Our short time in Costa Rica taught me so many lessons that I will take home and cherish. A lot of these lessons occurred at face value when learning about sustainability, the environment, or the cultures, but some took their time to marinate in a new experience until they came to fruition. These lessons will not only help me build myself up in my career as a field biologist, but also as a person, and help me become whole as I realize the things that truly matter to me.
This past week or so, I think I learned some of the most valuable lessons of the whole trip. To start from a biological aspect, I had learned that the Resplendent Quetzal, one of the brightest, most beautiful birds in Costa Rica, is on the brink of extinction and our society has played a huge role in this. We learned about how much of a negative impact things like the pet trade, illegal hunting, climate change, and capitalistic greed have on certain species in the rainforests and cloud forests. This led me to wonder; how can we deem something beautiful enough to be named “resplendent” but put in no effort to care for it and its wellbeing? There have been far too many instances of this in human history, and I think it’s about time that we all learn our lesson before it’s too late for many more species. As I come home, I would like to keep this mindset when learning about conservation methods and ways to combat climate change.
Another big lesson I learned showed itself to me during our time at our home stays. Before actually going, it somehow seemed like it would be the scariest experience during the trip—scarier than the rainforest, the cloud forest, and our night hikes in both. Upon arrival, we were greeted by 3 dogs, a cute house, and our host mom, Carmen. She showed us around the house; to the separate bathroom with a toilet and the other with a shower, to the living room with the comfy couch and the even more comfortable recliners, and to our two rooms. We quickly learned that she didn’t speak any English, so we had some basic, introductory conversations where we got to know each other a little bit. We also met her husband, Carlos, who knew more English but only in small, silly phrases.
Throughout our stay with this couple, we saw so much love in the house, whether it was toward the dogs, the house, or the love that the couple had for each other. We also received a lot of this love. Carmen would come home from her job where she cooked for about 50 people a day, and she would immediately, excitedly get started on dinner for us when she arrived. When we asked if she was tired of cooking all day, she excitedly exclaimed that the thought of being able to come home and cook for us, her kids, was what kept her pushing throughout the day. Feeling love like this while only having known each other for a couple days had such an impact on me. I realized that this is a person I aspire to be like and, now that I’m home, I want to be more like Carmen. I want to be generous, kind, inviting, and warm, and I want to make people feel like they belong no matter how long they’ve been around.
During our final reflection session where we discussed our favorite parts of the whole trip, a really good point was brought up that hadn’t fully implanted itself in my head until that moment. As we were talking, someone brought up the fact that they had realized they didn’t need to feel uncomfortable to live sustainably. Every place that we had visited had access to some sort of renewable energy, clean water that was managed and conserved, and many areas for wildlife. Although we were in some rough places, there were also some 5-star locations that we visited that had maintained a balance of first-world comfort and sustainability. This realization was definitely one of the hardest hitters on the trip. Back at home, we really don’t need to change much about our lives to be sustainable. With things like recycling, turning water and lights off when they should be off, and just being mindful of our carbon footprint, we can already make bigger strides to help our planet.
I wanted to leave my final blog post off with some words of advice from someone who survived three weeks in the rainforest, had a Fer de Lance slither over his shoe, conducted an independent research project with the best teammates, and overall had the greatest time of his life in Costa Rica. This trip was the chance to break out of my shell and enjoy a new experience with no expectations. The key to going to Costa Rica and enjoying every aspect of it is to keep an open mind and just take whatever comes your way. You must realize, very early on, that any expectation or assumption you may have about this trip can and will be completely wrong. You also have to realize that, although it’s a serious trip, you can’t take yourself too seriously. You are free to be yourself, to be silly, to be sweaty, to be vulnerable, and to be incorrect. You have the chance to make the most of a trip that not many people get to go on, but it’s all on you. No matter your background, whether you want to go into field biology, want to learn about sustainability, or want to explore the world, you’re all there together.
On this trip, I met some of the most incredible people, had amazing professors, saw some beautiful sights, and had the time of my life. I hope one day to return to Costa Rica as an official field biologist, and I hope to make an impact on the world so we can protect all of the beauty that I was able to witness in such a short time.
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