Costa Rica, the Land of Pura Vida!

As the teaching assistant for the Franklin College Residential spring break trip to Costa Rica, I was responsible for chaperoning a group of 15 undergraduate students. My pay-off: a FREE trip to Costa Rica. Not too shabby!

Before taking off to Costa Rica I coordinated four class meetings where we discussed Costa Rican current events, learned about the culture, and even tasted local cuisine prepared by one of our very own UGA faculty members who is a Costa Rican native. Once we arrived in Costa Rica...I was quite surprised by the incredible UGA campus in Monteverde. Yes, UGA owns a "research center" and "eco-lodge" in the lush rain forests of Costa Rica with running hot water and beautifully handcrafted wooden bungalows. The program directors have worked hard to collaborate with the local community and during our 5-day stay we visited a local coffee farm, enjoyed a cooking class in a local woman's house, in addition to all of the students enjoying a one-night home stay with a local family. Our days at the research center were filled with drizzle, mud, wind, a schizophrenic sun, and lots of rainbows. I make it sound so bad, but it was so good...we were literally in the cloud forest where mother nature is in full-effect. The weather did not stop us, we hiked to a waterfall, took Spanish classes, milked cows, went horseback riding, and swung through the rain forest likes monkeys on a zip-line. Another brilliant feature of the UGA ecolodge is that it is all inclusive, the meals are prepared by local community members which makes for some delicious gallo pinto (rice and beans), juicy fresh fruit, and a colorful array of food.

The last two days of the trip were spent at Playa Grande (big beach). The students took surf lessons while I soaked up the sun, did yoga, and walked the beach. It was quite fabulous! Now, back to the grind...