I am so sad to be leaving Costa Rica today after two weeks. This study abroad experience has been more than I could’ve asked for! On our final day of activities, we traveled to a strawberry farm, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and a professional fútbol game. This combination was a perfect way to end the…

This morning, we took the public train to downtown San José. We explored the center of the city and went inside the National Museum of Costa Rica, the National Theatre, and the central park. Closer to lunch time, we wandered around the central market, which reminded me a lot of the market in central Heredia,…

Besides getting hit with a piece of flying banana plant, the day was pretty appeeling! Don’t worry, it was a small piece so it did not hurt whatsoever 😁. In the morning, we took a two hour bus ride to Sarapiqui to visit a banana and a pineapple plantation. Similar to coffee, bananas do not…

We had the opportunity to tour Sibo Chocolate today and it definitely resulted in the sweetest day yet! When we were handed the first cup of hot chocolate, I knew I was in for the best experience. One of the founders, Julio, led us in a chocolate tasting and elaborated on the history of chocolate…

I feel like I have learned so many new things today! First, we started off the day with a trip to a local school in Monteverde for our service learning project. I had a blast painting the fence with the students because of their constant enthusiasm. Despite the language barrier, we were still able to…

Today I woke up bright and early for some morning yoga! It was a great way to start my day. We then ate breakfast at the hotel and headed to the cloud forest reserve. The cloud forest hike was an awesome experience! I had the chance to see rare birds and other animals only native…

Although today was mostly a travel day, we still had plenty of fun events! Some of my favorite moments of the day have been the unexpected ones. For instance, while we were on the bus to Monteverde we saw a massive group of Howler monkeys in the trees. Everyone was able to get off of…

Today was day 3 of our time in Costa Rica, and I could not be more pleased with how the trip has been going so far! Even though the day was packed to the brim with activities, I was still able to enjoy every experience individually. The first activity of the day was partaking in…

Today we journeyed to Doka Coffee Estate up on the side of the Poas Volcano! The bus ride there was over an hour long with many curves, hills, and beautiful views of Heredia and Alajuela. When we arrived, we were met with delicious samples of coffee and our tour guide Adriana. Although I rarely drink…

I had a wonderful first full day in Costa Rica! When we arrived to the park in the center of Heredia in the morning, there was a band playing and many people enjoying a beautiful day outside. Everyone has been really friendly and has made it easy to feel welcome. The hospitality and friendliness of…

Hello, my name is Melissa Karlin! I am a business student pursuing a major in marketing and a digital media certificate. I am from Falls Church, Virginia which is really close to Washington D.C. Despite Costa Rica being a fairly small country, they are recognized as one of the top 20 most environmentally sustainable countries…