So many exciting things happening in Costa Rica for Global Routes.
Chau Tran is getting ready to welcome the new group of Teaching Interns to our Costa Rica Spring Semester Program.
And, Geno has just welcome a spring break group!
Here is an update from the students:
Yesterday we arrived in San Gerardo after more than 15 hours of traveling. When we landed in San Jose many of us remarked how unreal it felt but it was real. We were finally here. We met Geno at the airport and embarked on a bus ride, where we made and ate sandwiches in route. At the hotel we were randomly assigned roommates and despite prior nervousness, exhaustion took over and we all slept well.Today we woke up early and learned that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Costa Rica when we saw a store window with “Feliz San Valentine” written. We have had a different juice every meal and have had fun guessing what flavor this new color was.Zip lining was an extraordinary experience this morning. We divided into two groups; the first went on the course and the other went exploring until we switched later on. Diego, Variel, and Alonso were our guides and they were all extremely nice people. We learned about their families and their ages, making the excursion more personal.
Gaby created superlatives for some members of the first group. Gabby was “most graceful landing”; Brooke was “best form”; Emily was “most likely to be a monkey” and Hannah was “most likely to go pro.” Mariah was a dare devil choosing to go fast for the free fall and Anna conquered her fear of it. Kelsey even put her camera on video while she swung through the trees. On a walk later on, Ms. Simes, distracted by a conversation, hit her head on a tree branch. Abby hopes  to live in a house full of birds to overcome her fear.
In the second group, they got lost while adventuring. They ended up at a zip line platform where the first group was and had to ask for directions in Spanish. The restaurant made us pineapple drinks and Kara spilled hers on the roof when she tripped. Ms. Cabral was scared of the bridge and Julie spent extra time at the top of the free fall because she was such a light weight. Siobhan and Shannon both opted to make the most of the free fall, also deciding on “rapido” instead of “lento” Â like the majority of the group. Afterwards, Becca, Kate, Kelsey, Brooke and Abby got a picture with Alonso. Then Kate shared her m&m’s with the bus driver. Taylor surely got over fear or fights doing the free fall from the tree at zip lining.
In the afternoon, we took the scenic route to find the hot springs and it was well worth it. The water was fresh from a waterfall and it was not the only refreshment as we experienced our first Costa Rican rainfall- slow at first then very heavy but gone within fifteen minutes. Dinner was delicious and again graced us with another color juice: cherry. Ally tried a plantain and everyone enjoyed the French fries that served almost as comfort food.
After a meeting, we are all preparing to meet our families with both excitement and anxiousness. This is our experience and we are excited to be part of our new community!
Written by a student.
