Culture Shock

Since arriving in Costa Rica, I've been experiencing culture shock.  It's definitely an interesting set of emotions...there are even stages like grieving! It's different for everyone. 

Wikipedia defines it like this: Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, or to a move between social environments also a simple travel to another type of life.

"Symptoms" include (starred ones are ones I experienced):

Excessive concern over cleanliness and health

Feelings of helplessness and withdrawal*

Irritability*

Anger*

Glazed stare

Desire for home and old friends*

Physiological stress reactions*

Homesickness*

Boredom

Withdrawal*

Getting "stuck" on one thing

Suicidal or fatalistic thoughts

Excessive sleep

Insomnia*

Compulsive eating/drinking/weight gain

Stereotyping host nationals*

Hostility towards host nationals.

Like any move, it just takes time. I'm already 100% better from two weeks ago, and every day I'm here, the more I adjust. It will be interesting to see if I have reverse culture shock when I go home for Christmas!

Puntarenas

Last weekend, I went to the port town of Puntarenas to visit my friend, Andrés.  The last time I was in Costa Rica, we came through Puntarenas to take a catamaran to Isla Tortuga, so I never really got to see the whole town.  

Andrés and his brother, Randy, picked me up from the bus stop near their home in the neighborhood of El Roble.  We went back to their house, and I met their parents and aunt.  Then we went to a maritime museum with crocodiles, turtles, and sharks.  We all got to pet a nurse shark, which was pretty cool.  

 

After the museum, we went to get ice cream and Andrés and I walked "el paseo de turistas" (Tourist Walk) and all the way into the actual city of Puntarenas.  It was really nice catching up with Andrés.  He helped me with my Spanish and I helped him with his English (which has really improved!).  We sat on one of the overlooks to watch the sunset.  It was beautiful!!

   

We also went to "surprise" Jorge! He lived in the same house as Andrés, Pridian, and I in San José back in 2008.  It was great to see him too, and it was even more funny to hear Andrés make fun of him.  I got to experience the game of futsal, which is really just indoor soccer.  Randy's girlfriend, Francinie was on the team, and it was definitely interesting to watch because there weren't any referees or scoreboard.  It's a really aggressive game!

On Sunday, we ate a big, delicious, traditional Costa Rican breakfast of eggs, gallo pinto (a black beans and white rice combo), and fresh juice with fruit.  Andrés, Randy, Francinie, me, and their dad went for a drive up to Miramar, which is in the mountains overlooking Puntarenas.  We could see the entire Nicoya Peninsula...it was absolutely gorgeous! We had lunch in Miramar and then headed back down the mountains, where I had to catch the bus back to San José. 

It was a very fun, relaxing weekend.  I really enjoyed spending time with Andrés and meeting his family.  Hopefully, I'll go back soon!

Teaching/life in Costa Rica!

Life here is agreeing with me.  I'm the happiest I've ever been, and I'm truly grateful to be able to have this experience.  There are things I see every day that I want to blog about, and hopefully I'll be able to soak them in and share them with others. 

The first three days of teaching have been great.  The class structure is really similar to the training I took in Chile for the IDELT course, so it's nothing really new.  All the books are supplied, and teachers get a curriculum with activities, games, and different ideas for the material.  All the teachers and staff at Máximo Nivel are great and are willing to help me or answer questions whenever I need support.  The learners are also awesome, they're all so smart!

I will have to post a separate entry on my first full weekend in Costa Rica.