8:30am (written on a plane somewhere between Greenville and San Jose, CR)
Today is the big day! I enjoyed the recent snow in Greenville, but I am ready to leave the cold behind and bask in the sun with a melting ice cream cone! I have visited Sweden, Norway, and Iceland, but I have never been anywhere south of Texas/Florida, so I am thrilled to have this opportunity to visit Central America! I have been taking Spanish classes since sixth grade, and I am looking forward to language and cultural immersion!
4:00pm (San Jose, Costa Rica)
I’m currently settling into my dorm room at the Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana (UBL) in San, José, Costa Rica. I’m doing a Latin America study away program with Furman University, and we are scheduled to visit Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Cuba! I studied on campus for the first three weeks this semester, and now we’re beginning the travel portion. I’m enrolled in four classes this semester: Sociology: Global Health Inequalities, Political Science: U.S. Foreign Policy in L.A., History of Latin America, and Latin American Studies.
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| Dorm building at Universidad Biblica Latinoamericana |
Before boarding my flight at Greenville-Spartanburg Airport (GSP), I made a last minute Walmart run at 6:00am to buy some last-minute things from my packing list (Yes, I packed everything the night before & yes, I know that probably wasn’t the smartest plan of action). I was wearing chacos and short sleeves in 27 degree weather, but I was just being practical! I could endure the cold for a half hour if it meant that I could kiss winter goodbye and enjoy the longest summer of my life!
As I exited the plane, I was greeted with a beautiful mountain view and air conditioning! Through a haze of excitement and sleep deprivation, we all claimed our baggage and walked out into a thick wall of heat and humidity. It was wonderful. We bought bottled water outside from a vendor (since most tap water here is not clean), and we met our trip coordinators/translators, Susan and Cesar. We all boarded a bus that can seat as many as thirty people, and we drove off through San José to the UBL This was the opposite of my arrival in Reykjavik, Iceland where I was met with sleet and a cold, rocky landscape (don't get me wrong though...I loved the wintry weather in Iceland and I would be 100% okay with living there).
Each dorm room has a name, and I have the pleasure of living in "Chandra" for about a week and a half. Each bed is graced with a homemade quilt and my window overlooks a mosaic bird bath. I can already tell that my favorite spot on campus is going to be inside the bamboo!
Until next time,
~HET
FYI: I had very limited access to WiFi while abroad, so I am in the process of transcribing my personal journal entries into blog posts so that you all can have more of an inside perspective that goes a lot deeper than my Instagram & Facebook posts! I hope you enjoy them despite the long delay😊
Personal Instagram: @harmony.thomas
Travel Instagram: @harmonious.adventures
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