures!

P.S. Today I rode the bus to and from the university all by myself! But, my host dad did tell the driver (who I just found out is his cousin) where to drop me off in case I forgot to pull the cable! He also surprised me and met me at the bus stop after orientation. Mi familia tica es el mejor!

Santa Lucia, Barva, or Heredia?

Santa Lucia, Barva, or Heredia?

I am confused. I am confused about my bus stop. I am confused with what verbs to use and what words best describe what I want to say. I am confused about the new fruits (that taste delicious). I am confused as my host parents speak to me and I only understand 50%-70% of what they say. I am confused about how much money I need, in dollars or colones, for my VISA tomorrow. Estoy confundida!

My confusion causes me to engage more. To listen more closely. To watch hand gestures and facial expressions. To focus on my parents’ dialects. To pick up a few words here and there which allow me to understand most of the conversation. To engage deeply in conversation. But, to also engage myself in my surroundings. To watch as my host dad takes pictures of the airplanes and the moon. To walk through the garden and try to remember the names of the various fruits. To watch each bus pass by me in hopes that I remember which bus will eventually be mine.

Yesterday, I was confused. Today, I am confused. Tomorrow, I will be confused at my university’s orientation. In my confusion I find comfort. In my confusion I find laughter (we have many confusing and silly conversations). In my confusion I find joy. In my confusion I find my new home. My new neighborhood. My new town. My new providence. My new city. My new country.

I am in love with my new home, neighborhood, town, providence, city and country. I love our garden. The garden surrounds the entire house and includes huge blue hydrangeas, banana, sour lemon, sweet lemon, orange, and avocado trees. Yesterday, I hung out with my host family. I enjoyed running with Luci, the granddaughter of my host parents. I surprised myself with how quickly I jumped into speaking the language. I asked my parents how my Spanish sounded and they said “muy bien!” I went to sleep, exhausted, thinking about how hard it is to learn a new language but how lucky I am to be here!

One part of our backyard, my favorite place to relax and read.

Gallo Pinto (rice, black beans, fried egg, and plantains) with fresh pineapple

Chicken and rice with beans

Yuka pastella with seasoned rice, salad, and watermelon juice

My host dad has a map of the USA with marks everywhere my family has had students from....I am their 15th exchange student.

This morning, my host dad made me a detailed (used a ruler, highlighters, and a scale) map of my town. He included my bus stops, important buildings, the buildings I will pass as I walk, and major landmarks. He taught me about the currency of Costa Rica and about precautions I should take when walking or riding the bus. I understood about 80% of what he said this morning. When I do not understand, I simply just look at him and we both end up laughing, taking a breath, and trying to explain/understand again. My host mom has made some of the best food I have ever tasted. I have eaten yuka pastella, pinto gallo (typical breakfast), and chicken and rice with the best beans in the world. The juices here are equally as great as the juices that I loved in Colombia. I am being treated very well!

Today, we ran errands around the city. I went to my first mall, bank, supermarket, and cell phone store in Costa Rica. I purchased a bright green cell phone that I will use to communicate with my host family and local friends. I also got VERY sun burned today. Who knew that only an hour off and on in the sun could lead to me looking like a tomato, as Noelle so nicely described me?! Tomorrow I will wear sunscreen and a hat and I already have some aloe vera gel in the refrigerator!

I apologize for the confusion that may follow this blog entry. I want to share with everyone how everything is going and I know I will not have much time this week because of orientation at my university. Thank y’all for keeping in touch with me! And, by the way, I live in Santa Lucia, Barva, Heredia, Costa Rica (so maybe you’ll forgive me for some of the confusion because living in a place with four names is different for me!)

P.S. When I was eleven years old and traveled to Egypt with CISV, my mom bought me everything in the color orange. Orange was my theme color for my trip to Egypt. Today I decided that green is the theme color for my time in Costa Rica. I have two new, bright green suitcases and the cell phone I bought today is also green. So, my blog is now green J