Sick :(

This weekend I was planning on going up to a national park nearby with some friends to hike and stuff, but at this point it doesn't look like I'm gonna go, because for the last few days I've been feeling really crummy. It's not anything serious, just stomach ache and nausea mostly, but I haven't eaten very much in the last couple days, so I don't think hiking is a good idea right now. I bought some Pepto Bismal today and just took some, so hopefully that will help, but I don't think I'll be 100% by tomorrow morning. I'm bummed, cause I was really looking forward to getting out of the city and spending time having fun with my friends, but hopefully we'll get to do something fun soon. I did just get an email from the ISEP director here about an excursion on September 11th, so hopefully I'll be able to go to that!

So anyway, if you could pray that I feel better soon, that would be great. Thanks!

Holly

¡Luces, Cámara, Acción!

So today I did something fun, something other than homework: I got to be in a movie! Just as an extra, but still. Supposedly my name will be in the credits. :)

See, my friend April is in this Latin American Cinema class, and her professor is friends with this guy who is making a movie, and they were going to be filming on campus today and needed extras. So April invited me and we showed up around 12:30 at the registration building, but they weren't ready for us, so we came back an hour later.

The movie is called "El Regreso," which means "the return," and it tells the story of this guy who's returning to Costa Rica after having lived in the United States for a long time. Here's a link to an article (in Spanish) about it:

http://www.89decibeles.com/noticias/hernan-jimenez-inicia-rodaje-de-el-regreso

and the same article translated by Google:

http://translate.google.co.cr/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=es&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.89decibeles.com%2Fnoticias%2Fhernan-jimenez-inicia-rodaje-de-el-regreso&sl=es&tl=en

The scenes they were filming today were ones where he was in the immigration or customs place trying to get his passport stuff figured out. There were all these chairs set up, and the main character (who is also the director) has a conversation with this strange guy sitting next to him. We extras filled in the other chairs and walked back and forth behind and in front of the chairs (to make it seem busy). So in the first scene, I was a person in the chairs, "reading" my Spanish-English Dictionary and moving over one seat every thirty seconds or so. In the second scene, which I think was supposed to be another day, we switched and everyone sitting in chairs walked back and forth while the people who had walked back and forth sat in chairs.

For the third scene, those of us sitting in chairs had to react to what was going on at the desk. Apparently, he's up there trying to get his passport but the lady working is being really frustrating. So he starts yelling, and we all look up and kind of look at each other like "What's going on?" The funny part was, nothing was actually happening when they filmed our "reactions." He just told us what was supposedly happening and told us when to look up.

It was cool to be able to see how a movie is made up close, but it was also a little boring. It took us about an hour to film a three-minute scene. I don't know how many times I moved over in those chairs. But overall it was a fun experience, and I'm going to have to try to find this movie when it comes out so I can watch it.

Below is a picture I took of the set. Of the two men sitting the chairs, the man on the right is the director, and the man on the left is the guy he meets while waiting in line. In front of them, they're setting up really bright lights. If you look closely you can see the camera (start from the red sign in the ceiling and go straight down). It was set up on a platform with wheels that ran along a pair of pvc pipes.

Random Things About Costa Rica

To the left is a picture taken from the "main" entrance to the university. A lot of times the mountains are covered in clouds, so I took a picture while I had the chance.

Okay, here are some random, interesting things that I've learned about Costa Rica:

1. Never go anywhere without your umbrella.

This is right up there with remembering your keys, wallet, and phone. At any time, any place, when you least expect it, the heavens could open up and pour gallons of water on you. Usually it rains sometime between noon and 4 o'clock, but it could start earlier or later. The one thing you can count on is that it will rain at some point during the day.

2. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way--and sidewalks are hit-and-miss.

Having lived in Chicago for two years, I feel like I am a pretty accomplished street-crosser. It's a little different here, though. First of all, cars do not have to stop for pedestrians. They usually will, and I've had people wave me across sometimes, but I've also almost been run over several times. Also, just because there's a stop sign doesn't mean that the cars will stop. If the way is clear, they won't even pretend to stop like people do in the U.S. They just go. Also, while most of the streets here are kept in good condition, the sidewalks are another story. Sometimes they're fine, but sometimes they're all torn up or super narrow or made from tiles instead of concrete. On my walk to church there's a whole stretch where there's no sidewalk at all.

3. Go into public restrooms prepared for anything.

The first thing you should know is that you do not throw toilet paper in the toilets. Their system can't handle it and it will clog. So, you throw the toilet paper in the trash cans conveniently located in every stall. The second thing you should know is that many restrooms have one toilet paper dispenser per bathroom--you take some before you go into a stall. And there's no guarantee that there will always be toilet paper, so come prepared. Soap is also often missing from bathrooms--although sometimes they have plastic water bottles filled with soap sitting on the counter--and paper towels are very rare.

4. None of my classes have textbooks.

Well, they do, but not in the way we do in the States. Textbooks are really expensive here, so everyone just uses copies. The first day of class, the professor tells you which fotocopiaría they use (there are dozens in the area around campus) and you have to go there to pick up your copies. For three of my classes I have an "anthology" compiled by the professor that contains all the readings for the whole semester. For my Anthropology and History class, I have to go each week to pick up the next week's readings. I'm not sure if it's entirely legal, but that's what they do here.

5. Cafecito may be best invention since the siesta.

"Cafecito" literally means "little coffee," but it's basically a break in the middle of the afternoon to drink coffee and eat pastries-Yum! Often I'll have cafecito with my host mom and whoever else is at our house, and we'll talk or watch a movie on t.v. My literature class on Wednesday afternoons has a twenty minute break in the middle for cafecito, too. :)

6. Don't say "de nada"--use "mucho gusto".

This has taken me a while to get used to, since for the past 6+ years I've been trained to say "de nada" after someone says "gracias." But here, they use "con mucho gusto," or "my pleasure." Which I really like, but I still catch myself automatically saying "de nada."

7. Costa Rica uses a different verb form/pronoun that I've never heard of before.

This is going to make very little sense to anyone who doesn't know Spanish, but they don't use the informal you (tú) form very much here. They use "usted", which is usually more formal, for everyone--friends, family, children, pets, etc. And they also use "vos" which is sort of like a singular form of "vosotros." It uses the "tú" form for most tenses except present, preterite, subjunctive, imperfect subjunctive, and command forms. So yeah. I would pick one of two or three Spanish-speaking countries that uses a verb form I've never heard of before... :) Thankfully it's not too hard; again I just have to get used to using it.

Well, my computer is about to die, and I need to go home to start on homework, but it's pouring right now. I do have my umbrella, but I think I might hang out here at the library for a while and see if it stops.

Skype, Buses, Marcha, Alarm Clock

So I've just spent the last hour adding friends' blogs to my "dashboard" and reading through them a bit, and I decided I can put my homework off for another few minutes to update mine.

This has been a good week: Monday I got to talk to Drew for over an hour on skype. Tuesday I took the wrong bus home, spent 45 minutes on it and only made it half-way home, and then had to walk the rest of the way in the rain (funny story). Wednesday my Spanish class was canceled because the whole school shut down for a protest "marcha" (in which I did not participate, due to my status as an international student and my desire to not get deported). Thursday morning I woke up 15 minutes after my class started, got there half an hour later, and my professor just joked about it and made me read aloud #3 on his list of excuses students give for being late.

Well, I really do have a lot of homework to do this weekend, so I'd best be starting on it.

A Weekend of Adventures

I finally have some interesting things to write about, so I figured I should post this before it gets too late.

Friday afternoon I got to skype with my mom for a couple hours, and then hung out with my host family for the rest of the evening. My host sister-in-law works at a restaurant called "Bagelman's," which is based in New York, and she was asking me how to say things in English and to explain what certain foods or names were. I think they get a lot of Americans in there, and she doesn't always know how to say the foods in English. It was really fun to exchange language lessons.

Saturday morning I met my friend April in the central park and we did some homework (or attempted to do homework) in the shade. I love this park--I pass it on my way to school every day, and it might be one of my favorite places in Heredia. It's not like a park back home; there's very little grass but there are lots of trees and benches, and a huge fountain and a huge gazebo. At one end of the park is the Iglesia Inmaculada Concepción. I say April and I tried to do homework because there was so much going on. A lot of people bring their kids there to feed the pigeons or roller skate, and there's lots of families and young people and couples walking through or just sitting on the benches. I also saw a line of "scissor"(?) ants carrying leaf pieces from a tree to their nest. So we stayed there for a while and then walked around central Heredia for a while, looking at stores and exploring a little. We ate empanadas for lunch at a little soda, and walked briefly through the central market.

Sunday I went to the same church I went to last week, by myself this time. My host mom called a taxi for me, but I walked home. The service was good, and we had communion. I wasn't exactly sure how to get home, but I made it without too much trouble. I had pizza for lunch and took a short nap before I had to leave to go to the theater.

Which brings me to my next "adventure". For my Appreciation of Theater class, we had to go see this play in San José called "El Métedo Gronholm" or The Gronholm Method. Thankfully, some of the girls in my class asked if I wanted to go with them, and they took care of ordering tickets and figuring out how to get there. We planned to meet in the Parque de los Angeles at 2:40 (the play started at 5). So when I was getting ready to leave, it was raining a little bit. I really didn't want to call a taxi, and it wasn't raining too hard, so I figured I could make it. And it's hard to know what the rain is going to do: it could stop, slow down, or speed up with no warning. Unfortunately, when I was just a few blocks from home, it started pouring. I think I've tried to explain Costa Rican rain before--when it pours, it just dumps tons of water. So I'm standing against the wall of this bakery, trying to decide if I should try calling a taxi (it's nearly impossible to find one when it rains like this) or wait for it to stop or just go for it. But then, gracias a Dios, a taxi pulled up nearby dropping someone off. I asked the driver if I could get in and he nodded, so I got a taxi to the park. I had to cross the street to the bank where we were supposed to meet, and it was still pouring. All the streets here have really deep gutters, probably about a foot deep, and they were overflowing with water. So I waded across the street and made it to the shelter under the bank's overhang. I dumped water out of my shoes (literally) and sat down to wait and watch the rain. It was still pouring, and the streets were practically rivers, flooding up onto the sidewalks. It was ridiculous, but this is pretty normal for the rainy season. I'm not sure where the water goes, but when it stops raining, the water recedes fairly quickly.

My friends were a little late getting there, because of the rain, but eventually they showed up and we walked to the bus stop. We took a bus to San José, walked to another bus stop, took another bus to the neighborhood of the theater, then walked to the theater. We were about an hour early, so we had to wait a little, but it wasn't too bad. It was a small "store-front" type theater, and there were only 4 actors in the play. It was about these four people who are candidates for an important job at a company, but instead of a regular interview, they're put in a room and given tasks to do to evaluate their character, ability to work as a team, etc. It was pretty funny and well done, although I couldn't understand everything that was said. Afterward, we took the same way back to Heredia and the bus dropped me off a few blocks from my house. It was only about 8:30, but I hadn't eaten dinner yet. My host mom had bought me a hot dog--more toppings than meat--which I ate, and then went to bed. I found a Hogan's Heroes episode on YouTube that I hadn't seen and watched that before I went to sleep. It was a nice change from a full day of Spanish. :)

Well I should probably get some homework done. Hopefully it won't be as long before I write again...

Ephesians 3:20-21

Well, I have survived my first week of classes in Costa Rica. The way they do classes here is a little different than in the US. For one thing, instead of having class for an hour three times a week, they have class once a week for 2-3 hours. And I have trouble sitting through an hour and a half class at North Park... My schedule is really spread out, too. I only have one class each day, expect for Wednesday when I have two classes; my Spanish class meets Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour and a half.

So Tuesday morning I had my first "real" class, Anthropology and History. I was super nervous, but the profesora was really nice and told me I could meet with her after class if I didn't understand something. Wednesday afternoon I had World Literature of the 20th century, which I think I'm going to like. Granted, it's going to be a lot of reading that will take me forever, but the professor seems good and I like literature. Thursday morning was Appreciation of Theater. My professor was interesting. He told us he's an actor, not a professor, and he's really funny, when I can understand him. He kept asking me questions, but I could never understand what he was saying when he talked to me. At one point he was talking about practicing diction, and he went into this thing where he talked really loud and fast and ended by pointing at me and asking me to repeat what he said. I just smiled and shook my head, knowing there was absolutely no way. Finally, today I had Oral and Written Expression. My teacher is pretty easy to understand; I think she used to teach Spanish as a Second Language. It seems like an interesting class: we're going to learn about Spanish grammar and punctuation, how to write essays well and speak in public. Hopefully it will help my Spanish a lot.

I have also been to two movies this week. Wednesday afternoon I went with four other girls and we saw "The Karate Kid" (in English with Spanish subtitles), and this afternoon I went with another girl to see "Despicable Me" (dubbed in Spanish and renamed, "Mi Villano Favorito," or My Favorite Villain). Movies are really cheap here, which is great. My movie today cost 2,500, which is about $5, and it's a Friday night and a 3D movie! Wednesdays are 2-for-1 or half price, so it was only 1,300, or less than $3.

Last night I attended a Bible study here at my house. I didn't understand everything that was said, but I got enough to know what they were talking about, which was holiness and how we are called to be holy. We sang at the beginning, and one of the songs I knew in English, which was really cool. It felt really good to be part of a Christian group and read Scripture and worship together. Before I left home, I asked God for at least one Christian friend here, and He has blessed me with a Christian family, plus a few Christian friends among the ISEP group.

Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine... to Him be the glory.

...and then it started raining, part 2

I am now attempting to load my pictures from the past week onto facebook. There are 200 of them, and my internet is being spotty, so I'm hoping it will work.

Today I had my first class, but it was my Spanish class with all the other study abroad students, so it wasn't very different from my Spanish classes in the States. But tomorrow I have "Anthropology and History," so we'll see how that goes.

To pick up where I left off:

Thursday morning we had to be at school by 7 am--super early. We had a mini tour bus that held all 17 of us students, plus the two women who were our guides/chaperones, and of course the bus driver. We drove for about an hour and a half to this huge pineapple farm, where we toured the fields and the plant. It was really neat to see how they grow, sort, and package the pineapple, all by hand. We got to eat some pineapple straight from the field, and it was delicious! After the tour we got to drink pineapple juice from a hollowed-out pineapple, and eat more slices of pineapple and pineapple bread. Muy rico.

After we left the pineapple place, we drove to where we'd be staying for the next two nights, the Tirimbina Field Station. To get there, we had to leave the main road and drive on this windy, dirt-and-pebble road that was barely more than one lane. I wondered where in the world we were going, but the station turned out to be really nice. The food was excellent, and the view was beautiful. After a siesta, we had a workshop about interacting with our host families and safety in Costa Rica. That evening we played a big game of Phase 10, which was really fun.

Friday morning we got up early and went to the other side of the forest, to the national park. There we got to take a "Chocolate Tour" and see how they grow and make chocolate. We crossed over this huge suspension bridge, walked through the rainforest a bit--watching out for snakes and bullet ants--and finally reached the chocolate trees. Our guide pointed out the tiny flowers that would eventually turn into giant yellow pods. Under a shelter built there, our guide and a man that was working there took us through every step of the chocolate-making process, from the opening of the pod to drinking hot chocolate and eating candy. It was quite delicious! We walked back through the forest, ate lunch at the main headquarters for the park, and then got back on the bus. Back at the field station, we changed into our suits and headed down to the river to cool off. It was amazing, walking in this river through a rain forest. It felt like something out of a movie, with huge trees and vines and the sound of insects and birds. Later we had more workshops about adjusting to culture and taking care of your health.

Saturday morning we left the field station and drove a ways to a place where we got to ride horses! I was excited, since the last time I'd ridden a horse I think I was about 8 years old. They gave me a nice horse, whose name was Gitana (Gypsy). I found out later that she was 7 months pregnant! She was very sweet, and kept a pretty steady pace for the most part. A few times she would break into a run, which was a little scary, but fun too. I'd let her run a bit, and then slow her down. At one point we had to cross a river that was pretty deep, and the water came up to my knees. Needless to say, we were all hot, sweaty, muddy, and sore by the end of the ride.

After riding, we got to cool down with cas, which is juice made from the cas fruit. I don't know what the fruit looks like, but the juice is really good. It's a little acidic, and very sweet. Then we got onto the bus and drove to El Hotel Tucana, the Toucan Hotel--a very nice hotel. When we arrived we ate lunch first, since our rooms weren't ready. It was a little weird walking into a super nice restaurant/dining room in our muddy, smelly clothes. The food was excellent, and afterwards we got to go swimming. There was a pool and several hot tubs, as well as hot springs in the river. I went down to the river with April, my roommate, and we sat in the river for a while with some other students. The water was weird, because when I sat on a certain rock, the water on my right was scalding hot, but the water on my left was freezing cold. We had to keep changing positions and stirring the water so we wouldn't burn ourselves. After swimming I took a hot shower (it felt sooo good, the field station only had cold water) and relaxed a bit before dinner.

Sunday morning we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, then drove to a zoo/animal rescue center. We got to see a jaguar, a tiger, some snakes, monkeys, parrots, ostriches, and these weird animals that looked like giant hamsters. We spent about an hour there, and then started for home. We ate lunch at a restaurant along the way, and finally arrived back at the University in Heredia around 3:00. It had rained a bunch on our trip back, but when we got to Heredia it wasn't raining. I was glad, because I had to walk back to my house, not having any cash on me to take a bus or a cab. Unfortunately, just as I started walking, it began to rain. And it kept raining most of the way home. Since I was wearing flip-flops, this made the sidewalks even more treacherous, since there are slippery parts. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, with my huge backpack and bright green rain jacket, slipping along down the sidewalk in flip-flops, absolutely drenched. But, gracias a Dios, I made it home before the rain began to fall even harder.

My host mom was getting ready to leave for church, so I had most of the evening to unpack, rest, and skype with my family. It felt wonderful to be able to talk to them.

Well, that about sums up my weekend. It's only 9:00 now, but I'm already tired. I have class tomorrow morning at 8, which means I need to leave here around 7:15, since it takes about a half hour to walk to school. Hopefully from now on, I'll be able to keep up to date with this a little better so the entries don't have to be so long. :)

Until next time!