When the group initially arrived at La Selva I was immediately curious about the entire station because the cafeteria was so cool looking. We arrived in the dark so we could not see much of the station but the cafeteria area where we all sat to eat dinner had a very jungle-living vibe that I had been expecting. We were all surprised to start our walk to where our rooms would be, but what none of us were expecting was to cross a long-hanging bridge. We did not know how high up we were or when the bridge would end, but we kept dragging our suitcases along the bridge. Once we finally reached the Estación del Río, we got our room assignments and laid our heads to get some sleep after a long travel day.
Waking up at La Selva was very exciting and I think everyone was anxious to get into the forest and start exploring. Our hike after breakfast introduced us to what would be some of our favorite creatures which included toucans, blue-jean frogs, leaf-cutter ants, lizards, and many more. For me, this first tour was very exciting because I learned so much about the forest in such a short time. I realized that every day I was going to get to see something brand new and this was very thrilling to me. As someone who loves all animals, insects, plants, and being outside I know I was going to enjoy my time at La Selva.
Every meal there is full of extremely nourishing food that fuels me throughout the day. You can expect your plate to be full of rice, vegetables, and protein for every single meal. They also provide fresh juice that is so refreshing and exciting to try. I look forward to each meal because I know I am not going to leave hungry and the flavors they bring are amazing.
Coming up with a research idea was more difficult than I thought it was going to be, but not in the way I expected. I was expecting to have a difficult time trying to come up with what I could study, but I was very wrong because I am so curious about so many different things here in Costa Rica. I love animals and knew I wanted to have a research topic related to an animal in the forest, and on our first hike, I grew an interest in the Honduran White bat that we got to see. I remembered reading about how bats pollinate plants at night in our readings before coming to Costa Rica. That was the first time hearing that bats pollinated, and after seeing the white fluffy balls curled up in the leaf I knew I wanted to spend time researching them. I wrote up my initial proposal on how bat species pollinate an invasive species called the red banana and I thought it would be interesting to see what their preference would be when comparing their pollination of the invasive species to a different native species. 
Something that I did not expect to do here in Costa Rica was continue to work out, but quickly a group of us all agreed we wanted to continue moving our bodies in addition to the hikes we were going on. I was so excited that so many other people in our group wanted to work out because this is something very important to me. A smaller group of us did a HIT workout on the second day we were here and since then the group has grown to almost half of us completing full-body workouts together. I am very happy about this and hope we continue to stick to this routine throughout the three weeks.
One thing that I have enjoyed here is being led by native tour guides throughout the forest area. They are so knowledgeable about the land and ecosystem that they can answer any question you throw at them. It also makes me happy that they are so passionate about what they are teaching us. Each guide is actively searching for something new to show us and it makes me feel so cared for. They are also excited for you when you can spot an animal/insect or identify a species. At the end of the bird tour our guide, Gainer, told us that what he has learned about conserving this beautiful rainforest is that the best thing you can do is to educate. Educate others about what lives in the rainforest, because if you do not know about it, then you can not love it and want to conserve it. I thought this piece of advice was very meaningful and it is something that will stick with me forever.
Of course one of the animals I was excepting to see was the Howler monkey, and after a couple of days, we eventually got to see a whole family of them up in a canopy. Since then I have seen them somewhere in the forest every single day and it is so much fun to watch them. One of the coolest encounters I have had with them was one day Audrey and I were walking to lunch and towards the end of the bridge our professors were stopped, watching a whole family of howlers getting a snack in the tree-tops. Our professors walked away but Audrey and I stayed to watch and we were so glad we did because one by one the monkeys climbed down from the trees and onto the cables of the bridge. They were crossing to the other side of the river using the bridge because once they got to the other side they jumped back into the trees. The cutest moment was watching a mom climb onto the bridge line but she wrapped her tail still around a hanging branch to allow her baby to climb onto her back. I was watching this all happen from just three feet away and it was one of the most memorable things that has happened so far.
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