During the 2012 Winter Term (January 3-19), Dr. Arcea Zapata de Aston is teaching a travel class called Language, Culture and Diversity in Costa Rica. Three students are taking the class and are sending updates and photos for the KWC blog. If you missed any entries, you can read a full account of the trip on the Costa Rica page above. You can also see a full photo gallery from the trip online (click “recent albums” to see day-by-day photos).

——————–

Day Two:

Today was an early morning. Undoubtedly, we all slept well — we hardly got any sleep on the road or in the air yesterday.

We all agreed to meet at 7 a.m. for breakfast. The Costa Rican breakfast is surprisingly nutrition based. Laid out across the counter were pitchers of farm fresh milk (we later discovered it gets delivered everyday), fresh fruit juice and hot Costa Rican coffee, along with cut-up papaya, pineapple and watermelon. Also offered to us was a plate of eggs, rice and beans (humorously titled “Casados” which means married) with a piece of cheese.

Breakfast!

El Volcan Poas was to be our first attraction. Emmanuel, our guide for the entire trip, mentioned that it might be a bit chilly on El Volcan Poas. Who would have thought it would be cold around a volcano? Needless to say, I wish I would have known how cold it would be 8,000 feet above sea level! But, I prayed that the Lord would keep me and I wouldn’t become too cold, and that’s the way it worked out.

In front of a volcano!

The view from the top was absolutely surreal; we were eye to eye with clouds!  Below was a turquoise acidic stew of water, ash and sulfur. As we continued our tour of the Poas Volcano, we came across a lagoon made solely from rain deposit yet heated by the volcano itself. That was breathtaking to see.

The Lagoon

Later, we visited a coffee plantation, which was very interesting and cool. We got to learn about the process of how a seed starts by hanging off a tree – yes, a tree. There are misconceptions that coffee is a plant of some sort, but it’s actually more like a tree with tiny little seeds (coffee beans) hanging off.

At the coffee plantation

The process of making coffee and comparing the plant to the finished product is quite interesting. Apparently, they pick only the reddest seeds to be exported, making those their primary exports. The Costa Ricans drink secondary and tertiary coffee seeds.  A cool surprise was to try the coffee beans in their primary form and the “meat” around the bean. You’d never guess that it’s sweet!  Verrrryyyy delicious …

<>

During the 2012 Winter Term (January 3-19), Dr. Arcea Zapata de Aston is teaching a travel class called Language, Culture and Diversity in Costa Rica. Three students are taking the class and are sending updates and photos for the KWC blog. This is their first entry. You can also see a full photo gallery from the trip online (click “recent albums” to see day-by-day photos).

——————–

Day One:

Well…. Sunday was hectic, to put it nicely. First there was the packing, and the checking, then the going out and buying things you forgot to get, followed by the double checking…meanwhile all the time you are thinking to yourself, “This can’t be real.”

Welcome to Costa Rica!

After an 18-hour traveling experience, we arrived in Costa Rica. It didn’t seem real. “Era como un sueño. Que bonita, que hermosa, que refrescante! Hotel Robledal es magnifico! Me encanta este lugar!” The architecture is beautiful, along with the laid-back layout of the property. The bright yellow walls and rustic dark wooden doors complement the excitement of Costa Rica and the tropical nature.

When we arrived at the hotel, I fell in love. It is the best hotel I have ever stayed at, not because it has a huge screen TV and all these different amenities that make hotels expensive, but because of how plain and elegant it is. They allow you to take yourself out of your room and into the world.

Our hotel

Beautiful trees and plants surround us. My favorite was a tree called a trumpet tree. This is because it is very straight, yet hollow. The ants use this as their “hotel,” but what’s truly amazing is to see the ants protect the tree. One helps the other, giving you a real idea of how we should work as humans to find that balance as well.

A trumpet tree

Thus began what we knew would be a long, exhilarating, fun trip.

<>

A Fall 2012 KWC class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave a group from Kentucky Wesleyan a rare chance to study the history of the Cuban Revolution and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens.

Students Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba. If you missed the first few posts, you can read their account from the beginning. You can also see a full photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.

______________________________________________________________________________

Day 11
Headed to the airport – the USA is only 90 miles away. KWC will return to CUBA in the Fall of 2012 with graduate students from Arizona State University. The course will be “Justice, Public Health and Culture.” Travel back in time with us and experience a travel abroad course like no other. If you’re interested, contact Dr. Ken Ayers at Kentucky Wesleyan at 270-852-3169 or kenay@kwc.edu.

Below are a few more photos from the trip we haven’t posted yet. Hope you enjoy them — thanks for reading!

<>

A Fall 2012 KWC class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave a group from Kentucky Wesleyan a rare chance to study the history of the Cuban Revolution and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens.

Students Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba. If you missed the first few posts, you can read their account from the beginning. You can also see a full photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.

______________________________________________________________________________

Day 9
Today was mostly travel to Pinar del Rio, a beautiful mountainous place. It is here you will find Cuba’s “Mt. Rushmore” – a large mural painted on the side of a mountain. The scenery was breathtaking and the water refreshing. We visited an old coffee plantation and an environmental park to replenish the natural trees and plants of Cuba.

Day 10
We returned to Havana and back to the Hotel Presidente’. Our last night in Cuba – tomorrow we leave. All evening the song by Ronnie Milsap, Lost in the Fifties Tonight, played over and over in my head. For 11 days we traveled back in time to 1958, to a country where time has appeared to stop.

Our last night, we gathered at the pool and discussed the wonders of Cuba. Our adventure was coming to a close. The night settled in and the evening passed – soon we would be back in the USA. The good old USA, where we would leave the 50’s in the past, turn on our cell phones, boot the computer and get “connected.” I wondered if that is actually a good thing.

Next time: Coming home and more photos …

<>

A Fall 2012 KWC class, entitled Justice and Revolution in Cuba, gave a group from Kentucky Wesleyan a rare chance to study the history of the Cuban Revolution and the status of the current legal system in Cuba. The group travelled throughout the country, and met with Cuban government officials, law professors from the University of Havana, and veterans of the Cuban Revolution, as well as local Cuban citizens.

Students Jonathan Bell and Dustin Staves kept a journal of their activities while in Cuba. If you missed the first few posts, you can read their account from the beginning. You can also see a full photo gallery of the trip on KWC’s Flickr account.

______________________________________________________________________________

Day 7

Today we had free time to walk around the town of Cienfuegos. Dustin Staves had the opportunity to meet with a group of school children, and handed out notebooks and pens from the college. The students were absolutely thrilled, as were the teachers.

The rest of the day, we had a meeting with the local government, who explained the inner workings of a city in Cuba. We then met with law professors and discussed more legal topics, much like in our meeting with the Jurists. We continued on to Santa Clara, arriving at our hotel where we spent the remainder of the night.

Day 8

Today we travelled to the Che museum and memorial. No pictures were allowed. We were there the day before the memorial of his death, so there were many preparations for the memorial on the following day. Inside the museum was the story of Che’s life, told through memorabilia and personal possessions.

In the memorial were the names of the soldiers who gave their life in combat, and a single flame in honor of Che. We all walked through quietly, and respectfully. We then visited an area in which Che derailed a train, which many believe was a turning point in the Revolution.

Following this tour, we met with veterans who served alongside of Che in Cuba and in the Congo, Africa. We travelled back to Havana, to spend one night before travelling to the opposite side of Cuba.

<>