stevendanielgreenwald-blog

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

Bienvenido a Santiago

Hello Everyone, 

I made it to Santiago a little over a month ago and I don’t know when I am coming home. This city is super beautiful and I cannot believe how much I love being here. 

Santiago is the biggest city in Chile with about 1/3 of the population living within the borders. Outside of the central part of the city, there are other smaller neighborhoods that are residential. I live in Ñuñoa (yes, I spelled it correctly), which is one of the middle class areas of Santiago. My host family consists of my host mom, Caprice, who is a retired Salsa dancer and teacher who was one of the best in Chile, her son, Felipe(Pipé), not quite sure what he does for a living, but it is something with his sister, and her niece, Camila, who is a speech pathologist at a school for immigrants in Santiago Centro. We live in a little neighborhood that also includes my host Aunt, Natacha and her husband and son, as well as my host grandma, (not sure of her name, everyone calls her by a nickname) who just knits all day. 

So basically, for the first two weeks, all we did was go through orientation and learn about Chilean Culture and the metro system. Here are some fun facts about Chile....

1. Chile has a history of dictatorship and strongman politics and endured a 17-year dictatorship under General Augosto Pinochet, which ended in 1990. 

2. Chile has a very distinct type of Spanish because it was mainly able to develop without influence from other countries since the natural borders (Andes Mountains) didn’t allow it

3. British and German governments invested in the Chilean Saltpeper mines. They also helped lead a coup of the president in the 1800s. 

4. There is a large German population in the South of Chile that has a prominent role in Chilean life. 

5. The Metro in Santiago is called TranSantiago, which includes la micro (buses) and el metro, which runs surprising well. 

6. Lastly, there is no central heating in this country, so 40 degrees outside also means 40 degrees inside. They use electric heaters and heating blankets to stay warm at night. 

Since I have been here I have been on two different trips. The first was to Valparaiso and the second was a day trip to el Cajón del Maipo. 

Valparaiso~ Coastal port town with 50something hills

Here are some of the highlights 

-arrived on Sunday morning since we had a long weekend until Tuesday and had a tramite (burecratic system, think DMV line) on Saturday. 

- went to the Open Air Museum, which had murals painted on houses and streets

-stopped at a beer bar when it began to rain

-basically stayed in for the night since it was a Sunday. 

Caption: The group at the Open Air Museum

-Monday~ walked up a Cerro(hill) and went to a Cemetery, old prison with beautiful views, then took a tour of the city to understand the history

- learned that Valparaiso was the first city founded in Chile and also is the seat of the Congress as well as the Navy, Pablo Neruda’s house is located here as well

Caption: Us on our tour of Valparaiso

-Tuesday~ Two friends and I decided to split from the bigger group and go to a city nearby, Viña del Mar. First, we stopped at the Dunes de ConCon, which are sand dunes with a beautiful view of the ocean. 

-Then in Viña, we sat on the beach and went to a beach cafe to watch the sunset. It was super relaxing and what I really needed. 

Caption: Sandboarding

Caption: Michael, Kristina, and I getting ready to Sandboard down the Dunes de ConCon

Caption: Views from the dunes

-Wednesday~ returned to Santiago and went to class at 5pm (my only class on Wednesdays)

10/10 would recommend a trip to Valparaiso if you come to Chile

El Cajon del Maipo

Let me just begin by saying this was an adventure. We started and hoped we would be going into some thermal pools and ended up freezing on a snowy mountain. El Cajon del Maipo is in the Andes mountain range and is about 1.5 hrs outside of Santiago. It is super beautiful, so myself and 3 friends decided to go. (We had no real plan) Originally, we planned on taking a bus, but decided to taxi instead (Mistake 1). The man took us to “the base” of the mountain near the trailhead. NOT TRUE. We were 2-3 hours walking from the trailhead. So after walking on the side of the mountain road (Another bad idea) and trying to hitchhike for about 30 minutes, we sat on a rock for an early lunch. (It was about 11:30). In the distance, I see a van that looks like we could get a ride, so we wave it down and they agree to take us up as they are going the same way. (WE WERE PRAISING GOD). The van was a old Volkswagen that had been refurbished to sleep in and was being driven by a man and woman (Siblings) with their older father. We made one stop to look at the river, but they took us all the way up. Critical Thinking: What is the problem with hitchhiking? We both went out separate ways, but met on the trail a couple times. Talked with them a little as we were in the snowcapped mountains and kinda freezing because of the wind. The family offers to take us back down, but they were returning to the vehicle to eat, and we said we would stay a little longer, then head down (Mistake 2). Continued taking photos and enjoying the scenery. Make our way down and see the the Volkwagen driving away in the distance. Thinking back, we don’t think they actually offered us a ride back. So now we were stuck on a mountain. Problem with hitchhiking up a mountain is you also need to get down. So we went bus by bus and asked tour groups if they had space for 4 dumb Americans. Eventually found 1 bus of Brazilian tourists that had room, so we waited for them to hike up and back (we ate and played cards on a cement slab for the next 2 hours), then eat (they gave us food too), then headed home with them. It was an amazing experience, but it could have gone very badly as we were about 5 hours walking from the nearest bus. But I AM ALIVE. Also, we were about 10 miles from the Argentinian border and could have accidentally crossed if we weren’t careful. 

Caption: Kendall walking on the side of the road

Caption: Trying to hitchhike but everyone keeps passing us

Caption: Quit our day jobs so we could eat

Caption: Volkswagen van gives us a ride and Kendall enters first

Caption: Actual Volkswagen Van we took

Caption: Michael and I sitting on the ground since there weren’t enough chairs 

Caption: WE MADE IT

Caption: Laughing at the views, experience and the cold

Caption: Las Embalsadas (Not sure what that means)

Caption: The other view

Caption: Eating and playing cards

thanks for reading, I’ll keep you all updated on my adventures as they occur. 

-S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

Goodbye Costa Rica, Hello Chile

Last post about Costa Rica today, and I am a little sad to be leaving. I feel that I have gotten really close to my host family here and don’t want to leave them. However, on another note, I am so happy to be leaving San Jose. It is such a boring city to be in and Santiago will be much better. 

Most everyone in my program went to a beach called Samara in Guanacaste (the northwestern part of Costa Rica), but I decided to stay because 1. a 6 hour bus ride, 2. it was expensive, and 3. I was tired. Therefore, I stayed home and rested and it couldn’t have been better. Relaxing before getting on the plane was a wonderful idea and I feel ready to travel for the next 16 hours.

Costa Rica was a great 6 weeks and I wouldn’t change it for anything. The country and people were so nice and I want to go back already. To finish off this edition, I want to say thanks for reading and I’ll see you in Santiago. Hopefully, my plane ride goes well. 

Caption: Me, and my host parents (Gerardo and Margarita)

Saludos, 

S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

July 7-8: Pacuare River/The Caribbean

Hola a todos, 

This week’s blog will be relatively short because ICDS took us on a trip that was not very exciting nor was there much to do.

July 7th: Arrival and Tour 1

We left around 6am and took a bus many hours to arrive at a nice boat dock around 12. We took a boat 30 minutes through the river to a eco-lodge on the riverbank. It was actually a super nice lodge that was full of hammocks, a fire-pit, canoes, and our “rooms” or more like a tent with real beds inside. (It was quite interesting). The main thing we did today was take a boat tour of the riverP and then took a short hike to the Caribbean. However, you can’t swim in this part because it is too rough and also where sea-turtles lay their eggs so it was dangerous and illegal. After the hike, we returned to the lodge via boat and literally just hung around.

Caption: Action Shot in the River on the way to the Hotel

Caption: The Hotel

Caption: My bed inside the tent for perspective

While the area itself was beautiful, there wasn’t much for us to do and maybe that was the point. Sometimes, I think that many people (myself included) look at the world and the people and places within it as a way to get ahead and that is not the most successful way. Everyone needs to take time to just look at nature and see the beauty. I think that is something that is missing in today’s world with people polluting water, destroying the rainforest, and destroying the ozone layer. It’s important to remember that we can still be successful and have a positive relationship with the environment. Around 80% of Costa Rica energy is renewable. It’s amazing. We need to look at remember to protect what we have because it is a limited amount. 

After all this, we hung in hammocks, talked and then ate dinner. It was one of the best meals I have had that I would not have thought to eat in Costa Rica. It is a super unique food that can’t be found in a couple countries. Can you guess what it is?         

Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. Yeah it was super thrilling. (I hope you feel the sarcasm).  The best part of the night was a giant spider jumping onto the table and making us all scream like little kids (and not out of excitement). After dinner, we sat in one of the “rooms” and just chat until lights out. 

Caption: Me in Hammock

July 8- Hike 2, Canoe, and Sloth

So today was kinda just as boring as yesterday. It was still super cool, but boring. We went on a hike back to the Caribbean, which we learned about the movement of animals in the forest. I would share them with you, but i don’t really remember them. SORRY! In this forest, there are definitely less things that could kill me, which made me feel a lot better. The hike was beautiful and there were some dolphins in the water when we took the boat from the trailhead back to the hotel and it was just really cool. 

Caption: View in the morning

Caption: Nature on the hike

So a little explanation, the reasons the dolphins could be in this river water was because the river ran into the ocean, so during high tide, the dolphins could come into the river without dying. SUPER COOL. 

After the hike, we canoed a bit, ate lunch again, then left. On our way home, the bus driver spotted a SLOTH. (I have no idea how these people find these animals while driving but it happens a lot and really fascinating).  Got a couple pics, not good enough to share. LOL. 

Caption: Three GW students in a Canoe

Caption: ICDS group at the Caribbean 

This was basically my weekend..... oh wait also on the way home, I pet a dog that I thought belonged to some guys, but realized it had no collar and was probably stray..... oops. Now that was basically my weekend. It was super fun and would recommend (6/10 would do again). 

Saludos, 

S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

June 29 - July 2: FIA/Arenal/La Fortuna

Saludos a todos, 

Another week here in Costa Rica (and by that I mean, I’m leaving tonight, but am two weeks behind in my posting. LOL). This week consisted of a Cultural Activity on Thursday, some hikes and a volcano on Friday/Saturday, and 4 country blackout on Saturday, and Ziplining on Sunday. 

June 29th- FIA

FIA is the Festival internacional de artes which is a two week international art festival in San Jose. This night was the inaugural night and we basically sat in a stone amphitheater and listened to a symphony. However, the coolest part was when Costa Rica’s President went on stage and tangoed with a beautiful Argentinian women. Not sure what was better: how well he could tango or that people thought this was normal ( I could never see Donnie doing this, but I’m sure he is the BEST and GREATEST dancer.) Some of the other shows we saw during FIA (on other days) were Marfil, a Tico band from the 80s, that played a lot of Bob Marley, as well as The Queens of Reggae who were a girl power reggae group. There wasn’t a single event at FIA that was boring which is great. 

June 30- La Fortuna/Arenal

So, we woke up very early to take a bus to here. It is a mountain and town with a dormant volcano. (It had daily activity from 1968 until 2010, then decided to sleep.) The first day we went to a hot spring (it was more like a hot stream ((haha))) and relaxed after a super long day. Returned to the hostel and a couple of us went out to the most disappointing nightlife I have ever seen, but people are more important than place (usually). Literally, this is all we did. 

Caption: Church of San Bosco in La Fortuna

Caption: Unknown Trees near Hot Springs

July 1- Same Place, More Fun

Today, we got up, ate, and ran to Red Lava Tours ( the place where we got our hike from) and hopped on a bus to hike near the volcano. We walked to a waterfall, through the forest, saw some monkeys, swung hanging bridges, and relaxed in another hot spring. After the hike, 4 people decided to head home as they wanted to relax a little bit more as there wasn’t too much more to do. The other 8 of us stayed and went down to a nice little local swimming hole. I didn’t swim because the current was a little strong and the water was too deep. After that we returned to the city and found a 4-country blackout ranging from Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama (Yes, there are 5 countries listed, but 4 entire countries had no electricity). It lasted for about 4 hours, but we did not have enough money to get back, so we had to find an ATM with electricity to take out money. Fun times. To kill time, we went to eat and when the lights came on, only the gringos (a.k.a. the 8 of us) began cheering. Awkward. That night, we went out again or tried and were disappointed again. 

Caption: Hanging Bridge with People

Caption: Me walking on a path with Ilana’s Backpack

Caption: Waterfall without people.... we eventually got in

Caption: Group Picture with Volcano obscured by clouds

July 2- Ziplining

Today was a great day for the 5 of us who stayed. One friend had her parents come for vacation and they took her, then the other two left for San Jose, so 5 remained. The morning was rainy so not the greatest for ziplining, but it was fine. We arrived and got all set up and off we went. 13 lines with a Tarzan swing in the middle. Both scary and one of the best times I’ve had in Costa Rica. Now, when I was on the Tarzan swing, you had to jump off a ledge and that was the hardest part, but it all turned out well except for me peeing myself a lil..... :). After the trip, they gave us beers to celebrate and wow, beers at 11 am is something everyone should do. With that over, we hopped on a bus home, but we didn’t all have seats so we stood. All in all a good trip. 

Caption: All of Tarzan Bros (we made that name up ourselves)

Caption: Tarzan Bros can have fun

Caption: Action shot of your favorite Traveler

WARNING: WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK

Caption: Fun Video of me doing a Tarzan Swing.... Scariest thing I have done maybe ever

Thanks for reading, Tune in next week(or actually maybe in a couple hours hopefully) for the next edition, 

-S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

June 23-25: Punta Leona

Saludos a todos, 

This week was very slow and boring and we had to go through another safety seminar after last week. However, we could not wait for the weekend in Punta Leona, an all-inclusive beach resort on the pacific coast of Costa Rica (thankfully GW paid for it all). 

June 23rd- Arrival

We got on the bus really early for college students (around 8 am) and began our travels. The trip was about 2 hours, but we stopped about 2 miles out at the Carara National Park for a 2 hour walk through the woods. Now, I love the mountains, and trees, and animals, but this was one of my worst experiences in the country so far. It was hot, humid, and so many things that could kill you. However, we were able to see a boa constrictor, parrots, trees in the Sequoia family, the tree from the Avatar movie, and howler monkeys. After we exited, the hike from hell, we continued to the resort. ( I would just like to say that while the hike was not fun, i would probably do it again, but maybe not during the rainy season when it is super humid)

Caption: Me at the National Park. Don’t i look happy?

I was sharing a room with Kyle, who is from Massachusetts and we have a surprising amount of common friends at GW. We settled into a little Cabana thing and met everyone for lunch, including our favorite Spanish teacher (Profesora Milagro) and her sister (both Chaperones). After lunch, we explored the resort, that had three different beaches, 4 pools, free food, and an entertainment center as well as ping pong, foosball, and beach volleyball courts. We naturally started at the beach and spent around 2 hours there. It wasn’t much different from Jaco, so we took some walks, pictures, and hung out, then transitioned to the pool. Before dinner, we also played volleyball and ended up playing some Ticos who promptly destroyed us because we honestly were not that great. After dinner, we went to karaoke and the bar. (The night life at the resort was kinda boring). To finish the night off, we walked on the beach at night. 

Caption: View of the “bad” beach

Caption: Person in the water with hands up

Caption: Maria(front), Me, Philip, and Megan on a walk

Caption: United States Citizens looking at the exotic animals of Costa Rica a.k.a. an Iguana (I think)

June 24th- Full Day

This day was our first full day and we mainly spent it at “Playa Blanca” which is a white sand beach and it was super fun. We got there around 11 and hung in the water until 3. The water was super nice and warm like always. It seemed to go by so quickly and other than the tide rising to soak all of our stuff, it was a pretty successful beach day. Fun Fact: If you know me, I cannot swim very well even after taking multiple swim classes, but after these weeks in the ocean, I feel much more comfortable in the water. WOOHOO. When we went back to the resort, we once again went to the pool, and played volleyball. (I think there was a pattern.) Then dinner. Then we went to the pool/bar/karaoke again. Unfortunately, it still was not fun so some of us went to bed while 7 of us went out to beach walk again with a couple beers. We found some burning embers from a fire and sat around it talking about life, history, archaeology, science, astronomy, and dreams. Honestly, one of the best nights that I have had here so far. Then, we headed back and the bar was “lit”, so five of us decided to stay. Soon one of the volleyball kids (the one we beat us badly) came up and offered to teach us the basics of Bachata, so obviously we said yes. Honestly, it was not that hard, but I was not very good at it. ( I probably get my poor dance skills from my dad.... hahaha). By that time, we decided to sleep because we had an early morning. But all in all, it was a successful day. 

Caption: Beautiful Playa Blanca with the forest in the background

Caption: More Playa Blanca

June 25th- Last Day

Half woke up and went to the beach and half stayed at the resort. I stayed and ate a late breakfast, then went down to the pool with some people. Myself and my friends Phillip and Maya played ping pong. ( I was definitely the best, but I don’t want to toot my own horn.) Around 1, we ate lunch and left. On the way back to San Pedro, we stopped at a souvenir shop (I didn’t buy anything sorry everyone) and also, at a river with a bunch of crocodiles. It was super nice. 

Not Pictured: anything that happened today. (Oops)

All in all, i think this was a very successful weekend and would recommend this resort to other people it was great. 

Thanks for reading, 

S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

June 16-18: Santa María de Dota y Jaco, CR

¡Hola a todos!

This weekend was something and that something was fun. TL:DR: We went to Dota Coffee in Santa Maria de Dota, an beautiful Basilica in Cartago, and the surfer beach town of Jaco. Each of these places has a different meaning for the Ticos that  I will explain in a bit. but first, the picture above is a selfie of all of us in the program with our counselor, Nasdia. 

Santa Maria de Dota

Living in Costa Rica has more or less felt like an extended vacation with 6 hour conferences each day. Coffee in the morning, coffee in the afternoon, coffee in the evening. Coffee seems to be a very important part of life here in CR as I have mentioned before. Therefore, it was only fitting for them to take us to a Coffee Plantation in the mountains about an hour and a half outside San Jose. When we arrived, they served us breakfast which was a corn/cheese bread and their signature coffee. (Personally, I was not a particular fan of their coffee, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.) After that, they took us into the fields to see/learn about the coffee beans and trees. (Fun fact: they have other larger fruit trees to provide coverage from the sun since coffee plants do not like full sunlight all day!!!) Then, we went into the mill where they roast the beans and put them into bags. From there, we watched a movie about the coffee co-operative as well as went to the place where they separated a shipped all the un-roasted coffee beans(since they last longer supposedly). From there, we had lunch then went to Cartago. 

Caption: Coffee bagged and ready to be shipped

Caption: Coffee Roasting

Caption: Different types of coffee and we were able to taste/eat all of them

Caption: Steven Greenwald eating a grapefruit in the plantation off a tree. FYI, it was really good.

Caption: 12 College Students being unable to hold in their excitement about learning about Coffee 

Cartago

The 1st Capital of Costa Rica. Arrived here immediately after the Coffee Tour. The attraction is the Basilica of our Lady of Angels as well as all the history( but really it’s just the Basilica.) According to Catholic Lore, the Virgin Mary appeared at a rock (which is close to the Basilica) and water spouted from it. Obviously, there is more to the story, but that is all I got. Now, Ticos and other people from around the world travel here to give penance and offerings to the Virgin Mary in hopes of receiving her protections. We saw many mothers walking on their knees from outside until the altar as well as thousands of offerings in a beautiful area dedicated to the Virgin. Hands down one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in my short lifetime. After we finished here, we went back to San Jose to get ready for Jaco the next morning.

Caption: Outside the Basilica

Caption: Inside the Basilica

Jaco

Interesting place. Jaco was hands-down a great place to be if you know how to be safe in the city. To premise this amazing place, on Saturday night a friend of mine was robbed outside a bar, so it is not the most safe place(So now Jaco is a part of our Program’s Peligro Zone, or areas we aren’t allowed to go during free time). However, before that we arrived in Jaco at 9 in the morning after a 2 hour ride from San Jose. We dropped our stuff off at Room2Board, an amazing hostel that I would recommend (and it’s not because they have three happy hours a day, I promise). Immediately, went to the beach which was surprisingly warm and comfortable to be in. So for someone who hates the beach, it was amazing. Honestly, the weekend was uneventful for the most part other than the beach, pool, a nice walk, and the food. In the afternoon, we met a kid named Brad from San Diego, who was in CR alone. (He played lacrosse against Cathedral Catholic and mentioned they were a good team.) We hung out at the hostel at night because it was raining and they had a bar on-site. (Therefore, much safer).  On Sunday, we decided to go home early to help our friend get their stuff settled after getting robbed. ( Everyone woke up by 10 and left by 1). Before that, I woke up and ate breakfast with Brad, and talked to the bartender about how she was working for free at the hostel in exchange for 1/2 off food and free board. (So catch me in Costa Rica, if I can’t find a job after college). 

Caption: My friend, Megan and I on the beach Saturday around Sunset

Caption: Jaco Beach

Caption: Me, Kyle, and Michael (left to right) during the Beach walk. As you can see, I am repping Sequoia National Park while my fam is camping there.

Thank you all for reading my adventures. My next post will be about Punta Leona and our time in an all-inclusive resort. 

Pura Vida!

-S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

Semana 1: Un Tiempo Loco

So as today is Thursday, I have officially been here for one week and it has been extremely hectic from exploring San Jose by ourselves to learning that the program was structured differently than we thought to being given two large presentations due the same day. 

Adventures:

On Saturday, we decided to go into San José by ourselves to help us get our bearings and it helped us get a couple of firsts while in country. First time being on Costa Rican public transportation alone, first time paying more for being American at a museum, and first time getting lost in a city with a gaggle of obvious Americans who screamed in English.

Buses Abroad:  

Like in many other countries, the vast majority of people use public buses to travel between cities as well as within the same city. Costa Rican buses are very much the same except seemed a little bit cleaner that the DC bus system (that’s not hard to do though!). We (a group of 12 American students who all look foreign AF) decided to take an adventure into the city that speaks Spanish. Except on the bus, we spoke English. In the streets, we spoke English. In the restaurants, we spoke English. So as Spanish students, we seemed like we didn’t speak Spanish ( it was pretty amusing)!

Steps Already Taken:

This “adventure” consisted of us retracing our steps from the day before with our tour guide except we entered a museum and found an abandoned park when we got lost. It was truly an interesting experience. We decided to go to the Museo Nacional to learn some social and political history of Costa Rica. As you may or may not know, Costa Rica decided to get rid of their army in 1948 and put the money toward public education, which has been beneficial for them. The museo is in the former military barracks of San Jose and extranjeros ( foreigners) have to pay $2 more (but it was worth it) to enter and enjoy the museum. We also went to a restaurant and had casado, which is a plate of black beans, rice, meat of choice, fried plantains, and salad. It is comida tipica of Costa Rica and is very good. After both of these, it rained (like it does each and everyday) and we decided to return home. That night, we went to Bar Chicago (Yes, the first bar was an American one). We all tried the national beer of Costa Rica, Imperial (I liked it, but most others did not). As I am not a connoiseur of beer, I cannot tell you the flavors and anything about it. Chicago was fun and we may go back, but there is so much nightlife to see and not enough time. 

Beginning Classes:

The rest of the weekend was pretty normal and Monday began classes. The schedule is as follows:

 Mondays and Thursdays- lectures and presentations in the morning

 Tuesdays- movie and discussion

Wednesdays- work on group presentation 

Every afternoon we have a three hour Spanish class as well as Friday’s off.

There is no service aspect of this class like we all expected. Instead it is just class 6 hours a day all in Spanish (which is good, but tiring). Basically, this is a crash course in South American Culture and Spanish and I LOVE it. While at the moment, I cannot understand everything that is said by my professors. I would argue that I understand 75% if I listen actively. I will update you next week on my progress. 

Costa Rica vs. Trinidad and Tobago

Tuesday, June 13th was another soccer match and this time we faced off against Trinidad and Tobago. We won 2-1 in a semi-stressful game. A couple friends and I went out to a bar and watched the game to understand the Costa Rican culture of futbol. It was great. You could feel the tension in the bar and feel the ebb and flow of their excitement and stress. I think that it was a great experience. 

MY BIRTHDAY #20- June 14th..... This was the first birthday that I can remember being spent away from my family and too be honest, it kinda sucked, not is a bad way, but more that I had a realization. Many times when you start on a new adventure, you do not think of the things that you miss. My host family (bless them. they are amazing) didn’t remember my birthday until I had returned from school, which was absolutely different than what would happen in CA obviously. My friends and I didn’t do anything either since we had two presentations due the next day. It seemed like such a normal day to me while here, but obviously, I knew it wasn’t necessarily.I would venture to say that it was the first day since leaving for college, that I truly felt homesick because I just felt like I needed to see people I knew. However, I think the experience will be beneficial to me in the long-run. The feeling came to pass and while this may not have been my best birthday of my life, this weekend when we go to the beach will be a good reminder of the things that are to come here in Costa Rica. (As well as a great way to celebrate a birthday)

Cultural Differences: The one cultural difference that I would like to discuss is the fact that gender norms are still very much an aspect of life in Costa Rica. In the past 10 years of my life (maybe more), I have cleared my dishes off the table after dinner(@mom&dad I realize sometimes I didn’t), wash them (never did this one), as well as serve my own food as well as many other things around the house. Never once here have I served my own food or washed my dishes as my host mom or the other women around will do it. On top of this, my host mom does all the cleaning around the house, cooking, laundry, and anything else that needs to be done. I rarely see my host brother or father do any of that. Personally, I feel bad because I was raised to believe in equality and the need to help around the house, almost as in we were a collective community. However, in Costa Rica, that is not the way of life and that is fine. My host mom sees it as her job to do all this work and genuinely enjoys it. Every time, I offer to help she denies me and tells me to sit and relax. It is a huge change for me. Obviously, it is an adjustment to coming from a very different culture and upbringing than the one that I am currently live in. ( I just hope I don’t get use to this lifestyle haha). 

Important Definitions:

Tico: a person of Costa Rican descent

Pura Vida: the unofficial tagline of Costa Rica. Literally means Pure Life or Pure Living, which is how the Ticos live. Also, used as a response to many questions

Fun Photos:

Caption: This is 11/12 of us who went back to San Jose to explore and follow the same path as the day before. Picture credits to a random Tico couple who we asked to take the photo for us.

Caption: This is a picture of me, Steven. This was taken in the Mariposa (Butterfly) Room in the Museo Nacional. I was trying to stand as still as possible in hopes that they would land on me. It didn’t happen. My friends decided to call it “Summoning los Dioses de las Mariposas”

Before I finish, I would just like to apologize for the lack of pictures and amount of content. I will do a better job of finding pictures to share that pertain to my viaje. 

Pura Vida, 

S

[stevendanielgreenwald-blog]

Mi Primer Día en Costa Rica (June 8-9)

Hola a todos de mi familia y mis amigos, 

I arrived in Costa Rica on at 6 in the morning on the 8th from LAX to the Aeropuerto Juan Santamaría in San José, Costa Rica. Walking out of the airport, it was already very easy to see the differences between San José and the United States. It is loud, dirty, and the cars are usually a little older, which is different from the U.S. which many times can seem like everyone needs the newest thing all the time. The cultural differences as well as the socio-economic ones are very clear from the beginning, but that is good in my opinion. 

 It was a short trip from the airport to my host familia, they live in the neighborhood of Vargas Araya in San Pedro. ( I would give you the address, but they told us everything gets lost, since they don’t use their them!) My family is very small, but are also very close to each other. In my house, there is an older couple, Margarita (62) and her husband, Gerardo (67), as well as their son, Juan (32). Then, in the house above theirs, their middle son, Mario lives with his wife. The family is very nice and like to talk, which is good, but can be tiring at times. ( The first day I needed to take 2 naps as well as sleep 8 hours at night). The night of the 8th, we watched the Costa Rica vs. Panama CONCACAF qualifier which ended in a tie. They were not happy to say the least. :( 

So far, every meal we have had has consisted of a mixture of rice, bean, some kind of protein, sometimes avocado or a meat. It has all been delicious to eat as all the food is home cooked and fresh. Like everything so far, there is a good problem (Yes, I realize good-problem is an oxymoron) to go with it. They feed me like they are trying to fatten me up. Each meal I receive a huge plate of rice, beans, protein, bread, and cheese, while Margarita serves his husband and son half a plate. Not only that but, there are three meals as well as a break for coffee and bread between lunch and dinner. So I need to find a place to exercise ( Yes, I’m gonna exercise) fast!

So I was the first person to arrive to Costa Rica while mis compañeros or companions arrived later than me. One girl lives directly across the street to me so we will probably to traveling to class together. 8/12 of us live in the same neighborhood, while the other 4 live closer to the school. I’m excited to see how we all interact, but at our first meeting, it seems like we will be a good group. Here are a couple photos are us during orientation and the tour of San José. 

We all look super excited to be here, but classes haven’t started yet, so only time will tell. The set-up of the classes are the days are split into two parts, morning and afternoon. The morning classes are about topics pertaining to Costa Rica, Development, and Central America with two days of instruction (in Spanish), a day of a movie ( in Spanish) with a discussion, and a day of group presentations (in Spanish). Then in the afternoon, we have three hours of instruction about Spanish grammar and writing. So clearly, Spanish is a clear focus here. 

To finish up my first post, I wanted to end with a few things that i like so far: el parque Morazán, café chorreado, and a government-funded graffiti!

This is el parque Morazán, which if I heard correctly was named after a political dissident from the 1800s, who was supported by the people. The park is HUGE and very beautiful as you can see. In the back of the photo, there is the Templo de los Músicos, where bands sometimes play and according to our tour guide, was the “tinder” for our grandparents since many years ago, they would have parties around it, so you could meet other people. 

This is café chorreado. Basically, they give you a pitcher of hot water to pour through the small bags with coffee grounds and it drips coffee into the cup underneath. It is the perfect temperature to be drank immediately. Now, the coffee here in CR (Costa Rica) is amazing and should be drank black because it is delicious and isn’t bitter like Starbucks. Next weekend, we will be going on a tour of Coffee plantation and factory, and we are all very excited. 

Also pictured: Maria, a student in the program with me. 

Now this Graffiti was outside two buildings that I’m not sure what they were, but it was close to the old army barracks (Current Museo Nacional). Basically, the government paid for graffiti-murals so the walls wouldn’t be full of it. So all over the city, you can see beautiful graffiti murals of all kinds. This is my personal favorite of the day. It is from the beginning of the project and it says, “’From my neighborhood to your neighborhood’ Artistic Project of the Goethe Institute, German Embassy, Municipality of San José, Legislative Assembly, 2012″. 

With this, I end my post. 

Gracias por leer. 

-SG