Update on our program

Sorry to be slow with the uploads of information and pictures. My internet at both CRLA and at my homestay has been spotty at best so I’ve taken pictures but not tried to upload them lest I stay glued to my computer watching the upload bar tic up only to wait over an hour and never successfully upload a picture. Apparently internet is much better at La Selva and I am taking advantage of it!

The weeks have flown by super fast. Our spanish class took a field trip to the central mercado where we saw all manner of interesting Costa Rican delights and nary a tourist in site (except for us, of course). While we were walking, we encountered a rather large female statute that is supposed to give you good luck if you rub her butt, so Bob Malkin obliged as seen above! There we discovered a whole number of new fruits, some delicious, others not so much, but interesting and fun to try to new things! We found an ice cream/sorbet shop that had one flavor that has apparently been around for over 120 years! The flavor they picked that apparently could not be beat was a horchata type flavor. We saw chickens, ducks, birds, dogs all for sale. We saw a whole lot of different herbs that could cure you of any ailment. Here are the students and professor Malkin in the shop with all the herbs.

In addition to visiting the central mercado, we also stopped by the teatro and walked around China town, which really is just 1 shop where students bought ‘China tacos’ which were really just egg rolls that took about 20 minutes to cook.

We’ve been busy, but we have regular breaks and our students always take advantage of every break they get. Here are some shots of students hanging out in their free time during spanish break and class break where they usually take a moment to grab an empanada, some coffee or tea, and chat with friends in the lush paradise of the CRLA garden.

We’ve made great friends here in Costa Rica so far, as this picture of my daughter and her good friend, my homestay mother (Maybell Solis’) daughter. Friends forever!

La Selva day 2!

Woke up bright and early this morning for some more bird recordings and breakfast! The students had a late night last night, with them working into the middle of the night processing their sound recordings and putting together their report. By all reports, students slept well, though it is hot in La Selva, much hotter than it is in San Jose (though nowhere near as hot as it is in good old North Carolina!).

We had breakfast and then were off to check out the beautiful flora and fauna of the rain forest! We saw 2 sloths that were the most active I’ve ever seen a sloth, hanging upside down scratching itself. We saw a huge iguana perched high up in a tree, we got eaten alive by some very biodiverse mosquitos despite applying a liberal amount of bug spray (scourge of the environment apparently but given that we were literally covered in bites in a matter of minutes, necessary for all involved). And the students were able to record more bird sounds so hopefully will have a productive day of data processing! Pura vida!

Taking recordings in La Selva

Today we all boarded a bus to La Selva Biological Station. The ride was supposed to take 1.5 hours, but took closer to 3.5 hours due to a mudslide. Definitely not something we are used to experiencing in North Carolina! The students made the best of the time though by getting out of the bus for a walk around during a particularly standstill moment (we had been waiting over 20 minutes without moving a single foot), and playing some very competitive Uno. Who knew we had such Uno talents in the group!

Once we arrived at La Selva, we got lunch and then headed to the classroom, unloaded our belongings and headed out to do some recordings of animals we encountered in the rain forest. I believe our groups got quite a few birds, even more than they might have expected. We also saw a pit viper, lots of pigs and whole pig families, leafcutter ants, and a bullet ant which you apparently want to avoid at all costs as a bite and/or sting from one of those can have you writhing in pain for hours!

We then headed to our cabins to settle in and met up again for dinner. After dinner, the students played several more games of Uno, which even my kids got involved in. We then put bug spray on and went on a night walk. It is shockingly dark in the rain forest at night. We saw bats, lots of frogs and toads, and several huge spiders. The students then finished the day by analyzing data and getting their lab reports ready to go as they have to turn them in tomorrow! Here are some pictures of the day, hope you enjoy them!

Scratch that, it’s raining!

Another great day in Costa Rica! Practically perfect temperatures, and rain is just part of the way it goes here. It’s like clockwork really! Here is a picture of Math 353 students working on their homework during the downpour, as well as students working with their wonderful TA Aarthi,  and another of Ionna from BME 271 working with our fabulous TA, Lauren. Thanks to Olivia for bringing a sweet ‘ear’ treat to our class today to keep us lively and engaged. Who knew sugar could be so powerful? Looking forward to another great day tomorrow! Pura Vida!

Second day completed

Well, we made it through the second day, which was a bit longer than the first as we started the day at 9am with 3 hours of Spanish class (1 15 minute break) and then an hour for lunch and back to 3 hours of technical classes. Judging from my student’s faces it was a very long day, but we made it through and hopefully our students are enjoying their dinners and recovering and ready for the next day! I’ve included some pictures of our computer lab today, all the students working fastidiously on their assignment despite the long day, and one of Professor Malkin who is serving as our program director and also auditing the class! Professor Malkin should be uploading some pictures of the cooking class our students took and tomorrow we hopefully will get some of the dance classes as well. Pura vida!

First day completed

Discovered a lime tree in my homestay’s living room today. Everyone made it to Costa Rica and completed orientation at CRLA. Everyone had a Spanish test to determine our Spanish speaking levels and also learned about how to be safe in Costa Rica. Tomorrow we will be assigned to Spanish classes and will have our first full day with both Spanish class and technical classes. Although the students are still slightly jet lagged, they were in good spirits and most of our group showed up to the yoga class at the end of the day! Pura vida everyone and happy 4th of July! Here is a picture of the BME 271A class in action working through problems this afternoon. 

We have arrived in Costa Rica!

Today is the first day of our program and from all reports students have arrived, several even on our flight! Transportation to our homestays was smooth and uneventful (at least for all of the faculty and the 4 students we saw at
the airport), and we scoped out the rooms we will be teaching in. Here is a picture of me relaxing at the Costa Rica Language Academy yesterday while we took a look around and ate lunch. Should be a good day!