Global USC in Costa Rica - 2017 @usccostarica17 - Tumblr Blog

The Big Return.

Three. The number of times before leaving the U.S. that I encountered the students and professors who would soon become some of the greatest and most interesting people I’ve ever met. Of course, being abroad in Costa Rica taught me about the amazing culture in Central America (and my love for plantain chips), but it also taught me that there is ALWAYS much to learn from those around you. This program was special for its unique hospital visits and project opportunities, but it was also different from others because I grew to know my University better in 3 weeks than I did in four years.

I’ve been home for a full day now, and I’m missing early mornings with my host family and the constant interaction from my roommates and classmates. And interestingly enough, I’m missing saying “Gracias” and “Hola” every 5 seconds because let’s face it, I wasn’t the Spanish Guru of the trip by any means. I almost ordered my coffee this morning, “Cafe con leche”.....seriously.

There are so many things I want to say about the trip, but to keep it simple let me just say that I can tell that I’ve changed as a young woman and a student. I changed in ways I never really expected to but I’m glad that I did. Appreciating an entire culture and people different from yourself is humbling and puts your life into an accurate perspective. No, I couldn’t communicate with 90% of the people I interacted with while abroad but a kind glance and a willingness to learn takes your inabilities a long way. Also, I could go on for days about my admiration for my professors...I mean they’re just SO SMART!!! We had a lecture on Tropical Diseases, and we had to go around the room and tell our name and a little about ourselves. Their LISTS of achievements and the number of letters behind their names are just...well...incredible. I felt honored to have had the opportunity to learn from those who are so highly respected in our community. I strive to be like them!

So I want to say THANK YOU to the Study Abroad Office, my advisor, my professors, my classmates and my family for allowing me to embark on this journey. Receiving my diploma in a few short weeks will be a constant reminder of my hard work and my love for the University of South Carolina.

Forever to Thee, Gamecocks!

Pura Vida!

-Sydney Hayes

#isaabroad

uscincrglobalhealth-blog

The past few weeks in pictures: Clinica Biblica, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Irazu, La Paz, Doka, and Cartago

~Lindsay

End of Week 2

This weekend we had free from classes and group trips and the students traveled to Monteverde. Some took a tourism package and a small group of us took public transportation. What an experience that has been. After talking to my host mom and finding out that the largest mode of transportation in Costa Rica is bus or compact car I was excited to see just where this experience would take the small group of us. Directly submerging into the culture shows how a large portion of this country gets around on a daily basis. When you arrive to the bus station at 6:30 Am in order to get to your destination on time shows dedication for college students, to think people do this on a daily basis to get to work, school, and any place they want during the day is something hard to comprehend as many students especially at USC have cars or get rides that I know. Where a car in this country can be viewed as a luxury item.

Despite difficulty with language barriers I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to learn as much Spanish as I can. While my comprehension and word choice needs much work I have been able to get my point across to those I'm talking to. Many locals will start by asking just how much Spanish we know as in Costa Rica you are called "gringos", and that is when hand motions begin for me.

If you are reading this in thought to pursue a study abroad program but don't think you can because you don't know the language, always remember that a smile and a desire to learn can get you a long way in a new country or life. Much of this trip has taught me lessons I can carry with me for life. But for now I am off to enjoy my final week in Costa Rica and as they say here...Pura Vida! I will leave you with a quote I love and carry with me through much of this trip which is..."Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." -The Cinderella Story Movie

~Julia~

Hola!! This weekend we had the adventure of visiting Monteverde Cloud Forest. After a 4 hour winding journey from San Jose to the top of the mountain, we were greeted with beautiful views and a cozy bed and breakfast. Then we strapped on our harnesses and ziplined through the clouds (literally). The most exhilarating part would have to be the 1590 meter superman zipline, the longest in Latin America, surrounded by breathtaking views!

pura vida!!!

-Leslie

uscincrglobalhealth-blog

Pura Vida!

Hola Gamecocks from San Jose, Costa Rica!

I am having such an awesome time in San Jose, and I can’t wait to share some of what our group did today with you. To start the day, my roommate and I had breakfast with my host family, and it was delicious! After that, we walked to class, and we got to learn from some of the best professors at USC.

Today after class we visited a hospital in Heredia, Costa Rica. It is one of the newest hospitals in Costa Rica, and it was really amazing to learn about the Costa Rican public health care system. The hospital was new and modern, and we got to learn so much!

When we got back from the hospital, some of my friends and I went to get a snack at a local cafe. I had a rice crispy treat, and they both had cake (which looked SOOOOO GOOD).

Then, I walked home to my homestay. The homestay is one of the most rewarding parts of the trip so far, and I feel that I am really immersing myself in Costa Rican (or Tico!) culture. It was truly a pura vida day! -Deborah

Day 13

Today was our second visit to La Carpio, and it was extremely rewarding. In our first visit, we got to hear the story behind La Carpio and play with some of the children; this time we got to teach the children about the importance of brushing your teeth and played a game with them about dental hygiene. We handed out coloring pages with teeth for the kids to color and drew examples of healthy teeth and unhealthy teeth. It was wonderful to see how enthusiastic they were and how grateful they were for the toothbrushes and toothpastes that we brought. I was truly humbled by the experience and I would love to go back to work with them again.

-Hannah O’Quinn

Day 10

Costa Rica has been so much fun so far! 10 days down 13 left, and we have already finished over half of classes. I start feeling both like I’ve been here forever and that we’ve just arrived. Yesterday and today were jammed packed with visits to an HIV home (Hogar de la Esperanza or Home of Hope) and hospital (Hospital Mexico) respectively. The HIV home was majorly impactful. The director explained to us how the facility was the only one in Latin America that accepts transgender residents and his vision of a space that asked its participants to both help each other and take on personal responsibility for their medication and life within and/or after their lives at the home. As we walked out, we had the opportunity to buy bracelets, earrings, and dream catchers from one of the residents. We had all left our wallets on the bus, but Dr. Brandt graciously handed us each 500 pesos (about a dollar) to buy a bracelet. As we were leaving, I grabbed my wallet and bought a dream catcher. I can’t wait to fasten it to my rear view mirror when I get home. Afterwards, we drove back to the ISA building, where we have classes, and went out to lunch. I stopped by Whisk next door where they have a vegan sandwich called the vegano (What are the odds?) that I could eat every day of my life. Afterwards we had class. In global health, we talked about globalization, and in community health problems, Dr. Brandt invited her husband, Forest, as a guest speaker. He spent most of the class talking about the public health field and what on earth we could do with it post graduation. We definitely walked away with a lot to think about and eager to do a lot of volunteer work. Today we spent the morning touring the hospital and learned how they are the only hospital in the North Eastern half of the country that provides radiation treatment leaving hundreds of people to drive up to six hours for a five minute treatment. We all were really interested in listening to the doctors speak but couldn’t help notice that the air smelled like cookies. No joke. Apparently, there is a cookie factory in the area, so we convinced the bus driver to stop by on the way back. When I say we I mostly mean the faculty, but we were all excited. Now, they didn’t have any vegan cookies, but they did have maiz frito (or fried corn) that tasted just like fritos in the US. I was told the cookies were delicious. We drove back to ISA and we all headed to Las Leñitas where I got guac and a salad. We were told there was going to be a tropical storm all through this afternoon, but luckily I got back to ISA for USC Connect, our debriefing program, right before it started raining. I sat in the computer lab and watched the storm with Lawren and Monica until everyone else arrived in their rain boots and raincoats. After USC Connect, a bunch of us headed downtown to the market to look at souvenirs. When we were done, we all decided separately and then together to go the artisan market where we had a better time finding things. As we walked back home, Blair, Cari, and I stopped at a convenience store and I got a root beer to make up for missing out on all the sweets. The trip has been really great so far. At first I wasn’t too sure how to make friends, but everyone is really nice and I’ve had a lot of great conversations. I’m really grateful to my parents for this opportunity (both because its true and I know they’re reading this), and I’m so excited for the zipline and bungee jumping this weekend. I would recommend study abroad to everyone especially if you have the amazing resources that USC provides for me.

-Anna Book

Day 9

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Costa Rica thus far – life here is Pura Vida! There are not many study abroad opportunities for graduate students, so I am very thankful I’ve been able to be a part of this one. I’ve been able to work on my Spanish speaking skills while being a part of an incredible class that offers hands-on experience with global health. In the Epidemiology 700 class, we have been able to work on a data base for one of the oldest nursing homes in Costa Rica. This will help the nursing home tremendously in utilizing the data to better serve the residents of the nursing home. Life outside of the classroom has been wonderful too! I experienced the excitement of a soccer game where Herediano faced Deportiva Saprissa and won 3-0. I have also visited a coffee plantation, La Paz Waterfall, and been to the top of Irazu Volcano, along with several markets and museums. Every day has been an adventure and I have tried to make the most of my short time here in Costa Rica. The picture above shows a few of us exploring the La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

PURA VIDA,

- Ginny

Day 8: Fun & SUN!

Today was our first free day on the itinerary so we all had several different options of ways to spend the day! I decided to use my time with a few of my classmates exploring Tortuga Island also known as Turtle Island for its “turtle-like” shape. We bought a package through ISA which included breakfast, lunch, and transportation to a cruise ship which carried us to the private island! Today was a great way to unwind from classes and the busyness of the planned events on our schedule. Though I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in San Jose thus far, today was much needed and I am very excited for the week ahead! Studying abroad in Costa Rica has been a wonderful and challenging experience already and we still have 2 and a half weeks left so I know amazing things will continue to happen!

PURA VIDA!

- Sydney

It was another sunny/rainy day here in San Jose. The day started off with breakfast with our host mom. She had freshly cooked eggs, rice and beans, fresh bread and fruit, and my favorite thing..coffee! We have a similar breakfast like this everyday. Then we had our usual class with lunch at a local shop, today being The Whisk which is right next door to where classes are held.

After class we went to La Carpio, which is a poorer area of Costa Rica. We visited the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation. This foundation works to improve the quality of life in the most vulnerable areas of Costa Rica. The foundation’s director, Gail, met with us to give us a background on the area and foundation that she has been a part of for forty years. She told us that La Carpio is home to 25,000 Costa Ricans, with only 5,000 homes. She showed us how her volunteers work with the people that they help, starting with fulfilling basic food needs, then building up to shelter, healthcare, health education, education of all levels, training for a job, employment, and finally com-passion (with passion). She emphasized that all of this would not matter if it wasn’t for focusing on the self-esteem of the individuals. She told us that it is important to remember the saying, “Walk a mile in their shoes” to truly understand where people come from, and the obstacles some may face to get by day by day.

After this we headed to a room where we were greeted by children of all ages. We were able to talk and play with them while others were making sure rain water did not get into the room (because it was downpour raining during this time). I met some new girls who wanted to take some pictures. We will be back again next week to work on building a cement wall for a member of their foundation, and then helping in the hygiene clinic for the children.

Another day in Costa Rica is in the books! Pura Vida

-Sarah

Day 4:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYDNEY!

Today was just another day adapting to the city of San Jose. I spent the morning in class and got lunch at the cute little restaurant next door (it’s my favorite because the owner speaks English). Just like the past few days, the afternoon thunderstorm came right on time. Class was actually let out early because we lost power in the ISA building. My roommates and I walked home, and we learned that the power outage was citywide, so we spent the last few hours of daylight catching up on homework at our homestay. Once it got dark out, we met upstairs and had our dinner in the candle light with our awesome mom. After dinner the lights finally came back on and we got ready for a night out on the town. We met up with a group of classmates and hung out at a popular bar called La Concha to celebrate Sydney’s birthday!!

-Rebecca

uscincrglobalhealth-blog

You Gotta Find the Funny

Traveling is, by definition, to make a journey. When looking at your friend’s insta posts from abroad, all you really are exposed to is one poised and perfectly curated moment, not the reality. Adventures like studying abroad are overwhelmingly positive and amazing, but there are always things that happen that are often outside of your control.

Day 1:

As it happens, the airline decided that San Diego and San Jose are basically one and the same, so I had the distinct pleasure of washing my underwear in the shower at my host family’s house that night. Followed soon after by a midnight phone call from my mom who informed me that my luggage was sent back to DFW and not forward to SJO like it was supposed to be. But the good news is, my parents had my luggage put on the next flight to San Jose and it was successfully delivered to my host families address Monday afternoon!

Day 2:

Monday’s mishap included an adventure to Calle 23, a popular bar in the area. Originally, my roommate, Julia, and I were going to meet the rest of the students at the ISA building at 8:30 so we could all go to the club together, but Julia and I got held up by a surprise visit from our host mother’s son and granddaughter (which btw, Luciana is adorable!) and weren’t able to leave until around 9:45 pm. And considering our lack of knowledge of the area, our Uber dropped us off at the wrong location (not that we knew at the time), we went on a merry trek across the city until we ran into a cab, the cab driver spoke no English (and Julia and I speak no Spanish) and he didn’t know the bar, but eventually, after lots of wild gesticulating we were able to get to the club and meet up with the group! (From there Blair and I actively tried a couple of the weirdest sounding things on the menu: Zombi and Electric Lemonada, they were delicious!)

Day 3:

The good news is that today was mishap free! Ginny and I went to the Museo Numismatica this morning and got to see a lot of really cool pre-Colonial artifacts made out of gold and learned a lot about indigenous Costa Rica. In addition to that we also got to learn a bit about the history of money in Costa Rica (did you know that the cocoa bean was once used as currency?)

My host mother is amazing and overall the trip so far has been awesome! Frankly, I stand by the school of thought that when bad things happen, just recognize when it’s out of your control, it’s not worth it to waste energy on being upset honestly, and positives by far outweigh the negatives! Just find what’s stupid about the situation, laugh about it, and move on! I can’t wait to see where the rest of the trip takes us!

~Lindsay

Food, rain and more food

Day 4:

Hola! To begin today, my house mate and I ate breakfast with our host mother at 7:30am. We each had two pancakes and the choice of papaya, mango and banana. The fruit here in San José is so fresh and sweet I practically ate the entire bowl of mango. After showers we walked up the hill to the ISA building where we had class from 9am-3pm. In between classes, we had a 2 hour lunch break where a few of us ate at a local restaurant down the street from the building where we take our classes. It was a little cafe that serves different types of crepes. They were absolutely delicious. During lunch we made a plan that after our class ended at 3 we would walk to downtown San Jose to adventure to either the gold or jade museum. As 3:00 approached, a huge thunderstorm interrupted our last class and it started to pour rain. When it rains in San Jose, it pours and echoes off the top of the tin roofs of the houses. So instead of walking to the museums, we decided to take an Uber to the grand central market to try some food and buy some souvenirs. We then took a taxi back to the homes we are staying at for dinner. For dinner we had soup with chicken, carrots, potatoes and chick peas with rice and salad on the side. Overall this trip is absolutely amazing! The food is all very good, the people are so nice, the mountains are beautiful and I’m learning so much inside and outside of the classroom. This is such a great experience and exposure to a different culture. I came to Costa Rica only knowing two words in Spanish and so far I have picked up so many different phrases and words. Although my host mother speaks very little english, she is so wonderful and her cooking is so good. We do our best to communicate through hand gestures, google translate and speaking as much as possible. We watch the news everyday at breakfast and dinner to also learn more about the culture. With this being only day 4, I already feel more comfortable being immersed into a different culture and have started to pick up on where everything is located in the city and have pretty much adjusted to this new environment. I can’t wait to see what is in store for the next 2.5 weeks!

Day 2:

¡Feliz primer día de clase! Our first day of class with profesora Cueto was fun and informative! Not only did we learn medical terminology in Spanish, but we also learned the trendy places to visit to practice local Costa Rican dance. Guided by our mamá Tica and profesora Cueto, I have already learned so much about the unique culture of Costa Rica and can’t wait to experience everything this opportunity has to offer!

Pura Vida, Leslie

uscincrglobalhealth-blog

Costa Rica: We have arrived!

Day 1:

I started my day waking up at 5am to get to the Columbia airport for my 7am flight. After getting to the airport, checking my bags, and getting through security I met up with a few fellow classmates at our gate. It was so nice to be able to travel each step of the way alongside other students in my exact position! Although both of our flights were a bit behind, we finally made it to Sane Jose, Costa Rica around 11:30am. After getting through immigration and customs, which took about 30 minutes, we were finally able to set foot outside in the warm, beautiful, and sunny Costa Rica! After waiting a while for more students to arrive, we loaded onto a bus that took us to the middle of downtown San Jose. Although a couple of road closures caused us to hit major traffic, we ended up being able to walk a few blocks to the restaurant where we had a fantastic lunch (with some amazing fresh fruit juice!). We then got a “historical background” city tour where we learned a lot about Costa Rica’s history but we also got to see the more modern aspects of the city as well. After that we got back onto the bus which then took us to the ISA office where we will be having our classes everyday. Lastly, and the most fun part of the day for me, we got to meet our homestay moms around 7:00pm. My roommate, India, and I immediately clicked with our homestay mom, Vivian (aka Vivi), as soon as we met her! She brought us back to her beautiful home where she introduced us to her daughter that lives with her (who won Miss Costa Rica in 2000!) and her granddaughter, Paulina, who is the cutest little baby girl ever. Vivi showed us all around the house and then made us dinner around 8:30pm. Dinner was delicious and our long hour and a half talk was amazing. She has traveled all over the United States and she told us all about her crazy travel adventures! After our very long and tiring day, we were able to unwind and take nice refreshing showers. It is now 10:40pm and as I sit down to write this blog, I am thinking about all my goals for this trip. My main goals I have for myself for this trip is to step outside my comfort zone, learn a lot, make new friends, and have lots of fun. If the rest of the trip goes like today has gone, I think it will be one of the best experiences of a lifetime!

-Lawren

10 DAYS TO GO!

We are 10 days! Yes, 10 DAYS from the start of USC in Costa Rica: Global Health!

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