ICADS

Here are some happy photos of my school for the next 5 (+) weeks in San José, the Institute for Central American Development Studies. After that time, since I am in the Field Program, I will be out traveling for the subsequent 5 weeks with a group and coming back to San José most weekends. And then after those five weeks are over, I'll be completing my own project independently, either in Costa Rica or Nicaragua.

At this point it really looks like it could go anywhere, though I'm hoping to work on an indigenous reservation here. Costa Rica is the only other country in the world besides the United States that has reservations for its Native peoples. Another interesting thing is that I didn't even know they existed, because of all Central American countries, Costa Rica has one of the most enduring myths of their land being uninhabited pre-conquest.

It is based on some fact - that there were possibly fewer people here, and also that they had left being less heavy marks on their land (unlike the Aztecs, for example..), so introduced disease had passed through (many Natives having fled to the mountains and forests to save themselves) and the conquistadors eventually came back to check in on the folks they'd met a couple years back, they quickly surmised that no one really lived here. And it's been a strong belief ever since! Sadly, archaeology has a way of digging up inconvenient truths.

But even many contemporary history books still reflect that same fraudulent belief. I'm hoping I could do health or education work - since I think, like in the U.S., there are different programs for different groups, or study the relationships between different Native groups and the Costa Rican government..Too many choices. I'll gain a clearer perspective once I've done more field work though, I'm sure.

Costarricense

-"Crear una mayor sensibilidad a la cultura latinoamericana, especialmente a la costarricense, y valorar las diferencias culturales"

From my green bedroom right next to the noisy intersection, I was shocked to find an open wireless internet connection named "the Vitamin-E Project". Though it slides between being one or two bars of connection, it is faster and more reliable than the days of yore of dial-up. Using it brings me more than a little grief though, as I don't know whose connection it is, and whether I should be paying them for its use. Just another pequeno cultural difference plaguing my mind. Does it belong to my host-family? Am I racking up their bills as I translate every other word from my tareas on Google translate?

Yes, I am going to include Spanish palabras in italics, just because I can.

The baby kitten just wandered past my room into the dark hallway. I still can't seem to figure out where it came from, and why everyone is so blasé about the tiny baby walking around underfoot.

Today was such a big day! I had my first day of school, and felt like a toddler as my 17 year old host-brother walked me along the busy street to the ICADS head quarters. For those who don't know, ICADS stands for the Institute of Central American Development. Another classmate, who is from Chicago, lives next door to me, and I later found out that there are many other students in the surrounding area. Mi hermano accompanied me to the door of ICADS. The walk was mostly silent with some awkward smiles; he says he really loves to caminar and laughed and said that it was not a problem when I told him "lo siento, mi espangol es la mierda".

Of course it was even more awkward between the students when we first arrived; no one spoke much except those who already were familiar. A shocking amount of people doing this ICADS program are from the mid-west - never have I seen so many people from Michigan and Maryland and Wisconsin out of their home-states. And they all seemed more confident in their Spanish than I am, but that didn't bother me as I've got an over-abundance of confidence in French, which is only serving tripping me up. Or maybe not, more on that later.

After a round of introductions, we were divided into small groups: a theme for this entire program and the next four months of my life. We were given a tour of the ICADS facilities, which are beautiful! Small, but with beautiful gardens in the center, and patios, and tiles and windows everywhere. Everything you could dream your Spanish immersion classroom would have! Plus endless coffee, which is helpful since I haven't been able to stay awake or stop eating since I arrived. Which is only a slight exaggeration.

Soon we reassembled as a class for more information, then gradually were taken out by our Spanish professors for individual interviews. Though I was fairly nervous for mine, it ended up being very funny. My interviewer applauded my ability to speak French without realizing it, and she somehow managed to piece together a relatively accurate portrait of my life. In the end, I was placed in a Spanish class that has only two (!!!) students (which compared to the more customary 3 or 4 is not a huge change), which we think has been formed specifically for the two students who speak the most French. And I couldn't be happier to have such a small class! So much one-on-one time!

Since we'd spent the majority of the morning already working out logistics, we only had about an hour of Spanish class, during which time the professor made me ask my fellow classmate questions and vice verca. He's from North Carolina and goes to a liberal arts school in Florida, and has spent a lot more time traveling in South America than I. However, in the short term I seem to have an upper hand in understanding Spanish thanks to my French. So far I've been able to understand almost everything when spoken to, except for when my host brother (who mumbles a little) tries to communicate with me, which makes me feel pretty bad. I need to understand more!

But it was exhausting to speak, even for an hour. I don't know how I'll manage classes from 8 am to 12 pm, every day! And that is just including the Spanish. Also, my professor is fining me for every time I crack a knuckle. She already has made ten dollars off me. ABSURD.

By the time lunch came around I was starving. We all went out to eat, and I got to know the student from Hampshire College who is doing the same program as me. She's very cool, and I'm sad she doesn't live closer to my own house here in San José! Oh well! I'm sure that won't be an issue. Today we all went to the bank and exchanged our money, and tomorrow we are being sent out in small groups to explore the city and complete a treasure hunt! What a crazy way to discover such a crazy city.

Later in the afternoon we received more information about what we will be studying this semester, and where we will be going on outings and longer trips, and what guest speakers we will have. I leave for Nicaragua in under three weeks! And everything looks so amazing! The speakers are all fantastic, and the outings sound incredible. For example, this Friday we are going to an organic coffee growing commune (for real!) and a small-scale coffee roasting facility!

I forgot to mention in my first blog post - there are low-lying coffee bushes growing everywhere here! And everyone drinks coffee all the time! I am in heaven.

It's the rainy season here, so afternoon courses were interrupted by clashes of thunder and lightning, which no one seemed to blink an eye at except for me and another student who lives close by. Tomorrow she, the girl from Chicago, and I are going to walk to school together. Big girls walking on their own to los classes! No, but in all honesty walking along the side of the road here (in daylight, even) is extremely scary - cars zip by and pay zero attention to pedestrians, and there aren't really stop lights or crosswalks. The best bet when you've decided you want to cross the street is to wait for a bus to pass, since buses only go straight and down turn on the side roads we have to cross. And there are many, many buses.

Today, when walking home in heavy rain, my host brother and I had to stop on the sidewalk before side-stepping to avoid puddles to insure no cars hit us. And the cat-calling culture is even more intense here than in the United States: even though I was walking with my host brother, and was wearing jeans and a sweat-shirt, I was hollered and whistled at from cars and by men standing next to me on the street. Excuse me? No buenas dias for you, sir.

Anyways, it has been a very long day so I will wrap this up. I hadn't even intended on writing again, but felt like it. When I got home I hung my shoes up to dry, and went through my homework highlighting all the words I don't know yet and adding them to my big list of vocabulary words written in funky highlighters to make learning less of a chore, but more difficult to read. I had dinner with my host mother, who is, in fact, Ana Fallas, not Rosie. I met Rosie later this evening - turns out she had seen me passed out yesterday afternoon and though it was too cute to disturb. Ana made me an amazing salad with giant slices of avocado, tomato, and little quail eggs, which she wouldn't stop pressing me to eat since I told her I adore avocados. There was also rice, and a yummy pasta dish. So much food! She also made rice pudding later, which made me melt with happiness. Nothing makes me melt like rice pudding.

I felt much braver about my Spanish after a day of rattling on class, and spent most of the meal trying to describe more personal things, such as how much I had enjoyed playing with Triné when I first arrived and practicing my Spanish with her, how important it is to me to speak many languages and how I come from a family that speaks many languages, and how happy I am that there are ICADS students near my home who I can easily go out with at night and on weekends once I know the city better. I am so grateful that she is so willing to work with me to understand me! I hope (and suspect) she finds it pretty amusing, though.

I have a lot more readings I should work on tonight, but I am exhausted even though it is only 8 o'clock! Or at least I suspect so. I haven't figured out the time difference or whether my clock on my computer is wrong. I am also trying to upload a photograph of the money here - it's like a jungle safari! Everything is bright colors and covered in animals. Since my internet isn't up to uploading these photos, I suppose I'll make do with a Google image. On these notes - buenas noches!