Tres Días Hasta Costa Rica

                                                              Wednesday May 9, 2012

          " Which translates to, "Three days until Costa Rica!" (Technically its 4, but it's late evening now) What this also means is scrambling around to make sure all of the last minute items, documents, and confirmations are found and taken care of. This process can be extremely stressful and two current issues that remain is my international sim card for my phone and the installments for paying tuition. Therefore, in order to make things a tad LESS stressful, i've been running as well as reading up on Costa Rican geography, language diversions from mainstream spanish, and cultural issues that I may run into, or in my version, embrace joyfully. Here are the things that I am most excited for about going to Costa Rica:

1. Biodiversity- %6= the percent of biodiversity Costa Rica has in comparison with the rest of the world. That's is a huge amount considering it's size is comparable to Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

<<<Marine biology! 

       2. Culture (Music, Food, People)- All of my family members should know by now how in love with diverse lifestyles I am. I've found that oxcarts are apparently a traditional "Costa Rican" way to travel about. Hopefully on my trip I'll be lucky and get to take a ride. Maybe I'll pull. Who knows.

<<<<Pretty oxcart

          3. Learning my trade, hands on- I'll be serving in a "Casa de Ancianos"(house of the old) and another location working with people who have intellectual disabilities. I...am...pumped. Each student will also be in charge of 3 activities...eek. Responsibility. But this is going to let me test for myself just how capable I am at adapting. And let's be real here; I love people. 

         4. Reporting my experiences to those I love- This Blog, Facebook, and the international phone will allow me to share everything I'm experiencing with you guys. You'll know how excited/anxious I am often. We are also required to write a journal anyway so i'm just getting a head start. I am excited for this because I am going to be pushing to actually use a blog, which i've been trying to start for years. 

             
           5. Weekend activities and bonding with fellow students- So far I've heard of weekend trips to beaches and zip lining. Tell me that's not great. Costa Rica is a main tourist attraction so there is going to be SO many fun things to do on the weekends. It'll be over much too soon. 

<<<<That'll be my face :D

Here are the things that I am either concerned about or NOT excited for:

1. Foreign bugs- Don't get me wrong. I like bugs....but take a look at what I found. All I'm saying is that it's going to take some adapting to seeing the different little/not-so-little critters. 

       2. Plane travel- Planes make me feel pretty gross. Enough said. 

<<<They go hand in hand

       3. Diarrhea- I've listened to Uncle Garth, as well as Annie on her return from Honduras, and I'm convinced that this is going to happen whether I want it to or not. No matter how hard I try to consume sanitarily, I may slip up. Actually I probably will. I'm too adventurous. It's my flaw, so sue me.
<<<<This shall be my friend overseas

           So there it is, my first blog. Email me at sarmmend@indiana.edu if you you want to comment or talk to me about it you can call me since, as said above, I don't leave for another 3 days. Sunday May 13 is when I take off. 

              I'm  out of here :) 

                    ~Sarah ~