Blogs from San José, San José, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean - page 16

In Costa Rica herrscht Ausnahmezustand. Wegen der extrem starken Regenmassen, ist vor allem der Sueden des Landes von Ueberschwemmungen und Murenabgaengen betroffen. Zahlreiche Gebiete sind (welch Ironie des Schicksals) von der Wasserversorgung abgeschnitten. Teilweise sind auch wichtige Strassenabschnitte bzw. Bruecken weggespuehlt, sodass auch die Versorgung mit Lebensmitteln etc. nicht moeglich ist. Auch im Haus unserer Gastfamilie ist kein Fliesswasser verfuegbar. Dh, Waschen und Duschen ist erstmal nicht moeglich, WC-Benutzung nur im Notfall. Nach dem Fruehstueck fahren wir mit Yenory auf die Uni, auf der sie arbeitet. Dort werden wir allen ihren Arbeitskollegen und Vorgesetzten vorgestellt. Dann erkunden wir selbst den Campus und werden auch im International Office vorstellig und legen den Kontakt zur Fachhochschule Salzburg. Nach dem Mittagessen fahren wir mit Rebecca (Yenor... read more

Trabajo voluntariado en el cuido: Mi Tía Hoy tuve la gran oportunidad de ir por dos horas a un centro de cuidado de niños por el pueblo de Hatillo acá en San José. Mi amiga Sarah y yo cogimos la guagua a eso de las 9am y llegamos al lugar como a las 10am. Una hora de viaje por 325 colones (70 centavos aproximadamente). Al llegar, lo primero que note es que el lugar estaba bien maltratado por fuera, pero decidí no pensar en eso y entre. Lo primero que note fue que, dentro del lugar, había un fuerte olor a gasolina. Yo, como persona adulta, se me hacia un poco difícil respirar al principio, imaginar que un niño huela esto constantemente me preocupa porque he estudiado las varias consecuencias que esto puede traer: no solo ... read more

I got to go to Costa Rica last week for another workshop, but this time I wasn’t able to stay and be a tourist due to late scheduling, other commitments, etc. So for trips like this one, I like to think of it as a way to get an overview of a place, talk to some locals, and figure out what I will do in the future when I come back there for a vacation. With Costa Rica, that is definitely a “when” I go back, not an “if.” The people were fantastic! So friendly and helpful. What more can a tourist ask for? Even in the rainy season and stuck in the capital city, the natural beauty of this land is easy to see. My first thought driving out of the airport was GREEN. Every ... read more

We landed down in San Jose town with some what of a thud. Its as manic and crazy as you would expect when you step foot out of the airport and the taxi ride left us clinging onto our lives as well as our seats. The main word we used to describe San Jose was 'dirty' and thats in the kindest way. But it is by far the starting off point for some of the most beautiful scenery Costa Rica has to offer. So we spent our two evenings here relaxing and reenergising for what was to come...... read more

I am here! Finally got to San Jose after about 12 hours of planes and airports... I was on schedule, left Phoenix on time and everything, but an hour into my flight they said there was something wrong with the cabin pressure and so they turned us around and took us back to Phoenix. When we got to Phoenix, they supposedly had a plane ready to go for us. Not so much. They did have a plane, sitting on the tarmac in the 116 degree heat, which they corralled us into almost immediately (after generously offering us water and a "snack box" for our trouble). Only problem, they still needed to fuel, inspect, and likely paint the damn plane. Instead of leaving "right away" we sat in the hot plane for over an hour while they ... read more