Billy Lake
Costa Rica
With just under two weeks left until my flight leaves back to the states, I have nearly completed my four-month stay here in Costa Rica. Central America is a different environment, a different lifestyle and my time here has made that incredibly clear.
For better or for worse, I have seen many exotic things and it has allowed me to reflect and appreciate everything and everyone that I have in my life.
The past few months I have been on various excursions and done many things and most evident to my bank account, spent a lot of money.
The fellow students of my study abroad program, as well as myself, made a trip to Volcán Arenal, and while in the area, we stopped by Baldi Hot Springs Resort Hotel & Spa.
This was easily the highlight of my trip, given that the place is incredible. It is essentially a five-star hotel surrounded by more than 25 hot water pools filled with artificial waterfalls and three water slides.
Contributed Photo: Study away student Billy Lake in Nicaragua during his semester in Costa RIca.
Of the four excursions that were provided through my study abroad program (CIS) was a trip to Puerto Viejo, a coastal town in southeastern Costa Rica.
The place is beautiful and I already had an idea of the atmosphere because I had previously visited one of the first weekends after my arrival.
We went from Friday night to Sunday morning, and were able to enjoy the humid, yet highly active town for two nights with a snorkel trip in between.
Here at Universidad Veritas, I am taking an ecology class and of the requirements of the course are two mandatory excursions.
One of these excursions was to Paraiso Quetzal Lodge, in Tapantí.
This trip was one of my favorites because in pairs of two, we were given our own cabins equipped with two beds, a bathroom, a coffee maker and a heater. Best of all, the main lodge area had a hummingbird observatory right on the back patio.
The second excursion for the ecology class was two weekends ago, and it was a trip to a biological station in the rainforest, which was very cool because we were able to experience the Costa Rican rainforest and see some exotic animals that lived in the environment.
While extremely humid, the ecosystem and living quarters (bunk-beds) made it an enjoyable trip.
Contributed Photo: An excursion in Ecuador allowed Lake to see exotic birds.
I made my way out of the country to Nicaragua for three days with a few friends to renew the visa on my passport. The first night, we stayed in a hostel by the name of Casa de Oro, and it was located right next to the beach. While this seems like a really nice place to stay, the hostel that my friends and I ended up staying in the next two nights truly put Casa de Oro to shame.
The Naked Tiger was about five kilometers from the main beach town area, but provided a shuttle to and from the hostel every two hours.
The hostel was located on a huge hill with an incredible view of the ocean, in an absolutely enormous building that housed numerous beds and rooms as well as a bar and 12-hour kitchen. We spent the weekend in San Juan del Sur, and enjoyed our time during the day on the beach and were able to experience the night-life as well.
Studying abroad truly is an experience of its own, and it all depends on the places you go and the experiences you have—and more importantly—how you apply those occurrences in the future.
Being to places like Nicaragua, I have seen how little some people in this world truly have, and it honestly does put your life into perspective.
Life is a precious thing and being here has made me realize that I am gifted, fortunate and blessed to have what I have.