Border Buddies but not Best Friends

Once again I found myself sitting in the semi-comfortable seat of a bus, patiently enduring the long hours of the ride ahead of me.  I have had more than my fair share of long bus rides in the recent past and yet here I was again.  But, it was for a good cause, I kept telling myself.  It had been almost a year since I had last stepped foot on Costa Rican soil.  I had no idea what to expect.  I was both excited for this trip and at the same time a little bit afraid—what if things were really different from what I remembered?  Could I lead this group of students confidently enough?  Well, yes.  To put it simply.

The week flew by and there was simply too much packed into the week for me to share every dirty detail.  So, consider this a short commercial of our trip, complete with highlights (and lowlights) and a bonus “But wait!  There’s more” section:

• We spent a luxurious 4 nights and 5 days in a b-e-a-utiful campus of Whitworth, located in the mountains near San Rafael and the Barva volcano.  Let me just say, it was chilly and gorgeous.  I actually wanted to drink hot tea and coffee and wear my scarves!  I snuggled in down and fleece blankets, enjoyed the fresh air and hikes in the woods, soaked in the vista of the shining stars above, reveled in the hot showers, and melted in the heat from the various bonfires we had.  Bliss, pure bliss.

• So, at some point or another, 6 out of 7 of my students were sick on this trip, some severely so.  It got so bad at one point I needed to take 3 of them in to see a doctor.  Good news: they’ll live.  Bad news: some may or may not have had a nasty bug known as Chikungunya (similar to Dengue).  More good news: I didn’t get sick J
• We went to a plant, waterfall, and animal reserve one morning.  It put all of the other zoos I’ve been to to shame.  Sorry guys, but La Paz Waterfall Gardens wins hands down.  So, if you find your way to Costa Rica be sure to visit this place!  We also had a chance to have a tour of a coffee cooperative and learn lots about coffee.  It’s a cooperative of over 2,500 coffee farmers and is big enough to sell their product to not only Costa Rican customers but also to big wigs like Starbucks and Caribou Coffee.  To sum it up: it was delicious.  Oh, and educational.
  
• We had s’mores one evening.  ‘nuff said.
• We learned more about the immigration situation in Costa Rica, both in the form of a documentary as well as a presentation given by a Costa Rican who works with immigrants and natives and their housing situation.  It was extremely enlightening for me—I had lived there and had always heard about how Nicaraguans flooded to Costa Rica during the harvest seasons of coffee and others crops but I never really knew more than that.  There is definitely this viewpoint that’s prevalent among Costa Ricans that the Nicaraguans are coming in and stealing their jobs and increasing the violence in the nation and stealing and destroying all their resources.  The statistics don’t support these myths, however, but I don’t think those beliefs are going to disappear overnight.  People have a way of editing the truth to suit their beliefs.  Actually, the whole situation between Nicaragua and Costa Rica reminds me a lot about the situation between the U.S. and Mexico.  Same stereotypes, same prejudices, same myths, same push factors, same third wheel that’s often forgotten about (cough cough Canada and Panama).  In both cases, we may share a border but obviously that doesn’t make us best friends.
• While I was there I also had a brief chance to visit some of my old friends, people who I miss dearly.  I truly appreciate the few hours I had with them but I crave so much more.  I will be going back next year to make it up to them and myself.  I will also buy more coffee and chocolate covered coffee beans—it’s a tradition I will not break J

But wait!  There’s more!  Did you know that medium roast coffee has more caffeine than an espresso?  Did you know that a toucan’s feet are actually soft and warm?  Did you know that butterflies like Enya music (ok don’t quote me on this one but they were definitely playing Enya in the butterfly garden)?  Did you know that tour guides, translators and drivers can get in free to almost every tourist location and restaurant in Costa Rica if they’re leading a group?  Did you know that pine trees and palm trees can in fact coexist in the same habitat?  Did you know that I can’t tell if I like Costa Rica or Nicaragua better, that both of them hold a special place in my heart?  Well, now you do!

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned!