Pura vida.

Howler monkeys...rice and beans...una hamocka...la familia de Morales-Bonilla...el instituto...pura vida. When I reflect back on the best two months of my life, these particular words often come to my mind. To get things started, I am a Psychology/Spanish double major at Meredith College with a ESL (English as a Second Language) licensure. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity of studying abroad in Costa Rica for two months. Honestly, since the day I departed from the San Jose airport, there has not been a day that goes by that I think of Costa Rica and all of the experiences I enjoyed there. I met some of the most amazing people there and learned a vast of life lessons. I snorkeled with reef sharks, planted 175 trees in one morning, and ziplined through one of the biggest rainforests in the entire world. I also learned that "tico time" is the best time. Often in Costa Rica, people refer to "tico time". Basically, tico time means no worries...things will occur on their own time. During my time in Costa Rica, I participated in two study abroad programs. I completed the Language and Culture portion the first 4.5 weeks I was there, and bravely took on the Biology portion the remaining 3 weeks. During the Language and Culture part, I lived in a homestay in San Joaquin de Flores with a great family. I had a host mom, two younger sisters, and three funny dogs. Thanks to the homestay, my progress on being bilingual has increased greatly. I also felt loved and supported from my real family and my host family while I was there. Throughout the Biology program, I lived in a variety of places. I thought I would never have seen so many forms of diversified wildlife while I was there, but I was wrong. I saw sloths about 2x a week and it was amazing. Costa Rica has enriched me as a human being and as a future teacher. I feel like I can now relate to my future students and share my endless stories of adventures with them. Costa Rica...forever in my heart...and always on my mind.