That’s pretty much all the Spanish I know. And, here’s another confession. I wrote some notes about my pre-departure thoughts for this blog. Having already been on one fantastic CAES study abroad trip to Costa Rica, I had good intentions of posting an inspirational blog to allay the fears of other students considering studying abroad. However, now that it’s time to expound on my preparation for this trip, I can’t find those notes. I think they were in with some stuff I discarded to make room for extra bags of coffee in my suitcase. Honestly, the coffee is better than the notes, so that’s not a bad thing. But, I do want to encourage other students to study abroad, because my study abroad trips have been amazing, so I will share some of my pre-trip thoughts and packing tips with that goal in mind.

I’ll start with the packing tips. First and foremost, don’t do what I did, which is put off packing until the last minute. It’s not that I’m lazy or that I procrastinate. There was just too much going on spring semester for me to focus on my Maymester trip. So, there I was at the last minute, running around trying to get all my things together. I went to several stores looking for light-weight hiking pants and, having no success, I decided I didn’t really need them. Luckily, my mom found a pair for me, so I tucked them into my suitcase on the way to the airport. I pretty much wore them every day in Costa Rica! You need something that is light-weight because it’s hot there, and you need a fabric that dries quickly. These pants were ideal, which is why you see them in all my pictures from the trip. My advice to future Costa Rica travelers is this: leave the jeans at home and pack a few pairs of light-weight hiking pants. And, don’t wait to buy them on the day before your trip.

As I was running all around trying to get ready for my trip, a few thoughts kept going through my head. My first thought was excitement, as I had already been to Costa Rica on a service-learning trip, so I knew it was going to be fun. But, I also had concerns that somehow this trip might not be as fun as the last trip, or that I might not make friends in the new group like I did in the previous group. Now, looking back, I realize that those fears were unfounded. My three week Maymester adventure in Costa Rica was every bit as great as my previous trip to Costa Rica, and even better because it was longer so we got to see and do more stuff. I think we all probably have some fears about going to new places with people we don’t really know, but the experience is so worth overcoming those fears. In fact, I am hoping to figure out a way to get back to Costa Rica again! And, to anyone else who is thinking about participating in a CAES trip to Costa Rica – do it!