Andy Head- May 29, 2013

There are a few life differences in Costa Rica than in the United States. Firstly, in Costa Rica, one is to throw his/her used toilet paper in the trash, but no one will tell you. You have to figure it out yourself. Second, a lot of the infrastructure and amenities are a little behind. The sidewalks slope, there are big gaps between the sidewalks and the roads for sewage, and public bathrooms have odd locking mechanisms and flushers.  Thirdly, if you are looking for somewhere, don't even bother to explain to whoever you find to ask. You just name the place, and if the stranger knows it, they will tell you.

LANGUAGE

1.      There are a number of English names used for items that consist of multiple words in English in which one only pronounces the first word in Costa Rica. For example, "basketball," is called "basket," "Facebook," is referred to as "Face," and any Play Station console is called "Play."

2.     I am thinking unique to Costa Rica, one says here two items in order to express "you're welcome," and "Don't worry about it" respectively. They are "Con mucho gusto," and "Tranquilo."

3.      Perhaps because it's easier to remember, but what I and anyone else who has had Spanish classes with me learned for "banana" was "la banana." When I got to Costa Rica that got turned completely turned on its head when I was doing my service learning at the zoo and had to reference the generated cookbook while preparing meals for the animals. The word for “banana?" "El banano."

4.      Since we're talking about fruit, let's move on to grapes. One of the boys in my homestay loves Jell-O (or "gelatin" here, though the Internet's telling me that it's more commonly referred to in Spanish as "gelatina"), so we have had it multiple times at dinner. One time, the flavor was grape, or "de uva." I did a double-take when my Mama Tica told me though, because she said "oo-ah." She aspirated (i.e. didn't make) the "v" sound at all, which I firstly didn't know ever happened with "v," but had also never heard happen when it meant that two vowels would have to be pronounced in sequence. I had read a Wikipedia article that talked about in some sections of Puerto Rican Spanish that with participles (e.g. "ronronado," "danzado," "quebrado"), the "d" acting as the penultimate letter gets aspirated so that the words would have endings pronounced as "ah-o"  instead of "ah-doe," but since our Puerto Rican director hasn't seemed to aspirate her "s"s when it would mean that two vowels would be pronounced in succession, I have had reservations about the existence of the pronunciation of words in which vowels must be pronounced in tandem. (e.g.She'll say "Estamos" without pronouncing either "s", or "misma" without the "s," which still leave consonants between vowels, but I've only ever heard her say "cosa" with the "s," and her actual name is always "Rosa" with an"s.")

PEOPLE

I had the idea when I came to Costa Rica that ticos were very amicable and greeted anyone they might see walking down the street. My mama tica assured me that that happens when she walks around, but as a stranger, I have not been greeted as such and just walk by people as I might in a
larger U.S. city. That said, people are still a lot more hospitable than what I've seen prior in the United States. The first day that I volunteered, a chap from another volunteer's host family was driving us to the volunteer location, but didn't know how to get there. He asked at least 10 different people, and always asked by just naming the location, like it was given that the person would help him if he/she could. Also, last night, I found out that relatives of the family with whom another girl in our group is staying live next door to me, and they invited me to dinner for no reason and spent an hour teaching me to salsa and meringue dance and then took me and a different group member out and paid for everything.

ADDITION: Upon returning from the Irazú volcano, nearly every farm worker in the vast network of farming fields paused from working to wave at our bus.

VOLUNTEERING

El Zoológico Simón Bolivar is the name of the National Zoo. It has around thirty different animals, including a lion, a jaguar, raccoons, and a whole host of animals of which I'd never heard. (Look up the white-nosed coati!) While volunteering there, I worked in various sections in four hour blocks. In doing the "Felines" and "Birds" sections, I spent time scrubbing any hard-grounded surfaces in the animal cages between rinses done by one of a few zoo keepers. It was interesting to note the thought that went into the construction of the zoo. The cages are arranged as such so that water flows to sewage, and spouts and pathways to cages were made with elaborate thought, in that one can arrive with ease from one cage to another.  In doing the "Feed Preparation” section, I weighed different amounts of fruits, dead chicks, and dog food, cut up each as necessary, and placed each in bowls and then put the resultant bowls on different tables to be taken to animals in different parts of the zoo.

Significant Interaction

A zookeeper asked if I had a job in the US and I answered how I work 12 hours a week for $9.75 at a theatre. He told some patrons exasperated about me, and then we talked about how he makes $240 a month working 70 hours a month, or about $3.43 an hour. While life in Costa Rica seems preferable than other places of which I have heard, the discourse has made me more grateful for all of the privileges I have enjoyed being born into the system that I was.

VETERINARIAN OFFICE

My first week in Costa Rica, my partner and I volunteered at a veterinary clinic in the afternoon as a supplement to our time at the zoo. Our time was principally occupied by cleaning cages of different sizes, as well as cleaning used doggie bowls. While the doggie bowls were more routinely cleaned, I have more reservations about the cages ever really being washed, so I feel comfortable saying that my partner and I did a real service there.

"LA FINCA"

The father of my mama tica has a "finca" in Sarapiquí, Heredia. The day after returning from Monteverde, I went with my mama tica to his finca to enjoy the place with her family. (Glenda and Amanda came as well, as their mama tica is also the daughter-in-law of my mama tica's dad.) While there, I was able to swim in a swimming pool that had the clearest water that I have ever seen, while I also partook in viewing of all of the plants that are grown on the property. You see, while the house is normal sized, it sits on what I'll guess is about three or four acres of land, in which there are also grown all of the fruits I had no conception of until I came to Costa Rica. (Speaking of which, did you know that pineapples grow out of the grown!?! I had no idea. There are patches of them, and they form in the center of plants with leaves that resemble the pineapple stems.) I would like to note the kind of immense respect I have for my mama tica's mother and father. The father gathered us all together before eating and said no matter what your religion, it was important to thank God for all He gives. The father of my mama tica and his wife then recited from memory the longest prayer I've ever heard in my life, one that was probably around eight minutes long. I asked my mama tica, and she says they recite that prayer every day before eating breakfast, usually at around seven in the morning. If nothing else, their conviction is commendable.

CONCLUSION

I have reaped a number of benefits from having been able to Costa Rica. While not as much as I wanted (though that amount was likely unachievable), I became faster in forming Spanish constructions and gained a better sense of when to use certain tenses based upon observations of native usage. In addition, I garnered more experience working under the direction of a supervisor, an invaluable resource for me given my limited work experience. On a personal note, I learned that I will be the only one out to ensure that I am having a fun time, and that voicing issues is the only way to move into normal intercourse with others, for one cannot live in the moment with his/her mind forever occupied by the same unvoiced thoughts. I would like to
give shout outs to Donna Head, Dawn Stinchcomb, Ryan Favors, Alejandra Umaña Arce, and Rosa Acevedo Villarreal for helping to make this all possible for me. You're all awesome, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

PURA VIDA

I'm closest to the camera on the left