Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – My Expectations
Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – My Expectations
Aero: Meagan Hilsdorf – Costa Rica 2014 – My Expectations
Meagan Hilsdorf
When I think of Costa Rica I imagine beautiful tropical rainforests with exotic plants and animals, warm sandy beaches, coffee and hearing Spanish everywhere you turn and lots of friendly faces. This is why when I first heard of FLCC’s Spanish study abroad program it caught my attention. I have always wanted to experience the wonders of travel and presenting yourself with opportunities to push your boundaries to learn more about who you are and the world around us. For me this is a once in a lifetime chance to experience not only challenge myself academically and personally, but to learn about the culture and people of Costa Rica and the Spanish language hands on through experience.
This trip for me offers so much in multiple ways, by giving me the opportunity to explore the world, meet and interact with new people, explore an exciting environment, but discover more about who I am, and make new connections. I am a naturally shy and quite person, but I am passionate about the sciences, animals and serving others. I recognize a significant part of my future career is being able to make connections and communicate with others. Improving my Spanish language skills and challenging myself in new situations, as well as raising my self-confidence will help me achieve my goals. I look forward to pushing myself to be able to utilize and speak the Spanish language more fluently and be able to interact with my host family and the people of Costa Rica. I am eager to learn about the unique culture of Costa Rica, its diverse ecosystem and animals, and appreciate the importance of the Spanish language.
I anticipate that when I arrive that I will be in awe of the beauty and wonder of Costa Rica, and I am sure that I will be nervous at first and perhaps feel a little like a fish out of water. My first obstacle that I will have to encounter is that Spanish is the prominent language spoken. I have taken four years of Spanish but I am out of practice, so being able to comprehend Spanish, as well as being able to speak Spanish fluently will be a bit daunting at first. But I am confident with the classes, instructors, fellow students and countless interactions, will allow me to remember and hone my Spanish skills, as well as build my self-confidence. Also, I am naturally a shy and quite person and I look forward to coming out of my shell and challenging myself to be more outgoing, and work on bettering communication skills. I also am very excited to hike and explore the tropical forests, volcanoes and encounter some of the wildlife and learn more about the unique environment of Costa Rica, and all its rich wonders.
Secondly, I look forward to learning more about the people and culture of Costa Rica. It will be interesting to experience the cultural differences, as well as subtle differences in living and meet new people. I have heard that Costa Rica offers much of amenities and a necessity found in the United States, but offers a new pace of life, a relaxing environment, and many friendly people to meet and exciting places to see. In addition, I can’t wait to try all the amazing foods and drinks to add to my experience and absorb all that I can during my trip. I am eager to get to know and connect with my host family and learn from them, as well as fellow students and instructors. I am confident that with some time and practice I will adjust well to being able to navigate around the city and learn more about daily life in Costa Rica. I am also excited to challenge myself in new situations and build upon abilities and skills that will help make me into a more rounded individual. I seek to learn all that I can and get a true sense of the importance of the Spanish language, the unique aspects of the culture and environment and people of Costa Rica, and in my travels learn more about myself.
– Meagan Hilsdorf
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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