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Student Journal Excerpts — Kate Martel

Monday, January 3, 2005

For my first quiet moment on this trip to Costa Rica, I am sitting in a busy square in downtown San Jose. Children are running around the plaza chasing and both scaring and they themselves being scared of my worst fear: PIGEONS. I despise them. They are filthy. And after 22 years, I still cannot understand how they benefit the world. Yet these children love them. And I am enjoying sitting and watching except when the older boys thing it’s funny to send them in my direction. I’m really good at flinching.

Middle-aged women shout through the square offering Polaroids of the kids feeding corn to the pigeons. One little girl had about fifty surrounding her and another boy had a picture taken while one was sitting on his head! the mothers send out their own children with bags of corn to sell to parents and kids.

Now a woman is kneeling next to me with a 15-pound bag of corn preparing it in small baggies. I bet they make out really well. A man is currently either holding a pigeon while another is maybe helping it? How disgusting. I can’t believe people appreciate pigeons. Ha! Immediately after writing that a 3-year-old boy attempted to kick one. Atta boy!

“Foto! Maize!” They shout non-stop.

Costa Rican kids are really cute. All with curly hair. They are awe-struck by these damn pigeons.

So in general: San Jose is interesting. In some ways not what I expected, but in other ways, I’m not surprised. I thought downtown would look a little more modern, but really I think it’s just a more crowded and busier area of the city. I like the architecture of most of the buildings. The ones that are kept well are amazing. I feel like they are very 1950s. Maybe even Art Deco-esque. It’s unfortunate that the crime really is so bad.

Tuesday January 4, 2005

Today was jam packed. Great though – all 3 professionals were wonderful to hear from. The variety of their jobs was good to hear about. Mauricio was a good example of what I see US PR firms doing. The work for Costa Rica sounds really exciting. Of course the 3rd agency was out of this world. The design/architecture of the office was amazing. The culture and the people looked like a lot of fun. You could feel the creativity oozing out of every corner.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

Everyone was so delighted to leave San Jose today. I think it’s too bad the group looked down on it so much. Personally I thought it was filthy but interesting to see and experience. People live much differently here than in the states. I’m really curious to see what happens in the city over the next 10-20 years. Where will it be as far as development goes?

I really enjoyed both Nolan and Tina’s presentations. The tour of the SFS grounds was nice, the land and all that they do there is incredible. If I was more inclined towards science etc., I’d have loved to do a semester there. It was really beneficial to learn more about the certification system for hotels from Tina. It’s a classic example of high hopes but low actualization. I hope that they can figure out some solutions to their problems with the system.

Thursday January 6, 2005 — Monteverde, Cloud Rainforest

Today was yet another of many firsts on this trip. The cloud forest was amazing. All of the lush greenery really took my breath away. It was great having Jenny to explain ecological terms and phenomena. However, a few of us on our second hike went it alone and enjoyed a lot of “Hey, look at that cool thing!” Ha. I had fun. I saw a millipede. We were all excited about our fun hike and then heard the other group saw monkeys. Sad to miss out on.

The bus ride was interesting to say the least. The views were great but I was just so exhausted, I tried to take a nap. The roads were actually better than I feared. I imagined literally lifting out of my seat because of potholes. Thankfully it didn’t happen. I did get nervous on those tight squeezes and steep inclines – this bus is not the newest….

Saturday January 8, 2005

In the morning we all went to El Bosque de los Ninos which was similar but unique compared to the others. On the good side, it was drier and overall easier to walk than the past two. We saw some negro pavos or black turkeys. They weren’t quite as large as those I’ve seen back home, but they looked too huge to be flying from branch to branch. Nicole, Katie and I hiked with our tour guides, Jenny and Luis, which was a great choice because Jenny is so knowledgeable and knows almost every environmental answer to my questions. We saw more beautiful views from a few lookout posts and kept an eye out for monkeys, but failed to find them.

This afternoon was our free time and eight of us went to Sky Trek. The zip line was yet another first for me. I’ve done rope courses before so I was comfortable with the idea of being up so high in the air but nothing truly prepared me for the awesome views. I’m still really awe-struck over the whole experience. My heart was pumping the entire 2 hours. It’s really hard to describe the feeling of being up on the line – aside from dodging rain pellets and hoping my contacts wouldn’t fall out, the scenery just made me want to thank God for creating such a spectacular place. Going through the clouds was just crazy!! I remember before that particular line Katie was freaking out because of the climb up the tower saying, “Planes go through clouds, not humans!” It was really funny, but she loved it. Hopefully I’ll do it again somewhere someday. I even bought the picture of me that they took because I just look so psyched. It was such a good way to spend $30.

Sunday January 9, 2005

Today we left for La Fortuna y el Volcan Arenal. However, the trip was definitely not quite what we all had in mind. Firstly, I don’t think any day of the itinerary had correct times for distance between destinations. But today was especially—even aside from mudslides—inaccurate. The time it takes to get from place to place is excruciating. The road with the mudslides was incredible. I was disappointed when Luis initially said we wouldn’t be able to go to the waterfall because of the river water that we passed. I was really a shame, but the water was absolutely disgusting. It was crazy as we passed some fallen debris and finally the huge tree blocking the entire road. It was a sight to see that 65-75 year old man butchering the tree. I hope my pictures of that come out well. It was truly once in a lifetime event to see that in action. I guess in C. R. the DPW is Do-it-yourself. It seems rough, but I think the old guy was totally pleased with himself. And of course after all of this, the random stop at the hot springs was to die for! Quite possibly the best decision made the entire trip. Hooray for spontaneity. The food was good and well deserved after our long journey. The hot springs however, were unbelievable. I’ve never been to one of those before—everyone said they were natural but you kind of have to wonder. If it is truly natural then you really have to stop for a second to appreciate all of the amazing natural things in the world. It was a blast to just relax and veg-out in the pools. None of us wanted it to end, that’s how great it was.

Tuesday January 11, 2005

Ah, what a fantastic day! I think everyone’s opinions changed when they realized walking for less than 10 minutes to a gorgeous beach isn’t so bad after all. I got a fair share of huge waves. Body surfing is a favorite past time of mine. Of course, the waves here are far better than that of Rye Beach, NH. I had a grand time being thrown about. And catching rays, needless to say, is also a good time.

Thursday January 13, 2005

Everybody was so excited for a long day of chilling at the beach today. It was good not to be isolated like yesterday. I can’t believe this is our last day! So sad. No more amazing banana pancakes and bacon!! No more Imperial. Shame. We should import it more. This trip has been amazing. I don’t know where to start. I’m so glad I came. It was totally worth it. I feel like I’ve learned so much and grown from the experience. Seeing a developing nation is a lot different than I expected. In a good way!

 

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