Costa Rica's Emergency Room

With only 2 weeks left in Costa Rica, I can finally say I've been to the doctors... and not just any doctors... the emergency room! So while I was in Arenal last weekend, I jumped off a rope swing and cut my feet. This morning, I realized neosporin wasn't doing the trick and my cuts were infected. ICDS tells us to go to Clinica Biblica, which is a private hospital in San Jose. I told my mom and she quickly took me there this morning. The whole process was really quick and within an hour and half I was out of there. All the doctors spoke English and they loaded me up with a few antibiotics. Unfortunately, it was incredibly expensive. I had to pay it all myself, but I believe if I bring the form back to the USA, my insurance will reimburse me... hopefully. I am going back on Monday so the doctors can see how the infection improved... or not improved. The healthcare system in Costa Rica is very different from the States. In the States, the doctors tell you everything! More than we need to know, but I like that. I like knowing all my options and I like knowing that my doctors are competene and know exactly the problem. That is not the case in Costa Rica. The doctor simply looked at my cuts and said this should do the trick. He hardly explained anything to me. I do not like that. I am actually really nervous to see what happens. The doctor told me not to go out this weekend. So I am just chilling in my hosts mom house and giving up shoes for the weekend. Its not a bad deal because I have so much homework that I can catch up on anyway. I can't say I'm too disappoint about that. I just don't want to deal with a difficult infection, so hopefully on Monday they say I'm all clear. I missed my first class today because of the predicament, but I'm not worried about that at all. I know ICDS will be very understanding even though they have a strict "no skip" policy. As I said before, I only have 2 weeks left in Costa Rica. That is absolutely insane to me, but right now I am excited to go home. I think that is probably attributed to the fact that I'm cooped up in my homestay this weekend and I'm all nervous, but either way I am happy to be going home soon. I miss my family, my dog, and my boyfriend. I cannot wait to see them and step back into reality for a bit. I really do love Costa Rica, but theres truly no place like home.
They are my amazing host parents:

Arenal

This last weekend, I went to Arenal with 6 other students from the program. Arenal is one of the most visited tourist destinations in all of Costa Rica. It is a volcano (that unfortunately is inactive now) and is surrounded by beautiful hot springs, natural reserve, and waterfalls. We stayed at a hostel called La Fortuna Backpackers. There are plenty of hostels in the surrounding town, La Fortuna, because it is such a touristy place. Our hostel had a pool, it was awesome! Friday we got to the town and just hung out with each other. On Saturday we took a walk down to a river which had a huge swimming hole. It was the most beautiful swimming holes that I have ever seen. We spent about 2 hours swimming through it, jumping off of rocks, and swinging off of the rope swing. The last time I went off the rope swing I completely wiped out on the rocks... honestly I was lucky I didn't break any of my bones! I eventually landed in the water after getting all scraped up (and I'm still suffering from those injuries now) BUT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! It was a great time and I do not regret anything. Now I am spending my nights dousing my feet in hydrogen peroxide and neosporin, but it is all good. After the waterfall we went to Baldi Hot Springs because we got a good deal from our hostel owner. Baldi Hot Springs is a sort of resort which offers people the opportunities to swim in many, many hot springs. Although the hot springs are natural, they have been developed and built upon. The pools were absolutely gorgeous and that water was HOT! It was a great day and we really spent the time winding down and pampering ourselves in the different pools and swim up bars. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because I was so preoccupied with enjoying the place instead of taking pictures of it! At night we went back to our hostel, visited a local bar, and just hung out with each other. It was one of our friend's birthdays so we had a great time celebrating it with him. I cannot stress enough how lucky I consider myself to have gotten such a great group of students. They are amazing people and I will be friends with them for the rest of my life. I am so happy here, in paradise, with them. Try to really get to know the people you are studying abroad with on a deep level. It has made my trips in Costa Rica phenomenal. On Sunday, we took a bus back to San Jose. The whole drive took about 4 hours although we had to take a bus to Quesada and then another to La Fortuna. Nevertheless, the process went smoothly.

Nicaragua with ICDS

At 3:00 in the morning on Halloween, ICDS picked each of us up and took us on a bus to Nicaragua. Our first stop was in Granada, one of the top tourist destinations in Nicaragua. Granada is a colonial town in Nicaragua ready to handle large amounts of tourists at any time, but because it was the low season, we were one of the few tourists actually there! It was amazing. Granada is really beautiful and our hotel was so luxurious (It had air conditioning and a pool!). Those are two things that never come hand in hand when traveling on a budget in Latin America. We spent the day touring Granada and visiting museums. At night we were given free reign to do what we wanted (Almost). I have to admit, I took full advantage of that... maybe a little too much. Oh and the food in Granada was so delicious. The bar scene in Granada was great and walking around the town center was so fun. There are plenty of corner stands selling cheap souvenirs so it was a good time for all of us. The next day we left our hotel and went to Malaysa, which is a volcano outside of Granada. It had awesome views and we were all happy to be there. After our day trip we took a bus and a ferry to another part of Nicaragua, Isla Ometepe. Ometepe is an island in the middle of Central America's biggest freshwater lake. It was so cool! The lake was so huge that it created waves along the shore. We stayed at an eco-lodge along the shore and we had a great time getting to know the place that night (great food once again). The amount of bugs that swarmed the lights after dark was unreal. It may have been the scariest and most hilarious scene I have ever witnessed. Everyone was freaking out, but we managed to hangout in our rooms and get to know each other, and our teacher a bit more. On the third day, we volunteered at a local primary school and taught English to little kids who knew none at all. It was a very difficult task, but we had a lot of fun. It was great to really get to know the culture and see how these children lived their lives, day to day. The school was small and it didn't seem stocked with supplies. The teacher told us the school is basically funded by the surrounding community and its businesses. The people of Ometepe want to fund the school in order to provide for their children's future and therefore secure their culture. It was great to see the community (and even the hotels in the area) taking responsibility for the education of the citizens. After we volunteered, we went to a natural mineral pool. Of course that was beautiful. Later that night, we hung out at the eco-lodge and got to know our teachers and tour guides. The next day we took the bus home. It took about 12 hours because of traffic and our stops for food and such. Honestly, it wasn't bad though because we all had each other to talk to between our naps. I really do love the other students in my program. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to get to know. What was most difficult to deal with in Nicaragua was the poverty. In Granada, there were constantly people coming up to us begging for food or money and even in Ometepe it was clear that the families were on the verge of poverty. It was obvious because of the lack of infrastructure as well. It is upsetting to watch and realize there is little you can do at this point in time. Its important to always be prepared to see unexpected and not always desired things when visiting other countries. All in all, Nicaragua was my favorite trip so far. It was a perfect weekend and I can't thank ICDS enough for organizing it for all of us. The crazy memories I've made this weekend will rest with me for a lifetime.
I will forever miss Nicaragua

Finally feeling Homesick

Well its happened, I finally feel homesick. I miss my family, boyfriend, and friends. For about a week I was pretty bothered by this, but now I am just feeling the remnants. It is perfectly natural. I have been gone for two months and have had little contact with most people. I have gotten over the feeling simply by talking to friends and family on Facebook. I have plenty of time to do that during the week, so it hasn't been anything of concern. I have a little less than 5 weeks in Costa Rica. Although I am a bit homesick now, I know I still have so much to do here. I, in no way, want to leave Costa Rica though. It probably didn't help that I stayed in San Jose this weekend. We had a service learning activity on Saturday. My group, along with about 30 other college students, volunteered at a small school in Tirasses, which is a local town. It is very poor and it was evident by the houses and pollution surrounding the area. In about 5 hours, we made a garden right outside the school and I have to admit, it looked really nice! I am very happy we were able to get that done and help out the school. Some school kids were there and they were very nice, some of us had the opportunity to practice our Spanish (which is always needed). It felt really great to volunteer and actually make a difference. Take advantage of talking to Costa Rica children. They can tell you a lot about the culture and they easily latch onto people. It is easy to make a connection with children. At night, we went to a bar in San Pedro called Mundo Loco. It is very close to ULatina and is always a very good time. The bar played some Latin music on Saturday, so the atmosphere was very fun and lively. We spent some time dancing. Besides that, this weekend was very calm and allowed me to plan for my next couple of weekends here. This weekend, I am going to Nicaragua with ICDS, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about that. I have a feeling it will be one of the best weekends here, if not the best. ICDS is great at planning trips.

Montezuma

This past weekend, I went to Montezuma with 3 other students from the program. Many students went their separate ways this weekend in smaller groups. Traveling constantly with a large group can be draining so we decided to make it small and intimate. Montezuma is a beach town on the pacific coast off Costa Rica on the Nicoya Peninsula. We took a bus, a ferry, and then another bus to get there. We stayed at La Aurora Hostel, which was very nice. Two of my girl friends and I got a private room to ourselves with three beds, a mini fridge, and a private bathroom. That's about as good as its going to get when visiting hostels. The owner was really nice and was willing to help us out a lot. The hostel was about a minute walk from the beach, which was great. Surprisingly, the beach was extremely dirty. There was so much trash along the border of the sand from the forests, but the water was clear. This was very upsetting because we later found out that all the trash wash floating down the rivers from the interior of the continent. Although Costa Rica is the poster child for sustainable development, it still has a long way to go with improving its waste management. In the ocean, the waves were sooooo strong! We could hardly stay in without being knocked over, but when we walked down about 30 minutes along the coast we found a calmer part of the water and swam. When we were walking we spotted about 10 monkeys. They were adorable, but fierce. We got really close to them as well! Don't worry we acted sustainably and didn't feed or touch them, of course! On Saturday, I went snorkeling on Tortuga Island. The island was really cool, but there was some pollution there as well. I still saw so many fish and it was a great time! Our guide took us on a long boat tour, let us snorkel for about 2 hours, and prepared us lunch. We chilled along the beach of the island for a few hours before returning to Montezuma. It was a beautiful weekend, but the pollution surprised us all. The nightlife in Montezuma is a little slow. We were really tired so we ended up just talking with each other at night and relaxing. Also, a guy we met in Monte Verde joined us at our hostel! It was great.

Puerto Viejo

Its been a while since I've posted on here! I've been really soaking in Costa Rica. I think its important to refrain from spending your time behind a camera or a blog. Get out there and experience things in person! So two weekends ago I went to Puerto Viejo. It was extremely fun! Although Puerto Viejo is known for being one of the most dangerous parts of the country, if you stay in a group and behave in a smart manner, no harm should come to you. That is what I did with the other students and no problems arose. I went in a big group (about 10 students). During the days, we went to local beaches. The water was so clear, the sand was white, and the environment was really pretty (along the beach that is). Once we strayed from the beach, the trash along the streets was visible. Puerto Viejo is poverty stricken in some areas and the people seem to be very laid back. This is when the term Pura Vida can develop into a negative phrase. At night, we walked around Puerto Viejo and bar hopped. The dancing was fun and the people were hilarious. It was very crowded and loud in the town so we made sure to take safety precautions. Puerto Viejo is one of my favorite spots in Costa Rica. I really enjoyed the culture, from what I saw. We stayed at a hostel called Rocking J's. If definitely catered to my age group and the decorations of the hostel were very.... how can I put this..... well hipster. Don't get me wrong, all the art was really cool and it was fun just to walk around and see the designs, but to me, it wasn't genuine. When we asked the employees for help, they acted rudely and sometimes ignored us. It was extremely annoying and I started to dislike the place for that reason. I could really tell it was all a scheme to attract people from our age group and charge them ridiculous amounts of money. Although my host mom told me that I could drink the water everywhere in Costa Rica, this hostel said we couldn't so they charged us for water. (Don't worry I rebelled and boiled my own tap water on the stove). I have about 80 bug bites on my legs from the nights in Puerto Viejo. So remember to apply your bug spray and maybe wear long pants! Soak up the sun at the beach because that is easily the best part. I took the bus down to the last set of beaches and the corals were great to see and swim across.

Studying abroad in Costa Rica

This is my 5th week in Costa Rica and I can´t believe it. Tomorrow, I and a few others are traveling to Puerto Viejo for the weekend. Although its only been a few days since Monte Verde, I feel like I just got back. The week days literally fly by. I guess its because everyday I have class from 8-3:30 except on Fridays when I have class for 2 hours until 12. Also, the work load is not small or easy. I came to Costa Rica thinking the classes would be super easy and I would spend most of my time around the city of San Jose. Although I do find myself in San Jose sometimes, most of my week days consist of getting my homework done so I don´t have to worry about it on the weekend. It is definitely import to balance play with academic planning, but it is harder to do that in Costa Rica because on the weekends I do absolutely no homework. So my weekday life centers just around my classes. It definitely helps that the subject matter (environmental sustainability) is a subject I hope to become involved with for the rest of my life. I really do find my classes very interesting and they are nothing like the classes I have taken at Drexel. The environmental sustainability track is very much about policy and institutional change compared to the environmental science courses at Drexel which are mostly about biodiversity and scientific research. I am SO happy that I came to Costa Rica to take these classes, because Drexel cannot offer me anything similar to these classes. I know I will have an advantage against other students majoring in environmental science because of Costa Rica.
Also, I am so happy that I came to Costa Rica and stayed with a host family. Its a completely different type of experience because you are COMPLETELY immersed in the culture and a student living in a dorm or apartment with other study abroad students will never feel that type of connection. I have developed such a strong love for Costa Rica and Latin America and it is because I was thrown into the culture and have developed an understanding of it. I cannot stress enough that a study abroad experience is not just about going out and seeing different things and partying, it is about understanding new cultures, becoming a part of it, and giving back to the country that is giving to you. Also, I came to Costa Rica not really caring if I learned Spanish while I was here or not. Now, I really hope I come back at least conversational. Its really fulfilling to be able to have conversations with my host mom in Spanish and I am proud when I can order in a restaurant with no problems. I can´t explain it, but the success feels great! Now, I feel like when I visit other countries in the future, I will try to immerse myself not just in the environment and sights, but in the culture as well.
The Take Home Message: Traveling abroad is about becoming a part of other cultures and experiencing different ways of life, not partying and looking at pretty things.
Here is a typical breakfast in Costa Rica:

Monte Verde

This past weekend I went to Monte Verde with 14 other students in the program. It was a great time!  We took a bus at 2:30pm on Friday after class and got to Monte Verde around 7:30 (which was longer than we expected). The bus ride was hell though, unfortunately. There were no more seats left on the bus so we all crowded together and sat on the floor of the bus. We were all cramped and hot by the time we got off, but at least we got there. I have to admit I will remember that experience and laugh about it forever. I recommend to anyone traveling by bus to line up ahead of time to make sure you get your seat. We will not be making that mistake again. We stayed at a hostel called Sleepers Sleep Cheaper and it was AWESOME! For only $7 a night we stayed in private rooms (4 people to a room) and we had our own private bathroom to each room. The hostel was clean and the sitting area for everyone to share was nice as well. The kitchen was stocked with pots and pans so a lot of people went and bought groceries at the local market and made dinner. Of course I was too lazy so I bought myself some Ramon and a few pieces of fruit. On Saturday, we went to Santa Elena Reserve, which was a forest reserve much like Monte Verde. We chose to go to Santa Elena instead of Monte Verde because it was cheaper and it was less "touristy" from what we heard. Also, the cost of entry went directly to the upkeep on the reserve unlike Monte Verde. It was absolutely beautiful. We spent a full 8 hours hiking through the forests. It was a long day and I was dead tired from the night before, but it was all worth it. After we took our taxi back to our hostel, I went out to dinner with a few friends and enjoyed the rest of the night playing some games around the hostel and getting to know the visitors. We were too tired to go out that weekend, but we all had a great time in the hostel getting to know everyone. We met people from New Zealand and Germany and we plan to meet up with one of them another weekend. It is great talking to other international visitors. You can learn a bit about their culture without every traveling there. Truthfully, it just makes me want to travel to other places more and more. On Sunday we took the bus back at 6 am and got back to our host families around 11 am, which was really good timing. The weekend was all in all really great, but in the next upcoming weekends I plan to participate in some adventures. I don't just want to spend all of my time hiking. I want to snorkel and bunjee jump and a whole other bunch of stuff as well.
Here is a picture of the could forest in the reserve:

San Jose & Rafting

I spent this weekend in San Jose, and vowed not to do that again unless I have to. On Friday, our counselor, Tatianna took us to the theater to see a contemporary ballet show downtown. It was a great performance which taught us a bit about indigenous culture. ICDS paid for our tickets and transportation! It was really nice of them because this wasn't a planned event. We just all expressed interest and they said they would provide the tickets and transportation. ICDS is a great program because they truly do care about our experience and they care how we are feeling. Although, they're not perfect. Most of us came into the program thinking that we would have Fridays off to travel, but we don't. After I expressed interest in changing the schedule of some classes so we could have Fridays off, they denied our request. It really does impede on some of our plans, but they are thinking about giving us a few Fridays off so we can travel to farther places. That would be perfect, but we will see what happens. Also, every student is assigned a volunteer location for Monday mornings. It is supposed to be like a mini-internship in the subject of your program. Unfortunately, its not like that at all. I am in the environmental sustainability program and I was placed at a local grade school to help students learn English (that has nothing to do with environmental sustainability). I'm not too upset about it because I didn't join the program for an environmental internship (I mean come on, I go to Drexel), but a few others did and I understand why they are upset. ICDS can be disorganized. To us it is disorganized, but to them it is normal because that is sort of the culture of Costa Rica. Pura Vida! So make sure to keep on them if you really need something. Some other students have switched locations because they wanted other volunteer opportunities, but I am going to stick it out at my school and see what happens. Its always good to be well rounded. Anyways, enough of my ranting. On Saturday I scheduled a trip with Rainforest Tours to white water raft down the Pacuare River. I never white water rafted before. IT WAS AMAZING! I loved every minute of it. The company picked us up form ULatina, gave us a delicious breakfast and lunch, and took us rafting for 4 hours. Rafting is one of the most exciting things I've ever done. The rapids went up to class IV difficulty, I even fell in a few times, even on purpose! I would go again in a heartbeat... if I had the time and money (It was $85). Today I just hung out around the house with my host family. I needed a calm day to finish some homework. It is important to get all of your homework done during the week so you can be care-free on the weekends. That's gotta be on the top ten list of study abroad tips right there.

Tortuguero

I cannot begin to explain how happy I was this weekend. This was one of the best weekends of my life not just because of the places I was at, but because of the people I was with.
This weekend, we went on a trip that ICDS (my program) planned to Tortuguero. Tortuguero is a national park in Costa Rica known for its beautiful canals and sea turtles. It has a lot of other things to offer as well. We left for Tortuguero on a small bus at 6:15 am. The bus ride took about 5 hours which included breakfast at a local restaurant, the food was good as usual. Once we got into the small rural town, we took a boat through the canals which led to our small resort. The resort was beautiful. We slept in huge tents (about 5 beds to a tent) which was the best way to do it. It was an eco-friendly lodge so there was a noticeable effort to reduce electricity and water consumption, which was nice.  Once we got there, we ate lunch and I took a tour of the waters through a kayak and also ended up lounging around on the hammocks in the resort. Then, we took our boat over to the local school. This school was very small and poverty stricken. There is 1 teacher and 6 students in the entire school. All afternoon, we built a path for the students so during the rainy season they could walk to school without ruining their shoes and clothes everyday. It was manual labor, but extremely rewarding and fun. After that, we all embraced our sweaty-ness and played some volleyball, then got showered and ate dinner. We ended the night by singing around a campfire and talking ourselves to sleep. Falling asleep to the sounds of the rainforest was so amazing, I cannot describe it. Throughout the day we got up close and personal with a really cute sloth, saw and heard many monkeys, and saw a ton of cool birds, insects, and plants. On Sunday we woke up at 5am and took our boat to a green sea turtle sanctuary. We watched the turtles get pulled out the sand, we measured a few, and then released them all. They were so adorable. We took the boat back to the resort, ate breakfast, hung around the resort, and headed back to San Jose. Oh and right before we left, we saw a small crocodile!
The weekended was phenomenal. Like I said before, I cannot begin to describe how amazing it was. The teacher, counselor, and guide who accompanied us were so happy to have us and they helped make this weekend one of the best in my life. I am so thankful! Remember to get to know your teachers. Our teacher, Helen, came with us and she is a great friend! She is so knowledgeable and down to earth.
Unfortunately, I need to start my homework. Sundays are always the days I have this great realization on how wonderful my life is... and then I start my homework.
Here is a picture of our captain, boat, and a bit of the canal:

Manuel Antonio

This past weekend, I and 8 other people from the program went to Manuel Antonio National Park. We stayed at a hostel called Vista Serena for 10 bucks a night... how perfect is that?! The view from the hostel was absolutely beautiful and the rooms were not too shabby (not perfect though). We took a direct bus from San Jose to Manuel Antonio on Friday afternoon, after classes, and got to the hostel around 6 pm. We hung out around the hostel and got to know the other people who were staying there. We also visited a local bar inside a resort... it was a great night! The next day we all woke up very early, ate breakfast and went to the national park. It was soooo incredibly beautiful. The beach water was pristine and blue and the surrounding forest was really cool. We completed a few hikes and saw monkeys, sloths, large lizards, etc. The hikes tired me out and we were all dripping sweat by the end, but no worries because we just ran right in the ocean right after each hike! We left the park around 3, got home showered and walked around Manuel Antonio a bit. We didn't end up going to a local bar or anything like that because the buses weren't favoring us and we kind of all just wanted to hang out with each other anyways. On Sunday, we stayed at the beach right outside of the national park (because it was free) and then took a bus home at 1. Also, it didn't rain at all the whole weekend! That is a major accomplishment because it rains every day in San Jose. That just goes to show how many different ecosystems there will be in Costa Rica. There are so many different climates, elevations, and natural boundaries. All together, the whole weekend cost about $80, give or take some. That may seem like a lot, but I don't think we could've gotten it down much lower. What was most expensive was the hostel, admission into the national park, transportation, food and drinks.
All in all, I cannot describe to you how happy and lucky I felt this weekend. Multiple times I had to stop what I was doing, look around, and soak in what was really happening. I know that coming here was a great decision and I am where I am supposed to be.

ULatina

So today was the first day of classes, which means we just took a tour of ULatina and a Spanish placement test.
ULatina is a small university and it was easy for me to find my way around. Even taking public transportation to get to the campus is simple, but the traffic is ridiculous! The bus stop is right outside of my house and about 8 other students live in my neighborhood so we all take the same bus.
I did horribly on the test, which is expected, because I came to Costa Rica with just about 0 Spanish. I took classes in high school, but have forgotten most of it over the years and I came to Costa Rica without a review. So as a lesson, language should never deter you from traveling! I am managing well.
This weekend I went with a couple students and their host moms to the city and market area of San Jose. It was definitely an experience. San Jose is a city, much like any other, but the Latin American vibe is easy to see. Obviously there aren't many tall buildings and the infrastructure isn't as well managed as it is in the States. There are a few small parks throughout the city and some nice markets where its easy to get some cheap souvenirs and food. Although San Jose is great and there are plenty of places to go within the city, my plan is to travel every possible weekend to an exotic locale throughout the country.
As for the financial burden of traveling, its not too much to worry about. Everything is cheaper in Costa Rica than it is in the States (but not by much). For instance, I can get typical lunch (or casado) which includes rice, beans, vegetable, choice of meat (or vegetarian option), a fresh drink, and a salad for about 5 dollars. Yes, 5 dollars. Oh and so far, multiple times this trip I've said "This is the best milkshake, pineapple, strawberry, plantain, etc I've ever had!" so definitely try tons of fruit because they are all so delicious and perfect. Also, a bus all around San Jose costs a whopping 50 cents and a bus to most of the beaches costs around 5-15 bucks. I definitely plan to budget, but I also try to remember that I'm not in Latin America every day. Its important that I spend money to travel and try new things while I'm here. This is a once in a life time experience and I plan to make the most of it!
That's all for today! I'll have more about classes and the weekday life later this week. Adios!

The Beginning

Today is the 4th day of my trip. I really do love it so far! Flying over and entering Costa Rica was a lot easier than I expected it to be. There were no problems and ICDS staff found me right away!
When I arrived at my homestay I was incredibly nervous. My host mom didn't speak too much English and my Spanish was even worse but, after only 3 days I've improved a lot! My Spanish is slowly coming back to me and my host mom is extremely patient and kind. Surprisingly, not many people in San Jose speak English. Not nearly as many people as I was expecting at least. I'm up for the challenge.
At first, I was worried about coming to Costa Rica as a vegetarian but, its no problem at all! My host mom cooks delicious meat-less meals for me and in every restaurant there are vegetarian options... Success!
The other 16 students in the program are amazing. I can see myself becoming great friends with all of them over the course of these three months, mostly because we all love to explore. As a group, we are in the midst of planning trips every weekend to different parts of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama.
So far, the ICDS staff has taken all of us to a small resort for orientation, a national park and inactive volcanoe called Poas, a farm with cows (where I milked one), the cloud forest, and of course to ULatina, the university I will be studying at. The entire trip has been wonderful. All the locations we visited were beautiful and we really had a lot of fun. I've already learned a lot about the Costa Rican environment and culture..... and I haven't even started classes yet.
Now for the not so perfect part of the trip: As for the whole being thousands of miles away from my family and friends part, well of course I miss them. Honestly though I haven't had much time to dwell on it. I've constantly been taking part in group activities and trips so the only time I begin to think about home is when I am alone in my bed at night and that's not even bad because I pass out quickly from exhaustion. The trick is to stay busy! So to be honest, so far the trip is relatively perfect.

Preparing to Leave

I'm leaving for Costa Rica in four days. As nervous as I am, I feel more ready than I ever will be. Leaving my family, boyfriend, and friends for three months will not be an easy feat, but I know everything will work out for the better. I am going to Costa Rica to study environmental sustainability as an environmental science major. My plan while I am there is to experience as much as I can, travel frequently, and learn a lot about sustainability.
Packing for the trip shouldn't be too bad. I plan to buy a lot of my cosmetics in Costa Rica and pack a good amount of clothes fit for warm and rainy weather. Lots of pants, dresses, and capree type things and a few shorts. I hear that people in San Jose don't wear shorts. So I will only be wearing shorts when I am traveling.
What I'm most nervous about is my flight and arrival at my home-stay. I have never flown alone and I know very little Spanish. I am really hoping my home-stay family speaks English, at least a bit, so I can feel confident communicating with them. I am also hoping that many people in San Jose speak some amount of English.
I'm most excited about meeting people in the ICDS program! I'm hoping a lot of the students want to get out there and travel as much as I do! With a fun group of friends I know these three months will be some of the best months of my life.