My breakfast with some local kids:
The small courtyard in the middle of the hotel:
(where the rain could fall and lull me to sleep)
The entrance to the balcony:
And the lovely view:
All the UGA students (and now the Universidad de Costa Rica estudantes) met at a nearby community center for the drive to campus. While we were loading the buses, let the record show that I specifically mentioned our "professores" to the driver. He said "No...(something in spanish)...Monteverde...(some more spanish)." I attempted to clarify that we were meeting them elsewhere and I recieved a reassuring "Si!"
Never-the-less, about 40 minutes into our drive to Monteverde, our driver gets notice that we left two members of our group behind. And sure enough, our group of students had left behind the director of the UGA honors program, and the coordinator of external affairs for all of UGA honors. Oops would be quite the understatement. But once we met up with them on the side of the highway, we spent a few hours getting to know the Costa Rican students and laughing about all the ridiculous (and inappropriate) phrases in my Lonely Planet phrasebook.
As we grew closer to the cloud forests of Monteverde, we saw views like this:
Followed by views like this:
One of the things I remember most clearly from my visit in March is how small I felt driving through these gorgeous landscapes. It was very peaceful then, and it did not disappoint yesterday.
Once we arrived on campus, we had lunch then launched into research presentations from the other students. Just before dinner, Quint gave a very inspiring lecture on sustainability which only reaffirmed that I am in the right place doing the right thing with my life.
Dinner was proceeded by the requisite "baila, baila, baila!" The group was short on guys, so I learned to lead (sort of) in the merengue. Overall, a magnificent day!
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