Long Beach, Calif. — As the days grew closer to my departure from Costa Rica, I began to dread leaving behind my Central American lifestyle that I had gotten to know so well. Although I have been back in California for a few weeks now, somehow I feel like I brought a part of Costa Rica back with me. I had grown accustomed to eating rice and black beans at almost every meal, along with bananas and pineapple that seemed to creep into almost everything. Slowly but surely, I also obtained a new appreciation for insects and their size, as well waking up every morning at 6 a.m. to a phone call from our Resident Advisor, José. But as I look back on my trip, it was these lifestyle changes that made me appreciate where I was. I was stepping out of my Orange County comfort zone and getting to experience another part of the world. The month I spent in Costa Rica studying and traveling is difficult for me to describe because, quite honestly, the experience was completely amazing.

The sheer beauty of Costa Rica is not easy to leave behind. I think our group was very fortunate to be able to travel to such diverse and intriguing areas within the country. Although we spent much of the time during the week in our two classes and exploring centrally located San Jose and Heredia, our weekends took us to places that put learning into a new perspective. From the sandy beaches of Punta Leona, to the Caribbean sea of Puerto Viejo, I was able to relax and see the ecotourism at work. The educational trips to INBio, Arenal Volcano and Guayabo were beautiful and fascinating places to have explored. We saw firsthand what our professors were talking about and were able to interact with our surrounding environment. I realized in a new way that this is the optimum learning experience.

The lecturers, leaders and fellow student participants made this trip very memorable for me. When I finally landed back at LAX, I was very sad to have left such a wonderful place behind. But what I realize now is that this experience confirmed that my fascination for meeting new people and interacting with other cultures cannot be contained within a comfortable classroom. Classrooms are one way to learn, but they really do not compare with firsthand experience. Irvine’s Travel Study program gave me the opportunity to briefly assimilate into this small and unique country, and more importantly, it allowed me to learn about myself, and for that I am grateful.

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Heredia, Costa Rica — Today our group traveled with our professor, Oscar Fonseca-Zamora, to the Pre-Colombian site of Guayabo. This area was at its peak inhabitance between 800 and1300 C.E. and was very complex in nature. The site was incredible because of the fact that so much of it was still intact. Roads and giant mounds still filled the site and a functioning hydraulic water system used by these ancient peoples was still diverting water from the river into what would have been their living areas. Although the site represents a specific level of Pre-Columbian development, the style is evidenced among many other sites in the same area. Guayabo is most distinct because it is the only nationally protected archeological site in Costa Rica.

The trip to this site brought closure to the archaeology that we have been studying in class. Through the last three weeks we learned about the continuous relationship that the people had with nature and the knowledge it took to adapt to the nature. Class time was not only devoted to reading and lectures but also visits to Costa Rican National Museum as well as the jade and gold museums. These museums contained artifacts from sites such as Guayabo and displayed the incredible advancements that these societies achieved in terms of their utilization of stone, jade and gold. Their skill can be seen in their burial techniques and art forms, as well as the indicators of their daily life. To see the Guayabo archaeological site put all of this knowledge in its physical context and this made the trip very worthwhile. In addition to hearing a specialist discuss this area, I was able to experience first hand how the indigenous peoples lived.

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Heredia, Costa Rica — One of the classes I have been taking while studying at the Universad Interamericana is Costa Rican Biodiversity and Conservation. Having been in the country for a little more than two weeks, I am learning a lot about Costa Rican culture by living in Heredia, a suburb of San Jose. Today I began to understand a lot of what the country is pushing for ecologically and in terms of trying to protect their beautiful environment. In 1948, when the Second Republic of Costa Rica was established, the army was abolished which meant more money for social endeavors such as public health, education and, most importantly, the preservation of the slowly diminishing rainforest. Costa Rica has become an experiment. As people achieved a higher standard of living, the country was able to commit more to preserving the environment. The country established many organizations that fostered the awareness of the rainforest throughout Costa Rica. INBio, a non-profit research facility, was founded as a way to educate the public about ways to preserve this environment. Our group studied at this research center. We took a tour of the entire facility today that included looking at its three different labs – fungi, plants and animals. In these labs biologists are documenting the more than three million species that inhabit the Central American rainforest. Through their detailed categorizing and filing strategies (bar codes identify not only the species but its location and date) the facility contains the largest collection of plant and animal species in Central America.

To fund this huge endeavor, INBio has recently opened up an educational park for younger students to learn about the rainforest. The park that is more than 5 acres includes examples of the three main forests of Costa Rica including representative the animals and insects. This park, the research facility, as well as my studies at INBio have opened my eyes to a world that I did not know. One-third of Costa Rican land is devoted to conservation of the rainforest, which shows this country’s commitment to ecological protection. But the fight to preserve these precious lands is a continuous struggle as deforestation and agricultural development persist. Costa Rica has definitely come to the realization that humans are unique because they essentially have the opportunity to shape their environment in a positive direction.

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Arenal, Costa Rica — You really can’t grasp the power and size of a volcano until you stand at the base of one. Arenal, which is 2-3 hours north of San Jose, is an active volcano that is constantly erupting and spitting ash. The area surrounding the volcano is lush and tropical because of the rich soil. But the volcano itself stands as a constant threat, cold and grey, hidden many times mysteriously beneath clouds.



On the second weekend on my travel study program we were fortunate to stay near the volcano. The first morning as we hiked around Arenal I learned that the volcano had erupted some 40 years ago and destroyed the small village of Puerto Nueblo. We walked to where this town used to stand and were suddenly struck by the natural force of such a mountain that could bury an entire town. After this devastation Costa Rica created the Arenal Project that constructed a dam that brought electrical power for the entire country. The dam also created a large lake that attracted tourists to the area as well. The area was full of such natural beauty it was hard to keep your eyes off of it. The surrounding jungle was amazing because the sheer amount of green showed the levels of life and biodiversity that inhabit areas like this.

Although I was rather hesitant, later in the day I decided to take a canopy tour near the volcano. This experience took me on 12 different zip lines, some up to 80 feet above the canopy of the rainforest, and allowed me to see the jungle from a completely different perspective (sometimes upside down!). I thought jumping off these platforms would probably kill me, but after the 10th jump, I realized that this could actually be fun (fortunately, the straps and caribeeners held). Today was an incredible experience and truly helped me to see the natural beauty of Costa Rica.

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San Jose, Costa Rica — We arrived in San Jose by bus and were dropped off in the city’s open market. The streets were very noisy and I definitely felt the sheer size of the city by the massive numbers of people that were out shopping and going to and from work. Our group first walked around the central plaza and the market where you could find just about anything from herbal remedies, to fresh fish, to my favorite caramel-filled churros. As our resident advisor José took our group of 24 around to the various monuments and sites including the U.S. embassy and the national church of Costa Rica, I was wondering how I would fit into a world that seemed so strange and new to me. Although the people were friendly, I felt like a tourist and that I stood out like a sore thumb. What I quickly realized was that this was my own self-consciousness and that the longer I was in the city the more I felt like I could fit in.

I was very impressed by San Jose because it was much more developed and metropolitan then I had anticipated. You could see significant influences from the Spanish who had colonized the area some five hundred years ago. One very beautiful site was the national opera house that was built in the late 1800’s. Covered completely in intricate gold leaf, you could see the power and wealth that the Spanish possessed as they colonized Costa Rica. This wealth came from coffee and banana exports that eventually became the economic starting point for the country. Costa Rica continues its export trade, but they have also found that people like me – students and tourists – would be more profitable for their economy and more beneficial for their environment.

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Irvine, Calif. — As an anthropology major at UCI, my classes encourage me to think outside the box and to understand cultures that are very different from my own. The numerous classes that I have taken on campus have encouraged me to study and interpret cultures from various theoretical positions. Professors have also encouraged me to integrate real-life experiences with theory, so I have decided to attend UCI’s travel-study program to Heredia, Costa Rica. I will be taking two classes in July at the Universidad Interamericana, located just north of the capital, San Jose. One course is a pre-history anthropological study of Costa Rica, the other a biology class focusing on conservation and ecology. These promise to be far more than classroom lectures and tests. Rather, they offer interactive experiences through weekend field trips to such places as the Arenal Volcano, the famous archaeological site Guayabo, and the Pacific coast in Punta Leona.

While looking at the calendar of planned events for my stay in Costa Rica, I have mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety. While I am eager to meet new people and to do so in a beautiful and scenic place, I also am anxious about the fact that I do not speak Spanish as well as l would like. I did take four years of high school Spanish but since that was three years ago, I am sure that I am a little rusty when it comes to conversation. I have been assured by the leaders of the program that my Spanish does not need to be spectacular because the classes are taught in English, but I am committed to trying out even my awkward Spanish when I have to talk to native speakers. This may prove to be a challenge.

Many of my friends have told me that their study time abroad was one of the best experiences of their college career. I want to take advantage of their recommendations and not miss out on my senior year at UCI. That is why this summer program was perfect for me. Not only will I take eight units for credit, but I also get to travel throughout one of the most culturally and biologically diverse nations in the world.

It is hard to envision how my experience will go this summer. I have talked with several of the other participants, and we share similar feelings of excitement and apprehension. I want to step out of my shell as an undergraduate and experience a culture that I have learned about only in textbooks. Hopefully, I will be able to bring back some memorable experiences along the way that will build on my knowledge as well as construct relationships with people from another culture.

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