Journal Entry: MSA 96, 97,99,101, 105 (+reading above in MSA)
In page 96, Kurt’s comment: “I love it here. I can’t imagine being anywhere else!” remains in both stage one and four because at first Kurt experienced Cultural Euphoria and then Cultural Adaptation. In Cultural Euphoria, Kurt felt an initial excitement; everything was new and wonderful, and he was eager to explore it all. On the other hand, in Cultural Adaptation, he reached a point where he has great confidence to interact and communicate effectively. He has integrated many values, customs, and behaviors of his new culture into his daily life. My reaction to the students comments were reasonable to their situation, and I was able to relate to them because it is common and a growing part of the trip; nonetheless, the only comment that surprised me was Gretchen’s: “I can barely stand the smell of the cafeteria. Give me McDonald’s any day”, because I feel she’s not being open minded enough. In this case, I would tell her to be open minded to the foods, and try them because sometimes food is not how it looks nor smells. Another option is she can try different foods around the area, or bring her own lunch. In two months of studying abroad my U curve would look like stage 1, 2, and 3. I know my emotional experience will change since arrival because sometimes just being abroad for three days makes me feel homesick. That’s why, while studying abroad, I am aware of my personal highs and lows. Some potential low points I may have while studying abroad in Costa Rica are:
- I got on the wrong bus or train back to my host family’s home because I may have misread the sign or have gotten confused, and ended up on another side of the city.
- No one in Costa Rica remembered my birthday; thus, it made me feel extremely sad, and I miss everyone back home.
- My friends haven’t messaged me, they probably hardly remember me, and I’m scared our friendship won’t be the same anymore.
- I am missing important events at home; I’m not going to be home from my cousins sweet fifteen, one of the most important events in her life, and it makes me sad to not be part of it.
- My host family didn’t want to go out, and I really wanted to go out with them as a family and explore the city. Now I’m at home bored when I could be out exploring new places.
- Didn’t get to travel to other countries, and I’m starting to regret it a lot.
- I ran out of money, and I feel embarrassed to tell my host family, my parents, or anyone else. Plus, I still wanted to travel and buy more souvenirs.
Some potential high points I may have while studying abroad in Costa Rica are:
- I helped someone from school with their English homework, and now we are great friends.
- I did a traditional activity in Costa Rica, and now I feel more drawned and attached to the culture.
- Listened to traditional Costa Rican music, and now I want to go to a traditional musical event.
- Traveled to other countries alone, and now I feel more independent, made new friends, and have developed my Spanish skills.
- Traveled inside the country, and now I am more knowledgeable over the different regions in Costa Rica.
- I helped my host mom cook a meal, and now we have a closer relationship.
- My professor really enjoyed my homework assignment and congratulated me; thus, I feel happy and more confident in the language.
Some personal coping strategies I came up with to feel relaxed,valued, and comfortable while abroad are:
- Writing it down on a journal
- Calling or texting my family and closer friends
- Taking a walk or run
- Dancing to my favorite music
- Reading or listening to my favorite music
In page 100 and 101, there are two scenarios,
- If I was Jerika, I would Gregor that I would love to go to his large family event and meet his family, but first I would like to discuss how serious our relationship is. Regardless, of anything I would go to his family event, but he could possibly introduce me as a great friend and see how things go off from there.
- If I was Terry, I would tell him it’s fine to travel, and make a certain number of trips, but this study abroad term is an experience of a lifetime. He won’t have his host family forever, and even though traveling seems more important and fun at the time, it can be done at anytime in the near future. Nonetheless, Terry can do a little bit of both, he should travel, but spend time with his host family as well. If I was Terry I would make three trips, and go to those three places that catch my interest more than any others in order to spend my other weekends with my host family.
In page 105, I differentiated the four phases of cultural awareness; I located Unconscious Incompetence, Conscious Incompetence, Conscious Competence, and Unconscious Competence. I still get a little bit confused with their meaning in a scenario, but I just hope that once I am in Costa Rica I can be 100% aware of them and differentiate them based on my experience.
Blog Post: Government structure and current legislation/political debate.
Costa Rica is a democratic, free and independent republic. Its government is popular, representative, alternative and responsible, exercised by three supreme powers which are distinct and independent of each other: Executive Power, Legislative Power and Judicial Power. The Costa Rican State has also a Supreme Elections Tribunal with the same rank and independence as the other powers. This tribunal is in charge exclusively of organizing, directing and supervising all acts concerning suffrage.The Executive Power is composed by the President of the Republic, two Vice presidents and a Cabinet of Government chosen by the President. The President of the Republic is, simultaneously, Head of Government and Head of State.The President and Vice presidents are elected every four years by direct vote of all citizens over 18 years. There have been uninterrupted elections since the promulgation of the current Constitution in 1949.The current President is Mr. Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada and the Vice presidents are Ms. Epsy Campbell Barr and Mr. Marvin Rodríguez Cordero. Mr. Alvarado Quesada and the Vice presidents took office on May 8th 2018 for the following four years.The Legislative Power is unicameral and it’s integrated by 57 deputies elected democratically and simultaneously with the President of the Republic and the Vice presidents for a four-year period as well. The 57 deputies form the Legislative Assembly.The current Constitution establishes that Costa Rican people delegate in the Legislative Assembly the power to legislate, which is its main function.The current President of the Legislative Assembly is Ms. Carolina Hidalgo Herrera, who took office on May 1st 2018 for a single-year period as established by law.The political parties currently represented in the Legislative Assembly are: Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), Partido Restauración Nacional (PRN), Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC), Partido Integración Nacional (PIN), Partido Republicano Socialcristiano (PRSC), and Frente Amplio (FA). The Judicial Power is composed by the Supreme Justice Court, the most important judiciary body in the country, as well as the different tribunals responsible for deliver justice.The Supreme Justice Court is composed by 22 magistrates, designated by the Legislative Assembly for eight-year periods. The current President of the Court is Mr. Carlos Chinchilla Sandí, who took office on May 2017.Administratively, Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces which are subdivided into 83 cantons and these, in turn, into 463 districts. The cantons are ruled, with limited capabilities, by a Mayor and a Municipal Council; both the Mayor and the Council are popularly elected.Costa Rican democracy is one of the oldest, best-performing democracies in the Americas, but the upcoming election is marked by general disinterest, voter volatility, and two late-breaking events that have displaced traditional campaign issues. These two events, a corruption scandal and an international court ruling, have combined with a process of political dealignment and the consolidation of a fluid multiparty system to significantly alter the electoral landscape. Thirteen candidates successfully registered with the Supreme Electoral Court for the 2018 presidential election. A December 2017 poll had Juan Diego Castro, of the emergent Partido Integración Nacional (PIN), as the most popular candidate with just 18% support. The second and third most popular candidates, Antonio Alvarez (PLN) and Rodolfo Piza (PUSC), polled just 14% and 13% respectively. Carlos Alvarado, from the incumbent president’s party, received just 5% support, which represents a major reversal of fortunes for a party that lost the 2010 election by less than 1% and won the presidency in 2014. But a poll in late January further scrambled the voters’ preferences: evangelical candidate Fabricio Alvarado leapt into first place with 17%, up from 3% the previous month, while the second and third place candidates both lost support. Enthusiasm for the 2018 election remains low (25%), and the fact that “undecided” voters constitute one third of the electorate has amplified the uncertainty surrounding election day. A second-round runoff is likely. In these elections, where uncertainty is the only certainty, all we can say with confidence is that a run-off election between the top two presidential candidates is highly likely and that the chances of a majority in congress are vanishingly small.
http://costarica-information.com/about-costa-rica/politics-and-government
http://costaricaembassy.be/en/costa_rica/government/
https://www.cato.org/blog/costa-ricas-election-it-wasnt-economy-stupid
Fuchs, Gustavo. “Costa Rica.” New Internationalist, no. 513, June 2018, p. 28. EBSCOhost.
Viajando con el corazón 