Rules of communication

This is actually a former post from February 3, 2009

Today I was asked why I came here to Costa Rica.
The question was part of a casual oral interview in our Spanish class; regardless, my answer still left me feeling unsatisfied.
"Well," I said trying to gather the first thoughts that occurred to me, "I visited Costa Rica once in high school as a tourist, but felt then that there was still so much for me to study here as a non-tourist.”
That was my answer but I knew I hadn't really communicated why I am here--what I really think I'm doing studying bananas in a tropical tourist destination.

But before I explain my motivations, let me first touch on how communicating in Spanish has given me entirely new perspectives. To me what has mostly intrigued me about language has been grammar. I have always been a fiend for English rules and so I spent a lot of energy trying to understand the rules for what felt natural and unnatural about English. But the further I have gone in education the more I see that the rules become less and less important. By the time most students make it to college they can use their mother tongue at a very expressive level.

If I am trying to explain my point of view to someone who has never thought the way I have, it’s necessary that I use logical sentence structures. This is implied. What becomes more necessary is presenting a logical sequence of sentences with a conclusive approach, because without this, anything that I want to convey is lost. This might sound like the makings of a nice persuasive paper, but communication is an art all of its own quite distinct from writing.

As I continue to be reminded every day, when a new or uncomfortable situation arises where it’s necessary to communicate--it helps to be able to communicate effectively. Before I came to Costa Rica, I thought I communicated well in English. But after really struggling to get my point across for the last week in Spanish, my awareness of English communication has increased tenfold.

The other day my host mom served me breakfast. She cooked eggs over easy with toast but I have never been able to handle runny eggs. Normally, explaining this preference subtly in English would not be a problem, but I was unsure of what to say so as not to offend her in Spanish. I ended up giving up, eating both my words and the whole bit of egg, almost grimacing the entire time.

I’m not critiquing my host mom’s ability to cook well, but rather reflecting on what it takes to communicate well. Now that I have been working in almost complete Spanish I can better identify my motivations honestly—to answer well why I came here to Costa Rica involves having a reason and believing it’s valid.

After having some time to think it over, I realize that coming here was a bit of an escape and a bit of a test of will. But I still hold onto something else: a type of aspiration for this experience. And for the first time I’ve caught up with myself—where my brain can imagine and where my body stands in reality are usually far apart, but maybe for the first time here I am all in one place. It’s humbling to my lofty aspirations of impacting humanity positively. Yet, what I do in the next months can and will be the time that I invest in studying sustainable agriculture to reduce the cost of banana production and ultimately reduce poverty.

This is why I truly came to Costa Rica.

The more time I spend talking and living with Ticos the more I am glad I tested my will and my supposed communication skills.
***
I look forward and look back and try to remember the important things I see.

Wishes and love to all,

Anna

p.s. I got my first sunburn today. It’s mostly concentrated on the right side of my face ;)

p.p.s. There are 14 other students here in the program. Many from Colorado College, St Olaf, and Macalister. Everyone’s pretty cool, likes asparagus tips and happy to be here in the sun.