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Fall 2011 NewsletterLASP

A NEW BABY, A NEW P ERSPECTIVEby Laura Barnard and Trevor Poag

“Qué cosita más linda!”

It was the first thing the customs agent said to us when we arrived here in San José. Before I could

say, “Gracias,” our 5 week old baby had been whisked away by a perfect stranger. Needless to say,

she paid no attention to the list of baby clothes or products we had reported on our customs forms.

This was our first clue that after multiple years living in Costa Rica, living here with Emerson was agoing to be a different experience altogether.

Not only has Emerson changed our lives as individuals, as a couple and as a family, his presence has

also dramatically impacted the way we understand and experience Latin America. The only way I can

explain this sudden change is with the uniquely Latin American concept of Magical Realism.

I’ve spent years reading and teaching Latin American literature, trying to grasp this distinctive way of

interpreting reality. They say Alejo Carpentier is the founder of the genre, but I have my doubts.

After being pregnant and giving birth to our first child, I firmly believe it was a new parent who came

up with the term! I now understand that an experience can be “fantastic” without transcendingreality if we simply recognize that magic is an inherent part of life. I think it’s what some theologians

refer to as the “sacred mundane.” There’s nothing more common, ordinary or mundane than the

birth of a baby. We all started out that way. Yet I can’t think of anything more sacred, not only

because birth represents an amazing act of creation, but simply because we all started out that way.

Having a baby reminds us that we have more in common than books about cultural or historical or

linguistic differences would lead us to believe. Recognizing this reality is nothing short of sacred.

While some of us may have trouble wrapping our minds around such a paradoxical concept, Costa

Ricans practice magical realism every day. LASP students get a glimpse of this when they come to

live with strangers who speak another language and practice another culture, but who make themfeel at home despite their differences.

Trevor and I have always known this, but with Emerson we are even more keenly aware of the

magical, sacred power that these interactions represent. Since introducing Emerson into our life in

(continued on page 2)

Inside:"A New Baby, A New Perspective" by Laura Barnard and Trevor Poag

"Intern Article" by Matt Dearstyne

Student Submissions

Alumni Updates



JONGEREN UI T VEENENDAALDRAMA I N BRUSSEL

Costa Rica, we’ve experienced a number of things that have

altered our perception of reality and have made living here

more magical. Three major examples come to mind.

1. We, average gringos, gave birth to royalty. “When I go out

with Emerson, I feel like somebody.” Emerson’s babysitter,

Eida, agrees that walking around town with Emerson is like

hanging out with a celebrity. Everyone wants to look at him,

talk to him, ooh and ahh over him (he is the cutest baby in the

world, of course). In line at the bank or the supermarket,

people will step aside and let us go ahead. They give up their

seats on the bus. Women scurry to lay their sweaters over him

if there’s a breeze. Crazy Costa Rican drivers will slow down (amiracle in itself!) and let us cross the road. People literally kneel

down to greet him. It’s probably no coincidence that Emerson’s

middle name is Ray (which, if pronounced in Spanish sounds

like the word for King). Yes, Trevor and I gave birth to Rey

Emerson.

2. We became trilingual overnight. Although our original hope was that Emerson would grow up to

be bilingual, we have discovered a third, more universal language: baby talk. You don’t need to have

a doctorate in linguistics to figure this one out. Even Emerson knows it to be true. Regardless of the

language used, he understands everyone and responds with smiles, shrieks or a curious stare. Upon

noticing this phenomenon I did some research and found a study published in “Psychological Science”

that confirms the universal appeal of baby talk. It transcends language and culture. Interactions with

a baby are so pure, so free of cultural or linguistic preferences that babies seem to grasp an idea so

simple that it stumps adults: people are people. There’s something sacred about that realization. And

getting to speak in a third language without an accent has been fun, too!

3. We are no longer North Americans. Despite our tendency to sometimes forget that we are

foreigners here, no Costa Rican would fail to notice how we stand out. Until now. For the first time

ever, our North American identity has been trumped by something greater: our identity as parents.

The example given above about the customs agent is proof of that. If anyone spoke to or looked at

us before, it was usually because we stood out as foreigners, not because they were looking to start

up a friendly conversation. Now, however, no one looks at us sideways. People approach us with a

smile on their face and a handful of questions about the baby’s name, age, eating and sleeping

habits. I haven’t had a single person call attention to the fact that we hold a different passport.

Sharing a common experience as magical as parenthood allows us to focus on what we share, rather

than on what separates us. All of a sudden, our host country feels a lot more like home and our

friends feel a lot more like family. What could be more magical than that?

Emerson Ray Poag was born on July 7, 2011 to Laura Barnard and Trevor Poag.

(Disclaimer If my statements here seem a little too magical and you begin to wonder if it’s the

sleep deprivation that has caused me to believe such things, rest assured that Costa Rica has

provided me with a magic potion for that, too: Coffee.)



En Ruta Matt McIntyre

Voy, no sé dónde, pero voy

Vuelo, no sé dónde, pero vuelo

Salto, no sé dónde, pero salto

Corro, no sé dónde, pero corro

Ando, no sé dónde, pero ando

Voy, yo sé pór que, voy...

~ STUDENT SUBMISSIONS ~

L au ra K etc hu m, K ar a Ca st le , a nd N at as ha

Krasen show their best dance moves in Limón.

P hoto taken during the I ndependence

Ce le br at io n s a t a p re fo rm an ce o f a l oc al h ig h

school. (Courtsey of Jamie Grubert)

B ret El li s, T ayl or T us har ,

a nd D on M i ke R iv ag eSe ulche ck o ut the compost pilea t R od er ic k Se ll 's o rg an icfarm in Heredia.




HERE WE GO AGAIN...By Matt Dearstyne

¡Saludos desde Centroamérica! My name is Matt, and I have the incredible privilege of writing you

as LASP’s Program Assistant this year. Some days I still can’t believe that I’m back in San José,

embarking on this amazing adventure all over again. This semester we have 32 students, and I’ve

enjoyed being with them as they go through an experience that was so formative and meaningful in

my own life, and I’m sure in many of your lives as well.

During orientation this semester I described the LASP semester using one word: uncomfortable.

LASP puts us in situations which are uncomfortable in all sorts of different ways. We are physically

uncomfortable as we stuff down another plate of rice so as not to offend our host mother, socially

uncomfortable as we learn how to adjust to a new culture, and perhaps most importantly, mentally

and spiritually uncomfortable as we come in contact with ideas and beliefs which may be different

from our own. Yet although no one likes to be uncomfortable, I believe it is this discomfort which

makes LASP so meaningful, because it is only by becoming uncomfortable that we can hope to grow.

I find it hard to believe that it is already October and that Core Seminar and Nicaragua are both

behind us! Core Seminar was, as always, a great way to kick off the semester and helped prepare

the students for all the experience which they still have ahead of them. Don Antonio began with a

charla on neocolonialism and got us thinking about different ways to approach the broad field of Latin

American Studies. Then Javier spoke about Costa Rica’s history and updated us on the current

political climate now that the Chinchilla administration has been in power for more than a year. We

were fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to Elmer Rodriguez Campos again as he spoke about

poverty in Latin American and shared his experiences from the dumps of San Salvador to Cartago in

Costa Rica, and Don Mike Rivage Seul, with his amazing talent to distill complex issues down to

manageable size, spoke to us about economic systems and Liberation Theology.

After the first two weeks we kicked off our annual trip to the Limón province with a charla given by

Arthur Samuels, who works for the Asociación Proyecto Caribe here in San José. He spoke about the

human rights of afro descendants in Costa Rica and across Latin America and provided us with an

important orientation to the complex reality of a province so different from the Central Valley. While

in Limón we enjoyed meeting with Doña Gloria at the Keköldi Indigenous Reserve and spending a

great afternoon on the beach in the beautiful Cahuita National Park.

After returning from Limón we took a look at US/Latin American Relations from both perspectives,

going first to the US Embassy in San José and later hearing from Luis Guillermo Solis, a prominent

Costa Rican politician. Agustín Gutiérrez Carro then spoke with us about the growing issue of the

drug trade in Latin America and offered some possible solutions. We also took the trip to Roderick

Sell’s farm in Heredia to learn about his response to the challenge of living in a sustainable way. To

wrap things up we heard from the much loved Juan Stam as he oriented us to Nicaragua, and

brought things to a close with a charla by the incredibly talented Costa Rican artist Rubén Pagura.As always, it was a busy few weeks, but filled with a lot of information which helps us to more

effectively understand the reality which we are living in.




We headed to Nicaragua after Core Seminar finished up, where each of us spent a week with families

in communities around the city of Masaya. Even though the time was short, it was enough for many

students to form meaningful relationships with their hosts, and allowed them to begin to scratch thesurface of the complexities of Nicaragua. The trip is never easy, but I believe that no one comes

back from Nicaragua without having learned something, not only about Nicaraguans, but about

themselves as well.

So now with half of the semester behind us, we turn our eyes to what’s next. Soon Faith & Practice

Seminar will begin, where we will have the opportunity to look at a huge range of diverse responses

to faith in Latin America. Then LASC, ALL, and IBC students will disperse throughout the country to

spend three and a half weeks with a new family as part of their community immersion experience.

The semester will come to a close with a study trip to Cuba for every student here this semester.Due to recent changes in U.S. policy, LASP was fortunate to be able to obtain a general license for

travel to Cuba, which means that instead of applying for a license each semester, we can now

guarantee the trip for every student. All of us, staff and students, are extremely excited for this new

opportunity.

So there you have it – half of LASP semester in a few hundred words. For those of us who have

already done LASP, it doesn’t seem fair, or even possible, to sum up an experience like it with just

words on a page. But I suppose for now that’s the best we can do! I hope that this update has at

least allowed you to relive some of your favorite LASP memories and that you’ve enjoyed hearing

about new experiences which this semester’s LASPers have to look forward to. Until next spring!




ALUMNI UP DATESBekah Peiffer (Bekah Miller) moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with her husband, Keith,and is working as a medical receptionist while finishing her master’s in SpiritualFormation and Leadership.

Nancy Sharpe is living in Washinton DC and finishing her Master’s of Social Work atthe Catholic University of America while also starting an internship at the DC RapeCrisis Center. She is engaged and will marry Benjamin Garber next August. (Spring2007)

Dan Fuller began work as the Director of Mentoring at the Shepherd CommunityCenter in Indianapolis, where he works with undocumented Latino immigrantchildren. (Fall 2005)

Charles Perabeau received his Ph.D. in Religion & Society from Drew University inMay, 2011. He is Associate Professor of Sociology at Olivet Nazarene University.He and his wife, Gayle Perabeau (Spring 92 LASPer) live in Chicago with their twochildren. They both serve in ministry at Chicago Northside Church of the Nazarene.(Spring 1992)

Sarah (Dooley) Sotelo and her husband, Karlos, currently serve on theBoard of Directors for Amirah (amirahboston.org) a safe house for womenescaping thebonds of human trafficking in the Boston area, to open Fall 2011.

Scott Key was accepted to Rice University to the Master’s of Architecture program.(Fall 2007)

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