Monday, March 7, 2016

The Five Senses: Costa Rica



Sight

One of the first things I saw after exiting the airport was the large mountains in the distance. They are almost always in the background here. Growing up in Western Pennsylvania with a comparatively very flat lan
dscape I am always intrigued and amazed by the mountains. I love that they are one of the first things I see when I walk out on the porch of the dormitory.

Sound

Even though our “campus” is in a very small town on the outskirts of a small city it can still be incredibly loud. There are always insects buzzing and birds chirping and the sound of wind through the trees. The center is also placed at the top of a hill parallel to another hill, often during lunch I can hear the engines of large trucks struggling up the opposing hill.

Smell

One of the most surprising smells to me was the smell of cilantro. It’s spicy and clean and familiar yet different at the same time; different than what you would usually find in a supermarket but it’s definitely cilantro and I smell it all the time while just walking around. It seems to be like a weed just growing wherever it can. Like a song you’ve heard all your life sung by a different band. Somehow, even though I smell it almost everyday, the smell is always surprising and pleasant.

Touch

The most prevalent feeling so far is the one of dirt beneath my fingernails. The dirt is usually a little cooler than the air around me and clings to my fingers and gets everywhere. After I’m done planting I usually spend the next several hours picking dirt out from under my fingernails.

Taste

By far one of my favorite foods so far has been plantains. They are severed with almost every meal here and can are delightfully sweet. I had plantains before coming to Costa Rica but the were never like the one’s I’ve had here. They cook plantains in so many different ways here and somehow make them taste slightly different every time. I can already tell that these are something I’m going to miss once I’m back home.

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