| Day 1 Monday | Day 2 Tuesday | Day 3 Wednesday | Day 4 Thursday | Day 5 Friday |
Day 1 Monday: A Trip to the Organic Farm
I'm composing this reflection on my computer, sitting in a hammock outside under an awning, listening to the oh-so-reliable afternoon Costa Rica raindrops pound the tin roof above my head. The Center is really beautiful and the view from the dorm—well, neither words nor pictures can do it justice; it is simply indescribable. Each day is packed full from 7 A.M. breakfast to 6 P.M. dinner with lectures, field labs, readings, discussions, and more. It's fantastic!
Today started off with a long bus ride during which we had time to bond as a group and take in the scenery. We arrived at the first stop—a small scale, mostly organic farm run by a co-op that was once only women. We were welcomed with buckets full of new and exciting tropical fruits. We then began touring the farm; our professors served as translators because our guides spoke only in Spanish. This was the first time for most of us to see what farming was like in the tropics, and what it meant to be a highly sustainable system.
One of the really unique things about the farm was how they harnessed the methane emitted by waste products and used it for cooking. We then visited a second farm that was part of the co-op, where we were able to develop an even stronger idea of what it meant to engage in sustainable practices. They also used the waste from the animals on the farm and used it as fertilizer for the crops. They produced a variety of crops as opposed to the mono cropping we saw later at the Dole banana plantation. This ensures food security and helps the families maintain a high standard of living.
Day 2 Tuesday: English Language Instruction
Today we did two class sessions of English instruction for a seventh grade class at the local middle school, or “colegio.” I have to admit, it was especially daunting when the teacher decided to hand the class over to us and our job was to teach the verb “to be” in English to students who have had barely any formal English training besides basic greetings. After going through the explanation of the importance of the verb, I asked if the students understood. There were blank looks all around. I decided that I needed to teach with a combination of English and Spanish in order for the students to get a basic grasp. I ended the second class with the students naming famous people that they knew in order to use the verb. I got a lot of Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and many other Costa Rican and Spanish jugadores de futbol (soccer players) that I've never heard of.
After English class we toured Atenas (we stopped at several places and received lectures on sustainable ecotourism) and then we met some local Costa Ricans for a futbol match. Of course, they won 6-1 and they might have been going a little easy on us at that, but it was still really fun! We walked back to the center and ate a meal of rice and beans (a staple here in Costa Rica), pasta with tomatoes, zucchini, mixed vegetables, salad, cas, and fruit. Just like every other meal I've had here, it was delicious.
Day 3 Wednesday: Gardening at the Center
Before coming to Costa Rica, gardening to me was a leisurely pastime that involved weeding a small little plot in my backyard and planting bulbs with my father. Here, I encountered an enormous project that took all 29 of us to tackle, and afterwards still felt like we hardly made a dent. During our introduction to gardening, we were given a number of tasks we could sign up for. Some involved hauling compost and dirt, others involved applying organic fertilizers to the fruit trees, while still others included weeding and setting up herb and vegetable beds, which changed my original impression of what gardening was.
Throughout the day as we sweat, hauled wheelbarrows, and got really dirty, I was constantly impressed at the efficient use of recycled material. The Center has done an amazing job at establishing sustainable practices, especially in the use of compost and other organic material to create fertilizers for the beds and trees. I was fascinated to see the process from table scraps to rich dirt being applied in a real life setting; it is definitely a concept I wish to take back with me to my little backyard garden.
Day 4 Thursday: Carara National Park
On Thursday, we traveled south from Atenas to the town of Carara. We visited Carara National Park for the morning session of the day. We had a guided tour of the park where I was able to visually see the poison dart frog. This frog was smaller than a mouse, but its neon green stripes stood out strongly against its black amphibian body. This national park was right off the main road through the country, and I was impressed with the amount of growth once we traveled further into the park.
In the afternoon, the class traveled to the mouth of the Tarcoles River. At the end of the Tarcoles River is where all the trash from the main communities, such as San Jose, comes to the Pacific Ocean. I was overwhelmed with the amount of trash on the beach. The beach literally looked like a trash dump. There were plastic bottles of all kinds everywhere, old shoes, and fishing nets littering the beach. We took a beach walk, and we each silently had a moment—seeing the problems with the amount of trash that flows into the ocean.
On the beach was a dead sea turtle the size of a large dog. It was depressing to see that the trash that humans created was the most probable cause of this sea turtle's death. It's difficult to think of a solution to the trash problem in Costa Rica, and everywhere else in the world. Seeing the trash helped me realize that our human impacts have a major influence on different habitats and species. Seeing trash on the beach will forever make me make sure that I dispose of my trash properly and increase my recycling habits.
Day 5 Friday: Working with Mist Nets
One of the things that drew me to the SFS program was the opportunity to participate in research. The idea of working in the field on a specific topic sounded much more exciting than sitting in a classroom learning the same thing. The hands-on experience I was waiting for finally arrived during this trip to Carara National Park, where we spent some time today studying birds. We set up mist nets and conducted point counts to survey species' abundance and diversity.
My favorite part of the research was working with mist nets. We were able to safely capture the birds and take measurements of the wing, tarsus, and weight. This also gave each student a chance to learn how to correctly hold a bird. It was exciting to see and touch some of the animals that before we have only seen from a distance. A few of us were lucky enough to have birds poop on us—a truly unique experience.
I have always been an animal lover, but prior to this experience, I wasn't that interested in birds. My appreciation for our avian friends has increased as a result of this research. I am looking forward to further research on the subject and I hope to share the information I find with others back in the United States.
