This morning I awoke excited to finally have an opportunity to buy some souvenirs. Our schedule for the day simply included eating (as usual), attending class, and going to the market. However, in order for me to make it through the day, I needed my first meal. Breakfast was the usual, pineapple, toast, and coffee. Afterwards, I began working on my discussion leader assignment. But before I could get into it, it was time for class.
Today's class consisted of learning about significant others' opinions and generalized others' opinions. Significant others include parents and close friends while generalized others tend to simply include strangers or acquaintances. The opinions of those closest to us are the ones that are taken into consideration the most. In addition to this concept, we discussed identity and how we were shaped. While most microcultural groups, such as Asians, had their race pointed out as a child, most macrocultural groups did not. One classmate, who happens to be Asian, stated that as a child her parents pointed out to her that she was Asian and things might be different for her. I, on the other hand, never saw my race because I am white and would not endure the same obstacles as a minority. Therefore, my identity has been shaped differently than my fellow classmate.
After we finished class, everyone began to shuffle around and get ready to head to the market. We were told to bring a certain amount of money and place it in various areas. Some was placed in my pants pocket, more in my bra, and the rest in my wallet and bag. As we headed for the bus stop, we prepared to embark on our first public transportation journey here in Costa Rica. After being crammed in a hot and tiny space for about fifteen minutes, we finally arrived. Feeling quite hungry, we split into groups and set out on a mission to find food. The choices were pizza (which I am now completely sick of) or fried chicken. Niether look appetizing, but I chose pizza. As we placed our order, I was somewhat disgusted by the looks of some of the pizzas; they looked as if they had been sitting out for days. Because of this, I decided to go with cheese and no meat. It actually was pretty delicious and extremely cheap too. Along with this we had aqua (water) to drink. At most places we have eaten, we have asked for tap water in order to save money. However, here it was different. All seven of us asked for a bottle nonverbally communicating that we feared the cleanliness of the tap water.
After finishing our meal and meeting back up with the crew, we made our way to the market. This place was huge and had a variety of items for sale. There was meat, goldfish, birds, dogs, hammocks, t-shirts, shoes, coffee mugs, you name it, it was there. I was happy to find some souvenirs. My favorite purchase was my hammock. It was $25 and I did not bargain at all for it, but I feel it was totally worth the price.
Shopping completely wears me out, even though we only did so for an hour. Because I was so exhausted, I took an hour and a half nap upon returning to the hotel. Waking up to a grumbling stomach, I asked around about dinner. Thankfully most people wanted to order in; however, the options were limited and one was pizza. Deciding I couldn't handle ANY more pizza, I went for pasta instead. Multitasking, I ate my cheese ravioli while working on class work. Though I did not get too much done this evening, I managed to completely catch up on my blog.
My lesson of the day is to be thankful for everything I have been blessed with. Even the smallest things matter. Without thinking, I order water more often than not from the tap. However, Some people do not have the luxury of clean water. I have learned that I really need to appreciate the simpler things in life more.
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