Final Reflections for Costa Rica/Intercultural Communications Class

Two weeks after returning home, here is an image representing our shared reflections and insights from the trip. (Click on the image for a larger view.) This image was created using www.wordle.net.


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On the way home

The group left San Jose with an on-time flight departure and are on their way to Newark, then home.

Very early Sunday morning

3 am - with a goal of a 3:30 departure from the hotel, students are already loading luggage on the bus!

Saturday - Last Day

Today we travel back to Alajuela and get ready for a 3:30 am depature to the airport tomorrow!

Manzanillo Refuge

Our final day in and around Puerto Viejo de Talamanca we were rewarded with warm sunshine and many glimpses of wildlife, including sloths and howler monkeys. Our Afro-Caribbean guides enjoyed seeing how brave we were about meeting smaller forest creatures such as millipedes, spiders, and bats, and from them we learned to recognize many trees, such as this walking palm, which can move as much as one meter per year!

Bribri homes and food

Today we met with more individuals from the Bribri community, who taught us about locally used herbs and medicinal plants and then prepared a meal served in banana-leaf dishes. Dessert was ripe bananas roasted in an open fire served with a home-made chocolate drink.

Bribi

Today we met with two individuals from the Bribri indigenous group and learned a little about their culture and history. Indigenous leader Timoteo Jackson took us on a hike to a special waterfall and entrepreneur Miss Petronilla talked to us about how the Bribri used cacao and other medicinal plants.

We were very happy to be able to purchase some of this very special chocolate!

Tilapia Dinner

Our final night in San Luis, we were treated to a tilapia dinner.

Coffee Growing Farm Organization

Monday afternoon, we toured Finca La Bella- a farm organization in San Luis- and learned about shade grown coffee growing and roasting from two of the families on the farm.

Sustainable Agriculture and Ecotourism

In one of UGA's classrooms we had the opportunity to learn about the history of San Luis and how sustainable agriculture and ecotourism has developed in recent years.

Paper Crafts

Monday morning we learned about a business project in San Luis that makes paper crafts from locally recycled paper.

San Luis Dogs

An informal poll of our group revealed many of us brought photos of our dogs on the trip. The neighborhood dogs in San Luis have been very happy to have our attention.

Monday Breakfast

Monday morning we were up early again for breakfast in UGA's dining hall.

Sunday - Ecotourism

Today we began our explorations of Costa Rican ecotourism. Our day started bright and early with a 6:30 breakfast, and then we were off to the Monteverde Cloud Reserve Forest, where thanks to our excellent guides, Oscar and Ricardo, we were lucky enough to see the quetzal, a bird that lives no where else in the world except this one cloud forest. Can you spot it? Click on the photo to enlarge it, then look for a tiny emerald-colored spot just above and to the right of the approximate center of this photo.

Night Hike

Nighttime, we learned from our naturalist guides, is when the insects of San Luis are busy!

Saturday - Making Arepas

Today we learned to make Arepas from three women who live on a farm cooperative a fifteen minute walk from UGA's campus in San Luis.

They were delicious with a nice vanilla flavor, kind of a cross between a pancake and a scone. We had them with pineapple jelly and coffee and fresca, a juice.

Morning in Alajuela

7am and we're ready for breakfast, enjoying the sunlight and palm trees!

We've arrived in Costa Rica!

We had a good flight, over five hours, to San Jose and sailed through immigration and customs. Our driver for today and tomorrow, Eduardo, took us safely to our hotel, and we're all ready for a good night's sleep!

Newark

We've spent the past two hours looking for examples of unspoken airport culture. Our plane to San Jose boards soon and is on time for a 5:15 departure.

On the way!

Here is our group getting ready to check in at 10:00 on Friday morning, Jan.8. The flight left on time and is landing in Newark right about now (2:15 pm). Good day to head out of Vermont to someplace warm.

Welcome to Costa Rica 2010!

The Costa Rica Study Abroad Intercultural Communication course taught by Amy Beth Kessinger will be leaving from the Burlington airport at 10:00 AM Friday, arriving in Costa Rica about 9:00 PM local time.

Stay tuned here to our upcoming adventures!