First Impressions (part 2)

Do you ever really get a 2nd chance at first impressions? With people I don't think so, but with countries I'm not too sure. I know I didn't have all my thoughts about Panama figured out after the first week, or even the second. Getting to know and understand a country is a long process. So far I'm really enjoying my time in Costa Rica, but I can't help but compare it to Panama. I hope I don't drive everyone in my program crazy with all my comparisons. Honestly, I miss Panama a lot. There are lots of differences, but I don't dislike it here. My host family is really great, and I love the neighborhood I'm in. However, I still feel like a tourist in Costa Rica. I keep thinking that I'm on vacation, and I'll either go back to the U.S. or to Panama in a few weeks. It still hasn't really hit me that this is my new home for a while. I think I was just so happy when I finally got comfortable in my village in Panama, and now it's hard to have to start all over again- to relearn how things work in a new place. It will just take some time.

Rhiannon and I at Volcan Irazu (a sleeping volcano)

All the kids from GWU!

For those of you wondering what exactly I'm studying here, I'm taking: Development in Latin America from a Gender Perspective, Politics and Democracy in Latin America, Human Rights in Latin America, Human Development and Society in Latin America, and an intensive Spanish class. So I have a normal class load (5), but the schedule is kind of odd. We get Fridays off, and most of the classes are 3 hours long. This is my first full week of classes. So far I really like all of our professors. None of them teach full time, but they all have jobs in fields related to the classes. I'm excited to get to know them better.

Here's all of my contact info. in one place for those of you who may not have it yet. Also, my house has really fast wi-fi so I'm on skype a lot. That's probably the best way to reach me =D

Mailing Address:

Jennifer WhiteC/O Centro Internacional para el Estudio del Desarrollo (ICDS)

P.O. Box 1411-1000

San José, Costa Rica

Email: jenn.s.white@gmail.com

Skype: jenn.s.white

*The phone I had in Panama doesn't work here so just call my regular number*

First Impressions

I made it-I am in Costa Rica!!!


***Somewhere to the left of the dot that is San Jose, that's me!***

So far everything has been great! My host family is really friendly; 2 parents, 3 kids, and a dog named Danger. The house is very different from where I stayed in Panama, no bugs or bats here, and we have a maid. One of my friends from GWU (Rhiannon) is staying with the sister of my host-mom who lives right around the corner. Also, the coffee is awesome here! My host mom makes it, and rumor has it that it's the best in the neighborhood. That's all for now, still a little dazed and confused by everything. Sorry this is choppy. Miss you all tons!

Besitas,
J

*Song that's currently stuck in my head....

I'm A Brat/You're A Brat

Reverse culture shock= re-adapting to the realities of one's home country..........
A few days ago I walked into Toys R Us and freaked out a little bit. First of all there was AC. More shocking than that was the vast amount of merchandise, you could easily get lost in there for days. I was supposed to be picking out birthday presents for my little cousins, but there were just too many choices and I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't comprehend how all of those toys were available in one clean, air conditioned place. I realized how incredibly spoiled I am just to have access to that. I'm a spoiled American brat, and you probably are too whether you realize it or not. I promise I don't mean that in a bad way per se, I'm just absorbing how different life in the states can be from the realities that others experience. It's not just that I have access to things as "basic" as AC and Toys R Us. I have a car, an education (granted it's still in progress), parents who love me, amazing friends, the right to vote, a house, more than enough food to eat... I could keep going, but for your sake readers I'll keep the rambling to a minimum. Suffice it to say that we are lucky. Below is a map of world poverty which shows the percentage of the population living on less than $2 a day by country...



***Link for the map is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Percentage_population_living_on_less_than_2_dollars_day_2007-2008.png blogger keeps cutting it in half, sorry***Below is something else I found online that puts things in a different light.


If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

60 Asians/12 Europeans/5 People from the US and Canada/8 Latin Americans/14 Africans

51 would be Female, 49 male

80 would live in substandard housing

24 would not have electricity (and the 76% that do would use it only at night)

67 would be unable to read

1 would have a college education

50 would be malnourished and 1 would be dying of starvation

7 would have access to the internet

If there is food in your refrigerator, if you have clothes on your back and shoes on your feet, and if you have a bed and a home you are better off than roughly 75% of the people in this world.

*I stole this from http://users.gazinter.net/melan/Warn/Warnenu.htm

Just some things to think about. I'm going to finish packing, still have too much laundry to do haha. I promise the next update will be from Costa Rica! My mailing address there is listed below. Also, I will be taking my U.S. cell phone as well as the phone I bought in Panama. Email me for the numbers if you need/want them!

Mailing Address:

Jennifer White

C/O Centro Internacional para el Estudio del Desarrollo (ICDS)

P.O. Box 1411-1000

San José, Costa Rica

Pictures from Panama!

So I've finally uploaded my pics to Picasa. There's a slideshow below, but if you want to view them in a larger format you can go to... http://picasaweb.google.com/jenn.s.white/Panama?feat=directlink
I hope you are all doing well! I will be in Costa Rica in about a week, and will update y'all ASAP.



Alsoooooo here's a list of things that I found invaluable on my trip. In case any of you are planning on going to Panama I would bring......

1) bug spray! --> especially if you go in the rainy season (May-November)

2)after bite --> in case the bug spray doesn't do it's job ;)

3) spanish-english dictionary --> if you stay in Panama City you won't have much trouble finding people who speak English, but where's the fun in hanging around the tourist-only areas?

4) guide book --> it makes everything so much easier. I used one from National Geographic (http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Traveler-Christopher-Baker/dp/142620146X/ref=pd_sim_b_3/183-0864143-7823424)

5) small bills --> Panama uses the U.S. dollar. However, because things are so much cheaper it can be hard to use 20's or anything bigger in some places.

*I'll add more as I think of them...

Unpacking, Laundry, & More Packing

I have finally made it back to the USA! Mexico was amazing! I had the chance to just relax and unwind with my family, which I really appreciated after having been gone so long. Now I am getting ready to pack all over again. For the next couple days I will be busy with laundry, uploading pictures, saying hello and goodbye to everyone one more time. Uploading my pictures is taking longer than I thought, but here are a couple below. I'll post more later I promise.

***Below are some pictures (group shot, la pollera, and my host-sister), but for some reason blogger is cutting them in half. I'll try to fix it...***

Goodbyes

Well, I am back in Panama City with the village of Llano Largo a few hundred kilometers away. It was really hard to say goodbye to my students yesterday. I am still so happy that I came on this trip, and cannot believe that it is about to be over! Right now Im staying in a hostel with some friends from the program, and just by talking to other travelers here I am realizing how different my experience has been from that of a typical tourist. If you ever come to Panama, make sure you get out of the city! I spent about two months on the Azuero Peninsula in the countryside, in the province of Los Santos. That is where Panamas heart is. There are so many cultural celebrations (Santa Librada, Corpus Cristi, Dia de Independencia, the pollera festival) that you can only really experience if you get out of the touristy areas and go into the interior. Also, the people are just different in the countryside, theres a slower pace to life. Its not that I dislike the city, it is huge and interesting, but I am so glad that I spent most of my time in a small village getting to understand how real Panamanians live.

Things I will miss about Llano Largo

1. My host family

2. The sense of community

3. The neighborhood kids

4. queso blanco (white cheese made fresh from cows in the village. it is kind of like a mix between feta and mozarella, so good!)

5. pastelitos (we ate them for breakfast a lot. they are made from fresh ground corn and salt, formed into balls and then lightly fried. best eaten hot and with queso blanco!)

6. free mangoes!

7. improving lesson plans for classes that try my patience

8. the scenery

...... there is more, but I cant think of it all now. Headed out to the fruit market (15cents for two or three bananas always makes my day). I am catching a flight to Mexico on Monday, and will update more from there.

Besitas,

Jenn