I’ve been in Costa Rica for almost a week. The experience here has been different from any other life experience. Right after I landed, my friend Sidd and I were discussing how the city’s architecture reminded us of India. I thought that my experiences here might mirror my family visits to India. I was quickly proved wrong.
I have simply been blown away by the amount of biodiversity and life in the jungles of Costa Rica. On my first full day here, we went on a nature hike. I couldn’t believe the variety of animals that were just roaming around. The jungle was truly a multidimensional experience because you had to keep your eyes on the ground, in front of you, and up to the sky. I found myself looking for insects that I had always dismissed. During this hike, my group spotted several bird species: Macaws, toucans, turkey vultures, a bird of prey, etc. I found myself struggling with the binoculars during this experience. I think my binoculars were not suited for individuals with glasses. I might have to shop for a better pair upon arriving home. Fortunately, there were several animals I could see with my bare eyes. My group wandered upon a sloth slowly climbing a tree and foraging for leaves. We also saw a group of bats that were sleeping under a tented set of leaves. The beautiful white bats were incredibly small and cute.
A pair of currassows
We finished our first full day in Costa Rica with a night hike. Taking a purposeful night hike was a novel experience for me because my previous night hikes occurred when I lost track of time. During the hike, we saw numerous frogs, insects, spiders, and finally a venomous snake: the fer-de-lance. The deadly fer-de-lance was simply curled up next to the trail, relaxing in the night. Throughout my first week here, I’ve been lucky enough to see three types of monkeys: howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and capuchins. Yet, there was a moment when the wonderment of Incredible biodiversity was replaced with fear. On my group’s bike ride to the howler monkeys census location, we had a chance encounter with a fer de lance.
Night hike buddies 🙂
While I didn’t see the beast, my friend Dylan had seen it posing for an attack on me. I was the only individual without snake guards in the group. This realization sent incredible pangs of fear and worry down my spine. As we biked through the forest, I scanned the ground to spot potential threats to my life. Even after we dropped our bikes, I was on full alert until the light of the sun filled the sky. Despite this gut-wrenching moment, I was able to enjoy the howler monkey census, where we collected population data on the monkeys for the first time in 30 years. The uneventful bike ride back was an incredible experience, locking itself in as my favorite part of the trip so far. After we returned from the census, I enjoyed sharing my perilous experience with my friends in person and online.
Mountain bike riders
While the wildlife has taken my breath away(and nearly taken me out), the best part of this experience is the people. I have loved meeting and getting to know the people in this program. I feel like I’ve made some sort of connection with all of the other 19 students, but I’ve grown really close with a smaller group. These people are so passionate about climate change and the environment in unique and inspiring ways. Furthermore, they are so goofy and funny, cracking jokes constantly. With them around, it’s hard not to have a smile on your face. We have conversations about silly music to funny experiences and stories about our thoughts on American foreign policy. I think this trip would be much different if I couldn’t enjoy the experiences with these individuals. Some of my friends are incredibly eager to give me their leftover food, which I gladly enjoy. I love the food that is served by the cafeteria in La Selva, but I find that its portions do not match my dietary needs. In fact, I think I have enjoyed every meal here save one. I am incredibly happy with the quality and the variety of the food served.
The most surprising thing about Costa Rica is its energy policy. Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world that has an electric red which is nearly 100% renewable energy. When I first realized this, I was blown away. I have just come from an internship in the United States Senate, where President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate agenda has stalled. I could not help but compare the two situations. While the richest country in the world was taking little to no action on the world’s greatest threat, Costa Rica had stepped up to the plate and made bold progress on climate action. Furthermore, it was surprising that this success story was not being shared in Costa Rica or around the world. I believe that transitioning away from fossil fuels is the best way to save the planet and the future and Costa Rica has made a huge step in the right direction. Why wasn’t this story being shouted from the rooftops? This question intrigued me so much that I decided to pursue it as my research proposal. I had grown comfortable with energy policy during my internship in the United States Senate. I was interested in how this energy transition was being communicated to visitors, who could come home and advocate for a similar transition. My proposal consisted of interviewing eco-tourists and other visitors to determine how effective Costa Rica’s sites were at communicating the energy transition. I hope that I will be able to carry out this project. I believe that my data could give Costa Rica ecotourism sites a better idea of how to sell Costa Rica’s succession in their transitions.
A beautiful river that might just power someone’s lights
The most surprising thing about Costa Rica is the frequent and unexpected rains. I’ve read about it, but it’s truly amazing to experience it in person. I have had to hastily dig my jacket out of my backpack and slip it on. Most of the time, I find the rain here to be incredibly peaceful. I have spent one rainy evening staring out of the cafeteria into the distance, soaking in the splendor of the thundering rain.
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