So this weekend I went on a trip with my favorite class-Science, Humanism, and the Sustainability of Life. I had one friend in the class- Christina, so I wasn’t completely terrified of being totally on my own. We sat together on the bus to Talamanca (Caribbean side, about a 5 hour drive from Heredia). I slept A LOT since we had woken up super early, and a short time after leaving Heredia, the bus broke down. We waited on the side of the road for another one and then continued our journey. We arrived at this large structure with a straw roof under which were a bunch of tables and hanging plantains and women cooking over basically fireplaces (burning wood). It was unbelievably hot and humid, and my professor was so on top of making sure I had vegan food the entire weekend. The thing is, most things were cooked without meat anyway. Here and at home I am accustomed to eating everything on my plate out of politeness to the chef, so as not to waste food, and because I enjoy it. In my opinion, the food was great (rice, beans, yucca, heart of palm salad, meat for them) but according to my classmates it wasn’t. And judging from the fact that no one else cleaned their plate, I take it that it’s not as much a part of the culture as I thought it was to eat everything you’re given. They also eat junk food constantly, snaking on things they bring from home and buy on the road, so no wonder they weren’t that hungry.
Then we walked as a group to boats to take us to the organic banana/plantain/cacao/lychee plantation run by an indigenous community. They grow things organically for their own consumption and for local trade in a market that gathers every few weeks. We learned how to pound the rice to peel the skin off. We then got back into boats to go to a house that lies right past the border of Costa Rica and Panama Costa Rica and Panama
The issue with the Bribri population is that it is very isolated from the outside world, with little access to education and healthcare, and with widespread poverty. There is a strong volunteer-based movement to promote eco tourism in the area to spread understanding of indigenous communities, to provide free health care, to educate the young people, and to initiate programs of recycling and environmental protection. The complaint of the people here is that, in a country with an economy based on eco tourism, the money from this tends to go back to the government and not to those who need it most. Additionally, eco tourism often displaces people from their land and revolves around adventure focused activities and not a wider understanding of the people living most in congruence with the land. I am strongly considering coming back here (if my mom will join me, that will be amazing!) to volunteer working on organic farming, teaching English to the kids, and working on a recycling/waste reduction initiative after my program ends and before I go home.
We then went to have dinner and settle into our lodging which was SUPER cool. It consisted of mattresses on the floor, each surrounded by its own mosquito net in a giant building made from the wood from fallen trees. There was electricity and iffy cold running water. It was clean and rustic and funky-just the way I like it. We then had time to socialize at night, and I got the chance to break out of my shell a little bit.
During the day I had hung out with my friend Christina, and two other people from our group that presented on pesticides in the past for a project-Karla and Rudolfo. Karla is an actress, and Rudolfo is fascinated by English and constantly asks me to explain English words that I don’t even know. I also met Laura, a spunky, super hip girl who is taking intensive English classes and hopes to study abroad in the states.
That night, it was so cool because they put on music and people just started partner dancing and then we all danced in a big circle, and people are just so comfortable with themselves and with each other here. And then, at one point I found myself seated with a bunch of people talking about Latin American politics in Spanish. I learned more about the increasing issues with narcotrafficking in Costa Rica and in other Latin countries and about the widespread corruption that exists within the police force (these issues are clearly worse in places like Guatemala and Mexico
I also finally began to understand the scholarship issue here that so many students are protesting about. Here, college is extremely inexpensive, especially the public schools. Per credit the cost is very low, and there are need-based, academic-based, and athletic-based scholarships, just like in the states. The issue here is that the school I attend-UNA, receives loans from a private corporation, as do other public schools. Normally, the funding is used to provide scholarships to students. However, under new stipulations of the corporation, this money must now only be used to build infrastructure and beautify the campus. I suppose so that the corporation can more readily be paid back with the more money the school is receiving from students, without giving them scholarships. There is fear of privatization, something that is a huge deal in Chile right now, where the per credit cost of public institutions is increasing so much that it will soon cost the same amount to attend a public school as it does to attend a private one.
Having this discussion made me realize that there really are many people who are well-informed here. I just have to find them, like my dad said. I still think there is an extreme lack of environmental awareness or consciousness and overall of understanding of what is going on in the world, as there is in a great many places in the states. But I did make some pretty cool, very sweet and friendly new friends.
We went to the beach the next day, and I realized how social and kind and laid back everyone was because everyone was looking out for each other, when there was no running water at all in the whole “town” of Cahuita to wash the sand off of ourselves before getting back on the bus, people laughed about it instead of complaining, when there was an incident the night before of a hearing impaired girl wandering off with a boy, everyone pitched in to look for her, and no one made a big scandal out of the whole thing. The professor handled everything that happened with calm and concern, and he was laughing and joking with us the whole time. Overall, it was a truly wonderful experience, and now I have new tico friends! If I ever have time to hang out with them with all of the homework that has just been dumped on me…
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