Last Wednesday my classmates Jill, Henry, Gen and I attended an environmental meeting in Costa Rica called "The National Agenda on the Environment and Sustainable Development in Costa Rica". My friends and I went because we were determined to meet policy makers here in Costa Rica after our previous visit to Montezuma that affected us deeply.
The meeting was two hours long and all in Spanish (of course). It was difficult understanding everything that was said, but luckily a lot of the discussions and presentations were about what we were currently learning in class. It was similar to a review session. At the meeting there were many Costa Rican students along with professionals. Everyone was gravely interested in learning of way to fix problems, but there were no solutions offered.
The meeting was informative and we got to meet one of the policy makers on waste management. We spoke to her about Montezuma and she was not surprised. She gave us her card and said she would send us a video about clean up projects that already exist.
Overall the conference was interesting. I barely go to conferences like this in the U.S. and now I am more involved in Costa Rica. This has inspired me to become more active within my own country when I return.
Living here in Costa Rica and taking the Environmental Sustainable track makes me want to change my lifestyle. I want to be more cautious when using non-renewable energy. I want to keep in mind that conserving for the future is what is needed for future generations.
Hopefully when I go back to the U.S. these principles will still be present in my mind on a day to day basis.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Montezuma
This past weekend I traveled with three friends to Montezuma. Montezuma is known for their beautiful beaches and clear water. It's known for its wildlife on the land and within the water. Obviously my friends and I were very excited to explore this beautiful place!
We arrived Friday afternoon. We checked into our hostel called La Aurora which had a very tranquila atmosphere. We scoped out the town and walked along the beaches and went swimming. The next day we were scheduled to go snorkeling at Tortuga Island.
That night the four of us had deep conversations and really got to know one another which was nice. We also discussed our views of Montezuma as we were staying there. That evening when we were swimming at the beach, we noticed piles of trash and plastic trash scattered throughout the beaches. We took a twenty minute walk down the beach just to see cleaner sand.
We ran into two surfers who helped us get home because it had gotten very dark. The locals were very nice and helpful while we were there.
The next morning we headed out to Tortuga Island. I had been looking forward to snorkeling since the minute I arrived in Costa Rica. As we headed on the boat we passed piles of wood within the ocean. Wood that was not natural to the area.
Once we arrived at the snorkeling site I jumped right in! I was very excited. We started off looking for fish but since it is the rainy season the water was a bit murky. I ended up having to dive down, but once I did i saw multiple schools of fish, a sting ray, an eel, star fish, and other types of fish I do not know the names of.
I also noticed that we were swimming with trash. There was plastic and wood piles everywhere we swam. It was difficult for me to enjoy my time there, not because I felt dirty swimming with trash, but because I know that the wildlife in the sea has to swim with that trash all year round and it's only going to get worse.
The trash comes from the main river in Costa Rica. Trash piles up at the beginning of the river and during the rainy season the trash gets dragged out to sea.
Do not get me wrong Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a lot of wildlife. But what concerns me is how long will the wildlife have resilience to human waste.
Going to Montezuma opened my eyes. I am currently taking an Environmental track at school and these classes have gave me clearer lenses to see the destruction us humans have caused and are causing to the nature we live with.
We checked out the beach again and noticed a sign that asked for people to help pick up trash. My host family and other locals of San Jose told me during the summer the beaches are all cleaned up for the touristy season.
Does it always have to be like this? My friends and I want to go back to Montezuma and participate in a beach clean up. Hopefully we follow through
We arrived Friday afternoon. We checked into our hostel called La Aurora which had a very tranquila atmosphere. We scoped out the town and walked along the beaches and went swimming. The next day we were scheduled to go snorkeling at Tortuga Island.
That night the four of us had deep conversations and really got to know one another which was nice. We also discussed our views of Montezuma as we were staying there. That evening when we were swimming at the beach, we noticed piles of trash and plastic trash scattered throughout the beaches. We took a twenty minute walk down the beach just to see cleaner sand.
We ran into two surfers who helped us get home because it had gotten very dark. The locals were very nice and helpful while we were there.
The next morning we headed out to Tortuga Island. I had been looking forward to snorkeling since the minute I arrived in Costa Rica. As we headed on the boat we passed piles of wood within the ocean. Wood that was not natural to the area.
Once we arrived at the snorkeling site I jumped right in! I was very excited. We started off looking for fish but since it is the rainy season the water was a bit murky. I ended up having to dive down, but once I did i saw multiple schools of fish, a sting ray, an eel, star fish, and other types of fish I do not know the names of.
I also noticed that we were swimming with trash. There was plastic and wood piles everywhere we swam. It was difficult for me to enjoy my time there, not because I felt dirty swimming with trash, but because I know that the wildlife in the sea has to swim with that trash all year round and it's only going to get worse.
The trash comes from the main river in Costa Rica. Trash piles up at the beginning of the river and during the rainy season the trash gets dragged out to sea.
Do not get me wrong Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a lot of wildlife. But what concerns me is how long will the wildlife have resilience to human waste.
Going to Montezuma opened my eyes. I am currently taking an Environmental track at school and these classes have gave me clearer lenses to see the destruction us humans have caused and are causing to the nature we live with.
We checked out the beach again and noticed a sign that asked for people to help pick up trash. My host family and other locals of San Jose told me during the summer the beaches are all cleaned up for the touristy season.
Does it always have to be like this? My friends and I want to go back to Montezuma and participate in a beach clean up. Hopefully we follow through
Monday, October 14, 2013
YO HABLO ESPAÑOL?!
Tonight was the first night I had a full on conversation with my host mother! I cannot believe I was able to speak in Spanish for two straight hours and follow a whole conversation. This may sound silly, but I am so proud of myself right now!
The first couple weeks were rough. Listening to Spanish and trying to get around made my energy drain super fast. For a whole week I would come home with headaches and I just needed to sleep. Also for a few weeks or so I felt like I couldn't speak Spanish nor ENGLISH! I would forget words when talking and I wasn't able to complete a thought (very scary).
But now I am muy contenta! My thoughts in English are coming together, fully which is reassuring and my Spanish has improved immensely. Although I still cannot talk well I am able to hold a conversation and usually get my point across which is what matters.
Living here has not been easy. Studying abroad at any age is challenging. I thought it was going to be easy to not miss costumes of the United States and family culture in general, but I was wrong. I have never gotten homesick while away, and here I need to talk to my family daily. This is probably a change for them... hahaha.
Anyways I am very excited and proud of myself so far. I am also proud of everyone here in the program. We all have battled culture shock daily and we have still managed to survive.
Living here is the biggest step I've ever taken alone. I am truly "alone" in the sense that I came here knowing no one. I had no friends coming into this and no family. NOW I have made friends with everyone in the group and have a home away from home here.
Don't get me wrong, I know I will still have my up and down days. But for now I will enjoy feeling at home :)
The first couple weeks were rough. Listening to Spanish and trying to get around made my energy drain super fast. For a whole week I would come home with headaches and I just needed to sleep. Also for a few weeks or so I felt like I couldn't speak Spanish nor ENGLISH! I would forget words when talking and I wasn't able to complete a thought (very scary).
But now I am muy contenta! My thoughts in English are coming together, fully which is reassuring and my Spanish has improved immensely. Although I still cannot talk well I am able to hold a conversation and usually get my point across which is what matters.
Living here has not been easy. Studying abroad at any age is challenging. I thought it was going to be easy to not miss costumes of the United States and family culture in general, but I was wrong. I have never gotten homesick while away, and here I need to talk to my family daily. This is probably a change for them... hahaha.
Anyways I am very excited and proud of myself so far. I am also proud of everyone here in the program. We all have battled culture shock daily and we have still managed to survive.
Living here is the biggest step I've ever taken alone. I am truly "alone" in the sense that I came here knowing no one. I had no friends coming into this and no family. NOW I have made friends with everyone in the group and have a home away from home here.
Don't get me wrong, I know I will still have my up and down days. But for now I will enjoy feeling at home :)
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Volcán Irazú
This was the first weekend that I stayed in San Jose. I decided to stay and catch up on last minute work before the next week where we intend on going to PANAMA!!
Anyways, so this weekend instead of staying indoors all day, a few of us headed to Volcán Irazú early Saturday morning.
Once we got to the crater, it was very cold and foggy. The fog wasn't too bad though! We got to see what was in the crater :)
The fauna and flora was incredible. I couldn't believe how green everything was!
This weekend was very relaxing and I am glad that I stayed in. I got a lot of work done and I was fortunate enough to get the chance to skype my whole family! (My brother in Korea, the other one in Indiana and my parents in Pittsburgh!) It's crazy how technology can bring families together :)
Anyways, so this weekend instead of staying indoors all day, a few of us headed to Volcán Irazú early Saturday morning.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Monte Verde
This past weekend the whole group went to Monte Verde, all 15 of us! We caught the 2pm bus and all the seats were taken... we thought we were not going to be able to make it to Monte Verde! Luckily here in Costa Rica you are allowed to stand during bus rides... so stand we did for four hours.
We arrived that night and decided to chill at the hostel and walk around the barrio we were staying in. The hostel we stayed at was Sleep Cheapers. We paid $7 a night for breakfast and a nice room, what a great deal!
The next morning eight of us ventured out to take a 3 hour zip lining tour of Monte Verde. On the tour we did a few types of zip lining. The first was regular form, sitting in a harness. The next was the Tarzan Swing and the third was zip lining like "superman", arms out lying face down!
Superman
Later that day we decided to go hiking along one of the trails in the Cloud Forest.
We did the Caño Negro trail
Trees had been cut down in order to make a path. Within our classes we are learning about how the national parks have to make the parks accessible to tourists in order to fund the parks.
The trees were enormous and you could tell they had been around for hundreds of years. The tops of the trees reminded me of spider legs!
By the end of the 2 hour hike we were all beat. We headed back to the hostel, ate and napped and then bonded as a group all night. We left early the next morning at 6 am. Each weekend gets better and better since I've been here! My Spanish is improving because we need it to get by and also it's very nice to talk to the locals and here their opinions about Costa Rica.
We arrived that night and decided to chill at the hostel and walk around the barrio we were staying in. The hostel we stayed at was Sleep Cheapers. We paid $7 a night for breakfast and a nice room, what a great deal!
The next morning eight of us ventured out to take a 3 hour zip lining tour of Monte Verde. On the tour we did a few types of zip lining. The first was regular form, sitting in a harness. The next was the Tarzan Swing and the third was zip lining like "superman", arms out lying face down!
Rio Pacuare and Cartago!
We took a 4 hour rafting tour of the rio. We learned about the species that live in the vicinity as well as the indigenous people who occupy the land as well. It was a real adventure and a great learning experience. We got to practice our Spanish while we were given directions from our instructor en español.
The next morning we woke up early to go with our counselor Tati. We went to her aunt's house in Cartago (the first capital of Costa Rica)! Tati's Aunt is a famous artist, Guadalupe Álvarez. She designed a mural about Cartago.
This is a self portrait of herself within the mural ^
Art work completed by Guadalupe and her husband.
Tour of San Jose and INBio Parque
September 26th
The Environmental Track got to go on a tour of downtown San Jose as well as INBio! We determined what was considered sustainable and what was not. Along the way we also learned about the history of San Jose.
These murals are decor near officials buildings. Many people in San Jose express how they feel about the government through graffiti.
This monument signifies the independence from the Spanish. Everyone was working together to achieve freedom; men, women and children.
This leaf signifies that this hotel is using environmentally friendly practices.
Later we got to see a local artist Fabio Herrera and we even got his signature!
This is the Hemingway hotel in Santa Fey.
We walked around for two hours, making connections with local artists as well as learning more about the city we are living in.
Later that day we headed to INBio Parque for another field trip.
This is wear researchers study mushrooms. There are many used of mushrooms such as food and medicinal medicine.
INBio parque has a sustainable house where they only use solar energy. This is a water heater designed using recycled water bottles.
On these field trips we learned about how Urban Costa Rica is trying to make sustainable efforts in order to sustain their lush ecosystems around them.
The Environmental Track got to go on a tour of downtown San Jose as well as INBio! We determined what was considered sustainable and what was not. Along the way we also learned about the history of San Jose.
This leaf signifies that this hotel is using environmentally friendly practices.
We walked around for two hours, making connections with local artists as well as learning more about the city we are living in.
Later that day we headed to INBio Parque for another field trip.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)