Our ears provided us with a forewarning of the impending state of things to come. It started as a light pitter-patter emanating from high above our heads as if a percussion orchestra was warming up for its performance for us, an audience of alien visitors in this foreign contextual setting. As the drumming picked up rhythm and increased in volume, I looked around at my fellow classmates as they scrambled to ensconce their valuables in a variety of plastic bags. Few of us had brought sufficient gear for this heavenly change of events and yet there were no panicked expressions on display. We all simultaneously seemed to except the truth of what lay in the near future. After about a minute, the physical root of our instrumental warning finally greeted us in cool droplets as we settled in for a saturated trek through the Caribbean rainforests of Costa Rica.

Samuel Viroslav, our professor for our corporate social responsibility class, which has been dominating our time at ULACIT for more than a week now, had set us away from the classroom this Monday the 26^th of July. This little field trip had begun at 7 am in front of ULACIT’s main entry with 15 students (Verena had stayed home sick) accompanied by Phillip, Leonardo and four guides from Fundecor. Fundecor is an organization dedicated to the sustainable management of Costa Rica’s gorgeous forests. We were soon to learn that this occurs through two avenues, planted homogeneous forests that are tended to much like a farm and then also through extracting certain mature trees directly out of the wild rainforest itself.

Granted, Sam had warned us of the high probability that we would be running into wet and muddy conditions and as such had advised that we wear rubber boots and bring a second set of dry clothes just in case. Maybe I simply got lost in the enjoyment of the day, which had supplied me with two free and delicious meals, but Sam’s warnings had not hit home until the moment the rain started falling. However, in the end our soaked situation ended up adding to the experience immensely! After all, it is a rainforest; what better time to experience it then in the rain?

Slipping and sliding all over the place we traversed through the thick foliage, yielding every so often to fully digest our surroundings. Pure magnificence! It was everything I thought it could be and so much more. I’m still somewhat astounded that Fundecor is able to convince land owners to chose the preserved rainforest option for harvesting timber, because it makes little economic sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy they’re doing it, but I suppose my mind is partially twisted from my American upbringing. If this same proposition was attempted in the US, I have doubts that it would be embraced so readily.

by Daniel Nowell

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Finally it was time for the long awaited Canopy tour. After a good breakfast of gallo pinto at the hotel we headed out to the Volcan Arenal National Park where the zip-lining would take place in the middle of the rain forest. We had to wait for quite some time before it was out turn. People spent the time either worrying about the height and what’s going to be waiting for them, doing a little game playing or bird-watching. Our tour guide Fico spotted a tucan on a nearby tree, so the binoculars were set up in a minute and time flew by while watching the bird and enjoying the nature around us. Finally when given the introduction to what was awaiting us and received the equipment necessary for the rides we got on the tram to go up on the mountain. By the time we got up, the rain had stopped and another sunny day was waiting for us. Two short rides for trying out the equipment and making sure whether we really want to do this and then the fun began.

The first official ride was over 470m long and the moment you left the deck there was no way back. You were flying over, sometimes trough the rain forest at a speed of 60-80km/h. The group went zigzagging from one deck to another and this was accompanied by screams of sacredness to someone thinking he could be the Tarzan of the new era. After a total of 8 rides everyone arrived back in the base happily and adrenaline pumped. We got a chance to return once more to La Fortuna where we had spent the night in order to walk around the town a bit and do some shopping in case interested. Then back on the bus on arriving back in San Jose for a new activity packed week. Pura Vida!

by Madli Merila

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Life at ULACIT is good, we can both study and have fun at the same time. I like a lot the mornings when we gather together before classes for a coffee and talk. Some of us have more interesting stories to tell than others because they´ve been out the  previous night, and this makes the meeting even funnier. Let´s just say that we are all smiling when entering the classroom.  

As I said, beside having fun, we are also studying at ULACIT and we are working on different projects together. The university has special studying rooms and that  makes the process easier. What makes studying even more exiting is the fact that we have  people who have a say in sustainable development as guest lecturers  and that gives us a remarkable input .  

And after a day at school, nothing is nicer that exploring the city. San José has a number of interesting museums to visit, for example National Museum, Museum of Jade and Gold Museum. Today we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design and spent some quality time together. We haven’t  planned anything for tonight, as we have to be fresh and ready for an exciting weekend outside San Jose: visiting the wind farm and Arenal!

by Adela Michea

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This day just started out like the perfect day, great sunshine, clear sky and a perfect view of the surrounding green mountains (which are usually covered in clouds). It was the most beautiful morning here in Costa Rica so far, so my spirits were high and I was looking forward to our visit to ICE.

The Instituto Costaricense de Electricidad (ICE) is the (almost monopolistic) Costa Rican provider of electricity and (used to own) the monopoly for telecommunications. We heard an interesting presentation followed by a Q&S session. We encountered various aspects that were really interesting for me and made me think. Costa Rica generates 95% of its energy demand from renewable energy sources, mainly hydropower – which is extremely low on carbon emissions. The global impact of course is close to zero, but it is still a good example of how even less developed countries can be environmentally conscious. We also went into some discussion about the pros and cons of a monopoly. Many us coming from a business background were very skeptical at the beginning. Jorge Mario Montero (a civil engineer from ICE) brought up some arguments though, which made me challenge my previous knowledge. ICE apparently engages a lot in community and environmental work, which they can afford by being state owned. Furthermore they can think in long term investments, where the first returns will only come in 20-25 years. At the end it seem as if ICE is the best company in the world, which goes a bit too far for me, but I guess they are doing quite good.

For lunch we decided on some almost typical local food – Chinese with chopsticks. ;-) It was delicious, even though it didn´t contain any “gallo pinto”.

After the usual rain shower, I spent the rest of the afternoon (after Spanish class and homework) with Daniel, me hermano nuevo, exploring the neighborhood, where we discovered great green places and a vivid street life. The city reveals us more and more great things with time as we learn to see them. Me gusta!  :-)

by Fanny Artner

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The weekend at the Caribbean Coast was awesome! We spent three days in paradise and now I can understand what Prof. Clarke meant when he  spoke about the “paradise syndrome”. Therefore it was quite hard to return to normal life. Everybody seemed to be a bit tired, but no wonder; after the intensive days, and yes also nights, in Puerto Viejo one would expect us to be exhausted. As I opened the schedule I could not believe my eyes: “Week three already began!”.

So it was halftime and it was also the last course day with Prof. Clarke. I certainly think that he could just keep talking for another two weeks, especially if he didn’t have Mr. Clock, his nickname for me, to stop him. I already miss his interesting stories. He concluded his course with an outlook about possible links for a better future.

In the second part of the day our new class with Prof. Viroslav began. The point of view he is offering is very different and therefore very interesting. I am also looking forward to the planned field trips (wind farm and tree nursery). After Spanish class it was getting hot again. Salsa, Merengue y Cumbia estan no problema para nosotros. Salimos por la noche!

by Daniel Zadra

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Once again it was time to wake up. The familiar sound of my alarm clock was calling me back to “this world” and as usual, I tried to ignore it for a while. I felt perfectly happy in my bed and didn´t want to get up for another couple of hours. Then I realized that would miss my breakfast if I stayed in bed. This idea finally got me moving and while being still half asleep, I tried to pack everything I needed for going to the beach and went to the hotel restaurant for a breakfast. I enjoyed having my favorite fried plantains, American style pancakes, gallo pinto and tropical fruits with two glasses of orange juice for breakfast. At that time I hadn´t known my plans for that morning were about to change soon.

During the time I was waiting for others to go swimming, I met Daniel who told me he was going to a sloth sanctuary. I decided to join him and a few others. Oscar, our driver, and Fico, our guide, took us to a place not far away from our hotel and we had a beautiful time watching these cute and funny creatures called sloths. There were more than fifteen of them, both babies and adults. You could notice that the baby sloth was much more curious about us than an adult one. The guide let us feed and pet one of the adult sloths which seemed to enjoy it a lot. Time went by fast and we realized we had to go back to our hotel and check out. When I arrived at my room, I found out I still have to pack all my stuff because I didn´t manage to do it during my sleepy morning. I did it as fast as possible but I still came last to our bus. We left for Puerto Viejo de Talamanca ten minutes after.

I have to say that town looked differently in daylight (we were here two days before at nighttime, dining and dancing) but still beautifully when we arrived. After agreeing to meet again at 4 pm we went to look for a nice place for lunch there and we soon found one. As it was my last day in this Caribbean “paradise” I decided to have an extraordinary lunch and ordered shrimps in coconut sauce and fresh pineapple juice. Wow, what a lovely lunch!

I was ready to go to a beach and I did so. Believe me, I have never seen a more beautiful beach in my life. Time passed by quickly and we didn´t want to leave that charming place. And we weren´t alone. When we got to our bus we learned we can stay one more hour. Great! I spent my last hour in paradise sitting on a beach, having Piňa Colada, listening to Latin music and watching people dancing salsa. Suddenly I realized how perfect this actually is and that I want to spend days like this, I wanted to STAY. I felt perfect happiness. And then came the time to say goodbye (probably forever) to Puerto Viejo. For the first time in Costa Rica I felt very sad because I had to leave that place and I really didn´t want to leave. Knowing I don’t have any other option, I got on the bus back to San Jose and let it take me somewhere I didn´t want to go. I felt disappointed and resigned. Few hours later we arrived at Parque de Tibas and I took a taxi “home”. I fell asleep quickly that night and dreamt about Puerto Viejo.       

by Daniela Bartakova

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After going out in Puerto Viejo on Friday a traditional „Gallo pinto“ breakfast at Hotel Colón Caribegot us ready for the guided walk through Cahuita National Park. Our guide Fico, who knows everthing about Costa Rica´s wildlife, showed us the big variety of species that lives in this area… and it was really amazing to see the  Capuchin monkeys climbing on the trees and butterflies in colours I´ve never seen before. It was a really unforgettable experience to walk on the seaside and to see so many different species. I´ll never forget those „untouched“ beaches with palmtrees and I couldn´t stop taking pictures because I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this part of our world. We got into the really warm Caribbean water and just enjoyed the moment.

After a few hours of walking we reached Cahuita and looked forward to having a traditional Caribbean lunch. We went to a small restaurant, called „soda“ in Costa Rica. It was a very good choice because the food was very, very good. We adapted to the Caribbean way of life called „zero stress“ and waited a little bit while drinking delicious fresh fruit juices. It was worth waiting, because I really fell in love with the coconut-dishes there and we all enjoyed the food.

Can a day be better than spending it with nice people, seeing amazing landscapes and enjoying special drinks and food that are made out oft he freshest incredients? For me not…

by Kerstin Schnoerch

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The alarm went off way too early again – but I guess the excitement and anticipation for the Caribbean Coast made up for that. We left San José at 7 in the morning (plus tico time) and headed off to paradise. On our way we drove through the national park of “Braulio Carillo”, where I was again amazed by the endless different shades of green, and the only tunnel in Costa Rich, which (according to our guide) used to be the real attraction for Costa Ricans.  

At one point we of course had to make a “gallo pinto” stop at a gas station to fuel up with energy. As much as this rice-and-beans breakfast seemed weird at the beginning, apparently we can’t have a day without it anymore. Feeling alive again we were ready to reach the banana plantation. At the plantation, which some observed as Banana Disneyland, we got introduced to the magical number 3 – since everything there consisted of 3 parts, had 3 problems, 3 solutions and 3 reasons. Our guide there was definitely an interesting character, that’s for sure. He took us through the history, the harvesting and the packing of the banana plants; talked about different certification they have, like ISO, SA 8000 and the Rainforest Alliance (3 again) and felt a bit annoyed by our paparazzi at the beginning.  

 Although we got to taste some bananas, we still felt hungry and therefore drove to Puerto Viejo. I personally felt enchanted by that small place with its sandy streets, it’s beaches with palm trees and little boats, the music and the rasta hairstyle. Plus I also  learned some (maybe) valuable things – how to kill and cook a langosta and what it means to be relaxed – “0 3= cero (es)tres” – I love it!

We left Puerto Viejo for a bit to drive to our hotel and check in, but we returned for dinner – where we met a perezoso (sloth) and its baby, which totally made my night. Later on we celebrated Harriet’s and Daniel’s graduation at a great place with local music next to the beach. Felt like dreaming … hmmm … maybe it won’t stop. :-)

by Fanny Artner

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A couple of days ago, I heard that a storm might be passing through which would lead massive rains in Costa Rica. I assume that it has arrived because today it started raining as we were on our way to ULACIT.  But I shouldn´t be complaining about rain as this has been a day of good news. And by good news I mean that the due date of our take-home exam has been put back  until coming Friday, something that of course deserves to be celebrated tonight. ;)

Milton Clarke´s lecture was very interesting as usual. He discussed the situations you face when working with international organizations, and he drew on his own experience in advising us. He kicked off with a communication exercise designed to show how much confusion can take place as information is passed on, resulting in facts getting distorted. To demonstrate how easily confusion could be created he sent five individuals out of class, without telling them why. They were then given the task of retelling each other a story, one by one, which resulted in fact distortion. To show us that this result was not always a necessary result, he used the remainder of the lecture to tell us about more successful episodes, and how to accomplish positive results.

After lectures Philipp had decided to do a small expectation session, just like we had the first day at ULACIT. The initial expectations for the course mostly concerned the Costa Rican culture, sustainable development, the people on the course, and the Spanish language. This session gave us an opportunity to give our comments on each of the topics, indicating whether they had been accomplished or not, and to reflect on our hopes for the rest of the trip, as we are moving close to our second week here.

All in all another great day, let us just hope the rain comes to an end so that we can enjoy our weekend in Puerto Viejo. Pura Vida!

by Susanne Gjonnes

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Every day is different in Costa Rica and that´s the magic of the place; one never gets bored!

Today, after our Sustainable Development  course with professor Milton Clarke, we had the Spanish classes with our teacher coming from Cuba, established in Costa Rica. Learning the language helps us to understand better the culture and  traditions  of  locals: los ticos, but at the same time it is a great opportunity to get to know each other better and to enjoy.  

But if one really wants to immerse himself in the culture of Costa Rica, living with the locals is the perfect way of doing it! Family is very important for los ticos  and  that is very easy to notice. They are very warm people, ready to welcome you in their homes and make you feel that you belong to the family. It is the perfect occasion to have your questions answered, to notice the difference between their culture and your own and to make friends among them.

For me it is always interesting to discuss with them and change opinions about different cultural topics, and this happens especially at dinner time when the entire family gathers around the table. And lets not forget the food in Costa Rica, where the  chalupas (tortillas with chicken, cheese, avocado, beans), sopa negra (beans soup) and  patacones (mashed platanos, and the fried) are delicious!

by Adela Michea

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