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August 21, 2003:
Hi Everyone!!!
Okay, after another five months of stalling,
here comes the second mass email (trying to condense another
five months into a couple pages)! I've now been down here
in Costa Rica for seven months, and it's still been the time
of my life! Picking up from the last email, and abridging
a lot due to death threats after the last 4-page email, here
goes.
I believe I left off after climbing Chirripó,
the highest peak in Costa Rica, and going to Puerto Viejo
on the Caribbean coast with some friends. Classes last semester
went well; I took a Cultural Geography class, a Geography
of Latin America class, International Relations, and Human
Sexuality. The school system turns out to be very different
than in California. A lot of group work and projects (especially
toward the end of the semester), 3-hour classes once a week,
and professors that often don't show up. It was awesome meeting
more Ticos in class and I enjoyed working on projects with
them and everything. Even got to go on a 3-day fieldtrip to
Puerto Limón with my Cultural Geography class. Ended
up the semester with straight As, despite a lot of long nights
and grueling projects.
In the beginning of the semester, I did have
time to squeeze in some volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity
and two Costa Rica soccer games! Also, my grandma from Houston
came to visit for a couple days after doing a tour of the
country, so I took her to Puerto Viejo for a night and showed
her around San José. Two weeks later, my "amigovia"
Michelle, her sister Elizabeth from CA, and I took the bus
to Tamarindo Beach for three days, where we did nothing but
swim, eat and relax! Another week of class and then a week's
vacation for Semana Santa! Five friends and I made the most
of the week off by heading down to Panamá. Heading
first to Panamá City, we roughed the 16-hour bus ride
and long border crossing before finally being able to tour
the beautiful city. We visited the new part of the city and
the old, some ruins from the 1989 U.S. attack to oust Noriega,
and of course the Panamá Canal! After about three days
in the city, we took an 8-hour bus to Bocas del Toro, an archipelago
on the Caribbean coast just over the border from Costa Rica.
Here Mindy, Michelle and I rented a 3-person kayak that ended
up filling with water and flipping, leaving us stranded about
400m from the shore until someone picked us up in his boat.
Four people from the group headed home to Costa Rica the next
morning, but Michelle and I stayed another two nights and
went on a tour of the islands, explored another beach, did
some snorkeling and ate some good dinners out.
After Semana Santa, and back in the Central
Valley, we had a picnic in the park for everyone in the program
and our host families. Ate some great food, talked to the
families, went on a hike and then played basketball in the
pouring rain for an hour. The following night, a group of
us went to the Maná concert, where we also got soaked
from the rain but saw an awesome show! After a great weekend,
I had a tough couple weeks of projects and midterms, then
the fieldtrip to Limón with my class!
The following week, and just in time for my
21st birthday (May 28), my parents came to visit! Not having
class on my birthday, my host parents and the three of us
went to Poas Volcano for the day. In the evening, my whole
host family, my parents, about eight friends and I all went
out for dinner at a nice pizza restaurant, followed by cake
and a dance party back at the house! The next night, it was
my friends' turn to take me out to celebrate (without the
parents), and celebrate we did. Waking up the next morning
hungover, my parents and Michelle and I left in a car we had
rented for Sámara Beach. We stayed in a nice hotel
right on the beach, played cards, ate out, played Frisbee,
went swimming, watched beautiful sunsets while drinking strawberry
daquiris, saw monkeys, and Michelle and I went driving on
the beach! It was an incredible weekend!
The last few weeks of the semester were the
hardest, full of finals and projects, but of course I managed
to squeeze in more fun activities: going out dancing, eating
Thai, Lebonese and Chinese food, playing basketball and soccer,
keeping up running, having karaoke parties and going white
water rafting on the Sarapiquí River! We had a group
dinner at the restaurant Ram Luna, which overlooks the whole
Central Valley, where we all got dressed up, ate some good
typical food and watched a cultural dance show and fireworks.
Michelle and I also had the chance to go out on three dates
to Peruvian and Mexican food restaurants, and to a candle-lit
bar called Anochecer that has a beach as the floor! During
our last date, we had a nice little bonding experience: getting
robbed at gunpoint about 80m from my house. Pretty scary getting
a gun pointed at your chest, but we didn't let that deter
us from going out to Mexican food afterward (had to pay with
credit card after he stole $35!). Later that same night, we
watched a movie and had a sleepover at the house since eight
of us were waking up at 3:30am the next morning to leave for
Nicaragua. After an early wake-up, another long bus ride and
another long border crossing, we arrived in the capital, Managua,
and went hotel hunting.
We spent one night in Managua, saw some of the
city, and watched "Finding Nemo" in Spanish at night
(Managua's not the safest city at night, and considering we
had just been held up at gunpoint the night before, we decided
to play it safe and just go to the movies). The next day we
went to Granada, right on huge Lake Nicaragua, and explored
a more charming city. The next day a 4-hour boat ride to Ometepe
Island, formed by two volcanoes in the middle of the lake,
where we stayed for two nights. On the island, we hired a
guy to take us around in the back of his pickup to the beach
(where we swam between the two volcanoes during a cool storm)
and to see some petroglyphs. That night, the
same man who took us around in his truck invited us to his
house to meet his family and do some salsa dancing! What an
experience! We finished up our time in Nicaragua with a night
on the beach in San Juan del Sur where I had the best shrimp
pasta ever and a nice afternoon basking in the sun. We got
back to Costa Rica the evening of July 10, on the 11th we
had a going away party for the semester people at my house
(full of reminiscing, dancing and drinking), the next day
I registered for classes, helped Michelle pack, and played
a night game of indoor soccer.
On Sunday the 13th, the group flight left for
the States (when I had to say good-bye to Michelle and some
other friends who were just here for the first semester) and
two hours later I was on a flight myself down to South America!
I flew into Quito, Ecuador, where my 21-year-old aunt Stephanie
and her mom picked me up at the airport. Steph and her college
friend Jen and I stayed at Steph's Ecuadorian aunt and uncle's
house in Quito, saw a lot of the city and some little towns
around the capital, passed by the "middle of the world,"
and flew to the town of Cuenca for three nights where we explored
the city and saw some Inca ruins! Then comes the highlight:
Steph and Jen and I flew to the Galápagos Islands,
about 1000km off the coast of Ecuador, and spent five days
/ four nights on a 40-person yacht exploring the islands,
making friends with tourists, iguanas and blue-footed boobies,
and snorkeling within arm's reach of sea lions, huge turtles
and penguins!!! These extremely well preserved islands have
amazingly diverse and tame wildlife upon which Charles Darwin
based his Theory of Evolution. After three weeks in Ecuador,
I made it back to Costa Rica and have had a week of more relaxation
before I start my next semester of classes at the University
of Costa Rica on August 11.
It's been an awesome seven months here in Costa
Rica and I hope next semester is just as good! I'll try to
write again soon, but if you want to hear more, feel free
to email me! I hope everyone is doing well wherever you are
(the States, México, Finland, South Africa, Italy,
Spain, Brazil, etc.). I miss you guys!!!
Chao, Mike :-)
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March 5, 2003:
Hello Everyone!!
After two months of being super busy here in
Costa Rica, I finally have time to write that much-promised
mass email! I hope everyone is doing well and I just want
to update you all on my stay here! A warning: it’s long.
No obligation to read the whole thing. The big picture: I
arrived here on Jan. 10 and will be here until about mid-December
with the Education Abroad Program (EAP) from the University
of California (sorry for those of you who already know all
this). I’m now taking two semesters of classes at the
University of Costa Rica just outside San José, Costa
Rica after our just-completed six weeks of language practice
(Intensive Language Program - ILP). I’m living with
a host family in San Pedro and having a great time.
My real classes just started Mar. 3, so this is an attempted
summary of the first seven weeks before classes. After arriving
on Jan. 10, we had two days of orientation in Coronado, outside
the capital. Seven long orientation meetings about the country,
the school system, health and safety issues, culture shock
stuff, and other recommendations. Also had a Salsa dance class,
a Spanish placement test, a bonfire, and some free time to
get to know our fellow EAPers (25 of us in all)! After this
orientation, we went on a tour of the University of Costa
Rica and met our host moms, who took us to our new homes for
the year (most of the group is staying for one semester, but
I and about seven others are here for a year).
My host family is great, and I?ve felt so comfortable
since the first day here. I have a mom, dad, a brother who?s
24 and two sisters, 20 and 22. I’m especially close
with my sisters, and we act as if we really are sisters, which
has been sooo much fun. We always go out for ice cream together,
go party, and talk about girls, the language, and politics.
House is also really nice. It’s the all-green one, with
the green fence and the green sidewalk, if you’re ever
looking for it. Oh, and don’t touch the showerhead or
be prepared to get shocked (the water heaters are in the showerheads
so they have electricity in them; water + electricity = oww).
I have my own bedroom with a bed and desk and I share the
bathroom with the family. All the houses in San José
have bars on the windows and gates in front of their houses,
which was weird at first.
The day after meeting our families, we had a
fieldtrip (?un paseo?) to Volcán Irazú, outside
the central valley. Spectacular view! Pictures galore, as
with every other trip we’ve done. After the volcano,
we had another placement test? this time oral, and in front
of our future professors. Somehow they placed me in the advanced
classes, which I was excited about at first. Only later did
I realize: more work, same number of units. The next day began
our ILP classes at the U. Four classes in all: Communication,
History of Costa Rica, Culture of Costa Rica, and Literature?
of Costa Rica. This first week of classes we went on more
fieldtrips to downtown San José (museums and whatnot)
and to a biodiversity park. Went out Friday night to La Plaza
in El Pueblo and Salsa danced for hours!
Our second weekend in CR, we went to San Gerardo
de Dota, south of San José. Here we visited a ?cafetal,?
where coffee is made, since coffee is a huge part of CR’s
economy. We also picked coffee beans and jumped in a vat of
coffee beans with our shoes off. Yes, before it’s used
to make your coffee. That night we went for a hike to a beautiful
waterfall (the first of many), stayed in little cabins in
the mountain, had a bonfire, then woke up at 5 am to go birdwatching
the next morning (to see Quetzales). Later that day I rented
horses with my friend Veronica and went riding for about an
hour and a half! She ended up falling and needing stitches
in her head. Don’t laugh.
ILP classes continued the next week and on Wednesday
I had to go to the police station, but only to get fingerprinted
for my student visa. Also had a pizza party at the house of
the program director, Jeanina, who’s awesome! The following
weekend (that’d be weekend #3 for those of you keeping
track) we left for a week-long trip to the province of Guanacaste.
First to Rincón de la Vieja, where we went on a canopy
tour through the rainforest on zip-lines! Later that day,
I went horseback riding again with some friends. I ended up
falling and needing stitches in my head. Yes, that’s
right. I hope this is not a continuing pattern for the year.
Two horseback riding trips, two injuries in the group. To
be exact, two on the back of my head, four on the side, and
five on my forehead. Plus some really good scrapes on my back.
Anyone who’s been knows that Third World hospitals are
definitely an experience. But, the whole thing (X-rays, consultation,
and 11 stitches) only set me back $6.00!! After a long, bumpy
ride up a dirt road from the hospital to our lodge, I got
some rest. Next morning, woke up, ate breakfast, and went
on another horseback ride. Rode to some thermal pools and
saw wild monkeys for the first time here!
That night we left for Liberia and checked into
a hotel where we would stay for the next four nights. Classes
week 3 were held in Liberia at another campus of the UCR (professors
came with us on the trip). In Liberia, we had a dance with
some locals, a BBQ, a tour of the town, and a cultural afternoon,
where we watched dances and musicians from the town and in
turn performed for them (classics like Bye, Bye Miss American
Pie and, um, Sublime). We also spent about every night sitting
around the hotel pool talking, doing homework, and ?disfrutando.?
That Thursday (ILP is only four days per week), we left Liberia
to go to the Monteverde Rainforest, where we went hiking and
visited the Tabacón Resort, a way-too-fancy spa resort
with bars in the pools and views of Volcán Arenal.
On the bus afterward, we passed around the mic for some karaoke
en route to our hotel in La Fortuna.
The next day (Feb. 1), we went on another hike
to another beautiful waterfall (get used to it) then returned
home to San José. That night, my family took me to
a birthday party for an aunt (note: our family is huge; some
40 cousins alone in San José). This was awesome because
I got to meet the rest of the family, eat some food (The food
here has been great! My mom’s cooking is really good
and she feeds me a lot. Typical foods here: beans, rice, chicken,
and fruit.), and dance Salsa with everyone! The next morning,
my sisters and I got up at about 5:30 to go to Jacó
beach with some of my sisters’ friends (the water here
is probably about 80-85 degrees!). It was nice going to a
beach finally, but as I learned later, it?s not necessarily
the nicest in Costa Rica, but probably has the hottest sun.
I got burnt like a lobster and hurt for days. But that?s okay
because I just used the same Aloe/Vit. E cream I?d been using
on my head and put it on my stomach as well. Fun spending
the day with Ticos (Costa Ricans), though.
The next week we started registering for our
actual UCR classes and that following weekend my family took
me back to Guanacaste to a beach called Playa Flamingo. For
three nights, my family (excluding my brother), some uncles
and aunts, some cousins, my sister’s boyfriend, and
I stayed in a hotel right on the beach in one big room. It
was great, though. We visited Playa Penca, Playa Blanca, Playa
Conchal and watched the sunset every night. We also played
Frisbee on the beach, went out to a dance club one night (the
kids, that is), and went on an hour-or-so boat ride at sunset
the last night we were there! Went out for dinner (rice and
shrimp) one night but cooked all the other meals in the hotel
room to save some money. One day we went to my family’s
farm, which is about 30 minutes from Playa Flamingo. Met some
more sabaneros (Guanacaste cowboys), ate cheese from the farm,
collected oranges, and went horseback riding again. Nope,
didn’t fall off this time. Funny story: the last night
in the hotel, my sister’s boyfriend, also named Michael,
was outside on the patio listening to music when everyone
was going to bed so my mom, Rosy, snuck into his bed without
him knowing. He came back later, with the lights off and when
he got into bed yelled, ?Qué es eso!!? Great bonding
weekend with the family.
So, ended up not being able to get back in time
for classes on Monday after Guanacaste, but that turned out
fine. Had to do an oral presentation in Communication, but
the prof let me do it on my weekend in Guanacaste! That next
weekend we left Friday for Manuel Antonio, another beach on
the Pacific coast. This ended up being my favorite fieldtrip
yet with the group! Same routine of piling into the bus and
driving for several hours to wherever, which I actually really
love doing. Good chance to relax, talk to everyone, and see
some of the countryside. We stopped first in Guacalillo to
go on a boat ride through a marshland to see crocodiles! Later
in the day we arrived in Manuel Antonio, checked into our
?cabinas,? then ran to the beach with the Frisbee in time
for sunset. After sunset, we raced to a bar right on the beach
in time to take advantage of the two-for-one margaritas before
happy hour ended. Ate dinner at the hotel, then had a dance
class and competition! I came in second place, actually, probably
by default or something, but won a free t-shirt. Later, went
out to a little dance club on the beach and Salsa-ed it up.
Next day we walked some 600 m to the entrance of the Manuel
Antonio National Park and spent the day at the beaches in
the park. Myriam and I rented a waverunner together and went
out waverunning for an hour in beautiful, warm water. So much
fun!! Went back and showered, took advantage of the dos-por-uno
margaritas again, then headed out for dinner with everyone
at a pizzeria. Got ice cream afterward, swam in the pool at
the hotel at night, and Michelle and I talked by the side
of the pool for a while.
Week six: last week of ILP! Which also means
finals L I did well in Communication and History and [surprisingly]
Culture, but not so well in Literature. Three of the classes
get averaged together and then history is a separate grade,
so I think I ended up getting an A and a B or something, but
it doesn’t really matter. On Wednesday, I went with
some friends to a movie (about our third one, which is a lot
for me) because it?s dos-por-uno on Wednesdays (they?re really
big on 2X1 here). Somehow they talked me into seeing The Ring
(I hate scary movies). Thursday was our final day of ILP so
eight of us went out for sushi and karaoke to celebrate! The
sushi was sooo good (?muy rico,? as they say) and karaoke
was a blast as well. Different from our normal routine of
partying at El Pueblo. Friday we went to downtown San José
and shopped near the city center and at ?El Mercado Central.?
All I bought was a Costa Rica soccer jersey. Went back home
and packed for our next trip.
Saturday morning we left early for our last
EAP-affiliated paseo. This time to Chirripó, the highest
peak (3820m) in Costa Rica and about the third highest in
Central America (after some in Guatemala). We spent a lot
of the day driving (after the bus driver had to stop for an
hour to change a tire) to a town called San Gerardo de Rivas,
where we stayed the first night and hiked to some more thermal
pools. A group of four ended up getting lost at night and
resorted to burning a Sharpie inside half a water bottle to
use as a lantern. The next day we started hiking toward Chirripó,
some 16 km to the next hostel where we?d stay the second night.
This hike was sooo long and tiring! Also very pretty, though,
through forests, etc. Played cards at night in the common
kitchen and went to bed really early. Woke up at 3:00 the
next morning and started hiking to the summit while it was
still dark (another 10 km round-trip hike). We watched the
incredible sunrise from just below the summit then pushed
on to the top. Everyone made it to the top and we had an awesome
view of both oceans! A little cloudy down below us, but perfect
at the top. Signed our names in the book and took tons of
pictures. Returned the 5 km to the hostel, ate, napped, then
went on another hike to a different peak later in the afternoon.
That night saw the most spectacular stars ever! The hike back
down on day four was just as long as the first day, but easier
because downhill, and then we were rewarded with lunch and
a cold river to jump into at the bottom. I reckon we hiked
some 48-50 km in three days, and our legs felt it after we
returned.
On Wednesday, I went to the EAP office on campus
to finish up registration, then went swimming at the university
pool with Jen and Michelle, and tried again unsuccessfully
to find some pants and new swimsuit at the mall. It takes
a long time to get things done here. Everything is slower
paced and generally less convenient. But, it?s kind of nice
sometimes. That night I packed for my last trip.
We left Thursday morning at 8:00 for Puerto
Viejo, our first non-group-affiliated trip! Eight of us (Me,
Thy, Mindy, Kristina, Emily, June, Michelle, and Myriam) took
a bus from San José to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean
coast just above Panamá! Emily lost her purse in the
bus station ten minutes before the bus left. Saw a bunch of
backpackers in the bus station, which was awesome J After
an easy four-hour bus ride and a stop in Limón, we
arrived in Puerto Viejo and found some other people from our
group who showed us where we should stay! First night: 2000
colones, about $5. We put our stuff away, walked around town,
and for lunch went to a little Thai restaurant owned by a
guy from Kenya. In Puerto Viejo, we met storeowners from Kenya,
Zimbabwe, Switzerland, England, and California. Later we went
down the beach for our tradition of Frisbee at sunset (so
glad I brought that thing). Dinner was pizza and wine at a
little pizzeria by the beach. Puerto Viejo comprises about
nine or ten square blocks and has no gas station, no bank,
no chain restaurants, and is sooo relaxing and beautiful!
Toughest decisions: where to eat and which SPF to wear. That
night, we went out dancing briefly then returned to the hotel
and talked in our room and took more stupid pictures. Friday
we rented bikes and rode about 15 km to Manzanillo, toting
food for a picnic. We ate there on the beach, went swimming,
and, you guessed it? played Frisbee. On the way back, we stopped
in Punta Uva to watch the sunset and met some Canadians on
the beach. The ride back home was so fun? warm summer air,
everyone relaxed, laughing and talking, and the sound of monkeys
in the trees!
That night we went back to the Thai place for
dinner then went to a little ice cream shop called Red Stripe
for ice cream and drinks. We ended up just going down to the
beach afterward and playing games from ?Whose Line is it Anyway??
That night the guy at our cabinas said a soccer team was coming
so we couldn?t have anyone stay in our five-person room. So,
the five of us moved into the room with the other three and
slept sprawled out all over the room (but paid only $3 that
night, and a fun time was had by all - except some of us got
attacked by malaria-ridden mosquitoes in our sleep!). The
next day, we ate breakfast, June and Emily left on the early
bus, and the rest of us hung around on the beach all day,
snorkeled, relaxed more, had another picnic, then got on the
4:00 bus back to San José very refreshed. Nice trip
back listening to music, talking with friends, and getting
stopped at a police checkpoint so they could search our bags
for Marijuana. Back in San José, got a ride in a taxi
van playing Madonna then ate dinner at a little restaurant
we go to frequently across from the grocery store.
Sunday I got to sleep in then went to Mindy’s
with Michelle, Myriam, and Jen to try to burn CDs, but to
no avail. Ate dinner with family, then had the girls over
to watch a movie with my sister Adriana and me. Yesterday
I went to school to check out a concert on campus, did some
errands, played checkers with June at my house, then went
to Michelle’s at night to play Snood and talk. Today
(Mar. 4) I had my first classes, which went well. It was nice
being on campus with the Ticos, and I’m excited about
meeting people and learning things from a Costa Rican perspective.
So far the language thing hasn’t been a problem. I’m
improving a lot and the six weeks of ILP helped a lot. I love
speaking Spanish with people now because I feel like I can
express myself a lot better and I make a lot fewer mistakes.
After a year, I should be set! My family keeps complimenting
my Spanish, actually, and said how I have a lot better accent
than this other guy from Denver who’s living with us
right now. We’ve had other people (mostly older) living
with us for a couple weeks at a time here, which isn’t
bad because we always speak Spanish so I’m not missing
out on Spanish practice. Our house is sooo busy! The phone
rings every ten minutes during the day (there it goes again)
and there’s always someone doing something!
Okay, to make a long story short? hehe I’m
loving my life here in Costa Rica and I couldn’t be
happier! Sorry for the huge letter, but I promise the following
letters won’t be this long. You’re now officially
updated on just about every little detail from the last two
months! Get in touch with me if you will be in Central America
any time in the next nine months. A disclaimer: write me back,
but I MIGHT NOT RESPOND RIGHT AWAY!!! Let me know how you’re
doing, but just be patient with my emails (you can imagine
how many emails I have to write, and it’s taken me two
months just to send out one mass email!). And sorry if it’s
ridiculously short. Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone
and I miss you! I’ll talk to you soon!!!
Pura vida,
Mike :-)
PS- Here´s my contact information:
Email: comstock@umail.ucsb.edu
Phone: 011-506-234-26-62 (if calling from the states)
Address: Mike Comstock
Lista de correo especial
Programa Universidad de California
Código postal 2060
Universidad de Costa Rica
Costa Rica
(I receive my mail at the EAP office, since addresses don´t
really exist in San José. You have to say ¨100
m south of the blah, blah, blah.¨ OH, and I´ve told
people that I can´t receive packages, which I found
out was WRONG! I can receive packages at this same address,
but just have to pay a little to receive it)
Michael Comstock
comstock@umail.ucsb.edu
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