Hola! That’s how you say hello in Spanish, right?

Just kidding. It just goes to show how NERVOUS I am too be learning tons of Spanish when I travel to Atenas, Costa Rica for the Fall 2011 semester though. I just got home from finishing up my junior year at Penn State and I am disappointed I won’t be seeing Happy Valley until 2012. But I am excited to be doing research and taking classes with The School for Field Studies this Fall as part of their Sustainable Development Program.

As I am reaching the end of my Penn State years, it is crazy to think how much I have grown from Freshman year to now. I have changed my major, moraled for THON and become very passionate about sustainability.

However, as I look past the summer, after my second internship has come to an end, I guess I couldn’t help but notice that with my plans for senior year, I am probably going to grow a lot more before I graduate.

Through this study abroad program, I will be taking a cultural class, a resource management class, an ecology class and also participating in research. It is not a typical study abroad program. I will have classes six days a week but the classes take place outdoors. The program is also based on a small coffee bean farm and there are 25 to 40 students who will be there with me.

I am so excited to meet new people and professors that go on the program and also meet community members. I know I am going to learn so much which could lead my career path in a totally different direction so I am taking this last year day by day.

I hope that I can be healthy while I am down in Costa Rica and face this trip head on so I can get as much out of it as I can. Sometimes when I move to school or come home, I get sick during the transition and I am nervous this could happen at the beginning of my trip. I can’t imagine being sick the first few weeks I am out of the country!

When I study abroad, I am looking forward to not having a lot of stuff and not having a cell phone. I think this will be an interesting experience to really shape how I live when I come back to the U.S. If I can survive out of a suit case for six months, I can probably live with less stuff than I have now.

As it has been raining for the last two weeks, I am seriously looking forward to warm, sunny weather in Costa Rica! I have booked my flight for September 5th and will arriving in San Jose around 2 p.m.

Until then, I have to get one more vaccine, pack and look into calling cards so I can call back home! But right now, I am just going to enjoy summer vacation! Adios!

Location: Marblehead, Massachusetts