Pratt in Costa Rica

It poured down rain today.  So much rain that the noise was loud; very loud.  We had to stop class because of the sound of the drops on the roof.  But, Tyler and Olivia made the best of it and jumped in and out of the massive puddles!

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!

Everyone is having fun learning.  Focus on first and second order equations is tons of fun!  And it is not raining today for the first afternoon since we arrived.

Today’s special cultural event was cooking!  Everyone who signed up had lots of fun making traditional tortillas from corn flour.

We have a special cultural event everyday.  The choices are yoga, cooking, dance and conversation.  Even with 20 or more spots available, there is more demand than supply for these fun, end-of-the-day activities.

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!

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. 

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!

Welcome to our Pratt in Costa Rica site! We are excited to share our adventure to Costa Rica with you. Look here for updates on our trip as we have one week to get prepared before we head off and meet in Costa Rica on July 4th!