Author: Caylyn Moglia

Program:  San José, Costa Rica – Study Center

Hola todos!

I have now finished my 6^th week of classes here in Costa Rica, and I have made some interesting discoveries. I am taking 3 classes, one of which is Imperialism to Globalization in Central America: The Ethnology and History of Costa Rica with Heidi and Alfonso, and I am the only student. This has created an interesting class dynamic since I don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of, or to rely on in class if I don’t quite understand a reading. Despite the downsides of being the only student, there are benefits, such as rearranging class to fit my schedule and allow me more time to do homework for my other classes. One thing that is different about this class is that I have to conduct interviews for my field books (short papers). I am not a fan of this since I am shy and find interviews to be awkward, but I am also improving my speaking and social skills by conducting these interviews, so there is an up for every down to a situation. This class overall has been pretty similar to what I am used to since we meet for 2 hours 3 days a week.

San Jose, Caylyn Moglia

On Tuesday evenings, I have a church history class at the Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana (UBL). In my last post I explained how I get to class biweekly, and I have now discovered that I can take time to eat or shop in San Jose before taking the bus to Cedros by taking the 4:15 bus instead of the 3:55 bus. Any who, my church history class has a total of 4 students, and we are all women, so my professor changed up the syllabus to focus more on women in the church as well as other themes that we are interested in. This is incredibly different from any other class I’ve had, and I really enjoy it. For this class, we receive a homework sheet each week that outlines the homework due for next week, which ensures that we actually talk about what the homework is. I am thoroughly enjoying this class because it is small, flexible, and the content is incredibly interesting. It’s been a challenge to speak in Spanish about theology and church history since I don’t have the vocabulary, but things are getting easier as time goes on.

Wednesday evenings I’m back at the UBL for my hermeneutics class. This class has eight students, and feels very similar to my Christ College Freshman Program classes since it is very discussion based. The class itself is much harder because I have no background knowledge. There is also a whole new vocabulary to be used that I’m not even familiar with in my native tongue, much less in my second. Homework in this class is handled differently from my church history class, we have a syllabus and are expected to read it and follow it without talking about assignments in class. This class is really interesting even though it is my hardest class, and I am looking forward to the rest of the semester.

San Jose, Caylyn Moglia

One big cultural difference between my classes here and my classes at Valpo is that during my evening classes, we have a coffee break. This is a great time to let my brain absorb what was just discussed and ready it for the rest of the class. Usually though, I don’t drink the coffee since there isn’t any milk (powder or liquid), and I don’t like sugar in my coffee. The first few weeks of classes were awkward because all of my classmates asked me why I didn’t drink coffee during the break, but now they have accepted my strangeness and leave me alone. My favorite nights are Tuesdays because my professor brings food. Profe (short for professor in Spanish, we don’t really use names) brings us different cakes/breads such as coffee cake, ginger bread, a banana bread, etc, and they are always delicious. Sometime I’d like to make my favorite food, Yorkshire pudding, to share with my class on Wednesdays since there usually isn’t any food.

Overall, the academics have been pretty different from what I am used to, but I love everything about it. Having only three classes has allowed me a fair amount of freedom, which I am now starting to feel comfortable with taking advantage of. It will be interesting to see how my schedule changes in two weeks when my class with Heidi and Alfonso ends, and I start my 3 week long Spanish lit class on the 24^th of October, and in five weeks when my only classes are my UBL classes.

Hasta luego!

Caylyn Anne

Author: Caylyn Moglia

Program: Costa Rica Study Center

Here I am, safe and sound in Costa Rica, all set to write about my week long trip to Nicaragua when it hits me. I have only written about excursions. So, if you happen to be interested in reading about yet another trip, I will direct you to my personal blog because today I’m going to write about the thing that scared me the most about studying abroad: public transportation.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016, marked my first time making it to class all by myself. Each Tuesday and Wednesday, I leave home between 2:40 and 2:45 to take the 3 o’clock bus into San José. My bus is the one that is pink and says either “Santa Rosa/San José” or Santo Domingo/San José,” Ruta 20. I get off at the last stop,  right next to the Panadería Colombiana (bread and baked goods shop) at 3:46, and I walk 2 blocks past the Panadería Colombiana, turn onto the street with the surf shop that has a big blue wave, and walk another 3 or 4 blocks before I reach the bus to Cedros, which leaves around 3:55. I get off at the 5th stop after the stop at the Universidad Latina and walk a bit to the front gate of the UBL, arriving around 4:30 for my 5:30 class. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong! For those who don’t know me, I am severely directionally challenged, and I often feel unsure of my surroundings. I worried that I would need help getting to class for a month (or 2), but as it turns out, I figured it out in 2 weeks. I arrived late to my first two days of class because I took the 4:00 train from Santa Rosa (where I live) to San José, and then a bus to the UBL. I am so glad that I no longer use the train because it is much more complicated to get from the train station to the bus stop (and I’m early when I take the bus). Being able to confidently navigate 2 buses in a big city has given me an amazing sense of accomplishment, and I am so glad that I challenged myself to learn the routes as quickly as possible.

So how did this directionally challenged individual manage to learn her way around 2 bus stops? LANDMARKS. Landmarks have been a lifesaver for me as I navigate the city. I know that I have to turn left in front of a green store front, and that once I turn, I’ll see the surf shop and a painted cow. I know that I have arrived at my bus stop because there is a red Claro (phone company) store kitty corner to my stop.

My next project is learning how to get to and around Heredia.

-Caylyn

Author: Caylyn Moglia

Program:  San José, Costa Rica – Study Center

¡Hola todos!

This past weekend was my first free weekend, so my family took me up to la cabaña (the cabin), and it was amazing. Mamá inherited the cabin from her mom, and it is one of her favorite places to be. I really can’t blame her.  The cabin is made of wood and corrugated tin. It is a wonderful place to relax and listen to nature.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the outside, but I did remember to at least take a picture from the doorway before we left.

The cabin was amazing and very simple. All of the water was stored in a big tank, and the “spouts” were pipes. The coolest part was that everything was cooked on a wood stove.

In order to reach the cabin, we had to do a lot of off road driving through a cow pasture. The property was fenced off in the middle of the pasture, so there were cows practically in the front yard. According to Tío, one of the cows is pregnant.

Soon after we arrived, it started to rain, but once it stopped, I went on a hike with Mamá, Papá, Abuelo, and Santiago. We were able to stop at a waterfall! Papá used a machete to clear the path of overgrown weeds as well as a fallen tree. Santiago carried a thin stick that he used like a machete.

After our hike, Santi and I searched for worms and found a ton of them! Look at that leaf!

During dinner Saturday night, we were visited by Lobo (wolf), a local dog who knows that Mamá will feed him. Lobo got a couple of the soup bones as well as the meat from our bowls.

Saturday night, I learned that it gets really dark really fast in the mountains. It was pitch black by 6:30 pm, and we ate dinner with the small amount of light provided by the flashlight to see by. After dinner, we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows. However, we didn’t make s’mores. I just might have to buy some graham crackers and chocolate next time we go to the cabin.

When I woke up Sunday morning, I quickly realized that I had forgotten to put bug spray on my hands before going to bed.  My right hand wasn’t as bad since I used it to rub the bug spray in, but it still got eaten up.  At least I put bug spray on my legs, arms, and neck!

Sunday was very rainy, but we were visited by a rooster named Gallina (chicken) who ended up coming home with us.

We also had a blue morpho butterfly visit us! This was the first time I’ve seen one outside of a butterfly garden!

Shortly before we left, Ashley returned from a walk with a friend.

Sunday afternoon, I had a very new experience, I caught a chicken. This was really big for me because I don’t particularly like live chickens. Originally, I was just going to watch Ashley and her friend Allison catch Gallina, but they were having a hard time, and neither particularly wanted to touch it. So I grabbed the bag he would eventually be put in and used it like a giant glove to catch him. I managed to grab him and then carried him inside, where Abuelo picked him up while I opened the bag. We brought Gallina home with us, and Mamá gave him to her sister. Having a chicken in the car was interesting, especially when he tried to escape. It was an amazing weekend, and I can’t wait to go back on my next free weekend!

-Caylyn Anne