Well, after a full week here I’m very settled in, yet still taking in more than I can handle each and every day. It’s a strange experience to grow accustomed to so many things and yet experience so many new ones all at the same time. None of us can imagine the first year of our lives in this world, but I cannot help but wonder if the experience is not so different from cultural immersion.
I second everything Ben said about this past Thursday - it was incredibly fun to see Ben, Kristen, Anna, and her family. I look forward to our next reunion :)
One would think that getting away from Augie for a year would certainly cause an increase in my average class size (it’s tough to compete with a prof-to-student ratio of a university that’s the size of Augustana, no?), but that’s certainly not the case here. After all, there are only 38 or so students in the entire program, and we’re spread amongst four different levels of Spanish. This semester, if you take away my Latin Dance class (which consists of pretty much everyone here), my average class size is around 6. Wow. No hiding from your professors here =). The Classes themselves seem like they won’t be unbearably challenging, but neither will they be unnecessarily easy. Again, this is coming after a week, so I really can’t say as of yet.
I’ve also now attended two church services with my host family. When I first asked what denomination they were, my (host) mother told me it’s the “Iglesia Cristiana,” or simply the “Christian Church.” To me of course this was confusingly generic, but after going a couple times it seems pretty much like an Assembly of God style community, with some slight differences. It’s certainly not Lutheran (not that that would bother a German/Norwegian like me, haha), but the people are very cordial and welcoming (and energetic!). Soon I’ll likely be going to a different, though allegedly similar, church with my sister.
On an entirely different note, the food here is really growing on me. I’m still not much of a breakfast person here, but everything I have had is really good. I’ve been trying many new things, despite my complete lack of Spanish food vocabulary. My culinary knowledge is limited in English, so many of my adventures in eating here teach me on multiple levels (as if I’m not learning enough every day!).
Yesterday our program group went to a couple national parks: INBIO, a sort of state-funded biodiversity center; and La Paz Waterfall gardens. La Paz immediately jumped out as a strong competitor for one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I’ve already written too much for this post, but I’ll post about this weekend soon, and hopefully throw some pictures up for all of you to enjoy. Until then, take care!
Sunday, August 31
Friday, August 29
Good First Day
Hello blog-followers and admirers from the States. Today was a good first day for Kristen and I. We spent most of the day with Sam (who took a bus, another bus, walked, then took a taxi to find us at our hostel) walking around San Jose in the various parks here. Some of the city is quite pretty, while some of it reminds us of how rundown and lacking upkeep Rome was.
We walked for a few hours and then met up with Anna after her class at the Universidad Latina. From there we went to her Costa Rica home and met her family, who are very fun. Sam and Kristen spoke marvelously with them (Sam has been told a couple times that he's as good as the Ticos here, although he insists its more credit than he deserves. Which is probably true.) Anna and I do a lot of listening. I'm able to understand much of what is said, but I have little confidence in speaking yet. That'll come.
Anna insists that she will write on the blog here at some point (since she's been here much longer than the rest of us...) but it's still a work in progress.
Kristen and I go to Sam Ramon today to see the orphanage and meet our host mom and her kids. We're pretty excited after meeting Anna's family.
Peace and blessings to all of you. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.
We walked for a few hours and then met up with Anna after her class at the Universidad Latina. From there we went to her Costa Rica home and met her family, who are very fun. Sam and Kristen spoke marvelously with them (Sam has been told a couple times that he's as good as the Ticos here, although he insists its more credit than he deserves. Which is probably true.) Anna and I do a lot of listening. I'm able to understand much of what is said, but I have little confidence in speaking yet. That'll come.
Anna insists that she will write on the blog here at some point (since she's been here much longer than the rest of us...) but it's still a work in progress.
Kristen and I go to Sam Ramon today to see the orphanage and meet our host mom and her kids. We're pretty excited after meeting Anna's family.
Peace and blessings to all of you. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts.
Wednesday, August 27
Estamos aqui!
Hello everyone! Kristen and I made it safely to the Costa Rica Backpacker's Hostel in San Jose. The hostel is pretty nice.... Google it for some pictures. Vegetations, a courtyard with a pool, wi-fi... nice. The plane rides were fine and uneventful.
Can't tell you much about our surroundings yet, since it's been dark. I looked for Sam at the airport, but didn't find him and didn't want to look too much longer because cab-drivers and people longing to give out all kinds of information kept coming up to me and saying, "You looking for sumting, brother?" Sam: if you were there and we missed you, sorry. Probably your bad anyway. =-)
Kristen and I are planning on wandering the streets of San Jose tomorrow with Sam, since for some reason he has no classes whatsoever. We're also planning on meeting Anna at the ULatino to wander and have some not-in-South-Dakota-anymore-bonding time.
That's about it for now. We'll upload some pictures in the slideshow tool above, which you'll be able to get a close look at by clicking on the pics. More on that soon.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to update you as life permits!
Pura Vida!
Kristen and ben.
Can't tell you much about our surroundings yet, since it's been dark. I looked for Sam at the airport, but didn't find him and didn't want to look too much longer because cab-drivers and people longing to give out all kinds of information kept coming up to me and saying, "You looking for sumting, brother?" Sam: if you were there and we missed you, sorry. Probably your bad anyway. =-)
Kristen and I are planning on wandering the streets of San Jose tomorrow with Sam, since for some reason he has no classes whatsoever. We're also planning on meeting Anna at the ULatino to wander and have some not-in-South-Dakota-anymore-bonding time.
That's about it for now. We'll upload some pictures in the slideshow tool above, which you'll be able to get a close look at by clicking on the pics. More on that soon.
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to update you as life permits!
Pura Vida!
Kristen and ben.
Saturday, August 23
I´m here!!
Hi everyone!
My plane landed in Costa Rica yesterday afternoon, and I´m safe and sound now in my new home. The flight was great (although I was a bit nervous the whole time). On the flight from Houston to San José, I just happened to end up sitting next to a very nice girl named Jessica who is in the same program as I am, so we talked about meeting our host families, how much Spanish we knew, saying goodbye to family and friends....basically all the things that were stressing us both out, which destressed us both considerably. ¡Gracias a Dios por nuevos amigos! Blessing number 1 of my adventures here.
After landing, customs and all that went very smoothly. I had to wait a little while for my host mother to show up, but I met a nice woman named Claudia who works with USAC who talked with me (in Spanish) until my host mother arrived.
My host family is fantastic. I´m living with Elizabeth, who is around 50 (although we´ve already established a little joke between us that she´s actually 25), her husband Luis, and their two children, Jessica (pronounced "YESS-ee-ca") and Erick ("Eh-REEK"). Elizabeth is very hospitable. She speaks a little English and Jessica speaks even more, but neither use it when talking with me unless they need to help me with a specific word. From what I´ve seen thus far, Elizabeth is a fantastic cook, and is in the kitchen often. Jessica is extremely nice, and very understanding of my slow Spanish. She has already taught me many idiomatic expressions and local gestures that I should know. I learned more (and spoke more Spanish) yesterday than I have for a long time. I´m having trouble understanding them when they talk amongst themselves, but they slow down when addressing me. Apparently, they´ve hosted over 50 students before me, so this is not a new thing for them at all. Luis is very nice as well, but still speaks a little rapidly to me. Erick I just met today, and haven´t had the chance to talk with him. There is one dog here (Charley), and a gazillion birds. Elizabeth loves to hear them sing all day (and sing they do!!), but it seems to drive everyone else nuts. I don´t mind it...I´m too busy taking in everything around me.
The house itself is very nice. Like virtually all residences here, it has a large gate in front with a small driveway/patio just outside the front door. Out back there is another small patio (where Charley and a few of the birds live [including Melissa and John, parrots, who occasionally speak loud Spanish phrases just outside my room]). Beyond the back patio there is a small coffee field, and beyond this (easily visible from upstairs) there is a fantastic view of San José, which is beautiful at night. Upstairs is the computer with internet access, though it´s not wireless so I use the family computer for online stuff. Downstairs is a living room, kitchen, and a few bedrooms including mine and Elizabeth and Luis´s, and a bathroom. Apparently hot showers are possible, but I couldn´t figure it out this morning and had to take a cold, cold shower. It reminded me of bathing in Rainy Lake in northern Minnesota (I asked Elizabeth afterwards how to work it, so hopefully tomorrow morning will be a little less frigid).
Today I had my orientation to the university (Elizabeth accompanied me there, showing me the proper bus route), although we didn´t so much tour Heredia or the campus as get a bunch of helpful information on living in Heredia, what classes are like, safety tips, study tips, language practice tips and things like that. After taking a proficiency test (which I discovered was optional after all but took anyway), I found that, based on the results, I was in fact up to par by their standards for "Track IV", the highest level of language classes they offer here. Class starts monday (yikes!). I met many more of my fellow USAC students today, although as always I´m having trouble remembering names. It seems like the grand majority of them are going to school in California or Nevada, particularly UN-Las Vegas or UN-Reno. It seems like a good group, and I think I´ll have a good semester. I have not yet met anyone else in Track IV (I think there are very few of us), nor do I know anyone yet who is staying the whole school year like myself.
After orientation a group of six of us wandered around downtown Heredia for about an hour (we had plenty of spare time before our host families were supposed to pick us up). While waiting for Elizabeth, I conversed with a friendly old tica (Ticos are Costa Ricans) who was waiting for her student to get done with registration. She was very kind, complimented my Spanish, and said I already sound like a Tico myself (though I didn´t believe her....I know I´ve got a long ways to go =D). Elizabeth found me a little after 4, brought me back home (again, by bus), and here I am having strong tea and small galletas (cookies/crackers). Tomorrow I´m going to go to church with Elizabeth and probably rest/study for the day.
That´s all for now - thank you all for your kind words in the emails you sent. I´m thinking of all of you.
¡Pura Vida!
My plane landed in Costa Rica yesterday afternoon, and I´m safe and sound now in my new home. The flight was great (although I was a bit nervous the whole time). On the flight from Houston to San José, I just happened to end up sitting next to a very nice girl named Jessica who is in the same program as I am, so we talked about meeting our host families, how much Spanish we knew, saying goodbye to family and friends....basically all the things that were stressing us both out, which destressed us both considerably. ¡Gracias a Dios por nuevos amigos! Blessing number 1 of my adventures here.
After landing, customs and all that went very smoothly. I had to wait a little while for my host mother to show up, but I met a nice woman named Claudia who works with USAC who talked with me (in Spanish) until my host mother arrived.
My host family is fantastic. I´m living with Elizabeth, who is around 50 (although we´ve already established a little joke between us that she´s actually 25), her husband Luis, and their two children, Jessica (pronounced "YESS-ee-ca") and Erick ("Eh-REEK"). Elizabeth is very hospitable. She speaks a little English and Jessica speaks even more, but neither use it when talking with me unless they need to help me with a specific word. From what I´ve seen thus far, Elizabeth is a fantastic cook, and is in the kitchen often. Jessica is extremely nice, and very understanding of my slow Spanish. She has already taught me many idiomatic expressions and local gestures that I should know. I learned more (and spoke more Spanish) yesterday than I have for a long time. I´m having trouble understanding them when they talk amongst themselves, but they slow down when addressing me. Apparently, they´ve hosted over 50 students before me, so this is not a new thing for them at all. Luis is very nice as well, but still speaks a little rapidly to me. Erick I just met today, and haven´t had the chance to talk with him. There is one dog here (Charley), and a gazillion birds. Elizabeth loves to hear them sing all day (and sing they do!!), but it seems to drive everyone else nuts. I don´t mind it...I´m too busy taking in everything around me.
The house itself is very nice. Like virtually all residences here, it has a large gate in front with a small driveway/patio just outside the front door. Out back there is another small patio (where Charley and a few of the birds live [including Melissa and John, parrots, who occasionally speak loud Spanish phrases just outside my room]). Beyond the back patio there is a small coffee field, and beyond this (easily visible from upstairs) there is a fantastic view of San José, which is beautiful at night. Upstairs is the computer with internet access, though it´s not wireless so I use the family computer for online stuff. Downstairs is a living room, kitchen, and a few bedrooms including mine and Elizabeth and Luis´s, and a bathroom. Apparently hot showers are possible, but I couldn´t figure it out this morning and had to take a cold, cold shower. It reminded me of bathing in Rainy Lake in northern Minnesota (I asked Elizabeth afterwards how to work it, so hopefully tomorrow morning will be a little less frigid).
Today I had my orientation to the university (Elizabeth accompanied me there, showing me the proper bus route), although we didn´t so much tour Heredia or the campus as get a bunch of helpful information on living in Heredia, what classes are like, safety tips, study tips, language practice tips and things like that. After taking a proficiency test (which I discovered was optional after all but took anyway), I found that, based on the results, I was in fact up to par by their standards for "Track IV", the highest level of language classes they offer here. Class starts monday (yikes!). I met many more of my fellow USAC students today, although as always I´m having trouble remembering names. It seems like the grand majority of them are going to school in California or Nevada, particularly UN-Las Vegas or UN-Reno. It seems like a good group, and I think I´ll have a good semester. I have not yet met anyone else in Track IV (I think there are very few of us), nor do I know anyone yet who is staying the whole school year like myself.
After orientation a group of six of us wandered around downtown Heredia for about an hour (we had plenty of spare time before our host families were supposed to pick us up). While waiting for Elizabeth, I conversed with a friendly old tica (Ticos are Costa Ricans) who was waiting for her student to get done with registration. She was very kind, complimented my Spanish, and said I already sound like a Tico myself (though I didn´t believe her....I know I´ve got a long ways to go =D). Elizabeth found me a little after 4, brought me back home (again, by bus), and here I am having strong tea and small galletas (cookies/crackers). Tomorrow I´m going to go to church with Elizabeth and probably rest/study for the day.
That´s all for now - thank you all for your kind words in the emails you sent. I´m thinking of all of you.
¡Pura Vida!
Thursday, August 7
Welcome to the blog!
¡Bienvenidos a nuestro blog!
Hi everyone! Sam here, and this is the first post for the blog of Anna, Kristen, Ben, and me while we're in Costa Rica. Actually, I'm writing this about two weeks before my plane takes off, but I wanted to say hi and thank you for visiting whenever you see this! If you would like to know where everyone will be (or is...or was....or whatever), I've made a simple little map and attached it to this post. Go ahead and click it for a larger version. It gives you a rough idea of where we're all living/working/studying. I'll let everyone else provide a little more information about their particular location, but this is a good start.
Thanks again for visiting, and be sure to check back often! And if you have any suggestions for this page, content or information requests, or anything of that sort please let me know. My email is speisele06@ole.augie.edu, and you can say hello anytime.
Peace!
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