Dr O - ASU in Costa Rica

Welcome to ASU in Costa Rica 2009!

This year, there are 11 students in the ASU Study Spanish in Costa Rica group. The students will be studying Spanish at el Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI) and will live with families in San Joaquin and in Monteverde, Costa Rica, for a month this summer. If you are interested in seeing pictures and reading about what the group is doing in Costa Rica, this is the place for you! The newest entries will be at the top (just scroll down from here), and entries further down are from the 2008 program. The very first entry (at the bottom) describes the program in general, with pictures from the groups that participated during the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006. This year, the students will join me in uploading photos, stories, and cultural information so that friends and family at home can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience with them!

Just scroll down to check out our Costa Rica blog and please check back every few days between June 7 and July 5 for updates. When you look at an entry, be sure to click on "view full entry" to see lots more pictures!

Note: All of the blog entries from the 2008 program appear above the general description of the program and below the 2009 entries.

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Joined on: May 17th 2008
Last Login: July 3rd 2009

Blog Entries: 23
Photos: 400

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Dr O, order by Date newest first.

By Dr O
June 30th 2009

White Water Rafting (written by Chad) Central America Caribbean

ASU Raft 1
Chad (in the center, author of this entry) and Ashley, Jessica, Valarie, Elizabeth and Michelle, ready to "unleash the beast."

Four days and seventy dollars ago, the 2009 ASU-Costa Rica Squad set out to conquer something a little more challenging than an entirely different language and slightly more dangerous than gallo pinto for breakfast...White Water Rafting. Let's just say...I knew it was going to be a good day after Janice Dickenson (former supermodel and guest on America's Next Top Model) used the men's room right after I did in a very random rest stop in Costa Rica. Oh yeah...it was going to be a good day. Our destination was the Pacuare River, and the company that took us to the [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 27th 2009

Costa Rican Food (written by Elizabeth) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Elizabeth at Dinner
Elizabeth, author of this entry, waits for dinner to be served at a restaurant in Quepos.

A typical Costa Rican meal consists of meat, rice, beans, and sometimes salad. The meat is usually chicken, beef, or steak. Costa Rican salads contain avocado juice and do not contain dressing, and French fries are sometimes served instead of beans or rice. Burritos are commonly served in restaurants. There are several differences between Costa Rican food and American food. The amount of grease is the most notable difference. Although most Costa Rican restaurants serve hamburgers and French fries, they are significantly less greasy than most American burgers and fries. The difference [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 26th 2009

Costa Rican Houses (written by Amanda) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Amanda and Friend
Amanda, author of this entry, and her host family cousin.

Here in Costa Rica the houses all look the same. All of them have security gates and these gates can be tricky getting into. On the inside the houses are smaller than what most Americans are used to. Most U.S. houses have 2-4 bedrooms, all of a good size. Most have 1-3 bathrooms with at least 1 being really big. In your kitchen you have 2 sinks, a large stove and a big fridge. Your living room can accommodate more people than your household or maybe you have lots of room to put things. Now take all that and cut [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 25th 2009

Los Indígenas (written by Amy) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Amy and Her Host Mother
Amy (author of this entry) and her host mother at CPI.

We are learning so much about Costa Rica’s culture, including the country’s work with their native Costa Rican indigenous population. There are 3 to 4 main populations that remain active in Costa Rica and live on reservations. During our first week at CPI, we were fortunate enough to meet and talk with this couple who shared their culture with us. They live in the mountains on reservations that the government has set aside for them, growing and harvesting their crops and making what they need. They travel 6 hours from their village to a cable car which transports them across th [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 24th 2009

See Amanda's Entry on San Jose (below) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » San José » San José

Amanda and Her Hosts
See Amanda's entry on San Jose below.

Be sure to scroll down a little bit and check out Amanda's entry on our tour of San Jose. It was published today (June 23), but since I started it on June 17th, it shows up on the list earlier than the last two entries. It's really nice and I didn't want you to miss it! Dr. O. [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 23rd 2009

Manuel Antonio Weekend Trip Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica

Jessica at Manuel Antonio
Jessica, author of this blog entry, at the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park.

Manuel Antonio National Park By Jessica Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica. It is packed with wildlife and gorgeous beaches. Fortunately, our group was able to spend the weekend here. Being our first weekend in Costa Rica, we were pumped to visit Manuel Antonio and take a break from classes. Whether we wanted to lie on the beach, play in the water, or hike the trails, Manuel Antonio had it all. The first bit of adventure was on the way to our destination. We stopped and walked out onto the bridge that [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 21st 2009

Cooking Class Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Jill (author of this entry)
Jill gets suggestions from Muni, a CPI staff member, for removing an avocado seed.

Written by Jill On Tuesday, with the help of Doña Eugenia, all of us had a lesson in Latin cooking. We made salad and "Arroz con pollo" or rice with chicken for all you non-speaking Spanish folks. Everyone had their own cutting board and knife. We cut up sweet chiles, cilantro, celery, garlic and many other tasty ingredients. Doña Eugenia taught us how to make our own corn tortillas with tortilla presses. She put all our work together to make the salad and "Arroz con pollo." Finally, we were all able to sit down and enjoy. It was "muy delicioso," [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 18th 2009

Vegetation Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Valarie (author of this entry) and her host mother

Blog Entry by Valarie: Vegetation We have been here just over a week, so we have become somewhat accustomed to our new homes, new school, and new schedules. Although I am very familiar with my walk to school, I never get bored looking at what is on the way there. I knew before I arrived that Costa Rica would be very green, but I guess I never really anticipated how green. Green is not the only beautiful color I have the privilege of seeing every day. There are breathtaking flowers everywhere that my eyes wander. There is clearly no reason [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 17th 2009

San Jose (Written by Amanda) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » San José » San José

Amanda and Her Hosts
Amanda (author of this blog entry) is shown here with her host family.

On June 11, after a hard day of Spanish class, we took a tour of the capital of Costa Rica, San José. After our lunch at a “soda” we made our way downtown. Our first stop was the National Theater. Once inside, we saw a painting that once was on the 500 colones bill. This painting depicts the culture here in Costa Rica. Also, the government no longer uses the 500 colones bill. Once we sat down in the theater, I tried to picture the beautiful place filled with people and outside surrounded by coffee bean fields. Gold leaflets brought out [View Full Entry]

By Dr O
June 15th 2009

End of the First Week (and Latin Dance Class) Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Heredia

Michelle and Her Host Mother
Michelle wrote this blog entry about the first week in Costa Rica.

Blog Entry Written by Michelle The First Week It has been a tiring yet amazing five days! I am learning so much Spanish and enjoying spending time with my host family and our group. I taught my family how to play "Go Fish" (or "Vaya de Pesca" in Spanish). I attempted to teach them how to call the Hogs, but I only got laughs and funny looks back. Wednesday we had dance class and learned the salsa, merengue, and cumbia. We went to the movies Thursday night, and the movie was in Spanish with no subtitles! I kept wanting to [View Full Entry]

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