Paula MacLeod Portfolio

I worked hard to try to get a tiny little understanding of Spanish before going to Costa Rica. Obviously, three months isn't enough time to learn a lot, but one thing I realized when we got there is how awkward it is to start incorporating a new language as habit. The easiest thing to do is get the basics: hello, how are you, please, thank you, etc. But when I got to Costa Rica, I felt foolish and scared to even use those. I was really afraid that someone would try to continue the conversation after I had exhausted my canned Spanish, and then I would be embarrassed and confused.

After a few days, though, I began to realize something: we all say "hello" and "how are you" all the time and never expect the conversation to go beyond that. So I started using the basics. And it went ok. I never got into a situation where someone tried to extend the conversation. What's even better is that I worked with native Spanish speakers who were willing to help me learn more. 

I was in Costa Rica for 8 days, and it was probably day 6 or 7 before I was more relaxed with my limited grasp of Spanish. It figures. Just when I got the hang of it, it was time to go home.

I'm still learning and practicing more Spanish. I want to be ready for my next trip.

I realized yesterday that I have had the rare opportunity to see Costa Rica in a way that most tourists will never experience. I know that the resorts are lovely and eco tours are special, but we got out into areas that I could never have even thought about.

Yesterday my team went out to interview two families who depend on one of our clients, Centro Diba. We started off going to Parque del Este in San Jose. Costa Rica has such an interesting mix of tropical plants, like palm, yucca, etc, and hardwoods that grow together. The hills are covered with both and create a lush environment. This is the park where the clients of Centro Diba come for their physical therapy. They use the trails, the play areas, and the pool.

Afterwards, we went to our first interview with a parent and dependent individual. As the interviewer/writer it was my task to work with the interpreter (the wonderful Annie) to make the interviewee feel at ease while the cameras were being set up. It's tough to do interviews with a language barrier and I tried to learn as much Spanish as I could to be polite and understand a little spoken Spanish. With the extra consideration of working with disabled individuals, we really wanted to be very sensitive, but everything went extremely well and the result is touching. 

On our way to the next interview, the driver pulled of the road in a random place. We all wondered what was going on. He crossed the road, leaned over a fence, and came back with coffee beans! Straight off of a bush. Our client guide told us we could open the outside, which is red and easy to open with your finger nail, and put the beans in our mouths, but not to chew or swallow them. They were sort of sweet, with a slimy, almost furry texture. Weird, but not totally gross. I can't bring any home, which is a shame, but that was a neat experience.

Then we were off again. The next interview was further out and we took a short detour to check out Braulio Carrillo National Park, of course I was thinking we would get to a spot where you can look out over the rainforest in the way that you stop in the Blue Ridge Mountains. No. There was a stone stair way, and at the top, you have to stop or fall off of a cliff into the rainforest. Seriously. It was beautiful and scary.

The roads in Costa Rica are in bad shape. I mention this because on this trip, we traveled "the most dangerous road in Costa Rica". It reminded me of the Tail of the Dragon in the NC mountains, but in worse shape and with tractor trailers. 

Our next interview was another success and very touching. I came back from our day's work feeling like we can really help Centro Diba. In Costa Rica, if a person is disabled, they can get government help and services until they are 15. After that, there is no additional help. In most families, the mother has to stay home to take care of their child or other family member. Centro Diba allows mothers to work or even just to have a break, because they do not have any age limit when they refuse an individual. 

Annie and I spent all afternoon and even some time after dinner transcribing the interviews. We are getting up waaaay too early in the morning to head off to Manuel Antonio National Park, so I have to save blogging about today for later.

Pura Vida!

The past two days have been muy ocupado. Client visits, interviews, videos, meetings--I don't even know where to start. 

Yesterday our team went to the gardens of Molinos Verdes de Moringa. I had fresh sugar cane cut right off of the stalk---loved it!

I also tried "peanut plant" (katuk) leaves, which are not peanuts, but taste like peanuts, and golden fruit, which is wonderful. I also sampled a juice made from a fruit called cas, a member of the guava family. It is SO good. It tastes like a less sweet, slightly tart pineapple juice. It would be very refreshing on a hot summer evening over shaved ice (and maybe with a splash of vodka).

Today we worked with our other client, Centro Diba, an organization that offers services to mentally and physically challenged teens and adults. Tomorrow my group is traveling to do on site visits with families to capture stories and video.

We are always on the bus at 7:30 pm and usually don't get back to the hotel until 4. Then we have team meetings and more client meetings after dinner. Working with two clients in such a short amount of time is truly a challenge. I'd be too optimistic if I said that we are confident, but we are staying organized and have two great advisors to guide us. Still, I'm soooo looking forward to our  free day at Manuel Antonio National Park on Saturday!

Pura Vida!

Today has been so exhausting. We all met at RDU at 4 am for our 6 am flight to Atlanta. To my great delight, though, the metal rod in my leg didn't set off the scanner! So that was good. 

Sometime during the delay in Atlanta, everyone started to feel the effects of getting up at 3 am. By the time the plane had leveled off for Costa Rica, I was napping in my seat.

Getting through immigration was daunting, but only because of the lines. There must have been 200 people waiting to go through immigration and then customs. The check points were straight forward, thank goodness. 

Everyone was in high spirits when we got onto the van. Costa Rica is so interesting. It's windy and warm with plenty of flowers in bloom and palm trees here and there. The way people drive is disorganized despite lights and signs, but I've seen worse in Miami. The motorcyclists often ride between lanes of cars and do about anything they like.

There's graffiti everywhere, some good, some ok, and some really good. The buildings and homes ranged widely from nice with cool iron work detail to run down.

The hotel is a story of it's own (http://www.taironainn.com). None of the pictures on their website look anything like what I've seen here. The inside looks like a stucco villa, with stairs that go up to the floors from the middle of the lobby after you pass the check in counter. There's an elevator, but it is so small, only 1 person and their luggage can fit. We filled it with luggage sent it up and then went up the stairs. At each landing, there are 3 Spanish-style ornate chairs. If you look up from the first floor in the dining area, it looks like you are in a courtyard. There's a fountain with gold fish in it, which is cute, but loud. The whole thing says, "We're trying", but the result falls short a bit. They use real keys and when we leave, we have to leave the key with who ever is at the front desk. There's no A/C, and I can't tell if the rooms are heated, either. No sign of vents or heating ducts. We have a big window that allows the breeze in, but also all of the noise.

A train track is just 10 or 12 feet from the window of our room. It's like a short Amtrack and runs from 5 am until after dark in regular intervals. The horn or whistle doesn't sound like any train I've ever heard, either. It sounds like a firetruck horn. Another strange thing about this place is that there are two (very cute and don't look like strays) dogs downstairs that seem to live or hang out or something in the garage area of the parking deck. So here comes the train and then the dogs bark like nuts. Train, dogs.

Our advisor gave us ear plugs. 

We had meetings with two clients also. The last was over at 9 pm.

I wish I had more pictures right now, but I will definitely get some tomorrow--and a video of that train!

But, for now, here's a picture of one of the dogs.