Life at the Compound

Life at the Compound By: Savanna Rovira This place is full of life. It's a mini hub, a familial city. My foot kicks open the heavy red fence. It's a seemingly oxymoronical thing; its menacing outside is met with a warm, welcoming inside. Sort of like the family dog. Or one of those spiky fruits with the delectable and delightful flesh. The second I step inside, the sounds and smells and laughter and stories and personalities and above all, flavors, of the Pechuga Compound bombard me. Why Pechuga, right? Pechuga is the nickname given to the men of the family. Chicken breast. You laugh but their chests stick out and you sort of think of chickens too. Proud and noble chickens though, the kind you would want to be your host family, if you were a chicken. Our compound is comprised of a few brothers and sisters and their families. The matriarch is abuela. Each house (I think there are a total of five) has its own little family, and each is part of the bigger union that resides within this fence. Children and dogs, and the occasional chicken or monkey, scurry around the premises. The little ones fly in and out of the houses, interacting with the mamas of each, and playing with their cousins as if they were siblings. My own host mother runs next door to grab a cup of sugar (unfortunately I think I'm depleting their supply, although she won't say so. The only way I can convince myself I like coffee is by adding four spoonfuls of sugar...) and stays for a while to chat. The doors and kitchens are never locked, never closed, never unwelcoming. Behind each, at each dinner table, sits someone willing, hoping, waiting for conversation. And then there's us. Thrown into the mix at seasonal intervals. But it doesn't really matter at all that we aren't Costa Ricans, that we aren't "pechugas," that sometimes we confuse the words "perro" and "pero," and that we aren't all that accustomed to rice and beans. For a few weeks, it doesn't matter whose blood you have, or to which country you owe your allegiance, or which language your tongue babbles in. We're thrown into the life and spirit of this place, treated as one of their own. We all become Pechugas. Their smiles become ours. And ours theirs. It reminds me of my own big italian family at home on Sunday dinners. Forty people, Nonna, pasta on pasta. If someone was to sit in and be an observer of our life for a few weeks, or do a home stay with us, they would probably be writing down things similar to those I write down now. That people come and go and it's a never-ending cycle of new faces and smiles. And the dinner table stretches to meet any size, any amount of new or old friends. And the fence is always open. In all, we're loving it here so far. Pura Vida (which apparently means anything and everything, from hello, goodbye, life is good, etc.).

Coffee Plantation Visit Take 2

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit a coffee plantation and meet with one of the coffee plantation owners. It was so interesting to see the farm and how only the grandfather picks the coffee beans all by himself on a land less than one hector. I usually don't drink coffee back in the States, especially black, but here it's not bitter. Costa Rica has the right topography and weather for coffee to grow. Too bad it wasn't the high season; I would have like to see the coffee picking process. I felt so happy eating the delicious mango. One of the things I love about tropical region.
       After leaving the plantation, we went to a factory to see how the coffee is roasted and put into coffee bags. It was so weird how seeing so many coffee beans that seemed so insignificant; but in the background, there's a story to every product. It was so hot in there and all of us had to wear the head caps. We looked pretty ridiculous. What a great experience.


-Daniel Kim

Coffee Plantation Visit

Yesterday's morning started out a bit earlier than usual, with the daily gym-goers heading to "Nico's Fitness Gym" at 5:00am to be ready in time for the 7:00am bus. After an hour-long bus ride up through various plantations and Costa Rica's scenic, green landscape up to Palmichal, we were all eager to taste the country's famous coffee. We started out with a small tour of the town, learning about the city's history and rural tourism industry from our knowledgable guide Hérnan. Then we were given the opportunity to learn from Manuel, the happy 79 year old owner of Cerco Don Manuel. He showed us his coffee plants, let us try his coffee, offered us his wife's delicious cheese empanadas, shared stories about his life on the plantation (he is the ONLY one that works on it!) and played us a few songs on guitar. 
After lots of laughing and learning, we got to see the other side of Costa Rican coffee production as we visited the coffee roasting and packaging factory in Palmichal. We all walked around in our fancy hairnets while breathing in the burnt coffee scent, watching humongous machines spit coffee beans around. After the tour of the factory we all purchased bags of Café Don Manuel (for our parents of course...). 
It was a valuable experience for us to connect with our coffee's farmer and understand this important "farm to fork" relationship we often feel is lost, yet have been learning so much about in both our International Environmental Politics and International Development classes. I know I'll be thinking about Manuel and Palmichal when I make myself a latte back home in Texas.

Daphne

La Pura Vida en Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been so amazing! Everything around is

lush and green and it has been great to relax after our

busy schedule in the Galapagos. The UPEACE campus

is absolutely gorgeous. It is small and quaint with only

5 classrooms. There is a community park attached to the

campus with lakes and picnic areas. Inside the park is the

UN Peace Monument- pictured to the right. It is

incredibly symbolic and adds to the beauty of the whole

area.

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For Costa Rican Arbor Day, we went as a group to plant trees on the UPEACE campus. We have been told that we will be given the coordinates of our trees so we can watch them grow via satellite image.

                            

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On Sunday, we had our first excursion, a zipline tour through the canopy of the Costa Rican rainforest. It was breathtakingly beautiful and we had a great time, even though a few people in the group were conquering a fear of heights.

Costa Rican Eco-Tourists!

This weekend we had the privilege of experiencing Costa Rican eco-tourism for the first time since arriving in the land of “Pura Vida;” a country known most for its thriving eco-tourism industries. In the Galapagos we had done eco-tourism activities almost every day, everything from hiking to snorkeling but we got to experience something completely new this weekend.

Our first adventure was zip-lining, or as our host family calls it “canopy,” about an hour and a half outside of Ciudad Colon. Every zip-line I had done in the past was about 30 feet off the ground and lasted a total of 20 seconds. However, the zip-lining offered by Vista Los Suenos, roughly translated to sight of your dreams, was quite the opposite. In total we went on 14 different zip-lines (one upside down) zig-zagging through the Costa Rican jungle. We zipped high above the trees so we could see for miles around us. At one point we could see the ocean while we flew through the air. At each stopping point the men efficiently unharnessed and re-harnessed every gringo that came flying down the line and as somebody who is scared of heights, their efficiency and professionalism put the butterflies in my stomach to rest. This was no joke, our leader Marco had been working there for twelve years, employing English-speaking Ticos and perfecting the art of eco-tourism. That is how Costa Rica thrives.

For our next adventure we travelled another half an hour to a beautiful river-side restaurant that doubled as a crocodile river tour. After a delicious seafood lunch we loaded ourselves on to a long boat with a jolly, English-speaking tour guide and driver. For the first few minutes of the ride all we saw were birds, although interesting, not as entertaining as the massive crocodile we saw after about 10 minutes. We all thought that seeing the 10 foot long crocodile was thrilling but when the driver got out of the boat and started to dangle chicken meat in front of the crocodile so that it had to jump up to catch the meat, the boat rocked violently as we all crowded to one side to see, mouths open and cameras out. We motored on for about an hour and a half seeing strange birds, including a group of macaws, and dozens of other crocodiles. Our guide named each crocodile we saw; choosing names like Chavez, Castro, Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and my personal favorite: Monica Lewinsky. He catered to us Americans perfectly, the same way Marco had done, speaking near-perfect English and making a mundane activity such as riding a boat on a river a profit-making enterprise.

For our first weekend here in Costa Rica, our activities could not have been more fun, but they also opened my eyes to the real Costa Rica, one that thrives on eco-tourism and that caters to vacationing “gringos” to sustain their economy.

-Emily Elliot-Meisel

Our lovely host madre

Costa Rica has been significantly different to The Galapagos and Ecuador. After having travelled for three weeks and venturing on excursions and taking class, it has been nice to settle down in the quaint town of Ciudad Colon in Costa Rica. The few days I have been here, my hostess has spoilt Katie (my roommate) and me from every angle! In the mornings for breakfast, she always has a plate of tropical fruit, including mango, banana, watermelon and pineapple with either a grilled cheese or Gallo Pinto (a typical dish). She also sets out cups of orange juice and native coffee to accompany our scrumptious breakfast. Tita, our hostess, makes our bed and does our laundry without even letting us know! There is always clean pair of “panueletas” (towels) waiting on our desk and occasionally an afternoon snack. For dinner, Tita tends to prepare many local dishes. On her menu are yucca pie, potato and chicken and pork that are all accompanied by a salad, rice and beans. Tita truly makes me feel at home! 


-Carolina Kitras

Costa Rica!

Bienvenidos! 
The Galapagos group has arrived in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica and is for the first time in three weeks split among three home-stays situated throughout the town. Sitting outside of San Jose, the capital of this country- famous for its lack of a military, amazing coffee, and overwhelming greenness- Ciudad Colon will be our home for the subsequent three weeks. Our families have already introduced us to their neighbors, communities, friends, and relatives. I personally feel as if I am part of the family. I have even been invited to attend the birthday party of Angel, my host-mother's grandson. The Ticos of Costa Rica are an inviting people, their genuine care for others easily showing in all things they do. 
The University of Peace is located around 7 kilometers from the edge of Ciudad Colon, and the bus ride there takes us through coffee plantations where men can be seen working with the plants, and through lush rainforest that begs to be explored. The vibrant colors of vines, flowers, and fruits can be glimsed in between the thick branches of green. We often gaze out the window in silence, in utter awe of the beauty around us. This landscape stands in such antithesis with that of the Galapagos. Instead of towering cactus plants and lava rocks, giant flowers and melodious birds dominate. The dry land of the archipelago is now tranformed into wetness. Daily, the downpours drench Ciudad Colon. Getting caught in the strong rain while walking back from the bus is unfortunate yet serene. Everything goes quiet as the steady beating of the rain literally drowns out all other sounds. 
Standing behind the University's main building looking at the gorgeous vista below and beyond takes my breath away. The mounatins opposite me are touched by the weight of huge clouds that appear to fill up half the sky. They form beautiful patterns in the bright blue sky, creating a wonderful view when paired with the inevitable green valley below. 
Every day here at U Peace is an adventure. The mornings in Costa Rica find us intellectually stimulated by lecture and discussion, in the afternoons we explore Ciudad Colon, and at night we learn culture from the Ticos as we interact in our home-stays. Professor Lacatus encourages us to learn from everything around us, and it is impossible not to. I can't wait for this journey to unfold. Two more weeks to go!
Hasta luego!
-Katie Field