¡Hola, Chicos!
Because my cousin was visiting from the U.S., I had a shorter week at work last week. I read an ASTM standard and seven other documents to understand the projects I would be working on and started drafting a technical study protocol. I reviewed 34 engineering drawings, underlining sections in red to assign new part numbers and help integrate the system.
Earlier last week, I visited the manufacturing floor for a project I was working on with a colleague. It was my first time wearing a bunny suit and entering the cleanroom! We wanted to remove some pieces of a machine for testing. Even though it took a lot of back-and-forth communication for the request, the manufacturing floor still didn’t approve it due to safety and quality concerns. While observing how the machine was operating, I realized that tape might temporarily fix the problem, which was sufficient for our testing purpose. I proposed it to my colleague, who then proposed it to the manufacturing manager. It got APPROVED! Some takeaways from this week are to be empathetic in understanding each department’s perspective and to be creative in thinking of alternatives. Sometimes, the solutions can be simple fixes!
Outside of work, I traveled with my cousin to La Fortuna. The views were breathtaking. We took a morning shuttle from San José to La Fortuna on Friday and visited MÃstico Arenal Hanging Bridges, where we were lucky to see some Costa Rica’s animals such as leafcutter ants and a bluejean frog. On Saturday, we had fun adventures with a combo package, including 80-meter rappelling near Pino Blanco Waterfall, seven ziplines, and horseback riding. It was my first time rappelling, experiencing longer ziplines through the canopy, and riding a horse. Despite some struggles, I enjoyed rappelling the most. I visited La Fortuna Waterfalls and had a sloth tour at Sloth’s Territory before coming back yesterday.
Volcán Arenal (Arenal Volcano)
Catarata La Fortuna (La Fortuna Waterfall)
Rappelling (See description for details)
About my Duolingo update: I am in Unit 4. I know how to speak numbers and can try to order food in Spanish (but only to the level where people don’t ask me follow-up questions). I learned that “goma” in Spanish means “glue” in English from work. When a bakery lady asked me “¿Algo más?,” I was so confused, thinking she was asking me something about glue. I later learned from the context that she was asking if “I want anything else.” Another fun fact I accidentally learned from looking “goma” up online is that it also means “hangover” in Costa Rican slang. Lastly, my roommate Korie and I started watching a Spanish TV series last night, hopefully immersing ourselves more in Spanish. They honestly spoke so fast, so I was still figuring out what they said previously. Hopefully, I will be less confused as we watch more episodes.
