This was the first Thanksgiving that I have not celebrated with family. While I was sad to not be at home, I still had a good turkey day. Apparently I had forgotten how much work Thanksgiving dinner can be. Rhiannon and I had decided to make dinner for our host families Thanksgiving night. Our host mother's are sisters so we picked Rhi's house to cook everything in. Thursday night everything was almost perfect. We had gone shopping the day earlier, and the ingredients for mac & cheese, sauteed green beans, garlic mashed potatoes (7 lbs!), stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie were all waiting to be put to good use. You may have noticed that the turkey was conspicuously absent from that list... Well it turns out that turkey is ridiculously expensive in Costa Rica ($60 for a tiny bird!), so our host mothers split the cost of chicken as their contribution to the meal. Unfortunately, Rhiannon and I did not have any recipes ready to prepare raw chicken. After some frantic google-ing we settled on baking it. We spent about two hours in the kitchen sautéing, boiling, baking, mashing, and speaking Spanglish. It was a little chaotic using all new recipes and no measuring cups, but so much fun! Yum! (photo credit: Rhiannon)
I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! We all really do have a lot to give thanks for. I am very thankful to be able to spend this time abroad. This whole experience (since June) has been truly amazing! While part of me can't wait to get home next month, there's another part that wishes I could stay just a little longer. Only 11 more days...
Yesterday I went to the Costa Rica v. Uraguay soccer game in San José with Rhiannon, Cambridge, and Rhiannon's host brother (Brian). Somehow Brian managed to get us tickets even though the rumor was that they had been sold out for days. We all wore Costa Rican jerseys so we blended in a little more than usual, but we still got a lot of stares. The stadium was packed and you could feel the tension pressing down on you-even worse than the humidity! There was even a small section of Uruguayans with flags as capes and posters. The Costa Ricans tolerated a little noise from that section, but whenever they got too loud everyone else would shout them down (usually with insults about their mothers haha I learned a lot of new vocab. words). Soccer games here have so much more energy. Well, this one was an especially big deal since it was for the World Cup. In the end Costa Rica lost, and everyone left the stadium looking like their puppy had just been run over (except for the Uruguayans obviously). All in all, it was still a great experience that provided another window into tico culture. Check out the video below!
So in addition to studying human rights and development I've been getting an education in the art of the 3-day weekend in Costa Rica. We don't have classes on Fridays so most of my Friday morning have been spent scrambling to find at cab to the bus station at 4AM haha. Below are some things that I've learned which might be useful if you want to plan your own trip to paradise.
Beach Last weekend I went to one of my favorite beaches in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio. It is in the Central Pacific region, about 3 1/2 hours away from San José by bus. The earliest bus usually leaves the station at 6AM, but it's a good idea to get there at least an hour early. Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations beacause of its amazing beaches and wildlife. The best beaches are inside the National Park, but there's an entrance fee (about $10). If you want to hang out on the beach for free there's a pretty decent one literally in the center of town. In the low season (September-November) the beach is practically deserted. When we were there we had a huge part of the surf and sand all to ourselves ;D Be careful though, the monkeys are known to steal everything from lunches to cell phones.
Hostel We stayed at Costa Linda this past weekend. At $10 a night it's probably the best bargain you can find in town. The owner is a German ex-pat. and super friendly. Also they have an awesome breakfast ($3); gallo pinto, fruit, eggs, pancakes, toast, and coffee. See their site for more details http://www.costalinda-backpackers.com/national_park.1.html
Taxi's My friends and I got ripped off this weekend by a cab driver. As soon as we got in the cab one of us asked the taxista if he was going to turn the meter on. He said it was working, but it wouldn't start running until after the first kilometer. However, the meter never turned on and when we got to our destination he demanded $8 (which is pretty high by Costa Rican standards). We argued that he had lied to us about the meter working, and refused to pay. After a lengthy argument we negotiated a lower price, but were still angry. Here are a few important things to know if you ever take a cab in Costa Rica: -The majority of the streets are not named and houses don't have numbers, so make sure you know how to describe where you are going before you get in a taxi. The first few weeks in Costa Rica I would write out descriptions of where I needed to go (for example: it’s 2 blocks north of the supermarket and 3 blocks west of the post office by the park... but in Spanish obviously) on a note card and just hand it to the cab driver haha. But as I've learned my way around, and my Spanish is improving I generally know how to describe where I want to go and I can tell when they are trying to take me the long way. -All legitimate taxis in Costa Rica are red and have yellow signs. -According to Costa Rican law taxistas have to have the meter running while you are in the cab. It should start at either 430 or 455 colones depending on the time of day. -There may be an added fee if you call a cab company to ask for a taxi.
Just in case you've been curious, an update on the Honduran coup...
On October 30th an agreement was reached between the de facto Honduran government and representatives of deposed president Manuel Zeleya. Talks to end the crisis were deadlocked as of Oct. 23, after 16 days of negotiations. Then a delegation from the United States headed by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon joined the talks in Tegucigalpa on Oct. 28, and an agreement was signed just two days later. Before the delegation's arrival the Obama administration had consistently said that it would take a backseat in the negotiations, claiming the US wanted to avoid "intervention". "Who knows what would have happened if the [US] delegation had arrived earlier?" asked Eduardo Enrique Reina, the Honduran ambassador to the US (appointed by Zelaya in July).
However, the delegation that arrived on October 28th was certainly not the first group of U.S. politicians to arrive in the wake of the coup. In the beginning of October a group of House Republicans journeyed to Honduras to meet with the de facto government, flying in the face of the Obama administration's 'hands-off' stance. Additionally, days before the official delegation arrived, U.S. supporters of the coup were experiencing setbacks in their efforts to claim that the coup was legal and backed by a majority of Hondurans. Several legal experts had already dismissed an August report by the Law Library of Congress claiming that Zelaya's removal was constitutional. On Oct. 27 Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Librarian of Congress James Billington calling the report "misleading to the Congress and the public" and charging that it "contains factual errors and is based on a flawed legal analysis". They asked for the Law Library to issue a corrected version including other views. The report had been requested by a Republican, Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois, and Republican Congress members promptly charged Kerry and Berman with censorship. (The Hill, Oct. 27; Miami Herald, Nov. 1)
U.S. infighting aside, it now looks like there is an end in sight to the Honduran crisis. However, this coup has highlighted the core issue surrounding U.S. foreign policy in Latin America. "At its root, the fight in Honduras has been over whether Latin American nations will remain committed to upholding liberal democracy and the rule of law, not only at home but for their neighbors. The alliance led by Hugo Chávez [ALBA] is promoting a rival model of populist authoritarianism -- one that Honduras's deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, was attempting to adopt" (Washington Post, Oct. 31). As Chavez continues to promote ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America] there will be more political tests of will like this. What is less certain is how the United States will respond to its hegemony being threatened in the region.
Related articles
What is ALBA? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Alliance_for_the_Americas
Deal is struck http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1933603,00.html
A Win? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103003360.html
Last weekend all the students in the International Center for Development Studies programs went on a fieldtrip to EARTH University. We toured a paper mill, a banana farm, as well as a cocoa farm to learn about organic farming practices. It was a great weekend, and I learned about a lot of new farming techniques (not that I'll be needing to use them any time soon). I'll leave the rest of the story to my pictures...
*bananas that will end up in Whole Foods someday* *baby cocoa plants* *grown up cocoa* *tasting fresh cocoa* *cows staring at city kids who don't usually get to see cows*
***Go here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129521&id=698895562&l=b7381fd5f2 if you want to see all of them =)***
So Rhiannon, Kayla, and I decided to take advantage of the long Columbus Day weekend and head to Nicaragua. At 3:45AM Friday we hopped on a direct bus and took off for the border. I immediately fell asleep. When I woke up the bus was stopped, and I couldn't tell where I was so I stumbled off (still groggy) to buy a bottle of water. As I was walking back to the bus I noticed that there was a sign on the front that said Tegucigalpa. I looked around and saw lots of people offering to exchange money, a sign that said customs, and then had a mini-heart attack. For a brief moment I thought we had gotten on the wrong bus and somehow arrived at the Honduran border instead! Needless to say Honduras is not the place to be right now...Luckily it was the Nicaraguan border, and everything was fine (still not sure why that sign was on our bus). We made the 8 hour journey to Granada without any other problems thankfully. The hostel we picked was amazing! *See end of post for full review* After dropping off our backpacks we set out to explore the city for the afternoon. Granada reminds me of Cusco, Peru a little. It's the oldest colonial city in Nicaragua and full of history and joie de virve. Granada is a city that will try it's best to charm you be it through the friendly people, the colorful colonial buildings, or fantastic sunsets. I fell in love with the architecture! (see pics below). Anyways, on our second day there we took a horse and buggy tour and saw Granada's old hospital, a fort that was turned into a prison during the Samoza regime, as well as several of the city’s oldest churches. After a quick stop at an organic chocolate shop (amazing!), we spent the rest of the day exploring Las Isletas in Lake Nicaragua. There are over 360 islands in the lake which can be bought starting at around $100,000. Anyone feel like loaning me some cash? Haha, but really the islands are all beautiful and I would not mind living there. At the end of the day we ended up devouring 2 whole pizzas plus dessert between the three of us to our waiter's amusement =D Busy girls require lots of food!
*Nicaraguan flag flying in the center of town*
On Sunday we set off to explore the nearby town of Masaya. Our first stop was the market. It was gigantic and everything imaginable was for sale! The ground was covered with trash, squishy black gunk, vegetable parts, bits of meat, and some kind of black slime. We went up and down rows and rows of plantains, cabbage, huge hunks of cheese, live chickens, and pig heads. We had wandered around for at least 45 minutes before we stumbled upon the craft section. I felt like Alice in Wonderland; I was too big for the market haha and felt kind of out of place. There was so much to look at the three of us were all on sensory overload. We left the market drenched in sweat though happy, and negotiated for a taxi to take us to a nearby volcano. Volcan Masaya is semi-active and looks like something out of "The Lord of the Rings" (like the doors of Mordor). We climbed to the mouth of the volcano where it was strangely silent, but a heavy kind of silence that buzzed. Oh, and there's a cross at the top put there by the first priest stationed in the area when he designated it the mouth of hell. Before that the native people used to throw humans into the volcano to appease its spirit. We ended out our day with dinner beside a crystal clear lagoon in between Masaya and Granada. All in all, it was an amazing weekend. Traveling in Central America is always an adventure! Go here (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=128465&id=698895562&l=45ac4f5c1e)to see all my pics from this trip on facebook!
*overlooking the volcano*
*the lagoon we ate dinner by*
Hostel Oasis This is without a doubt one of the best hostels I have ever stayed in! $8 a night, free internet, and free breakfast is hard to beat. Also it has a great atmosphere and location. If you're ever in the area I highly recomend it =)
I'm a college student getting ready to spend 6 months abroad. I'll be blogging to keep my friends and family updated about my adventures. First, I will be in Panama for about 2 months. Then, it's on to Costa Rica until December!
*Skype me @ jenn.s.white*
