Thursday, September 13

This week has been pretty normal. Nothing too exciting, just settling into the routine of things here. Monday and Wednesday morning we had Latin American Studies class, and we had grammar and conversation every afternoon. I had my first grammar test Monday and my first conversation test is today. I realized that I haven't really described the city of San Jose. It's big and pretty dirty. The city itself isn't pretty but it's surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Everywhere we have class and usually go is pretty safe. I realized this last weekend when we left from the Coca Cola terminal which is in a different part of town. Sketchy! I'm thankful we travel through safe districts and not that one.

Monday morning President Rodrigo Carazo spoke to us. That's right an actual president of Costa Rica (1978-1982) came to our class. He was a really nice old man. It's interesting because they told us that he's not a very popular president to the people because during his time the economy dropped and many people weren't able to buy things they were used to buying. He kept many hospitals and schools from being closed, but no one knows this about him. They only know they lacked getting what they wanted. So that was neat to hear from an actual president.

My brain is so overwhelmed with new information. It's really neat to not only study language and history and what not, but to be a part of it and see it as I learn about it. For instance I had been reading about large plantation owners, the rich ones who employ the lowly poor farmers. Driving to Manuel Antonio last week I saw several farmers out in the field with their old-school hand tools. Very cool to experience it as well as learn it.

We've had to do lots of readings that give very different perspectives of things than my North American perspective. One of the things I wanted from this experience was to gain a new worldview; well, that is already being developed. I'm not a political person at all and have never been able to keep up with things. Here they are challenging us to learn all this history and perspectives. They told us that you need to be informed in order to make a difference in the world. I am learning that there is a lot that goes on that I am blind and deaf too, but that I should be standing up and fighting for. Just a warning that I will probably have a lot of different thoughts and perspectives when I return to the states. And I'm saying this after only 2 weeks! There is a joke that our teachers at LASP are brainwashing us to hate America. This is not true at all, but they are opening our eyes to what we're doing and how it is affecting the rest of the world. It's so cool to see things from a different perspective and realize how something that can seem so crazy from one perspective can suddenly make sense in another. I'm sure I'm not making sense right now, but all that to say that I am developing a Latin American perspective on things and I feel like I've learned more during my 2 weeks here than in the past 3 years of college! I love it.

Two specific examples that demonstrate. We've talked a lot about Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America. We often celebrate it, but in reality the conquistadors killed and took over the land and lives of thousands of people, destroying cultures and people groups. Not only did it hurt people then, but it continues to hurt the lives of many Latin Americans. They are free of foreign governments, but they often continued to be ruled by trade and transnational corporations. We've also been discussing the high cost of low prices. I am a bargain shopper as everyone knows, and I love my deals. I have never questioned how the prices are so low. How can things come from another country but only cost a dollar? The answer is cheap labor and poor living conditions. Ouch. It's a lot of things like this that are being presented to us and continue to swim around in my head. What am I going to do with this new wealth of knowledge? Am I going to continue to contribute or fight against the problem? I will continue to struggle through issues like that and many more throughout the semester, so if you're jealous of me going to the beach and volcanoes and such, remember I am doing a lot of work too.

That's all for now. I'll have to update after the weekend because we're going to Limon as a group. It's on the Carribean coast and is known for its poverty and racial diversity. We'll get some time on the beach, but it's of course an educational trip. Gotta love those. Until next time....