Ross Blackwell: Spain

Madrid – Orientation

After being awake for over 36 hours, one would think that lack of sleep would take away from an experience.  However, despite my incredible sleep deprivation, I still managed to have an amazing first day in Madrid!

At the Eurocup 2012 finals!

Once we arrived, we quickly dove into the Spanish culture, eating at local restaurants and asking the friendly people for help and directions on scavenger hunts.  Because my program was not only focused on the Spanish language, but also Spanish art, during the orientation we got our first look at the magnificent Spanish museums.  We went to the Prado and the Reina Sofia, both very famous with works from Picasso, Dali, Velázquez, and Goya.  However, the highlight of this section of the trip was being able to watch the Eurocup 2012 finals between Spain and Italy at the Real Madrid stadium on two huge big screen TVs with thousands of other screaming Spanish fans.  The orientation was a great bonding experience for our group and an awesome introduction to the Spanish language and culture.

Logroño – Homestay

My new family!

            We arrived in Logroño, a small town in Northern Spain about the size of Nashville, and were met by our host sibling.  It seemed strange at first being with a foreign family who I knew nothing about, but by the end of the 16 days, they truly had become my second family.  My host brother, Marco, and I spent many hours playing soccer with his friends, watching Spanish TV, playing videogames, and just talking about how different our two countries are.  My favorite memory was waking up early one morning and cooking Southern biscuits with jam, a completely foreign concept to them.  Sharing this food with them while jamming to country music was an amazing multicultural experience for me.  I can’t believe the kind of bond I developed in just two short weeks, but it was an experience that I will never forget. 

            Not only did I become close to my family, but also with the other host sibling in my group.  It was most interesting for me to see what Spanish kids our age did in their free time.  As a group we went on excursions to Bilbao, a bodega (winery), the beach, and many more places.  On Friday and Saturday nights we experienced the Spanish nightlife with our host siblings as well.  In this section of the trip I was really able to use the Spanish I had learned as well as teach some English. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip, but after 16 days and a sad goodbye, we were off to Barcelona!

An oil pastel work of a pueblo

Barcelona and Girona 

A view of the river in Girona

While in Barcelona, we stayed in an apartment in the city just a few blocks away from Las Ramblas, a street famous for its shopping.  While we were here, we saw a couple of art museums, a museum of food, and even an apartment building designed by Gaudi.  We also took some time to just explore the beautiful city and see some of the monuments and parks.  My favorite part of this city, however, was the Familia Sagrada, an incredible church that was designed by Gaudi over a hundred years ago and is still in progress.  In Barcelona, not only do they speak Spanish, but also Catalan.  This added to the difficulty of communicating, but I also picked up on a few words in Catalan.  But after it seemed we had just settled into the city, we got on a train and headed to our next destination, Girona.

            Girona is a much smaller town in Northern Spain.  It is divided by a river that runs right through the middle of the city and is also famous for its giant cathedral.  One afternoon, we hiked up to the wall that surrounded the city and were greeted by an incredible view of the entire city at sunset.  We spent most of our time here playing soccer in the park, exploring the city, and eating delicious food. 

Cadaqués

A hilltop view of Cadaqués

About to devour a delicious Paella 

            As we rolled over the last hill in the bus, I caught a glimpse of what I can only describe as paradise.  Cadaqués, a small beach town located right near the border with France, was too good to be true.  We filled our days lounging on the rocks, hunting and eating raw urchins, and drawing the beautiful scenery.  Cadaqués is significant in the art world because the renowned artist, Salvador Dali, lived there.  One day, we took a side trip to Dali’s house, a bizarre arrangement of furniture, stuffed animals, and his own artwork.  After spending a week in this incredible location, it was depressing to have to return to normal life, but unfortunately, the trip had to come to an end eventually. 

Thanks to the Wilson Family

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

I can’t thank you enough for the grant to go on this trip.  It was a truly incredible experience that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.  I made lifelong friends and I feel like I brought a little bit of the Spanish culture back to the US with me.  

A view of Toledo from our hotel

Kalyan Chadalavada: China

Kalyan Chadalavada: Wilson Language Grant China Trip

            “I’m kinda nervous,” my host-brother said as he picked me up from the Guilin Middle School. “I have never spoken to a black kid before.” Surprised I slowly replied, “I’m actually Indian…” That was all he said to me for the rest of the day. As soon as I had my first interaction with my host-brother, I knew I was in for an experience I would never forget.

For the week prior to that moment, I had just been a tourist in this foreign nation. In that short week, I saw the most beautiful things I had ever seen. In Beijing, the most fascinating sights were the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Tiananmen Square, but my most favorite was the Olympic Bird’s Nest. I was amazed at the size of the stadium since my only view of the stadium was on television during the 2008 Olympic Games. Not only was the stadium gigantic, but also its structure surprised me the most. I still cannot understand how the Chinese were able to construct such a massive structure with the curves on top and single beams to make it seem like an actual bird’s nest.

 In the next city I traveled to, Xian, I explored the Terra Cotta Warriors and the not as well known Muslim Quarter. It was surprising to see a section of the city dedicated to just one ethnicity. To find an area of the city full of another culture in an otherwise uniform country was astounding.

After my host brother and I got over our awkwardness, I got a chance to delve into the culture of the Chinese people. As soon as we arrived at my host-brother’s house, he introduced me to his mother and father, and they welcomed me to their family. As the week went on, I learned much about Chinese urban living, from their food and culture to social interactions. I was offered some of the craziest foods such as dog and fried cockroaches. Also, I was able to interact with other Chinese kids my age and learn about their daily lives. They even had a floor in the apartment house dedicated just to video games.

While I learned a lot about China in my urban home-stay, I felt as I had learned the most in the rural home-stay in Longsheng county. This week was very challenging for me, but I felt as if I had grown as an individual. Everything from the bathroom to the cooking style was different than what I was accustomed to in an urban setting. The toilet was only a hole in the ground to which I had to push a pig out of the way to get to. During this week, I really feel like my knowledge of the Chinese culture, from my ability to speak the language to learning how to play the traditional Chinese game of mahjong, was greatly developed.

In the final week, I transitioned back to being a tourist in Yangshuo and Shanghai. Yangshuo was much more different than any city I visited on the trip from the types of food to the ethnicity of the people we saw there. Along with all the Chinese restaurants, surprisingly I saw foods from around the country such as Italy and India. Finally, Shanghai proved to be just like any big American city. Throughout this month, my Chinese language skills has strengthened in both new vocabulary and being able to carry a conversation with the locals. Without this first-hand experience, I would have never been able to learn the reality about the lives of the Chinese people both in the city and rural villages. I would like to thank Mrs. Zhang for providing me with the knowledge of the language to help me through the month.

 Of course, this trip would have never been possible with the opportunity given to me by the Wilson family. I really appreciate you financing and choosing me to go on this amazing trip. This was a one of a kind experience that I will never forget. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Will McFadden: Spain

Spain 2012: Will McFadden

    After a three hour delay for plane mechanical issues, we were on our way to Spain. Eight hours later, running purely on airplane food and snacks, we walked through the Madrid airport to meet our guide. Over the next few days, we explored Madrid’s plazas (mainly the Plaza de Sol and the Plaza Mayor), palaces, and art museums. Seeing Goya’s and Dali’s paintings in real life was a memorable experience.

After Madrid, my group and I travelled by bus to Toledo, a cleaner but older-looking city. We passed a breathtaking view before we even got to our hotel. The main attraction in Toledo was a huge, ornate cathedral in the middle of the city. High ceilings, numerous murals, and a garden provided an excellent opportunity for a lot of picture taking. On the last night in the city, we explored a prison that was used during the Spanish Inquisition.

 

A week had passed in Spain, and it was already time for the homestay. Immediately after getting off the train in Jerez de la Frontera, we were greeted by our families who picked us out from the crowd based on our pictures. My host family was really nice, and I talked the whole way home to them, sharing about my life in the US. My host brother, a physical education teacher, and I ran to a gym, worked out, and ran back one day. The Spanish heat was sure to help condition me for cross country season. Almost every day, my group had an excursion to a different place to learn about a different city or culture. Some of these excursions included tours of Jerez de la Frontera, Arcos de la Frontera, and Cadiz. One day we made a native Spanish dish called gazpacho, basically a thick, cold tomato soup. Two of our excursions were visiting the beach and the local community pool. During both of these activities, the siblings of our group’s host families came along, allowing me to get to know more Spanish people that were my age. Because I had to speak and hear only Spanish during the homestay, my language skills definitely improved.

After the homestay, we took a train to Zaragoza where we did our community service project. For our project, we worked with the Red Cross (Cruz Roja in Spanish) camp for children whose families were from all over the world. My group helped out leading the children in activities such as going to the pool, seeing a movie in the theater, watching a play, and a whole lot of futbol (soccer). This part of the trip was particularly rewarding because we formed personal relationships with all of the children.

The final (and definitely coolest) stop of my Spain journey was Barcelona. After again taking the train, we went to where we would live for the last three days. Unlike the other cities in which we had hotels or hostals, in Barcelona, all the guys and all the girls had two apartments to themselves. I liked these living quarters the best of any on the trip. These last days in Spain were spent walking through Las Ramblas (busy shopping place), admiring the architecture of Antoni Gaudi (including the most beautiful cathedral I had seen on the whole trip called the Sagrada Familia), checking out an aquarium, and even seeing Lebron James walking out of a Foot Locker store before the United States vs. Spain basketball game.

Sagrada familia main sanctuary

Barcelona's aquarium

Jack Bond: Ecuador

Jack Bond: Ecuador    

I woke up at 3 a.m on July 25^th and flew to the Miami International Airport to meet 24 other strangers who were in the exact same position as myself, maybe with a little bit more rest. My flight in Miami landed around 8:30 and I was challenged with my first difficult task of the trip, which was to find my group in the 8^th largest airport in the United States. After crossing the airport to find my leader along with some airport food breakfast, we endured an 8-hour layover before our connecting flight to Quito. We played games in the airport, attracting attention from the entire terminal as we made fools of ourselves by having dance-offs while we waited for the plane to board. We arrived to Quito that night, where we spent the next 5 days taking Spanish placement exams, exploring the city, and taking Spanish classes at the EIL headquarters. We visited Parque de Carolina, Panecillo, a statue that overlooks the entire city of Quito

and multiple indigenous fruit and meat markets, where entire pigs were roasting in front of the customers. Afterwards, we took a bus to Riobamba where we spent a few days with our home-stay family, who we would be with for the next four weeks. After half a week with our family, we hiked up Mount Chimborazo, the sixth largest volcano in the world.

Once we reached the summit, we mountain biked down through dirt roads and rocky hills that overlooked Ecuador’s natural beauty. When we got back to Riobamba, we spent three consecutive days painting the outside walls of an orphanage with Disney characters and played with the kids for most of the day. The next week, we visited the equator museum where we learned about the indigenous people of Ecuador and their cultural lifestyle.

Later, we also took a trip to Nariz del Diablo, where we took a train through the mountains and valleys of Alausi, the Ecuadorian city where Nariz del Diablo is located. We visited more indigenous markets and interacted with the natives before returning to Riobamba. We soon took a bus through the mountains of Ecuador to Quito where we flew to the Galapagos Islands

 and stayed in a hotel on one of the islands for a night and visited a fish market,

 visited the beach, and went to a discoteca with our leader. The next day, we packed up and moved to the boat, where we spent the next five days, visiting each island to see Galapagos turtles, Iguanas, and different animals unique to the Galapagos.

After the Galapagos, we took a plane to the Amazon jungle, where we stayed in a lodge on the Napo River in the Eastern border-line of Ecuador. In our last few days in Ecuador, we drove to Baños, a city full of extreme sports and beautiful waterfalls. We rode across a valley in a gondola across a waterfall and hiked a mountain in our one full day there and flew back for our last few days with our homestay. We enjoyed a group dinner with all of the homestay families and sang karaoke and spent one last night on the town in Riobamba before flying back to the United States. 

Overall, the trip gave me not only a better knowledge of the Spanish language, but also taught me more than I could ever imagine about South American culture and lifestyle. I will forever remember Ecuador and all that I was able to do in my 40 days there. I would like to personally thank the Wilson family for their generous support of my trip.

Jackson Flora: Spain

Madrid/Toledo (Midlands)

Flying into Madrid on the first day, it immediately met and surpassed expectations. Having finally made it seven hours, I was ready to go back to the hotel and take a nap and wait until the next day to hit the streets of Madrid. That was only a dream. We literally dropped our bags off at the hotel and went straight into the city. As tired and jetlagged as I was, seeing this extravagant city turned all of my expectations into reality. We scurried through the streets all day until about 10:30 local time when we were treated with our first Spanish dinner. We ate for such a long time and when we left the restaurant, stomachs full with fresh "paella" (a traditional Spanish dish featuring rice and seafood), we were struck with the sounds of a huge concert in the Plaza del Sol. First reaction: when do these Spaniards sleep? After staying awhile at the concert, listening to random Spanish songs, we headed back to the hotel. Day 1 complete... and this was only "orientation". Madrid continued to meet expectations all weekend. The stay in Madrid was highlighted by a trip to the Prado. This museum is arguably the most famous and most renowned museum in the world, behind the Louvre in Paris. You name it, it was in the Prado.

After Madrid, we headed to a small, quaint pueblo called Toledo. Toledo struck me immediately as beautiful. From across the river, I was already impressed with the style of the buildings and the layout of the city. The whole environment changed in Toledo. The tourist attraction in Toledo is a large cathedral which dates back to the 1200’s. We spent most of our time getting to know our group members going to picnics and getting henna tattoos.

Homestay in Jerez de la Frontera (South)

Traveling 4 hours via train to my homestay, I was sweating. My Spanish was decent and I was pretty comfortable with the language but I had NO idea what to expect. I decided to go into this part of the trip open-minded and see how it turned out. I met my host-family at their house with balloons in the archway to their large, urban house. I had 4 host siblings: Andres (21), Jose (19), Rosa (17), and Beltran (13). When I got there we ate a late lunch and then the took me out of the house. If there was one thing I learned in my homestay, it was that the Spaniards drive ridiculously out of control. Their streets are so narrow and they drive so fast. Meanwhile, the car conversation was hard to keep up with in part because my Spanish was not up to par with theirs but also because their questioning was excessive. The first night my host brother and I were forced to prepare a traditional Spanish dinner: “Tortilla Espanola”. Jose made his and I watched and then he made me make mine. Let’s just say they didn’t ask me to prepare another meal. During the ten days I stayed with my host-family, we visited two beaches at El Puerto de Santa Maria and La Playa de San Fernando. The latter was located right outside of a military base and was extremely crowded but very beautiful. The greatest thing about the home-stay was their custom of siesta. Although I was only treated with this luxury in my home-stay, I enjoyed every minute of these afternoon naps. All in all, I was extremely grateful for the care and love that my host family gave me.

Pamplona/Bilbao (North)

The final portion of our trip consisted of a community service oriented stay in Pamplona and a small visit to Bilbao. Although we missed the festivals of San Fermin (Running with the Bulls) by one day, Pamplona was still my favorite city. We worked at the Red Cross with the little kids. We essentially were camp counselors and had to teach the occasional English class. My class was full of five-year-olds and it was quite the challenge communicating with them because they did not speak with correct grammar and sentence structure. We played a lot of soccer at the park with the kids and were the source of entertainment for the week. After "work", we would see the sights in Pamplona which included all the sights that accompany the festival of San Fermin. For the city of Pamplona, the Running with the Bulls is the only reason anyone would travel to Pamplona. When we got there the day after it ended, it seemed as if the city was evacuating.

Following our visit in Pamplona, we traveled to Bilbao. In Bilbao our tour guide took us to many of the museums which highlight the city. My favorite part of Bilbao was visiting the Guggenheim museum which is one of five in the whole world. We took a day trip up to the Mediterranean coast and hiked up to a church out on a little peninsula which was arguably the most beautiful sight I saw the whole trip.

This whole experience was the trip of a lifetime. The friends I made, places I saw, and things I learned all make this "experiment in international living" unforgettable. I am truly grateful for receiving this opportunity and it could not have been possible without the Wilson family and their generous donations. I wish I could thank personally everyone that impacted me on this trip and I highly recommend everyone to enhance their Spanish by traveling abroad.

Sincerely,

Jackson Flora

Miles Curry: China

Beijing

When I first sat down on the flight from LAX to Beijing, I was enthusiastic and anxious. I was a thirteen hour flight from a life changing adventure on the other side of the world. After arriving in the Beijing airport, I was thrilled despite being so tired. Beijing was a great first city to see. We were becoming acclimated to the culture. It was the start of an unforgettable experience.

Luoyang

After visiting our first city, Beijing, we traveled to Luoyang. We had many fun experiences in Luoyang. However, the best experience was when we created our own version “Amazing Race”, where we were given clues and sent around the city. This competition forced us to interact with locals, forcing us to speak Chinese and to find various buildings covered in Chinese! We took a couple buses and walked a few blocks, constantly asking people if we were headed the right way. Our final destination point, was McDonalds, which was very interesting to see.

Day Train to Xi’an

After Louyang, we traveled by a day train to Xi’an, where we saw the Terra Cotta warriors. However, due to the fact that we were on the train for an extended period, we had time to make Chinese friends. I happened to be sitting beside Zhu Jian, a college student that was returning home from college. We communicated in both Chinese and English. We played card games, games on the ipad, and more. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip, for I had spent multiple hours conversing with someone in Chinese. When we the ride was finally over, I gave him my email. A couple weeks later, he sent me an email. I had made a Chinese friend.

Urban Homestay (Guiyang)

Following the stay at Xi’an, informally known as the capital of Western China, we flew down to the Southern city of Guiyang to begin our urban homestay, where we each stayed with Chinese family 5 or 6 days. After performing in front of 2,000 people at a school graduation, each of the members of our group met our host brother or sister. My host brother’s English name was Bill. He was a great guy. I was able to get to know Bill very well as the trip continued since our host siblings traveled with us for the rest of the trip. Bill was a very smart guy, and his English was great. His father owns his own company with his friends and is a very busy man. Being a stay at home mom, Bill’s mother was around a lot more and took great care of me. I thoroughly enjoyed the urban homestay because Bill and his family showed me around Guiyang and I was exposed to the Chinese culture to another level.

Rural Homestay

With our host siblings on board with us, we drove across to begin our rural homestay. This portion of the trip was very different from what we had seen. Similar to the urban homestay, each member of our group, along with their host sibling, stayed with different families in the rural village. The village we stayed in belong to a minority ethnic group in China called the Miao people. However, there are multiple subgroups of the Miao people. The specific Miao village that we lived in for four days was the Long Skirt Miao village. Our stay here was truly eye opening. Living in such a rural setting where the primary occupation is a farmer and electricity and water are scarce is was difficult. But, it will be an experience that I will always value. The view from my family’s house was spectacular. Furthermore, they took me up to their crops on the side of a mountain, where it was very dangerous. While I was struggling to stay on the foot wide path trying not to plummet 200 feet into a rice patty, my family grandfather was strolling along the mountain side as though it was a walk in the park. I had realized how tough their life really was. Despite being unable to communicate with them since they speak a local language, we grew an appreciation for each other. By the end of the four days, my group and I were ready to leave, but it was a four days that we will all look back on with great memories.

Chinese Food

The food was, without a doubt, a big part of our overall experience. When the Chinese plane food was served to us on the flight from LAX to Beijing, I thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into?!” But, as the trip progressed, I began to really enjoy the genuine Chinese food that was served to us. As you may imagine, we tried many exotic foods. White rice was served with every meal. With the rice, the restaurant or family would continue to bring out plates and bowls of food that we would eat with the rice. Personally, I believe that the homemade Chinese food was better than restaurant food. So, the food I was served in the Miao village and in Giuyang was delicious! Once we discovered what food we liked and disliked, the meals became very enjoyable.

Shanghai

Finally, after visiting city of Guilin and the scenic Yangshuo, Shanghai was our final stop before the second thirteen hour flight back to the states. Shanghai is the most modern city I have ever seen. It was a beautiful, modern city with many different types of buildings. Even the hotel that we stayed in was quite modern. It was a great way to end the trip with a bang.

My Group

Traveling throughout China was a wonderful journey. The bond that my group established was something the added to the truly fantastic trip. Even after the first day, we all had the chance get to know each other pretty well. As the trip went on, we grew closer and closer. The final goodbye in LAX was sad, but we are all staying in contact. I will never forget the great memories that we had together.

Thank You, Wilson Family!

I would like to thank the Wilson family for making this trip possible. This trip has changed my overall perspective on the world. I will cherish the knowledge I have gained and memories I have made. Thank you.

Davis Lovvorn: Costa Rica

    For the Wilson Language Grant over the summer, I went to Costa Rica for a month. I can say that my perspective on life has changed, and I am ever more thankful of my life here in the United States. I had an incredible group, met lifelong friends, and will certainly stay in touch with them.
    The first two days of the trip, we traveled to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, where I was hit with complete culture shock. On the first day, we were treated to our first Costa Rican meal: cheese plantains, guanabana juice, tamales, and other foods that were incredible. When we went shopping in the central plaza, we used our Spanish skills to buy various items like hombre grande, a medicinal, horrible-smelling herb. My worst experience occurred when a suspicious man tried to give me a Dragonball-Z card, and when I took it, he got mad at me and expected me to pay for it. The next day, we went to inBio park, a zoo-like place where we saw all the various wildlife in Costa Rica, including caimans, birds, sloths, and whitetail deer. Finally, we visited a volcano just outside the city with an incredible view. The picture just does not do it justice.

The next day, we ventured to Corcovado National Park for three days. On the drive, we stopped by a bridge full of crocodiles. Some were as big as 16 feet long! Max, our guide, told us that the locals fed the crocodiles there for tourism.

We then took a two-hour, very bumpy boat ride to get to the Campanario Biological Reserve Station. Unfortunately for us, the cabins had no lights or electricity, and in our cabin, the water stopped working and was out for the rest of our stay. We also had to wear these uncomfortable boots everywhere because there had been a number of venomous snake sightings lately. Although I was quite unnerved and quite uncomfortable, we were totally fine. Every day we hiked through the beautiful, lush rainforest and saw incredible wildlife like howler monkeys, sloths, a snake eating a lizard, and Jesus Christ lizards (because they can walk on water). One day, we even went swimming in a waterfall. In the afternoons, because of the sweltering heat and lack of a fan, we were allowed to swim in the ocean and play soccer on the beach. Although it was a rough adventure, I had a great time in Campanario and learned much about the wildlife and conservation efforts there.

Following Campanario, we traveled to Finca Kobo, a chocolate farm that uses sustainable agriculture, allowing the wildlife and the agriculture to work in harmony. The first day, the group challenged some local kids to a soccer game (they were way better than we were). Also, I finally was able to catch up on my running. We received a tour of the facility and learned about the chocolate process, and we got to try various fruits, including starfruit, my personal favorite. On the last day, we went kayaking in a mangrove swamp. It was quite narrow, physically taxing, and a bit scary since crocodiles were rumored to inhabit the area, yet fun. The nights were spent in the hammocks, playing cards and catching up on summer reading. In the photo is a cacao fruit. It actually tasted pretty good.

After a carsick drive (I don’t want to talk about that), our group arrived at the mountainous town of Santa Maria de Dota, a coffee-producing city that is going to be the first carbon neutral county in the world. We stayed for two weeks. The Navarro family immediately greeted me, with mom Marge, son Mario (age 13), daughter Valentina (age 5), aunt Karla cousin Josue (age 5), aunt Lamancha, cousin Yuri, and aunt Pam. They are a loud, fun-loving, and boy crazy family, as they seemed to flirt with every boy in our group. The first night, we went shopping for plantains only because I said that I liked them. As I would find out, they loved to cook and feed me. At the table, after I would have many servings, they would keep piling my plate with rice, beans, chicken, and all the food they had. Marge would say, “Mas comida (more food), Davis? You finish. No problem!” And I would happily oblige. Also living in my house for a few days was an American named Wayne (I have no idea how he knew the Navarros) who spoke only English and no Spanish whatsoever. The Navarros ate together every night, whether it was at Karla’s house or my house. One night, our family went to the movies to see Spider-Man where I met Marge’s boyfriend, Ricardo. Pam, Marge, Mario, Lamancha, Yuri, and I even went to a karaoke night at a restaurant one night. I developed an awesome relationship with Mario. He always made sure I was happy, and we passed the time playing soccer and watching USA basketball in Spanish.

Mario, Valentina, and Marge in their Preds shirts!

Our group’s community service project involved building a nature trail and education center for schoolchildren. My job was to shovel dirt, dig ditches, shovel rocks, and do just about every strongman job there was. The most rewarding part was to see it go from a shabby place to a pretty nice center. It was very rewarding.

During the group stay, we did many activities. Every day, we played soccer at a gymnasium by the plaza. We also visited a coffee shop and took a tour of the coffee factory there. 

Perhaps the funniest thing that happened there occurred when I was running. When I would run past the central plaza, the ladies who cleaned the park developed an attachment to me. One particularly large woman always chased me with her broom and said, in broken English, “Oh my God!” and “Take your shirt off!” I was flattered, yet scared, so I ran very fast past the plaza. When it was time to leave, it was a very emotional goodbye, and Marge reminded me that I always had a second mother in Costa Rica. Here is a nice view of Santa Maria.

After the homestay, we left for Pacuare Beach to participate in the WIDECAST sea turtle project, where food, electricity, and relief from the heat were scarce. The first night, from 12 to 2 at night we patrolled the beach for turtles and poachers. The second night, we did it a little earlier. Between the two nights, all we found were some poachers. Apparently, the rule between the conservationists and the poachers is that whoever gets to the turtles first wins. The last day, however, we did see some baby turtles hatch, and I got to take measurements on one of them. I got to do some barefoot runs on the beach, which was very nice. However, no swimming was allowed because the water was too rough, so there was no heat relief. All in all, I had a fun yet toughening experience in Pacuare.

Finally, for the last four days, we arrived at Playa Hermosa, a beach with an incredible view. 

We rested and relaxed there while bodysurfing some waves. One day, we went to Tamarindo Beach, where the waves were perfect for bodysurfing. The waves would take me all the way onto the shore. On the last day there, we went to a ziplining and whitewater tubing center. I conquered my fear of heights while experiencing awesome adrenaline rushes One night, we went to a fair, where we went on suspicious rides and ate Costa Rican Chinese food (it was not that special). When we returned to San Jose, we were treated to a steak dinner on a mountain with an incredible view of the city. I was extremely sad to leave our group and extremely thankful to our leaders, Viky and Max, for all their help.
    From the experience, I felt I learned much not only about Costa Rica, but also about myself. While I did not learn as much Spanish as I would have liked (the students did not know much, if any, Spanish), I learned that one does not need many material possessions to live. Their national slogan, “Pura Vida” (pure life) captured the fact that one should live life to the fullest and always be happy. While Costa Rica is a well-developed country by Latin American standards, it is still a third-world country with very poor aspects. Therefore, I was very proud to live in a place where I am very comfortable. I am very proud to be an American. Thank you so much to the Wilson family for this incredible opportunity. Their investment in me will pay off. I hope I can make them proud again in the future.