It's been a week and a half since I first arrived back in Costa Rica. After spending a semester abroad in Costa Rica a little over a year ago, I have returned for the next 3 months. The first two months will be spent with one of my former professors assisting with his research. The last month I will spend traveling around Costa Rica to see the parts I didn't have the chance to see during my initial visit.
So far I have been splitting my time between San Jose and my professor's farm near Monteverde. I have discovered a few new things about the culture here that I failed to notice during my initial visit. One interesting cultural fact is when you attend the movies you have assigned seats. And apparently people tend to cluster together even when there is plenty of room to spread out. As an American with very different ideas of "personal space", it was a very different and somewhat amusing experience.
Another cultural nuisance I've come to realize is that it is considered rude for U.S. citizens to refer to themselves as "Americans". It is perceived as a sign of disrespect and considered ignorant as citizens of Central and South America are technically "Americans" as well. It is something I have a little trouble adjusting to because how else do I refer to citizens of the United States? Costa Ricans refer to themselves as "ticos" but whenever I refer to a U.S. citizen I find myself saying, "Well, someone from the U.S..." or "People in the States..." but it just always sounds strange to me. While I do not necessarily agree with the idea that U.S. citizens calling themselves "Americans" as being disrespectful (as it's simply the name of our country as well as the continent), I aim to follow cultural norms and intend no disrespect.
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| La Finca Lia |
After spending a couple of days in San Jose, we traveled to my professor's farm. He owns an approximately 18.5 ha (45.7 acres) farm in which half of the property is teak and the other half remains secondary forest. Trails are throughout the planted and forested areas and a river (complete with waterfalls) edges the property. My professor's farmhouse is amazing. It is entirely made of wood found on his property. Over the years he's been adding a little bit at a time and has been using a local carpenter/neighbor named Luis to help with the design and carpentry. Last year when I was studying abroad us students made a trip to his farm but it looks completely different since then. It is now currently two stories, made of laurel, with a balcony on the second floor. It has an open air dining/sitting area, small kitchen and one large room on the second floor for sleeping. There's hammocks strung about and fruit trees circling the house.
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| View from one of the trails of Finca Lia |
We spent 3 days/2 nights at the farm and in no way did I want to leave Finca Lia. Hiking around the property was interesting as the trails hadn't been maintained in a while due to all the work on the house. I found myself making my own trails. I often hiked down to the river to write, listen to the water and just relax. The water was a little colder than expected but lovely all the same. I found myself attempting to identify plants, no doubt leftover from my days with OTS.
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| Our sleeping quarters |
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| One of the many waterfalls |
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| First time shooting a pellet gun |
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| Moss-covered rocks |
The farm has no electricity but does have running water. Our only source of light at night was a small kerosene lamp or our handy head lamps. Since the second story is still in construction there are no screens placed yet on the open windows. This required the use of mosquito nets. I was informed the nets were more for vampire bats than for mosquitoes. I was hoping to see some bats but always fell too deep asleep to have a chance to see any.
Most of my time was spent hiking, reading, writing, conversing, learning to shoot a pellet gun and generally just relaxing. I hope to return to Finca Lia sooner rather than later.
After spending a couple of days in San Jose, we traveled to my professor's farm. He owns an approximately 18.5 ha (45.7 acres) farm in which half of the property is teak and the other half remains secondary forest. Trails are throughout the planted and forested areas and a river (complete with waterfalls) edges the property. My professor's farmhouse is amazing. It is entirely made of wood found on his property. Over the years he's been adding a little bit at a time and has been using a local carpenter/neighbor named Luis to help with the design and carpentry. Last year when I was studying abroad us students made a trip to his farm but it looks completely different since then. It is now currently two stories, made of laurel, with a balcony on the second floor. It has an open air dining/sitting area, small kitchen and one large room on the second floor for sleeping. There's hammocks strung about and fruit trees circling the house.
