Intensa, one of their three schools in the San Jose area
I started my Spanish lessons the day after I arrived. Originally I was was suppose to be here for 4 weeks total, but having arrived a week later then I thought I would set everything back. I was hoping to maybe get enough of a grasp of the language studying 20 hours per week, and doing some additional tutoring in the afternoon to be able to partly test out on it when I get back and get some credit for it. A semester of Spanish in college is about 60 hours, or equivalent to about 3 weeks here. Intensa really focuses on teaching thru oral skills, as well as immersion. The three weeks that I'm going to be here will probably not be enough to cover some of the things the test will have on it. The combination of losing a week, and also not necessarily wanting to spend all my time here studying (6 hours a day) means I probably won't learn as much as I was hoping, but still I know it is a really good start to learning the language, and will certainly help me in my travels.
An advantage I have here is since I'm the only person starting at my level, I'm the only person in my class, so I get great attention! They rotate teachers so I get a new one each week. And so far while my learning is slow, and my teachers have the patience of saints (they have too!) I am getting it. In Spanish Poco by Poco, says it, little by little.
The courtyard at school
Everyone at the school has been great. Intensa has 3 schools in the area, with literally hundreds of students, They teach morning, afternoons and evenings, generally 3 to 4 hour classes. A lot of their students are Costa Rican's studying English. In fact one of their goals is to earn a Certificate in English, as established by the University of Michigan. But you also get a sense that their are many people here of all ages and for all reasons. From people wanting to learn Spanish for business reasons, to students, to people like me who maybe are just traveling and want to learn the language better. And as mentioned before, to do a home stay, with lessons and have your meals included is a very economical way to go. Costa Rica like many places in the world, see English as a very important second language. It is one of the main languages used in international business.
The School has helped me with everything from cashing my travelers checks, to changing dollars to colones (the local currency), making sure I'm settled in at my home stay, while finding a bank that will take my debit card. They also make reservations for tours, which we get a student discount for, have helped me with faxes that I had to make to the U.S., let me use their phone for long distance phone calls while selling me the card to make the call. I have been able to make all my zerox copies while also using their place as a pick up place to send packages back. They even called my house here to make sure I remembered my cooking class I signed up for. and finally they invited me to their staff Thanksgiving day dinner.
All the teachers have told me how much they love working here, and you really get a sense that they do. You can tell when people are comfortable with where their working, the fact that they have time to offer so much help tells you a lot. Like their priorities are not just about production, or making money and every moment has to be accounted for. The fact that they have three schools says their doing ok in that area anyway. Usually what all that means is that their getting good management from the top down.
Vera Cordero, Robert Patterson the administrator, and myself. Vera's patience with all the emails and the help to get me here and set this all up was amazing.
My first day here I got to sit down with one of the original founder's of the school, Robert Patterson, also the present administrator. Being somewhat of a celebrity myself, having driven my motorcycle down I have seemed to have attracted some attention. And of course I still give out by card with my blogging site for those wishing to follow the trip. We hit it off easily and ended up talking well into the afternoon. It was very interesting talking to him.
Originally from the states, in the 70's he had worked for different companies all over the world. Everywhere from South America to the Middle East. Eventually in the 80's he ended up here in Costa Rica where he and a partner started the school. Eventually he bought his partner out and for the last 25 years or so has run the school. He is in ways a very unassuming man, but speaking with him you get the sense, or maybe I imagine it, that having lived so long outside of the U.S. he has a different perspective on it, as well as the world. I guess this was something I was after to learn from him, and partly why I'm drawn to international travel.I think for him he was interested in the perspective of a guy who would jump on his motorcycle and travel 4000 miles to Central America. And maybe also the perspective of a fellow "American". Or maybe he just wanted to check me out to make sure I was safe!
Like so many I've met down here he was very interested in what I thought of Obama. For the most part I have gotten pretty good feed back on Obama from foreigners. Not everyone though, but many in the world, and myself included I think felt a sense of relief. Like this is really is an opportunity for change, like a younger person who really knows what he wants to do and how to do it. Not someone who was scrambling to find a place to stand from, a position that was more popular then his opponents, just so he could get elected. I guess I feel like so many "Americans", I just can't handle another 4 years of Bush's policies, or anything that remotely looks like them. As I said in my last post, there is just way too many countries that either hate us, or at best are annoyed with us and our policies. And I think I do in a lot of ways understand Bush's concerns and the vision he has for the world, but the ways he goes about getting there has been disastrous in so many ways. And often his decisions are based in fear and the go it alone attitude which has done just that, left us alone. Robert wasn't so sure about Obama either, like many people probably are, he is taking a wait and see attitude. But I reminded him of what Einstein's wife said when asked about her husband, and we both laughed.....
When someone asked Mrs. Einstein if she understood her husbands theory of relativity, she thought for a moment and then said "no, but I know my husband, and he can be trusted".
At some point you have to trust someone, and you have to trust someone new if the old one isn't working. Personally and I don't think its going out on a limb at all to say, Obama is from the right background, he understands the depth of a lot of our problems, and his motivations are right. He's not afraid to surround him self with the right people who may not agree with him. He's not threatened by people who differ with him, in fact he's smart enough to know he needs all those experienced people and that no one could possibly know everything, and personal conflict gets you nowhere. Its not as important that things get done your way, its more important that they get done the right way, regardless of who does them, or who's idea it is. As soon as I saw his motives, his intelligence, his focus, professionalism and reluctance to gravitate towards negativity in the campaign, and not get rattled no matter what tactics his opponents used against him, I began to realize this is a very special man, at a very special time. He will make mistakes and he is not free from all the powers that be that often define our two party system, but I still think he is the best hope we have right now for where we're at, and the fact that much of the world seems to agree, is a sign of relief indeed.
Of course Ralph Nader see's it differently. To him the two party system is and its all inclusiveness is the problem to begin with. The inherent weaknesses of our system. The governments reluctance or inability to really level with the American people, or conduct business honestly and continually come up with "band aids" to long term problems is historical. Its hard to ignore his arguments, but I always reach the point of yes, but if I vote for you, none of the changes I want will occur, none of them. Because you won't win and our votes will be fragmented....... His argument, if you don't really vote for change, and tell the government what you think and stop being slaves to an ineffectual two party system paid for by special interests, nothing will change. Again Its hard to argue with him, for me it is easier to vote for Obama, because this might be the only realistic avenue to change right now we can hope for.
Marcela, another teacher who showed "divine patience" with me
I am somewhat cautious too as Obama puts together his "Super Team" and they move forward with the ooh's and ah's of followers that the same thing happened with George Bush when he was first elected. His "Super Team" of George Schultz (I believe), Colin Powell as well as others from the Reagan and his dad's administration, plus majorities in the house and senate all had the Republicans glowing, and promising big change, much like the Democrats now could be. So we will see. George Bush couldn't keep his super team together, apparently couldn't lead them, and lost support of people like Colin Powell who realized like with the Iraq war and the weapons of mass destruction theory he was being used it seems, to fulfill some personal agenda of Bush. A big difference from now and then is one, I think Obama has the ability to lead all these big ego's mainly because he is not threatened by them (we'll see), but also by him not having a personal agenda as much as having an American agenda. This is huge, because with a personal agenda it has to come into conflict to some degree with others in your cabinet. To have a more open flexible agenda that depends more on the circumstances and finding the best solution on a day to day basis instead of being locked into a this way or the highway philosophy can make a big difference in the longevity and cohesiveness of a team. Added to this the enormity of all our problems right now, two wars, the economy, the perception of us abroad, there really isn't any time for gloating or saying we did it, nothing has gotten done yet, and it maybe years before there really is any solid signs that things will improve. There are some subtle, but important differences here, and where we're at today is quite different then where we were at 8 years ago.
With Bush in the end doing things his way no matter what anyone else thought was one of his strengths, but also a great weakness. I almost got a bumper sticker for my car when we invaded Iraq. It would have read, "just because you believe in something doesn't make it right, Bush is wrong". I guess that makes me a liberal but I saw no reason to start a war, we couldn't pay for, in a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 when Afghanistan needed so much help and the world was with us there, but not in Iraq. Maybe history will judge the decision differently and I wouldn't want to tell people in Iraq that they were better off with Hussein then they are now, but their suffering without him seems to have been no less in ways then with him.
In Costa Rica the upper half of the television stations are English speaking and generally U.S. stations. The lower half Spanish speaking and are all Latin American produced. All the U.S. stations like CNN, TNT, HBO, Cinemax Fox News as well as many others are here. Big shows like David Letterman, Jay Leno, all the late night talk shows, can be found. They have the NFl and NBA with even their own version of Sports Center and ESPN. Some are dubbed in Spanish, some like TNT have one in Spanish and one in English, both playing the same show at the same time. With such a large population of U.S. citizens down here, there are not only t.v. shows for them but English newspapers as well. In fact that was one of Roberts criticisms of the "expatriot's" (as their called down here, Americans who have retired or decided to move down here) that they tend to live in their own community's and don't necessarily get outside of them enough. This sort of "segregation" is still quite prevalent in the states as well, while in general cultures and nationalities do tend to stick together, living in either their own countries or communities abroad, it is too bad and a tremendous waste of cultural richness that we don't share more with each other. When we make a connection with someone by making an effort to learn their language, or one of their customs, the feeling is very rewarding. Again to quote Greg Frazier from his travels around the world five times, the thing he remembers most, was "the people, and the sharing".
From my travels in Europe and Morocco to Canada and living in Montana and Alaska, there is nothing like travel to reinforce the bonds of humanity thru shared experiences, not necessarily coming from the same culture or even speaking the same language. People all share the same values, expressed in different ways and rituals. When this is first understood, it goes a long way in how we define ourselves in relation to others.
Yami, one of my "devoted" teachers
We ended our conversation when Roberts son Bernie came into the cafeteria needing something signed. For me being around people who not only know the U.S. but know so much of the rest of the world as well is just such a valuable perspective. Like noted, a more balanced view of one's self within the context of the world community is so important. Like when I meet Europeans and having been raised in a geographical area that encompasses so many different countries and cultures they just seem to naturally have a perspective of the world. Like their not the only ones on the planet. And worldwide travel with so many of them is taken up so easily, like yes, of course your part of a bigger world, why not partake in it. I happen to share this perspective with them. I think it is so vital to so many of our problems on this planet. Gaining a sense of a global community and working towards common goals is what's going to save us, not tying to separate ourselves and become the mightiest country on the planet. And guess what, again, like the inner city problems that migrate to the suburbs, its also the 3rd world countries problems that migrate to our doorstep because we didn't deal with them effectively to begin with...or better yet, fully understand our role in creating them to begin with.
There is no doubt that there are very real threats out there that need to be acknowledged and dealt with. How they are dealt with and in what manner is the question. When you go to war you naturally start a chain of events that you lose control of. All the ugliness of war seems the unavoidable by product of waging it to begin with. From listening to technicians in the Pentagon joke about blowing people up from satellites based in space, not even knowing who they were in Iraq, to not working with the rest of the world, and waging wars you can't pay for, when the economy is already so bad, going it alone, it goes on and on, holding people in Cuba we may not even be aware of who they are, taking your anti-terrorism measures to the point they infringe on the civil liberties your suppose to protecting to begin with, all done in the name of what is right, and what you believe in, or maybe worst, fear. Its sort of hard to believe, but is It any wonder we have a new president and the Republicans are scrambling to find out who they are. No the old ideals wont' work anymore. You can't just believe your way out of a mess, you need to figure out what created it to begin with and come to terms with what really needs to be done to change it, without extreme reactions (though sometimes those are even preferable to doing nothing). That is where I see us today environmentally, politically, every way you look at it, like Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a changing". They always have been, though now they just seem to really be coming to a head. I know I sound like I should run for office, sorry I guess Adventure Logs has temporarily turned into Political Logs!
"Does not tomorrow begin today?" Quai Chane Cains teacher in the t.v. show Kung Fu. If so our problems have been heading in this direction for awhile.
Miyera one of my three teachers who patiently guided me thru my lessons, and someone I would call a friend
As I had another long talk with one of my teachers, one of the basic challenges with the U.S. seems to be we're having an identity crisis. Our old models and believes, how we define ours selfs, doesn't seem to be working anymore. We're not the only super power anymore, people are struggling right along with the dollar. Today's world is not the same one my father and mother grew up and grew old in. Its not to say mom and dads values aren't needed or their wisdom, if anything we could use a good shot of those values. But to bring someone in, just because they represent old recognizable values, or have a seemingly hip and modern hockey mom as a side kick, who in an emergency could end up running the country, to me is not only irresponsible, its an old game of politics that we just can't afford to play right now. We probably never could. That's the reason there was probably a large collective sigh of relief that might have been heard across the world as the election results came in. In ways the conservative movement has been a disaster in this country, but I'm not convinced having the far left in control would be any better. And maybe the biggest illusion of all is me commenting on my perceptions of what I think is going on...... hmm
Well I have spoke my peace again, sorry if it offends anyone, the thing with travel is you just never know what your going to run into, attitudes and all. I just think this is such an extraordinary time for all of us, with so many challenges on every front, its hard to imagine anything quite like this, but we know our country and the world has been thru darker times. I just hope we can gain some sense of the need to do it together, and put our at times huge ego aside. And this doing it together is not the same as having a world wide democracy in the world, a vote with the majority winning. A vote between conflicting lines of thought, the one getting the most votes wins, regardless of whether its wrong or not (an inherently flawed system one might argue). But more of a lets all put our heads (or hearts) together and instead of coming up with something we've already tried before, lets thru a group conscience approach, arrive at a solution we could not have arrived at before thinking alone. Here in maybe lie the best solutions to our problems and also maybe the secret to Intensa's success. I don't think Robert the cofounder and current administrator, would argue with that at all, in fact I think he's very aware of it......maybe their best kept secret. Maybe a secret uncovered, one that leads us to think, maybe their teaching more then just Spanish and English at that school.....
Here I am on graduation day, graduating with full honors , obviously the best in my class..
Namaste', A Hindu greeting or goodbye that means I acknowledge the divinity or godhead in you..........before taking any action with or against another, we need to acknowledge this connection first.
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