Preparing for Costa Rica

By Laura Miller - Guest blogger traveling in Costa Rica. The Costa Rica countdown begins! I leave for Costa Rica, specifically Samara Beach, in three days. I am leaving with the hope of relaxation and fun in mind. It has been a long and tough year for me. What with teaching a classroom of crazy seventh graders, surviving a year of living in my own apartment all alone, finishing my master's degree and trying to find some leftover time for fun! Phew! I am tired! Thank goodness, I have a break coming so soon! Although, I find that my excitement is coupled with a little bit of nervousness as I am leaving to go to a country I know little of, with people who speak a language I am not very familiar with either. However, the incentive of gaining an amazing new perspective on life draws me in. This trip all came about a couple of months ago when my friend Angel told me that she is going to leave the country for five weeks with this program to learn Spanish and stay at a white sand beach. I was intrigued with her plans and found out more for myself. I also did not want her to go alone and thought, "Hey I have the whole summer off, why not go with her!" Now it is Angel, myself and two other California girls leaving the country in hopes of relaxation and tan. The things that I look forward to the most are the language classes, the Latin cooking classes, surf lessons, rainforests, horseback riding on the beach, the dance classes and of course, the golden bronze tan I will return home with. I am also looking forward to meeting the Spanish family that I will be staying with. I am writing this blog three times a week, which will be interesting to chronicle the adventure that will no doubt be one of the most amazing times of my life. I pray that all goes well at home while I am gone, and that all goes smoothly during the travels there and back. I am also going to pray that the bugs are kind to me as I hear they are fierce! So here, I find myself all packed and ready to leave the country passport and travelers checks in hand! Off we go!