Tim Hudak, 41 and a former Ontario cabinet minister, was recently elected the new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. Endorsed by former Premier Mike Harris, in my mind the most evil and divisive political leader in Canada’s history, Hudak seems intent on regaining power for the party by resurrecting the same tactics that so divided so many Ontarians during Harris’s rule. Spouting catch phrases such as ‘middle class values,’ and suggesting that he would cut up public sector contracts because they are too rich, Hudak, who has never held a job outside of politics, seems to assume that there is still an appetite amongst the electorate for the politics of disenfranchisement and division, politics that play to the worst of human nature.
In the leadup to the convention, the general wisdom was that centrists such as Christine Elliot could never lead the party back to power, being too closely allied in many ways with the policies of the existing Liberal government under Dalton McGuinty. And therein lies the problem with politicians today - if the only reason to choose Hudak is to increase the chance of returning to power, doesn’t that bespeak a moral vacuum? I would argue, of course, that this bald grasping for power for power’s sake is endemic in our system today, not limited to the Conservative Party by any means.
Margaret Wente, with who I rarely agree, has an interesting column in today’s Globe and Mail that examines the politics and strategy of Mr. Hudak. I have taken the liberty of reprinting it below:
Only a political junkie could care about the fate of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party - a bunch of old white guys so lost in the woods they make Stephen Harper's crowd look enlightened.
To bring you up to date, they just had a leadership race. Not one of the candidates addressed the economic tsunami that will define the province for years to come. Instead, the front-runner chose to fan the culture wars by lustily attacking Ontario's Human Rights Commission. The small-town base applauded. Anyone else might ask: Who cares about the culture wars when the economic heartland of Canada is being disembowelled?
The election of Tim Hudak as leader of the Official Opposition is a rare piece of good news for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Mr. Hudak has styled himself as the reincarnation of Mike Harris, a name that evokes fear and loathing among most of the province's voters. People remember Mr. Harris as a dose of Castor oil - necessary, but deeply unpleasant. It is not an experience they'd care to repeat.
Nonetheless, Mr. Hudak thinks that old-time medicine might go down well again. He stands for "hard-working Ontarians" and "middle-class families," while the McGuinty Liberals stand for "massive tax grab."
By narrowing their base, the Conservatives took exactly the wrong message from their previous leader's failure to make an impact. John Tory was a Red Tory with bad timing. He opposed a moderate premier in good times. Mr. McGuinty projects an image as a dull but honest guy, and his government has generally avoided major screw-ups. The economy was booming, and voters saw no reason to rock the boat. Mr. Tory's political failure was widely blamed on his nice-guyness, along with his unpopular support for private-school funding. But it was prosperity that did him in.
Mr. Tory has little love for his successor, who campaigned for his job the entire time he had it. Mr. Hudak, 41, is nothing if not ambitious. He's been a career politician since he was first elected at 27 - not necessarily a plus, in my view. At least Mr. Harris spent some time as a golf pro.
In public, Mr. Hudak is a bit robotic - bright, glib and highly scripted by his band of Harrisites. His wife, Deb Hutton, was chief of staff in the Harris government. He is not unpersonable, but he's not personable, either. He has a habit of baring his teeth in an alarmingly phony smile, as if he's about to devour Little Red Riding Hood. Whether he's capable of substance is not known.
I'm not a fan of Mr. McGuinty's wishy-washy nanny-statish liberalism. But he is geekily enthusiastic about ideas, even though a lot of them are half-baked. He thinks seriously about forging a prosperous postindustrial model for Ontario. He surely knows that, before the next election in 2011, the province will be grappling with an unemployment rate of at least 10 per cent and even more horrendous deficits than it has now. He'll have to raise taxes and cut spending. So will anyone else who winds up in the job.
The reason to bother with Mr. Hudak is that he may well be premier one day - if not next time, then the time after that. All governments get long in the tooth, and this one is well into its second term. It is also sailing into a perfect storm not of its own making. If people get mad enough, they'll vote for Donald Duck.
That alone may be enough to get Mr. Hudak elected. But if he's halfway smart, he'll realize that the 5,600 diehards who elected him as leader are the party's past. They are the province's past, too. Ontario's future won't be forged in the aging, fading, small white towns like the one he grew up in. It will be forged in the vibrant knowledge belt of Southern Ontario, and in multiethnic, creative, culturally liberal Toronto. My advice to Mr. Hudak is to work the next Pride parade. It might broaden his horizons. It might even loosen him up.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Neuroplasticity and the Arrowsmith Program
There is an interesting article in today's Globe and Mail on a course offered by the Toronto Catholic School Board that is in danger of being eliminated. Called the Arrowsmith program, it is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change its structure and function:
Unconventional program for students with learning disabilities may be on the chopping block
KATE HAMMER
From Monday's Globe and Mail, Monday, Jun. 22, 2009 03:33AM EDT
Through two hours of tears, frustration and repetition, Brendan Westermann would memorize his Grade 4 spelling list each week.
But when he woke up the next morning, the letters would be jumbled and later, in class, he'd fail his spelling test again.
"Usually I'd get half the words wrong," he said, wrinkling a bronzed nose speckled with freckles.
Brendan and his mother, Cora Westermann, sometimes ended up in tears following marathon cramming sessions. After Brendan went to bed, Ms. Westermann would surf the Internet searching for programs for children with learning disabilities.
Brendan was diagnosed as gifted-dyslexic, and it wasn't until two years later, in November, 2008, that Ms. Westermann and her husband, Paul Westermann, found a way to make the tears stop.
They started driving Brendan from their home in Uxbridge, Ont., to Toronto, where an alternative course called the Arrowsmith program is offered through the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Brendan, 12, began attending Grade 6 at Holy Spirit Catholic School, and performing daily exercises aimed at improving his working memory.
Before long, the crying stopped.
Brendan began finishing his homework in less time, reading books on his own for fun, and enjoying school.
"The program allowed him to bypass his problems and access his intelligence," Mr. Westermann said.
But when Brendan completes his first year at Holy Spirit's Arrowsmith program this week, it could be his last.
In order to balance next year's budget and bring the school board out of the red, the TCDSB is looking to cut a handful of programs, including Arrowsmith.
Overspending led to a takeover of the board last year by a government-appointed supervisor, and the fate of the program has slipped through the fingers of the board's trustees.
A provincial supervisory team will decide the fate of the program at a meeting Wednesday.
With a $1.5-million boost to the special-education budget expected next year, some trustees and parents are concerned that the future of the program may be decided more by ideology than by dollars.
About 65 students participated in the program this year at a cost of just over $201,265.
"It's a miniscule amount of the overall money we spend on special education," said John Del Grande, a TCDSB trustee.
"This program has become more of an ideological battle as a opposed to a money or a student value issue."
The Arrowsmith program represents a radical departure from traditional approaches, which generally involve compensatory methods such as letting a child with poor handwriting use a laptop, or a child with poor reading comprehension take a test orally.
The program is anchored in a concept called neuroplasticity, which refers to the brain's ability to change its structure and function.
Through daily activities aimed at exercising weak neural pathways - such as tracing shapes while wearing an eye patch or recalling symbols - Arrowsmith teachers believe students' brains can be trained to overcome 19 specific learning dysfunctions.
"I know of no program anywhere in the world right now that works as well," said Norman Doidge, a psychiatrist and faculty member at the University of Toronto, and author of The Brain That Changes Itself, a bestselling book about neuroplasticity.
"There's no reason it can't be administered in public schools. They always have special education in public schools and the teachers only have to undergo a few weeks of training."
Frank Piddisi, superintendent of Special Services, said a $17-million special education deficit for the 2008-2009 academic year is one reason it can't be administered at the TCDSB.
Another reason, he said, is the fact that $175,715 of the $200,000 price tag goes toward licensing the seven schools that offer the Arrowsmith program.
"Without the licensing fee the cost would be incidental almost," he said.
The program was developed about 30 years ago by Barbara Arrowsmith Young.
Independent schools in Ontario, Saskatchewan and the United States offer the program but most of them carry a daunting price tag.
The private Toronto Arrowsmith school costs about $20,000 a year, a prohibitive amount for Debbie Clark, a single mother with two daughters.
Ms. Clark's eldest daughter, Victoria, is in her third year of the program at the TCDSB. Her mother describes the improvements in the 12-year-old's reading comprehension skills as "a miracle."
But without $20,000 a year to put her youngest, Amanda, in the private school, she fears her daughter may never get the opportunity her older sister has had if the TCDSB program closes.
"I really feel that if Amanda doesn't go through Arrowsmith, with her anger and her anxiety [in the classroom], I'm very scared for her future," Ms. Clark said. "I think the program should be available to everyone. These are our kids, they are our future, it does fix their brains and we can't put a price tag on them."
"The bottom line is that the board has to balance the budget," said Emmy Milne, a spokeswoman for the TCDSB. She added that the Arrowsmith program isn't being targeted, and other important programs may get the axe.
The Westermanns are prepared to take out a loan and commute to an Arrowsmith school in Peterborough in order to continue Brendan's education.
"I think it means that it gives him equal opportunity compared to other kids in the classroom and that's all I want for him, equal opportunities, not special accommodations," Ms. Westermann said.
"If Brendan wants to be an astronaut or a bricklayer I just want him to be able to lay bricks or fly jet planes just like anybody else would," Mr. Westermann said.
***
Brain-training drills
Arrowsmith students within the Toronto Catholic District School Board dedicate about half the school day to the academic curriculum, and the other half to brain-training exercises. The program is built upon the concept that students can overcome their learning dysfunctions by exercising the weakest parts of their brains.
ANALOG CLOCK DRILLS
Students improve their ability to relate symbols by reading multi-hand clocks that appear on a computer screen. Each of the clock's hands mark fractions of a second, seconds, minutes, hours up through centuries and so on. Students are challenged to read up to hands on more clocks with increasing accuracy over shrinking periods of time.
TRACING SYMBOLS
Students are asked to wear an eye patch and trace foreign letters and symbols. The patch is worn over the left eye, which communicates directly with the right hemisphere of the brain. This helps the exercise target the brain's left hemisphere for fine-motor skill and symbol recognition.
Unconventional program for students with learning disabilities may be on the chopping block
KATE HAMMER
From Monday's Globe and Mail, Monday, Jun. 22, 2009 03:33AM EDT
Through two hours of tears, frustration and repetition, Brendan Westermann would memorize his Grade 4 spelling list each week.
But when he woke up the next morning, the letters would be jumbled and later, in class, he'd fail his spelling test again.
"Usually I'd get half the words wrong," he said, wrinkling a bronzed nose speckled with freckles.
Brendan and his mother, Cora Westermann, sometimes ended up in tears following marathon cramming sessions. After Brendan went to bed, Ms. Westermann would surf the Internet searching for programs for children with learning disabilities.
Brendan was diagnosed as gifted-dyslexic, and it wasn't until two years later, in November, 2008, that Ms. Westermann and her husband, Paul Westermann, found a way to make the tears stop.
They started driving Brendan from their home in Uxbridge, Ont., to Toronto, where an alternative course called the Arrowsmith program is offered through the Toronto Catholic District School Board. Brendan, 12, began attending Grade 6 at Holy Spirit Catholic School, and performing daily exercises aimed at improving his working memory.
Before long, the crying stopped.
Brendan began finishing his homework in less time, reading books on his own for fun, and enjoying school.
"The program allowed him to bypass his problems and access his intelligence," Mr. Westermann said.
But when Brendan completes his first year at Holy Spirit's Arrowsmith program this week, it could be his last.
In order to balance next year's budget and bring the school board out of the red, the TCDSB is looking to cut a handful of programs, including Arrowsmith.
Overspending led to a takeover of the board last year by a government-appointed supervisor, and the fate of the program has slipped through the fingers of the board's trustees.
A provincial supervisory team will decide the fate of the program at a meeting Wednesday.
With a $1.5-million boost to the special-education budget expected next year, some trustees and parents are concerned that the future of the program may be decided more by ideology than by dollars.
About 65 students participated in the program this year at a cost of just over $201,265.
"It's a miniscule amount of the overall money we spend on special education," said John Del Grande, a TCDSB trustee.
"This program has become more of an ideological battle as a opposed to a money or a student value issue."
The Arrowsmith program represents a radical departure from traditional approaches, which generally involve compensatory methods such as letting a child with poor handwriting use a laptop, or a child with poor reading comprehension take a test orally.
The program is anchored in a concept called neuroplasticity, which refers to the brain's ability to change its structure and function.
Through daily activities aimed at exercising weak neural pathways - such as tracing shapes while wearing an eye patch or recalling symbols - Arrowsmith teachers believe students' brains can be trained to overcome 19 specific learning dysfunctions.
"I know of no program anywhere in the world right now that works as well," said Norman Doidge, a psychiatrist and faculty member at the University of Toronto, and author of The Brain That Changes Itself, a bestselling book about neuroplasticity.
"There's no reason it can't be administered in public schools. They always have special education in public schools and the teachers only have to undergo a few weeks of training."
Frank Piddisi, superintendent of Special Services, said a $17-million special education deficit for the 2008-2009 academic year is one reason it can't be administered at the TCDSB.
Another reason, he said, is the fact that $175,715 of the $200,000 price tag goes toward licensing the seven schools that offer the Arrowsmith program.
"Without the licensing fee the cost would be incidental almost," he said.
The program was developed about 30 years ago by Barbara Arrowsmith Young.
Independent schools in Ontario, Saskatchewan and the United States offer the program but most of them carry a daunting price tag.
The private Toronto Arrowsmith school costs about $20,000 a year, a prohibitive amount for Debbie Clark, a single mother with two daughters.
Ms. Clark's eldest daughter, Victoria, is in her third year of the program at the TCDSB. Her mother describes the improvements in the 12-year-old's reading comprehension skills as "a miracle."
But without $20,000 a year to put her youngest, Amanda, in the private school, she fears her daughter may never get the opportunity her older sister has had if the TCDSB program closes.
"I really feel that if Amanda doesn't go through Arrowsmith, with her anger and her anxiety [in the classroom], I'm very scared for her future," Ms. Clark said. "I think the program should be available to everyone. These are our kids, they are our future, it does fix their brains and we can't put a price tag on them."
"The bottom line is that the board has to balance the budget," said Emmy Milne, a spokeswoman for the TCDSB. She added that the Arrowsmith program isn't being targeted, and other important programs may get the axe.
The Westermanns are prepared to take out a loan and commute to an Arrowsmith school in Peterborough in order to continue Brendan's education.
"I think it means that it gives him equal opportunity compared to other kids in the classroom and that's all I want for him, equal opportunities, not special accommodations," Ms. Westermann said.
"If Brendan wants to be an astronaut or a bricklayer I just want him to be able to lay bricks or fly jet planes just like anybody else would," Mr. Westermann said.
***
Brain-training drills
Arrowsmith students within the Toronto Catholic District School Board dedicate about half the school day to the academic curriculum, and the other half to brain-training exercises. The program is built upon the concept that students can overcome their learning dysfunctions by exercising the weakest parts of their brains.
ANALOG CLOCK DRILLS
Students improve their ability to relate symbols by reading multi-hand clocks that appear on a computer screen. Each of the clock's hands mark fractions of a second, seconds, minutes, hours up through centuries and so on. Students are challenged to read up to hands on more clocks with increasing accuracy over shrinking periods of time.
TRACING SYMBOLS
Students are asked to wear an eye patch and trace foreign letters and symbols. The patch is worn over the left eye, which communicates directly with the right hemisphere of the brain. This helps the exercise target the brain's left hemisphere for fine-motor skill and symbol recognition.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Jaco Beach – The Bad
As I mentioned in an earlier post, our visit to Jaco, while educational and bringing a certain balance to our view of Costa Rica, was not nearly as enjoyable as our January visit in Guanacaste Province. This final installment on the country will attempt to detail why.
I would have to say that the oppressive daily heat and humidity ranks as the number one reason that this visit was not an unmitigated pleasure. Unlike some, I am not content to lay around a pool for any length of time; my preference is for exploring my environment, preferably on foot. Because the weather became so hot and humid so quickly each day, our peregrinations were largely confined to the early mornings. Even when I did leave the town to visit Quepos and Manuel Antonio, the same problem presented itself.
Jaco Beach itself, in my view, is a tawdry tourist town, rather dirty, with a fair bit of garbage strewn about, and uneven, broken sidewalks, offering little opportunity to experience some of the more important aspects of Costa Rican culture. Businesses seemed to consist mainly of restaurants, bars, and surf shops. I suppose this might be considered heaven for some younger travelers.
Both on the highway and in town, I came to discover that Costa Ricans are incredibly bad drivers. For example, on the trip through the mountains en route to Jaco from the airport, I was appalled at the number of cars and trucks that would pass on blind curves. The fact that we didn’t see any accidents mystifies me. In town, there seemed to be no respect for stop signs. Pedestrians have to be extremely careful, lest they become an endangered species. On a related note, the large number of vehicles on the main drag made for a very noisy and smelly atmosphere.
Perhaps because it is an area that caters to the young tourist, drugs are sold pretty openly. One evening two young Costa Ricans asked me if I wanted cocaine, and one afternoon on the beach, only about 300 feet from the beach police station, someone rather insistently tried to sell me weed. The fact that the sales pitch was made in such close proximity to the station really called into question for me either the competence or the integrity of the local constabulary.
Probably the most unsettling aspect of our visit to Jaco occurred one afternoon when my wife went shopping at a nearby mall. Upon her return, she discovered that her change purse containing about $60 and her credit card was missing. Revisiting the store where she made her purchases and generally retracing her steps were all to no avail, and she ultimately concluded that it had been grabbed when she had to squeeze by a group of young men, one of whom distracted her. This was our first brush with Costa Rican theft, something that I have since learned is quite common. The people at the hotel were great in facilitating the cancellation of my wife’s credit card (perhaps the theft was a blessing in disguise? – just kidding!) and we were henceforth much more careful when we were out.
Finally, I didn’t like the fact that prostitution, although legal in Costa Rica, is practiced so openly. While that may sound like a moral judgment, it isn’t; as I mentioned before, I see prostitution as a waste of human potential, and potentially quite dangerous. One can argue all they want about the economic imperatives that probably drive many of these young women to pursue such a career, but I still see it as a kind of surrender of hope for a better future.
In closing, I would have to say that the country has had quite an impact on me. If things go according to plan, we hope to spend a month there next winter renting a place somewhere in the Central Valley to experience the daily rhythms of Costa Rican life. I continue to work on my Spanish, hoping that on our next visit I will be able to better communicate with people.
I would be very happy to hear from you if you have any comments on these posts.
I would have to say that the oppressive daily heat and humidity ranks as the number one reason that this visit was not an unmitigated pleasure. Unlike some, I am not content to lay around a pool for any length of time; my preference is for exploring my environment, preferably on foot. Because the weather became so hot and humid so quickly each day, our peregrinations were largely confined to the early mornings. Even when I did leave the town to visit Quepos and Manuel Antonio, the same problem presented itself.
Jaco Beach itself, in my view, is a tawdry tourist town, rather dirty, with a fair bit of garbage strewn about, and uneven, broken sidewalks, offering little opportunity to experience some of the more important aspects of Costa Rican culture. Businesses seemed to consist mainly of restaurants, bars, and surf shops. I suppose this might be considered heaven for some younger travelers.
Both on the highway and in town, I came to discover that Costa Ricans are incredibly bad drivers. For example, on the trip through the mountains en route to Jaco from the airport, I was appalled at the number of cars and trucks that would pass on blind curves. The fact that we didn’t see any accidents mystifies me. In town, there seemed to be no respect for stop signs. Pedestrians have to be extremely careful, lest they become an endangered species. On a related note, the large number of vehicles on the main drag made for a very noisy and smelly atmosphere.
Perhaps because it is an area that caters to the young tourist, drugs are sold pretty openly. One evening two young Costa Ricans asked me if I wanted cocaine, and one afternoon on the beach, only about 300 feet from the beach police station, someone rather insistently tried to sell me weed. The fact that the sales pitch was made in such close proximity to the station really called into question for me either the competence or the integrity of the local constabulary.
Probably the most unsettling aspect of our visit to Jaco occurred one afternoon when my wife went shopping at a nearby mall. Upon her return, she discovered that her change purse containing about $60 and her credit card was missing. Revisiting the store where she made her purchases and generally retracing her steps were all to no avail, and she ultimately concluded that it had been grabbed when she had to squeeze by a group of young men, one of whom distracted her. This was our first brush with Costa Rican theft, something that I have since learned is quite common. The people at the hotel were great in facilitating the cancellation of my wife’s credit card (perhaps the theft was a blessing in disguise? – just kidding!) and we were henceforth much more careful when we were out.
Finally, I didn’t like the fact that prostitution, although legal in Costa Rica, is practiced so openly. While that may sound like a moral judgment, it isn’t; as I mentioned before, I see prostitution as a waste of human potential, and potentially quite dangerous. One can argue all they want about the economic imperatives that probably drive many of these young women to pursue such a career, but I still see it as a kind of surrender of hope for a better future.
In closing, I would have to say that the country has had quite an impact on me. If things go according to plan, we hope to spend a month there next winter renting a place somewhere in the Central Valley to experience the daily rhythms of Costa Rican life. I continue to work on my Spanish, hoping that on our next visit I will be able to better communicate with people.
I would be very happy to hear from you if you have any comments on these posts.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Jaco Beach, Costa Rica – The Good - Part 2
Another aspect of Jaco that we enjoyed was the beach. Every morning, very early, we would take long walks along the shore, virtually going from one end to the other, and taking frequent dips in the Pacific. This was usually the highlight of the day, given the fact that by 10 a.m. the heat and humidity had reached such a level as to make further walking about a real challenge. While it had been my original intention to rent a car for a few days in order to explore other parts of the country, after being ferried from the airport to Jaco, about a 2 hour trip through the mountains, I thought better of it, given the driving habits of Costa Ricans that I had observed during the trip. (More about that when I start my posts on things I disliked about the trip!)
Nonetheless, despite the severe limitations imposed by the weather, we were able to explore some of the areas surrounding the town. Having read Pauline Frommer’s reference to a mountain known locally as Miro Mountain, not to be found on any map, we set out early one day to find it. Having done so, we proceeded partway up, where there were two ‘miradors’ or lookouts, offering some spectacular view, both of the beach and the surrounding mountains:
Two days later I returned alone, my wife having limited stamina due to some health problems. During the ascent up the mountain, I encountered some tree frogs and a couple of snakes, but yet again, no birds! Getting to the top, which comes out at a road that I followed, I came upon another lookout, this one with a banner proclaiming it to be Mirador Liddy, whether named after the old Watergate reprobate, I have know idea. The mirador afforded excellent views of Jaco to the north and Hermosa Beach to the south, but the effort to reach that point was exhausting, again owing to the heat and humidity.
Since we had taken some tours during our January visit, I was reluctant to pay what I felt are excessive charges for such excursions on this trip. For example, a trip to Manuel Antonio Park would cost about $100. However, I was very interested in visiting the park, considered to be one of the gems of Costa Rica, so I decided to take a regular bus to Quepos, and then go on to Manuel Antonio from there, the total return trip, including admission to the park and lunch in Quepos costing the equivalent of about $17.50 U.S. It was a very interesting experience that again allowed me some direct experience of Tico bus culture. For example, I learned that women with some children and elderly men and women are treated with great respect, young people readily giving up their seats near the front of the bus for them. Another aspect of the culture was the curious practice of whistling when passengers wanted the bus to let them off, as opposed to using the signaling devices on the ceiling of the bus. As well, more than once I saw the bus driver stop and offer a free lift to young ladies with young children, something I have never witnessed in North America.
Manuel Antonio Park was interesting, but, with the exception of the beaches, not spectacular, in my view. Here are a few photos I took while there:
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Jaco Beach, Costa Rica – The Good – Part 1
Well, so enamoured were we of Costa Rica after our January visited that we decided to return in March, my wife having found an excellent deal (2 weeks in Jaco, plus airfare but no meals for $917 Cdn each). While I have alluded to the fact that this was a far-less enjoyable experience than our January sojourn, it was nonetheless another learning experience, and there were some enjoyable aspects to it.
First, the place we stayed, less than a one-minute walk from the main drag and about a four-minute walk to the beach, was meticulously maintained. A real oasis from the bustle of the town, every day people were busy watering, trimming palm trees, etc. The plants and vegetation were soothing, and the pool inviting, especially as the day’s humidity rose. As well, during our stay we pretty much had the same maid, Helen, who spoke very slowly in Spanish to us, in effect inviting us into the language. I had brought the audio version of Spanish for Dummies with me on the trip, (I think I must be an idiot rather than a dummy, as I found it of limited utility) so everyday I would speak a little more Spanish to her. She was a genuinely warm and friendly person, at one point bringing us a vase with some native flowers, another time two mariposa (butterfly) fridge magnets which she invited us to take with us when we left, and even brought a couple of wine glasses (copas) when she noticed I had bought a tetra pak of wine. The warmth of the Ticos (native Costa Ricans) that I have read so much about was epitomized in Helen. As well, everyday day brought a new example of ‘towel art,’ an example of which follows:
Our accommodations, while hardly lavish, were more than adequate and included a fridge, coffee maker, and a two-burner hotplate, reminding us how a few basic appliances are enough to live well but simply. And it was this simplicity that my wife found particularly attractive. Our breakfasts and lunches were nutritious and uncomplicated, consisting of locally-purchased fruit and cereal, bread and cheese, while our suppers were pasta and sauce or what is known as ‘typical meals’ or casados at local sodas, small open-air restaurants serving healthy meals of beans, rice, chicken, plantain, etc, at extremely inexpensive prices. Usually we paid the equivalent of $10 or less for the both of us, and that included a 10% built-in gratuity.
Which brings me to another positive aspect of our trip: the opportunity to meet and associate with local Ticos, something we had only limited opportunity to do on our first trip. Being amongst them so closely, having very limited ability to communicate, is a humbling experience, reducing some of the complacence that all of us tend to have on our ‘home turf,’ while at the same time engendering appreciation for the small kindnesses of people. More about that later.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Costa Rica - An Addendum
Just a brief addendum to my post yesterday. Looking it over, I hope it did not seem overly negative, as I would like to stress that, despite its difficulties, Costa Rica is a country that my wife and I want to become much better acquainted with. If possible, on our next trip we would like to rent accommodations, perhaps for a month, somewhere in the Central Valley (but not San Jose!) and experience the daily rhythm of life there. In addition to the country’s natural endowments, the slower pace and simpler way of life is enormously attractive to both of us. In fact, after our second visit to Costa Rica in March, my wife was hoping to import aspects of that pace and philosophy into our Canadian lives. Thus far, we have only met with limited success.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
More Reflections on Costa Rica
I began this series on Costa Rica by labeling it a land of contradictions, and while it may seem presumptuous of me, having spent only a total of three weeks in the country, to render any kind of assessment of it, here it is anyway. On the one hand, it has a reputation as an eco paradise, yet on the other, it reputedly uses more agricultural chemicals, many of which have long been banned in North America because of their toxicity, than any other country in Central America, and overdevelopment is leading to increasing amounts of raw sewage being dumped into the ocean. As well, recycling programs are in their infancy there. The Country has a 93% literacy rate and universal access to education, yet the majority of rural schools don’t even have libraries. In terms of international relations, Costa Rica has been called the Switzerland of Central America, owing to its abolition of a standing army in 1948, yet within the country, crime is on the increase, petty theft is rampant, and the police are underpaid and ineffectual. It has forward-looking social policy, devoting a significant amount of its GNP to the provision of medical care for all, yet at the same time prostitution, a waste of human potential and threat to health, is legal.
If you will indulge the English teacher in me (alive and well despite being retired for almost three years now!), Costa Rica seems like a metaphor for human nature, representing both the best and the worst, the most generous and the most selfish impulses that reside within us all, and while that observation may be applied to many countries, it is in Costa Rica that I feel it most acutely. It is a country that very much beckons to me as it strives to preserve its remaining natural heritage, waste not its financial resources on military expenditures but spend them constructively on its people through progressive social policies, and promote a way of life that stresses living in the moment and savoring the small yet priceless delights the world has to offer. Yet, as in human nature, there is the dark side, a side where greed, lust and general selfishness are also very much at work, a side that sees drugs becoming increasingly prevalent, overdevelopment at the expense of environmental degradation, and crimes of opportunity, now frequently augmented by violence, becoming more common, (security guards and barred entrances to houses abound) while the government is seemingly unable or unwilling to properly train and finance its police forces to stem this rising tide. As well, according to blogs and on-line Costa Rican newspapers I have read, the judiciary is strangely reluctant to mete out the kinds of punishments that are usually seen as deterrents in North America.
Many of these aspects of Costa Rican life became known to me during and subsequent to our second Costa Rican visit in March, a two-week stay at Jaco Beach, located in the province of Punterenas, which I will be writing about in upcoming posts.
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