Today I got up early to take a different bus all the way to the center of San José, where I met the student services coordinator for my program. She walked with me through the center of the city to a different bus stop, where she got me on the correct bus to go to Alajuela. From there I had to find my way through a meat market to a children's park, where I waited for my advisor. She came and picked me up and we drove together to San Ramón. When I say all of that I think it's a bit of a miracle that I got there okay.
San Ramón is where I will be spending the months of March and April, as I conduct my research on perceptions and knowledge about the Red Cross. (In Costa Rica the Red Cross is the primary pre-hospital emergency service, as opposed to in the US where it's just for larger disasters.) I met with the director of the Red Cross branch and met the paramedic and several other workers and got a tour of their facility.
My advisor talked a lot and fast, but I caught most of it. Unfortunately, I'm not the type of person who's going to try to insert myself into a conversation in another language when I'm not being asked direct questions, so I'm not sure how much Spanish they think that I actually speak. (I'm not really sure either, but that's another matter entirely.) However, everyone seemed incredibly nice and open and so willing to have me around asking questions and spending time with them.
We had to clear up the issue of technician vs. técnico (In the US the basic level of pre-hospital certification is an Emergency Medical Technician, which is what I am. In Costa Rica, the highest level is un técnico, which is equivalent to a paramedic in the states. Paramédico in Spanish can mean either the equivalent of EMT or paramedic.) My advisor had heard technician and thought I had two years of schooling to be a paramedic. Oops.
But overall it went really well. It sounds like I'll be able to do some interviews, but won't be totally on my own for them. And best of all, I'll get to spend lots of time with the paramedic (that's what I'm going to call the técnico because it makes the most sense in my head) and on the ambulance. I have to go out and buy some heavy duty work boots!
I also got to briefly meet my new host family that I'll be staying with for the two months in San Ramón. They seem nice and it's a beautiful house with a rose garden. Only they apparently hadn't been told I'm vegetarian, and my advisor informed them of that. The mom looked slightly terrified at the prospect of trying to cook without meat, so that could be an adventure.
And then I got back home safely. At the bus station in San José I walked the wrong direction, so ended up getting a taxi to bring me back home (which I had a brief panic about because for a few minutes I thought I'd gotten in a non-legit taxi, but never fear, I was wrong). It sounds so extravagant to me, coming from the states, and even when I compare the bus fare to that of the taxi. But when I end up paying less than $8, I tell myself to chill. Not walking in circles for 20 minutes in the middle of the city was worth that.
San Ramón is where I will be spending the months of March and April, as I conduct my research on perceptions and knowledge about the Red Cross. (In Costa Rica the Red Cross is the primary pre-hospital emergency service, as opposed to in the US where it's just for larger disasters.) I met with the director of the Red Cross branch and met the paramedic and several other workers and got a tour of their facility.
My advisor talked a lot and fast, but I caught most of it. Unfortunately, I'm not the type of person who's going to try to insert myself into a conversation in another language when I'm not being asked direct questions, so I'm not sure how much Spanish they think that I actually speak. (I'm not really sure either, but that's another matter entirely.) However, everyone seemed incredibly nice and open and so willing to have me around asking questions and spending time with them.
We had to clear up the issue of technician vs. técnico (In the US the basic level of pre-hospital certification is an Emergency Medical Technician, which is what I am. In Costa Rica, the highest level is un técnico, which is equivalent to a paramedic in the states. Paramédico in Spanish can mean either the equivalent of EMT or paramedic.) My advisor had heard technician and thought I had two years of schooling to be a paramedic. Oops.
But overall it went really well. It sounds like I'll be able to do some interviews, but won't be totally on my own for them. And best of all, I'll get to spend lots of time with the paramedic (that's what I'm going to call the técnico because it makes the most sense in my head) and on the ambulance. I have to go out and buy some heavy duty work boots!
I also got to briefly meet my new host family that I'll be staying with for the two months in San Ramón. They seem nice and it's a beautiful house with a rose garden. Only they apparently hadn't been told I'm vegetarian, and my advisor informed them of that. The mom looked slightly terrified at the prospect of trying to cook without meat, so that could be an adventure.
And then I got back home safely. At the bus station in San José I walked the wrong direction, so ended up getting a taxi to bring me back home (which I had a brief panic about because for a few minutes I thought I'd gotten in a non-legit taxi, but never fear, I was wrong). It sounds so extravagant to me, coming from the states, and even when I compare the bus fare to that of the taxi. But when I end up paying less than $8, I tell myself to chill. Not walking in circles for 20 minutes in the middle of the city was worth that.
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