Posts

Puerto Viejo

Image
Puerto Viejo Not gonna lie, nothing about this weekend went right and I kind of wish I chose somewhere else to go for thanksgiving break. The trip started on Thanksgiving, bright and early at 6 am. Much like Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, we hired a private bus to drive us there. It was the same bus we took to Manuel Antonio, but was not driven by Milo and every single seat was filled, including the ones that fold down in the middle of the isle. There were some students from Puntarenas joining us, so a couple of them took a bus up at 3 am and some stayed the night in an Air BnB. We all met in the central park for the bus. All of us were tired, a little bit cranky, but overall kind of excited. One blip in the trip, that ended up causing a massive headache and delay, was that we had to pick up one of our group members from San Jose with her friends that flew in the previous night. This didn't seem like a big deal since we were supposedly passing right by San Jose. However, we
Post a Comment
Read more

Being Back, Post Program Reflections

Image
What were some of your biggest takeaways from your international experience? - I learned so much more than I thought I would both in classes and from living in a different country - Some of the best people I have ever met in my life were from my program and I am leaving with so many good friendships. - Reverse culture shock is real and I occasionally get sad that I am not back in Costa Rica. Also trying to unlearn the habits I picked up while abroad is difficult (I am still trying to throw toilet paper away). - It kind of feels like a dream sometimes, like maybe it didn't really happen. What advice would you pass along to other interested students considering study abroad? - If you are thinking of going, just go. Find somewhere that interests you and go there. Living and studying abroad can be hard but I promise it is very much worth it. - When you first arrive, for the first couple of weeks, you may feel homesick or unsure if you made the right decision. The best w
Post a Comment
Read more

Saying Goodbye

Image
What I have missed the most about the U.S.: - My pets, it was hard being away from them for so long - My bed: it's not like the bed I had at my host families house was uncomfortable, but nothing beats my double bed with down comforter and pillows - The type of food: I have never been someone who loves or craves fast food, but for some reason while I was abroad, all I wanted was Cold Stone Ice Cream, Dominoes Pizza, and mac n cheese. Also, rice is good, but I am so sick of eating it all the time. - The convenience of an American lifestyle. What I mean by this is that sometimes I missed being able to hop in my car and drive to one store where I can find everything I need. - Not having to worry about ants or mosquitoes in my home - I missed living independently. My host family was great; they also had food for me when I came down to eat, they cleaned for me, and they took care of me. But sometimes I just wished I could cook a little for myself or have large groups of pe
Post a Comment
Read more

San Jose and Jaco

Image
San Jose (Novemeber 22) and Jaco Beach (November 23-24) San Jose: November 22 was my friend Jordan's 22 birthday. Since it was a Friday, and we only had class until 11, she decided she wanted to go to San Jose to see a wildlife sanctuary and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. After class, we walked over to the bus station where we met our other friends Chris and Charlie. The bus showed up shortly after we got there and only took about an hour and a half to reach downtown San Jose. Technically the animal sanctuary was closer to Heredia, so we called an uber to take us there. For some reason it ended up being a 45 minute uber ride, but we got there eventually. We didn't know this at the time, but I guess you are supposed to make a reservation for the sanctuary ahead of time. Luckily the staff was really nice and let us hop into a group that had just begun. This place, the Toucan Rescue Ranch, is known for rescuing sloths, owls, and, of course, toucans. The tour was about an hour a
Post a Comment
Read more

Monteverde Cloud Forest

Image
Monteverde Cloud Forest and Santa Elena This was the second weekend trip that I had planned since Manuel Antonio. When I originally signed up for the program, I thought this was supposed to be included in our program instead of La Fortuna. I'm not disappointed though, because there is so much to see here and I am glad we did it on our own time and schedule. The cloud forests in this area consist of a few different reserves, including Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Children's Eternal Rainforest, and Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve. The cloud forests are different than other rainforests in Costa Rica because of their altitude. They are part of a temperate ecosystem at elevations of 900-1800 meters. The vegetation is typically larger and consists of more epiphytes, mosses, and ferns. To me, the vegetation reminded me a lot of Pacific Northwest vegetation, especially that found in the Ho Rainforest. Some of the animals typically found here includes coatis, quetzals, taran
Post a Comment
Read more