As I write this, I realize that it is definitely the end of the year. My study abroad experience is over. I am officially finished with my elective Theories of Latin American Dance course, which lasted the entire 3 months, twice a week for 2 hours each time.
This course was certainly not what I expected it to be when I signed up for it. I expected a lot of dancing and learning the Latin American dances, but as we were told on the first day, we would do some dancing buy a lot more theory, such as types of dances, backgrounds and histories, and impact on the world today. It turned out to be a pretty cool class. I learned about the more popular dances such as Merengue, Salsa, and Bachata as well as some less popular dances such as Lambata, Santana, and Joropo. I also learned about Latin American artists such as Prince Royce and Selena. Now, I come from a country music background, and I've heard some of these artists' songs, but have never thought seriously about them or spent much time with Latin American music before.
It was really nice getting this overview to the histories and formations of Latin American music and how a lot of it originated with the slaves or native tribes and mixed in with the European influences. How many styles became famous after someone in Europe decided that they liked the style and brought it back to Latin America. Once Europe thought it was cool, it suddenly became cool in Latin America. Some dance forms have almost died over the years and have been replaced with newer dance forms. Some have turned into ballroom dancing, which in some cases has detracted from the original purpose of the dance and in other cases has enhanced the dance as an artform.
During the first few minutes of class, we talked about the history of Costa Rica in relation to politics, current events, dance, and music. We talked about the elections and how their system works. we talked about the dance clubs that are in San Jose such as Castro's Discotheque and El Auditorium. We learned how many dances originated with the lowerclass and some originated with prostitution, making the dance "looked down upon" until it became famous. Then its' prostitution past was ignored.
We went on a field trip to Castro's Discotheque as a class and saw how the Latin American dances were used and we danced with the guys in our group and in small groups using the dance steps that we learned. I later went with a group of friends from the Dance Class, which was really cool! I danced with two of the guys that came with us and with a Tico, who really knew how to lead.
We also watched 4 movies throughout the semester. The first was, "Take the Lead" the second, "Shall we Dance?" the third was "Havanna Nights" and the fourth was, "Dance With Me". My favorite was "Take the Lead" with Antonio Bandares. The plot was fantastic, the acting was really good, the dancing was good, it was based off a true story, and *bonus* it has Antonio Banderas who is my favorite Latin American actor/dancer/singer. The story was about teaching high school students ballroom dance to teach them confidence, character, respect, and to work through their problems with each other instead of settling them on the streets with gangs. It is based off of Pierre Dulane who teaches 5th graders ballroom dance with the same goals in mind.
Overall, this was a great class. I gave 3 presentations, did not have a lot of homework, and I learned a lot about the culture of Latin America as seen through their famous music and dances. It was a good companion to the actual Dance Class that was taught immediately afterwards and free to the entire school.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Spanish for Business -- A Course Review
My last Spanish course was Spanish for Business, which was more of a Costa Rican intro to Business class taught in Spanish. I learned a lot about the government in Costa Rica, its' businesses, and Spanish business vocabulary. We went on a number of company tours and gave a number of presentations to share business practices with the class.
We learned about their federal government and different ministries that they have to regulate business including health, taxes, importation and exportation. We learned about interviewing and writing resume's and cover letters. We learned about the different levels of businesses: the primary secondary and final producers. The primary producers sell raw mateials, the secondary producers process them ant the final producers sell them to the public.
We went to a local small restaurant, La Musa Confusa, and interviewed their owner to learn how the business was started, what regulations she faced in opening and operating a restaurant and what changes her business went through over the 4 years it has been in business. She also said that they would like to open another location in the future. This gave us a look into the process of owning and operating a business in general as well as the regulations in Costa Rica.
We went to a local supermarket as well to view their product placement and the competition that the Costa Rican products faced in that store. We looked into Café Britt, Dos Pinos, and a number of other brands. We also examined the different types of supermarkets that exist in Costa Rica and their intended customers.
We went to Dos Pinos to see their products as well and talked with their manager of public relations who talked to us about their advertising campaigns and partnerships with the government to promote healthy lifestyles. We learned about different types of advertisements as well at this time and were able to apply them to Dos Pinos.
My favorite field trip was when we went to Corsica, a pineapple plantation about 2 hours away. We got to see the process of pineapple washing, packaging, and shipping. We got a tour of their fields and saw how pineapples were harvested. And, our tour guide too freshly cut pineapples and we got to taste their pineapples fresh from the fields. They were really good! I don't usually like pineapples, but I guess my time in Costa Rica has taught me to appreciate new foods.
I was impressed with their manufacturing processes for washing, sorting, packaging, and transporting the pineapples. They had a very organized process with separate jobs for everyone. They had large rolls of banding that came in from the ceiling and a freezer area to cool the pineapples for transportation and exportation to keep the freshness of the pineapples and prevent additional thawing.
Our final project was that we had to make our own company and determine how we would run it, who we would sell to, what we would sell, and prepare a presentation for possible investors. My business idea was a "chat room" type website that could be used to provide new speakers to a language conversational practice since schools don't do a good job teaching "talking and listening" and therefore do not teach people who are hands-on learners. I figure, if this was implemented, I would start with a small program at my university and expand my business from there.
This was overall a great course to take, although I would like to take the Spanish for Business course at Grand Valley to compare the material from Costa Rican business to American Business and learn even more vocabulary.
We learned about their federal government and different ministries that they have to regulate business including health, taxes, importation and exportation. We learned about interviewing and writing resume's and cover letters. We learned about the different levels of businesses: the primary secondary and final producers. The primary producers sell raw mateials, the secondary producers process them ant the final producers sell them to the public.
We went to a local small restaurant, La Musa Confusa, and interviewed their owner to learn how the business was started, what regulations she faced in opening and operating a restaurant and what changes her business went through over the 4 years it has been in business. She also said that they would like to open another location in the future. This gave us a look into the process of owning and operating a business in general as well as the regulations in Costa Rica.
We went to a local supermarket as well to view their product placement and the competition that the Costa Rican products faced in that store. We looked into Café Britt, Dos Pinos, and a number of other brands. We also examined the different types of supermarkets that exist in Costa Rica and their intended customers.
We went to Dos Pinos to see their products as well and talked with their manager of public relations who talked to us about their advertising campaigns and partnerships with the government to promote healthy lifestyles. We learned about different types of advertisements as well at this time and were able to apply them to Dos Pinos.
My favorite field trip was when we went to Corsica, a pineapple plantation about 2 hours away. We got to see the process of pineapple washing, packaging, and shipping. We got a tour of their fields and saw how pineapples were harvested. And, our tour guide too freshly cut pineapples and we got to taste their pineapples fresh from the fields. They were really good! I don't usually like pineapples, but I guess my time in Costa Rica has taught me to appreciate new foods.
I was impressed with their manufacturing processes for washing, sorting, packaging, and transporting the pineapples. They had a very organized process with separate jobs for everyone. They had large rolls of banding that came in from the ceiling and a freezer area to cool the pineapples for transportation and exportation to keep the freshness of the pineapples and prevent additional thawing.
Our final project was that we had to make our own company and determine how we would run it, who we would sell to, what we would sell, and prepare a presentation for possible investors. My business idea was a "chat room" type website that could be used to provide new speakers to a language conversational practice since schools don't do a good job teaching "talking and listening" and therefore do not teach people who are hands-on learners. I figure, if this was implemented, I would start with a small program at my university and expand my business from there.
This was overall a great course to take, although I would like to take the Spanish for Business course at Grand Valley to compare the material from Costa Rican business to American Business and learn even more vocabulary.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Extracurricular Dance -- Free to all Veritas Students
For the last three months, I have been attending the free Latin American Dance classes offered every Tuesday and Thursday night. I learned how to dance the Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata. My favorite, though, is Salsa.
Throughout the last three months, there has been a core group of us that have stuck around and have come almost every time. We learned the boring, basic steps together. We practiced a variety of spins together. We learned how to dance with partners together. We learned new moves and made mistakes. We laughed and had a blast! Basically, this has been the highlight of my week. Where else could I find such a group of amazing people that we got to know so well?
Some of us went over to Castro's Discotheque together to dance to their music and practice our new moves. We got to dance with locals as well; those boys sure know how to lead! I was glad that I knew all three dances because we were switching from one style to the next without breaks. We moved together on the dance floor and it was absolutely the best feeling ever to think that, 3 months ago, I couldn't have done this dance. But now I can.
I never thought that I could dance, but Studying Abroad proved me wrong. It taught me that if you want to do anything, you have to stop saying, "I can't," stop making excuses not to go, and most importantly, you have to stick with it. I am so glad to have had this opportunity to learn Latin American dances and enjoy the music, and I look forward to dancing again at Grand Valley and back home.
Throughout the last three months, there has been a core group of us that have stuck around and have come almost every time. We learned the boring, basic steps together. We practiced a variety of spins together. We learned how to dance with partners together. We learned new moves and made mistakes. We laughed and had a blast! Basically, this has been the highlight of my week. Where else could I find such a group of amazing people that we got to know so well?
Some of us went over to Castro's Discotheque together to dance to their music and practice our new moves. We got to dance with locals as well; those boys sure know how to lead! I was glad that I knew all three dances because we were switching from one style to the next without breaks. We moved together on the dance floor and it was absolutely the best feeling ever to think that, 3 months ago, I couldn't have done this dance. But now I can.
I never thought that I could dance, but Studying Abroad proved me wrong. It taught me that if you want to do anything, you have to stop saying, "I can't," stop making excuses not to go, and most importantly, you have to stick with it. I am so glad to have had this opportunity to learn Latin American dances and enjoy the music, and I look forward to dancing again at Grand Valley and back home.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Tortuguero: Tico Family and Bus Adventures
This weekend, I decided to go to Tortuguero in the province of Limon by myself; it was a 5 hour trip. Tortuguero was supposed to be a very beautiful Island on the Pacific Coast and I decided to find out for myself. A lot of people had told me that I shouldn't go anywhere alone for safety reasons, and others have told me that you meet the best people when you go places alone. Being safety-conscious, I talked to a number of Ticos who have been there and they all assured me that it was a safe place to go alone. So, I booked the hostel, got my ticket for my first bus (the others I'd have to get once I got to the stations) and on Saturday morning, walked over to the bus station. (I knew that I had to take two busses and a boat to get there.)
This bus station, Caribenos, was a large bus station with many busses, but they were well-marked and easy to find their destinations. My bus left at 9am on Saturday so I left the house at 7:30 to make sure that I had enough time to get there. I usually walk to the bus stations when I leave in the morning since it's a nice walk and nice to get some fresh air and see more of the city. The walk to the Coca-Cola station for Jaco was about 45 minutes, and the walk to Caribenos was about the same. On the first bus, I met a husband and wife from Spain who were going to Tortuguero as well, so we decided to stick together. They only spoke Spanish, so from the beginning, all I spoke was Spanish.
At the bus terminal, we met a tour guide that was heading to Tortuguero as well and he informed us that the second bus would pick us up from this station before heading to the station a few blocks down. So, throughout the second bus ride (which was an old school bus), I listened to the guide give us information about the island and activities that were available there as well as about the areas that we passed. We passed banana plantations, coffee plantations, chocolate plantations, and plantations of many other fruits. The bus stopped many times to let locals get off, but stopped twice to let merchants come onto the bus to sell their food. The first was selling small sandwich bags full of meat and yucca which I bought for $2. It was delicious! A home-made meal right from the farm! The second was selling bread and cheese, but I didn't buy any.
Finally, we arrived at the last station which is where the boats were. We walked down the shoreline to these long boats that had to hold 30-40 people; 3 people wide by 10-15 long. The motors on these boats were anywhere from 18 to 140 hp motors, depending on whose boat, but even the locals' boats were long skinny boats like the one we were on.
The boat ride itself was an adventure. The captain drove from the back and his first mate was in front with a long 14' long stick (it was huge!) making sure that the boat didn't hit anything and helping it get unstuck when it ran aground. On a number of occasions, the first mate had to jump out and pull or push the boat along when it ran aground. One time, the boat spun 90degrees and both the captain and first mate had to jump in the water and un-stick us. It was cool to watch (and comforting to know that I didn't have to go in with them).
When we finally arrived at the island, I said goodbye to the guide and Spanish couple and met the man from my hotel that met us at the dock. There, I found that the Tico family of 8 people that we had seen on the first bus was staying at my hotel as well. Keep in mind that none of them spoke English, either. The mother asked me where my parents were. I laughed. She thought the Spanish couple was my parents! I told her that I was traveling alone and her immediate response was: "It's ok. We'll adopt you for the weekend."
There was a girl, a daughter, and her boyfriend who were my age and went to University in Heredia, which is near San Jose in the next province (about a 40 minute bus ride). The three of us hung out all weekend. It turns out that the girl was a Processing Engineering major just like me! That was amazing to find out. We met up with the guide from earlier while we were having lunch together and decided to go on a night hike with him. I thought the Spanish couple would be going as well, but their plans had changed, so it was just the three of us and the guide. We walked in the forest looking for snakes and spiders and tarantulas. I learned about their turtle watching system when it is mating season (October) and heard some funny stories about some of their past snake finds. It was very interesting.
It rained that night. Hard. But, thankfully that was after we just got back from our late night excursion. The next morning, we got up early to watch the sunrise, although it was too cloudy for a perfect sunrise, we still enjoyed taking pictures and enjoying the waves.
Our initial plan was to leave on the 11:00 boat, but then the family decided to stay until the last boat of the day at 2:45. Now, I was very conscious that if we left too late, we'd miss the last bus to San Jose that according to the schedule left at 5, and I'd be stranded somewhere. We asked a bunch of people if the 2:45 boat would connect to the next two busses. One person told me that the third bus wouldn't connect but the second bus would wait for the boat, but I wasn't sure if I could trust him because he gave me bad information about the times that the boats left. Other people said that the third bus would wait for the second bus, so I decided to enjoy a few hours with this Tico family. I figured they could help me navigate the bus system so I didn't have to ride on my own.
Half the family decided to stay another night while the two people my age and the two younger brothers (11 and 3 years old) left with me on the 2:45 boat because they had work and school at 8 the next morning. We got to the boat at 2:15 (some people told us that the boat left at 2:30 and we didn't want to miss it if it did leave at a different time then was posted). It rained again while we were waiting for the boat, so I was very glad to have my umbrella. The boat ended up coming an hour late at 3:30. Then, the 1-2 hour boat ride took 3 hours (our captain decided to take a 2 minute smoke break halfway through). He didn't hit anything on the way back and didn't run aground, so I think he must have been traveling a lot slower than the boat to the island.
So, the bus was 1 hour late and it was a 3 hour boat ride. We arrived at the dock at 6.
The second bus did wait for the boat, as many people had said. As we were boarding the bus, the bus driver was running from the drivers seat to the engine in the back trying to get it started. It wasn't working. Finally, just as the last people were boarding the bus, he was able to get it started. And we were off! We arrived at the next bus stop at 7:30, where we were supposed to catch the bus to San Jose. But there weren't any busses to San Jose there. Uh-oh. After a talk with the station chief, we discovered that the last bus to San Jose did, indeed, leave at 5. We were 2 hours too late.
So, what did we do? We had an adventure! We went from this station in Cariari to Guapiles (40 minutes by bus) that would take us 40 minutes closer to San Jose. We would only have an hour bus ride in the morning and the earliest bus that left from Guapiles was at 5 in the morning. We asked this bus driver to drop us off at a hostel for the night in Guapiles and he did. We arrived at the hostel at 10pm, got a room with 3 beds for the 5 of us, and called it a night.
We then got up at 4 the next morning, walked the three blocks to the station, and arrived at San Jose by 6:15. I was home by 6:45, with plenty of time to relax before breakfast at 7:30 and school at 8. I'm pretty sure that my Tico friends made it on time to their work and school at 7:30 as well.
What an amazing adventure!!!!! The things I learned from this experience:
1. Travel alone. Explore. Take calculated risks. Meet new people.
2. Speak only the foreign language. You'll be surprised just how much you really know.
3. Take a chance. If you miss a bus by going to a new place, you just have to find a hotel for the night. No big deal.
4. Always take an extra change of clothes with you whenever you go anywhere, just in case.
5. Take extra money and snacks with you whenever you go anywhere.
6. Check and double check. And even then, be aware that not everyone knows what is going on. Relax and enjoy the adventure.
7. Pura Vida!
This bus station, Caribenos, was a large bus station with many busses, but they were well-marked and easy to find their destinations. My bus left at 9am on Saturday so I left the house at 7:30 to make sure that I had enough time to get there. I usually walk to the bus stations when I leave in the morning since it's a nice walk and nice to get some fresh air and see more of the city. The walk to the Coca-Cola station for Jaco was about 45 minutes, and the walk to Caribenos was about the same. On the first bus, I met a husband and wife from Spain who were going to Tortuguero as well, so we decided to stick together. They only spoke Spanish, so from the beginning, all I spoke was Spanish.
At the bus terminal, we met a tour guide that was heading to Tortuguero as well and he informed us that the second bus would pick us up from this station before heading to the station a few blocks down. So, throughout the second bus ride (which was an old school bus), I listened to the guide give us information about the island and activities that were available there as well as about the areas that we passed. We passed banana plantations, coffee plantations, chocolate plantations, and plantations of many other fruits. The bus stopped many times to let locals get off, but stopped twice to let merchants come onto the bus to sell their food. The first was selling small sandwich bags full of meat and yucca which I bought for $2. It was delicious! A home-made meal right from the farm! The second was selling bread and cheese, but I didn't buy any.
Banana plantation -- All of the blue bags are protection for the bananas.
Chocolate Trees. Chocolate comes from trees. Chocolate is healthy.
Finally, we arrived at the last station which is where the boats were. We walked down the shoreline to these long boats that had to hold 30-40 people; 3 people wide by 10-15 long. The motors on these boats were anywhere from 18 to 140 hp motors, depending on whose boat, but even the locals' boats were long skinny boats like the one we were on.
The boat ride itself was an adventure. The captain drove from the back and his first mate was in front with a long 14' long stick (it was huge!) making sure that the boat didn't hit anything and helping it get unstuck when it ran aground. On a number of occasions, the first mate had to jump out and pull or push the boat along when it ran aground. One time, the boat spun 90degrees and both the captain and first mate had to jump in the water and un-stick us. It was cool to watch (and comforting to know that I didn't have to go in with them).
Just one of the many beautiful rainforest pictures.
And another beautiful picture. Oh, what it would be like to live on this water.
Not a day goes by that I miss the water just a bit. Glad I got to spend this time with their rivers.
When we finally arrived at the island, I said goodbye to the guide and Spanish couple and met the man from my hotel that met us at the dock. There, I found that the Tico family of 8 people that we had seen on the first bus was staying at my hotel as well. Keep in mind that none of them spoke English, either. The mother asked me where my parents were. I laughed. She thought the Spanish couple was my parents! I told her that I was traveling alone and her immediate response was: "It's ok. We'll adopt you for the weekend."
Their sheets were so prettily made at this hostel. I had to take a picture of it.
There was a girl, a daughter, and her boyfriend who were my age and went to University in Heredia, which is near San Jose in the next province (about a 40 minute bus ride). The three of us hung out all weekend. It turns out that the girl was a Processing Engineering major just like me! That was amazing to find out. We met up with the guide from earlier while we were having lunch together and decided to go on a night hike with him. I thought the Spanish couple would be going as well, but their plans had changed, so it was just the three of us and the guide. We walked in the forest looking for snakes and spiders and tarantulas. I learned about their turtle watching system when it is mating season (October) and heard some funny stories about some of their past snake finds. It was very interesting.
I found this crab! Photo courtesy of my Tico friend.
Ew. Bugs!
I found this snake as well. The only snake of the night. Just curled up on the leaf while we took photos.
It rained that night. Hard. But, thankfully that was after we just got back from our late night excursion. The next morning, we got up early to watch the sunrise, although it was too cloudy for a perfect sunrise, we still enjoyed taking pictures and enjoying the waves.
This was at sunrise; too many clouds.
So, we took creative pictures.
And documented our adventures.
Our initial plan was to leave on the 11:00 boat, but then the family decided to stay until the last boat of the day at 2:45. Now, I was very conscious that if we left too late, we'd miss the last bus to San Jose that according to the schedule left at 5, and I'd be stranded somewhere. We asked a bunch of people if the 2:45 boat would connect to the next two busses. One person told me that the third bus wouldn't connect but the second bus would wait for the boat, but I wasn't sure if I could trust him because he gave me bad information about the times that the boats left. Other people said that the third bus would wait for the second bus, so I decided to enjoy a few hours with this Tico family. I figured they could help me navigate the bus system so I didn't have to ride on my own.
Saying Goodbye to Tortuguero.
Half the family decided to stay another night while the two people my age and the two younger brothers (11 and 3 years old) left with me on the 2:45 boat because they had work and school at 8 the next morning. We got to the boat at 2:15 (some people told us that the boat left at 2:30 and we didn't want to miss it if it did leave at a different time then was posted). It rained again while we were waiting for the boat, so I was very glad to have my umbrella. The boat ended up coming an hour late at 3:30. Then, the 1-2 hour boat ride took 3 hours (our captain decided to take a 2 minute smoke break halfway through). He didn't hit anything on the way back and didn't run aground, so I think he must have been traveling a lot slower than the boat to the island.
Same beautiful rainforest.
With interesting trunks of their downed trees.
And cows chilling on the banks. One bank had dozens of cows.
So, the bus was 1 hour late and it was a 3 hour boat ride. We arrived at the dock at 6.
The second bus did wait for the boat, as many people had said. As we were boarding the bus, the bus driver was running from the drivers seat to the engine in the back trying to get it started. It wasn't working. Finally, just as the last people were boarding the bus, he was able to get it started. And we were off! We arrived at the next bus stop at 7:30, where we were supposed to catch the bus to San Jose. But there weren't any busses to San Jose there. Uh-oh. After a talk with the station chief, we discovered that the last bus to San Jose did, indeed, leave at 5. We were 2 hours too late.
So, what did we do? We had an adventure! We went from this station in Cariari to Guapiles (40 minutes by bus) that would take us 40 minutes closer to San Jose. We would only have an hour bus ride in the morning and the earliest bus that left from Guapiles was at 5 in the morning. We asked this bus driver to drop us off at a hostel for the night in Guapiles and he did. We arrived at the hostel at 10pm, got a room with 3 beds for the 5 of us, and called it a night.
We then got up at 4 the next morning, walked the three blocks to the station, and arrived at San Jose by 6:15. I was home by 6:45, with plenty of time to relax before breakfast at 7:30 and school at 8. I'm pretty sure that my Tico friends made it on time to their work and school at 7:30 as well.
What an amazing adventure!!!!! The things I learned from this experience:
1. Travel alone. Explore. Take calculated risks. Meet new people.
2. Speak only the foreign language. You'll be surprised just how much you really know.
3. Take a chance. If you miss a bus by going to a new place, you just have to find a hotel for the night. No big deal.
4. Always take an extra change of clothes with you whenever you go anywhere, just in case.
5. Take extra money and snacks with you whenever you go anywhere.
6. Check and double check. And even then, be aware that not everyone knows what is going on. Relax and enjoy the adventure.
7. Pura Vida!
Friday, March 7, 2014
Concert at the National Theater
Do you remember that I went to the National Theater a few weeks back to get a tour and promised to come back for one of their concerts? Well; I did! Thursdays at 5:00 they have concerts in their Reception Room while waiting for the construction on the main stage to be completed. The have a different group come in on Thursdays and this Thursday was Katarzyna Bartoszek and Tupac Amarulloa. Tupac, a Costa Rican, played the flute and Katarzyna, from Poland, played the piano.
They played classical pieces from the 1700's and were really good. I was watching Tupac the entire time and his breath control and the way he was able to play all of the notes from low notes to high notes was amazing. Since I played both the piano and flute, I could relate to both of their music and I respect the talent they both have.
We couldn't take pictures during the concert, but I did take some more pictures of the Reception Room of the piano set-up and of the Room from a different perspective.
I am not usually a fan of classical music, but I'm very happy that I went to this concert. I thought about what it may be like for people to come to the National Theater when it was first built. How cool it must have been to walk into this beautiful place and think, 'We built this'. This theater is a pride and joy of Costa Rica, and here I am, just any typical visitor, getting to enjoy its splendor. The ability that this duo had to enchant the room filled with visitors both from Costa Rica and abroad was astounding.
When their 1 hour performance was complete, it was time to head back to school for my dance class. I hope next time I come back to Costa Rica, I can see a performance on their main stage.
They played classical pieces from the 1700's and were really good. I was watching Tupac the entire time and his breath control and the way he was able to play all of the notes from low notes to high notes was amazing. Since I played both the piano and flute, I could relate to both of their music and I respect the talent they both have.
We couldn't take pictures during the concert, but I did take some more pictures of the Reception Room of the piano set-up and of the Room from a different perspective.
Pre-Concert Piano Photo
Imagine sitting there while socializing with friends before a concert on the main stage?
This is the ceiling in the center of the room. I couldn't get this picture during the tour.
Weeping Angel, anyone? This was just a cool picture I was able to take from my seat of the main Angel from the steeple outside.
I am not usually a fan of classical music, but I'm very happy that I went to this concert. I thought about what it may be like for people to come to the National Theater when it was first built. How cool it must have been to walk into this beautiful place and think, 'We built this'. This theater is a pride and joy of Costa Rica, and here I am, just any typical visitor, getting to enjoy its splendor. The ability that this duo had to enchant the room filled with visitors both from Costa Rica and abroad was astounding.
When their 1 hour performance was complete, it was time to head back to school for my dance class. I hope next time I come back to Costa Rica, I can see a performance on their main stage.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Cooking Class
While at Veritas University, I decided to take the cooking class that they offered as an extra activity. It was 4 weeks, every Wednesday, and we made a different Costa Rican dish every week. The classes were taught in Spanish, although she knew some English and most of the directions were obvious since she could use actions. Also, most of us were in intermediate and advanced and understood what she was saying (or could help each other). We also got a recipe in Spanish for every meal that we made.
The first week, we made empanadas. We have an "empanada stand" in the main square at Veritas, but I had been afraid to try them, although many people said that they were good. So, I got to see what an empanada really was and help make them. An empanada is basically a meat/cheese filled breading, although the type of breading that we made was a mixture of flour and cheese and potato. It was really good! Basically, fried goodness. I look forward to making these with friends back home.
The second week, we made banana bread with cocoanut. The banana bread was really good, but I'm not a big fan of cocoanut. Next time I make it, I won't add the cocoanut. We put cinnamon and chocolate on top while it was still warm. The chocolate melted on top, enhancing the flavor. I can't wait until I get to make this recipe at home.
The third week we made Gallo Pinto. This is a Costa Rican and Central American staple: rice and beans. I have been eating this almost every day. The Ticos here eat it at every meal. At breakfast: eggs, toast, Gallo Pinto, and orange juice. For lunch: rice and beans (which is actually slightly different than Gallo Pinto, but a similar concept) with different types of meat, salad, and some type of fruit juice. Dinner is either rice and beans or Gallo Pinto with meat and fruit juice. In an area as tropical as Costa Rica that has such an abundance of fruits, who wouldn't want fresh fruit juice every day? I know I am enjoying it a lot!
The Gallo Pinto was delicious! An interesting fact: the rice has to be cooked the day before it is used in order to be dry enough to absorb the extraneous juices from the beans. What makes a good Gallo Pinto is the spices that is used. That can be the difference between 5 star Gallo Pinto and eatable Gallo Pinto. And we made 5 star Gallo Pinto in class.
My last and final day we made a sort of enchilada casserole. It was delicious! She took a few large, fresh tomatoes, removed the cores, then put them into a blender with part of an onion. This mixture looked a lot like liquidy ketchup, which we later realized was exactly the point. It was a tomato sauce for the top of the casserole. We cooked beef in a skillet using oil to ensure that it did not burn and also cooked onion. A few spices were added to the mixture, then it was removed from the burner. A large number of corn tortillas were filled with the meat mixture, rolled, and placed in a cake pan. The tomato sauce was poured on top and cheese and nutilla (their sour-cream like sauce) was put on top. Finally it was placed in an oven so the cheese could melt. We finished the meat mixture while waiting for the casserole to finish warming.
Finally, Bon Apetite! Time to eat the casserole.
This course is offered every week, and was a joy to take. I liked learning about all the different Costa Rican dishes, cooking them, eating them, and getting the chance to make them again at home with the recipe. It was also really nice getting to know the cooking class teacher. She is really nice and really passionate about cooking. If you arrive a few minutes early or stay a few minutes later, you'll get some time to practice your Spanish while talking with her. I look forward to making each one of these dishes for friends and family when I come home in a few weeks!
The first week, we made empanadas. We have an "empanada stand" in the main square at Veritas, but I had been afraid to try them, although many people said that they were good. So, I got to see what an empanada really was and help make them. An empanada is basically a meat/cheese filled breading, although the type of breading that we made was a mixture of flour and cheese and potato. It was really good! Basically, fried goodness. I look forward to making these with friends back home.
About to flatten the dough.
Fried Goodness. Completed.
Doesn't this banana bread look delicious?
Not anywhere near as delicious as when you add cinnamon and chocolate!
The third week we made Gallo Pinto. This is a Costa Rican and Central American staple: rice and beans. I have been eating this almost every day. The Ticos here eat it at every meal. At breakfast: eggs, toast, Gallo Pinto, and orange juice. For lunch: rice and beans (which is actually slightly different than Gallo Pinto, but a similar concept) with different types of meat, salad, and some type of fruit juice. Dinner is either rice and beans or Gallo Pinto with meat and fruit juice. In an area as tropical as Costa Rica that has such an abundance of fruits, who wouldn't want fresh fruit juice every day? I know I am enjoying it a lot!
The Gallo Pinto was delicious! An interesting fact: the rice has to be cooked the day before it is used in order to be dry enough to absorb the extraneous juices from the beans. What makes a good Gallo Pinto is the spices that is used. That can be the difference between 5 star Gallo Pinto and eatable Gallo Pinto. And we made 5 star Gallo Pinto in class.
First, chop ingredients. Then, mix them. Finally, eat.
Eat. My favorite part. Especially when you add Tico Cheese!
My last and final day we made a sort of enchilada casserole. It was delicious! She took a few large, fresh tomatoes, removed the cores, then put them into a blender with part of an onion. This mixture looked a lot like liquidy ketchup, which we later realized was exactly the point. It was a tomato sauce for the top of the casserole. We cooked beef in a skillet using oil to ensure that it did not burn and also cooked onion. A few spices were added to the mixture, then it was removed from the burner. A large number of corn tortillas were filled with the meat mixture, rolled, and placed in a cake pan. The tomato sauce was poured on top and cheese and nutilla (their sour-cream like sauce) was put on top. Finally it was placed in an oven so the cheese could melt. We finished the meat mixture while waiting for the casserole to finish warming.
Finally, Bon Apetite! Time to eat the casserole.
I was ready to eat the casserole before we put it into the oven.
I was even more ready after it came out. I'm getting hungry just thinking about this meal.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Public Speaking Class -- Taught in Spanish
This was officially the hardest class I have taken in Spanish. It rivals my Engineering courses as far as homework (lots) and the amount of material that our professor managed to include in the month long course. At the same time, this was the best Spanish class I have ever taken and I would take another class with this professor in a heartbeat.
What made this class so special? It was a Public Speaking class taught in Spanish by a psychologist who gave presentations on a weekly basis for a local television show. With her background, she was able to teach public speaking with a psychology perspective, which was really cool. She also gave informative, well planned, and entertaining lectures.
We learned how to give a toast, how to introduce speakers and presentations to a crowd, how to hold a lecture, symposium, panel, and how to act when speaking in public. Where to look, how to stand, what to do and more importantly what not to do with your body movements. She also helped us with pronunciation: what is the point of speaking in public if your audience cannot understand you? She also emphasized grammar, adjectives, and Spanish phrases that may not be exactly the same in the direct English translation.
Also, this professor did an evaluation on the first two days to determine if we belonged in the class or not, if we were at the appropriate speaking level. Thankfully, I was told that my grammar mistakes were normal for someone at the advanced level. My professor also told me that I stutter when I speak Spanish. That was news to me, although it was because I didn't pay attention to it, not that I didn't actually stutter. We talked in class about the phenomenon that happens when some people speak new languages such as: they learn better in English in the morning and learn better in Spanish at night, they may stutter in the new language, or a number of other psychological events. It was quite interesting.
Ironically, we watched "The King's Speech" in Spanish, which was about King George VI's stutter and how he overcame it. I knew that my stutter was because I was simply not comfortable speaking Spanish and that I had some issues with the pronunciation, together making me too self-conscious to speak well in Spanish. I worked on speaking in Spanish and improved them 10 fold throughout this course. What helped me most was that every day, we gave at least two speeches. They could be big 10 minute speeches or small 5 minute speeches, but we couldn't read from our notes. They had to be freely-flowing, yet organized speeches. After almost a month of speaking in Spanish in front of a class, your ability to speak is guaranteed to improve.
We also had a few big projects in the class. For the first project, we had to read an 80 page Spanish book (or part of a book) about public speaking, then present on that. Now, I absolutely hated public speaking, especially in Spanish. A few days before this speech, I was giving a short, less than 5 minute speech, and my nerves got ahold of me. I couldn't say more than two words at a time. How embarrassing! I wasn't going to let that happen again, especially for a big presentation, so I practiced as much as I could for the book speech. So much, that I practically memorized the material. Not necessarily in the sense that I would be saying it word-for-word, but in the sense that I knew all of the main points, the pronunciation of the words, and the organization of the presentation in general.
When I got done with my presentation, my professor was impressed and told me in front of the whole class that I did really well, better than expected and she could tell that I worked hard on it. When we were reviewing everyone's speeches at the end, she said that my presentation was the best out of everyone's. I was so proud! I still am, actually. It was nice to see that my hard work paid off.
For the second project, we had to write, edit, and read a fairy tale in Spanish. I did the Three Little Pigs. Now, maybe I didn't remember the original correctly, or maybe there was a change in the Spanish version, but in the versions I saw, the wolf tried going down the chimney of the brick house in the end, got burned by a pot of stew that was cooking, and ran away. So, I incorporated my Spanish and the Spanish I learned by reading various Spanish versions and recorded "Los tres cerditos" for my class. Some of the other students were really good at changing their voices to match the characters and it was a lot of fun to do to work on pronunciation and see what other people had managed to do.
Our final was a 50 minute presentation. We picked the topic on Tuesday and I had to present on Thursday. Two days was not enough time for me to prepare for this presentation, but I gave it my best and did pretty well. I presented on the three different types of biking (casual, mountain, racing) and the parts of a bike.
This month went by so fast. I couldn't believe that I only have one more month left before I leave Costa Rica! It's just become my home. How can I leave? But, I had my Spanish for Business class to look forward to. This was the class that I had been looking forward to since I signed up for classes. Goodbye to public speaking and hello business!
What made this class so special? It was a Public Speaking class taught in Spanish by a psychologist who gave presentations on a weekly basis for a local television show. With her background, she was able to teach public speaking with a psychology perspective, which was really cool. She also gave informative, well planned, and entertaining lectures.
We learned how to give a toast, how to introduce speakers and presentations to a crowd, how to hold a lecture, symposium, panel, and how to act when speaking in public. Where to look, how to stand, what to do and more importantly what not to do with your body movements. She also helped us with pronunciation: what is the point of speaking in public if your audience cannot understand you? She also emphasized grammar, adjectives, and Spanish phrases that may not be exactly the same in the direct English translation.
Also, this professor did an evaluation on the first two days to determine if we belonged in the class or not, if we were at the appropriate speaking level. Thankfully, I was told that my grammar mistakes were normal for someone at the advanced level. My professor also told me that I stutter when I speak Spanish. That was news to me, although it was because I didn't pay attention to it, not that I didn't actually stutter. We talked in class about the phenomenon that happens when some people speak new languages such as: they learn better in English in the morning and learn better in Spanish at night, they may stutter in the new language, or a number of other psychological events. It was quite interesting.
Ironically, we watched "The King's Speech" in Spanish, which was about King George VI's stutter and how he overcame it. I knew that my stutter was because I was simply not comfortable speaking Spanish and that I had some issues with the pronunciation, together making me too self-conscious to speak well in Spanish. I worked on speaking in Spanish and improved them 10 fold throughout this course. What helped me most was that every day, we gave at least two speeches. They could be big 10 minute speeches or small 5 minute speeches, but we couldn't read from our notes. They had to be freely-flowing, yet organized speeches. After almost a month of speaking in Spanish in front of a class, your ability to speak is guaranteed to improve.
We also had a few big projects in the class. For the first project, we had to read an 80 page Spanish book (or part of a book) about public speaking, then present on that. Now, I absolutely hated public speaking, especially in Spanish. A few days before this speech, I was giving a short, less than 5 minute speech, and my nerves got ahold of me. I couldn't say more than two words at a time. How embarrassing! I wasn't going to let that happen again, especially for a big presentation, so I practiced as much as I could for the book speech. So much, that I practically memorized the material. Not necessarily in the sense that I would be saying it word-for-word, but in the sense that I knew all of the main points, the pronunciation of the words, and the organization of the presentation in general.
When I got done with my presentation, my professor was impressed and told me in front of the whole class that I did really well, better than expected and she could tell that I worked hard on it. When we were reviewing everyone's speeches at the end, she said that my presentation was the best out of everyone's. I was so proud! I still am, actually. It was nice to see that my hard work paid off.
For the second project, we had to write, edit, and read a fairy tale in Spanish. I did the Three Little Pigs. Now, maybe I didn't remember the original correctly, or maybe there was a change in the Spanish version, but in the versions I saw, the wolf tried going down the chimney of the brick house in the end, got burned by a pot of stew that was cooking, and ran away. So, I incorporated my Spanish and the Spanish I learned by reading various Spanish versions and recorded "Los tres cerditos" for my class. Some of the other students were really good at changing their voices to match the characters and it was a lot of fun to do to work on pronunciation and see what other people had managed to do.
Our final was a 50 minute presentation. We picked the topic on Tuesday and I had to present on Thursday. Two days was not enough time for me to prepare for this presentation, but I gave it my best and did pretty well. I presented on the three different types of biking (casual, mountain, racing) and the parts of a bike.
This month went by so fast. I couldn't believe that I only have one more month left before I leave Costa Rica! It's just become my home. How can I leave? But, I had my Spanish for Business class to look forward to. This was the class that I had been looking forward to since I signed up for classes. Goodbye to public speaking and hello business!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Jazz Cafe - 2nd Social Excursion
Today, on the 27th of February, we went on our second social excursion to the Jazz Café. Since our first excursion was so awesome (roller skating) I figured that this one would be just as good; and I was right! We went to the Jazz Café in Escazu to listen to Sonambulo, a "psicotropical" band that has a mixture of afro-latino, traditional American music, and modern music. They started at 10:30 and we left at 12:30. I had absolutely no clue what to expect except that they were supposed to be a really good band. In my dance class, our professor had been telling us that we should try to go out and see a live band sometime and enjoy the rich music culture, and what better way to do that than with an entire group of friends?
The Jazz Café was a rich-looking place with a second floor balcony and expensive food and drinks. We decided to sit on the second floor, right in the middle with a perfect view of the stage and dance floor. The food there was really good; I tried both the cheese sticks and quesadilla. I am a personal fan of the Costa Rican cheese (Tico Cheese), although it is not for everyone. As a cheese lover, this is a rich, fresh cheese that is delicious to eat plain or mixed with anything.
Finally, after a long anticipated wait, the band members took the stage. The first thing I noticed? They were loud. This, as I have learned, is a part of the music atmosphere. I don't go to many concerts, and I am not a connoisseur of music, but it seems to me that anywhere I go that there is music (live or DJ's), it will be loud. The second thing I noticed? They were really good. The music was lively with a good beat to dance to (with the dances I have learned from my dance classes) and all of the songs were in Spanish.
Finally, it was time to head home. I will admit, 12:30 was a bit late for me. With our 8am classes, I was ready for bed when we got home, but I wouldn't have missed this day for the world. What a cultural experience to listen to a Costa Rican band in one of their nice Jazz Café's!
The Jazz Café was a rich-looking place with a second floor balcony and expensive food and drinks. We decided to sit on the second floor, right in the middle with a perfect view of the stage and dance floor. The food there was really good; I tried both the cheese sticks and quesadilla. I am a personal fan of the Costa Rican cheese (Tico Cheese), although it is not for everyone. As a cheese lover, this is a rich, fresh cheese that is delicious to eat plain or mixed with anything.
Finally, after a long anticipated wait, the band members took the stage. The first thing I noticed? They were loud. This, as I have learned, is a part of the music atmosphere. I don't go to many concerts, and I am not a connoisseur of music, but it seems to me that anywhere I go that there is music (live or DJ's), it will be loud. The second thing I noticed? They were really good. The music was lively with a good beat to dance to (with the dances I have learned from my dance classes) and all of the songs were in Spanish.
Sonambulo on Stage
The crowd was really getting into the music and dancing to it, more like a "stand in place" dance rather than the Latin dances that I learned, mostly because there was not enough room because this band drew such a huge crowd! Up in the balcony, we had plenty of room to move around, so a few of us began dancing Salsa to their songs. I couldn't tell which of their songs were Salsa, Bachata, or Merengue, but I danced to a few of them using whichever dance seemed appropriate. The crowd below us was singing along to the music, and if my Spanish were any better, I would have gladly joined them.
Sonambulo on Stage. Notice the man in the wheel chair on the bottom right of the stage?
In the middle of this show, they did something a little different. A man in a wheel chair was helped up onto the stage, out of the wheel chair into a chair near the front, was given an accordion, microphone for his accordion and for his voice, and he also held a trumpet. Then, when he was all set up, the music stopped and one of the band members began explaining to the crowd that this man had been playing in the street for over 12 years and they had been friends for at least 12 (they met while he was playing on the street). He still plays his accordion and trumpet downtown, but today, he got to play onstage with the band. [Excitedly, I understood most of what this band member was saying!] So, for a few songs, we were enchanted by this man's singing, accordion, and trumpet (he switched from one to another within the same song). I was impressed.
Here he is playing. So talented!
Finally, it was time to head home. I will admit, 12:30 was a bit late for me. With our 8am classes, I was ready for bed when we got home, but I wouldn't have missed this day for the world. What a cultural experience to listen to a Costa Rican band in one of their nice Jazz Café's!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Artesan Market and National Theater Tour
Well, looks like my plans fell through again. This weekend, the weekend of February 22nd, I was supposed to go to Guanacaste to see the turtles, but the trip got cancelled at the last minute. I tried to make plans to go somewhere else but it turns out that hostels really do get booked quickly. So, what did I do? I found friends and we went exploring in San Jose to all the places we haven`t had time to see but really wanted to.
First, we stopped by the artisan market. This is a large marketplace with many, many vendors with Costa Rican souvenirs of all shapes and sizes. They had colorful purses, jewelry, mugs, and hammocks among other things. One of my friends was able to get her sisters some nice purses there.
Then, we walked to the National Theater. We decided to go for a tour and learn about the history of the Theater and see the inside. What an experience! It is such a grand place; I really don`t know where to begin.
From the outside, it is a grand but bleak building. The most exciting thing about the Theater from the outside is its` steeple and the three statues it has on its roof. What is amazing, though, is that the building cost $ 3,000,000 to build due to the extensive artwork and gold leaves on the inside as well as marble structures. It also has a rich history to rival its' interior decorations.
The National Theater was built over a 6 year period and opened on October 21, 1897 at the request of the coffee planation owners. There was a famous opera singer Adelina Patti who refused to perform in Costa Rica because she didn't have a "suitable" place to perform, although she was one of many famous artists who refused to perform in Costa Rica for the same reason. The plantation owners said that an additional tax on their product could be implemented to pay for this new theater. As the budget for the theater grew past the original projected budget, general Costa Rican taxes began to be implemented to help pay for it. A fun fact is that Adelina Patti supposedly wanted to perform at the National Theater because it was so beautiful, but was told that she couldn't perform there by the Costa Ricans.
So, walking in, the first thing you notice is the richly decorated walls, lavish with gold leafing. There are also a number of statues and a variety of paintings that were imported from Europe. There are no fresco paintings there, only canvas. The most famous painting is displayed on the ceiling of the main entranceway just before entering the theater. This painting is displayed on their 5 colon bill (which is now just a souvenir, no longer in circulation). It shows their history and popular exports, although from a European perspective. The man holding the bananas? They were upside down and would usually be held over the shoulder in real life because they are too heavy. The style of dress? European as well. Still, it is a Costa Rican gem.
I loved all of the beautiful artwork, sculptures, and architecture. There was signs of the Free Masons in the reception room such as their eye and a face. That reception room also holds the coat of arms of each of the 7 provinces plus of Costa Rica.
What really fascinated me, though, was their main performance hall. There is a presidential box for their president. The security for their president is no where near as strict as the security we have for our President. People who come to the theater when she is there can meet with her in the hallway and take a picture with her; no background check needed. Also, the stage is elevated above the main floor of the auditorium, but back in the day, the floor was moved up to the same level as the stage for dances. Now, they only move the floor for extremely special occasions, such as a new president or visiting president from another country.
I decided to come back on a Thursday to view a concert that they held in the evenings in the reception room since the main stage is under renovations, to open the week after I leave to return to the US. Hopefully I can come back to Costa Rica to view one of their performances on the main stage.
First, we stopped by the artisan market. This is a large marketplace with many, many vendors with Costa Rican souvenirs of all shapes and sizes. They had colorful purses, jewelry, mugs, and hammocks among other things. One of my friends was able to get her sisters some nice purses there.
Then, we walked to the National Theater. We decided to go for a tour and learn about the history of the Theater and see the inside. What an experience! It is such a grand place; I really don`t know where to begin.
From the outside, it is a grand but bleak building. The most exciting thing about the Theater from the outside is its` steeple and the three statues it has on its roof. What is amazing, though, is that the building cost $ 3,000,000 to build due to the extensive artwork and gold leaves on the inside as well as marble structures. It also has a rich history to rival its' interior decorations.
The Steeple of the National Theater
The National Theater was built over a 6 year period and opened on October 21, 1897 at the request of the coffee planation owners. There was a famous opera singer Adelina Patti who refused to perform in Costa Rica because she didn't have a "suitable" place to perform, although she was one of many famous artists who refused to perform in Costa Rica for the same reason. The plantation owners said that an additional tax on their product could be implemented to pay for this new theater. As the budget for the theater grew past the original projected budget, general Costa Rican taxes began to be implemented to help pay for it. A fun fact is that Adelina Patti supposedly wanted to perform at the National Theater because it was so beautiful, but was told that she couldn't perform there by the Costa Ricans.
So, walking in, the first thing you notice is the richly decorated walls, lavish with gold leafing. There are also a number of statues and a variety of paintings that were imported from Europe. There are no fresco paintings there, only canvas. The most famous painting is displayed on the ceiling of the main entranceway just before entering the theater. This painting is displayed on their 5 colon bill (which is now just a souvenir, no longer in circulation). It shows their history and popular exports, although from a European perspective. The man holding the bananas? They were upside down and would usually be held over the shoulder in real life because they are too heavy. The style of dress? European as well. Still, it is a Costa Rican gem.
Right inside the Theater: One represents Comedy and the other Tragedy
Beautiful Interior
Famous painting on the 5 colon bill
I loved all of the beautiful artwork, sculptures, and architecture. There was signs of the Free Masons in the reception room such as their eye and a face. That reception room also holds the coat of arms of each of the 7 provinces plus of Costa Rica.
Large canvas painting on ceiling of reception room. (1 of 3)
The inside of the Reception Room. This statue used to be on the steeple in the middle. They now have replicas on the outside to prevent the originals from getting destroyed.
Coat of Arms from, I believe, Limon. Complete with Free Mason's mark on top.
Yet another photo of the magnificent Reception Room.
What really fascinated me, though, was their main performance hall. There is a presidential box for their president. The security for their president is no where near as strict as the security we have for our President. People who come to the theater when she is there can meet with her in the hallway and take a picture with her; no background check needed. Also, the stage is elevated above the main floor of the auditorium, but back in the day, the floor was moved up to the same level as the stage for dances. Now, they only move the floor for extremely special occasions, such as a new president or visiting president from another country.
Main Performance Hall
I decided to come back on a Thursday to view a concert that they held in the evenings in the reception room since the main stage is under renovations, to open the week after I leave to return to the US. Hopefully I can come back to Costa Rica to view one of their performances on the main stage.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Wood Plant Tour - Sr. y Sra. Ese
As many of you know, I love the wood products manufacturing business. My first job was at a small wood products manufacturing shop that makes wood products for the housing industry. My second job is at a wood products furniture manufacturing shop. So, you can guess that when my professor said that we were going to a jewelry and souvenir wood manufacturing shop in Costa Rica, I was ecstatic!
Sr. y Sra. Ese is a very famous wood jewelry and souvenir shop in Costa Rica that makes most of their souvenirs that are out of wood as well as exports many of their products as well. They also give bilingual tours. So, my class went with the Basic 2 class and had to interview an employee as part of the field trip assignment (it was a speech class taught in Spanish, so it worked as a perfect part of the hands-on curriculum).
Their process began with obtaining Costa Rican wood from around the country and drying it: 10 years outside and 5 years inside. Then, we saw their shop which had a lot of woodworking machines similar to the ones I've used or seen: Joiners, Sanders, large and small bandsaws, and a number of different lathes. That was just in the shop. There were 6 small band saws further in, along with an entire room filled with tumblers and an laser engraver.
Basically, the process was: cut the wood into large blocks, dry them, cut them into tiny pieces to be used for jewelry, sort them by size to ensure that they were cut to a quality size, drill (teeny tiny) holes in each piece, send them into the tumblers, assemble. The tumblers had different resins and sand papers to polish the wood as well as different angles to alter the finished sizes and shapes. The pieces of wood would spend 5 hours in the tumblers, one hour per tumbler.
Each part of the process was performed by hand; no CNC equipment (automatic assembly-line type equipment) was used in this shop. The only thing that has changed in their process machine-wise since the inception of Sr. y Sra. Ese was the addition of their laser engraver. I could spend hours talking about this amazing experience, but there's too much information to put into one blog!
My interview went very well and without many issues. I interviewed the guide on the manufacturing process, many of the questions he had answered in the tour so I simply reviewed those answers with him to be sure that I remembered them correctly. The rest, I asked like it was a regular interview, such as "what in your opinion is the hardest product that you make here?" It was nice knowing that I could understand him; I could see my Spanish improving!
Sadly, I had to leave this amazing manufacturing facility behind, but all the Spanish and Manufacturing that I learned (as well as souvenirs that I bought) would remain with me. On to my last week of this Speech course and my upcoming trips!
Sr. y Sra. Ese is a very famous wood jewelry and souvenir shop in Costa Rica that makes most of their souvenirs that are out of wood as well as exports many of their products as well. They also give bilingual tours. So, my class went with the Basic 2 class and had to interview an employee as part of the field trip assignment (it was a speech class taught in Spanish, so it worked as a perfect part of the hands-on curriculum).
Their process began with obtaining Costa Rican wood from around the country and drying it: 10 years outside and 5 years inside. Then, we saw their shop which had a lot of woodworking machines similar to the ones I've used or seen: Joiners, Sanders, large and small bandsaws, and a number of different lathes. That was just in the shop. There were 6 small band saws further in, along with an entire room filled with tumblers and an laser engraver.
A sampling of their drying wood - separated by specie and date
Drying trunks for table tops
Bunny that stole the show - So Cute!
Tumbler - Imagine the noise these things make!
Each part of the process was performed by hand; no CNC equipment (automatic assembly-line type equipment) was used in this shop. The only thing that has changed in their process machine-wise since the inception of Sr. y Sra. Ese was the addition of their laser engraver. I could spend hours talking about this amazing experience, but there's too much information to put into one blog!
These are the smallest parts that they are drilling holes in.
And here's a few of the different shapes they make.
They made a variety of jewelry including bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. They also made pens, bowls, large carvings, mugs, model cars, key chains, saucers, and owl hanging decorations just to name a few. All of their products were amazing, colorful, and perfect works of art and examples of just how fabulous wood is as a material.
How beautiful! Sadly, this was not for sale.
But this was!
And these too!
But this wasn't. Although they had some just carvings in the store, this one just fascinated me.
Here is just a sampling of the Costa Rican wood that they use. Yes, these colors are 100% natural.
My interview went very well and without many issues. I interviewed the guide on the manufacturing process, many of the questions he had answered in the tour so I simply reviewed those answers with him to be sure that I remembered them correctly. The rest, I asked like it was a regular interview, such as "what in your opinion is the hardest product that you make here?" It was nice knowing that I could understand him; I could see my Spanish improving!
Sadly, I had to leave this amazing manufacturing facility behind, but all the Spanish and Manufacturing that I learned (as well as souvenirs that I bought) would remain with me. On to my last week of this Speech course and my upcoming trips!
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