Author: Sarah Rosa Germann

Location: All over Costa Rica

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

The way I see it, my semester has been divided into four sections. For the month of January, I took a geography class on Central America with Heidi Michelsen, a Valpo professor, at Casa Adobe, the Valparaiso Study Abroad Center in Costa Rica. In February, I took six credits of Spanish at the University of Costa Rica and continued my class with Heidi. For these months, I was with my Valparaiso cohort, the other four students who are studying here and living in Santa Rosa from Valpo with me. In March, I separated from the usual Valpo program. While the other VU students began internships, I joined nine other students from various places across the United States in a field biology research program at ICADS, the Institute for Central American Development Studies. In January and February, those students had taken classes in Geography and Spanish similar to what I had done. This section of the program was called “Block 1.” In March, we began “Block 2.”

The focus of Block 2 was exactly what I had come to Costa Rica for. We traveled all over the country and we studied the environments we were in as they related to human geography, and sustainability of both human society and the natural environment. We traveled to two different places each week, staying 2 or 3 nights in each location, either in a lodge or with a host family. We touched base at our host families in San Jose, or in my case in Santa Rosa, briefly on the weekends. First we went to Longo Maï {Red Arrow on the map below}, a commune made up of El Salvadoran refugees. (Check out my blog solely about Longo Maï!) Second we went to Villa Mills {Orange Arrow}, one of the highest places in elevation in Costa Rica, where we did bird watching. Third we went to El Yuë {Yellow Arrow}, where we stayed in a lodge built for rural community tourism. Here we visited agroforestry farms and Cahuita, a beautiful beach. Fourth we went to Puerto Viejo {Green Arrow} for a couple of nights, which is a common place for many tourists to visit in Costa Rica, with its beautiful beaches and thrilling night life. During our stay there, we visited the Indigenous community of Bribri. Fifth we went to Isla de Chita {Dark Blue Arrow}, which is an island in between the Peninsula of Guanacaste and the mainland. Here we had the opportunity to go into a mangrove and learn how to harvest pianguas by the roots. Sixth we went to the community of Ortega {Purple Arrow}, in the mainland of Guanacaste, where we learned about the sugarcane plantation, what life is like in the community, and community opinions on tourism. Having seeing all these places, I feel like this program has truly given me a chance to see many different places in Costa Rica. What a great way to learn about a country.

The past three weeks have been an intense and exciting learning experience. One thing that greatly impacted the experience for me was the fact that, aside from in Puerto Viejo, I did not have any access to WiFi and very limited cellular connection. This allowed to me to “unplug” and focus more on my experience in the communities I was in. The people in these communities live a simpler life than I am used to. They live more slowly than I am used to, and most need to focus on the land and the local community around them. This gives me a new perspective on my fast-pace western life-style, where it is common for a lot of people to have no interactions with their neighbors. Being in these communities, which I was not used to, and speaking a language that is not my first language required me to be intentional about forming relationships, having conversations, and figure out what my host families rhythm of life was like.

The field experience I gained from my time was also invaluable. I had a chance to dip my toes into many methods of research, both for ecological and social purposes. We analyzed the biodiversity of insects on an agroforestry farm, tree and plant density on the agroforestry farm, the sustainability of harvesting a species (pianguas) from its natural environment, biodiversity of birds in both a region with human activity and in an undisturbed area, community relations with a monoculture pineapple plantation (Pindeco), community relations with tourists, challenges in rural youth education, and we participated in aquatic river monitoring by catching and identifying fish and macroinvertebrates. I have learned so much about conducting research and about the areas we visited in Costa Rica. These past three weeks of March has to have been one of the most influential and educational experiences I have had in college. I highly recommend this program to any Environmental Science or Geography student who is planning on studying abroad.

A view in Villa Mills.

A view of the sunset in Ortega.

Buildings in the Indigenous community of Bribri.

The boat which took us to and from Isla de Chita.

Map of Costa Rica with the approximate locations of places we stayed.

Author: Sarah Rosa Germann

Location: Costa Rica

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

There are three well-known volcanoes here in Costa Rica which stand next to each other in a row, Volcán Irazu, Volcán Barba, and Volcán Poás. So far I have seen two of these, Barba and Poás. Although they stand right next to each other, these two volcanoes are remarkably different from each other, and also provide visitors with very different experiences.

As many people know, when a volcano erupts it often blows away its top and creates a crater. Both of these volcanoes have a crater that is visible to the visitor. The first volcano I visited was Poás, which is reach by taking a short walk along a flat cleared and open path to a wooden platform with differing levels which overlook the crater. Visitors must wear a helmet to protect them from potential debris which could fall on them from the smoke coming out of the crater and the surrounding area. Poás is still a very active volcano. In fact, it erupted the very day after we visited! I admit, we were lucky. The crater had smoke coming out of it, which smelled like sulfur. Some yellow and green could be seen on the floor of the crater as it came out from inside the rock. The walls and much of the surrounding areas were exposed rock.

Volcán Barba, by contrast, seemed as if it must have been a very long time since it has erupted. In order to reach the volcano, I needed to hike on a narrow trail in dense forest and uneven terrain for a number of kilometers. The walls of the crater and surrounding areas were covered by dense trees and ferns like the rest of the forest, and the crater itself was filled with water, forming a lake.

Before visiting Costa Rica, I had never seen a volcano closely before. I was even more impressed when seeing Vocán Barba after having seen Volcán Poás because Poás gave me a perspective, or some context, for seeing Barba. The volcano craters were different because they formed at different times and in different ways. They are similar to each other because the basic shape of them started out in the same way, with an eruption from rock in relatively the same geographic area. But, they are different today because of what they have been exposed to. I think this concept can be applied to people as well. We are all people, with the same basic form.

But, we are different from each other because of our stories. The craters are very similar shapes, and so when I saw Barba I could imagine that it once looked dry and empty like Poás. I imagine it must have taken a lot of time and a number of geomorphic processes for Volcán Barba to become what it is today. If I had not seen Volcán Poás first, I am not sure I would have understood what I was looking at. I wonder how often I look at something without a context for what I am seeing. Having context allows a person to have a greater appreciation for what is in front of them. I hope that, in a much larger way, living for a semester in Costa Rica will give me a context to see the United States when I come back home.

Author: Sarah Rosa Germann

Location: Longo Maï, Costa Rica

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Longo Maï is a rural community in Costa Rica. The community was founded by Nicaraguan refugees in the 1980s, but is currently comprised mostly of Salvadorian refugees. Longo Maï is a commune, as the community functions in a self-sustaining way. Most of the food which the people eat is grown in Longo Maï, and each neighbor shares what they have with the other so that everyone has a variety of foods on their tables. I was very impressed as my host grandmother showed me the property around her house with plant after plant of edible foods; trees with pipas, limes, cacao, and more were only a few steps from her door.

I have visited Longo Maï twice so far during my semester in Costa Rica, once in January with my Valpo Cohort, and once in March with my group of fellow environmental students and the organization ICADS. During my time there, I learned from the community members about their way of life. The community members follow a life style of simple living in peace and harmony with people and with the earth. They admit that their way of life is counter-intuitive to the way the rest of the world lives, but it is a good way of living, and it seems to work very well.

During my January visit to Longo Maï I interviewed a number of individuals who were witnesses to violence during the war in El Salvador during the 1980s. Their experience has given them an exceptional abhorrence to violence which extends to an abhorrence of any amount of greed and/or spite for other people. They not only dislike war, they dislike the mentality of capitalism. This is because capitalism causes people to work against others or exploit others instead of working together and sharing. If everyone were to share what they had and live in harmony with others, there would be much less suffering in the world. The people of Longo Maï live in harmony with each other by sharing the food which grows in their yards so that everyone has plenty, and by sharing wisdom and knowledge about farming techniques so that everyone can produce their crops efficiently and well.

The people of Longo Maï live very simply. They do not live a consumerist life-style because they have everything they need right where they are in Longo Maï. On my second trip I spent some time on the farm of Wade More. He showed us his land and the way he grows his crops. As it turns out, the government makes it very hard for farmers like More to produce organically, trying to impose standards on them which they have found do not work for their specific farm. For example, in his vegetable garden Wade uses chicken manure as a fertilizer. He needed to use a different kind of fertilizer in order to obtain an organic license. But, when he switched, his vegetables did not grow. The farmers of Longo Maï know their land, and what works to make their crops grow. In this way they live in harmony with the land.

Wade also talked to us a lot about the concept of perceived needs. This is when a person believes they need something, or wants something, that they do not actually need. He said than many times people believe they need something even though they do not, especially in our western societies. Consuming more than we need is wasteful and harmful to the earth.

The people of Longo Maï invite tourists and visitors from Northern countries into their community so that we may have an opportunity to learn from them and gain a new perspective on our own lives. After my visit, I will remember to evaluate what I need versus what I think I need, consider where my food comes from, and remember that living peacefully with others is better for me and for the environment than living in contention.

I found Longo Maï to be a very neat and beautiful place. Please enjoy some of my favorite photos which I took in the community below.

Just upstream from a popular swimming spot.

A horse in a yard near my host family’s house.

Baby ducks and their mother in a little stream near a foot path. (Ducks in Longo Maï do not mind people being near them very much.)

The porch at Edit’s house. (Edit is the woman who takes charge of organizing the tourist who come through Longo Maï.)

The wood burning stove Edit cooks tortillas on, in her house.

Author: Sarah Rosa Germann

Location: Santa Rosa, Costa Rica

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Your house. A phrase spoken by Ivannia and Carlos, the couple who lives in this house with their teenage son Alejandro, multiple times over my first couple days here to signify that this is my house as well as theirs.

I arrived at this house in Costa Rica at approximately 11pm, after having woken up around 3:50am for my flight out of Cincinnati. Understandably, upon arrival I was a little concerned. On top of my not knowing Spanish in order to communicate with the people in this country, the house also seemed a little strange to me. There are three sections of the house. One triples as a garage with plants, and a sitting area with a roof. It seems like the main room, but some of this area does not have a roof and one wall is halfway open to the air, with bars instead of a solid wall. This is like an outside room, which feels more inside than most yards.

On either side of this big area there are indoor rooms. The interior sections are not completely closed off from each other, there are full glass doors which usually stay open, and from my bed room I can easily hear kids playing on the street, cats on the roof, and even the wind as if I were outside. So, the indoors feel more outdoors than I am used to.

I was timid on the first night, but as soon as the second or third night here I had come to a deeper appreciation of the house. There are imperfections such as varying types flooring in the outside room, a cracked tile here and there, missing paint at the bottom of some walls. But I  soon grew to like these aspects of our home, too. And as I got to know my host family better I learned that they built this house, with the help of extended family, themselves. Roofs and all! How impressive is that?

I would not do an explanation of this house justice if I did not talk about the people in it. Not only do I spend time with the three other people who live here, but every day at least 3 and up to 10 other family members and friends come through our house to eat, and talk, and laugh with us. On the first day I must have met at least 12 sisters, nephews, cousins, friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends. This was intimidating because I could not fully understand what was being said, and everyone knew that I hardly spoke any Spanish. But I could understand what was being said a little bit by what was going on. Because the sound of a family together in one language sounds much like family and friends together in other languages, with a difference only in the accents of the voices. Everyone here has included me and treated me as one of them, working to overcome the language barrier, which becomes less of a barrier every day.

Author: Katherine German

Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

Have you ever approached a new situation with assumptions? How about assumptions that you didn’t even know you had? When I went to Costa Rica, I knew that it would be best to go with no expectations, completely open-minded to what I would find. That was my intention. So when I got to Costa Rica, I was astonished when my unrecognized expectations and assumptions were broken. I was ready to learn about Costa Rican culture, but I assumed that all Costa Ricans would display the same “typical” behaviors and customs, and I had some assumptions about what those customs might include. The main thing that I learned through my actual experience is that there are no “typical” Costa Rican families, nor is there a “typical” Costa Rican. Yes, there are shared behavioral patterns, phrases, and common foods on the menu. But you simply cannot fit an entire country, or even an entire neighborhood, under a single umbrella idea of “typical behavior”. Think about it: when it rains, only one person fits under a single umbrella. Try to fit even two people and both will get wet.

One of my assumptions going into Costa Rica was that every family would have a long, slow meal together every night. This is because I had heard that Latin American cultures tend to emphasize relationships, have a slower concept of time, and use meal time as a major social event. So I was incredibly surprised, and a little disappointed, when I learned that my host family doesn’t really eat dinner together every night. They all have different evening schedules: with my host mom working in the evening, my host dad running with his team, and my host sister coming home from work at various times. It just wasn’t very practical for my family to have a fixed meal time.

As I talked to other girls in my cohort, I realized that all had different situations regarding meal time, although every family was larger than mine and ate more-or-less together at least some of the time. I also began comparing how we did coffee time, homework time (for families with kids), morning routine, et cetera. I began to piece together something that I should have already known. All families in Costa Rica have their own styles and customs – their own way of living together– just like different families in the United States do things differently, as well.

This is not to say that there is no such thing as regional culture. In fact, there are many aspects of life that Costa Rican’s share. For example, the emphasis on relationships and the “slower” movement of time is a real thing. My family displayed these values of Costa Rica, just in different ways than I originally expected. When I came home from class or internship, if my host mom or dad was in the kitchen, they would always ask how my day was. We would spend some time just talking to each other. We would often have long conversations, about anything, whenever we were home together, or even just sit together at the kitchen counter. My host sister, Kathy, sat with me for nearly 3 hours one day, just talking about music and playing the guitar. Building relationships and spending time together without having an agenda is a beautiful aspect of Costa Rican culture that my host family displayed in their own way.

On a lighter note, Gallo Pinto is a typical Costa Rican food. Some may call it the typical Costa Rican food. It is a preparation of rice and beans with a particular flavor and it appears on almost every restaurant’s menu. If you order a “typical Costa Rican breakfast,” you will surely get Gallo Pinto. Almost every Tico (Costa Rican) will claim that they love Gallo Pinto. With this being said, there are different ways to prepare and eat this typical dish. One can make it with black beans or red beans, providing different flavors. It can be served with eggs, alone, or with meat. It can also be eaten at any time of day. Although many people eat Gallo Pinto at breakfast, my host family almost never did. On the occasion that we did have Gallo Pinto, it was often for lunch on a weekend. Although the love for Gallo Pinto is almost universal in Costa Rica, there are no rules about how to prepare and eat it. In other words, although Gallo Pinto is a common Costa Rican food, there is no “typical” Costa Rican diet.

One more thing that is common to Costa Rica is the phrase “Pura Vida,” which means “pure life.” It can be used as a greeting, when someone is excited, or within a normal conversation. I found that everyone in Costa Rica embraced the idea of “Pura Vida.” However, the phrase had slightly different meanings for everyone, and everyone used it with their own style. There are some aspects of culture that are common to a country, but the whole country can’t fit under a single umbrella. Everyone displays the values and culture of the region in their own way. There is no such thing as a “typical” Tican (Costa Rican).

All four spring 2018 students with their host families and Heidi. All people reflected the culture of Costa Rica. However, there was quite a lot of diversity in how each family lived, worked, and interacted with each other.