Costa Rica 2012: Pre-Trip Thoughts
It is the Winter after my Sophomore year of college, I’ve been very busy and time is flying by without me even realizing it at times. As I tell my friends and family that I am going to Costa Rica for a school trip there are two phases of responses. The first phase goes something like this “Wow! I heard Costa Rica is beautiful I’ve always wanted to go! You are so lucky, what are you doing there?!” I respond with something along the lines of “Yeah! I’m really excited it was kind of a spontaneous decision for me, we are working on sustainable agriculture!” After the words sustainable agriculture come out of my mouth that’s when the second response phase occurs: “Oh that sounds interesting!” it is not the tourist attraction most were expecting to hear; nonetheless I expect this trip to be a great experience that I will certainly never forget for a number of reasons.
First off, it is the first time I am traveling without my family on an airline. Also, it is the first time
I traveling outside of the country other than Greece and Cyprus. I have never been to this part of the world before and I am looking forward to learning more about the culture and lifestyle of the people living in Jthese parts and having a more worldly view. This definitely marks a point in my life where I feel more independent and have the ability to make decisions that I know are best for me. This is one of the reasons why I applied to the ASB program. I am
also very motivated to do something good and be active in service. I haven’t really participated in that much volunteering since high school and it is something that I truly value and wish to continue throughout my lifetime. Perhaps this marks the point where I begin to have a more active role in the community.
I am currently writing this blogpost in the airport at 4am after I started packing only a few hours prior, I did not give this trip a lot of thought before departing but my attitude is that it will add to the excitement of the experience. I don’t know what to expect but I am up for anything and am eager to learn and do and that is what I’m looking forward to!
-Andrew Kamilaris