Grad Student Travel Journal: Costa Rica, Day 1

I have always loved to travel, and no matter what profession I might be doing in my life at any given time, I always try to find any travel opportunities that the work might offer.  

As a graduate student, such opportunities come in the form of academic conferences.  

I'm working on my PhD in History, and really, the only reason why anyone would put themselves through such academic rigor (torture?) is to eventually work as a Professor at a university.  Part of the professional expectation in the ivory tower of academia is to produce work that is either completely new, or something that is a unique and unexplored take on an old topic...and the best way to put your radical new ideas out there is through these kinds of conferences.  

Well, as a Hawaiian in the world of stuffy old history professors, I've got the niche on radical, new ideas.  ;)

I went to a conference for another History society back in January, and was shocked to see that the "old white guy" stereotype is still alive and well in this arena.  Things are changing, but it's still going to take a while for equality, indigeneity, and alternate perspective to permeate this world.  After being at that conference, I am proud to say that things have changed much faster in Hawai'i than they have at other universities across the U.S.  

Hawai'i has been largely marginalized in the arena of History, mainly because anyone outside of Hawai'i does not believe that Hawai'i's history is relevant to them.  Today's perception of Hawai'i is primarily as a tourist destination.  But, Hawai'i's history has so much more relevance to the world than just white sand beaches and hula girls.  When looking at imperialism across the world, one must look at Hawai'i. When looking at ethnic diasporas, Hawai'i is vital.  When looking at gunboat diplomacy of all western nations, Hawai'i fell victim many times.  And when looking at the rise of nations across the world (because they ALL transitioned from monarchies to democratic-type governments), Hawai'i is an excellent example to examine and analyze such processes.  

My area of expertise is more cultural, and even in that, Hawaiian history has a lot to offer.  Westerners have always gone to the places they conquered and almost immediately dismissed any cultural stories as myth.  If the hero of the story can't be verified as a real person, then it has to be fantasy, right? 

But by looking at such stories as myth, scholars have long overlooked the value of what these stories really are.  They are lessons: lessons on proper behavior in the society; lessons on a specific skill set that is important to the society; lessons that help children learn the values of all those who came before them.  

This is the area where History across the U.S. is lacking.  And as a Hawaiian who knows my mo'olelo (stories) as well as my "history" (in the western sense of the word), I've got a lot to share.  

The World History Association (WHA) holds two conferences a year, and I am currently here in Costa Rica attending the second for 2014.  It is my first WHA conference.  I sent in a proposal for a paper several months ago, with a topic that addressed the twin themes of this conference: World Environmental History and Latin American History.  I was thrilled when my proposal was accepted.  One of my colleagues was accepted as well.  

Finding funding to go and stay in Costa Rica was extremely challenging, and to be honest, we had given up at one point.  Then, by some miracle, funding came through at the very last minute.  It was the last week of May when we finally found out that we were going to be able to come to this conference after all.  

Costa Rica is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, so I am very thankful for this opportunity.  Plus, the added benefit of knowing that it is a professional step up certainly helps put flavor to it all.  

Traveling from Hawai'i to anywhere is a pretty big production. The shortest flight out of the islands is five to six hours, and that's just to LAX.  Anywhere else is longer, and often times will require more than one connection.  It took us just under 24 hours to get here...

...so, my travel log for Day 1 in Costa Rica is not all that interesting.  The time here is 4 hours ahead of Hawai'i, and only 1 hour ahead of California.  We arrived here at 5 a.m. Costa Rica time, which worked out well because we were the only international arrival at the time, so customs was completely empty.  

The plan was to go straight to our hotel, hoping they would let us check in early.  We didn't have a plan B.  Well, we did, but we were really hoping we wouldn't have to use it.  After traveling for 24 hours, the priority was shower and sleep.  

Our route to the hotel was temporarily stalled while waiting for marathon runners to pass by, as we had to cross their route.  So that was an interesting twist to our arrival.  Then our taxi driver took us through the back roads, where we were treated to a view of the dirtiest parts of the city, complete with homeless people (whom I somewhat envied because at least they were sleeping).  

We got to our hotel, which looked like a bonafide oasis after driving through the dingy streets of this industrial city.  It was beautiful, surrounded by all kinds of flowers and trees.  Even though it was just about 6 a.m., the front desk attendant came out to greet us, and helped us with our bags.  

I've always been a pretty lucky traveler, and that luck kicked in.  Of our two room reservations, one room was available for early check in, so we both got in there and freshened up.  I had to wait about 4 hours before mine was available, but the front desk had the great courtesy to call us as soon as it was.  

The rooms are lovely, and very homey.  I have a little private patio.  It's enclosed by a high concrete wall, separating it from the city outside, but inside of this wall is a small garden full of flowers and plants to attract the many exotic birds and butterflies that one finds in Costa Rica (even in the city).  I even have a table with two chairs.  

My spacious room has two king sized beds, and my comfortably-sized bathroom has a skylight over the shower.  I like it...I'm hoping for clear skies tonight so I can star gaze while I shower. 

As beautiful as all of this is, I was too exhausted to truly appreciate it upon first entering.  I had a single focus: shower, then sleep.  When I went to bed, it was only 10 a.m. here.  I woke up here and there to the sounds of cheering, as the people of the city around me watched the World Cup game between Argentina and Germany.  The noise did not bother me at all.  In fact, it was somewhat comforting.  

By the time I woke up it was about 5:30, and it was raining.  I expected Costa Rica weather to be a lot like Hawai'i, since it is also in the tropical zone, but it looks like we'll be getting a lot more rain here than I would at home...which makes it slightly colder that Hawaiian temperatures.  

My colleague's husband also came on the trip, so I met them for dinner at the hotel's restaurant, where we just talked and tried to get our stomachs oriented to the travel and time change.  By the time I got back to my room it was already dark, but the people in the city were still cheering over the World Cup game that had ended several hours earlier.  It's been a long time since I've been in a foreign country during a soccer competition, and I had forgotten how big it is in all places outside of the U.S., so hearing people still cheering after six or so hours was definitely a new experience for me.  

And that's Day 1 in Costa Rica.  Tomorrow we get to play tourist, so I expect to have a lot of pictures to share by then.  

Aloha!