Perched on the raft, I was paddling as hard as I could. Six others and I were traveling down a huge river with plenty of sharp rocks and a strong current. Before I knew it, I had fallen off into the choppy water.
I bobbed my soaked head out of the water to see my friends all laughing. I smiled back as I climbed myself back up onto the raft. For my first time white water rafting, only falling off once wasn’t half bad.
In November of 2014, I spent nine days in Costa Rica thanks to a program called Agora at my school. It’s pretty safe to say it was the best nine days of my life. Throughout the week or so, we did everything from hiking to zip lining to helping plant trees. On our hikes, I saw little poison dart frogs, more plants and trees than I think I’ve ever seen in my life, 100-yard-long suspension bridges, and more. Among the myriad of animals I encountered, some of my favorites were the iguanas, toucans, and even a breakfast-snatching monkey. We stayed in five different cities, each place offering something …show more content…
As a Northwest Ohioan, I don’t see much besides my own little city and plenty of deer, not to mention I had never been out of the country before. While I was in Costa Rica, I got to explore an entirely new culture and lifestyle. When we went into the capital city of San José, I noticed that the streets were lined with shops containing handmade bags, jewelry, and tons of local goods, like pineapple and coffee. Nearly everyone spoke Spanish, which was a struggle for me because my Spanish speaking skills are rather sub-par due to living in Ohio. Consisting almost entirely of rice and beans, the food was entirely different from American food. Every time I ordered buttered pasta, it was doused with margarine instead, which I learned I wasn’t too fond of. Every part of the city was different from America, and I loved every single second of
I bobbed my soaked head out of the water to see my friends all laughing. I smiled back as I climbed myself back up onto the raft. For my first time white water rafting, only falling off once wasn’t half bad.
In November of 2014, I spent nine days in Costa Rica thanks to a program called Agora at my school. It’s pretty safe to say it was the best nine days of my life. Throughout the week or so, we did everything from hiking to zip lining to helping plant trees. On our hikes, I saw little poison dart frogs, more plants and trees than I think I’ve ever seen in my life, 100-yard-long suspension bridges, and more. Among the myriad of animals I encountered, some of my favorites were the iguanas, toucans, and even a breakfast-snatching monkey. We stayed in five different cities, each place offering something …show more content…
As a Northwest Ohioan, I don’t see much besides my own little city and plenty of deer, not to mention I had never been out of the country before. While I was in Costa Rica, I got to explore an entirely new culture and lifestyle. When we went into the capital city of San José, I noticed that the streets were lined with shops containing handmade bags, jewelry, and tons of local goods, like pineapple and coffee. Nearly everyone spoke Spanish, which was a struggle for me because my Spanish speaking skills are rather sub-par due to living in Ohio. Consisting almost entirely of rice and beans, the food was entirely different from American food. Every time I ordered buttered pasta, it was doused with margarine instead, which I learned I wasn’t too fond of. Every part of the city was different from America, and I loved every single second of