One Day!

I lied. So maybe I'm not on the outskirts of a rainforest in Costa Rica as I write this. A little white lie doesn't hurt. Instead, I'm awake, in bed, unable to sleep due to the sheer excitement of ending my extended winter break and beginning my study abroad program tomorrow!! My excitement outweighs my apprehension. When I first learned my winter break would be two weeks longer than everyone else's at Madison, I was pretty happy, until my friends at home moved back to Madison for the semester. I quickly grew bored with nothing to do. You can only watch so many reruns on TV before it gets monotonous. At least I was able to reconnect with my friends in Madison for a weekend to celebrate my 21st birthday.

The past two days were spent gathering any last minute items and packing them into my suitcases. Let me tell you, packing for this trip took longer than I thought, namely because of the overweight luggage policies. Instead of throwing everything into my suitcase and duffel bag, I had to arrange, and then rearrange everything to make sure the bags didn't exceed 50 lbs each. I'm still surprised I managed to pack four months worth of stuff into two bags (and a backpack). In my case, most of the weight is not attributed to clothes, rather gear and equipment. More on that in a minute...

What distinguishes my study abroad program from most others is that I am not directly enrolled in a Costa Rican university. Instead, my program is intensively field-based. Costa Rica is regarded as one of the top biodiversity hotspots worldwide. What better way to learn about tropical ecology and conservation than to immerse yourself directly in the center of it? Camping and hiking for weeks at a time, snorkeling, birdwatching, and visiting each unique ecosystem are some of the highlights. When not in the wild, we'll be taking classes at a field station outside of a cloud forest in Monteverde. Getting back to the gear and equipment. In lieu of packing more than enough clothes, I packed hiking boots, flashlights, rain ponchos and umbrellas, a tent, survival tools, a mask and snorkel, and binoculars, among other things. In my opinion, sacrificing some pants, t-shirts, and sweatshirts will be totally worth it. I'm about to embark on what will hopefully be one of my top college memories. Can. Not. Wait.