The beginning of a family...

Feliz día del San Valentino!

This entry dates from February 9^th through February 13^th.

Over the last few days many things have happened. I have gone through orientation in San Jose. I have met with all of my professors. As a class, we have completed activities designed for us to get to know the area and each other better, like visiting farmers markets, self guiding ourselves around the city and having drinks at during class (more on this later). I have moved in with a homestay family in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I have even started a few of my classes and have received homework… quite a shock after nearly a 2 month break. But the greatest thing to happen is that I have met all of the other students in the program (16) and have begun to build relationships with each of them. I do not think there is one person who I have not spoken with personally yet, which really surprises me because I am not a very outgoing person when it comes really getting to know people.

We have begun to grow as a family of students, and already are learning to trust one another with little things such as watching over another’s computers in hotel lobbies or borrowing a buck or two. This experience really reminds me of my second year at Iowa State University when I started in the Landscape Architecture program with my classmates there in our Traveling Studio. This was a studio where we spent 6 weeks out of the semester traveling North and South from Iowa to faraway places like Winnipeg, Canada and Monterrey, Mexico, and all points in between. After these travels we were very much so, and still are a big happy family. But I can already tell that this group here in Monteverde will be even closer and more of a family than my LA brothers and sisters are. I am not quite sure why though.

Knock the nuts off of the fire hydrant tower looking things with a tennis ball. But don't knock over the towers or you lose.

The group dynamics just seem to click. Maybe it is the very small class size of only 16 students, or that we all are sharing meals every day. It could be the bar breaks that seem to happen every time we need to sit down and discuss something as a class (literally we go to the nearest bar and a drink of our choice is on CIEE, the study abroad). It could also be the great professors and teaching assistants that are present for us here at the study center. Karen Masters is the resident director and might as well be known as Mom. She has twin sons, who are abroad right now, close to my age, so she says she really like and understands our age group. Sarah and Priscilla are our TA’s and they are only a couple of years older than us so that makes them just older sisters in our great big family.

Drink break!

Drink break during class...

Now let me reassure all my family and friends back in Iowa. I still do miss you all a great deal. There is much to be said for our great relationships and I wish I could be spending this spring with each one of you as well. But alas, God has called me here, so I have followed and I plan to get every little bit of good out of this opportunity as I can.

Besides building a family, like I said we have been doing a lot. San Jose was fun, and yet, I have never enjoyed the pace of the city, nor the traffic. Ticos (Costa Ricans) drive like maniacs, so defensive walking is always a necessity. Eating out at a couple of the restaurants was very pleasant, usually involving a large plate of rice and beans, and then maybe a little chicken, or some vegetables on the side. I have yet to say no to any form of rice and/or beans. I hope that it is impossible to grow sick of such basic, and yet wonderful food.

On our way to Monteverde on the 11^th we stopped by two hidden tourist destinations and saw the sites. You know… the municipal sanitary landfill of San Jose and then the official dump for the city of Puntarenas. Ok, so I guess these are not quite the traditional tourist stops, and I would never have guesses to stop here other than I am studying about Environmental Sustainability and Human Impact, so this was a good place to be. It was a great learning experience, whether or not the sights and smells were pleasant. At the dump we learned about how they are trying (an illegal attempt) to recycle some of the materials, since it is illegal to sort through trash because of public health concerns.

I like this picture of colorful broken boxes that are going to be recycled.

It was about a 45 minute drive from the main highway to Monteverde, on dirt roads that twisted and turned nearly as much as in Honduras although in a little better condition, and very much reminding me of Colorado. I will have to figure out what the elevation of Monteverde is at some time, but for now let’s just say it is high in the clouds.

Monteverde is up in the hills in the background.

San Louis Valley above and below....

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will climb... just give me a little time....

We moved into our homestays on Thursday night. I met my mother, Ana Isabel and we had dinner together. She told me her entire life story as we sat in the kitchen that night. She is very sweet and giving, I know I am going to be well taken care of… don’t worry Mom. I have a few siblings but my brother is studying in San Jose a college, and my older sister just got married (I think so, but not sure) so I haven’t met either of them. I did finally meet my younger sister on Saturday because she came back from doing something in Puntarenas (the coastal city down the mountain side). She is 15 years old. I also met my tico father finally Saturday night at 11pm. Albino (although he is not white) is his name. He works for some Agricultural company or something that has him working very early in the morning until very late at night. Seriously, I have just had the time to shake his hand and say “Mucho Gusto,” and then he was gone again, to sleep this time. I hope I can talk with him more at some other time.

To finish off this blog entry, let me show you the best sunset I have yet to see while abroad. I caught this picture and many others as I was leaving my Spanish class in the intensive language school up the hill. We get out at this time everyday so I will be able to see the sunset like this each time, overlooking the San Louis Valley. In some of the pictures I show of the San Louis Valley (maybe not these) you can see in the background a light spot that is the Gulf of Nicoya, an extension of the Pacific Ocean that we can see from Monteverde. It is pretty sweet! Please enjoy and comment (leave you own toe prints at the bottom) if you like. Commenting lets me know whether or not I am writing something you like to read or want to hear more about. It also gives me an extra push to keep writing for you all.