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Intercambios

This past February, Intercultura's students and staff collaborated in the collecting of rubber boots and school supplies for the children of Talamanca, Costa Rica. Talamanca, is in the southern-most region the country, bordering Panama. If you have visited Costa Rica, chances are you were in Talamanca. Puerto Viejo and Cahuita are popular tourist destinations in the region, famous for their Caribbean charm, national parks, and beautiful beaches.
March, 2008

Costa Ricans have a joyful spirit , and this is reflected in their love for music, dance, shouts, whistles, and especially for laughing at the trials of life. With this same joyful spirit and festivity the people in Barva celebrated the 4th National Masquerade Festival. The festival tries to retrieve the values and festive traditions that characterize our turnos, payasos, and cimarrona.
March, 2008

Both Intercultura's Spanish and English departments organized an hour and a half long Intercambio during which the students had the opportunity to actively participate and practice the language they are learning. During the Intercambio the students participated activities like: "La Doble Rueda" where students got in two circles (one inner and one outer) and walked around the circle introducing themselves (telling their name, age and occupation/area of study) to everyone in the other circle. After Doble Rueda students filled "Láminas" with conversation question topics. And finally, students ended the intercambio with "El Espejo", a game where students paired off face to face and mirrored all of the movements their partner made.

Por Marcelo Arroyo Jiménez
Uno de los placeres que más goza el ser humano es comer. Pero para otros, el mayor placer está en preparar lo que se va a saborear posteriormente. Y este fue el caso de la clase de cocina en vísperas de la Semana Santa, pues los estudiantes, guiados por la profesora de cocina Carmen Jiménez, prepararon una empanaditas rellenas de miel de chiverre, platillo muy característico de la época santa.
¿En qué consisten?
Las empanadas están cocinadas a base de una pasta de harina más huevos, margarina y queso crema. El relleno, el chiverre, es una verdura que crece y se procesa con miel de tapa (tapadulce) y especies dulces. Se forman las empanaditas y luego se llevan al horno y -en poco tiempo- ya están listas para comérselas con una buena taza de café, un agua dulce o un vaso de leche. Algunos prefieren saborearlas solitas, para poder sentir mejor el sabor del chiverre.
Creatividad.
La clase de cocina estuvo matizada no sólo de sabor, sino que también la creatividad de los participantes se hizo presente. Como se observa en una de las fotos, los estudiantes crearon la primera Tortuga rellena de Chiverre, que causó gran revuelo y admiración entre el personal administrativo/docente y los estudiantes. La repostería presentaba un caparazón (donde se encuentra el relleno), patitas, cola y una cabeza pequeñita, que nos recuerda a las tortugas Baula, tan caracaterísticas de la región pacífica de Costa Rica.

On Saturday March 8th, 2008 Ancestral Voices, a theatre group representing Guanacaste's history, performed at Intercultura, Playa Sámara. The piece tells the story of Costa Rica's original peoples and indigenous groups, such as the Chorotegas, who settled in the region before confronted by the Spaniards during the invasion. Eventually, indigenous and Spanish inhabitants came to an uneasy truce, resulting in the mestizo (mixed race) culture found today in Guanacaste. The idea of the presentation is to communicate the fact that we are all, to some degree, a mixture of races, people, and nationalities: as such, we need to live together, show tolerance and understanding for those different than ourselves, and especially learn from our ancestors. Respect for the environment was a prominent theme, with references to the indigenous peoples' respect for animal life, their efficient use of resources, and our need today to pay attention to these lessons. Voces ancestrales was organized, written and composed by Guadalupe Urbina, with the help of local authors, the performers themselves, and others. In addition to the theatre piece, several prominent Costa Rican musicians performed at the event, including Karol Cabalceta (who dedicated a piece to the women of Sámara in celebration of International Women's Day), Esteban Monge and Olman Briceño. Intercultura's next public event will be in late July or early August, celebrating the Anexation of Guanacaste. We will again have music, as well as dance, cultural festivities, food and folkloric presentations.
March, 2008

By, Marcelo Arroyo J.
Last Saturday evening, the 23rd of February, a number of students had the opportunity to attend the second concert of Musica Virrenal Española y Colonial Mexicana (music from the 16th and 17th century) which was organized by the Mexican and Spanish embassies in Costa Rica. The concert's venue was the Urjarrás ruins, the ruins of the first church built by Spanish colonizers in Costa Rica. The musical program performed by Syntagma Musicum, a Costa Rican ensemble, and was comprised of four pieces written by composers, Manuel de Zumaya, Francisco Javier Llorante, Fabian Ximeno, Ignacio Jerusalem, Sebastian Durón, Juan de Vaeza and others of the time. Many well known personalities were in attendance of the event, among whom stands out the president of Costa Rica, Mr. Oscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1987) and also included members of the cabinet, ambassadors from various countries, university officials, and Costa Rican writers. Some Intercultura students attended the concert and were able to get close to the president, speak with him, and take pictures with him. Everyone was very happy at the end of the evening, as the music together with the proximity to the president made for an experience difficult to forget.
February, 2008

Intercultura has received two nominations (2006, 2008) for the Annual SAPIENTIAE Award for Excellence in Education, given by the Organization of the Americas. This organization, headquartered in Brazil, seeks to recognize the work of internationally renowned professionals and institutions in the field of education, emphasizing achievements in Sustainable Development, Innovative Pedagogical Methodologies, Ongoing Professional Development for Teachers and Staff, Community Recognition, and the use of Technology as a tool to promote Human Rights and Interdisciplinary Applications.
February, 2008

Por Marcelo Arroyo Jiménez
Heredia se ha vestido de gala al iniciar el 2008 siendo la sede los XXVIII Juegos Deportivos Nacionales, cuyo lema versa "Caudal de voluntades". Es esta idea la que ha guiado al grupo de organizadores para que en esta oportunidad 18 disciplinas deportivas, entre las que destacan natación, baloncesto, beisbol, tenis, boxeo, voleibol, futbol y futbol salón, atletismo, ciclismo, karate, distribuidas todas en los distintos cantones de la provincia, se disputen las preciadas medallas de oro, plata y bronce. También, habrá exhibición de Gimnasia, Patinaje y Balón Mano.
February, 2008

En nuestra cultura latinoamericana las costumbres religiosas todavía están muy arraigadas, y el Rezo del Niño no puede pasar desapercibido, pues esta tradición data de las épocas de la Colonia, cuando los españoles celebraban junto con los indígenas que estaban siendo evangelizados rosarios y devociones al Niño Jesús y a la Virgen María. El Rezo del Niño se realiza después de concluido el tiempo de la Navidad, es decir, después del 10 de enero, cuando el Papa, desde Roma, bendice todos los portales o los pasitos que hay en el mundo. Hay diferentes formas de celebrar este rezo, pero en general las personas que asisten al rosario del Niño lo hacen con gran devoción y en sus corazones hay esperanza de que el Niño Jesús nazca en el corazón de cada ser humano.
Enero 2008

by Susannah Kenley
Rezo Del Niño As a foreigner watching the "Rezo del Niño", I was surprised that here, in Costa Rica, people carry on the festivities of Christmas, well on into the New Year. Where I am from, even having Christmas lights up after the New Year is strange and sometimes even crosses over in to being a faux pas.
Enero 2008

The 2008 book fair will be held the following days:
Sámara: January 7- 20
Heredia: January 21-25

La feria del libro 2008 se celebrará en las siguientes fechas:
Sámara: Del 7 al 20 de enero
Heredia: Del 21 al 25 de enero

The annual Intercultura ESL Halloween party was a success this year as in years past.
Students and staff from both the Spanish and English departments came to show off their costumes and participate in the activities going on around the school. The fun was kicked-off with everyone meeting in the dance room for the piñata. Afterwards, students went to classrooms all around campus to participate in such events as gross bags, face painting, cookie decorating, plating the card game “killer”, and a trick or treat walk. To end the party all of the attendees gathered in the dance room to choose the winner of the costume contest, Popeye and Olive Oil! When the school’s party was over, many headed out together to continue the celebration dancing the night away in Heredia.

In 1821, Costa Rica, along with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (the 5 provinces that formed the then Central American Federation), gained their Independence from Spain. News of Central America’s independence arrived in Costa Rica almost one whole month after freedom had been declared in Guatemala (the news did not get to Costa Ricans until October 13th!). Even after the news arrived, Costa Rica did not formally receive its own independence until after a peaceful meeting with the Spanish army on October 29th.

On Friday the 14th Intercultura, along with the rest of the town of Samara, walked in the typical “desfile de faroles” (parade of lanterns) which began at the public elementary school with the singing of the national anthem and finished in downtown Sámara. Then, on the 15th, Sámara’s children danced, played in musical bands, and beat the drums, while they paraded through the streets in celebration of their country’s independence.


September, 2007

Intercultura's teen summer program was created in 2006 for 14-17 year olds who want to immerse themselves in Costa Rican culture, learn the language, and explore the country on the weekends. The program is taught by Intercultura's professors, who have designed a syllabus specially for adolescent education, keeping learning fun, productive and very interactive. The activities, excursions and lodging were coordinated by our wonderful teen chaperones, Georgia, Jen, Ashley and Lucie, whose patience and hard work has provided the teens with a safe, diverse and lively immersion experience into Costa Rican culture and the country itself.
Summer, 2007