Manú

Classes have started and I am so excited for all of them. They each seem like they are going to be really fun and informative. Since our schedule is basically non-stop all day (starting at 7am), and we have structured program time 6 days a week, it feels more like we are just constantly learning instead of having separate class time to learn. Our courses are extremely interconnected, which is great because it makes everything feel less disjointed. The things we are learning and the field trips we’ve gone on can all be examined from the perspective of any of the courses.

Our professors live here at the center so we spend a lot of time with them. Achem, the Natural Resource Management prof is a tall, pony-tailed German with a 3 year old daughter who lives here too. Sergio teaches Environmental Economics and Ethics and is quick to laugh and poke fun at us, which is very entertaining. During our last class while telling us to ask for clarification if we couldn’t understand his English he said “My English is....better than your Spanish. Hahaha,” which cracked everyone up. Edgardo is, by far, my favorite professor so far. He teaches Tropical Ecology and he has the coolest glasses ever! They are small and round with the wire that wraps all the way around your ear. Very stylish. He also is quick to smile and he knows SO much. During our hikes over the last few days, I’ve been lucky enough to be in his group. We stop every few feet so he can teach us about some crazy tropical plant or insect.
My Spanish teacher’s name is Olga and, though I’ll only have her occasionally, I’m looking forward to practicing with her. I was placed in the intermediate Spanish class, which feels about right. Her class was good, but to be honest, I think I learned more last night from talking to some of the locals over a bottle of Imperial.

We spent the last three days at Manú, which was a beautiful, summer-camp type place with cabins and a pond. We took a hike through Braulio Carillo National Park, visited a palmito (heart of palm) plantation and a banana plantation owned by Dole. We also did some bird netting and hiking at the Manú center itself.

Memorable things about the last three days-

*Waking up at 5:30 to hop on the bus to Braulio Carillo and picking a Mandarin to pack for lunch

*Learning about epiphytes (plants that live entirely in the tree canopy and don’t touch the ground) hemi-epiphytes (plants that live in the tree canopy but send roots down the the ground) and epiphilia (plants that grow on only the leaves of other plants)

*Getting to SEE each of those plants in the forest! My favorite is the strangler fig.

*Plodding around in rubber boots, and a silly rain hat with my zip off pants unzipped halfway for ventilation. Classy.

*Seeing Rio Sucio (Dirty River) which is an orangish color because of natural processes.

*Buying galletas (cookies) at a rest stop and chatting (en espanol) with Alexandra, the Costa Rican grad student, who’s English is a bit better than my Spanish, so we made it work.

*Attempting to string up my mosquito net in the cabin where we slept but failing horribly and giving up. (Don’t worry- no suspicious bug bites yet)

*Teaching the group to play LAP TAG during some free time in the evening. Really, the only way to break down boundaries, inhibitions and personal bubbles. We’re going to be living closely for the next three months, lap tag was a necessity. Thanks Leadership Campaign!

* Eating a slice of sugar cane that Edgardo cut off the plant for me. It tastes like sap before it has been boiled down the maple syrup. Mmmm.

* Seeing a pineapple growing on the ground. They look quite silly, really.

* Finding a mama sloth and her baby up in a Secropia tree at Manú! She was asleep, with her arms wrapped around the baby. Very cute.

* Watching the parade of leaf-cutter ants marching down the path, lugging leaves four times their size.

*Experiencing the incredible sensation of holding a snowcap hummingbird and releasing it back to the sky. It hopped onto my finger, where it sat for a moment, getting its bearings, then zoomed off to the trees.

* Realizing that I don’t actually hate economics and might really enjoy this class.

*Eating sooo many fruits that I didn't even know existed.

* Riding in the back of a big farm truck at the Palmito Plantation.

* Listening to Carlos at the Dole Banana Plantation tell us the story of bananas in an extremely pro-banana, pro-dole, pro-big corporation way that made me want to scream a little bit. It was very interesting, though.

*Playing Nickel Nickel ( a great card game) with a bunch of new friends until waaaay to late at Manú.

*Going for a run in Atenas and jumping in the pool afterwards.

* Saturday night Alternative Spanish Class at Don Yayo con uno o dos botellos de Imperial que los Ticos compraron para mi.


Water here is almost as unpredictable and unreliable as the internet. Since it is the dry season, there is a water shortage in Atenas so the water is shut off after 7pm every night. That said, it doesn’t always work during the day either. Showers are a luxury that we are learning to go without. At Manú, when the water stopped working, we all grabbed our biodegradable soap and headed for the pond. Bathing at night in the pond was soooo refreshing after a hot, sweaty, sunscreeny, bug spray coated day of hiking.

Today is the presidential election in Costa Rica. It is quite the scene. There have been people campaigning all over the place. Elections here are a national holiday. We’ll see what happens! This is the first time a woman has run and she seems to be the front runner at this point. I’m going into Atenas to witness the election madness and try to buy a phone card so I can call home! If that doesn't work, Happy Birthday Mom!