After an entire day of travel I’d left the pines trees of
the Northwest, felt the warmth of Phoenix, passed over the mountainous
landscape of Mexico, and arrived in beautiful Costa Rica. At this point I’ve been here five days, but
most of it has been spent on the Whitworth campus since we have one week of
orientation before moving in with Costa Rican host families.
Besides
living on campus, the opportunities I have had to venture down the thick green mountain
(where the campus is located) and into the city have been amazing. Monday was my first time in the capital city
of San José, on what the CRC staff calls “The Plunge.” The Plunge is basically a city-wide scavenger
hunt, with the twist that it’s done mapless.
Being without a map is a way of acclimating ourselves to the city and
putting us in a situation where we must ask directions in Spanish.
One of the first things I noticed
downtown was the style of driving. In
Costa Rica pedestrians never—I repeat, never—have the right of way, and because
of this crossing streets is much more exhilarating than in the U.S. Knowing that you could easily be run over by
a red and orange taxi traveling at top speed just makes things more fun.
Another
thing I quickly noticed was how the Costa Ricans (Ticos) are incredibly helpful to us gringos, lost and disoriented. When searching for buildings such as El museo del jade and parks such as El parque de España the help of the Ticos
felt as warm as the Central American sun.
I know my excitement and limited knowledge might seem broad, so for
those interested in more numeric details I recommend you take a look at CIA
World Factbook to familiarize yourselves with some of the logistics of Costa
Rica (CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica).
Being
on campus for the first week has offered me both very busy times due to
orientation as well as times to reflect and soak in the world around me. Both have been times of growth and learning.
On one
of the occasions when I found some downtime I observed six pinto beans. The beans were each a different color, some
red, some yellow, some white with speckles.
I’d been staring at them for at least 20 seconds before I realized I was
mesmerized. Each one was so unique; each
one was only beautiful in the diversity of the other. The mix of pattern and color
both accentuated the individual and the collective beauty. Each one of us would do well to learn from
the awe of six beans cradled in an open palm.
Well, seeing as this week is mostly spent on campus (pictured above) I’m sure
I’ll have more pictures and adventures once we’re received into our Costa Rican
host families this Saturday. It’s been a
great introduction, and there’s more to come. Hasta Pronto.
-Austin Vander Wel
