Costa Rica: A home away from home

I have just now returned home from what was a near month study abroad experience in Costa Rica. Wow, what an amazing culture I have just embarked on. The food, the language, the dress, the dance, I was intrigued as soon as the plane landed. It was an eventful trip as most days we were up before the sun was, allowing for the perfect environment to see nature at its most unique state. We studied and saw in the field hundreds of wild birds of all shapes and sizes found only in this location in the entire world. Costa Rico’s biodiversity is one that rivals any country in the world and the government does an amazing job of protecting such a rich wildlife. What surprised me the most was the impact that alternative energy played in the efficiency of the country. We learned that 40% of the energy supplied was by a dam that we stopped at in between locations. I was also blown away at the mere size of their wind turbines. Myself, an environmental economics major, was allowed to really understand the effects that alternative energy has in a third world country. Costa Rica further implanted in me that I was in the right field of study.