The Rhythms of Life in Costa Rica

June 2 and June 3

Life moves at a different pace here. The sun rises EARLY, as I have mentioned. The sun sets around 6 p.m. Now it is before 10, and I am in bed. As I was drying dishes, I was about to fall over. Those who know me know this is not typical—I am a night owl, yet I don’t think I have been up past 10. I usually wake up around 5:30, as my room is bright, and I can hear people, dogs, and roosters outside.

We walk everywhere. I think I covered 3-4 miles today. I was actually able to communicate to my tico mama that I drive everywhere at home because nothing is nearby, yet here I enjoy walking everywhere. It is nice to breath the fresh, clean air, and just to take in all the sights. The roads are scary at times—crazy drivers, but for the most part it is fine as long as you pay attention.

We went horseback riding this morning. It was fun; I had not ridden one for about 10 years, but it is just like riding a bike. It probably helped that our horses were trained to follow the leader. My horse’s name was Comanche, which is the name of the cabin I stay in at Camp Esperanza, so that made me smile. The views were nice, but nothing that was captured very well with my camera. Plus, do you know how difficult it is to take a picture while riding a horse on a steep, rocky grade while simultaneously maintaining your balance? That is why I don’t have many pictures from the day. This was the first time I have ridden horses on such steep grades. Going up was more comfortable than going down. However, my group found it interesting that the horses made their own switchbacks—they went from side to side on their own while on the steepest grades. I guess that is good for their riders!

After Spanish class today, our World Cultures class met to talk about stereotypes as we prepare to embark on an ethnographic research project we are completing while here that involves interviewing 7 ticos and 7 individuals not from Costa Rica. We talked about stereotypes we may have as well as reviewed some comments Costa Ricans think about people from the US in general. While I do not agree with all of them, I can see why they have their stereotypes. For instance, there was a comment about how people from the US are quick to kick their children out of their house when they are 18, whereas here children stay until they are married. They feel like we are always in a hurry and don’t slow down enough to enjoy life. Anyhow, we are to keep stereotypes in mind as we conduct our interviews and informally analyze the data gathered.  I’ll elaborate more on my group’s topic in another blog post. Ciao for now. It is just after 9 and I am beat!

The background is totally blown out, but it was cloudy and gray and that was the only way to see the pretty birds.