First Week

The first week is over, and the fact that I haven't written anything is a testament to how busy it was.

I guess I anticipated the program to be intense, as it's a masters in only a year. The workload - lots of reading and 1-2 assignments a week - feels heavy right now, but maybe it's just because I've been out of school for so long. It's been a struggle everyday to stay on top of the reading. I can't imagine how it is for the students whose first language isn't English. I have infinite respect for them!

Every day we have a 75-minute lecture, which is followed by a 75-minute seminar. The lectures have been interesting, ranging from "What is conflict?" to questioning whether peace is possible under the nation-state system. The seminars have been very engaging. We are in small groups of about 20, and each day there is some sort of group activity that we have to do. We always have to speak in front of the class, which in spite of the fact that I've been a teacher and performed songs in front of people, it makes me nervous. But, I try to not let my heart pounding in my chest stop me from speaking. It's good for me, I'm sure.

I've been teaching yoga, too. Last week I taught two classes, and they went well. I'm excited that teaching yoga will be a regular part of my life here.

There is a music club getting underway, so that piece of the puzzle should be in place soon, too.

This weekend mostly involved staying on top of reading and working on the first assignment. Alistair and I had a date to the local pizza shop on Saturday night, which was surprisingly good and not too expensive. We'll definitely do it again.

The highlight was finding the local swimming hole, which is along the UPEACE road, about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. We went with our neighbors. There's this nice waterfall and you can go swimming in the river. We did learn, the hard way, that there are these little wormy things that live on the rocks, and if you sit on a rock, you will get these little wormy things all over you. So, best not to sit, better to swim. We now know for next time.

Well, off to sleep to get ready for 7am yoga!

First Official Day of School

Today, I officially began my studies!

I got off to a rough start to realize there was no water. No, no water in the apartment, and no water in the city. Supposedly it had something to do with the horse parade yesterday, but who knows. Luckily everyone was affected, so I wasn't the only one who was feeling less-than-fresh this morning.

I unfortunately also awoke with the onset of a cold. It had been creeping up for a few days, but I hadn't really had time to take care of it (nor did I realize what it was becoming). Now I have to! I found out today that cold medicine in Costa Rica is expensive. All the more reason to stay healthy!

The first day of class was interesting. As I have mentioned, all students are taking the same foundation course. Today was basically an introduction to conflict and conflict issues. In our seminar, which follows the lecture so we can have a group discussion of about twenty students, we talked about definitions of peace and justice. It is amazing how much our definition of these concepts varies from where we are from. For example, students who come from war-torn countries seem more concerned with peace being the absence of war. There are students from Korea, who feel a constant threat from the north, and students who lived through Suharto's regime in Indonesia.

The professor also made a really interesting point about nonviolence. He related a story from last year, when the students had pretty much come to a consensus about nonviolence, when a girl raised her hand and shared that she had been sexually assaulted as a teenager, and had wished that she had reacted violently towards her attackers. He used this as an example of the importance of sharing our life stories and experiences in the classroom, and he definitely got the message across.

As I write this I am procrastinating and not doing my readings, which tonight are about models of conflict resolution and definitions. Back to the books!

Exciting times!

It has been an insanely busy, incredibly wonderful past few days. As I sit down to write, I am quite exhausted, so please bear with me! I think my ambition to write daily will be hard to maintain, but perhaps I will have more time once classes start (which is tomorrow!).

Friday was our final day of orientation, which involved some immigration procedures. Most of the morning was spent waiting in line to be fingerprinted by the Ciudad Colón police. Sounds boring, but it was a good opportunity to get to know some other students. I talked a lot with Jess, who is from Massachusetts and is in my program, and Rachel, who has spent a lot of time in Cuba. It was so interesting to hear about Cuba. It is a place that I know so little about, and is perhaps unlike anywhere else in the world. She had me captivated as we made our way through the line.

In the afternoon we met with our departments. It was so exciting! My program only has 10 students, and we are in the same department as the students in the Gender and Peacebuilding MA program, which has 17 students. We each talked about our path to UPEACE and named a talent. There are lots of dancers in the group!

This came in really handy for the dance party which followed. After the departmental meeting, we had a welcome party, complete with a DJ. Incredibly cheesy music, but it was fun. The grand surprise was that towards the end, this drumming and dance troupe, dressed in sequined feathered costumes, appeared. The drummers were great and the dancers were fun to watch. Then they put us on buses to go home. It was a great end to a great week.

Saturday there was a UPEACE picnic on campus for the students and landlords, but our block didn't go. Arlan had to work and Suzy was taking care of Dusty, but they had arranged for us to have a neighborhood pot luck in the evening, which was so much fun. We met in our yard, and everyone brought something to eat. Suzy's family came too. A very funny thing: at the end, it was just me, Alistair, Victor from Peru, and our neighbor Raul from Guatemala. We discovered that we all had spent time in Japan and knew a little Japanese! We reminisced about our experiences and talked about Japanese food, which gave us the idea to make a group outing to a sushi restaurant in San José.

Today was the final day of the Ciudad Colón town fair. The fair was for the patron saint of the village, who is Saint something of Ascention (maybe Mary?). The finale of the fair was a horse parade, which involved over 200 horses and cowboys. Apparently later in the evening there was some crazy drunken dancing going on (when we went out at noon, lots of people were working on their buzz), but I'm too sleepy to go find out.

Tomorrow is our first day of school, so we already had some reading tonight. It was about different theories of conflict and conflict resolution, some more interesting than others. It is incredibly exciting to be starting school tomorrow. I don't know if I've ever been this excited about school - feeling pretty nerdy!

Meanwhile, we will be starting yoga classes too. There is another yoga teacher, a meditation teacher, and a pranayama teacher, and we're each going to teach about twice a week. My first class that I'm teaching is on Wednesday. I'm excited about that, too.

I'm also busy organizing a student delegation to attend the Global Summit for Ministries and Departments of Peace, which is happening in September. Costa Rica, just last week, passed a bill to transform their department of justice into the Ministry of Justice and Peace, which is a really important achievement. The conference should be really interesting, as it will be bringing people from all over the world. We will be attending a youth summit, which involves students at other Costa Rican universities. It will be a great opportunity for us, as students of peace.

I know you probably want some more pictures - I keep forgetting my camera when I go out, and I haven't been able to find my camera cord yet. I'll try to get some posted soon!

Orientation:

Ahhhhh....I am sitting down after two very intense days of orientation, which were intense in different ways.

Yesterday, our first day, was simply incredible. I walked with the other students in my apartment complex to get the bus to school, which is a 7 km. drive. We arrived on campus to meet all of the other students, which was so exciting. It's wonderful to finally meet the people I will be studying with for the next year. They come from so many different place (60 countries are represented), and have even more diversity with respect to backgrounds. It is simply amazing to hear the different life experiences that all of the other students have, and what brought them to UPEACE. This will add so much to our learning experience, as people bring their different perspectives. I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to learn in such an environment.

The day involved a lot of stimulating activities, led by the UPEACE staff. I must say that I had high expectations in coming here, and yesterday exceeded them. The staff exudes the peace that we are all striving to create, and they are such skilled teachers. We did a "speed dating" activity, which was probably the least awkward ice breaker I've ever had to do. We also did group activities on identity and culture, and started talking about peace and conflict issues. It was a fascinating day, which I hope is only the tip of the iceberg of this experience. The day ended with an informal cocktail hour, during which I met a Japanese woman who lived in Kameari, the next train stop from where I lived in Tokyo. We joked that we'd probably been smashed together on the metro before. Incredibly small world.

In that regard, I also met a girl who is a friend of a friend who I met in Australia. It's amazing that we can come from all over the world and have mutual friends!

Today was slightly more administrative and...boring. Still, I got to meet more people which was really fun. There are a few other returned Peace Corps volunteers within the student body, and it's been nice to meet them. We got to hear from the local mayor, who seems to be a motivated man trying to make positive changes within the community.

One highlight was when Golda, a Peace Education graduate and member of the admissions staff, informed us that Sunday is International Day of Slavery. It's a day to remember the history of the slave trade, lest we not repeat it. She showed us a slide show, and we had a few moments of silence.

Another was talking about the extracurricular clubs. There is so much going on, and I want to be involved in almost all of it! But I'm sure the schedule will be such that I will have to choose. Myself and 2 other teachers are getting some yoga classes together, which is very exciting. There was an overwhelming response of people who are interested in practicing, so that is really exciting. I am also really interested in doing some volunteer teaching (English, and hopefully peace education, too) in an underpriveleged area of San Jose. There are other exciting activities, like language club, environmental club, gardening club, cooking club, as well as cultural days and a model UN conference.

It's all very exciting. I come home today, exhausted, yet feeling filled with energy at the same time. It is a good feeling.

It looks like tomorrow's schedule will be low-key, and we have a party at the end of the day. Over the weekend we are having a get-together with our landlords and the house across the street, sort of a little neighborhood block party. It should be fun.

Meanwhile, Alistair is teaching his first class tonight! Excitement all around!

What is Peace Education?

This morning I met with a former UPEACE student who is planning an international peace conference that will be taking place in San José in September (link: http://www.mfp-dop.org/4th-global-alliance-summit.html). I am going to be her liason at UPEACE to organize some students to attend. I am really interested in the Rasur Foundation's work, so it should be a good introduction for me.

Meanwhile, I was thinking that maybe I should write a little about what peace education means. When I was preparing to come, when I told people what I was setting out to study, I often got blank looks and the ever-pervasive question, "What are you going to do with that?"

As I'm writing this blog, part of my goal is to try to let people know what this process is, exactly.

I am going to start by borrowing the definition from Betty A. Reardon, from her paper, Peace Education: A Review and Projection:

"Peace education is the transmission of knowledge about requirements of, the obstacles to, and possibilities for achieving and maintaining peace, training in skills for interpreting the knowledge, and the development of reflective and participatory capacities for applying the knowledge to overcoming problems and achieving possibilities." Now, what exactly does this involve?

The field can be broken down into two main areas: education for peace and education about peace.

Education for peace is education that aims to create the preconditions for achieving peace. This includes international education, multicultural education, and environmental education. As a lot of conflict can arise from diversity, mulitcultural and international education aim to appreciate the differences and the positive aspects of living in a diverse world, and use conflict as a source of transformation, rather than violence. With environmental education, having a stable, healthy environment is essential for everything we do, thus having an appreciation for and understanding of our environment is important for peace.

Education about peace aims to develop the institutions and processes that maintain a peaceful social order. This includes conflict resolution training, human rights education, and the broad field of peace studies.

Right now it is hard for me to say what I am most interested in. Over the summer I've done a lot of reading on conflict resolution and nonviolent communication, which is also very much in line with studying yogic philosophy. I also am passionate about environmental education, having done my undergraduate degree in environmental studies, and having volunteered at an eco-camp for kids over the summer while in San Diego. Multicultural and international education are really interesting to me as well, having lived in many different places and loving the beauty of each experience in another culture. At this point I don't know what I will specialize in, or what I will do when I finish. But right now, it is all extremely interesting to me, I feel passionate about it, and I definitely feel like I'm in the right place, doing the right thing. I can't wait to dive into the courses!

The countdown to orientation has begun: T minus 20 hours. This week we have 3 days of orientation. Class begins on Monday. The UPEACE system is such that instead of taking 5 classes at once, you take only one class at a time for a three-week period. The first class is the foundation course, which all students at the school will be taking. It is a general peace and conflict studies course. Then I will be taking Peace Education: Theory and Practice, followed by Human Rights Education, Cultures and Learning, and Research Methods. That sums up the first semester.

The reason that the classes are 3 weeks is because there are a lot of visiting professors from around the world who cannot commit to being at UPEACE for an entire semester, so they have designed the program in order to accommodate visiting professors. It also seems like it will be nice to just focus on one class at a time, rather than be juggling 5 classes at once. We'll see how it goes!

As excited as I am, I'm also feeling a little nervous and anxious, which I suppose is normal when embarking on something new. In some ways I feel like I'm going to kindergarten: What should I wear? Will I catch the bus on time? Who will my classmates be? What is the schedule going to be? So many questions. I'd like to think I'm "above" putting too much thought into what I'm going to wear, but I'm going to be honest here - it is on my mind!

On that note, off to do some yoga to transform the nervous energy into something useful!

Another rainy day in San José

Today I went to San José to meet with a woman who works for a Quaker organization called Friends for Peace (Amigos para la Paz). On the trip down, something happened that has happened almost every time I've gotten on a bus, so I thought it was worth mentioning. There is this phenomenon of recovering drug addicts selling candy or some little snack on the bus to earn money. I don't think they pay to ride the bus - today I saw the guy give the bus driver a chocolate, but I don't think he gave him money. When the bus is in motion, he will go into his story - some longer than others - about being a recovering addict and finding God and selling candy has helped to get them off the streets. It's touching, really. The first guy I heard do it went into great detail about his story - that he'd been on drugs since he was 8, and for 22 years was addicted to drugs and living on the streets, committing crimes to support his habit. Today's fellow was a little more concise. I've been giving them money - only today did I actually take what he was selling. It was chocolate, after all...

Drugs do seem to be a problem in San José. The day that Alistair, Kat and I went in, we were looking for an English school for Alistair to check out, when we found ourselves in a not-so-nice area with abandoned lots. Alistair had just bought a Gatorade, and had finished about half of it, when we walked by these two guys slumped on the sidewalk. At the sight of his drink, one of them bounced up and staggered over, and in his nearly unintelligible words, we figured out he wanted the drink, which Alistair kindly handed over. They were so happy about the drink, and as we walked by shouted "God bless! Peace!" (in English). It was very obvious that they were high on something.

In this situation, they were perfectly harmless. As a woman walking alone, though, I wouldn't really want to find myself in the same situation. Downtown, there is Avenida Central and Avenida 1, and it seems that between those two streets, it's fairly safe, heavily patrolled by police, and quite crowded. When you go beyond those two blocks, though, you don't know what you're going to find. In the little time I've spent in San José, I've noticed a lot of homelessness and a lot of people who look like they are on drugs (and I'm not talking about pot).

Isabel, the woman I met, was talking about how San José has been experiencing more crime, drug abuse, and homelessness in recent years, but it's not as bad as many other Central and South American capitals. Her feeling is that there needs to be intervention now - like more urban community projects, reclaiming space, helping the homeless, addict assistance programs - before it spirals out of control and gangs take over, as they have in other places.

Her organization also does some interesting work trying to disseminate information about the US military's use of weapons that contain uranium (I'm not exactly sure what kind of weapons, or the science behind this), which is causing birth defects in Iraq as well as in America (in the children of servicemen and women who have been exposed). She showed me a lot of very harrowing pictures of the affects of these weapons. Her organization made a movie about it, so after I see it, I'll write more on the subject.

This group also does a project called Art for Peace, where they get kids to paint murals on city walls. They are also working on getting a bike path made through the city. The meeting was informative, and the organization seems to do a lot of good work in the city. There is definitely a possibility to do some work with them in the future - we'll see what happens!

Meanwhile, I have another meeting with someone either tonight and tomorrow who is a former UPEACE student who now works with an organization called Academy for Peace/Rasur Foundation. I'm really interested in the work they're doing. They are training teachers to use nonviolent communication in the classroom, and to teach their students about it. In addition they are putting on an international conference in September, so I'm hoping to get involved.

I also picked up a used book at an English bookshop called "Waging Peace In Our Schools." It is perfect reading for my current studies - it might even be on the required reading list. It's a good start!

It has rained a lot the past two days. Yesterday it rained for about 5 hours, and it probably rained about the same today. Just one more day until orientation. I must say, I really can't wait to get started!

Fair, Part II, and Ants

Last night involved another trip to the village fair. We went and ended up meeting a bunch of other new students from Korea, the US and Colombia. It was nice to see some other classmates - the girl from Korea, Jean, is in my class. As far as I know, I only have about ten classmates, which I think is pretty exciting! It will be nice to be in a small class.

The event of the fair last night were the fireworks. We'd heard that they would start around 8:00 but they started at least an hour later, and surprised us greatly when they started. We just happened to be in a great location to watch them. They were going off directly overhead - almost a little too close, and boy were they loud. There were more dancing folklore figures too, and the marching band, so all around, a festive evening.

Today involved a trip to the farmers market and trying to keep the ants out of our apartment. It is probably something I will just have to reconcile, much akin to living with termites in Niger (we had a symbiotic relationship- I left them alone and they left me alone too, and we cohabited peacefully in my hut). I am trying to practice nonviolence towards the ants, but it is hard! I swept and mopped the floor, and will hope that will keep them out for at least a little while.

I also finished my Spanish verb tenses workbook today! I had been working on it for about a year. Now I just need to apply it practically....

Meanwhile, in Central America, the two big news items, other than President Arias' case of swine flu, are the unresolved situation in Honduras and the issue of US military bases in Colombia. With Honduras, it seems that most heads of state are supporting ousted President Zelaya. There are also calls for the US to do more, which is ironic because usually people are angry over the US's over-involvement (and, often rightfully so). It definitely seems like a case where Obama can do no right. I'm sure if he had acted more strongly, people would be criticizing him.

On the Colombia front, there are tense relations in South America over Colombia's agreement to start allowing the US to use Colombian military bases for the "war on drugs." A lot of countries, particularly Venezuela and Ecuador, are upset over this, saying the US could end up starting wars in the region.

Meanwhile, I wonder how much attention either of these situations are getting in the US media. The coup happened before I left, and at the time it was heavily covered in the US. I hadn't heard about the military bases issue, though.

I promise to put some more pictures up soon!

Thanks for reading!

Village fair and personal practice

Alistair and I came home yesterday to an empty refrigerator (our own doing) and then it started to rain. By 7:30 we were pretty hungry and decided to venture out during a break in the showers, taking our neighbor Rochelle with us. Half-way into town it started pouring, and we managed to duck under an awning to wait for the hard rain to pass. After about 15 minutes it let up enough for us to venture over to the food court and the town fair.

Last night was the start of the fair, which will go on for 10 days. It's for a Catholic holiday on August 15, but I'm not sure which one. We walked around looking at the food stalls, which were either meaty or very sugary - Rochelle and I ended up splitting some churros, which kept us alive for a while, although perhaps not the healthiest option (but what do you expect at a fair?). We stepped into the corner store to grab a few things to make at home, when we heard trumpets playing on the street. We looked out to see an 8-piece marching band and people dressed in these giant folklore costumes - they were dressed as different characters, and the costumes were a full 4 feet taller than the person (they rested on the shoulders, and had parts to cover the person who was wearing them). One character, a woman, was chasing the other characters, and even some onlookers. Rochelle, who is from Trinidad, said that there is a similar spirit in Trinidadian folklore. We watched for a few minutes and then wandered home.

It was also funny to see the village teenagers out and about. Arlen had told us it's where the local boys and girls go to be seen, and to find a boyfriend or girlfriend. They were out in full force last night, girls dressed in short skirts and lots of make up, boys showing off in the various ways that boys do.

Today is a household maintenance day, just catching up on some tidying and laundry, so I thought I'd write a little about my personal practices of peace that I am trying to focus on this year.

I've been practicing yoga for ten years now, and it's been an important part of my life since I started. Over the past 8 months I've been trying to incorporate more meditation into my practice. This year, I am making it a commitment to really practice both yoga asana and meditation every day, because it makes me feel good, and helps me to be more peaceful inside so that I act more peacefully in the world.

I am also trying to practice mindful eating, which is something I started working on when I went to the Kripalu yoga teacher training. We eat several times a day, but so often it can be hurried or mindless, so that when we are finished, we almost don't realize what we've done. Mindful eating is a meditative practice, mostly just about being present while eating. It's harder than it sounds! No TV, no reading, just...eating. My brother gave me a book called Mindful Eating by Jan Chozen Bays, MD, and it has some great exercises to practice. I'm trying to practice mindful eating, but it is easy to forget.

Another practice is nonviolent communication. I also read a book, so titled, but Marshall B. Rosenburg. It is perhaps one of the most practical books I've ever read, but harder to practice than you'd think. The basic idea is speaking and listening empathically, by observing, without judgement, your (or another person's) feelings and needs, and making a request based on that. It involves changing the way you think in a very fundamental way. However, I think it's very practical and worth the effort, so I'm working on that too.

So those are my goals. To integrate those practices into my daily life, so that hopefully one day they will be automatic.

On that note - off to the meditation cushion!

Job searching, shopping malls and thunder

Right now, I'm not sure if the noises I can hear are firewords, thunder, or gunshots. Most likely the former, as today is the first day of the village fair, which will go on for ten days. They've been setting up for it all week, carnival rides and food stalls. It is just opening, so shortly we will venture into town and see what all the commotion is about!

I also hear the buzz of a weedwhacker, and the smell of freshly cut grass here smells like cilantro. I'm not sure if the grass just smells like cilantro or if it grows wild, but either way, it smells great!

Today's adventures involved the post office and job hunting for Alistair. My trip to the post office was brief - no wait. We'll see how long it takes for the mail to actually arrive at its destination!

Then Alistair and I went out to take a look at some English schools nearby that might give him a job. There were two located in this fancy office tower complex. He wasn't able to meet with anyone, but got contact information and has an appointment tomorrow to go back for an interview. Progress!

We just decided the noise is thunder. Doesn't bode well for the outdoor festival!

Next, we decided to check out a nearby shopping mall, just to see what was there. It's a huge place called the Mulitplaza, and it looks like any mall you'd see in North America, even with some of the same stores. We managed to restrain ourselves and just buy sunglasses - much needed in this climate. I lost mine on the airplane on my way here, which was an unfortunate thing to lose, as I've been squinting for the past week.

Again we traveled by bus, and decided that bus travel here feels like sucking on an exhaust pipe. You can see the trucks and cars belching out big black clouds of emissions, and you can feel it in your nostrils and lungs as you breathe. This is only in the high traffic areas, and not around where we live.

Costa Rica has such a reputation for being an eco-friendly country, and I'm sure in a lot of ways it is. It is definitely at the forefront of ecotourism, and is a leader in peacemaking. It seems to be behind in its emissions regulations and in littering, which are also problems. However, it is still a country with a lot of poverty, and until the issue of poverty is addressed and improved, these relatively minor issues of emissions and litter will remain.

Students are gradually trickling in, and everyone is getting more and more excited about classes starting.

Off to investigate the fair!

Trip to Escazu

Another fruitful adventure today, this one solo, to meet Janine, a fellow Kripalu yoga teacher.

I took the bus, left early enough to allow myself time to get lost, which I did, but just a bit. So far people have been really helpful with directions. Janine happens to live and teach on property owned by the man who founded UPEACE (whose name escapes me now), in an area just outside of San Jose called Escazu, which seems to host a lot of wealth. The American and British ambassadors live there, in palatial enclaves. And there is a country club, which Janine's street is across from. The studio itself is surrounded by bamboo trees, which produce a soothing sound as the rainy season wind rustles through them, a perfect backdrop for yoga.

The class was such a treat. I haven't been to a studio in a long time, and it was nice to be led through postures by someone else, especially an experienced, compassionate teacher like Janine. After class she cooked a delicious lunch for us and we chatted about UPEACE, yoga and life in Costa Rica.

I learned some interesting things about UPEACE, too - that there has been a shadowy past, but I guess I'll have to find out more about that for myself. One scandal involved UPEACE terminating the contract of a short-wave radio broadcasting organization, called Radio for Peace International, which culminated with UPEACE preventing the radio staff from entering by using guards with machine guns - not very peaceful. If you are interested in reading about the Radio For Peace International Scandal, please visit: http://rfpi.org/UpazPR.pdf.

Good news is that I have the possibility to teach at her studio, which I will work on once I get my class schedule. Not only that, but it was just great to meet her - she is a very knowledgeable yoga instructor, and has been living in Costa Rica for 20 years and seems to know everyone. I really enjoyed her company and am glad to already have a "yoga friend" here.

On the way home, I saw the aftermath of what looked like an awful bus crash - there was a bus, totally charred and half melted, blocking a lane of traffic. I couldn't see any other vehicle involved, so it's possible the bus crashed into the hillside. I honestly don't know what happened, or if anyone was even injured, but the sight was harrowing. It took a long time to get home.

Machismo is alive and well, which works towards my advantage when on the crowded bus. When a seat opened up, some men cleared the way so I could sit there, and later I watched the men wait and ask the only woman who was standing farther up on the bus, and only after she rejected the seat did a man sit in it. Again, this is a big difference from Japan, where I have been nearly knocked over and stepped on by salarymen trying to beat me to a seat on the train.

Other big news of the day is that Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica who is spearheading the Honduras peace negotiations, has swine flu. This is only overshadowed by the Costa Rica-Honduras world cup qualifier game, which is on as I type this.

Viva el futbol!

We now know the way to San Jose

It was a day of firsts: I met my first UPEACE student, took my first bus trip, and had a first look at San Jose.

The other student is nice. Her name is Kat and she is from the Netherlands, and will be doing the International Peace Studies program. This morning Annie introduced us and I invited her to come along with us.

We had no trouble getting the bus, and it was quite a comfortable ride, especially compared to what we are used to from transportation in Tokyo. A nice woman who spoke perfect English saw Alistair and I looking at our guide book and asked us if we needed help. She kindly pointed us in the direction of the Central Market (mercado central).

Stepping off the bus was pretty crazy - the area around the bus station is a bit dirty and hectic, as areas around most bus stations in most parts of the world tend to be. The wind was blowing strongly, kicking up dust in our eyes and adding to the chaotic feeling. We stepped into the market, which I was expecting to be equally hectic, but it was surprisingly calm and tranquil. There were souvenir shops, food stalls, household items and produce. We stopped for a drink in a cute little cafe and looked at our map inconspicuously (the woman on the bus had also said, "Be careful. San Jose is really dangerous. Don't flash anything valuable...." which perhaps was why I was feeling edgy when we got off the bus).

From the market we walked through the central area, aptly named Avenida Central. It was a bustling pedestrian area, and much cleaner than the neighborhood near the bus station. It's nice to have pedestrian areas - it is definitely not a pedestrian-friendly country. The drivers are not paying attention to people crossing the street, and crossing the street can be scary. Pedestrian zones, of which there are a few in San Jose, are a welcome haven. We visited a large church that was surprisingly modern, then went on a hunt to find an electrical adapter for Kat, which gave me a chance to practice some more Spanish. Then we set out to find some English schools for Alistair, a goose chase which took us to a torn-down building in the industrial part of town. Unfortunately, we never found the school. A project for another day....

Our next project was to find the Museo Para La Paz, a peace museum founded by Oscar Arias, the Nobel laureate and current Costa Rican president. At first we couldn't find it, and instead found a great little souvenir market near the national museum (and managed not to buy anything). Then we did find it, but it was closed - according to the guide book, it would open in ten minutes. After a tour of the market, we returned to the alleged museum - only to find out it wasn't a museum. The gate was still locked, and there was a buzzer, so we rang it. I said "Is this the peace museum?" And the woman replied, "It's not here anymore." Que lastima! We made our way back to the bus station, passing an English book shop, with a good - but expensive - selection.

By the end, we felt very comfortable in San Jose. We'll still keep our wits about us when we walk around, as theft is supposed to be a problem. But the city is easy to navigate, not too dirty, not too crowded, and rather relaxed, traffic aside. I'll be going back next Monday to meet with a peace and justice organization, Amigos para la Paz, who I've been in touch with.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I'm attending a yoga class with a fellow Kripalu yoga teacher, and will speak to her about the possibility of teaching at her studio. I'm excited both by the prospect of teaching and just being able to enjoy a class let by someone else.

I'm going to start posting some pictures too, as we get them up!

Mission Statement

I just wanted to write a little about why I'm writing this blog.

When I came back from Niger in 2005, I didn't even know what a blog was. Blogs were a pretty new concept at the time, especially to someone who hadn't had regular internet access for two years. This is my first attempt at one, so bear with me!

My purpose in writing this is to share my experiences of life in Costa Rica and my studies of peace education. I hope that what I learn and observe here can be useful - or at least enjoyable - to other people.

Thanks for reading!

You, peace

We finally made it up to campus - 7 kilometers of hilly terrain, with lots of birds and butterflies to keep us company on the way up. The UPEACE campus sits atop of a hill above town. The campus is small, a few clusters of buildings with classrooms and offices, and lots of protected area. There are some hiking trails, but after the walk up, we didn't need to walk much more. There is a peace monument at the top, and lots of statues of historical figures, from Ghandi to Eleanor Roosevelt to Oscar Arias, who dedicated their lives to peace and justice work. The monument itself sits in front of a pond, where some funny ducks live (one of whom was angry when we arrived - not a peaceful duck!).

I was also able to meet some of the staff who I've been emailing for months now. They were all incredibly friendly, warm and welcoming. It seems like an ideal environment to study peace-related issues for the year.

On our way, we saw many different kinds of birds and butterflies, and even a tiny snake (who was dead - he had been run over by a car). Apparently there are poisonous snakes in Costa Rica but not in this region. Supposedly there are a lot of monkeys and toucans around, but we haven't seen any of those yet. We did see a hummingbird as we set out, which was very nice. We miss the hummingbirds from California!

I've got a lead on a yoga studio where I might be able to teach, which would be very exciting.

Good start to the week!

The mysteries of washing machines in foreign countries

Six o'clock, and a most beautiful sunset, which we can see well from our westward-facing apartment. The rainy season clouds provide a beautiful canvas for for the sun's last rays.

This week is all about getting settled and exploring, because I have a feeling that once classes start, there won't be much time for either of these. Today's project: laundry! Deciphering the washing machine is always an initial challenge when living in another country. This one provided to be slightly more challenging than my Japanese machine, which was surprising, for I couldn't read kanji. After all, I can read Spanish, and the machine has English translations, and pictures - but I've never seen a machine like it. There are two separate compartments, one for the wash and rinse cycle, and one for the spin, so you have to switch the close between the two, and monitor the water flow and draining. It requires more attention than your average washing machine, but once I figured it out, it worked well.

We also had a nice chat with Sucy and Arlan today in their house. They are really kind people and I feel very lucky to live here.

Another daily project at the moment, which I also think will fall by the wayside once school starts, is reading the newspaper in Spanish. I've been reading La Nacion, which is a San Jose daily paper. It's great practice, and I can understand enough that I just have to look up the occasional word in the dictionary, so it's not too laborious. Plus, the same words come up repeatedly, so I'm finding that each day, I have to look up a few less words. It certainly takes me longer to read than an English paper, but it's a good challenge and a fun way to study!

We've been enjoying Spanish TV, too. Alistiar is loving the sports coverage (football and baseball), with Spanish commentary. It's also fun to watch movies in English with Spanish subtitles and see how they translate things - another way to learn vocabulary and idioms.

Tomorrow we are going to walk to the University, which is 13 kilometers roundtrip. I'm excited!

Dusty and rainy

Yesterday little Dusty came home. Our landlords are Suzy and Arlen (who by name sound American but are Costa Rican), and Dusty is the new addition to their family. They also have a six-year old son named Dylan. Suzy came home mid-afternoon, and Arlen came and invited us over to see her and the baby. He has been very kind to us. He has come over a few times to chat, and doesn't seem to be bothered by our inability to talk as much as he does. He likes to talk, and we are just happy that people will talk to us!

It makes a big difference knowing a bit of the language already. Every time I've gone to another country where the first language isn't English, I haven't spoken a word before arriving. Then I spend the first few months struggling to convey basic needs and greetings. This time, Alistair and I have the basics down, and can convey ideas in the more simple tenses. Now we just have to work on vocabulary, fluency, and those trickier tenses.

It's nice being able to talk to people on the street, and in shops. I am surprised by how friendly people here truly are. Lots of people say hello as we walk down the street, and it's really easy to have a random conversation with someone - just start talking! In this respect it is the polar opposite of Japan. People there are friendly, too, but they are more shy and reserved.

Yesterday afternoon I took a little walk down the University for Peace (UPEACE) road, and was again surprised at how stunningly beautiful it is. I guess I wasn't expecting the area to be so lush. Dense vegetation, rugged cliffs, steep hills, countless butterflies, interesting birds - they make for a fun walk. And a healthy one - if we keep walking (and Alistair, running) these hills, we will be in really great shape!

I didn't walk all the way to the university, which is 6.5 km. I am going to try to do that in the next few days.

Any outdoor activities should be executed in the morning, because it without a doubt rains every afternoon. Yesterday I was quite lucky, as I went out between noon and 1:30. Shortly after I came back, it started pouring, as though the sky had been holding back the rain for years and was just dumping it out. Definitely torrential.

Last night we had a little insect visitor. He looked almost like a grasshopper, but his body looked exactly like a leaf, as though he could have been picked right off the tree. He had very skinny legs, and he was bright green. We found him in our kitchen, and figured he didn't really want to be there, so we found a jar and managed to get him in and put him outside.

No plans for today yet. I'm sure it'll be interesting!

Oranges, laundry, mosquitos

It doesn't get much better than fresh squeezed orange juice! Our apartment is sparse, but one thing we do have is a little hand-juicer, which we discovered after we had bought about a dozen oranges at a local fruit and veg shop. I will be getting strong arm muscles from all my juicing!

The oranges here are amazing. They are soft and large. The skin is not just orange, but also brown, and green. Some have scratches, some are bruise, some from the outside look like they might be rotting...but they're not! Inside, they are soft, juicy, and delicious - incomparable to the perfectly round and perfectly orange hard juiceless balls you find in most northern grocery stores.

Once again we are figuring out how everything works. This is easier than it was in Japan, as we can read Spanish. Our laundry drying rack is on a pully system in the washing room, so you can pull the clothes up and get them out of the way, which is convenient. The ceiling is high and there is a "sunroof," which seems to be letting in an occasional leaf or two, so it must be open to the sky somewhere. The washing machine is eco-friendly, and has a 15 minute wash cycle. Then you put the clothes into another part of the machine and do a 5-minute spin cycle. We haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Last night we were getting attacked by mosquitos in our apartment, even with the door closed. We have screens on the windows, so I'm not sure where they are coming from. The mosquitos are pretty small, but vicious.

Today we are arranging our apartment, cleaning, and unpacking, and will probably take an exploratory walk later!

We have arrived

We have arrived! It is our first day in Costa Rica, and I still can't believe that we are here. There was so much involved in getting here, from applying to school to figuring out how to pay for it to sorting out the immigration documents (which are still being sorted), it seemed like actually arriving might never happen. In fact, it felt that way yesterday as we ran around LA trying to do last-minute immigration errands. But we are here, and it feels wonderful!

We arrived at 5:30 in the morning. The landlady had given me directions to the apartment, which I gave to the taxi driver, who had no idea how to get there. I knew she would be waiting for us, and when I saw a pregnant lady on the street (I also knew she is 9 months pregnant) I thought "Oh, maybe that's her..." and it was. She quickly showed us to the apartment, and went off to the hospital for an appointment, which turned into contractions. She is possibly giving birth right now.

We were greeted by a couple, Harry and Annie, who own an apartment building across the street. Harry is American and Annie is from the Dominican Republic. They gave us some toast, coffee and friendly conversation.

Ciudad Colon is cute. More of a pueblito than a ciudad, but it has everything we could need, and is quiet and relaxed. The scenery is beautiful - coffee plantations, forest, mountains, exotic birds, butterflies. There is a mango tree outside our room, which occasionally drops fruit onto the metal garage roof, which sounds like the place is being bombed. "Oh, it's just a mango falling..."

It had been a long time since I had to wash my pasta or rice. In Niger I always had to do it because bugs - weevils, I believe - would infest food occasionally, putting a damper on lunch. Tonight's pasta was full of them, resulting in us going to the store to buy another bag (of spaghetti rather than macaroni, which seemed to provide a cozy home for the little suckers).

It has been raining a lot, off and on. It will drizzle, to let you know the big one is coming, then the sky opens up and pours for a few minutes, then it stops. It repeated this all afternoon. The temperature is comfortable, and if you get stuck in the rain, you just have to duck for cover, knowing that it will clear up in a few minutes.

Well, this is my first attempt at a blog entry. My plane flight is catching up to me and I must go to bed before the mosquitos get the better of me!