PURA VIDA MAE

Costa Rica 2011 Group with Serendipity Guides after Rafting

“ How was your trip?”  The inevitable question I have been asked over and over since returning to campus.  Never have I struggled so much to answer such a simple question.  I want to give a summary of what the trip was like, what I did, who I met, how I changed, but I honestly do not know how to fully convey an answer that gives justice to my experience.  All I manage to respond with is “AMAZING!” and people seem to be satisfied with that answer, but I am not.

I am practically speechless as I reflect on my life-changing experience in Costa Rica.  Life changing?  That term may seem a little extreme, but many ways, this trip was absolutely life changing.  As I continue to try and make meaning from my experience, I can tell you that I came home with a rejuvenated spirit, a new thirst for travel, for challenge, for adventure, for culture, and for experiencing nature. I hope that at some point everyone at USD is able to be challenged both physically and mentally, immerse themselves in a foreign culture, and experience the simplicity of the 'pura vida' mindset we were able to experience.

Although I loved the flavorful coffee, mouthwateringly fresh food, and heart-pounding adventures, it was the cultural immersion that impacted me the most and this caught me by surprise.  The people and the lifestyle that we were able to experience in the remote, central mountains and the sleepy beach towns of Costa Rica is something I will never forget and is something I am anxiously waiting to experience again.

It’s difficult to describe the people and lifestyle in Costa Rica.  The people we encountered just are.  That is the best way to capture their essence.  They are who they are and everything is what it is.  Living simply and simply living is what it is all about.  In the areas where we traveled, there is no superficiality, no giant mansions, no flashy cars, and no people trying to present an image that they are not.  Our interactions with our Serendipity guides embodied these ideals of community and simplicity right off the bat.  They were engaging and made the group extremely comfortable their yummy, authentic food, abundant information, and witty humor.  We already had inside jokes after the first couple of hours.  The way we were able to connect so well with these people is what made me feel a sense of loss when we parted ways.

Don Carlos teaching harvesting a pepper with his machete!

As I experienced this genuine culture, all of my senses were challenged in ways that are foreign to my way of life here.  I felt privileged to have lived with the Venegas family and was thrilled as they showed us their land, explained their frontier farming techniques, and shared authentic, locally grown food.   I saw it the way the livestock roamed everywhere, happily and healthily, with only a thin fence to keep them corralled. I learned it in the way our local guide Don Carlos used his machete to blaze us a new trail through the rain forest and teach us about his crops as he cut us sweet, juicy sugar cane and hearty peppers.  I tasted it in the traditional 'casado' meal at a small family owned restaurant after the greatest and most intense mountain biking I have ever done.  I heard it in the soothing flow of the Pacuare River as we took a refreshing swim after a long hike.  Every day offered a new adventure that delighted my senses, however, most of my growth occurred in the alone time when I was able to just sit, just reflect, and just be.  I love that the culture I was immersed in on this trip to Costa Rica is so rich, so full of life, love, and of friendship. 

Me during our reflection period in Cahuita National Park

My advice for the day: challenge yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. Immerse yourself in a foreign culture. Take risks.  You will not regret it.