Carbs and Coffee: la Comida de Costa Rica

One huge cultural difference I have noticed between The US and Costa Rica is the food. The first day I arrived in Costa Rica, I was inundated with countless unfamiliar fruits and vegetables at the market. We tried many and they were all delicious, but certainly not anything I was used to. After moving in with my host family, the unfamiliar foods continued to appear on my plate. But there is one thing that never seems to change: rice and beans. I feel like I have eaten more rice and beans this week than I have in the entire span of my life! For breakfast I eat gallo pinto (rice and beans), for lunch casado (rice and beans with chicken), and for dinner usually chicken or fish with none other than rice and beans.

I think I have eaten rice with every meal this week wether at the hotel, at a restaurant, or in my host home. It has become a running joke among our group that we will have serious rice withdrawals when we get back home. It's just a little strange to us that pasta, rice, and potatoes can all be served on the same plate, because it is different from what we are used to, but different isn't necessarily good or bad... it's just different.

A typical casado

I can honestly say that I have liked everything I have eaten here (which is kind of surprising because I'm a little picky), but at the same time I do miss ranch dressing (nobody uses dressing on salads here) and pizza.

Coffee is also a huge staple in Costa Rica as it is the main export. Many different types of coffee are grown in CR: all different roasts and even types unique to the country. I am not much of a coffee drinker at home, but with as little time as we have to sleep and as much coffee as I am offered throughout the day, it is nearly impossible to avoid. My host family has assured me that the coffee here is better than any coffee in the states! Our group actually had the opportunity to briefly visit a coffee farm where we learned that coffee is grown on steep drop offs to prevent erosion. The roots of the coffee plant hold dirt to prevent landslides during the rainy season. 

The roots of coffee plants prevent erosion 

Meeting mi familia

I was incredibly nervous to meet my host family. Thousands of worries were running through my head when we went outside CPI to meet our families:

What if I couldn't communicate with them? What if they eat strange foods? Would they like me? What if they didn't understand anything I said? Would I get lost trying to find my home? Would they speak any English? Would I remember how to speak any Spanish or just got into some crazy culture-shock and forget how to speak all together? Would they have any pets who I could hang out with to avoid having to speak Spanish?

CPI

Thankfully, my name was called first of the whole group, so I didn't have time to have a nervous breakdown. My mamá, papá, and hermana tica were anxiously waiting for me. We all smiled at each other and the translator from CPI asked if there was anything I wanted her to tell them before I got in their car. I simply said, "Can you tell them I don't like mayonnaise?" Really?! I blew my one shot on having something translated on a topic as trivial as mayo?! I had just arrived in a foreign country and was about to get into a car full of strangers who I didn't know how to communicate with and all I mentioned my disdain for a popular condiment. That just goes to show how nervous I really was. I came into this without many expectations. Staying with a host family was a concept so foreign to me that I didn't know what to expect at all, but I had no idea how nervous I would be when the time came to meet them. As they loaded up my bags and I got into the backseat of their car, I was wondering how I got myself into this. As the car pulled away from the safety of CPI and my family was speaking amongst themselves in Spanish, I felt almost certain that I was in way over my head. Luckily for me, my tico family overlooked what I know must have been the most terrified look on my face and my ridiculous mayo exclamation, and began to ask me a few simple questions about myself in Spanish. After answering how old I am and where I am from, I felt a little more confident in my ability to communicate.

My hermana tica Brendolyn

Much like an English Language Learner in America, I was overwhelmed with tons of new information: a new country, a language I'm not familiar with, new people, and phrases I've never heard, but when I was able to understand what they were asking and formulate a response, I was proud of myself and felt a little more comfortable. Sadly, this didn't last long because the questions got harder and all the words began to run together as we drove down the long dirt road home. This was probably the first time I was able to truly empathize with an English Language Learner. 

First Impressions

We arrived safely in San Jose, Costa Rica yesterday morning! 

At the Myrtle Beach airport ready to be Costa Rica bound!

Even though I had to wake up at 2:30 for the flight, I couldn't have been more excited. It is completely surreal to actually be in Costa Rica after all the planning and preparation. It finally hit me on the plane yesterday morning that I would be in a foreign country experiencing culture shock when the customs declaration forms they handed out were in Spanish! Thankfully they were translated into broken English, or I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on. It was interesting to be on a flight where announcements and forms were made in Spanish and then translated into English rather than the other way around that I am used to. It made me realize that I will be in the minority while in Costa Rica as an English-speaking gringo. After arriving, we went to the bank to exchange our US dollars for colones. The bank here is very different than the banks I am accustomed to. We were required to stand in a single file line and walk through a metal detector. The bank was stark, but the teller was friendly and understanding of my broken Spanish. Everyone here has been very friendly and welcoming so far. Later on, our group visited the farmers market which was awesome. We tried so many new fruits like passion fruit, guava, pejibaye, and many more. Being surrounded by so many unfamiliar foods and people who I can barely communicate with to ask about them was a little intimidating, so I'm glad our tour guides were there to explain. Today we visited a coffee farm and La Paz Waterfalls. Costa Rica is so beautiful! On our way up the mountain, there were what seemed to be endless coffee fields.

A coffee field 

Coffee is grown on steep inclines because the roots of the plant hold on to dirt to prevent erosion. Coffee is a major export to Canada, Europe, and the US because there are types of coffee specific to Costa Rica. At La Paz, we were able to see the native flora and fauna. Our tour guide, Javier, has extensive knowledge about Costa Rica's plants and animals. He showed us ferns, orchids, birds, frogs, snakes, monkeys, big cats, and even the poor man's umbrella... all of which are indigenous to the region.

Javier pointing out some birds.

really enjoyed learning about the country's wildlife, culture, and biodiversity even if it did rain on us. (I guess we really are in a rainforest!) I am having a great time so far, but it does still feel like we are in 'vacation mode.' The TV and radio are in Spanish and everywhere we go we are surrounded by Ticos speaking Spanish, but it doesn't feel quite real that we are about to be completely immersed into their culture. Since we are all still staying together as a group at the hotel, it is easy to feel a sense of security by sticking together, speaking in our native language, and discussing things that we are used to. This has helped me understand a little bit about how students close themselves off and only associate with people who are 'like them.' It is comfortable to stick with people who have a lot in common with you culturally and are going through the same things.

There are so many cultural differences between Costa Rica and the US. Sometimes you even need a buddy to help you turn on the sink!

I am excited to spend the next three weeks here and gain so many new experiences, but I am definitely nervous about meeting my host family Sunday night. When I am living with them I will not have the safety net of the group and will have to adapt to the lifestyle of the family. This will be an invaluable cultural experience, but I am very anxious about it. 

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

     In a few short hours I will be embarking on the journey of a lifetime, a study abroad experience in Costa Rica! It is a faculty led program through The Watson College of Education that focuses on the experiences and struggles of English Language Learners. I think the opportunities this trip will present me with will challenge me both academically and personally. The academic goals I have set for myself include learning how to become an affective teacher for students coming from all different backgrounds and developing a deeper passion for learning and exploring that I can share with my future students. On a more personal level, I hope to be able to see the world from a different perspective, become more adventurous, and enjoy my time abroad. By spending three weeks immersed in a different culture and language, I think I will be able to more clearly empathize with English Language Learners and students coming from different cultural backgrounds than my own.
     I am incredibly excited for this opportunity, but I can't help but to be nervous about traveling to a country that I've never been to when I do not speak the language fluently. I am anxious to live with a host family who will most likely have very different lifestyle than I am used to. I am not quite sure what to expect, but I know that the language barrier between my host family and I will be a challenge. I am also concerned about the cultural differences I will need to adapt to. In Costa Rica there are different expectations for greetings, timeliness, social interactions, and I'm sure many other things that I have not even considered yet. I think it will be a big adjustment trying to transition from the mindset of a UNCW student to the mindset of a Tico.
     I anticipate that I will make a lot of mistakes, probably translate plenty of things incorrectly, and embarrass myself a few times, but I hope that I will be able to grow from these experiences to become a more well-rounded educator. I hope that through my experiences as a struggling learner, I will be able to relate to my students who struggle and use strategies that I found to be effective for me. I think this opportunity to be fully immersed in a different culture will teach me to be more flexible in my daily life, adaptable to new situations, and understanding of other cultures and perspectives.

My cat Texas is ready to see me off to Costa Rica! He tried to get into my backpack and come along.