Volcanoes and Service

The nights in Costa Rica were especially amazing to me, since you are engulfed in a rain forest with the sounds of a stream and the animals both near an far. The occasional lizard runs past and you seem him climb onto the ceiling of the dinning area. These are a few of the things that made the country so beautiful to me. Also, you make immediate bonds with those around you. I started thinking that I would spend just about 7 days in a foreign country with no one but myself. This changed the first night at dinner when we started bonding as a group. The people are all in the same boat as you and are just as vulnerable. My friends from the trip and I stay in touch even now through facebook and update each other almost daily on how we are doing. Even though I zip lined for the first time and saw a volcano, that should not be the reason to go to Costa Rica. The people that you do the community service for and the experience of being placed into a totally different culture should be your reasons for taking the trip. This trip changed my life, and I will continue to return to this country as much as possible throughout my life.

I hope you will get as much out of the trip as I did.

-Tyler