Team EWH

Fortunately for those of you still reading my blog, I have no pride so I admit to defeat against a handful of five-foot Costa Rican friends. We played 5 on 5 indoor soccer (´futbol cinco´) on Monday with our makeshift EWH soccer team. Fortunately, the program supplied us with our incredible soccer jerseys (see picture), so we looked legitimate. If only we didn´t have to touch the soccer ball no one would ever know...

First half, we held our ground and conceded 5 goals to our 6 but shortly after, we lost our legs and they ran the score up to 15. My excuse is the mountain we climbed the day before, to which I hold unless our rematch next Monday embarasses us again!

Cerro Chato

La Catarata de la Fortuna, a fifty six foot high waterfall, plummets through a crevice in the wall into a deep but narrow pool of crystal blue water. The force of the cascade on the surface of the pool creates an outward surface flow similar to what it felt like in the rapids in el Rio Pacuare. We tried to swim directly at the water column but were slowed exponentially and tossed back like drift wood; it was a natural safety design that kept us from swimming under the crashing pillar.

After relaxing on the sunbathed rocks around the picturesque waterfall, we got up to go on what we expected to be a “jog” up the trail to the crater lake and onward to the national park. After hitting the cloud line and the 50 degree incline, the idea of running the trail was abandoned quickly and we continued trudging up the slope. We couldn’t see more than 20 yards ahead of us through the eerie haze. Before too long, we entered the dense forest that surrounded the top of the dormant volcano. The broad leaves and mossy stalks dripped with condensation from the clouds squeezing through the cracks. Our hike thus turned into a climb when the trail fell away and exposed soggy roots became the path markers.

Another hour passed before the clouds began to replace overhead foliage and the trail quickly made its summit and begin a comparable decline. Soon the green wall of vegetation fell away and was replaced by an endless expanse of whiteness that faded into a jade mirror-like surface. It looked like we had reached the boundary of a dream between what had been constructed by the mind and what had not yet been imagined. We descended to the shore side and as we looked across the water the surrounding crest of the crater loomed warily behind a wet veil. It silently exposed itself as the clouds were whisked upward and we could see the full expanse of the lake. Its mysterious untouched beauty gave us all a profound sense of discovery. I tried to take as much of the experience in before I had to peel myself away and head back down the mountain. I hope my description and the visual aids can help you know the feeling!

¡Que Fortuna!

The weekend trip to Arenal will be hard to top I´m afraid. Such an awesome trip, that two posts are necessary to do it justice. La Fortuna is a small town at the base of Arenal (Sandy) Volcano. Arenal is one of the five active Volcanoes and is in the top 3 most visited tourist destinations in Costa Rica. Saturday´s goals were to see the volcano and (hopefully) some lava, and then to go to the Baldi hot springs in the evening. The group as a whole chose to buy the “complete package” from the hotel which included a nature walk, a tour of the volcano, dinner, and then admission to the hot springs. For a group rate of $52 dollars per person, I expected to see a few trees, a large smoky rock, large quantities of rice and beans, and some sulfurous, lukewarm, overcrowded baths. But, four howler monkeys, three spider monkeys, two venomous snakes, two lava chutes, an expansive smorgasbord, and a 310,000 square foot five star watery fantasy land later- I was satisfied with my purchase.
Pictures to come!

Clear!

Thursday´s engineering class ended with the construction of a defibrillator tester. As much as I wished it were a more exciting show, it was cool to know the barely audible “click” and the small LED that lit up when triggered was enough energy (360 J) to kill (and then revive?) me.

That night, after some salsa lessons, I met up with a high school friend, Fallon, who was in town on vacation. Against incredible odds, she was able to make her way to “the bar next to the pink house 600 meters north of the market nearest the University.” It sure takes some guts for someone, especially an attractive young woman, to travel across San Jose alone with no Spanish knowledge to an unknown destination. Bravo.



Friday I met up with another friend in downtown San Jose at the fancy Aurora Hotel. Lauren Marx, a fellow Duke student, and her family took me in and fed me an amazing meal. I was worried I might embarrass myself by eating rapaciously but fortunately my stomach had already atrophied.

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.