Blogs from Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 2

Yesterday we visited the Dole banana plantation. Our guide was Carlos. His job title is Public Relations manager or something in that area, but I would consider him an entertainer. He kind of reminded me of the guy at Disneyland who pulled Hailey out of the crowd to come on stage (haha). His main objective was to put on a show for us gringos, however he was surprisingly knowledgeable as well. Apparently he got a master’s degree at Texas Tech for agricultural economics. He also does marketing research for the company. Our tour was informative to some extent. Carlos had obviously done it many times before, and it was clearly rehearsed. He catered to our group specifically, knowing we were studying biology and concerned about the environment. He also was very articulate in the way he ... read more

We arrived safely in Costa Rica on Sunday afternoon without experiencing any serious travel problems. Meggy, a CPI staff member along with a CPI driver, picked us up at the airport and drove us directly to the school. After bringing our luggage inside (it looked like it was about to rain), they took us to a room where we took the placement test. There wasn't any time to get nervous about it, since it was first on the agenda! We took turns going for the speaking interview section of the placement test and getting our pictures taken for ID cards. After everyone was finished, we played a little game of "telephone" in Spanish. The Spanish phrase was close but with one hugely important difference by the time it traveled the whole way around the circle. Meggy ... read more

So I'm in La Selva for a few days helping out some Oxy students with their research. I'm having a lot of fun because a close friend from my last semester is also here. Basically I have been following Adrienne around while she does her research and this morning I went to the river with Jime and Miguel to help them catch fish for Jime's project. Miguel is a friend of Jime's from school who is helping her out this weekend too. Tomorrow we are both leaving for San Jose early so we are going to take the same bus. My Spanish has been improving over this month. Its at the point where if I spend all day working in Spanish I think in Spanish first. Its hard though because I can understand slow, well-pronounced Spanish ... read more

We went through a bit of deceit to get them.... read more

At Minerva's her entire family (7 kids +spouses +children) are coming for a big surprise party for her daughter who is getting married. When Vladimir got home he told me his brother Robert will be arriving later in the evening with 2 goats. My stomach lurched. It wouldn't be for the milk,.. So I had some supper and there was Minerva's little granddaughter Hemena. She is between 2 and 3 I'd say. Beautiful curls and lots of talk. She is Robert's daughter. And his wife was there too. Don't know her name yet. After supper I went to read my camera manual a bit in my room with the doors just pulled together when there was a huge commotion outside, the arrival of a truck. About 5 minutes later a lot of squealing. Not human. I ... read more