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LEARNING SPANISH THE COSTA RICAN WAY The Wanderlust Series
by Juliette Acker My time in Costa Rica, though short, was quite fulfilling. I studied at Academia Tica, a wonderful Spanish language school located in the quaint town of Coronado, about 20 minutes outside of San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, and on the outskirts of the Braulio Nature Reserve. As you walk through the gates of Academia Tica you’re transported to a lush landscape brimming with colorful flowers and seemingly a world away from the noise of the street beyond. My morning class took place under a wooden canopy, and from this premium spot, my professor, Pedro, would correct my classes’ strangely accented Spanish with the patience of a saint. Thankfully, and sometimes not, the classes were small, leaving little room to hide. At lunchtime, Maria, the school’s cook would bring out her creative and delicious creations made with ingredients popular in many Latin American countries such as yucca, chayote, and plantains. After lunch, students were free to enjoy the rest of the day as they liked. Due to my short time in Costa Rica, I chose to take additional language classes. I would go to class with Andrea, my professor with the smiling eyes and boundless energy. (Sometimes even with an extra cup of coffee, I couldn't keep up!) Though students come to Academia Tica to learn Spanish, the school makes sure that not all your time is spent studying. The school arranges excursions to give students a fuller picture of Costa Rica and new opportunities to practice Spanish. I went with the school to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This beautiful place features the world’s largest butterfly observatory and well-maintained trails to the waterfall. Many people’s favorable impression of Costa Rica comes from the country’s natural beauty and I was able to see some of those sites, but the people I met through Academia Tica and the surrounding area shaped my impression of Costa Rica. I would like to thank the teachers and staff of Academia Tica for making my stay in Costa Rica so enjoyable. EVENT-ORIENTED
VACATIONS: How to keep the event from over-powering your vacation Each year, vacationers travel all over the country and the world to attend events ranging from the ribald like Mardi Gras to the erudite like the Montreal Jazz Festival. Event-oriented vacations are a great way to engage in your interest (even if that interest is just in having a good time). You will also have an opportunity to meet like-minded people; you may find new friends in different parts of the country who love African art like you do! I recently returned from a vacation in Miami where I attended the American Black Film Festival. This four-day event showcased some of the best soon-to-be released (and some never to be released films) either created by black filmmakers or featuring African Americans as main characters. Besides attending this event, I had three other goals for my vacation: to reunite with my yearly traveling buddies, my sister and cousin, to get a great tan, and to enjoy the heck out of Miami. Now how did I accomplish all these goals, when I could have just tanned and talked to my buddies? Well, I’m glad you asked. After I received my packet of the listing of films and related events, I sat down with my traveling companions to strategize. To do event-oriented vacations well involves careful planning. There are many events that will clamor for your time and energy and you need to be careful not to overload yourself with these pre-arranged events and take time to do your own thing. This is my second year doing an event-oriented vacation. Last year, I went to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. I’ve discovered with these types of vacations, you can consider your first time as the learning curve vacation. Each event has its own rhythm and feel. Some events build-in time for rest and relaxation, while others offer so many events you could not possibly attend them all even if you had a clone. Lucky for you, I’ve learned from my mistakes and so can you. Here are my tips for enjoying an event-oriented vacation without getting overwhelmed.
DISCOVER A NEW CITY: Your Own! During these hot summer months, many people’s natural inclination is to travel. The urge stems from a need for a much needed break from their daily routine, whether that respite entails rest and relaxation or more energizing fare, millions of Americans will take to the road, rails or sky in search of something different, elsewhere. Have you thought about spending some time in your city, creating an in-town vacation? Many of us, myself included, neglect to visit our home cities, leaving sightseeing and other tourist adventures for only when relatives are visiting. You’ve probably done more sightseeing in other cities than your own, isn’t it time to rediscover your hometown? Tips on rediscovering your city: Your best resource is your local paper’s weekend section. Every week, generally on Thursdays, your hometown newspaper will give its picks on a number of events for the weekend ranging from cultural events to movies to street fairs to concerts. Picking up a community newspaper can be an even better resource for finding little known events that might not make the cut for the more widely read papers. Get in touch with nature. During the summer months there is an explosion of cultural events, many outdoors and many for free in your city’s parks. For example, in New York City, the City’s numerous parks become mini Meccas for culture seekers. There are events ranging from Central Park’s Summerstage, a series of free concerts featuring acclaimed artists of various genres, to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, which offers opera, world music, and dance performances to Manhattan’s Bryant Park, which features a Monday night movie series. In Washington, DC, every summer the Shakespeare Theatre holds the Shakespeare Free for All at Carter Baron Theater in Rock Creek Park, and who can forget the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival on the Mall? Even if there isn’t an event going on, your town’s parks are a great place for either relaxation or sporting activities. Wander around a new neighborhood. When I first moved to New York City, my sister and I, in an effort to become less intimidated by the City, would take the subway to a neighborhood we had never been to before and spend the day wandering around. We might have names of places or restaurants we wanted to visit, but the point was to find things on our own, to acclimate ourselves to our surroundings. Experiencing New York City in this way allowed us to become familiar with a section of the City that we might not come across in our regular routine. Take advantage of deals meant to lure out-of-town tourists. Most cities have a tourist board that is charged with finding ways to encourage tourism. Often these boards provide financial incentives to tourists in the form of coupons or special deals they’ve negotiated with hotels, restaurants or performance centers. Why not take advantage of those deals too? Go to your City’s Visitor Information Center and grab one of the coupon books and flyers on events in your town. These deals will allow you an opportunity to try new restaurants, spend a romantic weekend in one of your city’s top hotels or find out about previously unknown events. The most important tip is to be open to the wonders of your city. Being a tourist in your hometown can be a fun and inexpensive way to spend your summer.
Traveling allows you to experience another culture and way of life, but too often when we travel we try to recreate our homes, but in a new locale. We are like travelers in a bubble, approaching travel as if it is an exhibit in a museum, observing, but not experiencing. So how do you experience a new culture, but still feel at home? The first thing is to travel with an open mind and heart. There are many things that you will see on your journey that will seem alien to you such as my experience in Zimbabwe where a favorite local snack was eating mopane worms. I simply shrugged and chewed, for what felt like the longest 30 seconds of my life. (It was like eating a real Gummy worm!) Now I haven’t added mopane worms to my snack arsenal, but it was an experience that will forever remind me of Zimbabwe. Also, be open to people, meeting people, talking to people, asking for directions and for advice. We sometimes create a barrier around ourselves by relying to heavily on our guidebooks not realizing that our destination is full of human guidebooks. This is also a great way to meet people, which can smooth over some of the anxiety of being in an unknown place, especially if you are traveling alone. When I was in Brazil I asked a woman if she knew of a good restaurant and our conversation went from foods to beauty. It turned out she worked at a beauty parlor and invited me to come get my nails done. If you’re not ready to launch head first into a new experience you can still stay close to your comfort zone by trying variations of your favorite meals and activities. For example, if you like Italian, then try Italian in São Paulo, where many restaurants offer Italian meals with a Brazilian accent and where some say the best Italian outside of Italy is prepared. Like dancing? Then find a class in the local dance or go see a dance performance that locals would see. You don’t have to change who you are, but you can tweak your experience so that you don’t leave Amsterdam feeling like you could’ve stayed at home.
There used to be a time when a woman traveling alone was thought of as a wanton woman, but these days women traveling alone are no longer considered an oddity. In increasing numbers women are traveling alone and enjoying it. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, an estimated 32 million single American women traveled at least once in 2001 and those numbers have surely increased since then. Travelers are more likely to be Generation Xers (18-35 year olds) and women over 55, but the numbers of Baby Boomer travelers has increased as well.
For the first time solo traveler, traveling with a group is a good way to reduce some of the anxiety of traveling. There are groups specifically devoted to women travelers such as Women Traveling Together (www.womentraveling.com), Women’s Travel Club (www.womenstravelclub.com), or Explorations in Travel, Inc. (www.exploretravel.com). Travel groups provide a structured way to meet people and an organized travel experience. Cultural vacations to a language school, cooking school or an art school provide an excellent opportunity to learn a new skill and meet new people from your classes. A listing on different types of cultural vacations can be found on this website and on the Shaw Guides website (www.shawguides.com). I have taken many trips alone and have found that traveling alone offers its own pleasures. For one thing, when you’re traveling alone, you don’t have to compromise on what you want to do. There’s no going to the train museum with your traveling partner if you really want to go shopping. Additionally, traveling alone forces you to meet people; you don’t have the company of another person to fall back on. Somehow I was more approachable and I also was approached by other people and was therefore more likely to be invited to events, people’s houses, etc. This added access enabled me to get insider information on places to eat, places to go, and on safety. Traveling alone enables you to learn more about yourself and also builds confidence; you realize that you have to rely solely on yourself to figure out the language, the correct change, and where to go. In the end, isn’t this one of the great benefits of travel? What can I say about Rio de Janeiro that hasn’t already been said? Not too much so I’ll join the choruses of those who have praised Rio. Rio is an enormously beautiful, vibrant, and complicated city. Home to 10 million people, Rio is a city of contrasts, both good and bad. Good: a “concrete Jungle” with miles of amazing beaches, soaring mountains, and even its own rainforest (Floresta da Tijuca) within the city limits. Bad: opulent million dollar homes right next door to very poor neighborhoods called favelas, often poor illegal settlements located on Ro’s hilltops.
I went to Rio for a week in December 2004 and enjoyed some of the more and less touristed sites in the City. I stayed in a budget hotel, Hotel Turisticó, in the neighborhood of Glória. Glória is not on the beaten tourist path, but it’s a well located, close to downtown Rio, next door to the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa and my hotel was a block from the very convenient Rio subway system. One of the great attractions of Santa Teresa is the bonde, a tram that runs through the neighborhood. A ride on the bonde is convenient to take in the many interesting shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. My first day in Rio was spent wandering around Centro, Rio’s business district, visiting such sites as the Modern Arts Museum, the National Arts Museum and the Sambódromo, where the Carnival parades are held every year. That next day, I went on a favela tour. Favela tours are one of the more recent ways to get a different glimpse of life in Rio. A tour guide takes a small group of tourists to see a few favelas in the hopes of educating tourists about life in favelas. These tours are controversial for a number of reasons: some in the Rio tourist establishment believe these tours present an unfavorable representation of Rio, while others feel these tours objectify the favelas. I decided to go on the tour because I am interested in seeing a more complete picture of Rio and the favelas are part of that picture. The tour was a wonderful experience. We saw two different favelas: Santa Marta, a smaller favela that Michael Jackson once visited and Rosinha, the largest favela in Brazil. Rosinha had been raided by the police the night before due to an escalating fight with a nearby favela named Larangeiras. Our guides told us that we would not go if it seemed too dangerous. Luckily, the favela was quiet and we were able to go. It was an incredible experience to see how Rosinha had operated outside the legal structure of Rio for so long, yet had so much industry and commerce. The favela has two banks, two radio stations, two bus lines, and even has a major American fast food restaurant! Some people felt that they had prospered by staying in the favela by being able to create businesses, own property, etc. Our guides told us that the residents of Rosinha said that there had never been a robbery within the favela. They said the threat of retribution from drug lords kept crime, outside of the drug trade, to a minimum to reduce the incursion of the police. I guess that’s the silver lining to Rosinha’s cloud. The next day, I went hang gliding off a cliff deep within the Floresta da Tijuca. There are many instructors that can take you either hang gliding or paragliding. Make sure to get a good recommendation as all instructors are not of the same quality. I decided to go with an instructor advertised by my hotel. It was a wonderful experience…until the end. Unfortunately, we crashed and I sprained my knee. Despite the crash, I would still recommend the experience; you’ll get a view of Rio not often seen. My instructor, feeling guilty about the crash, became my personal tour guide and drove me to different sites around the city.
One of the first sites was Prainha, a little beach popular with tourists, about 20 miles from the famous Ipanema beach. The water is a little rough here, hence the popularity with the surfers, but the views are amazing and it is less crowded than some of Rio’s other beaches. There are also a number of rock formations reminiscent of Stonehenge. At the far end of the beach there is a little café up the hill, hidden from the view of most of the beach. You’ll have to brave some thick foliage to get to the café, but it is well worth the trouble. The café had some of the best caranguejo (sand crab) I’ve had in Brazil and make sure to get a caiprinha and/or chopp (draft beer). The café boasts many tables overlooking the clear blue water and a very serene atmosphere. That night I went to Lapa, a neighborhood that was once known as a bohemian hang out that over the last few decades fell into decline. Despite its somewhat seedy past (and present) it is a popular hang out for dancing and hearing some fantastic Brazilian music. We went to a barzinho (little bar) called A Gente, as Cariocas (The People, Cariocas – the name for the residents of Rio). Actually, if I’m being honest, I think my knee was really injured when I attempted to keep up with the samba skills of native Cariocas. The whole bar seemed to seize with the energy of Cariocas dancing to more varieties of samba than I knew existed. It was quite an experience. The next morning, I visited two of the most well-known landmarks in Rio: Sugarloaf mountain and Corcovado. There’s much debate on which mountain provides the better view of Rio. Atop Corcovado lies the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that provides a daily blessing to the city of Rio. Sugarloaf, though the shorter of the two mountains has a great view of Guanabara Bay. My last day in Rio I felt I got the best of both mountains when I was standing on one of the peaks of Sugarloaf and witnessed the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen: the sun setting behind Corcovado.
Juliette Acker is president of Communications International, a New York-based organization that offers writing expertise, including grant writing, as well as editing and public relations services. She can be reached at juliette_acker@yahoo.com. There are certain cities that despite their noise, pollution, and crowded streets still have a unique lure – New York is one of those cities and Salvador, Brazil is another. Salvador is a place that resonates with an intense energy from the streets of the historical district, the Pelourinho, that are flanked by brightly colored buildings and echo with the drumbeats of music groups like Olodum to the beaches that line the east and south sides of this coastal city to places like Praça da Piedade, the square where everyday you can see some of the best ordinary sites in town: from young men practicing Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial arts, to vendors hawking everything from exotically flavored popsicles to perfume to the humorous conversations of the local drunkards. I spent two months in late 2004 in Brazil to teach English, learn Portuguese and take a much needed respite from my job. Salvador was the perfect place to do all three things. Though not as well-known as Rio, this city of about 2 million people has sites that are distinctively Brazilian and worth a visit. Salvador, in the northeastern state of Bahia is known as the epicenter of Afro-Brazilian culture and Bahia has the largest concentration of Afro-Brazilians in the country. Many famous Brazilians are from Bahia such as musicians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso and writer Jorge Amado. The African influence is evident everywhere: in the way people look, the food, and the music. And oh, the music – music of all kinds can be heard at all times. Nights before holidays people head to their local bar or restaurant to listen and dance to axé (a percussion heavy dance music), pagode (a pop version of samba) or reggae (loved by Salvadoreans and pronounced “heggee”) and drink copious amounts of beer. The drink of choice here is beer, not caipirinhas, a drink favored by tourists, made of cachaça, a sugar cane liquor, sugar and limes. Salvadoreans work hard, many people have two jobs or have at least another way to make money, but they still find time to enjoy their lives. Friday and Saturday nights are for dancing, hanging out with friends and listening to the many different types of Brazilian music. If you’re looking for nightlife, make the obligatory trip to the Pelourinho, especially to the weekly Tuesday night party, but also visit neighborhoods like Barra and Rio Vermelho, both near the beach, and go to the Aeroclube Mall where there are two big clubs and good restaurants. Save Sundays for the beach because in Salvador, Sundays are for sun worshipping. Every beach along the city’s coast is crowded with scantily clad Brazilians enjoying the sun and the many “beach” foods: acarajé (fried bean dough with salad, shrimp and vatapá, a mixture made of dende oil, shrimp and peanuts), fried cheese, crabs, and feijoada, Brazil’s national dish made with black beans, greens and different types of meat. Some of the best beaches are further away from the center of the City such as Flamengo and Stella Maris, but there are so many beaches that run along the coast that it’s not hard to find one to your liking. So if you’re looking to experience the soul of Brazil, Salvador will not disappoint.
What can I say about Rio de Janeiro that hasn’t already been said? Not too much so I’ll join the choruses of those who have praised Rio. Rio is an enormously beautiful, vibrant, and complicated city. Home to 10 million people, Rio is a city of contrasts, both good and bad. Good: a “concrete Jungle” with miles of amazing beaches, soaring mountains, and even its own rainforest (Floresta da Tijuca) within the city limits. Bad: opulent million dollar homes right next door to very poor neighborhoods called favelas, often poor illegal settlements located on Ro’s hilltops.
I went to Rio for a week in December 2004 and enjoyed some of the more and less touristed sites in the City. I stayed in a budget hotel, Hotel Turisticó, in the neighborhood of Glória. Glória is not on the beaten tourist path, but it’s a well located, close to downtown Rio, next door to the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa and my hotel was a block from the very convenient Rio subway system. One of the great attractions of Santa Teresa is the bonde, a tram that runs through the neighborhood. A ride on the bonde is convenient to take in the many interesting shops and restaurants in the neighborhood. My first day in Rio was spent wandering around Centro, Rio’s business district, visiting such sites as the Modern Arts Museum, the National Arts Museum and the Sambódromo, where the Carnival parades are held every year. That next day, I went on a favela tour. Favela tours are one of the more recent ways to get a different glimpse of life in Rio. A tour guide takes a small group of tourists to see a few favelas in the hopes of educating tourists about life in favelas. These tours are controversial for a number of reasons: some in the Rio tourist establishment believe these tours present an unfavorable representation of Rio, while others feel these tours objectify the favelas. I decided to go on the tour because I am interested in seeing a more complete picture of Rio and the favelas are part of that picture. The tour was a wonderful experience. We saw two different favelas: Santa Marta, a smaller favela that Michael Jackson once visited and Rosinha, the largest favela in Brazil. Rosinha had been raided by the police the night before due to an escalating fight with a nearby favela named Larangeiras. Our guides told us that we would not go if it seemed too dangerous. Luckily, the favela was quiet and we were able to go. It was an incredible experience to see how Rosinha had operated outside the legal structure of Rio for so long, yet had so much industry and commerce. The favela has two banks, two radio stations, two bus lines, and even has a major American fast food restaurant! Some people felt that they had prospered by staying in the favela by being able to create businesses, own property, etc. Our guides told us that the residents of Rosinha said that there had never been a robbery within the favela. They said the threat of retribution from drug lords kept crime, outside of the drug trade, to a minimum to reduce the incursion of the police. I guess that’s the silver lining to Rosinha’s cloud. The next day, I went hang gliding off a cliff deep within the Floresta da Tijuca. There are many instructors that can take you either hang gliding or paragliding. Make sure to get a good recommendation as all instructors are not of the same quality. I decided to go with an instructor advertised by my hotel. It was a wonderful experience…until the end. Unfortunately, we crashed and I sprained my knee. Despite the crash, I would still recommend the experience; you’ll get a view of Rio not often seen. My instructor, feeling guilty about the crash, became my personal tour guide and drove me to different sites around the city.
One of the first sites was Prainha, a little beach popular with tourists, about 20 miles from the famous Ipanema beach. The water is a little rough here, hence the popularity with the surfers, but the views are amazing and it is less crowded than some of Rio’s other beaches. There are also a number of rock formations reminiscent of Stonehenge. At the far end of the beach there is a little café up the hill, hidden from the view of most of the beach. You’ll have to brave some thick foliage to get to the café, but it is well worth the trouble. The café had some of the best caranguejo (sand crab) I’ve had in Brazil and make sure to get a caiprinha and/or chopp (draft beer). The café boasts many tables overlooking the clear blue water and a very serene atmosphere. That night I went to Lapa, a neighborhood that was once known as a bohemian hang out that over the last few decades fell into decline. Despite its somewhat seedy past (and present) it is a popular hang out for dancing and hearing some fantastic Brazilian music. We went to a barzinho (little bar) called A Gente, as Cariocas (The People, Cariocas – the name for the residents of Rio). Actually, if I’m being honest, I think my knee was really injured when I attempted to keep up with the samba skills of native Cariocas. The whole bar seemed to seize with the energy of Cariocas dancing to more varieties of samba than I knew existed. It was quite an experience. The next morning, I visited two of the most well-known landmarks in Rio: Sugarloaf mountain and Corcovado. There’s much debate on which mountain provides the better view of Rio. Atop Corcovado lies the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that provides a daily blessing to the city of Rio. Sugarloaf, though the shorter of the two mountains has a great view of Guanabara Bay. My last day in Rio I felt I got the best of both mountains when I was standing on one of the peaks of Sugarloaf and witnessed the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen: the sun setting behind Corcovado.
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Women
have discovered the joys of solo travel and the travel industry
is catering to their needs. For a woman contemplating a trip by
herself there is a multitude of resources available. Travel websites
such as Journeywoman (
