Day 98,el Sabado
21 de octubre 2012 22:55
AHHHH YEAH!
today there were so many good things!
In the morning I joined my hostmoms walking group, we walked about 5KM to a
river and rested there, watching some presentation about clean water, and then
we walked back. The walking was really nice and I got to know more of my living
area, but way more important is the following. The leader of this walking group
works at the University of Costa Rica, and he told me that they have a
WATERPOLO TEAM!!!!!! They train every Saturday morning and he is going to
arrange for me that I can train with them; as well he would talk to the
national selection. This make me so indescribable happy! Finally I can do my
beloved sport again! I didn’t do waterpolo since the first of july so that
makes almost 4 months. It drives me crazy but now I’m back! I hope next
Saturday will be my first training!
In the afternoon I went to the
restaurant to Skype with my family, my internet at home is broken, which
actually just means that my neighbor’s internet is broken. I skyped 1,5 hour
with my parents, my brother and my sisters. It made me feel really good since I
didn’t Skype for so long!
Later I went to my grandmother’s house
because I forgot my key, and they told me I could always go there, and my
hostmom was there anyways. The main event of the day was at 5, my first step to
fame. Last week I got asked to be in this really cool Dutch radio program
called ‘the world of Filemon’ here Filemon, (the coolest Dutch presentator
there is asks Dutch people all around the world some questions. I got called by
a lady who put me on hold so I just listened to the radio. Then it was my turn
to talk, I managed to introduce myself with a heartbeat close to 200. Then they
hang up on my and 10 minutes later it was my turn again, I was a bit more
relaxed but still nervous. I talked about Tattoos and Piercings in Costa Rica,
and later I talked about the Costa Rican toilets. I enjoyed it a lot, I love to
tell about Costa Rica and it is even better because BNN is a really cool media
thingy and all of The Netherlands could have heard me! I think I can listen to
it again but I have to search for that.
Day 99, el
Domingo 21 de octubre 2012 22:02
My inspiration for titles is running out.
I had a nice and long sleep until 9:30
or something that became pretty late for me! If I would have woken up at 9 on a
Sunday in The Netherlands I would have turned around a few more times. I went
to my favorite internet restaurant after a nice rice and beans breakfast. Being
in the restaurant again so much made me feel like the first weeks here. I was
very happy to see some nice messages through facebook about my radio
performance yesterday. Too bad it wasn’t uploaded on the internet yet.
Furthermore I skyped with my sister in Canada, she might be coming to visit me
here! I would really like that and I’d love the plan trips for her and show how
much I know about Costa Rica. Also I cannot wait to show my Spanish skills to
my friends and family when I come back in The Netherlands but to do that I have
to wait 6,5 month more, sounds so short though.
Furthermore I lunched at my
grandmothers with uncles and aunts, and we searched for a house. My hostmom
wants to move out of the city, she wants to live closer to the nature. And….
She also wants a pool in the new house, when I asked if those are just dreams
she said that they are not dreams and that it is possible. So I hope if we move
we will move as soon as possible!
In the night I watched the Avengers
with my hostmom and lil bro, they like movie nights J some day we are going to watch all Harry Potter movies! Just like in The
Netherlands!
Day 100, el Lunes 22 de octubre 2012
21:19
One hundred days in Costa Rica
One hundred days, what does that say?
100 days can be interpreted in many ways, in my life it is 1,5% and for my time
in Costa Rica it is a shocking 30%. I’m really bad in interpreting the time of
an amount of days, also because the days just pass so quickly now. I can
remember my 50 days report, and thinking: ‘what should I be writing within 50
days?’ But I think we can all agree that a lot of time has passed here in Costa
Rica. But way more important, that there
are more as 200 days waiting with a lot of memories and adventures ahead!
Of these 100 days I spent the first 7
in a camp in San José, one of the best weeks of my life. There I met a lot of
inspiring people, and a lot of my new best friends. I enjoyed this week so much, it is
indescribable. The next 47 days I spent in my first family. And the last 46
days I spent in my current family.
In my first family an experienced a
huge culture shock, I noticed all of the culture differences and they just hit
me like a rock, a huge cultural rock. To describe the first week I have to
quote JD from the television series: ‘scrubs’; it was an emotional
rollercoaster. The family was not totally what I expected. But meanwhile I was
having a time of my life! I finally arrived in the beautiful Costa Rica, the
adventure where I waited more as 9 months for! I have always tried to keep good
relationships with this family and I have always tried to solve all my
problems. But after 40 days it came to an end. I was and still am sure that
they have stolen my money, and I put it to a stop, it sounds a bit egoistic but
that is not what I, or any other exchange students deserves as a host family. I
found a new family and left this, sadly enough I did not leave this old family
in peace, but neither had I left them with a lot of sorrow. And now, looking
back on this first period I realize that the culture shock and the lack of my
Spanish also made this first part a lot harder.
So I moved in with a teacher of my
school, I didn’t know her before but she is a friend of my tourism teacher
Erika, she arranged everything for me, something where I will always be
thankful for. I moved in to this new family, thinking it is just temporary
until I find another family. Without the culture shock and better Spanish it
was way easier in the new family, things I didn’t like in my old family are
being done here now as well, but now I do understand them and that makes it a
lot easier. After a few weeks it became clear that I could stay in this family for
the whole year. So now here I am, in a house that I can call home, but it still
is a second home, Gouda will always be my hometown.
These are mainly the events which
occurred with my family here. But besides family I also have school life. It
just since the last 2 weeks that I finally feel adapted in my school. I know
all the customs and I know how it works, this really helps me adapt into the
Costa Rican culture. I did got used to the culture, I changed to understand and
live in this culture, but I am not fully adapted into this culture, I want to
but that will take some more time.
Furthermore about school: I got a few
good friends and the classes itself are nice as well. The school is in almost
no way equal to my school in the Netherlands. The students are crazier, and unfortunately a bit more immature. The school
also goes by the code ‘pura vida’, like everything in Costa Rica. This means
that in school we don’t work that hard, and that we are happy. The teachers are
closer to the students, and are like friends, they are equal but they do have
authority. The thing that is the same as in the Netherlands are the exams, they
are important and the people take them serious. Another change is that I go
with the school bus every day, this takes a bit of your freedom to go to or to
leave school, I miss my bike.
Another big part of a cultural
exchange is of course learning another language. I can proudly say that I
learned Spanish. It feels so weird, another language I use it every day but
still it doesn’t feel like my language. But that will come. I learned Spanish,
but I learned the Costa Rican Spanish. I use words like: ‘mae’, ‘pura vida’ and
‘wéon’ I make almost every word smaller: ‘pancito’ or ‘cafecito’ like the Ticos
do as well, but I do not call myself a Tico. I still am an ‘extrañero’. But I
hope that someday I can call myself a Tico.
But the most important that changed,
is changing and will change more, is myself. I think different, I think more
open, I think different about a lot of things, and I simply just think more. My
interest in music changed a bit, my interest in sports has changed, I opened
myself up to a new sport and new I found it, Taekwondo now is a of my Costa
Rican life and it will be a part of my life in The Netherlands as well. And I
have changed my view on a lot of things. I experienced to famous saying: ‘you
don’t know what you have until it’s gone.’ This goes for everything, from
family members, to my favorite places, friends and a lot of little things,
material and non-material. And I cannot wait to show the ´new Bram´ to all my
friends and family in The Netherlands.
In these 100 days I have seen
different ways of life, better ways of life, and worse ways of life. The good
and bad of Costa Rica. I have seen animals, plants and places which are
breathtaking. I met inspiring people, I met bad people. I made new friends. I
helped people, and people helped me, helping is a thing which I started to like
a lot in my life, something I did not do that much in The Netherlands. I
learned how to see life in I different way, from now on I will be optimizing
this way of seeing the world. I will have more adventures and I will keep going
with living my biggest dream. The American dream? Bitch please, I prefer the
Costan Rican dream!
I tried to describe my first 100 days,
but something’s are just impossible to describe, not with words, nor pictures.
And some other things, I don’t even understand them myself. But you don’t have
to understand everything, you can enjoy it anyways. And that is what I have to
keep telling myself, enjoy it! Enjoy everything and keep learning from every
experience you have here. Every minute, every hour, every day I spent here
cannot be lived again, and I should not waste this valuable time!
Day 101,el Martes
23 de octubre 2012 20:59
Teacher protest!
Woohoo today was a free day! I’m
getting used to those 4 school day weeks! I spent some time in the restaurant,
I listened to my radio broadcast and I read an e-mail about the next broadcast,
maybe I can speak again!
In the evening I went to Taekwondo
practice, I’m still not that good, and I’m still enjoying it a lot, also I made
friends through Taekwondo. On the second of the December I have a tournament in
Heredia that will be awesome.
Also there was another earthquake
today, a 6.6 magnitude. I didn’t feel it that much because I was in Taekwondo
practice, jumping and kicking like a madman!
Yesterday I noticed something about
the Costa Ricans, they are very racist.
I already noticed that Chinese people are called ‘Chinos’ and black
people ‘Negro’s’ but that is no problem, they introduce themselves that way.
What is a problem is that they are really negative about black people. When I
asked if the Caribbean side is nice they said: ‘no there are too many black
people there’ and I was like wooooow are you serious? Another example, when I
told them that a have been in Berlin they asked me: ‘But Germany is really
dangerous’ when is asked ‘why’ somebody responded: ‘because of the Nazi’s’ this
shocked me pretty much, I don’t know if they really are racist or just never
had good education about this. I’m glad that they are not racist against me, I
do not get called ‘blancho’ or something, they do call me ‘Holandese’ or
‘extrañero’ but not in a negative way.
Day 102, Wednesday 23th of October
2012
Keep doing stuff is important!
In school we learned about the native
Costa Ricans, but of the 9 hours spent in school I think we actually spent time
on this subject for at most 3 hours. We mostly have ´recreo´ the Spanish word
for break, these breaks last from 5 minutes to more as an hour.
After school I went with Fabio to
Orotina centro, I accompanied him with buying meat, and I went to my favorite
panadaria. These panadarias are dangerous, I´m getting fat. Ofcourse will I
never get really fat, you know it still is me. But it´s just that I´m not that
skinny anymore, but that probably is good anyway.
When I got home I drank coffee, as
always I really like this we always talk about stuff and it is better as doing
nothing. With the coffee there were Tamales. This is a typical meal, they are a
sort of maisgelatine with meat and vegetables in it, I don’t like them that
much but everybody here goes crazy about it!
After the drinking coffee I did
nothing, and that is exactly what I have to prevent, because when you do
nothing, you get homesick. I made it even worse by reading old text messages. I
realized how much I actually liked my time at my Dutch school and I missed my
friends for the first time. Luckily I have a good resistance against
homesickness, so I didn’t feel like bad or something. But the point is, keep
doing something!
Today I read in my e-mail about a
trip to Limon, the Caribbean coast, I am dying to go there, but December is an
expensive month so I have to think about that, and I might have other plans.
