An Oversold Flight = More Paradise!

We arrived at the open-air Liberia airport three hours before our 1 p.m. take-off. With 21 passports in hand I immediately got in the short line (which would soon grow to be the LONG line) to pay the departure tax for our group ($26/per person). After filling out the customs forms we all made our way to the line for the Delta check-in. Amidst the sounds of Spanish and English language and gusty wind, an announcement was made over the PA system, "Delta Flight to Atlanta is oversold and we are now asking for volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a travel voucher and hotel stay." (Not verbatim...but something like that.) Charlie and I looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking, "Heck yeah!" When we arrived at the check-in desk a smiley dude asked us, "Are you interested in volunteering your seat for a $600 travel voucher?" Say no more! We are your peeps! He then went on to tell us about the five-star all-inclusive beach resort that we would be staying in for FREE. At this point, I am loving Delta. We still have to proceed through customs, check bags, and wait in the gate area, just in case they do not need our seats. When we arrive at the gate we find out that one of our students was not assigned a seat, so we talk to the gate agents and let them know that one of our seats should be given to our student. Ah, we have done a good deed...we have sacrificed our seats for our student (and the trumpets sound). They call our names about 25 minutes before the flight takes off and confirms that we will not be going home today (tear). We say goodbye to the Motley crew of students and load up in a taxi headed back to the beach.

The Hilton Papagayo all-inclusive beach resort nestled on the coastline of the Pacific Ocean is ridiculous! Seriously. Now, this is where Ugly Americanism and ethnocentrism rears its head. The default language is English (in a Spanish speaking country). The name of the game is pure gluttony (all you can eat and drink). The beach is smaller than the length of a football field (forget going for a long walk on the beach). There are no sidewalks only shuttle buses that move you from the pool to your room to the restaurant of choice (no exercise). There are six restaurants, one of which is a buffet open 24 hours/day. With all of this luxury and convenience you would think that we were back in in the U.S. Now, even with all of our critiques (and lengthy conversations) about this sad sort of development in a culturally-rich country lush with biodiversity, we fully enjoyed our 19-hour stay at the resort (hypocrisy at its finest). It was a great way to un-wind and relax from a busy week of adventure and prepare ourselves for reality. But, I gotta tell you, if we would have stayed there longer than one day I would have gone a little crazy. There was no sign of the Costa Rican culture except for gallo pinto (rice and beans) in the breakfast buffet and this is called international travel? I guess the biggest thing that we grappled with is the dichotomous nature of this luxurious and non-cultural sort of vacation versus the type of vacation/experience where you are immersed in the culture and speaking the language. I prefer the latter (shocker, I know!)

Costa Rica: La Playa Samara

The last two days were spent on the beach at Villas Playa Samara. You would think with all of the adventure in the cloud forest the beach would be our time for rest and relaxation. Nope...most of the time was spent learning to surf, horse-back riding, kayaking, and swimming. Unfortunately, I got the icky stomach bug and had to sit out the excitement of surfing and getting stung by jelly-fish (yes, those dudes were biting). So, my time at the beach was relaxing (because it had to be). Nonetheless, I was able to enjoy the full-moon beach bonfire that our fabulous bus-driver, Johnny, initiated, the incredible sunsets (see photos) and take some great surfing shots. As is the case in many of my travels, I also had the joy of experiencing the farmacia and trying to explain in Spanish my condition. All I really had to say was diarrhea and he immediately handed me the Imodium and some sort of elixir. I have learned that international pharmacists know best, thus I did not even ask questions before slipping him the colones (Costa Rican currency), swallowing the little white pill, and washing it down with the luke warm, orange-flavored elixir.

After a short two days at the beach, it was time to bid farewell to paradise. Pura vida!

Costa Rica: Off Campus Adventure

Day four we hopped on a bus and headed into the Monteverde cloud forest reserve for some quetzal viewing (the incredible cloud-forest bird) and then went zip-lining on the Sky Trek. Zip-lining never gets old...this is my third time doing it and once again it was fantastic. But, I gotta say I would choose to do it in no other place than the green, lush, and sometimes wet Costa Rican cloud forest. The vistas are brilliant.

Costa Rica: On Campus Adventure

The thing I love about this spring break program is the coupling of both educational and adventurous activities in one tightly packed weekly schedule. There are a few rest breaks, but for the most part it is an intense learning experience while at the serene UGA Costa Rica campus (seven days) and then the last two days of the trip is spent on the beach. While on campus we went on night hikes (saw a tarantula), hiked to a waterfall (while learning all about the flora and fauna), walked to a local coffee farm, toured around, and drank coffee (saw a sloth hanging out in a tree), learned about the medicinal uses of the various flora and fauna, helped with the reforestation project in Costa Rica, in the outdoor classroom attended classes named "plant-o-rama" and "insect-o-rama" (where we attempted to catch butterflies and many of our students got ticks), walked to a locals house for a cooking class (where I stepped into an ant highway and OUCH!), learned to dance cumbia and merengue, tried to milk a diary cow (as the dudette took a BIG dump), and the students even went on a one-night home-stay with local families. So, yes...our week on campus was extremely busy and incredibly educational, not to mention F-U-N. Charlie and I really enjoyed the group of students as they were actually engaged, curious, and on-time, which made our job much easier.

Costa Rica: Sustainability & Authenticity

The 155 acre UGA Costa Rica campus that sits in the premontane humid forest is incredible! This is the second time I have visited the campus and I am so impressed with the sustainability efforts on campus and the genuine connection with the local San Luis community. Every student that visits the campus on a study abroad program also pays into the carbon-offset program, wherein campus staff plant four trees per student. As a visitor to campus, not only do we get to partake in all of the nature-related activities, but we are also well fed with the local organic cuisine (lots of rice, bean, fruits, and veggies). The campus includes 47 acres of small-scale sustainable agriculture...organic farms and farm animals, for example "Pinto" one of the dairy cows. The amazing thing is that the local staff really takes pride in the sustainability efforts, everything from developing the composting system to the security guards suggesting ways to save energy by efficient lighting on campus. We heard many stories about how the local staff have taught and shared their sustainable ways to make the campus even more sustainable. In addition, many of the activities offered (coffee farm, medicial plants, cooking class, etc.) are hosted in local homes and presented by the local community, but in a very authentic way. And, this is something that I am very critical of these days, as I think too many "cultural" tours are developed in an inauthentic way with only entertainment in mind (what will entertain those stupid Americans?) The Costa Rican culture is still in tact and you can tell that they simply want to share their way of life...not put on a show for the tourists.

It is evident that the UGA campus in Costa Rica belongs to the local people of San Luis, as much as it belongs to UGA.

Another Spring Break in Costa Rica

Another spring break in Costa Rica! Back in 2008 when I was recruited to the UGA PhD program Professor Toma offered me the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for the Franklin Residential Hall spring break study abroad program to Costa Rica...an offer that eventually became reality. In 2009, I accompanied a group of students and the Toma family on the Costa Rica program. In 2010, not enough students signed up for the program to rationalize my attendance, so I went skiing in Colorado instead. This year I found myself taking more of a lead role in the program, as Professor Toma battles a terminal illness. Without Professor Toma at the reigns I had to convince (or just simply ask) a different faculty member to teach the course. Luckily, the Director of the UGA Costa Rica Campus, Quint Newcomer, stepped up as the faculty of record. With a great professor in place we recruited 19 undergrad students and began meeting regularly in January to teach students about the ecology and culture of Costa Rica before the trip to Costa Rica March 12-20.

The flight to Costa Rica was oversold with many spring breakers which meant that Charlie and I had to arrive a day earlier than the students...oh darn . Actually, it was very nice for just the two of us to travel to Costa Rica to ready ourselves for a week of herding cats (or undergrads). We stayed at the airport Hilton and began our Costa Rica adventure with warm tortilla chips, pico gallo, guacamole, and Imperial beer poolside.

The next day the craziness began...all of the students arrived and we loaded up on a mini-bus for a 4 hour bus trip to the beautiful and amazing UGA Costa Rica campus.

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...