Costa Rica

on

Never in my life did I think I’d have the opportunity to study abroad while in college. When first hearing that Maryville was offering a j-term trip to Costa Rica I was all in. I was finally going to be able to travel abroad and immerse myself into a new culture and many new experiences. I honestly chose Costa Rica to travel somewhere warm during January and do new things I have never done before. Little did I know that this trip would turn into a memorable trip of a lifetime, learning so many things about not only Costa Rica but myself too. I will forever be grateful for our tour guide, Dr. Swann, Mr. Bruce and all the other students who made this trip what it was.  






The Crew on the last day!




At Catie after a presentation!


After returning to the states after a trip of a lifetime, I am still having a hard time coming up with words to describe this trip. I use the same lame response “It was amazing” when asked how it was. Words and pictures just cannot begin to explain how beautiful Costa Rica was. We experienced so much and did so many new things in such a short amount of time. It’s hard to believe that we were there for two short weeks yet we did multiple things each day. In the first part of the week we toured Catie and the farm they run across the street. At the farm they are working towards becoming self-sustaining in the years to come. To do so they use the manure from the 145 head of cows to produce biodiesel fuel to run the milking machines and the cooling tanks for the milk. In addition to that they use the manure for fertilizer for the fields surrounding the farm. On top of working towards self-sustainability, they are trying to produce a breed of cows that can live in the mountains climate and still produce enough milk to use. Catie is just one of the many examples of Costa Rica’s initiative of being a self-sustaining country by 2021. All of these ideas of self-sustainability and eco-tourism is something every country should strive for in the years to come. I wish every student at Maryville had the opportunity to study abroad at least once while in school. Studying abroad but more specifically in Costa Rica changed my life and allowed me to see how different and beautiful things outside the United States is.