Ponder

Why is it that while I'm preparing to leave for a new place, I can't help but think of the last place I've been? For some reason, the trip I took to Tanzania this past summer is rushing back, as if my mind had been filled so high to the brim with midterms, final exams, and a high intake of holiday treats that I hadn't taken time to think in a little while about how amazing that trip really was. It's easy for a "fast pace" to overpower, the once annoying, now almost beloved "Africa time." (In Africa time, 8:30 may mean 9:30, or 10 or 10:30, or anywhere in between.)

Anyways, onward. Random qualm that I've been thinking about. My policy professor said last year that instead of spending semesters in Italy or Spain, students should spend six months working minimum wage jobs, trying to pay for rent and taking care of their families. His idea of a real learning experience was a sort of 'Nickel and Dimed' approach for college students. In a phrase: roughing it. This summer, we did rough it, depending on with whom we compared ourselves. The roughing it was part of what made the trip so memorable. (It is easy to bond with someone when you rejoice over improved aim in a pit latrine.) But in Costa Rica, I'll have running water, a shower, toilets, extensive buslines, internet cafes, a gym, jeebus--luxury. I guess in a way I feel like I chose a place too comfortable. I mean, Costa Rica is where people go to honeymoon! Costa Rica is where rich people buy homes to retire at, where Sandals resorts (home of the gaggably bad advertisements showcasing couples running through white sand) probably has property/is drooling at the prospects! Don't get me wrong, I am stoked about studying in Heredia for a semester, just feeling guilty for what a nice place I'm going to. Anyways, enough oversimplifying of entire countries. I know how lucky I am to be going, so here it is--my pledge to make the absolute best out of this situation--to leave whatever comfort zones I may find myself to settle into, to learn about the country, the community, to volunteer, to make myself useful. In writing. Future Erin--Hold yourself to it.


One thing I could have done more before the trip to Tanzania: learned more about Tanzania itself. I checked out a few books about Costa Rica and have been reading one in particular about the social customs and traditions of Costa Rica. (Culture and Customs of COSTA RICA) When I read one paragraph in particular, I couldn't help but feel a little bit of dread and excitement all at once. The paragraph?

"Some visitors to the country are unaccustomed, for instance, to what they view as a maddeningly variable attitude toward punctuality. Hora tica (Tico time) is a good-natured national joke for Costa Ricans. Simply put, the constraints of a schedule are subordinate to time spent in the company of others. One would be rude to put an end to a conversation with a friend or colleague only in order to adhere to some merely arbitrary appointment. Agreed-upon meeting times might be more accurately referred to as suggestions, rather than imperatives. There is even a phrase for what time schedule is to be adhered to : hora americana means punctuality."

So from Chapel Hill to Kayanga to Chapel Hill to Heredia, here it goes. Now I should actually go pack and be productive. (Sorry, Mom!) Maybe next time I'll be in Costa Rica!

Abrazos,
Erin