Holy crap do I have a million stories and pictures and memories! Where do I start/ Where did I leave off?
Flew into San Jose, met up with Kristina and Marc along the way. We stayed at a pretty nice hotel in San jose right downtown. Classes started pretty much right away. We had an amazing field trip along the pacific coast full of hiking, swimming, and trying not to get too muddy, and keep our tents dry. We stayed in two main camps: San Pedrillo in the Corcovado reserve and Santa Rosa which is part of the Guanacaste region. From both places we went on several long crazy hikes to beaches. Had the most perfect evening of my life in a warm ocean cove, watching the sunset, beer in hand, whales in the distance, parrots overhead, double rainbow behind us, with fantastic company. Yes, that really happened! I got to see tons of cool stuff, and swim in the ocean, and climb around a vocano, and stand under waterfalls. I became really good friends with a lot of people, but mainly Lizzy. I learned how to take hermit crabs from their shells, and that bug bites are a mental challenge to not scratch more than anything! We climbed through mangroves, took boat rides to our campsite, snorkeled off a small island, and much much more. Such an incredible 2.5 weeks. Everyday seemed long, but in the best possible way because it never seemed to end, you could drink it all in, and everything just kept getting better (something that still hasn't plateaued thank goodness... not that I was worried) Most days I feel like i'm dreaming. I have to tell myself that this really is my life, and yes it truly is this incredible!
The field trip led us to Monteverde and intense classes. Lecture everyday, mostly in the classroom. First bout of exams started out with a practical with species we learned on the first field trip. Then shortly after Midterms for 2 of my classes. Of course there are quizzes, and homework readings, and spanish quizzes. Busy busy busy. There's a fantastic garden here with tons of epidemic species. and Monteverde is an incredibly diverse place. We took several day trips for our Humans in the Tropics days. One we learned about sustainable/fairtrade/organic coffee (they do NOT all mean the same thing.) and another day we learned about the animal side of agriculture and visited a farm, cheese factory, and hog farm. I still love baby pigs! SO cute :) It was a very interesting process. Leading up to the second field trip there is much to do... packing took my room... 6+ hours? hahaha (i'm not kidding) but we had fun (relatively) while doing it. I have too much crap. And one ginormous suitcase, may not have been the best idea in hindsight. Oh well, its brought some laughs. Along with getting ready for the trip there were dicisions about homestays to be made, which also means i need to consider options for my independent project... yikes! How on earth am i going to find something?
The first week or so in Monteverde was sun until about midday, and then rain.. but the second 2 weeks we found things increasingly cloudy and rainy. Mainly due to the tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf. I also experienced my first earthquake! Nothing to worry about though. Apparently there are many small ones the whole time that we haven't felt. Occasionally there is a larger one. Classes are good. Challenging though but thoroughly interesting. It's crazy to see the impact we as humans are having on the environment, and the amount of people that have no idea, or think that its not a big deal. Every action you take matters. Its a cycle it all affects the earth in some way. Predictions were made in the past that the world would die because of using up the food, what that prediciton didn't account for however was our technology boost. It is currently impossible for the world and its populations to sustain itself at the current rate. Again there could be some technology boost that saves us. But drastic changes need to start becoming reality. I'm not trying to be a downer or forboding. There are real issues facing the planet that no one wants to acknowledge, and being in a temerate zone its harder to see those impacts. BUT living here and finding that species are disappearing, birds are moving higher up the mountains because lower elevations are becoming too warm, Monteverde is no longer getting the same amount of mist precip. that it's plants count on, are just a few examples of how real global warming and environmental change is becoming. Ok I'll get off my soapbox. :)
People in this program are amazing. I've made great friends, and our Professors/TAs commented on how united we are as a group. Sometimes I think we don't feel that way, but compared to previous programs we're incredibly united. Albet a bit messy... haha we may also be one of the messiest groups they've had.
We also had some fun in Monteverde exploring the nightlife aka a gringo bar called Mat 'E Caña, where we dance to salsa and american, and listen to our professor's rock band Conchos de monte. Pretty awesome. We also went ziplining which was amazing, but i was incredibly hungover. And a different day we made a gorgeous hike over the continental divide to the place we ziplined to learn about insects.
All in all everything is incredible. And I can't wait to see what else is in store for me.
Living the Dream, Missing you all, and Loving life!
Pura vida!
XOXO
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