The Things I Never Thought I’d Miss (Adios to Costa Rica)

After 11 months here, I’m on the home stretch – but I never thought it’d be this hard. Friends from school are leaving to the farthest reaches of the globe – Pakistan, Nigeria, Thailand. Saying goodbyes while writing a thesis has been taxing, and I’m sure the full realization will only hit me [...]

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I SUPPORT THE SELE!

Now, if you read that on a big bumper sticker on the back of my car, you might think I had joined a political party, or donated to a charity, or adopted some other noble cause. That’s what I thought when I started noticing the red-and-white bumper stickers all over Costa Rica (Yo apoyo [...]

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Spotted Rooster and Smooshed-up Lizards?

There’s a reason that people in the US aren’t familiar with Costa Rican cuisine. It’s bland.
Most meals here center on rice and beans, which is pretty normal for Latin America, but Costa Ricans seem – literally – reluctant to spice it up. Occasionally they’ll throw in some chopped sweet pepper or onion, some [...]

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Second language struggles

I was fighting my way down a crowded San Jose street the other day when I had to stop and laugh out loud. Directly across from me was a store called “Robus,” and while that is just a catchy name in Spanish I couldn’t help but think “Rob Us!” And then I felt [...]

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Shopping? Strolling?

Shopping is a whole new ballgame in Latin America. Really, they put U.S. malls to shame. San Salvador, for example, is currently finishing construction of its third mega-mall in the last year, for a total of 7 gleaming, American-style malls in the capital of El Salvador. Seven malls in one city is [...]

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Earthquakes!

My parents love Ohio because it suffers no regular natural disasters. It doesn’t get hurricanes, or wildfires, or torrential rain and mudslides. It has nice, predictable seasons, which don’t get too terribly extreme. Since their house has yet to be hit by a tornado, my parents are almost smug about the stability [...]

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My Kingdom for a Cadbury

You miss the darnedest things when you’re away. Part of this is explained by the deficiencies of the local diet – strong in rice in beans, weak in rich chocolate baked goods. Part of this is explained by the fact that you just associate certain foods with warm fuzzy feelings of home – [...]

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Why I Get No Sleep at Night

Costa Rica – most of Latin America, really – is a noisy culture. It just is. This is partially because the region is highly urbanized, and partially due to a culture that strives to avoid confrontation, even if that means tolerating your neighbor’s stereo at full volume. I endure your noise, you [...]

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