by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel high school abroad participant
Japanese Persimmon
The one thing that is completely different between Japan and America is the food. Everything about it is different, from the ingredients, to the place settings, to table manners. Even the way it is viewed within the culture is different. But, most Americans think sushi is all there is to Japanese food. That’s a little sad, considering the wide variety of foods eaten in Japan, all of which is completely different from what is eaten in Europe and America. Most Americans have never heard of natto, sukemono, or takoyaki. They have never eaten a persimmon, or a Japanese plum. Japanese cooking is amazing, so it’s a very sad thing that most Americans think it all boils down to raw fish. I don’t know about Europe, but I suspect it’s the same way. I absolutely adore Japanese food.
Many of the stereotypical Japanese ingredients do enter into Japanese food. Rice, seaweed and fish are big elements. Miso soup, for example, is eaten at almost every meal. Soy sauce and noodles are also often eaten. However, Japanese people do not usually eat sushi and sashimi everyday. As in America, sushi is an expensive dish to be eaten on special occasions, or when going out to eat. Since I’ve come to Japan, I’ve had sushi only once, when we were entertaining guests. I’ve had curry rice, a popular Japanese dish, far more often than I’ve had sushi.
Seaweed salad photo by Boots In the Oven blogspace
seaweed are eaten here; it is a common food. So common, in fact, that the Japanese do not use one general word to refer to seaweed, but rather have different names for each type. Konbu (sea kelp), and nori (sea weed) are completely different things in the eyes of a Japanese person, much the way I would talk about corn dogs, sandwiches, and croissants as completely separate entities. (The Japanese refer to these three things as if they were the same. Anything remotely bread-like is referred to as pan (bread). ) Squid and octopus are also eaten here, but they don’t usually enter into home cooking. I suspect that they are expensive. There are also a number of strange Japanese vegetables and fruits. I often sit down to eat with my host family and see one or two unrecognizable vegetables. Japanese people don’t see vegetables as any more inherently distasteful than meat. In fact, when I told my friends that most Americans dislike vegetables, they seemed surprised. I have never been very fond of vegetables, but I find myself enjoying them more often than I used to. Maybe it’s because mayonnaise is often used as a condiment here. (I love mayonnaise.) Umeboshi (Japanese plum) and kaki (persimmon) are common here as well. Kaki is delicious, but umeboshi is very sour. They often lurk inside onigiri (rice balls) waiting to surprise the unwary person.
by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel’s volunteer participant
Costa Rica
I have only been in Costa Rica for one week, but already I am quickly coming to know the meaning of “Pura Vida.” Regardless of how much money they have, families here live with fewer accommodations. For example, most families own only one vehicle and some take local transportation via bus or bike to work or to the store; they own fewer clothes and perhaps have one cellular phone to share between them. With such small living spaces they are constantly interacting with their family members. I enjoy watching the tender affections and closeness between the kids, their parents, and with relatives. They often greet each other with a kiss to the cheek or a handshake—even when they live next door and see each other daily.
My host mother washes all the clothes by hand, prepares our meals, and cleans the house every day while the kids are at school. She hangs the clothes out to dry…which can often take a few days since it is so humid. The family provides most of their own food. They have cows, chickens, and fruit trees so every day they bring in fresh milk, eggs, fruit, and the family makes cheese. There is also a lake near the property so fish is a staple in their diets, as well as fruit and vegetables since they have the orchard and organic gardens.
The food is excellent! The common Costa Rican Diet consists of rice, beans, fruit, and vegetables with meat once a day. Each morning, (Ticos get up very early…often at 5:30am) I have a piece of watermelon and a plate of either rice and beans, or eggs and tomatoes with a cup of coffee. The coffee in Costa Rica is fantastic; we have coffee in the morning and once again in the afternoon with bread, or crackers with jam. For dinner, Dinia prepares fish, chicken, or pork with vegetables and rice. I think my diet is very balanced. Except with fewer carbohydrates and sweets…which is good!
Another element of Pura Vida that I have come to observe is how well everyone knows each other in the neighborhood. When we drive down the road, or when we walk to the store we have to stop multiple times to say hello or chat with the people. It is apparent that I am currently the only foreigner in the neighborhood. Since the high tourist season is over and the area I am in is about 40 minutes from the touristy areas…everyone seems to know I am new. I have had several people from the community stop by to say hello or greet me because they heard I was in town. They all want to make sure I feel welcome…which is awesome!
by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel’s volunteer abroad participant
Surrounded by a tropical rain forest in San Carlos, Costa Rica, I am once again reminded of how people can enjoy more of life—with less. I am currently living with a host family of five and working on an eco-reserve with student volunteers in a rural town called Jabillos, near the Volcano, Arenal. 
My first impressions of Costa Rica are that its people, the “Ticos” are quite friendly, and that they live quite simply—without many material items. My home is small—a one story building with 5 bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, one shower, and an open kitchen /dining room. My family’s home is quite grand compared to most of the homes in the neighborhood.
Most families have patios in front of their homes under awnings so that they can relax outside in rocking chairs. It is quite hot and humid here, even in the rainy season (winter), so the doors are left open allowing air to pass through for most of the day…they are then closed at night.
Beautiful arrays of pastels cover the exteriors of the houses within the neighborhood. Turquoise, yellows, blues, pinks, greens….and some with murals of flowers or frogs—it is really incredible. My host family’s house is a pastel green with yellow trim. The inside walls are painted green and yellow to match, with stained wood walls to separate the rooms. The floors are covered with large square ceramic tiles, as is custom in most homes. This provides a nice surface to keep clean while it is still comfortable walk around barefoot…this is especially nice for the kids and I, for it is an ideal surface for playing soccer on the front porch!
My host family’s house is surrounded by five other houses occupied by relatives. The entire property is owned by my host mother’s family…her father Senior Ramon Vasquez owns more than 350 acres in the area and throughout Guanacaste (a territory of Costa Rica). I found this to be especially interesting because compared to living standards in the U.S. they continue to live quite moderately.
My family consists of mi Madre, Dinia, her husband, Roy, and their three kids…Jordi (the eldest son at 17), Delany (their daughter who is almost 10), and Dario (the youngest who is 7). The families of Dinia’s brothers and sisters live in the surrounding houses along the road, as well as her parents…who live in a house across the property (they have a citrus grove of lemon and orange trees).
There are usually many children running around day and night….they range in ages from one year to seventeen. This is really fun for me because I get to play with them and they help me with my Spanish (and laugh at the things I say). The boys are around 7 or 8 years old so we play a lot of soccer, while the girls are older so we draw and I let them play with my makeup.
The common phrase in Costa Rica is “Pura Vida” (poo-ra-vee-da) which signifies a simple and more relaxed approach to life. It is used commonly in their language as a response to many questions; How are you?…Pura Vida, What is up?…Pura Vida, How did you like the rainstorm yesterday? Pura Vida. It represents a way of life for the Tican people.
One thing that I think is really cool about Japan is the things my fellow students do in order to follow the dress code and still express themselves. We are required to tie up our hair during school, but most students seem to be trying to stretch this rule as much as possible without actually breaking it. Everyone has long bangs, and many girls have ’side bangs’ so long that they touch their shoulders. 
Many people in my class have short hair. (ie: hair just short enough that they don’t have to tie it up) Low pigtails also enjoy a popularity that they don’t seem to have in the United States. Because jewelry is not allowed, glasses are treated like an accessory. I’m a little jealous of Japanese girls on this point. In America, glasses aren’t really something you’d want to emphasize. They’re not considered ugly, but they aren’t treated as an accessory either. I have bad eyesight, but I wear contacts because I’ve always personally thought that glasses are ugly. Japanese glasses made me rethink that. I have seen two pairs of hot pink clear plastic glasses since I came here, along with bright green, purple, blue… I wish I had an excuse to buy glasses while I’m here. (lime green!)
by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad participant
Being an exchange student in Japan is a little different from being an exchange student in France, or Australia. Japan is about 99 % ethnically Japanese, so people don’t even have to talk to you to know that you are an exchange student. In my first week, and sometimes even now, random strangers greet me in the hallways at school. On my second day of class, a girl in my English writing class whom I’d never spoken to before started asking me questions about America. (Yes, I take English writing. In addition to English, and Communications, which is conducted almost entirely in English) Outside of school, people usually don’t talk to me, but they do stare a little when they think I’m not looking. There are the rare instances, however, when students wanting to practice their English on foreigners say ‘Hello’ or ‘Good morning’ to me as I walk by. This is all little weird, but at least I knew about it beforehand. It must be hard, though, for foreigners who want to live in Japan just like any normal Japanese person would, and be treated as such, when even their appearance marks them as foreign. I also wonder if people from who speak other languages are insulted when Japanese students say hello to them in English.
After a month and a half in Japan, I’ve noticed that I’ve started to do this too. Whenever I see a foreigner, I do a little double take. It feels really strange to me that I’m doing this. I grew up in America, seeing all kinds of different ethnicity every day, so why I am surprised when I see foreigners? I guess the closest analogy to this is how I would feel if I were walking down the street in America, and I saw someone wearing a full length ball gown. It’s not strange, per se, but you definitely notice, and wonder what they’re doing. Are they on vacation? Where are they from? That sort of thing. I wonder how I’ll feel when I return to America?
Photo: Sophie Donelson
The thing that really surprises me is that my fellow classmates think I’m cute. They admire my hated curly hair and ask if it’s natural. Curly hair is desirable in Japan. This seems strange to me, coming from a country where some of my friends spend up to an hour flat ironing their hair every day. I guess everyone wants what they don’t have. It’s a little ironic, though. As my friends are admiring my curls, I am admiring their beautiful, glossy, pin straight black hair. That’s one thing that makes me a little sad: the way Japanese people seem to want to look like like Westerners. Hair dye and perms aren’t allowed in school, but it seems like every other woman I see on the street has either one or both. Even the advertisements, and fashion magazines show almost exclusively people who look western. I wish they showed more people of Japanese appearance.
