We’ve had some long days here in San José. Our Spanish classes have been intense, with a 25-minute presentation, a research essay, and a final exam all within three days of each other. Also everyone is getting sick – I haven’t come down with anything yet, but it’s only a matter of time once we’re all back in the same living quarters in Las Cruces.
Today we visited an EBAIS in Lourdes, a middle-class to upper-middle class barrio in San Pedro. Costa Rican cities are very predominantly middle class; sometimes it is so homogenous that many Costa Ricans refer to themselves as living in a classless democracy, but there are of course very noticeable differences between rural and urban areas – the whole purpose of our visits to these different EBAIS locations. (How do you like that, liberal arts friends? This science major just used the words “classless democracy”! Baby steps, baby steps....)
Their whole health system is very interesting. A lot of people in Lourdes can afford private care, so they attend appointments with a private physician and then go to the EBAIS to get prescriptions or treatments paid for by Caja (Caja Costarricense de Seguridad Social, the Costa Rican social security system that is MANDATORY for EVERY worker). The difference in health problems in the communities is also indicative of the lifestyles of the people: as one might expect, the problems in the wealthier community aren't diarrhea from contaminated water, but those of a sedentary life style, like hypertension and cholesterol.
After the EBAIS visit it was back to class until 6 pm.....
My Spanish professor tried to make us understand the importance of direct object pronoun use in Spanish when it was 5:30 pm, after we’d been in classes since 8 am. In an attempt to get our attention before our brains turned to complete mush, she made the analogy that direct object pronouns are like underwear: if you wear underwear but not pants (the prepositional pronouns), you’ll be fine, but if you wear pants without underwear, it’s a bad day for you! Due to my chagrin of seeing pants-clad people EVERYWHERE (I’m having leggings withdrawal), I have concluded that Ticos love pants. Either something is lost in translation, or they have a very anti-commando attitude in Costa Rica.
There’s another estudiante here in my homestay now. Her name is Lucille and she’s from Belgium. She’s volunteering at an orphanage here – she’s been here since September and for the past two weeks she was on vacation in Cuba. She’s only been speaking Spanish for a few months but she knows more than I learned my first three years – kudos, CRLA. It’s nice to have her at meals now because we can both understand each other easily. No struggles with sharing the sole Ethernet cable yet, but we’ll see.
My mama tica continues to outdo herself in the kitchen. Although it’s nothing like home....(I know my audience). Anyway, she makes some pan tostado de Francia (French toast), pancakes, empanadas, the whole shebang.
Bakeries in the city are everywhere I turn, and they just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. You can get a big loaf for 450 colones, a little less than a dollar. Costa Ricans also like their pastries – I feel like I am never more than 400 meters away from gooey carbohydrate goodness.
What there AREN’T here though, is hot showers. Through the powers of expensive electricity and perpetual tropical warmth, Costa Ricans have invented a shower system that only gets hot (and by hot, I mean lukewarm) when the water pressure is low (and by low, I mean a small dribble). It’s not something that I miss yet, but I was surprised by just how alluring warm showers are even in hot weather!
Speaking of all things plumbing, another oddity is the lack of flushability. This may be too TMI, but if you go to Latin America you will see it everywhere, so here’s your warning: toilet paper can’t flush down the old, narrow pipes! Everyone has to throw toilet paper in trash bags in the bathroom. A pleasantly surprising fact and a testament to air fresheners here is that bathrooms never smell bad.
One thing that’s cute in Tico Spanish (I’m not sure if they do this in Spain, but I think they do in other Latin American countries) is rhyming phrases that don’t really mean anything. My mama tica, for example, a lot of times will call something “una cosa mariposa.” Literally, that means “butterfly thing,” but she just throws in the mariposa to make it rhyme. Another example is chicos parraticos, which means “parrot guys.”
Alright, that’s all I’ve got for today. No pictures because I was in class ALL DAY and nothing has really changed here in San Pedro (San Pedro is a region of San José, in case all the Sans were getting confusing), but this weekend we’re heading on a “BioCurso” tour with the Organization of Tropical Studies, so we’ll be heading to a volcano and waterfall bright and early on Saturday.
Hasta luego!
Anya
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