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Retired globetrotters settle down for an extended stay
at ILISA
Lankaster
Gardens - A walk through Costa Rica's Ecosystems
Volunteer work in Costa Rica with Habitat for Humanity
Cookery
Corner - Arroz con Leche
Retired
globetrotters
settle down for an extended stay at ILISA
 SAN PEDRO, COSTA RICA -- Having traveled the globe and lived in
eight different countries, Gayle and Roger Halpin keep a distinct
view on languages. And they know quite well how even a little bit
of language can lead to a magnificent cultural experience.
While traveling last year in Tunisia during the Muslim holiday of
Ramadan, the now-retired Halpins were bystanders to an age-old ritual
as they watched the local children frolic with a herd of sheep. In
a short time, the sheep were to become the holiday feast.
Gayle, recalling her years of high school French instruction, asked
a local man if the children were saddened by the prospect of playing
with the soon-to-be supper.
“Better the sheep than the children,” he told them.
Then, in French, the man invited them to partake in the Ramadan rituals.
Soon, the Halpins were witnessing the slaughtering and cooking of
the holy meal, which commemorates the Sacrifice of Ibrahim, and dining
with a Tunisian family of 13 - with Gayle’s high-school level
French serving as the bridge between the family and the visitors.
“It was wonderful,” Gayle
says.
“You get so much more out of travel when you can communicate
with and participate in the lives of the people of the countries
you are visiting,” adds Roger.
Drawing
on their knowledge of cultures, the importance of language and
a desire to travel South America, the Halpins enrolled
in ILISA
Spanish Institute in Costa Rica for two weeks this year. Then, two
weeks became three. Three became four, and so on. In the end, they
spent seven weeks at ILISA (during which time they became known as
the school’s most vigorous studiers and most reliable happy-hour
attendees).
“I have more than exceeded my expectations,” says Roger.
Knowing very little Spanish when he arrived, the former computer
specialist for Mobil Oil has now achieved both of his main goals:
to read a newspaper and to have a conversation in Spanish on the
street. And, he has enjoyed ILISA’s custom-built building,
nestled in the San José suburb of San Pedro.
“I don’t think you really appreciate it until you are
here, but the facilities are so important to learning,” he
says while he and Gayle enjoyed a splendid view of the Costa Rican
mountainside from one of ILISA’s tranquil, glass-walled classrooms.
“We didn’t think, quite honestly, we could do four weeks.
Now we’re doing seven,” says Gayle.
They
first heard about ILISA when Roger was doing volunteer work in
Venezuela. Gayle was taking a course at a school
in Caracas when
a student who’d studied at a number of language schools mentioned
that ILISA in Costa Rica is the best language institute around. They
also talked to a friend of Roger’s sister, who spoke highly
of her 10 weeks at ILISA.
Lastly,
they contacted three couples from ILISA’s reference
list, all of whom gave glowing accounts of their time at the school. “I
always have this need to have a personal
recommendation before I do something.”
When asked to
sum up their experience at ILISA, the couple had a simple answer: “Excellent.”
And that’s probably why the two months they’ve stayed
at ILISA have been the longest they’ve ever remained in one
location in all their years of traveling the world. Now, it’s
off to Nicaragua for the adventuresome couple.
ILISA Spanish School in Costa Rica has been teaching Spanish to
students of all backgrounds and nationalities since 1987. Its beautiful
facilities and professional instructors have given ILISA the reputation
as one of the best Spanish language schools in the world.
Contact the Halpins to hear more about their experience at ILISA:
rfhalpin@excite.com or 202.338.7011
For more information about ILISA or to enroll, please contact us at spanish@ilisa.com or (1)8004547248.
Lankaster
Gardens: A Walk Through Costa Rica's Ecosystems
Lankaster Gardens, which is run by the University of Costa Rica's
biology department, is a haven for plant lovers and others who are
looking to spend relaxing day in a lush, green environment.
Visitors
can start by walking through gardens featuring plants typical of Costa
Rica. This main area of the garden features walking paths, several
fountains, and plants of all types. The showcase of the garden is
a large greenhouse dedicated just to orchids. The variety is astonishing-there
are hundreds of species! The display is particularly spectacular during
the peak season for orchids, March and April. However, orchids are
just the start.
After
the green house, you can take a long walk through areas dedicated
to different types of plants (i.e. palms, bamboo, bromeliads) and
to ecosystems (i.e. desert; rainforest). Paved footpaths wind through
the areas, making exploration on your own extremely accessible. There
are also plenty benches where you can rest or just ponder the beauty
of the gardens. The design of the park makes you feel as if you were
truly immersed in different ecosystems.
Children
will also love the freedom they have to explore the area. The diversity
of the collection is impressive as is the garden's impeccable maintenance.
While the gardens appear small from the outside, you will need several
hours to see everything. If you plan on reading all the information
that is provided and studying all the plants that are marked, you
could easily spend an entire day.
The
gift shop/bookstore carries a wide collection of books on local and
regional flora. You might purchase a guide for reference to make your
stay even more enjoyable.
Lankaster
Gardens is located several miles outside of Cartago. To get there,
take a bus to Cartago, then a taxi from Cartago to the gardens. If
you prefer, many package tours combine Lankaster Gardens with a visit
to the Orosí Valley.
Volunteer
work in Costa Rica for Habitat for Humanity
When
Foster and Diana decided to put their lives on hold in the USA for
a year to learn Spanish with us and then to travel, they also had
the intention of giving a little back to Costa Rica by undertaking
volunteer work with the international organization Habitat for Humanity.
Diana
found the criteria for helping the non profit organization via Global
Village a little too restrictive for their particular needs when she
inquired in the States. "We couldn't commit to 100 hours of volunteer
work upfront and we needed the flexibility to help at weekends as
and when we had the time". But, not wanting to give up on the idea,
on arrival in Costa Rica they decided to contact the project directly
to see if they could contribute in some way.
James
Dolan, the volunteer coordinator in the community of San Ramon just
over an hour by bus from San José, could not have been more delighted.
An immediate reply to their e- mail included directions on how to
find them, details of discounted hotel rates for volunteers at the
nicest hotel in town (which incidentally costs $10 per person per
night in a couple and $13 single, bed and breakfast), and a warm invite
to join the team.
"The
project objective is to build affordable housing for disadvantaged
families in the town" explained Foster. With pretty tight qualifying
criteria on the part of the 3 families involved, including ownership
of the plot and being adequately employed in order to pay back the
interest free loan, each family has to help build theirs and their
future neighbors dwelling. "It helps create a strong community atmosphere
with everyone working as a team towards a final goal, and not one
family can move into their house until all are fully constructed".
The criteria
doesn't stop there, each single storey concrete block house is built
to incredibly tight standards including the need to be earthquake
proof. Infact, word has it, after hurricane Andrew in Florida, almost
all of the houses constructed by Habitat for Humanity were left standing!
Foster
a web application developer and Diana an anesthetist, had absolutely
no construction experience, but jumped on the bus for their first
weekend of work, equipped with a sun hat each, a pair of gloves and
a sense of adventure. They joined a team of people from literally
all walks of life including students backpacking around the world
to a group of 60 year old retirees. And, supervised by a fully qualified
project manager, the team undertook work from digging foundations,
laying blocks, cutting and bending reinforcement bars, carpentry and
pouring concrete floors.
Diana
joked, "the manager was totally respectful of our abilities, or lack
of them in our case, but it's amazing what we've learnt to do. And
it's great to see the project develop.
Having
started working on the houses mid February, we saw completion in July,
which gives all of us involved a tremendous sense of achievement".
But it goes a bit further than that; both Foster and Diana agree that
helping the local community has been a great complement to their study
period at ILISA. "It has given us another opportunity to study Spanish
in a non-classroom environment and the cultural immersion has shown
us yet a different side to Costa Rica". They've worked with and made
friends with people from all over the world and had lots of fun and
laughs whilst doing so.
Foster
who has been working for ILISA as our IT manager and Diana who continued
with classes, cannot recommend the project or the cause enough.
When asked about the next step should others be interested in helping
with any of the Habitat for Humanity projects in Nicoya and Esparza
here in Costa Rica, they both advise contacting James Dolan directly
at james_dolan@habitat.org . English speaking, he will be overjoyed
at the prospect of more volunteers and, before you know it, they'll
have you up to your elbows concrete!
Cookery
Corner - Arroz con leche
Below
is a quick and easy dessert recipe which is popular all over Costa
Rica.
I
cup of rice
2 cups of water
0.5 cup sugar (or as desired)
1 can of evaporated milk
1 litre of milk
pinch of salt
cloves, cinnamon
raisins (optional)
In
a pan, cook the rice with the water, salt, cloves and cinnamon until
half evaporated. Add the milk and continue cooking until again half
evaporated. Add the evaporated milk, and when reduced by half for
the final time, add the sugar and raisins. Cook for five minutes more
and serve.
Its also popular in Costa Rica to substitute some of the sugar for
condensed milk. If using, add this at the same time as the evaporated
milk.
Links
to previous issues:
January
2004
October
2003
July
2003
April
2003
January
2003
October
2002
July
2002
April
2002
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