Tag: Latin America

By rachels522

One of the best parts of this experience has been living in a homestay. My homestay consists of a mother, father, and son. They have been beyond amazing and have welcomed me into their home.

-Chilo: Is my “tico” father. He is honestly one of the sweetest people I have ever met. He is pretty famous in Monteverde for being friendly and knowing everybody. He makes his living from selling lottery tickets. He used to make shoes from scratch until he hurt his back. He showed me a pair of shoes his and they are gorgeous. The other night he taught me how to make cheese. He milked the cow himself!!!! Then he brought home the milk and took me through the whole process of how to make cheese. He promised me that he will teach me how to milk a cow before I leave. ...continue reading "Familia Tica"

By rachels522

Comida Tipicia

When preparing to come to Costa Rica I was told that I would be eating a whole lot of arroz y frijoles (rice and beans). I figured this meant that I would be eating it once a day. What I did not grasp is that in Costa Rica arroz y frijoles is the staple of every single meal. Occasionally there is a breakfast without rice and beans, but that is a rarity. There are two main dishes that make up the majority of Costa Rican cuisine. The first is gallo pinto for breakfast. Gallo pinto consists of a mix of rice and beans as well as a fried egg. The second dish is casado. Casado can be for either lunch or dinner. It consists of a serving of rice and a serving of beans, separately. That is coupled with red meat or chicken. I eat casado at least once a day, usually twice. ...continue reading "Comidia Tipica"

By rachels522

Costa Rica is known worldwide for being one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It’s known for being lush and having amazing flowers and colors. So far I can’t disagree. Costa Rica is absolutely one of the most gorgeous places that I have ever been. However, there is another side to Costa Rica. There is a side of Costa Rica that doesn’t get publicized in the Eco-tourism magazines. One experience made me acutely aware of the fact that despite the renowned beauty of this country, it is still developing.

My group visited La Carpio, a turgurio (shantytown), located outside of the capital city of Santa Elena. La Carpio started as a haven for Nicaraguan refugees fleeing civil war in the 1980s. These refugees illegally squatted on an abandoned coffee plantation. Since the 1980s the neighborhood of La Carpio has grown exponentially and today the population is roughly 34,000 people. Many are the children and grandchildren of the original settlers. What struck me about La Carpio was how different it was from the postcard version of Costa Rica. The streets were lined with trash. Some of the houses were smaller than dorm rooms, and based off of the laundry on the clotheslines, the houses seemed like they had maybe four or more people living in them. The river was strewn with trash. Maybe the saddest part about La Carpio is that it is situated next to a landfill, which takes in the trash of the rest of the Central Valley of Costa Rica. This means while the rest of the people in the region have trash service, the residents of La Carpio live next to a dump.

While in La Carpio my group was fortunate enough to meet with a few of the residents. One of the women explained to us that she had arrived from Nicaragua in the 1980s and has been living in La Carpio ever since. She told us about some of the effects of living next to the dump including skin infections and respiratory ailments. However, she also explained to us the resilience of the people of La Carpio. She explained how community activists are working on improving the lives of La Carpio residents. For example they have put together a website entitled La Carpio En Linea (La Carpio Online) that seeks to inform the public about accomplishments in La Carpio.

While in La Carpio we also got a chance to visit the landfill and speak with one of the engineers. This landfill has been in use for roughly ten years, but will be closed to taking new materials in five years. Where will they put waste once the dump closes? Will waste have to be put into one of the gorgeous rainforests?

Although visiting La Carpio was not the same as visiting a green rainforest or admiring wildlife I think it will prove to be one of the most valuable experiences of my trip. It made me realize that in every country, even countries that are supposed to be the epitome of peace and beauty, there lays a different story. From an environmental point of view it is amazing to see how much human refuse can impact the natural landscape and turn it from beautiful to downright ugly. Furthermore, the trip made me question the consumer culture of that I have grown up in. The people in La Carpio live on so little, yet I “need” so much. Perhaps the thing that the trip to La Carpio made me realize the most was how much waste society can produce. Since my visit I have been extra concerned with eating all the food on my plate, turning the lights off when I leave a room, and recycling. I will absolutely take these realizations with me back to the United States and attempt to reduce my impact on the earth.

By rachels522

One of the reasons I decided to study in Costa Rica is because I wanted to spend more time with animals, connect with nature. This morning my host brother took me to his family’s farm to see his baby cows. The cows were incredibly sweet and adorable. I was beyond ecstatic to meet the cows. I thought that this would be the most exciting part of the day. Turns out I was very wrong…

As I walked back towards the center of town with my host brother I started to hear vague sounds of drumming. Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small, quiet town. Loud drums seem extremely out of the ordinary. As I approached the crest of the hill I saw what looked to be a small marching band in front of a modest stage. As we got closer to the festivities I learned that the town of Monteverde was celebrating its banderos (firemen) and inaugurating a new class into the force. The celebration was also for the brand-new fire truck that the town had purchased. I stood with my host brother and watched the festivities. About 200 ticos (Costa Ricans) lined the streets waiting for the presentation to begin. Finally a woman began a short speech, lasting roughly 4 minutes. The speech was followed by modest applause, nothing too special. After she finished speaking she got off of the stage and starting hugging everybody.

This wasn’t just any woman though. It was Laura Chinchilla, president of Costa Rica…. And I was standing maybe eight feet away from her!!!! I can’t even begin to describe how incredibly excited I was. Laura Chinchilla is the first female president of Costa Rica. She represents las mujeres (females) on a world stage! She took pictures with my homestay brother, homestay cousin, and eventually me (I’ll upload the pictures to show off as soon as I have enough Internet). I can officially say that a head of state has hugged me.

However, even though I was elated, the ticos seemed nonplussed. She was walking amongst the people with no bodyguards. My host family had been much more excited while watching a soccer game. There was no security in sight. I didn’t hear one siren (with the exception of the new fire truck, of course!).  To me this was crazy. Living in D.C. I am pretty used to seeing important members of state. In fact, the night before inauguration I missed my train back home because of Obama’s motorcade. As most students in D.C. know, the presidential motorcade consists of multiple ambulances, unmarked cars, motorcycles, and police cars. Since I missed my train, I headed to inauguration. There was security on every corner, watching every block. The snipers were visible on the roofs. However, in Costa Rica, a country with no army, there was hardly anything marking this occasion as significant.

This epitomizes the tico lifestyle. Everything is tranquilo. Over the past few days I have learned about how laid-back this culture is. There is no stress. The whole country runs on “tico time,” meaning very, very slowly. In this short time my host family has helped me to relax. I love to have plans and a schedule for my day. My host family has made it clear that plans are not part of the Costa Rican lifestyle. Until I saw the tico’s reactions to seeing their president I did not realize just how relaxed a culture can be.

Furthermore, it was amazing to me that a president would come up to Monteverde for this occasion. The only way to get to Monteverde is three, slow hours up a gravel road. There is nowhere to land a presidential plane or helicopter. To me this seems like something that a town would celebrate, but not a big enough occasion to warrant a visit of the president. Can you imagine Obama coming to a tiny village because of a new fire truck? Absolutely not. This further made me realize what a small, intimate country I am in. In a place where fire trucks are appreciated, and the pace of life is slower it is easy to enjoy the simple things in life. No wonder Costa Rica is the land of Pura Vida (pure life)!