It's the second week in the capital. In addition to Spanish classes, students are getting a lot of input about Costa Rica.

Lectures

Lecture topics during the second week of of the new semester included pre-conquest history, religion in Spanish-America, the Costa Rican judicial system, and understanding culture shock. Lectures may be given at various locations, but most commonly at the Colegio Universitario Monterrey (CUM) close to Casa Goshen.

• Photo above, Delia Pe–a explaining to the students what they may be experiencing: culture shock.
• Curtis and don Claudio, the friendly doorman at CUM, who remembers a score of SST leaders going back to don Wilbur and do–a Fani.
• Shayne, Rachel and Mindy discussing some fine points the lecturer made on culture shock.
• Christine, Cynthia and Ladda leaving CUM after a full day of Spanish classes and a two hour lecture.

Field trips

We made three field trips this week, one to the Meteorological Institute in Heredia, another to the National Institute of Biodiversity at Santo Domingo de Heredia, and to the Museum of Criminology. At the latter we learned that there is no capital punishment in Costa Rica, a country that has pacifism written into its constitution, and that all induced abortions are a criminal act, unless it can be proven that the mother's life would otherwise be in danger.

The head of the Meteorological Institute explained all about earthquakes and volcanoes. The delicate instruments used here record up to 7000 slight to major tremors in this tiny country in a given year. The students recognized him two days later, when he was interviewed on national television about the El Salvador earthquake.

• On Sunday morning at 6 am -- half a day after the earthquake in El Salvador, which shook Costa Rica, but caused little damage -- this utility post came down (half a block from Casa Goshen). But power was restored later that evening.

After the Metereological Institute we took a brief walk through downtown Heredia with its colonial buildings. The cathedral on the east side of Parque Central faces west, as do all churches in Costa Rica.

At the Institute for Biodiversity, Juliana gave us a 2 1/2 hour guided tour that includes trees of all kinds, butterflies, birds, and even a sloth.

• Rachel, Mindy and Christine under a reina de la noche, one of the great many kinds of flowering trees in Costa Rica.
• A blue crown mot mot sighted in the biodiversity park.