Well, I survived my first day at TEC! I did 7 hours today of intense Spanish, mostly about engineering and computer science. These would have been complicated conversations in English since I don’t know that much about the metaverse or semi-conductors, but they were especially challenging in Spanish. Even people here who speak really good English chose to speak Spanish to me. There were no breaks. It was great experience but exhausting.
I started the morning by meeting almost all of the Computer Science department. They had a presentation in English but were very enthusiastic about giving it in Spanish instead. I don’t understand everything that people say, but I understand enough to respond appropriately most of the time. They had some of their students do presentations as well, and two of them presented in English so they could practice English. They were really nervous, but they did a good job and it was fun to watch. The students are working on a project to create an automatic watering system for small green houses that also dispenses fertilizers for people who are growing some of their own food. They are trying to develop something that people could manage with cell phones. After that, we toured the computer science lab facilities, which are quite nice.
After Computer Science, I met with someone from International Programs and I got the agreement UNI has signed with TEC. It’s my responsibility to get that back to UNI safely.
Lunch in the university cafeteria was very interesting. The food is not fancy and there aren’t a lot of choices, but it was very healthy and flavorful. Beans and rice are on the menu for absolutely every meal. I had rice, with a chicken and white bean soup, a small salad and some really good fruit juice. The juice here is real juice, not the colored sugar water we have in the US. The faculty can also eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in the cafeteria and most of them do. There is a real community there. Students come by to say hello and the faculty sit together and chat. It was really fun! The food is inexpensive so it’s really a convenient option for faculty and students. Students (maybe faculty too) can bring containers to take food to go if they want to eat it later in their rooms. I sat with a group of faculty from a variety of disciplines and had a very fun conversation.
After lunch, I spent 2 hours with the engineers. That was challenging. One of them spent a lot of time in Australia so speaks very good English and still preferred to talk to me in Spanish about microchips and other varieties of electronic engineering. I followed relatively well enough to respond appropriately, but you have to be really good in a language to follow all of that. I got a tour of their lab facilities before moving to the mechanical engineers. Same thing there except they don’t actually speak good English. My brain was fried by the time that was over.
My last meeting was with the Spanish department. They also speak very good English but also spoke to me in Spanish. At least they spoke more slowly and I understand more about language education than semi-conductors.
I was supposed to go to dinner with one of the faculty here but I offered to eat in the dining hall. I wasn’t sure I could manage 2 more hours of Spanish at dinner. Plus, the dining hall is a more interesting cultural experience and I like the fruit juice. There are no desserts, just good Costa Rican food. Fortunately, I brought my own chocolate and a box of tea.
After supper, I wandered around campus and took some pictures. This is a technical university that started out a solely an agricultural school. They still have a considerable ag component and many of the students come from farm families. They recently started a crocodile farm, and they plan to start harvesting meat and leather before too long. The idea is to train students to run their own crocodile farms. Crocodiles are not endangered animals here. There are lots of them. The crocodile pond is surrounded by trees that are full of white birds. Apparently the crocodiles keep other predators away from the bird nests and the birds are safe as long as they don’t get too close to the water. They also have a new deer farm here, but I don’t know if they plan to use those for meat or if they are just studying them in an effort to increase the population. Hunting here is completely illegal. There is also a butterfly farm but I haven’t seen either of these.
I have a new house mate who is just moving in. He’s in the room across from mine. He’s here to capture crocodiles for the crocodile farm. He came in camo and wadding boots. That sounds like a riskier job than the one I have.
I have another long day tomorrow, then I’m coming home on Friday. This has really been a really good, interesting trip, but I’m going to be ready to come home, especially after 3 mights of cold showers!
Traveling with Emily! 