"This place is not paradise..." Are you sure?

“This place has the magic to change your life forever…We want to help you find peace so you can spread peace to the rest of the world.” 

–Amr Abdalla, Upeace Vice Rector 

From the airport to the apartment

The last three days have been a whirlwind and it seems a life time ago I was sitting anxiously in the Ft. Lauderdale airport.  Our flight went smoothly and I met my roommate, Maggie from Chicago. 

She was also a Psychology major in undergraduate school but she is pursuing her Master’s in Responsible Management and Sustainable Development in an effort to switch into the business sector. 

She is very sweet and we are getting along very well.

When we arrived at the airport in Alajuela, we had little trouble making our way through customs and meeting our Rotary counselor, Lidia.  I am so thankful for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship which has made our transition from the U.S. to Costa Rica very smooth.

Lidia is fantastic. She brought us to our “apartment” though cavalierly admitting as we got into the car, “I get lost everywhere, but no worries, we will find your place in no time.” 

In truth, we did get lost…several times but we had a great time and by the end of the day we had met with our landlord, secured our apartment, bought groceries, and arranged to come to the next Rotary meeting this coming Tuesday.

Our “apartment” is really a one floor house with more accommodations than I could have asked.  The bungalow is quaint with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a living area and an amazing kitchen.

Interesting fact: Addresses in Costa Rica are not numbered because the buildings do not have numbers; instead the address is basically directions to the location. For example, our address describes the gas station down the street and the tour center across the road.

Orientation

I felt like I was in kindergarten again as I excitedly packed my bag for school on Wednesday and waited impatiently at the bus stop.  When we arrived I knew I was in the right place for me because I could feel the “magic” in the air.

164 people from 54 different countries all working together to build and promote peace across the globe. Can you tell me anywhere else in the world you can find this? I think not.

Orientation lasts three days and I have learned so much and met so many interesting people over the past two days that I am quite overwhelmed.

There is so much to learn about Costa Rica and our graduate programs, I am extremely happy to be taking the International Peace Studies major which focuses on human rights and peace and conflict resolution.

More on orientation and all of the fascinating new friends I have made soon.  Currently, I am exhausted and I have one more day of orientation to survive and then studying begins for class on Monday!!!