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Published: December 31st 2015
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Today is Tuesday, our second day of class. Since this is a fast three-week course or as my professor likes to say "marathonic course," we have assignments due every week. Our first assignment if to write a one page paper on a successful marine conservation project in the tropics and then present it. I'm scheduled to present tomorrow with one half of the class meanwhile the other half present on Thursday. Booo but oh well I'll get it over with at least.
My professor surprised us with a dolphin-watching field trip at the ocean by our beach tomorrow. And today we are taking a walk down the beach by the pier where cruise ships dock. There were so many souvenir shops and food stands. So fascinating! I'm really enjoying this class already 😊 Today's topic was the over-usage of plastics and litter on beaches. So he took us down to show us all the huge amounts of trash scattered around here and there. There was a toilet seat.... a shoe... a sponge...lol. While we were under the fig trees listening to our professor talk, a bird pooped right on my shoulder and bag strap. Of course I would get pooped
on twice already by birds in Costa Rica....my bad luck with bird poop will not be left in NY, would it? At least it was easy to clean off and my classmate Jazmin was really nice and helped me clean up.
After learning about how all this excess plastic is a major pollutant to the ocean and marine life, we headed back to USAC for our break. I went to grab some smoothies (haha I did say it was going to become a daily thing right? :P) with a few of the USAC girls. I tried another flavor and it was bomb dot com, better than yesterday's. I ordered a
fresa, mango, y coco de crema helado smoothie. yum yum yum!
I headed to la soda with Kaitlyn to eat lunch during my siesta. Today we had plantains, gallo pinto, squash, carne, cole slaw and baked potato with a glass of tamarind juice. The juice was great! When I returned back to class, we learned more about plastics, turtles, and jellyfish. Today I learned that sponges were the first animals in the sea. And that cnidarians (such as anemones) are the first animals without eyes and mouth to
sense the world using their tentacles. They may have been the ones to trigger evolution.
When class ended, I went to the computer room to work on my paper. It took me a good 2.5 hours to finish but I finally did it. Researching took a while. I ended up doing a paper on a marine conservation project called Project Seahorse. I did not even know that seahorses were endangered. Apparently, they are overfished and overexploited because they are captured to use in Traditional Chinese Medicine and souvenirs like jewelry, keychains, etc.
Anyway, I headed back on home for dinner. Today's meal was very light, healthy, and delicious. Kaitlyn and I were very happy LOL. Dinners tend to be on the lighter side since it's almost bed time. (Ticos sleep early like around 9PM and wake up around 5-6AM). We had rice, plantains, and grilled chicken breast. Yum. Our host dad once again sat with us and talked to us while we ate. He's the sweetest. He always tries to strike up a conversation even though my I can't communicate well. I told him of all my upcoming weekend plans meanwhile she told him about hers. It was
one of those simple but memorable moments.
Kaitlyn went out later that night. I didn't go out because I was feeling exhausted. Just wanted to chill at home. I talked to my brother and mom for the first time on the phone since I've gotten here. They were asking me how everything was. I think this was my first moment of homesickness I started feeling. Maybe because the house was quiet (host parents slept, Kaitlyn was out) and I just had time to reflect. Probably also because my brother was sending me pictures of my cute baby nephew and pictures of my family from a birthday celebration today.
It's alright, it's normal. I'm surprised I am taking this culture shock so well, or at least better than I expected. Maybe the fact that I have someone from the states living with me definitely made it more comfortable transitioning in. And also the fact that there's always something to do and when there isn't, it's totally okay. It's so relaxing, so
tranquil. Ticos go about their everyday lives in such a slow-paced, peaceful, and simple way. Coming from New York City, it's so hard to slow down my pace
with everything but I think I am coming along and I'm loving it. Fast-paced lives are quite stressful and it's usually quantity over quality.
Looking forward to more pura vida, CR! :') but less heat please....
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