La Pura Vida - Aug 11, 2010
So, I’m back in central america. I spent the good part of the last two days anxious about being back - wondering how bad my Spanish has regressed since 6 months ago, if I would find my way alright, etc. And of course, the barrage of taxi ride offers and hotel recommendations was met as soon as those sliding glass doors opened.
And, just how it tends to happen, a guy was at the bus stop heading to the same port town as I was. And another guy approached asking If we wanted a ride to Jaco for 6 bucks. Deal!
So, I’m here and it’s raaaaaaining. Hardcore! But it’s still warm, and is a nice break from Colorado’s heat. I’ll chill on the coast til starting work on the 15th. Planning to surf and chill and relax for the first time since June!
And, just how it tends to happen, a guy was at the bus stop heading to the same port town as I was. And another guy approached asking If we wanted a ride to Jaco for 6 bucks. Deal!
So, I’m here and it’s raaaaaaining. Hardcore! But it’s still warm, and is a nice break from Colorado’s heat. I’ll chill on the coast til starting work on the 15th. Planning to surf and chill and relax for the first time since June!
Costa Ricola - Aug 15, 2010
First off, I have to say how freaking beautiful this country is! The jungle is gorgeous, the beaches breathtaking, the water so bright blue. I can’t help but feel humbled about how lucky I am to be here and how fortunate I am to be able to travel as much as I do.
Do, what do I say about the last 4 days? I’ve spent a lot of money, seen some cool wildlife, swam, partied a bit, and chilled in a hammock or 3. That’s the gist of it, anyway!
It’s amazing how many Americans are down here - living or traveling. There are casinos, gentleman’s clubs, and every type of American fast food possible. The first town I spent any time in, Jaco, is the closest beach town to San Jose. It’s got a reputation for awesome surfing, partying and drugs. It’s reputation precedes itself - what a seedy little party town! I wanted to get to the beach and needed to be somewhere before it got dark (oh the joys of traveling alone as a lady), so Jaco was it. I stayed for 2 nights and met some really cool people, but didn’t care for the town whatsoever.
We did escape to Manuel Antonio for the last 2 nights, and I wish I could have turned it into a week! The national park there is incredible! We saw monkeys, hermit crabs, miniature deer, and sloths! The beach was also incredible. But alas, we had to catch a 5am bus to make it back to the capital by noon, so I’m pretty tired and lack the energy required to make this blog more interesting….so more to come later! Maybe even a few pictures as well, you never know. :)
Do, what do I say about the last 4 days? I’ve spent a lot of money, seen some cool wildlife, swam, partied a bit, and chilled in a hammock or 3. That’s the gist of it, anyway!
It’s amazing how many Americans are down here - living or traveling. There are casinos, gentleman’s clubs, and every type of American fast food possible. The first town I spent any time in, Jaco, is the closest beach town to San Jose. It’s got a reputation for awesome surfing, partying and drugs. It’s reputation precedes itself - what a seedy little party town! I wanted to get to the beach and needed to be somewhere before it got dark (oh the joys of traveling alone as a lady), so Jaco was it. I stayed for 2 nights and met some really cool people, but didn’t care for the town whatsoever.
We did escape to Manuel Antonio for the last 2 nights, and I wish I could have turned it into a week! The national park there is incredible! We saw monkeys, hermit crabs, miniature deer, and sloths! The beach was also incredible. But alas, we had to catch a 5am bus to make it back to the capital by noon, so I’m pretty tired and lack the energy required to make this blog more interesting….so more to come later! Maybe even a few pictures as well, you never know. :)
Hello world - Aug 23, 2010
Due to my brain being at capacity, I have been unable to write anything that is a) exciting, nor b) witty. My apologies for this. I promise more to come soon - by the weekend. And hopefully pictures as well. Stu, you’ll see a miniature deer before month’s end. Mark my words..
And so it begins! - Aug 31, 2010
After spending 4 months saving money, moving out of my house in Portland, living In a tent for a month, driving my things back to Colorado, and two and a half weeks of interpreting in and out of 3 languages….it’s time. Freedom is before me. I can’t believe the open-ended journey is finally going to begin. I leave my homestay family and the town of Turrialba on Wednesday and then….who knows. I’ve got my backpack and passport and debit cards. And nothing but time, really! It’s a hard concept to wrap my head around.
So, about these last two weeks: interpreting abroad is hard! I knew I would be working hard, but I forgot how hard interpreting can be! I can get by pretty well in Spanish, but I haven’t taken a class in 10 years. All of those extra verb tenses have left my memory. And the vocabulary I do have doesn’t have anything to do with issues that come up during homestays or visits to schools, farms and museums. This is the group of girls who hung out with us the most at the service learning site where I interpreted. They are high school students in a rural town.
The learning curve here was steep - not only was my brain going from Spanish to English to ASL, but when the day was done, the hard part began. My host family speaks fast and they have a very Costa Rican accent (think ‘ll’ pronounced with a ‘g’ and ‘s’ at the end of words not being pronounced). And they don’t speak English. That being said, I can’t believe the conversations we have had! Everything from costa rican slang to Barack Obama’s family to how much we fought with our brothers when we were young. I would like to think that I’ve learned quite a bit in these last two and a half weeks! Here they are, Randal, Susana, and daughter Maria Laura:
There is a lot that I could write but I’ll save that for another post on another day. So, tomorrow I will head to a small town in the mountains with hot springs and stay there for two nights, followed by San Jose for the weekend. And after that….I haven’t decided. If my friend is planning to come down in Nov, I will head south first. And if not, I may go north first. But I have a while to decide - i’ll probably head to a 5-day music and arts festival on the caribbean coast before deciding to make my way toward a frontera.
So, about these last two weeks: interpreting abroad is hard! I knew I would be working hard, but I forgot how hard interpreting can be! I can get by pretty well in Spanish, but I haven’t taken a class in 10 years. All of those extra verb tenses have left my memory. And the vocabulary I do have doesn’t have anything to do with issues that come up during homestays or visits to schools, farms and museums. This is the group of girls who hung out with us the most at the service learning site where I interpreted. They are high school students in a rural town.
The learning curve here was steep - not only was my brain going from Spanish to English to ASL, but when the day was done, the hard part began. My host family speaks fast and they have a very Costa Rican accent (think ‘ll’ pronounced with a ‘g’ and ‘s’ at the end of words not being pronounced). And they don’t speak English. That being said, I can’t believe the conversations we have had! Everything from costa rican slang to Barack Obama’s family to how much we fought with our brothers when we were young. I would like to think that I’ve learned quite a bit in these last two and a half weeks! Here they are, Randal, Susana, and daughter Maria Laura:
There is a lot that I could write but I’ll save that for another post on another day. So, tomorrow I will head to a small town in the mountains with hot springs and stay there for two nights, followed by San Jose for the weekend. And after that….I haven’t decided. If my friend is planning to come down in Nov, I will head south first. And if not, I may go north first. But I have a while to decide - i’ll probably head to a 5-day music and arts festival on the caribbean coast before deciding to make my way toward a frontera.
Baby’s first haircut abroad, and single stories - Sept 3, 2010
I haven’t been that nervous in quite some time. And I wasn’t nervous until the first chop, which was actually quite lot of hair! Looks okay though...I think? And the damage? $4. That after buying an avocado, two small apples, and green orange for $2. And a baguette for a quarter. Things definitely are on the cheap side here.
Since I have a dorm room to myself - again - I have been taking the liberty to just lay on my bed and watch free stuff I downloaded from iTunes. Last night I watched a talk through TED talks that was really great. In fact, here is the info. I suggest you take 20 minutes to watch this: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
This remarkable woman did a great job of explaining one of the reasons I like to travel - and also why I wanted to travel in Latin America. I don’t want to spoil the lecture, so take a look and see why I may have wanted to come down here. :)
Ps, just noticed, the woman missed a whole chunk of hair in the back of my head.
Since I have a dorm room to myself - again - I have been taking the liberty to just lay on my bed and watch free stuff I downloaded from iTunes. Last night I watched a talk through TED talks that was really great. In fact, here is the info. I suggest you take 20 minutes to watch this: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
This remarkable woman did a great job of explaining one of the reasons I like to travel - and also why I wanted to travel in Latin America. I don’t want to spoil the lecture, so take a look and see why I may have wanted to come down here. :)
Ps, just noticed, the woman missed a whole chunk of hair in the back of my head.
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