Effective Communication in the Rainforest Nation

This week’s featured traveler is Krista Beck.

Krista Beck posting up with some llamas while exploring Machu Picchu, Peru. Photo taken by Sarah Pearson-Beck.

Krista Beck is an elementary school teacher in Carmel, California. Before settling into life on the California coast Krista did Semester at Sea in college, where she visited cities throughout Europe and the Middle East.  After graduating from Chapman University, she volunteered at the Escuela Futuro Verde in Montezuma, Costa Rica.  During that time she traveled throughout South and Central America, falling in love Peru in particular while visiting her cousin Sarah Pearson-Beck.

Although in Montezuma quads were the popular mode of transportation and screaming monkeys served as the daily wake-up call, one of Krista’s most memorable experiences occurred before she even reached the school.

The Unexpected Lifesaver

After a day-long journey from the capital city of San Jose, Krista stored her luggage in an underneath compartment and boarded the rickety old bus that would take her to Montezuma.  “It was a very bumpy, slow, hot, sweaty ride on a dirt road
through old farmlands into sections of beautiful rain forests.” Soon, Krista realized the driver had passed her stop, unaware the location of the school had recently changed.

After failed attempts in broken Spanish to explain the situation to the driver, she waited until he came to a stop. He insisted she get out and walk a half kilometer further into the forest to find the school.  Not wanting to argue amid a bus full of eyeing locals, she exited, remembering her luggage was still onboard as soon as the doors had shut in her face.

“I was stuck in the middle of the rain forest with nothing but my
backpack.” Figuring the bus was bound to make the same route, she sat in the dirt and took out her English-Spanish dictionary. Swatting away massive flies, she decided she would learn exactly how to communicate when the driver returned.

“‘Mi equipaje está en el autobús. La escuela está en un lugar nuevo,'” she repeated. (Translation: My luggage is on the bus. The school is in a new place).

When the bus driver weaved through the potholes back to where he’d left her, she delivered her lines in nearly perfect Spanish.  Repeatedly apologizing, he gave her the first seat on the bus, this time ensuring she made it safely to the school, ‘equipaje’ in hand.

Krista Beck took this photo at Montezuma Beach, Costa Rica, where she enjoyed time off from working at the Escuela Futuro Verde.

Over the next few months, Krista and Johan the bus driver (who drove the bus she took to work each morning), enjoyed many conversations, dictionary at the ready.  Krista swears she will never forget how to say, ‘Mi equipaje está en el autobús,’ and although she offered many times, “I didn’t pay a bus fare throughout my entire stay in Montezuma.”

How to Feel Alive in the Dead of Winter

This week’s featured traveler is Jon Amar. 

Jon Amar performing an original song during open mic night at Kalmar Nation in Uppsala, Sweden. Photo taken by David Everett.

Jon Amar is a senior political science major at Cal State Long Beach. He became accustomed to life abroad while studying at Uppsala University in Sweden for a year, maintaining a job at a local bar and traveling whenever possible.

No Need for Plans in “No-Man’s Land”

One of the highlights of Jon’s stay was a three-week winter break trip, which included a New Year’s celebration in Berlin with 25 Australians at an underground trance club. Jon had a time that “was so outrageous, I fell in love with it.”

After Berlin, he and his friend David Everett decided to catch a flight to Kaunus, Lithuania. They explored the main sights in under three hours, then sat in a pub drinking monk beer made from a 900-year-old recipe.

He woke up early the next morning to catch a bus to Latvia.  Feeling the effects from the -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) weather and the previous night’s beers, he decided he needed food. Although skeptical, he bought a sandwich outside the bus station from an old lady dressed in rags, sitting next to a microwave. Then he went on his way.

On the bus, Jon looked outside the window at the scenery around him. The endless snow and splintered wood made him feel like he’d been placed in a WWI battlefield.  With no plan of how he was getting back to Sweden, he thought, “All I know is that I’m meeting my girlfriend in Latvia for a few days. The ‘no-man’s land,’ the shitty sandwich. It was all incredible, and I loved it.”

Jon Amar stepping off the airplane runway after arriving in Kaunus, Lithuania. Photo taken by David Everett.

High and Low Notes

This week’s featured traveler is Joe Cannon.

Joe Cannon in front of the Colosseum during a tour of the Roman Forum. Photo taken by Ryan Uhlich

Joe is a senior English major at California State Long Beach who studied abroad last semester at John Cabot University in Rome.  Joe often played his guitar at different piazzas throughout the city. Below, he recounts how an impromptu music session with locals helped ease the depression he was feeling while coping with the death of his dad thousands of miles away from home.

The Rut of the Month:

“Sitting on the steps of the baroque fountain, a box of wine splashed the ground in front of me; two leather-bound bums approached me and sat down.  The first acknowledged himself as Jacopo and his friend as Lara.  Jacopo turned to me,

‘You . . . American?’ he said with a thick Italian accent.

‘Yeah, I’m from California.’

‘You . . . understand . . . Eagles . . . Hotel California?’ asked Lara.

‘Sí, Hotel California!’ Jacopo shouted.

These guys wanted a show, something I wasn’t sure I was able to provide.  But I gave it a shot, and when it was over, they cheered.

‘You . . . ok . . . I . . . play?’ Jacopo asked.  I handed him the guitar. ‘This . . . song, is dedicated to . . . my, uh . . . brother . . . who . . . die . . . Friday, last’ he said.  Jacopo strummed the same chord over and over and started ‘singing’ (or melodically shouting random words in Italian).  When he finished, he laughed with tears in his eyes.

‘You guys like Red Hot Chili Peppers?’  I asked.  Lara chuckled and flashed a ‘RHCP’ tattoo on his calf.  ‘This song is for my dad. He died last month.’  It had been the first time I had said it out loud.  And it hit me, the rut that sparked a month-long bender of apathy and depression had ended.

I shook their hands and parted ways, rushing back to my apartment to wash the dirt from my hands.”

This is one of Joe's favorite pictures he took while abroad. It was taken down the street from the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini.

Just Say, ‘Perche non?!’

This week’s featured traveller is Samantha Billetter.

Samantha overlooking Rome from Piazza Venezia. Photo by Sofia Yassine.

Samantha is a senior business management and business economics major at Cal State Long Beach.  Last semester, she studied abroad in Rome at John Cabot University.  While she tried to soak in Roman life as much as possible, she reserved most weekends for travelling to countries throughout Europe.

A Little Bit “Disney,” a Little Bit “Saw”:

During a trip  to Marrakech, Morocco, Samantha and her friends decided to go to the “haman,” a traditional Moroccan bathhouse. “Everything in Morocco made me feel like I was in “Aladdin”. When we found the hamam, old ladies led us inside… the tiled walls and floors looked like something out of ‘Saw’.”  To her surprise, the old ladies stripped naked, repeatedly pointing at her and her friends to do the same.  “We all looked at each other, confused because we thought we’d be laying on massage tables. Then we asked ourselves, ‘perche non?!’ Before I knew it, we were naked, getting massaged by old ladies with slimy wax, and enjoying it!”

After the spa session, the ladies invited the girls to drink some freshly brewed Moroccan tea.  “We sat in a circle on straw mats in their bathrobes listening to the ‘Americano Song,’ all the while not being able to converse. It was a crazy cross-cultural moment!”

Useful Travel Tip:

“There were so many times I had no clue what I was getting myself into, but having an open mind was key. When my friends and I weren’t sure about something, we’d say, ‘Perche non?’ It means ‘Why not?’ in Italian, and it helped us stop second-guessing and just go with the flow.”

This man served as entertainment for Samantha during a layover in Malta.