Submitted by Stephanie Malin on the 2014 winter session study abroad program in Costa Rica sponsored by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…
I’m sad to say that my stay in Costa Rica is already more than halfway over. It has been two of the best weeks of my life. In the past two weekends, we have seen many places in and around Heredia where we are staying. We have gone to two active volcanoes. Having grown up in the United States, I have never seen a lot of the geographic formations that Costa Rica holds. We’ve explored rain forests and cloud forests as well. On top of exploring these places, we have been studying about Costa Rica’s biodiversity which plays a huge role in their economy. Costa Rica is making strides to promote eco-tourism and conserve the natural beauties it has to offer. We have been working to aid them in this process by not impacting the environment around us in a negative way. We have also visited InBio Park, a theme park that teaches people about the importance of the environment. I am learning a lot on this trip, but is does not feel like I am working hard to do so. Inside and outside of the classroom I am introduced to a new culture, a new language and new experiences.