La Ultima Aventura de Costa Rica

Instead of making a normal goal for a study abroad trip, like a certain amount of vocabulary words or a proficiancy of a certain theme of the language or acquire a certain amount of knowledge about the country, my goal of my trip to Costa Rica was to hold a monkey. I didn't get the chance while with the NAU group so Jenna and I made the decision that for our extra weekend in Costa Rica we were going to seek out the hold-able monkeys. We returned to Puerto Viejo, where we went our first weekend. We had to leave our houses at 5am to make the 6am bus, there was a terrible accident and we were held up for a couple hours, we missed the monkey tour, we begged and pleaded and I told my story about how it was my dream to hold a monkey and about our circumstances, and the owner of the animal reserve allowed us to come in after close to hold Chipito :) Dreams do come true!! We got to see a lot of other animals and we got to enjoy the Caribbean beach one last time. I came home to my host family and one of my host parents' previous daughters from Gana and her father, who apparently is a cheif of a tribe in Gana, were there and we all had a huge dinner together with meats and cheeses and chicken and rice and olives and vegetables and bread and lots of Chilean wine. The evening was very special. My Tico parents had been an incredible support system for me while in Costa Rica, and probably didn't even know it a lot of the time. I learned so much from them and their consejos. I definitely hope to return to their beautiful house in San Jose and meet with them again.

Saying goodbye is the worst part. I'm so glad Jenna and I gave ourselves the extra days to have some closure with the country. I feel like I've learned more about myself and what I am passionate about and what I'm willing to work for at this point in my life from all the thngs that have passed on this trip. I've studied other cultures, including styles of life and philosophies, in comparison to American beliefs and ideals. There are pieces I have seen and learned, besides just the Spanish, that I hope I have brought back with me and that I won't forget. I don't know how my English is right now, I'm still thinking half in Spanish and I'm going off of two hours of sleep. I am home safe and I am home a little different than when I left. I am very much at peace and very sure that I was supposed to go on this trip, even through the points of difficulty. I could not be more thankful to have had this opportunity, to my parents and my uncle Rog who helped immensly in financing parts of the trip and giving me the opportunity to see and do as much as I could in the time that I had. Very thankful to my parents, specifically my dad, who bought me my camera which has produced photos that make me happy. I am thankful to Javier, who has now not only provided two amazing summers of growth and experiece for me, but also taken care of my final class I needed to achieve my Spanish minor. I am thankful to my friends at home who are my backbone of support through thick and thin, as well as the friends I made in Costa Rica that added to the incredible experience. I am thankful for every person I came across and for the convesations I was able to have in Spanish, my ability to speak and understand and express myslf has grown immensly through this trip and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I am thankful to God who has blessed me with opportunities not only to see the beauty of the world through people and landscapes, but also to grow as a person and enjoy each moment as part of the whole. Thank you for whoever took the time to read my blog.. I know I'm not the best at updating but it means a lot that people take the time to read the words on my mind and look at the pictures I treasure :) I definitely recommend going to Costa Rica, and traveling in general. I don't know much, but I do believe that our lives are to be discovered and enjoyed, and it's worth the adventure along the way.

PURA VIDA,
Nicole