December 5, 2011

 

Day two in Costa Rica…

Exotic is the word of the day.

 

The day began with Eva, Kyla, Jess, and I attempting to grab one of the few seats on the shuttle amidst the swarming crowd of others with the same intent. Instead of docking in Puntarenas as the itinerary said, we were docked in Puerto Caldera. To get to Puntarenas, we had to take a half-hour shuttle. The shuttle only ran on every hour, so everyone was pushing and shoving to get on the first 9:00 departure. Luckily, all four of us managed to get a seat amongst the vultures. We hopped off the shuttle right in front of a bank, where everyone got out money. There was a line of locals, but a security guard insisted that we cut all the locals and not take a number like everyone else. The Costa Ricans didn’t even seem upset that the guard forced us to cut them. I am not sure if this was because of their running of “Tico Time” or what? They even smiled at us as we cut them? I was somewhat concerned… That would not fly in the States at all. I can only imagine the mayhem that would break out because of this incident if it were an American bank… After the bank, we made our way towards the shoreline. Along the water there were stalls and booths set up selling various wares such ranging from jewelry, coffee, purses, and etc. After posing for pictures and what not, we made our way back to the bank as everyone had used up most of their money in the “market.” We ran into Maddie, a Lifelong Learner who hails from Hawai’i. She told us of an amazing restaurant just down the street, and we pleaded with her to come eat with us. We feasted on chicken fajita with fresh veggies and some sort of plantain pancake. After lunch, we went back to the market and also stopped in a supermarket. Kyla bought tortillas as she wants to make her own breakfast burritos, and Eva bought me some ice cream J Hot and tired after only a few hours out and about, we headed back to the shuttle stop. On the shuttle, Eva was teaching us Samoan phrases and songs. We got back to the ship, and met up with Lizzy and her sister Ally, and her Aunt Cynthia. I gave them a tour of the ship alongside Liz, and then after just a short time, we were waving good-bye on the gangway. And that was Costa Rica J

Pura vida!

 

Olà from Costa Rica!! I am devastated that we only have 2 days in this beautiful country. Today I went to a cloud forest and visited Poas National Park. It took about 3 hours to get to the national park, and it was well worth the drive. Clustered around the walk-way were “poor man’s umbrellas” which were huge plants that looked just as they are named. The main attraction of the park was the semi-active volcano and crater. When the wind was blowing, the sky blue boiling lake was uncovered from the steam. The volcano last erupted in 2009, and our tour guide had a friend who had been in the park at the time, and caught it all on tape. We left the park and jumped back on the bus, heading for lunch. We were notified that it was being served buffet-style in the restaurant we were going to; made my day! We had “casado” which means married in Spanish. Our tour guide said that the dish is called this, because after you get married it is all your wife will cook you. We had rice and beans, breaded fish, a beef stew concoction, plantains, and a noodle salad. Everything was delicious! I went back for seconds of the rice and beans; you can never get too much rice. The dessert was a piece of strawberry cake with a fresh strawberry on the side. We also had a strawberry smoothie for our drink. I tried Costa Rican coffee, which is one of the staples that Ticos are very proud of… It was so strong! I am not usually a coffee person, so I don’t think that I was able to value it for what it was worth, but it sure seemed like a strong, decent cup of coffee. After lunch, we were taken to a few different shops on the way back. Our bus driver would randomly pull over to the side of the road, and pick pieces of a random coffee bean crop, or banana leaves, or pieces of a tree from the side of the road. Our tour guide Eric, said he loved our driver Chico because he was always doing this sort of thing. So Chico would find us things on the side of the road, and Eric would pass them around the bus and tell us about the different crops and the economy of Costa Rica. I would love to come back and spend more time here; there never seems to be enough time in any of the countries we have been to. One thing I noticed that seemed very different from the States was the fact that most of the houses had a front porch. The USA seems to value the back-porch more, as it offers a sense of privacy and security. I think the front-porch has more of a meaning than just a few chairs in the front of a house. The Ticos were so friendly, and everyone seemed so happy and were all smiling. It was comforting receiving smiles back, especially coming from Asia where it really isn’t in the Asian culture to smile back at strangers. Every time we passed anyone on the street, they offered our tour bus a wave and a huge smile. My Portuguese skills have really helped here as well! I could make out what some of the signs said just from the little Portuguese that I have learned thus far! It just means that I am going to have to learn Spanish and come back to Costa Rica! Pura vida!

December 1, 2011

Somewhere under Mexico or Texas?

 

We have been crossing the Pacific for about 8 days now, and those days have been jam-packed with events, classes, and studying. We organized a Hunger Banquet yesterday, which was definitely emotional to say the least. The statistics of such things now have such a greater impact on many of us; they no longer are just numbers. They are the starving children we saw in Khayelitsha Township in South Africa, or the children begging on the streets in India. We have had coffeehouses and talent shows, and a World AIDS Day Commemoration. There was also LipDub, which is the first lip dub to be performed at sea. We are going to be a YouTube phenomenon! Check the Semester at Sea website in the next few days; the video should be going up soon: semesteratsea.org.

 

We have all been busy with finals and end of term papers and studying. Today I had my first final; it wasn’t necessarily an exam though. We had to write an in-class essay on the negatives of English as a global language. Tonight is the Alumni Ball! The theme is Bollywood, so I am going to wear the saree that I got in India with my host mother. We are having dinner at 8pm. There were two dinner sections; one at 5 and one at 8. Lizzy, Kyla, Wiliama, and I had been planning on making reservations to eat together, but then Wiliama was asked to sit at the Captain’s table as a student of distinction and invited me to be his date J We are going to have a 6 course meal and I am sure it will be delicious, especially if we are sitting with the Captain.

 

We only have 12 more days left until we reach Florida… Where in the world has the time gone?!?! (Hahaha.. Get it?) We are going to reach Costa Rica on the 3^rd, Honduras after that, and then we will be home!?