La Farmacia

I've had 3 days in the pharmacy so far. It's  definitely different. People come in to get their BP checked from the pharmacist. Pharmacists can also administer most vaccinations and miscellaneous shots when needed. I'm in a community pharmacy connected to a hospital with a doctors office that's upstairs. I recognize some meds, but there are a few I don't. The pharmacist and tech are so nice. We're doing our best to converse. It's a bit difficult when I don't speak fluent Spanish or they fluent English...but great experience so far!

La Fortuna!!

La Fortuna was awesome! We left early on sabado and were on the road. Our drive to la fortuna was a wonderful experience within it self. We made many stops on the way. We stopped to see a bunch of iguanas and a garden where this man has been taking care of it for over 40 years (can't remember the name of the place). After 3 hrs we arrived to la fortuna and we stopped at a soda were we had great food and saw a burger the size of a plate..we all thought It was for man vs good..nope, just for the menu..ha. After that we went to the hot springs. It was really nice. The water in some springs got up to 109 degrees. Fun times! Domingo we got up early to go to the waterfall and ziplining. The wall down to the waterfall was beautiful and a great workout :)! Marco was trying to get us to jump in the water hrs crazy! It was freezing! Then we went ziplining...so fun.  We went on 12 different lines. A few I didn't make it to the end so I had to use my pulling skills to get to the end. Lunes morning we drove back in time for spanish class!

Hasta luego!

Adios San Isidro

My last day in San isidro was bittersweet. Eric and I had a great time tasting Chocolates and learning about the history of chocolate at Sibu. We had a variety of things including chorotega- a spiced hot chocolate with corn flour- how the Indians used to drink it. Then I visited my host family from last year one more time. It was so great to see them - we joked around and shared lots of hugs. After, I thanked my host family from this year one more time and I was off to have a relaxing weekend. I will miss my mama Tica- Marta. She was so nice and took great care of me all week long. 

Jueves by Amber

Started out the day right with a white gato crossing my path ;). Then we were off to heredia to learn about culture and visit the market. My Spanish teacher from last year, Ana Lorena, took us around the city. The first president of Costa Rica was from heredia and we visited his home. In addition, we entered the first university of CR - which is now a high school. It's very different than in the states as it has a lot of free air. The students were excited to speak to us in English. This evening, we all went to 'cool bar' to network and enjoy music by FoFo. 

Jueves

Today was a long but fun day. In the morning we a toured the town of Heredia. We visited the house that belonged to the first president of Costa Rica from Heredia, which was very interesting. We then went to a little souvenir shop and I picked up a few things for the family. We then went down to the central market, which was huge! There was all kinds of fresh fruit, meats, shops and even a homeopathic medicine stand. Dr. Riesselman and I had "sweet water" from a coconut and it was excellent. We then had lunch at a nice little soda which was delicious. We then took another bus ride but this was not as scarier as the last one. I spent the after noon at the language school working on journal club. We then interviewed my host family about the perceptions of psychiatry in Costa Rica. We then headed out to a local joint for some live music by Fo Fo. The music was good and the fellowship with fellow travelers was nice. I am now calling it a night in order to prepare for my last day in San Isidro. I am going to miss this little town and my host family. They have been very patient and gracious with me and this really has been a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will always cherish. Hasta luego!

Miercoles

Today was another great day in Costa Rica. While we mostly worked, I did so while getting some sun (perhaps a little too much). This evening was a lot of fun. Eric and I went over to my hermana tica's house (on my family compound) to interview her about perceptions of psychiatry in CR. She and her mom both agree that it's not common to go to see a psychiatrist; while others have said the opposite. Stigma exists here as well. After that, I stayed and chatted with their family for a while and we shared a lot of laughs. They have a pharmacy student from UofIowa (Go Hawks!) staying with them-Tara. It's been fun and ironic getting to know her as we had many of the same rotations. Farmacia es un mundo pequeño!  

Martes

Today Eric and I went to cafe britte- which is a coffee roasting plant. It was interesting to learn how coffee goes from the ground to our cups. The tour guides were also very funny and made the tour interactive. I was one of the two volunteer "tasters" for our group and received a delicious prize at the end- Costa Rican whipped ice cream coffee :)

Bus Ride

Hola Amigos! Today was a great day. I started the day off with an excellent breakfast of rice, fried eggs and platanos with a side of great Costa Rican coffee. The eggs provided the protein and energy I needed to make the walk uphill to town. I experienced riding the bus for the first time today and I have to say that was quite an experience! The roads are so small it seems like the buses can barely fit, let alone with other cars, but they do! Today we had lunch and San Raphael at a little soda shop. It was another large meal of rice and chicken with french fries. I was going to try the ketchup, but once Dr. Riesselman said it was different I opted out. We then went to visit Dr. Riesselman's old host family and they feed us even more food! You definitely do not go hungry here. The food was very good and we were able to ask a few questions about psychiatry in Costa Rica. We are hoping to interview a few more people to get a good feel for how psychiatry is perceived. I had a wonderful dinner with my host family of arroz con carnes and fried platanos with fresh pineapple juice. We then watched an episode of Bones in Spanish. I'm pretty sure that I only understood six words out of the whole hour. But, my papa tica and I both have the same favorite character so that was a plus. This trip has been a wonderful experience so far. I have put in the effort to try and communicate with my family and share in their culture. It has really made me want to learn Spanish once I get back home. I would highly recommend this experience. Well that is all for now! Buenas noches!

Lunes

Yesterday afternoon we bought some fruta at the market and today we tried some new fruit. I don't remember the exact names but slang for one is "elephant buggers" and the other is leche de pecho or "breast milk". They were interesting to say the least. 

For lunch today I had a pork tamale and papaya smoothie- que rica! I also made some new friends- I hope Derby isn't too jealous ;)

I also had another nice evening with my mama Tica. We discussed face creams and Botox. We both seem to prefer the former. 

Hola,

This has been a great experience so far.  I'm starting to understand Spanish more than I thought I would only bring here for 3 days.  My host family is wonderful. Everyone so far are so helpful and kind. Still trying to get use to all these carbs in my diet.  My first attempt to find the closest crossfit gym was not a success, but I'll try again...I just might wait a few more days until I get this bus schedule down. Even in Costa Rica I get hurt... morale of the story pay attention to the sidewalks! :)

Hola amigos! It is currently 82 degrees in San Isidro, Costa Rica. My night with the host family went better than the first night. We were able to communicate better using google translate. Praise Jesus for great technology. Yesterday afternoon I watched a football (soccer) game with my ticos (host family) and their team won. My papa tico then took me on a tour of a local coffee farm and explained to me how the process worked. He claims Costa Rican coffee is the best in the world and I would say he has a strong argument. We then had a nice dinner of rice, chicken and black beans with fresh pineapple juice. It was delicious. This morning I tried some fresh mango for the first time and it was quite tasty. I then headed out to meet the group and had a long uphill walk to get to the church. I should be in great shape by the time I leave here. Once the group was together we then went on a scavenger hunt. We were given instructions to find various things throughout town including: local newspaper, internet cafe, pharmacy and fruit. It was a fun experience trying to communicate with people to find what we needed. All the locals are very nice and willing to help. My team actually won the hunt and we received a Costa Rican ice cream sandwich that was excellent. We then had lunch Soda amistad. I had a pork tamale that was very different from what I have had back in the States, but it was very good. We are now at the school getting some work accomplished. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the week has in store for us. Hasta luego!

Day 1

We all had a good evening at our host families. My mama Tica made me hot cocoa before bed. For breakfast we had rice, beans, cheese, fried plantains and pejibaye (fruit of a palm tree). I'm looking forward to a guanabana smoothie today!

Costa Rica appe round 2!!!

We are departing the states!! One student, one resident and one preceptor!