*note: I will often include Spanish lessons in my blog posts, as I believe in "teachable moments" and I think that everyone should at least know something in another language. Thus, bienvenidos = welcome. Campus = campus. Translation:
Welcome to EARTH's campus!
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| Entrance view of the campus - library on right, EARTH shrubbery on left |
So first let me say that I CANNOT BELIEVE that classes (@ PSU) ended 4 weeks ago already... I've been in Costa Rica now for almost a whole month! Wow. Now while I am still not perfect with my Spanish, I know that it is getting better - and I'm getting to that point where my English may start to deteriorate (as I find myself pausing to think about constructing sentences for this blog post). So bear with me. I will keep words simple.
What is going on right now, you ask? Well, as I may have alluded to in my first post - I am studying abroad at EARTH University for the summer (May 13 - August 23) here in the Limon province (AKA hot n humid region) of Costa Rica. The University here operates on the calendar year, whereas students have 3 semesters - starting in January with graduation in December. As I mentioned in my last post, there are about 400 students here (100 per year) from around 30 countries (mostly Latin America and Africa - note, I will have an "student spotlight" blog post coming soon to share some of their stories!).
These students work REAL hard. They are either in class/lab or have mandatory work experience from 30-40 hours a week. Wednesday and Saturday mornings (6:30 - 11:30) are devoted to work experience, and this can range from: community development work (what I am doing), milking the university's dairy cows, working in mechanical shops, at the banana plantation, etc. The academic mission of this university would best be summed up by that age old agricultural/vocational education phrase, "Learning by Doing." I actually really love this concept. While the theory and classroom instruction is important, the majority of time in these courses is spent "in the field."
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| 2nd year students must complete a business project. This is a group's project: to raise 3000 Rambutan trees (fruit similar to a lychee). Talk about work experience! |
While I really appreciate the concept of all of this practical experience, especially at higher/more technical levels, I am finding that most students haven't really had much exposure to agricultural education previous to coming - thus I am learning to appreciate the 4 years of ag classes I had in high school, as well as the awesome opportunity to be part of an organization like the FFA, where leadership skills accompanied practical career experience. However, nothing quite compares to a college education where you must know how to manage a plot of corn (including: clearing, hoeing, raking, seeding, maintenance) to pass a course*.
*stay tuned for a personal application
So what classes am I taking among all of these awesome options? Well I had quite the list to choose from but I ended up selecting the following (given some remaining requirements for my major and minors at PSU):
Tropical Animal Production (3 credits)
Food Security and the Global Economy (2 credits)
Oral Communication workshop (1 credit)
Work Experience: Community Development (2 credits)
Mechanical Skills (1 credit)
Ecological Foundations for Natural Resource Management (3 credits)
Total: 12 credits... which adds up to 29 hours of scheduled "class" time!! CRAZY!
After my first two weeks, I think I am most excited about the community experience (where we will be collaborating with smallholder farmers to improve their ag systems!) and the food security course. However, I know there will be a bit of work to do. I am grateful, however, that it hasn't been too crazy yet, and I've gotten to explore campus (see below) and make some friends. I also will probably be a regular at "Popular Dance" club - they don't really have clubs here, just designated meeting times for sports, arts, etc. But I still got to work on my Salsa step ;)
So what else is going on right now? Well, everyone is getting antsy for the Feria EARTH Multicultural (EARTH Multicultural Fair) - its next weekend! This is a really cool event and I am super pumped that I can be here for it/participate in it. 31 countries will be represented by the students, faculty, and staff as they will be doing the following: manning "country" stands with native foods (that students will make themselves), performing and dancing, wearing native garb, holding a bike race and run, and more! I absolutely LOVE seeing the different cultures of our world and its people, so I am soooo excited to see what this event will offer! I am helping with the U.S.A./Canada booth (which will be selling... pies and brownies! But really, we do make some darn good desserts) and also helping with the recycling program for the weekend (to make sure people properly sort their waste around campus - ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION). I (spontaneously) went with some students to hang poster ads in Turrialba and Siquirres this past Saturday - people are getting excited! I will definitely have a post about this event once it has passed.
Okay so I notice this post is getting long, so I will wrap it up. I'm off to work in the fields with 2 other students in my group for tropical animal production. Our major assignment for the semester is to manage a 6 x 6 meter plot (1 per student) of animal forage. Everyone is growing corn and a specific grass, two plots of corn/grass mix and one plot of just grass. This is our grass. We didn't get our 100+ square meters cleared during Monday's lab, considering it took the class 2 hours to measure out their plots. Plus, the previous land use of our plot was a horse pasture... and it looks like they only took one or two passes with a mull-board plow before giving it to us. So, its time to put some back into it and perfect my use of el azadon (hoe)!
Bueno, amigos, espero que disfruten las siguientes fotos! (I hope you enjoy the following photos - of campus). May you have a wonderful day!!!
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| General "hallways" at EARTH - covered due to common rains! |
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| Academic unit 2. There are 3 total, with about 4 classrooms each, on campus. Academic units also hold all professor offices. |
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| View of the area under the library (2nd and 3rd floors) - school store on the left, then down past that is the "Aromas" coffee shop! |
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| One of my favorite areas - covered tables overlooking the central plaza (grassy open area) - behind library. |
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| My dorm! 6 rooms, 12 girls, and sitting right by the forest! |
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