Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – City Life

Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – City Life

Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – City Life

Meagan Hilsdorf

Living in a small farming community where dairy cattle outnumber the residence, I can relate to a simple country way of life. I have grown up accustom to living in a small one traffic light town, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  My home town is a traditional small town with a small park in the center and streets and homes arranged around it, as well as being further surrounded by farms and pastures, as well as forests. In addition, it is not uncommon to drive down the road and pass a friend, neighbor or family member on the road.  Also, where I am from a good trusty four wheel drive truck or car is a must and everyone is eager to get their license and tear up the back roads. My family has multiple cars so everyone has a vehicle to drive. There is a necessity to drive because especially in my small town there are no public transportation or taxies, which is only really found in larger cities. I found that I prefer the slower paced life in the country and small farm towns as opposed to the city. From a previous field period in Buffalo I experienced what life is like living in a city. The city was busy, loud and set at a high paced way of life. Everyone was in a rush and traffic was much more intense, with more people driving on the roads and beeping angrily when you drove too slowly. Just from the few weeks living in the city I could sense this life style was not for me.

Costa Rica 2014 Photo Gallery

The first day when we met the host families and they took us to our house, we could tell that the traffic was a bit different then we were used to. It was most similar to that of city traffic with fast driving and some intense moments, but it was what they were used to. Also, I noticed that there were very few big trucks, besides commercial and many smaller vehicles. Interestingly I learned that it is actually very expensive to register a vehicle and that the public transportation was very accessible and highly used by residences to get around. Therefore there was not a great demand for people to drive, but this did not help much with traffic congestion which was often hindered by windy roads. Also, I learned that Costa Rica receives heavy rain fall that poses a challenge to construction to roads and large drainage ditches and irrigation channels to control flooding. I found the fast crazy pace of traffic to be in contrast to the easy going, laid back way of life. Furthermore, what I also found interesting was how the city of Alajuala, as well as other cities were set up in blocks with central parks in the center. Walking around it was clear that the city was how the school, cathedral and other buildings were close and centralized and only blocks away, which made navigating easier. Where smaller villages were more centered on roads leading from the cities. What also stuck with me is how all the building are protected by heavy gates and fences and how security conscious buildings are. It was a different take on home and business security, but gave the buildings and homes unique character.

After staying in the city of Alajuala for two weeks I had to adjust to the “hakuna matata” attitude and to roll with our changing schedule, as well as city living. It took some getting used to the loud and crazy traffic but all in all it was enjoyable. I got to ride with the host families, experienced public transportation to Zoo ave, enjoy a bumpy roller coaster of a ride to Montverde and back, as well as navigating through the city of Alajuala.  In addition, I learned more about how cities and villages were set up and designed, and more insight into daily life living in the city in Costa Rica. It was an interesting change that gave me a greater appreciation for country living, as well as a different sense of city living that I will remember years from now.

Learn More: Study abroad with Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica!

– Meagan Hilsdorf

The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike