Into the woods

Today was the end of Week 1. We had to write hypothetical questions to ask our fellow students. The subject matter ranged from tame ("What would you do if you had all the money in the world?") to philosophical ("Would you rather be blind all your life or lose your sight in an accident?") to a little bit saucy ("What would you do if you discovered your destination was a nude beach?" or "If your boyfriend had a one-night stand while you were together, would you want to know?"). It's been a really enjoyable week, and even though I already had a firm grasp on the grammar we covered, the speaking practice was very helpful. I've become much more comfortable with the language than I was even a week ago, even on occasion making jokes in Spanish (some of which aren't repeatable here). I'm going to miss the class – we always fun talking about interesting topics, and got to know a lot about each other. Silvia has been a great professor – very friendly, personable, patient and warm-hearted.


A group of us from Intercultura are trekking into the back roads of Costa Rica this weekend. Afterwards, two of us go direct to the Sámara campus to continue our studies. Since we're leaving straight after class, I packed all my things last night, then this morning hugged Zeneida goodbye, put all my luggage in a taxi and rode over to the school. The half-mile trip was 530 colones ($1.06) which is less than what it would cost just to sit in a taxi in the U.S. without moving an inch. Zeneida wished me well and asked me to call her once I got to Sámara. Ken and Ellie are looking for an apartment right now and will have moved out of Zeneida's by the time I get back to Heredia, so I'll miss sitting down and having dinner with them every night. They'll still be around, though, so we'll get a chance to get together at least once before I leave Costa Rica.

In any case, it's time to hop in that tour van and experience the rural beauty I came to see!

Life is what you make of it

Silvia had to deal with family matters today. We had Jesús teaching the class and he was a pretty good substitute. He talked a little faster than Silvia but was still mostly understandable. We had an interesting homework assignment, but more on that later. At today's cooking class, we baked a batch of pan de yuca (yuca bread), made with grated yuca root, cheese, eggs and flour. It was delicious, like cornmeal bread but lighter in taste, with the texture of biscuits.

Five of us met for lunch at Mambo Café, a soda one block west from the school. I ordered a casado with grilled chicken plus a glass of guayaba juice – all told, only 2,000 colones ($4.00). It was Ken, Ellie and I, plus Patricia and Carolyn from Intercultura. All of us are Anglophones, and it was strange to talk for an entire hour in English. Even Ellie, my housemate, commented on how funny it was after listening to me talk Spanish 90% of the time.

One of my homework assignments was to interview Zeneida about different aspects of her life. She's lived her entire life in Heredia and grew up only about two blocks from the school. She's lived in the same house for 20 years and can't remember how many additions she's made. Four grandchildren, the first of whom was born in 1983. She got married young, at the age of 16, to a filanderer – I at first was afraid to ask this question but she was very forthcoming about what was a bit of a heartbreaking story. She also says that life in Heredia used to be much simpler and has changed so much (too much, she says) during her life.

Zeneida is a very resilient woman. You can tell how much she loves her family by the way she talks about her grandson, Jonathan – how she describes his studiousness and his warm heart. Jonathan came by last week to help his grandmother with errands and daily chores. It seems like almost every day, someone comes by to visit and socialize. Zeneida even calls the three of us her hijos. With such a tight-knit circle of family, friends and neighbors, it's no wonder how she's able to hold her own after 68 years.

An afternoon in San José

Today a small group of us from the school took an afternoon trip to downtown San José to see the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica and the Museo de Oro. The round trip was only 750 colones ($1.50). We rode one bus line into the city and another one back. It seems private enterprise thrives here when it comes to public transit, thank you very much.

The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theatre of Costa Rica) is an exquisite building constructed in the neo-classical style, displaying many fine examples of late-19th century Italian and French sculpture. The TNCR features frequent dance and classical music performances (ten this month) that top out at a mere 10,000 colones ($20). The main atrium is adorned overhead with Costa Rica's most famous mural, Allegory of Coffee and Bananas, which is also featured on the old five-colón banknote (no longer in circulation since its face value is now equivalent to one U.S. penny). The painting, as our tour guide José explained, takes artistic license in the fact that coffee doesn't grow at sea level, and that the banana bunch as pictured would make one banana nearly the length of a man's forearm.

The Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) features a plethora of indigenous artifacts. The goldsmiths in pre-Colombian Central America were highly skilled and made jewelry and religious articles of great intricacy. The museum also features an exhibit on the history of Costa Rican currency, which hasn't always been easy. Costa Rica has at times recognized foreign coins and even coffee beans as legal currency. Of course, these days many places take American dollars, especially in the tourist areas. One thing I didn't know: Costa Rican coins have Braille on them.

All it all, it was an enjoyable trip. The only disappointing thing was the lack of local food downtown. Subway, Wendy's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut – they were all there. A sure sign the tourist industry is alive and well.

The first day of school

Today was the first day of school. The attendance is light this time of year so instead of the 7:30 they mentioned in my original itinerary, I was able to hold off until 8. Zeneida walked with me to the school and introduced me to the receptionist before she returned home. It's amazing that she's pushing 70 and can still walk a mile non-stop!

The placement exam consisted of a short conversation with one of the professors. We talked about where I was from, where I'd lived, where I grew up and what I did last Christmas among other things. I was first put in the Intermediate 1 class, but the professor, Vanessa, decided I was a better fit in Intermediate 2. There were four students in I-2 – me, Tara, Jana and Patricia, plus our professor Silvia. Silvia was funny; when she introduced me to the rest of the class, she said, "¡Tenemos un chico en nuestra clase!" We talked about reflexive and reciprocal verbs, which included verbs about relationships. As expected, our practice conversations got a little saucy at times, but it was all in good humor and kept the morning lively.

After class, a few of us took a short tour around Heredia. The central market here is a treasure trove of fresh fruits, food vendors and the like. Our tour guide Evelyn recommended a few restaurants near the school. Typical in Costa Rica are bistro/café-style restaurants called sodas that serve a traditional Tico lunch, casado – a plate of rice, beans and salad accompanying a choice of meat dish. "Casado" literally means "married" – I suppose the name refers to the "marriage" of side dishes served together on one plate.

We ended up having lunch at Café Scarlett on the east side of town. Like a lot of the casual sit-down restaurants here, it had no menu; the waitress just told us the specials of the day. I had a savory plate with chicken, rice and salad, plus a glass of juice. I don't remember what the name of the juice was – cubúa, cuvúa, cujúa? In any case, it tasted great, like a light mango juice. The best thing was the price: lunch and juice all together for 1,875 colones, or $3.75!

It feels weird to sit down and write this blog in English after spending the whole day talking in Spanish. I find myself sometimes thinking of what I want to say in Spanish before I type it in English, and I'm very much starting to get used to living Spanish 24 hours a day. I hope it's a good indication of what my conversional skills will be like in four weeks.

The sun oh so rises

I woke up bright and early with the sunrise this morning. When I got out of bed I thought it was already close to 8 o'clock – rather, it was barely past 6. The sun rises much earlier here with the passing of the equinox and no DST, plus it shines more brightly and more directly.

I sauntered downstairs and took my first shower in Costa Rica. Yes, we do have hot water here, but it's not centralized. Instead, the water heater is built right into the showerhead. That's right – inside the showerhead is a small electric heating element that powers up as soon as you start the water. To make sure the heater is working, you have to turn up the water until the unit buzzes. To us Yanks, a buzzing electrical appliance is usually cause for alarm, but here it's just another everyday thing that makes Latin American life so interesting.

We're nearing the end of the rainy season here. The pattern each day has been true to what I've read. It's bright and sunny in the morning, then the clouds roll in and it rains for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Typically it's only heavy for about half and hour, and light the rest of the time. Ken, Ellie and I walked around downtown for a little bit to grab a late lunch and pick up some last-minute school supplies. We didn't eat too much since it was about 3 in the afternoon and we'd be having some of Zeneida's home cooking in a few hours. Her food has been delicious! She always slices up plates of fresh guava and pineapples for breakfast. Tonight we had a tasty soup called crema de ayote. The ayote is a gourd similar to a pumpkin, so the soup was something like a pumpkin bisque.

Tomorrow I wake up bright and early to take my oral placement exam at 7:30. The school is about a ten-minute walk from here, and I'm looking forward to getting some nominal exercise since there's not a lot of open space around here to run. I can't wait to see what the class is like and what activities the school has in store.