Blog #8: Osa Peninsula and Reflections

Hola chicos,

A few days ago marked the halfway point of my study abroad trip, and I genuinely can’t believe it. Time truly feels like it’s flying by and I keep waiting for it to slow down, with no avail.

I wanted to write a bit about my academic experience here in Costa Rica, as it’s incredibly different than the United States. Firstly, I’ve noticed that most of the homework for my classes here are presentations. The university uses a competency-based model where grades are given based on the quality of work turned in (and presented on), not on how many details you can remember for a test. Overall, I really like this emphasis because it enables me to show what I actually know, not what I don’t know (which is how I feel many tests work in the United States).

I just finished my intensive Spanish class, and it was very bittersweet for that class to end. On the one hand, I have considerably less work to do, with more free time to catch up on other homework and relax. On the other hand, I really miss my class and I loved my professor – she was the absolute sweetest. On our last day of classes, my classmates and I got her flowers and a card, thanking her for her kindness and for being an awesome professor:

I’ll be taking another intensive Spanish class in April, but my other classes will have already been completed, so I’ll only have Spanish during that month. I have a feeling that once April rolls around, I’ll be looking forward to having a more structured, routine-based schedule again where I’m practicing the language.

I also really want to again highlight how incredibly grateful I am for my host family. I currently write this blog as I recover from a bout of a stomach virus that really tried to kill me last night. Not only do they repeatedly cook and clean for me, but at my worst of moments, they bent over backwards to help me and make sure I was as comfortable as possible. At 11:30PM last night, after my fourth bout of getting sick, my host family made (in that moment) an electrolyte serum that helped me stay hydrated. They also not only adjusted the food they gave both my roommate and I (we both got the virus at the same time, lucky us!), but they even cooked us an extra meal because we both simply didn’t have the energy to leave the house.

I always feel that people’s true colors come out in the worst of moments, and while I always knew that my host family cared a lot about me, their willingness to bend-over-backwards, late at night, while I feel awful is a true testament to their genuine kindness.

On a completely different note, I got to visit the Osa Peninsula last weekend, located on the western, pacific side of Costa Rica. Here’s a little run-down of my trip:

Friday, March 3rd

We departed my university at 1:30 in what ended up being a 6+ hour drive to Sierpe, the name of the town that we stayed in for the weekend. We arrived, and I immediately noticed the oppressive heat/humidity of the area. I was so thankful that we had air conditioning in our room because being in that area reminded me that we were in the tropics.

We had dinner at the main restaurant in town and prepared ourselves for a busy next day.

Saturday, March 4th

We had an early wake-up today of 5:30AM to eat breakfast in preparation for our big day. Since we arrived at night, I couldn’t get a good sense of what the town looked like until we woke up the next day to this:

After boarding our boat, we embark along the river and shoreline until we reach the Pacific ocean. I remember thinking how everything felt so tranquil and calm as we rode along the river.

Once we made it to the Pacific Ocean, we headed towards la Isla del Caño (Caño Island), a remote island off the coast that has some of the most biodiversity in all of Costa Rica. When we arrived, our tour guide had to get off the boat and get a permit from the person working at the island just to let us snorkel around the island. This island is really restrictive, so not many people have visited it before in their time at Costa Rica.

I’ve had the opportunity to snorkel several times in my life, but I’ve never snorkeled where I’ve gotten to see so many fish and corals in my life. The water was also crystal clear, so the views were simply stunning to witness. I felt like I was living in a nature documentary. I wish I had my own photo of what it looked like, but here’s a good idea of what it looked like:

After snorkeling for a while, we departed to an island right near the main coastline and had lunch. This island was, as I’ve said so many times, extremely beautiful to see. There were even black sand beaches at this particular island – my first time ever experiencing them!

After spending time on the island, we did a mangrove tour where we saw several species of wildlife, including several birds, monkeys, sloths, and more. Enjoy these monkeys that we spotted in the mangroves:

After our mangrove tour, we departed back to our hotel and rested for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, March 5th

We departed back to San Jose on another 6+ bus ride. Upon return to home, I spent the rest of the day resting up for the upcoming week and spending time with my host family.

That’s all I have for now, so until next time, ¡pura vida!