Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – My Expectations

Costa Rica 2013: My Expectations

Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – My Expectations

Aero: Meghan Kelly

While living in America things become very set and stone and habitual to many of us. From going to school, work, and just any public place I don’t think we take the time to realize everything that is going on around us. We are so comfortable with the lives that we live we don’t realize that our culture is only one of the many that inhabit our world.

While heading down into Costa Rica I am so eager to learn all about their culture and how different it is from ours. I have been lucky enough to travel to many other places in the world including Turkey, Greece, Ireland, Scotland, London, and Wales. Every time I travel I learn more about myself as a person and where I fit into this vast world. I think traveling abroad is a very important aspect to transform us all into well rounded individuals.

The last time I took Spanish was in my senior year of high school. Although I took a college level course my senior year it still worries me because that was three years ago. I am worried that I will be thrown into a Spanish speaking world that I will not be able to understand. I have been spending time brushing up on my Spanish speaking skills so that I am able to effectively communicate with those around me. By doing so I think it will make my experience a much more positive one. I think I will learn a lot by understanding things that are said and done.

Another aspect of this trip that makes me a bit anxious is living with a host family for two weeks. Every trip or vacation I have ever been on I always have stayed in a hotel or in a home of someone I am close with. During this trip I will be living in an unfamiliar situation. Although the family I am staying with is nice and have taken students before it makes me nervous not being near the comfort of people that I know. Even though my first feelings are of anxiety, I then feel a sort of excitement. This may be a once in a life time experience and instead of trying to learn about the culture during the day and staying in a hotel room at night, I will actually be immersed completely in this culture. I will not only be witnessing and learning new things all day but I will also at night when I am back with my host family.

This trip is coming up very quickly and as it approaches, I get more and more excited for all of the extraordinary things that I am about to experience!

– Meghan Kelly

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