Tagged with "Costa Rica"

As I exited the airport, I couldn’t help but feel the butterflies in my stomach increase tenfold. Here I was for the first time outside of the country, alone and nervous about meeting my host family. I quickly saw my host mom holding up a sign with my name along with her brother. This was it. I was here in Costa Rica and as we piled into the car I tried to keep calm and take everything in. As we sped down the winding roads and steep hills, I saw an array of small business buildings, tin roofed homes, and narrow sidewalks. Finally pulling up to my host family’s home, I was eager to see where I would be living for the next couple of months.

I know that in America it is a little harder to tell if someone is a foreigner or not just by looking at them, because of our vast and heterogeneous population. In Japan the way I was treated as a foreigner was a lot different than how I’ve seen foreigners treated in the states. In my experience, whether or not someone was a foreigner was just something to take note of, and wonder about, no action was taken. In Japan, after I got through all of the impromptu photo-shoots, I was often approached and asked about how I was enjoying the country. I received warm welcomes, and was asked of my plans to return. I know that each society has their reasons for doing what they do in this situation. Personally, I have decided to adopt the Japanese way of acknowledging foreigners (minus the camera action). I can honestly say it has served me well, and I have met a lot of really amazing people because of this.

Some University of Iowa students will delve into the Costa Rican forests during a time other college students choose to party or relax. The UI Office of Study Abroad will allow students to spend this spring break studying environmental sustainability in and around the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica. UI civil and environmental engineering Assistant Professor Craig Just said the trip is meant to spur students to be more sustainable in their daily lives after exploring an environment that’s largely been untouched by industrial growth.

I am a “toubab.” This is a term used in West Africa to describe a foreigner. However, when directly translated it means white person. It is accurate in the sense that I am an American. However, my appearance does not properly reflect “toubab.”