I have been very blessed in my life to visit several countries with my family and UGA study abroad programs. I have fallen in love with traveling and experiencing other cultures so the decision to go on the Costa Rica Avian Biology Trip was a no-brainer for me. This is a more physically intense and a much longer trip than the other trips I have been on in the past. However, through mental preparation and my flexible personality, I was not super worried about the length or the physical aspects of the trip. Before coming to Costa Rica, I had heard some scary stories about the awful humidity and the ever annoying bugs. These stories made me nervous but gave me a push to start preparing. Another huge aspect of being ready for this trip was packing smartly.It was very important to follow the packing list as most items come in handy while traveling to different areas of Costa Rica.
When I wrote this post, it had only been a couple days into our study abroad trip to Costa Rica. In that short amount of time, I had been able to adjust well to the climate, the food, and the intensity of the physical aspects of the trip. At this point, we had only been to two locations but we had already had so many great experiences. We have been on several hikes so far to see birds that many people will never get the chance to see in their birding careers as well as having a boat tour and riding horses through the lowlands of La Ensenada. Another important aspect of this trip has been the friendships that are being made. Not many of us really knew each other before the start of this trip. However, through the many adventures, we have had so far from hiking in rainstorms to dealing with the humidity, our friendships are starting to grow. I feel that these friendships will have a big impact on our lives in both school but also in our future careers.
I can’t wait to see what else I will experience while here in Costa Rica. 🇨🇷
