Hello, America,

Here are some pictures of my trip to my study site (i'm having a little trouble with formatting so pictures come first):

Don't worry, America is well represented here
The Bridge of Friendship (built by Taiwan for Costa Rica for FREE) with friends Alex and Geoff

My study site: Playa Ostional

I write this after downing a cup of hot chocolate made from 70% pure cacao (@Peter K locally and organically grown, of course). Hopefully i can finish this post before i crash and burn.

This weekend, I made a pilgrimmage to the study site where I will be spending the next two months studying marine turtles. The town is called Ostional, and their main source of income is the selling of turtle eggs, which are believed to be an aphrodisiac in many latin american countries. Since the harvest of eggs here is still legal, I am hoping to find out a way to increase the hatching success of the nests (usually only about 20% of eggs actually hatch), so that the turtle population remains high and the local community can still benefit from the selling of eggs. Can you imagine a world in which turtles and humans live harmoniously?....

Be well,

Pablo

Pura Vida

Just one week in Costa Rica and already I'm telling myself that I never want to leave. It is said that this is the happiest country on earth, and I believe it. Less emphasis is placed on "getting stuff done" in this society--there are very few cell phones, most homes are just now getting internet, and most of the population doesn't even own a car. I'm living the pura vida ("the good life"--the national motto), and i'm loving it!

Right now I'm living in San Pedro with my host family (a mother and father, their daughter, and their granddaughter), and I can understand everyone when they speak except for my father. My Mom told me not to worry though, because even the locals can't understand what he's saying most of the time!


All in all, it has been quite the week: immersion into the spanish language almost 24/7, a small earthquake, and a great day at the beach.



Here are a few pictures of the ACM building where I take my classes. It's actually just an old house converted into one classroom and a small library.

This is the view looking into the classroom from the courtyard

The view looking out of the classroom

The courtyard

And last but not least, the famous "Gordita" and I in downtown San Jose.