Where coffee comes from

This past week we visited an organic coffee farm, which was great learning experience! Before I came to Costa Rica, I really didn’t know how coffee was grown and processed, and now I know TONS! It’s a lot of work sometimes to be an organic farm, but I think it is definitely worth it. I decided that to describe it, it would be best to use pictures. So this will be a like a picture book blog :)

This isn't related to coffee, but this grows at the farm and we were able to try it. Although the part you are supposed to eat has a great likeness to frog eggs, it tastes actually pretty good. Different, but good

This is the farmer that owns this organic farm, he and his son run it together. Notice how there are coffee plants behind him, but also trees and other plants. They allow other things to grow. Getting a tour was much more like walking through a forest than walking through a farm field

Close-up on his machette...I just thought it was cool enough to merit a picture :) Can you tell i really want one? lol

Coffee "cherries", as they are called. These ones are unripe, the ripe ones are bright red. When we went it was still a bit early for harvesting coffee.

This is the machine they use to split the coffee beans from the cherry part. It comes down through the top and the cherry is sent to the right of the funnel and the beans fall into the basket on the left of the funnel. They use a bit of water in the process, but not nearly as much as conventional farmers. Those farmers use huge amounts, and used to just put the cherry pulps into the rivers, which wasn't good obviously

This is what a coffee bean looks like right out of the cherry. A lot different, right? It felt kinda slimy. It still needs to be dried and roasted before it becomes that tasty beverage that many people need to jump start their day :)

These are some of the drying racks that they use. When we were there, they were actually starting to build the ones they will use when the coffee harvest is in full swing. They need at least 12 of these to have space to dry all the beans that are coming in

So that is the process that is done at the farm. After they are dry enough, they are sent to be roasted at a nearby place. We got to try some of the coffee, and you know what, I actually liked it! It wasn't as bitter as usual coffee is. I don't think I will drink it regularly, but i could tell it was really good coffee. Yay organic!

I can eat rice and beans every day because i have...

Let me introduce you to a notable addition to my life: Chiky. These tasty little cookies not only have chocolate on one side but come in handy packs of 6 cookies that you can buy in bulk. Which I did. J I haven’t even checked how much fat and sugar are in them, I’m a bit afraid to look. However, I figure since we eat so much gosh darn rice and beans here, I deserve a bit of fun in my day. Yes, I usually go a pack a day. There was even one day this week where I chain ate 2 packs in a row. I think it is becoming an addiction, I might have to ween myself a bit. But they are indeed the best junk food I have had here. The yucca chips and plantain chips are good as well, but these have chocolate in them so that automatically makes them bette. Alright, gotta go, I haven’t had my pack of Chiky’s today J Just kidding. Seriously, you have to try them, I will try and bring some back to the States. Maybe the reason they are so good is that we never have dessert for any meal, so anything sweet is going to taste good. Doesn’t matter to me though, all I know is that they are good.

Monteverde = AMAZING!!

Hiding behind a huge leaf in Monteverde :)

These past few days have been amazing, probably one of the best field trips we have had so far. We had to be up by 4:30 am because of the long drive to Monteverde, but that wasn’t too bad. I was able to sleep a bit in the bus. Once we got to the Reserve, we went on orientation hikes with the professors. The forest is soo cool there, pretty much every tree has many other plants growing on it, so much that on most trees you can hardly see any of the bark. We found so many amazing plants. It reminded me of the rain forests in Ecuador. Its because of the high percentage of cloud cover and humidity because of the altitude. We definitely got to experience the cloud forest aspect of Monteverde while we were there, the clouds were rolling through and it rained pretty hard for a bit.

Top: a strangler fig around a host tree with lots of other plants as well

Bottom: branches covered in a fur of ferns, moss, etc. Fuzzy tree to the max!!

Later in the day we had class and then moved into our accommodations at the Monteverde Biological Reserve. There was hot water!! It was very exciting. The food was also very excellent, there was a bit more diversity than just rice and beans. That night we were able to explore the town a bit. We found a place to salsa dance, it was very fun to be able to use the skills we have been learning at dance classes. However, looking at the Ticos dance, we have a lot still to learn!

The next day we had an assignment to go out in pairs and find a hypothesis about something and test it. Me and my partner Jackie tested if a certain plant has more of its young leaves or old leaves eaten. The data collection part was pretty tedious, but it was fun having the freedom to wander around the trails and just keep our eyes open and make observations about what was around us. It made us look at the forest differently, to notice the little things more.

After this, we visited a wind farm in the higher altitude. It was so much fun to see, it reminded me of SE MN with all the wind turbines. These ones were smaller though because they cannot feasibly get the bigger ones to the location on the roads that they have (the roads near Monteverde are pretty bad, mostly gravel) However, the thing is that that location in Costa Rica is one of the windiest year round in the world, so it has the potential for so much more. I hope that they can continue development. We got to go inside the base of a wind turbine! It was very exciting J We saw the main computer of the turbine.

Inside the wind turbine!!

That night there was a HUGE thunderstorm, and the area was basically flooding. There was a massive amount of water on the roads, almost like mini rivers. We stayed at a pretty nice motel and I went out with a friend to get pizza at a nearby restaurant. I had been craving it like crazy the week before, so it was good to finally get a good mushroom pizza J

Volcan Arenal: This was the most we saw of it because of the clouds, but still pretty impressive

The next day we had planned on going to a waterfall where we would be able to swim, but because of the huge storm the water levels were high and it was no longer safe to go to the waterfall. So, instead we went to a resort that had hot springs. It was my first time seeing the resort version of tourism in Costa Rica, it was a bit weird. It was fun though, there were pools of warm water and also cold, chlorinated water with water slides that were really really fast! It was fun to just be able to hang out.

After this, we headed to San Jose where there were going to be several bands playing in a park for a benefit for Habitat for Humanity. It started to rain on the way there, but the concert went on. It was actually really fun, everyone didn’t care that it was raining and put down their umbrellas and started to dance. It was sooo much fun, the music from the first band especially was very very good. I might have to look for their cd somewhere. It was very easy to get into the music and just dance, especially in the atmosphere of everyone doing the same thing despite the rain. So much fun. However, after the dancing stopped everyone got a bit cold because we realized we were soaked. So, that wasn’t as much fun, but we were able to keep ourselves warm by buying some warm food and walking around until it was time for us to go back home.

First band that played in the park

This was such a good field trip to have right after mid-terms, because we did a lot of very fun things and had a lot of relaxation/free time. Now today I need to do some readings for this week so I can keep ahead of the game and know what is going on in class. Hopefully a couple days of relaxation will energize me for the coming weeks.

Last weekend: most awkward of my life but also a great learning experience

Alright, I finally have time to tell you about my homestay weekend:

I stayed with a family in a town called Barrio Jesús, which is on the other side of Atenas then we are. The neighborhood I was in, which consisted of members of their extended family, was fairly rural, having an organic farm down the road that was owned by the family. It was kinda confusing when I got there who I was staying with, but I ended up mostly staying with this woman named Lucia and her 2 children Luis Pedro (10) and Camila (7). Then, just down the street was her sister Rocio and her childen Alicio (21) and Gerardo (15) who lived with her and then her daughter Mary lived with her husband Mike and baby Isabella right next to Rocio’s house. So in a way I was “raised” by all three families that weekend. (I sadly don’t have any pictures of the people, but they took pictures and I have their emails to get them and I will see them at the host family dinner this Wednesday, so hopefully I can get a picture with them to put up)

The front of my host family's house. Ping pong seems to be a big thing here in Costa Rica, but I guess it is in the US too

I quickly learned that my Spanish was worse than I thought it was, at least when it comes to understanding what everyone is saying. At first I thought Rocio didn’t like me because I was so bad at Spanish compared to her. And there were awkward moments at first when I was meeting everyone, I am bad at small talk in English and so switching that to Spanish was difficult. It made me come out of my box, which I think studying away is supposed to do, but I was very uncomfortable at moments. It was good though, when I got there Alicio showed me his butterfly garden that he is making in the backyard. He has eggs of the Morpho butterfly along with some other ones. Rocio made me breakfast and I forgot to ask for just a little, since I had been sick the day before, so she made me a big plate of food and I ate as much as I could but couldn’t finish. I think that made her a bit upset too, so I felt like I hadn’t made a very good first impression on the family, but I tried to make up for it by trying to talk with her about various things. Then, Mary, Mike, and Isabella came over for a bit and it was fun to talk to them. Mary teaches basic English to children and she had studied in the USA, so she knew quite a bit of English. She helped me when I didn’t understand what her mother was saying. We went for a walk through the farm and ate some tangerines, and they asked me about what I was studying, etc. I had to think of different ways to say things because my vocab is obviously not as good as it is in English.

The family farm: looks very different from the fields of MN! Its organic because they didn't clear cut the entire place, but left trees in along with the crops of oranges, tangerines, lemons, sugar cane, plantains, and other crops.

Then began the huge mix-up. I let it slip that I had 4 tests that coming week, and they thought that meant that I needed to study. I had brought one of my books just in case I had time to study, but I wanted to spend time with the family so I wasn’t planning on it. However, and I found this out later, they thought I was planning on it, so decided to leave me alone so I could study. Lucia and Camila went to a party for someone who was getting married, and since they thought I needed to study they left me in the house by myself for 3 hours. I was very confused by what was going on, it was a huge miscommunication/language barrier. So I thought my family didn’t like me and that was why they left me by myself. I was pretty miserable. But, things got better, and at least now I know it was a mix-up and not that they didn’t like me. Once they got back, I gave them a present: a book of pictures of MN. They loved it!! They asked me all about the snow and how big the Mississippi river was and how many lakes, etc. They all really want to see snow, they told me there is really no where in Costa Rica that snows. Even in the mountains it is usually just rain. We went out for pizza that evening and I asked Lucia about customs in Costa Rica. I felt like my Spanish was getting a little better, or at least I was more comfortable in looking like an idiot with my poor Spanish J

The side of my host family's house. Everyone had a table to eat outside. I suppose it is nice to have in this warm weather, its less stuffy than being inside

So the next day I woke late, had breakfast with the family (they made fresh tortillas – sooo good!!!), and went over to Mary’s house for a bit to help her translate a work-out video from English to Spanish. It was my first time ever being a translator, it was hard because there were some expressions like “Bring it on” that I had to translate, but it was also kinda fun! Then Gerardo wanted to show me the waterfall that was at the end of their farm: so pretty! I had fun talking to him and Camila on the walk. Gerardo was usually pretty patient with me and would explain what was going on or correct me if I said something not quite grammatically correct. After we got back, I played variations of the basketball game of 21 with the extended family, one version was where there were teams and you could help your teammate make the basket. That one got fun, they are not scared of horseplay, both the guys and girls. Then it was time to go to church, of which I understood very little. My host mom told me right before the sermon that it was alright if I didn’t understand it, because they pastor doesn’t annunciate very well and sometimes she doesn’t even understand what he is saying! So that made me feel better. And she also said it was ok that I go up to communion with her, even though I wasn’t Catholic. She said it didn’t matter her, which was very nice. Then after this they took me back to the university.

So even though the weekend had a rough start, I really came to like my family and want to visit them again. There will always be cultural clashes and I’m sure there were many things we didn’t understand about each other, but it was such a short amount of time to get to know each other. It was difficult speaking Spanish all the time, but it was also a very good experience. I think the number one thing I learned was to accept that there will be awkward situations but the important thing is to keep trying, keep speaking Spanish, keep engaging them and asking questions. I feel like I grew a lot that weekend.

Tough week so far, but its looking up

So the week started out with 4 exams in 2 days with very little study time: Monday and Tuesday both we had 2 hour long Spanish classes which felt very pointless when we really needed time to study. We had spent the weekend with host families and so were a bit burned out on Spanish anyway. And the weekend was another reason why we didn’t have time to study, we were with our families, practicing Spanish and learning about Costa Rican culture. So the time we didn’t have something scheduled in, we basically studied like crazy people. And now they are over, but I think the last couple of days have been my worst here in Costa Rica. Yesterday all I wanted to do was go home. Today I’m a lot better, but I think I had some culture crash/shock this weekend that carried on into the week: I didn’t want to speak Spanish anymore, I didn’t want to eat rice and beans anymore, etc. I ended up talking with our student coordinator and she had studied in the US and had culture shock as well, and so made me feel a bit better. But this plus the stress of exams just made life extremely difficult for a bit. I did my best on the exams I feel like I could have in the amount of time allowed. But now, it is all over and I have a glorious field trip ahead of me!!! We are headed to Monteverde and Volcan Arenal and have evenings off to go explore the towns we are staying in. AND there might even be the possibility of a hot shower at the hotel we are staying at! : ) And today was really good as well, after the exams I watched Gladiator by myself and just let all the stress exit my body.

Oh! I really miss autumn, they don’t have season changes here in the same way as we do. So, if you could email me some pictures of the beautiful leaves this time of year, that would be great ☺

Sorry I haven’t blogged about my homestay weekend yet, I promise I will get around to that!

It's the little things

In Costa Rica…

1) Toilet paper is thrown not in the toilet, but in a garbage can that is placed next to toilet

2) Dish soap is in cream form: the sponge is kept in the tub and when you need to clean something, you just rub it in the tub and then clean your dishes

3) Pizza is popular! There are many pizza places even in a small town, and its actually very similar to the pizza in the US

4) …that being said, they really do like their rice and beans. REALLY. They have it 3 meals a day, and no meal is complete at home without at least rice. I’ve seen spaghetti and rice on the same plate

5) In October, probably even December you can pick an orange or tangerine off a tree to eat. They taste wonderful J

6) Tamales are wrapped in plantain or banana leaves, not corn husks

7) There are no flour tortillas to be found, only corn. Bad luck for someone with a corn allergy, although corn is not plentiful in other foods thank goodness

8) Taxis are red, not yellow Well, at least the legal ones. AND, its alright to sit up in the front seat next to the driver, there is no plastic barrier like the ones in New York. Its cool, you can just chat with them about their day or whatever, practice some Spanish J

9) According to my host family, it never snows, and the mountains here rarely have snow on the peaks, if ever

10) An iguana may become your roommate…

That’s all I could think of for now, more later!!