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Summer Quarter Study Abroad!
During my time at UW, I have had the privilege of taking a class with the award-winning professor, Professor Herron. At the end of the "DNA and Evolution" class that I took with him, Professor Herron made a pitch for the upcoming study abroad that he was teaching in Costa Rica. Both the professor and the country was appealing to me, leading me to apply.
While I have traveled solo before, it was to countries where I could speak the lingua franca. In combination with arriving to the country a week early, it was an interesting experience in self-directed navigation, cultural immersion, and free time to explore. When all the other participants for the study abroad trickled in, we began a country-wide tour of Costa Rica. We had the privilege of visiting multiple national parks, research institutions, private farms, and beaches (with some of the highlights in the slideshow off to the left). While trudging through muddy rain forests or relaxing on a beach, the other participants and I had time to forage very strong friendships. In addition, during my time traveling around Costa Rica, I had plenty of time to sit and reflect on my path through UW, with all its twists and turns. In this time reflecting, I realized that travel and continuing my language education is something that I find personally enriching and rewarding. This has lead me to look for additional language opportunities after I have graduated, as well as potentially traveling to Europe and SE Asia. |