I recently came back from my first solo international travel trip. My yoga studio Lizard Yoga (check them out if you are in South Austin!) had a yoga retreat for a week in the Chirripos Mountains of Costa Rica.
It was a life changing trip for me for many reasons but the biggest reason was that it opened my heart and mind from my small corner in south Austin to the larger world and see life in a foreign country. I had traveled internationally with family when I was younger to Iran several times but as we grow older so does our perspective and this was the perfect moment for me to pick the ripe fruit of destiny and experience a unique culture, food, language and lifestyle.

Speaking Spanish

hablando español

In high school I took German and later in college began to learn spanish. Working in the cafeteria during the semester and during summer at Jones Food Court in San Marcos Texas at Texas State University I had the fortune of working with several hispanic ladies who didn't speak much english.
I would come to work with a Spanish dictionary to help me in communicating with these ladies and this improved my Spanish just as much or even more than my formal studies in class.

I felt the same way on this trip.
I had done a bit of studying before coming to Costa Rica by using Babel (an online language learning app) to refresh my Spanish but it is only when you are in a position where you have to really think and use recall with whatever words available to communicate that you are able to grow a language skill.
I put my Spanish learning on hold before the trip as I started a Persian language bootcamp at Chai and Conversation

How to learn about a new place

Cómo aprender sobre un lugar nuevo.

My favorite way to learn about a new place is to take a ride share or taxi and talk with the driver.
Fortunately in Costa Rica most of the drivers (conductors) only spoke Spanish so this was an additional challenge/opportunity to connect within the set of words and phrases I knew. Learning about a new place can even happen in your home city.

On my rideshare to the airport, a young Nigerian man shared with me that every year he plans international travel. He decided after COVID that he would make an effort to plan ahead and book a hotel/airbnb and plane tickets and go somewhere out of the country. He has family in Nigeria and London which gave him further reasons to go abroad.
I am adopting this philosophy myself and next year plan to study Turkish and travel to Turkey, where I can continue learning about the world from ride share drivers, or as they say in Turkish; Taksi şoförü.

Being a polyglot and speaking multiple languages allows us to connect with more of the world.

There are over 500 million Spanish speakers in the world
Over 100 million Persian speakers
Over 80 million Turkish speakers

Community

comunidad

I had the fortune of connecting with each of these incredible people in the picture above and some not seen, I think Liz took this photo 📷. The wonderful facilitors Caitlin, Jane and Liz at Camp Nueva Vida in the Chirripos Mountains created such a welcoming and nurturing home for us all and even though we only met for the first time in Costa Rica we left feeling like long time friends. This was the first retreat at Nueva Vida which made the time with this crew extra special.

We ate gourmet meals three times a day from our two incredible chefs Chris and Jeremiah.

We had a travel day to the beach, Parque Nacional Marion Ballena

Vists to a waterfall, butterfly sancutary, massage/facial day, camp fire stories/songs, yoga classes, ayuvedic classes and EFT classes were a few other experiences. Each morning the birds would sing you awake with their songs as you would awaken to a view of the mountains.

None of these incredible places/foods/experiences would have happened without the people who put them together and created the container for us to explore the world and ourselves. The reason I decided to go on the trip was because I knew Liz, who owns and operates Lizard Yoga with Tanner, was creating this and I know how much intention and Love she puts into everything she does.

One of the best surprises was meeting my new friend Caitlin who lives at the retreat center with her mom Jane. This young woman is an herbalist, an experienced EFT expert, a chef who runs a catering company and a retreat coordinator. She is filled with so much wisdom and joy. https://www.vitalnectarholism.com/

Fruit

fruta

In the 1950s, after the Costa Rican Civil War, the country decided to abolish the military and became dedicated to providing health care serivces and education.
They are a leader in the region as a stable democracy, with progressive social policies and a blue zone where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years.
Aside from all these great aspects of Costa Rica, another is their magnificent biodiversity and geography that allows for great fruit production.
You could just walk the streets and eat fruit each day and be a happy camper

Star fruit and water apples, the water apples are juicy and with a delicious astringent flavor.

Granadilla, has this unqiue pouch of seeds that were so good!

Guaba was another unqiue fruit, called the ice cream bean as it tastes like ice cream with a bean inside.

Fresh mango outside my hotel room.

Mentors

mentores

In the last year I have had the fortune of having several different mentors guiding me on my path. Several of them live in other states or even other countries.
A man who has changed my life in substanial ways is my friend Ryan who lives in Ecuador.
I speak with him often on the phone but we had never met in person.
His brother lives in Costa Rica and his family was doing a family trip to see each other around the same time I was visiting.
Fate allowed me to spend my last full day with Ryan and it was the perfect end to the trip.

People have an energy you can feel in person.
You can feel this energy over their communication via text and voice on the phone.
Once you experience their spirit in person, that connection is with you forever.
Now when I speak with Ryan back home in Austin, it feels like he is sitting right next to me.
For this I am truly grateful.

Find someone who can help you get through the hard times.
Then go out and help someone else.

To me, this is what they mean when they say pura vida in Costa Rica.

Poetry

poesía

Travel is the University of Life

Break your confines by bus, plane, car, boat or your two feet
this world has freedoms and life you have yet to discover
fruits with unique names, different from neighboring countries
my friend tells me this as he peals a freshly picked papaya, pineapple,
watermelon, banana and watermelon
pouring his soaked chia seeds on top with minced ginger and tumeric
As we share a fruit bowl he tells me the fruit has each element one can need
for a fruitarian diet
the seeds contain protein, the flesh is carbs and the skin has the oils as fats
Before I leave the country I pick a last mango from the tree outside my door
sweeter than nature's best and brightest
no cost, practually dropped from heaven and ideally handed to me by divine essence

It is only by speaking with others and witnessing their life that we can educate ourselves
with truly learning what their culture means
When I travel I always like to speak with the taxi and ride share drivers
to learn what they think, believe and see
My broken Spanish is embraced in Costa Rica, it turns out just making an effort is appreciated
as a cool gringo
you can't feel the slower pace of life, until actually slowing down
you can't taste the clean fresh water, until arriving at the stream
My new education will be international travel
thanks America for all the memories, Turkish is next and my dreams will be
hot strong coffee and rich history of places I've never been
with life I've yet to see.