It’s been a while since I have updated my blog and I have sooo much to tell, I hope I remember everything. Here goes..
For a while I was feeling really bored, I didn’t feel like I had enough to do and it became frustrating. At home, I am used to being away from home all day long because of work and other things that demand my time. Sometimes I would feel overwhelmed but now that I am here I feel differently. When I was in the US, I didn’t have much leisure time, which I didn’t mind. Once I got here I had so much time on my hands that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Of course a 20 year old could find lots of troublesome things to do in a country where the legal drinking age is 18, but I wanted more to do than party so I joined the gym. For a little over 2 weeks I have been waking up at 5:30AM Monday-Friday to go to the gym and work out for an hour. I started to look at the gym as a job that I needed to wake up early for. The first two days I was accompanied by my roommate who couldn’t believe I would wake up that early just to work out. To my surprise, there are MANY people who are up at the same time jogging and going to the gym to get in their daily exercise. So far I have been successful in getting back in shape and I feel better about myself because I now have a purpose and a reason to busy myself.
I also recently visited Arenal Volcano where there are natural hot springs that are heated by the volcano lava. During that weekend the clouds hung really low so I didn’t get a chance to see the lava but the hot springs resort was a blast.
Last weekend we took a group trip to Manuel Antonio beach...Pictures are posted.
Now what I can remember...
This past Monday my business Spanish class took a field trip to La Nacion, which is the Central American headquarters for news and radio. The first tour where we got to see the what newspapers were made was a bit boring but the second half was amazing. We got a behind the scenes look at way radio stations produce the programs we hear. There is a station called besame here in Costa Rica that plays more tropical, salsa, meringue music. We met a producer and later met a radio host who interviewed us and we were on the live radio. We were all shocked because we didn’t know he would put us on a national station. He told the Ticos how we are students from the US here to study Spanish at ULACIT.
Also, this Monday I had a job interview and I will be interning with a small business that offers consulting. They are pretty successful. I start working with them tomorrow and I feel a little nervous. Not about my ability to work but about changing works cultures. I am afraid to see the differences in work culture because I don’t want to make any mistakes, especially since I am now challenged to broaden my professional vocabulary in Spanish. At the same time I know this is a great opportunity for me to invest in myself. A chance to work abroad really pushes one to step outside of the norm and to learn new ways of working with people, especially when you are the true minority.
Enjoy...
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Felicia Thomas Incorporated
Today in my Latin American economics class my professor imposed the question of what is development. It never ceases to amaze me how words that seem so minor can be hard to define. As we shouted out different answers, I knew there was more to the definition than what we would have been able to define. Dr. Clarke defined development as improvement over time. Since my last semester at Carlow, I started viewing business theories as good self improvement tips. So I immediately thought to myself, am I developing, have I improved over time? Since I have been in college, have I appreciated my value? I feel that I can confidently say yes, however I realize that there is much more development that needs to take place in Felicia Thomas incorporated.
I am here in Costa Rica to appreciate my value by developing my Spanish and cultural awareness. This focus will allow me to market myself better and to make me of more value to corporate America. Although development rarely ever happens quickly, it only happens when there are short term changes in management. In my case, the management of my time and how much of it I apply to bettering my Spanish fluency is the improvement I need to make while in Costa Rica.
Dr. Clarke's lecture motivated me to think more about my self development. When I graduate from Carlow I don’t expect to start an entry level CEO position, but I can start practicing good management skills by better managing myself.
I am here in Costa Rica to appreciate my value by developing my Spanish and cultural awareness. This focus will allow me to market myself better and to make me of more value to corporate America. Although development rarely ever happens quickly, it only happens when there are short term changes in management. In my case, the management of my time and how much of it I apply to bettering my Spanish fluency is the improvement I need to make while in Costa Rica.
Dr. Clarke's lecture motivated me to think more about my self development. When I graduate from Carlow I don’t expect to start an entry level CEO position, but I can start practicing good management skills by better managing myself.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Random thoughts on the first 2 days
In the past three days I learned a lot about how ones environment can change their whole emotional state, at least for me.
Since I have been here I have been happy, sad, confident and unsure about myself. The thing is, when you decide to live in another country, you are not just choosing to witness the change in cultural differences, but you are also adapting to those changes. Your decision to study abroad is more than just a change in language and diet, you are now abandoning your own customs and what you feel is politically (in) correct and living according to the law of the land.
On Friday during my first day of orientation we were told to observe without passing judgments. For example, a woman struggling to carry a huge tree up a hill while a man is walking in front of her smoking a cigarette may seem like she is his slave. Well, that’s how it appeared to me from the picture in the presentation, but the truth is that I don’t know about the customs of their country, their relationship, or if they know each other at all. While in Costa Rica, I am here to learn the customs and by doing so I need to train myself to observe without forming an opinion regardless if it is negative or positive.
The speech not only made us aware of how we should perceive Costa Ricans but how Costa Ricans may view us. Currently the world view of the US isn’t so great, we are viewed as being selfish, nominating people. I cannot change the opinions of Costa Ricans; however, I can work hard to not act out those stereotypes.
Today, a few friends and I went downtown to shop for swimming suits. Although none of us bought one we were more open to purchasing them, let me explain this more in detail... In general, we women go shopping and focus more about how we look in the outfit instead of how the outfit looks on us. So a friend of mine tried on these swimsuits and after we trashed out bodies she said to me "Felicia, here, no one cares about how big our stomachs are or if we are proportionate or not, so let’s just buy what we like." After thinking about what she said it made me less conscious of wearing the swimsuit. This little story is not intended to bash US customs or make Costa Ricans seem like they aren’t judgmental of the human body, because I'm sure there are some Costa Rican men that would rather not see me in a two piece. However, it is amazing how our little knowledge of the perceptions of others, changed our perceptions of ourselves. I have no ending point with that story; I encourage the reader to form their own conclusion. I can say, however, that I am going to work hard this semester not to get to know myself, but to get to know what cultural norms exist here in Costa Rica and in the US and to what extent they affect my own perception of myself and others.
Since I have been here I have been happy, sad, confident and unsure about myself. The thing is, when you decide to live in another country, you are not just choosing to witness the change in cultural differences, but you are also adapting to those changes. Your decision to study abroad is more than just a change in language and diet, you are now abandoning your own customs and what you feel is politically (in) correct and living according to the law of the land.
On Friday during my first day of orientation we were told to observe without passing judgments. For example, a woman struggling to carry a huge tree up a hill while a man is walking in front of her smoking a cigarette may seem like she is his slave. Well, that’s how it appeared to me from the picture in the presentation, but the truth is that I don’t know about the customs of their country, their relationship, or if they know each other at all. While in Costa Rica, I am here to learn the customs and by doing so I need to train myself to observe without forming an opinion regardless if it is negative or positive.
The speech not only made us aware of how we should perceive Costa Ricans but how Costa Ricans may view us. Currently the world view of the US isn’t so great, we are viewed as being selfish, nominating people. I cannot change the opinions of Costa Ricans; however, I can work hard to not act out those stereotypes.
Today, a few friends and I went downtown to shop for swimming suits. Although none of us bought one we were more open to purchasing them, let me explain this more in detail... In general, we women go shopping and focus more about how we look in the outfit instead of how the outfit looks on us. So a friend of mine tried on these swimsuits and after we trashed out bodies she said to me "Felicia, here, no one cares about how big our stomachs are or if we are proportionate or not, so let’s just buy what we like." After thinking about what she said it made me less conscious of wearing the swimsuit. This little story is not intended to bash US customs or make Costa Ricans seem like they aren’t judgmental of the human body, because I'm sure there are some Costa Rican men that would rather not see me in a two piece. However, it is amazing how our little knowledge of the perceptions of others, changed our perceptions of ourselves. I have no ending point with that story; I encourage the reader to form their own conclusion. I can say, however, that I am going to work hard this semester not to get to know myself, but to get to know what cultural norms exist here in Costa Rica and in the US and to what extent they affect my own perception of myself and others.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
29 days until I leave
I am really excited about my trip to Costa Rica. I know that I will learn a lot and that I will grow as a person. With only 29 more days left to go, time cant go by any faster or slower. Faster because it seemed like just yesterday that I was applying for this trip. Slower because I am so excited to leave and January 8, 2009 can't come soon enough. Regardless of the speed of time, I am going to do everything I can to prepare myself for this trip!
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