2400 miles and a million worlds away from dear old Boston lies the magical land of Costa Rica; a country where fresh papaya in the middle of winter is a matter of course and the only tool you need for yard work is a machete. The buildings are a little crumbly, the insects are scary, and there aren’t “rules” of the road so much as “suggestions”. The people are warm and loving with their friends and families (including temporarily adopted members, like myself), the food is fresh and delicious, and the variety of biodiversity is enough to send you reeling. The Spanish is also beautiful here, though they do have a tendency to abbreviate words, like saying “la u” instead of “la Universidad”.
My school, Conversa, is situated on top of a hill in a compound that used to be a dairy farm, accessed by ascending a winding dirt road that is bordered on either side by jungle and a drop of a few feet. I found myself thinking on the first day that the roads would be impossible in the winter… before remembering that, of course, snow has never made an appearance here. This is the tropics, after all. The campus is surrounded by bougainvillea, coffee plants, banana trees, tropical pines, mandarin trees, palms, bamboo, and a vast array of other flora that I couldn’t hope to identify. Across the valley from Conversa are a few scattered homes, along with some horses and cows. Totally normal here, as are the street and pet dogs that wander the streets.
The student body here is varied and appears to be constantly changing. For example, on my first day there were only five students, including me. But then things took a turn for the worst when about 20 students (from Massachusetts, ironically) arrived. To give you an example of their group dynamic, their conversation on the bus ride back to the town center after the first day of classes consisted of their plans for that night. It was a tough decision: do they go to the local gringo bar, Amigo, or do they go to… Applebee’s? Applebee’s won out, apparently. Through their excessive loudness and their near-mockery of the Costa Rican culture and language, they represent all that is bad about America.
Not to be a total bitch, but I am the opposite, and I am very thankful for that. On my fifth day here, I am still constantly amazed by my incredible surroundings. I took a break from writing a few minutes ago and went up to the comedor (dining room) to get some delicious coffee, and on the way back I found this enormous caterpillar! It was longer than my pinkie and its back was covered with long, thick hairs that looked almost like spines. I read that there are venomous caterpillars here, so I kept my distance; much like I kept my distance from a Yellow Crab Spider I saw yesterday. It looked like something out of a nightmare! And I certainly checked my bed last night before crawling in. This is a nice evening ritual to complement my morning ritual of checking my shoes for scorpions.
This weekend I am bound for Manuel Antonio National Park with my fabulous host family (my mamita, Flory, and my hermanita, Michele.) It’s on the Pacific coast and well known for having magnificent beaches, most of which are also populated with white-faced monkeys, like the kind in “Pirates of the Caribbean”. I plan on trying fresh ceviche, swimming in bath-warm water, and going exploring. I can’t wait!
As wonderful as this adventure has been, however, it would be a gagillion times better if my love was here to share it with me. But I’ve got five days behind me, and lots of things to do in the days that remain. Happy adventuring!
*Olivia
No comments:
Post a Comment