Guanacaste Snapshots : Experiences in Rural Costa Rica

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating memoir of the life and people of Guanacaste
Review: "What a wonderful book! Well written, with deep honesty and self-understanding. This fascinating description of a young idealistic woman's sojourn to a land and culture new to her, and how it became her home for many years, is also great memoir. Beautiful portraits of the residents of Guanacaste, with detailed images that give us the smells, tastes, music and human drama of Costa Rican rural life. And somehow these portraits hold up a mirror that help writer and the reader see their own lives. I loved reading it. So many of the chapters ended just right--with a resounding final sentence and last detail to set me down powerfully. I'm very very impressed."



Rating:
Summary: Insightful Personal Account of Living in Costa Rica
Review: Susan Gordon lived in Costa Rica for more than 10 years between 1964 and 1983, first as a Peace Corps volunteer, then as a resident and college teacher, and finally as a dissertation researcher. She last visited the country in 1994. Gordon writes insightful, moving accounts of her journeys, detailing what she learned about Costa Ricans--and herself--as she taught and interacted with them. In concise and often poetic prose, she selectively documents and sensitively comments on the challenges she faced as she adapted to life in another country and responded to unfamiliar environments and often puzzling social mores.