Time in Costa Rica is going very quickly. Spanish classes are for me a strenuous fight against Italian; the two languages are so similar that I was placed in an advanced class but I cannot help mixing them up producing entertaining misunderstandings. The course is very efficient and I am progressing very quickly: I can now have normal conversations with my host family without many problems.
After Spanish classes we have technical engineering training: the classes are very well organised and Billy, a clinical engineer with 30 years of experience in the field in developing countries, is an immense source of knowledge and good advice. I really feel that, after two years of abstract theoretical knowledge, I can see where this can be applied and how useful it can be to produce a real concrete result. Every day we have a one-hour lecture over one particular piece of medical equipment and a three-hour lab where we learn practical tricks for troubleshooting machinery or building useful electrical circuits.
Last Friday we left San José at 6:20 am to visit a hospital in Turrialba, a very interesting experience because we could practice on the field on some real equipment, which helps getting an idea of what we will find in our hospitals next month.
On Saturday morning we took a bus to Monteverde: a little village in the northeast, which is famous in the whole world for the amazing scenery and its rain forest (which takes its name very seriously and makes sure that there are no more than two consecutive dry hours). On Saturday afternoon we went walking in the forest and we were all very deluded because the place was extremely touristic and the track consisted of a paved street cut in the forest that was level and large enough to make sure that even the largest American tourist could enjoy the “wild”. We later had a night tour in the forest planned but due to the bad experience in the afternoon, a large part of the group decided to skip it…bad mistake… The start was at 5pm (sunset as Costa Rica does not have daylight saving time) and we stayed in the forest until 7:30 pm. The guide was a local biologist, genuinely enthusiastic and extremely experienced. In two and a half hours we saw with our flashlights an enormous quantity of animals: two sloths, a porcupine, all sorts of insects including two stick insects mating: the female is nearly a foot long and a centimetre in diameter while the poor male is only a few centimetres long and a few millimetres thick. We then saw a tarantula, some tropical birds sleeping and loads of hummingbirds.
The day after we w0ke up early again to go zip lining in the forest. The weather was wonderful for a change and the view from the cables was fantastic, especially the ones that were connecting two different valleys and were above the tree line. The bus drive back was hot and uncomfortable but we were all so tired that we slept like bricks the whole journey.
I have to thank Jens for the pictures because i stupidly left my camera charger in London..
Lethal...and ugly..
Some private shots...
Marcello
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We’ve had a week of school now and so we’ve got a good idea of what each day is like now.
My brain is being filled with so much information! It really is an intense program. My week of Spanish has consisted of being taught how to conjugate AT LEAST 100 verbs in various forms, learning how to count from cero to un milion and not forgetting how labeling my tool kit in Spanish. Alas my laptop is refusing to turn on at the moment, so you won’t get to see a picture of my toolbox in all its glory just yet, but hopefully soon!
The afternoon labs have mostly been a test of my circuit building skills. Or should I say, lack of. After two years of drawing circuits, this week I have realised it is just that little bit harder to build them. My soldering technique is getting better, though I am still waiting for the day when someone in my lab room doesn’t suddenly exclaim in pain.
Friday was a really awesome day in that we finally got to visit a local hospital. We looked around the hospital to get a feel for the kind of equipment they use and their health system. Costa Rica has a national health care system which rightfully seems to be something they are very proud of. The equipment they seem to use is very similar to ours but perhaps just that little bit older. One of the interesting things I saw was a working, relatively high tech aspirator, but because it was different to the ones doctors were used, it was not being used.
We then spent several hours in the maintenance department taking apart everything they let us have our hands on! This included BP apparatuses, diaphragm pumps and sterilizer units. It was great to put the theory from the week into practice. It was especially entertaining and educational when some of us spent half an hour trying to fix a pump, only to spend another hour trying to put it back together! We didn’t manage to fix anything but maybe this Friday we will.
The entire school decided to go to Monte Verde this weekend. It is this beautiful mountain range with tropical forest. There were hummingbirds, butterflies, insects of many kinds and some of the group even managed to see a sloth!! The highlight was definitely zip lining through the forest. One of the lines was so high up that you were literally above the entire forest!
Pictures soon.
Sarah
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So the last 5 days of my life have definitely been like no other.
THURSDAY: After 20 hours of travelling, Marcello and I finally reached San Jose Thursday night. The jet lag was really killing us. At around midnight, our host families whisked us home; I met my roommate and hit my pillow straight away. We had an 8 am start at the school and after such a long day, I definitely needed my rest.
FRIDAY: We awoke to an awesome breakfast of pancakes, four different types of fruit and hot coffee. Our host mum is really quite a cook! I cannot wait to get to know her properly but so far my Spanish is very limited and consists mostly of gracias, si, non and muy bien. It’s certainly making conversing an interesting task. The house is great as well! We’re even lucky enough to have Wi Fi!
The day then consisted of meeting the other 25 students and having some introductory lessons. But I think the most important thing we all learned was that in Costa Rica, its rains! And I mean RAINS!! The beautiful feeling of getting drenched head to toe by pounding rain made getting home loads of fun. Especially when nearly all of us realised we had no clue where we were going. No address, no map and no phone number meant getting home literally relied on gut instinct. For all of you who know me, I think you realise how much of a joke this is. I can get lost on a good day with a map following a straight road from A to B. Amber (my roommate for the month) and I somehow managed to get off at the right bus stop. The torrential rain adventure then continued when we were met by three forks in the road. But, which way do we go? After walking up and down several times in the pouring rain our host mum eventually saw us and we safely returned into a nice, dry and warm house. Phew.
SATURDAY: Despite having to get into school at the unholy hour of 620, we all got to go white water rafting on Saturday. It was just incredible!! We covered 18 miles in about 3 hours from class 1-4 rafts. I had never been before, but got the hang of it really quickly. And even more to my surprise, I didn’t fall in!! The most amazing part was jumping out of the raft for a while and floating down the Pacuare river surrounded by the sights and sounds of one of the most beautiful forests.
SUNDAY: This was indeed the day of rest! Amber and I had a nice lie in and then ventured out with some other students around San Jose.
The last two days have been where I’ve started getting into a real routine. We have about 4-5 hours of Spanish lessons in the morning, it’s crazy how much I’ve learnt in just two days!! Then we have about 4 hours of lectures and labs in the afternoon. Yesterday we covered the main causes of a broken Blood Pressure (BP) apparatus and the simple solutions to fixing such a vital instrument. Hopefully, my lab partner and I are on the path to fixing many of those next month in Honduras! The rain was so bad today that the power went out at school, which meant lab time was cut short, so learning the ins and outs of a DMM will have to wait until tomorrow.
I’ll hopefully update you shortly will some short and sweet anecdotes and adventures!
Sarah
Posted in Training in Costa Rica | 3 Comments »
