I got on a plane. We will start with that. That was the easy part. From the tiny airplane window upon descent, the largest city in Costa Rica was a compilation of tin roofs. There were no high rises, or even any freeways that were detectable from the plane. I was no longer in the United States, and I was definitely not in the little safe haven box canyon that had served as the backdrop for my entire life. It was strange, and I was a stranger. With this feeling, the adventure began.
Off of the pl…
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Added by Hannah Smith on July 26, 2009 at 11:00pm —
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07/02/2009
Now I’m back in the States again.
Ahora estoy en los estados unidos un otra vez
Back to work, back to three car garajes, back to silly kids consuming alcoholic bevereges every weekend, back to school, back to Walmarts, back to America.
Vuelto a mi trabajo, a garajes gigantitos, a adolescentes tontos consumando bebidas alcohólico cada fin de semana, a Walmart, vuelto a America.
I’ve learned a lot, grown a lot.
He aprendido, y crecido mucho.
I
’ve had a lot o…
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Added by Emma G. on July 2, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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4/06/2009
Oi! I am very, very sick. The antibiotics for my bladder infection seemed to have shot down my immune system, leaving my body defenceless and vulnerable. Nothing serious—a little vomit, a lot of snot; I can’t really talk, itchy ears, burning eyes, pressured head, a lil’ fever, mucho acidic saliva. I’m really living up to my last name here. Emma Gross? Why yes I am!
The other day, Adriane, Emeterio, Clemente and I went down to the little village just down the river and I played guitar f…
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Added by Emma G. on April 6, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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04/01/2009
I BROKE MY ARM! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! IT HURT! haha just kidding it TIS April Fools day you know...my favorite holiday! ANYways...This seems as good a time as any to talk about my living situation. It’s perfect; Marcos totally hooked me up with the sickest spot available. It’s just far enough away from everyone that I can have space, peace, and quiet (not that that’s very hard to come by around here). Just far enough that I can belt out songs in the shower and play music without feeling…
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Added by Emma G. on April 1, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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03/27/09
The past few days have been fun! I have begun a few projects. One is the beetle project. Every day I check these sacks of logs for insects. When I find them, I put them in alcohol, label the tag, and write the date. There are about sixty logs I’d say. The point is to see what kind of bugs live in various types of wood and how often they leave their nests.
How is that going? I’ve actually had some pretty terrifying realizations about human nature and I am not at all pleased with myself r…
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Added by Emma G. on March 27, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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3/22/09
Life en el campo is pretty relajado. I’ve had a blast so far! I get to play guitar and read a lot. Every night we’ve been playing guitar—and by now, all of them have a few of my songs recorded on their cellular telephones. We play games sometimes at night and laugh for hours. The other day, I went on an expedition with Walter, Victor y John Paul and helped them with their ‘proyecto’. They have two by two nets systematically placed in rows and columns throughout the forest, hanging to col…
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Added by Emma G. on March 22, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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03/19/09
I’ve made it. Bloody right! I lucked out big time as far as the boat ride goes—I caught a CICRA
boat and there were only three passengers on it! We were bringing a bunch of food over from Labrinto so I just sat among a bunch of coolers and boxes on the floor. To my left sat mi amigo nuevo ‘Marcos’. We leaned against some boxes and rested our knees on some more. It was “snug” you might say, but we had a big cushion to rest upon! That was cool! I shared my grapes with him and we talked a…
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Added by Emma G. on March 19, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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03/18/09
Well, it’s safe to say that I’ve had my share of Lima. The West coast can’t even compare to eastern Peru. Inland is lush and people don’t mind the poverty so much because the jungle provides them with food a plenty. Where as on the coast, you’ll find ten by ten shacks tied together with scrap material, and people living in squalor in the heat of the desert. “It’s just like the Sahara” Dad repeated to me in awe, over and over again. How do they survive? Selling newspapers to cars on the…
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Added by Emma G. on March 18, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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3/12/2009
HOLY S***! Jesus Christo! Pardon ME but that is the only way I could begin this entry. I’m not gonna’ lie—these past couple days have been T-R-E-A-CHEROUS. What an unexpected change from the peaceful Amazon. Truly ying and yang. It’s like going to heaven and then God walks over and…“PSYCHE” “Down you go!” “Hell’s gonna’ feel a lot worse now that you know what heaven feels like!” Yes, the tranquillity couldn’t last forever, to the Eco-Truly Park we went.
We arrived at the Eco-Truly Park…
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Added by Emma G. on March 12, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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03/10/09
Alright—the Amazon. The Amazon is a crazy cool place. It’s just like I always imagined; lush, green, sticky, humid, and breathtaking. Vines and roots take over the scene, seducing your eyes this way and that, like a million snakes constricting everything in sight. When you’re in the jungle all of your senses become more acute; your eyes immediately sense any flicker of movement, you hear each individual chipper, chirp, and snap around—it’s actually very loud. The jungle sings. You smell…
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Added by Emma G. on March 10, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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3/05/09
Machu Picho was NUTTY—to say the least. I was blown away by the entire experience. Tuesday morning dad and I woke up around 6:00 AM to catch our bus. We were met by this little trooper of a van, filled to its maximum capacity. I sat between the driver Richard, and dad who sat shotgun. What a ride it was! It started off relaxed, the scenery was beautiful and the road was relatively safe. After about forty-five minutes however, we found ourselves thousands of feet up the mountain on a tiny…
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Added by Emma G. on March 5, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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3/02/09
It’s March 2nd meaning I’ve got two days of Peru under my belt, or should I say “mi cintura”. I’ve concluded but two things; that it’s nutty here and that I like it a lot. It’s so lush and green here in Cuzco and the people are friendly, always ready to take time to converse. People definitely live the simple life here. Scratch that, I shouldn’t say “simple”, they have very rich days, with a lot of activities and occurrences—just very few ‘material goods’. They have warmly embraced the s…
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Added by Emma G. on March 2, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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It is mid July. In the next few days we are leaving for our ten-day expedition to Río Camanti. Dawson, Kyle, Maddie and I decide to eat lunch at the restaurant down the street with our good friend Larry. We use the peanut butter that Maddie and I brought from Cusco and a rare packet of jelly to make sandwiches. It is a relaxing afternoon.
Two girls from the school in Quincemil enter the restaurant and speak, between giggles, in fast paced Spanish. They are dressed in light blue and white and ha…
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Added by Louisa Clark on November 30, 2008 at 5:56pm —
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July 6, 2008
My trek to the Jungle Camp started in gleaming prosperity then ended dreadfully with failure. I got lost on my way to the project. I was repeating the directions that I had received to get there in my head. The Collectivo stopped to see if I wanted a ride back to where I was going. I told them that I didn’t need a ride and that I could walk. About ten more minutes of walking went by when I tiny car came down the road. They rolled down the window and I saw the guide that I had aske…
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Added by Riley J Arrington on September 30, 2008 at 11:19am —
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The life of a Costa Rican (TIco) is so relaxed. i can go day to day and not worry about plans or time or any thing of the sort. The only bummer about working at the school is we were told we have to wear pants below our knees and shirts with sleeves. Concidering that i did not pack but one pair of jeans I had to go into town and buy another pair. I was so surprised that clothes here are just as expensive as clothes in the states.
Hannah and i went out to eat for the first time since being here.…
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Added by Michal Fagrelius on September 28, 2008 at 2:09pm —
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Even though there was no time change between Denver, CO and San Jose, Costa Rica it felt as though i had been awake for days on end. Once we arrived at the airport Hannah and i were instantly hit with the realization that we were in Central Amercia. Our parents weren't there to tell us where to go or how to get there. We were on our own, in a foriegn country, it was the most liberating feeling i have ever had. Ivan, our driver, hadn't arrived yet so Hannah dug up some spanish and we figured out…
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Added by Michal Fagrelius on September 23, 2008 at 7:47pm —
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I wrote my name on all of the papers, my signature scrawled on every line required. I was signed up for six weeks of deep brain stimulation with a continuous direct current of shock therapy. My mind had been like a dry sponge inside my skull, thirsting for culture. I had craved ethnicity, diversity and vitality in my humdrum life. After my treatment, I had expected to be healed, and so I willingly submitted myself to a month and a half of Costa Rican culture shock therapy. But I failed to read t…
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Added by Hannah Smith on September 7, 2008 at 8:00pm —
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June 29, 2008
I awoke to the sound of warm rain hitting the tin roof of the hotel and told me that it was time to start another day. Andres and I had a long drive down to the Corcovado national park, it rained all day, but it wasn’t a normal cold hard rain that I was used to, it was a warm soft rain that I felt like I could take a shower in if I wanted to. Andres and I grabbed some Burger King and went to the research permit station and then headed off for a six hour drive to the national park.…
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Added by Riley J Arrington on September 5, 2008 at 10:58pm —
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June 22, 2008
A streak of fear and excitement screamed down my spinal cord as I stepped off the plane and into the heat of the Costa Rican air. I arrived late last night on account of horrible weather in Houston. It was relieving to finally put a face with Andres’ voice. Luckily, a friend that I made on the flight helped me through immigration, baggage claim, and customs. The Costa Rican air filled my lungs and almost drowned me with its humidity. After turning the corner to get out of the airp…
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Added by Riley J Arrington on September 5, 2008 at 10:17pm —
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As the airplane slowly makes its ascent, the faint coastline begins to disappear into the foggy gray clouds that cover Lima. Maddie and I had rushed through customs after a delayed flight in Miami, but everything had turned out okay. We were aboard our last flight and the anticipation of approaching our destination was growing.
I turn and look out the window. The smooth cloud layer stretches flatly across the landscape until sudden, brown mountains protrude sharply above the fog. It is a magnif…
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Added by Louisa Clark on September 4, 2008 at 10:21pm —
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Sensory Overload
FIN.
Week Three: Las Personas de Perú
Journal 3
Week 2
