July 19th, 2010 |
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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
July 15th, 2010 |
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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
July 9th, 2010 |
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ISU Costa Rica | 1 comment
Friday, the day after Fanny’s birthday. I can’t believe that the first week is already over. And still, there are so many things that are pretty common among los ticos which I haven’t experienced yet. For example, today was the first time I had gallo pinto (rice and beans) for breakfast. And it is delicious! As usual I met Daniel on the way to the bus station – but this time he was accompanied by David, who had just arrived and, therefore, joined our group a couple of days later. In class, Dr. Milton Clarke continued the discussion about forestry that we had the day before. He also talked about different levels of responsibility regarding sustainability, meaning that it concerns not only nations but also groups and individuals. We learned about the Bill of Rights for Minors, the WHO master plan entitled “Health for All by the Year 2000” and the Montreal Protocol.
After a very sunny coffee break, we had an interesting exercise for which we were split into four groups and discussed different aspects and policies of gender and sustainable development. In the afternoon, the advanced Spanish class learned about the real story of Count Dracula and, in addition, how to use the past tenses indefinido and imperfecto. Later I had a funny afternoon at home talking with my host mum before David and Daniel stopped by. With the latter I spent the evening working on our paper for Dr. Clarke’s class. As I was really looking forward to go to volcán Poás the next day I didn’t mind going to bed a little earlier than the day before to get a good night’s rest. іBuenas noches a todos!
by Katharina Reithofer
July 7th, 2010 |
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All the eager students were at the right place at the right time despite new surroundings and a jet lag, well for most of us. Class started 9am with Professor Milton Clarke who is a very colorful character and a lexicon of real life examples. I cannot imagine there being anyone better to introduce us to the great unknown of sustainable development and hopefully show us the light at the end of the tunnel. I think I am not exaggerating when I say that all of us felt inspired after the first lecture. He also set a guy in charge of the clock, to stop him if he is not able to do that himself. Thanks to the guy in charge of the time we were able to have a lunch break ;)
Then we took a quick Spanish test. No worries, the aim was just to get an understanding of our language level and divide us into 3 groups. Finally, the most awaited part of the day arrived – dancing class. Although quite shy in the beginning the hip-shaking dance moves melted the ice quickly and the room got hot hot hot. Great fun and everyone is already looking forward to the next class!
by Madli Merila
July 6th, 2010 |
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And so it begins. Sixteen participants have flown thousands of miles across the globe, braved US airport security checks, and are now cosying up to spiders for the next month, all in the name of the INEX
Summer University course 2010; will it be worth it?
Yes, if our induction day is any indication. The generosity of the host families, tireless enthusiasm of the INEX team and meeting the other participants quickly convinced any doubters that this course would be well worth enduring much more.
After a brief introduction to the INEX Vision Tree and a warm welcome to the ULACIT university, Lorena San Roman, Vice Dean of the University of International Cooperation, gave an insightful keynote speech into sustainable development in Central America. We also heard from our sustainable tourism tour operator, Horizontes, and from our teachers for the course, though this session ended a little abruptly because of certain important Football match…
Perhaps the most useful part of the day was the cultural adaptations class by Eric Liljenstope from GlobalSolutions Group. A long-time Costa Rican resident, Eric explained everything from why Tican men thinking hissing at women is a compliment (my personal views are to the contrary) to why the average number of times Puerto Rican couples
touch each other across a coffee table is every twenty seconds whereas in this situation in Britain couples refrain from any physical contact at all! Surely the British experiment was performed in an old person’s tea rooms.
The journey home at the end of the day was less fun, with a ten-minute bus journey taking two hours due to the incessant rain and crowded buses, but it’s all part of hustle and bustle of life in San Jose Rain, car horns, and disappearing pavements will soon become a normal part of our day.
Overall, a brilliant start to what is surely going to be a fantastic program, and I can’t wait to get started properly!
Pura vida!
by Harriet Jackson
