Semester in San Jose, Costa Rica
"Study abroad will change your life forever." I'd heard that phrase so many times before leaving for Costa Rica that I nearly took it as a point of fact. Yet somehow my vision of this imminent paradise couldn't be reconciled with a life-changing experience. A life changing experience, I thought, had to be more extreme than easy days on palm-lined beaches far away from the rat-race.
Now given nearly a semester of objective retrospect, I know that my life was deeply affected by both the extreme and the more subtle aspects of being submersed in a Central American culture. And, to my surprise, it was probably the subtle peculiarities of study abroad that will more definitively shape who I am...that is, who I am as a United States citizen or here at home.
For me, Costa Rica was a sunrise on the Caribbean, amidst such striking beauty that you could not possibly believe it was all created by chance completely alone save the skittering crabs and an octopus trapped in a low tide pool.
Costa Rica was an early walk through the rain forest no longer surprised by the monkeys living in their natural habitat, throwing nuts down at you,the invader of their territory.
Costa Rica was an afternoon in a
tiny village of cheerful people tending to their work or playing in the streets and being the only one startled by the volcano erupting in the distance.
Costa Rica was a sunset on a Pacific beach, apparently undiscovered by capitalism, contemplating absolutely nothing other than the ever-changing impressionism in the sky.
And Costa Rica was a night spent with a comfortable mix of beer, a few locals, a vacationing German physics professor, a Biblically-focused Rastafarian, that French couple, and you. You the American, somehow the representative for the moment of arguably the most powerful and influential country in the (short) history of humanity.
That is a powerful feeling. While walking the anonymous streets of San Jose or tooling around campus I justifiably felt like just another gringo, a descendant of William Walker himself born by chance in the land of the great come to flaunt my whitewashed superiority. But once a conversation opened once a personal relationship began to form, I felt like I had the chance to be an American citizen. That is, to be a person distinct from the actions of the United States government so well known around the globe.
Inevitably my experiences were mixed. I formed some very close relationships from which both of us learned a great deal about not only each other as individuals but also the culture and land where each of us live. And many of these new friends from around the world continue to teach me through letters and e-mail. They give me a perspective on life that cannot be had through the classroom or the media.
At the same time, I remember being obviously within earshot of a discussion between a Costa Rican and a Swede venting in Spanish their hate for Americans. While it pained me to hear such talk, especially from acquaintances, I felt like I understood its source and hearing it humbled me. To much of the world, our government is our voice albeit a narrow and poorly representative voice. No matter how much we may disapprove of certain aspects of our government, to a degree we as Americans will always be held accountable for its actions.
It was through these various relationships and my time spent objectively distant from the U.S. that my perspective on life was changed. Although before studying abroad I was vaguely aware of myself as an American, I had never experienced first hand what the United States means to the world. And while I am more grateful than ever for this land and its people, those six months created in me a sense of responsibility for furthering a different relationship with individuals from other nations. A relationship that is based not on economic exploitation or political dominance, but on mutual understanding rooted in our common humanity.
And like I noted earlier, such an understanding cannot be had through a second-hand source-especially via such an abbreviated article as this one. There is no substitute for going abroad for an extended period. Studying abroad will force you to reevaluate yourself as an individual and will open your eyes to a more objective picture of the world.
1999 spring
Jayhawks Abroad www.ukans.edu/~osa
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