I recently got back from the Coffee: From Bean to Cup study abroad in Costa Rica! I went a few days early, so I got to explore the beautiful Costa Rica for 9 days…I loved every minute of it! The main focus of the trip is to learn about coffee production; literally from bean to cup. We visited several coffee farmers (from small to large scale) and got to pick coffee cherries on the beautiful Costa Rican landscape. The views were absolutely incredible. Further more, we learned about the processing of the coffee cherry and then the roasting. It was a very educational experience, because I am such a coffee fiend. I think my friends and family are annoyed by all of the coffee facts I keep bringing up. 🙂
Now onto the not so “educational” parts, did I already say how BEAUTIFUL Costa Rica is??? If i could move there, I would. The rainforest, essentially where UGA Costa Rica is located was amazing. We even got to see a sloth! (I was really far too excited about it.) In addition to the beautiful views, the food was so amazing. On my first day there, I met some really cool locals and we went to a bread shop in Alajuela. I’m pretty sure I ate four pieces of bread (not too sure what it was, but it was really yummy.) I love traveling, simply because you have the opportunity to meet so many interesting people that can open your eyes to the way people around the world live. It really is so amazing! Okay, back to the food. Costa Rican cuisine consists of rice…and beans. Sounds boring, right? Well, it was actually so good! We had rice and beans and beautiful fresh fruit of some sort for every meal. I have to say that I miss it and I may go make some once I finish this blog post.
All in all, I had an incredible time during my stay in Costa Rica. I may even have a touch of wanderlust now that I am back in America. Traveling is a huge passion of mine and I’m not sure that I will be able to rest till I can backpack all of Europe…and maybe South America. Please, if you have the opportunity to study abroad DO IT. It doesn’t really matter to where or how long…just go somewhere and learn as much as you can while you are young. At least that’s what I plan on doing! Pura Vida!