A Brighter Note

Summer in Costa Rica distinguishes itself from any other season when the intermittent downpours that interrupt the brilliant sunshine daily take a week to two week hiatus. This weekend the group at large plans to take advantage of the weather and check out the hot springs of the volcano Arenal.

The rafting pictures are finally up and, although my USB drive bit the dust, I managed to salvage a picture of my new friend, Oso (“Bear”). Also an action shot of the girls at work in lab. Stay tuned…

Too School for Cool

Daily schedule: Run/work out, breakfast, bus to school, four hours of intense spanish instruction, lunch break, hour to two hour instrumentation lecture, two to three hour lab. As if there were a chance to get bored during the day, you can always count on the ticos (Costa Ricans) to ruffle your feathers.


On Tuesday, two Costa Rican guys were accidently buzzed through the school gates under the guise of asking for information about spanish lessons. Not realizing how many people would be in the school and how astute the head of the school is (she subtly but clearly let them know that she knew why they were there), the two would-be robbers were visibly spooked and fled the scene with 2 other guys in a getaway truck and motorcycle. We're not longer allowed to bring anything but books in plastic bags to school.


I don't mean to worry anyone by telling the story because I know that we have taken the necessary precautions and we will be just fine. But I think it is worth reflecting for a minute how "fortunate" we are, as a developed nation, to be able to deliberate Eve Carson's and Abhijit Mahato's deaths tragic and inexplicable rather than ordinary or inconsecuential. I think I've just gotten a better appreciation for how liberating it is to feel safe in your surroundings.

Home Away From Home

San Pedro is a suburb of San Jose where all of the participants of the program live. Even though every participant lives within a fifteen minute walk from one another, no one could explain where they live relatively. Streets have no names, three bus different routes service the area, and every building looks the same (barbed wire and wrought iron over pastel-colored concrete). My home stay address is reminiscent of a treasure map- “Del perimercado 300 este 100 norte 25 este Casa 15.C” (From the market, go 300 meters east, 100 north, 25 east: 15th house). It’s no wonder I haven’t yet received all of the care packages you’ve all sent!

I share my home stay with 5 other male participants, none of who speak Spanish. Our hostess, Flory Astorga, is very kind and somehow manages to feed the six of us twice a day. You can see the sky broke open just long enough for us to snap a picture. Flory´s grandchildren Antony, Jonathan, Esteban and Daniela (10 months, 4 years, 2 years and 2.5 years old) keep her very busy. I am still trying to make friends with all of them, although they are pretty bashful with the 6 giants that just moved in.

I feel very safe and comfortable in my homestay and the constant buzzing of the house with all of the people in a small area gives me energy. Only a few electrical issues are a cause for concern...

In the center of San Jose, we toured for a while to get some lunch and see the sights. We saw breakdancers on the Parque Central dancing to a remix of Jump Around and then checked out what was showing at the Teatro Nacional.