Studying at EARTH wasn’t all hard work and cold showers. The university is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica in the province of Limon, so we were able to travel to some pretty awesome beaches on our weekends off. I had never been to the Caribbean, so I especially enjoyed our time with the brilliant blue waters and sandy beaches. We were able to visit Puerto Viejo and Cahuita. Puerto Viejo is definitely more of party-surfer beach town and a destination for study abroad students.
One of the great things about studying at EARTH University was the experiential aspect of the classes. Not only were we able to participate in work experience on Wednesdays, but we were also able to take many field trips to see the tenets of sustainable development in practice. Here is a list and description of some of the places were were able to travel during our time at EARTH (and pictures too!).
Corsicana Organic Pineapple Farm:
In France, the term “spring break” is synonymous with crazy Hollywood movies depicting alcohol, drugs, and over-the-top parties. If I ever slipped up and said to a French friend that I had my spring break planned for Greece, Rome, and Dublin, I always received a look of shock and sheer wonder. “You’re going on a Spring Break?!?!” So if you plan on taking part in the wonderful opportunity of studying abroad in France, be sure to utilize the words “spring vacation” or “holidays” unless you want to receive some strange looks and questions.
The group has just completed it’s second module at Universidad EARTH in Limon, Costa Rica. The experience was quite different from life in Santo Domingo. During each week at the university, we took a different course related to the concept of sustainable development. The first week was entrepreneurship, the second sustainable agriculture, the third waste management, and the fourth community development. I have been quite busy! Throughout the weeks our group was able to discuss and come back to the theme of what it means to be sustainable.
IES provides various excursion trips to their students. Some are free while others require a co-pay but all give you access to popular sites just outside of Paris. This past weekend, the majority of the students in the program took an overnight trip to Normandy. We hopped on the bus Friday morning at 8am and headed northwest towards Caen. Our first stop was the memorial of Caen, a museum dedicated to telling the history of World War II.
Last weekend, IES Amsterdam organized an excursion for us to the Hoge Veluwe National Park. The natural rural setting contrasted with the cosmopolitan Amsterdam, allowing us to take a break from the hustle and bustle. The Park included an impressive contemporary sculpture garden and museum housing the second largest collection of Van Gogh’s works after the Van Gogh Museum. After sheltering ourselves from the rain under a pavilion, we went for a bike ride to explore the sand dunes and heathlands unexpected of the Netherlands.
Most of my friends who have studied abroad in the past haven’t spoken too much about the studying part. In truth, much of the learning of study abroad happens outside the classroom, while exploring a new city, conversing with a stranger in another language or trying to read a map.
This past week, however, I had to buckle down a bit and prepare for two projects, two papers, a quiz and two final exams in my university classes.
This weekend we packed our things and headed west for IES Salamanca’s biggest excursion of the semester, a 3-day trip to Portugal. While a few days may not sound like much time, we managed to pack in tons of sightseeing as a group, both in the historic centers of two of Portugal’s most beautiful and historic cities and along the scenic and rugged coast, and still have plenty of time to stroll the narrow and steeply sloping streets of Lisbon’s Bairro Alto by night.
