The Last Leg

I feel like we've been in limbo this past week. We had our ecology exam Monday and Sociology exam Tuesday. I had to turn in a draft for two papers in addition to my IP proposal and presentation. Everything went smoothly, but this week just feels weird. I'm leaving in an hour to start the last leg of my trip here in Costa Rica.

I'll be staying on a coffee farm with a family in the mountains south of San José for my independent project (IP). It's really sad to leave all my good friends and tico family. I feel like I'm going away for such a long time (even though it's only 4 weeks). I'm going to miss all of them so much! I can just imagine what I'll be like when we're all leaving to go back to the States.

I've really become great friends with all of the people here. I wish we could spend the rest of our time in Costa Rica together. But, on the other hand, it will be really good for me to be by myself. It'll be a true test. I've never been alone in a new place without people who speak English. My Spanish will definitely improve, that's for sure.

In case anyone is curious, I'm going to be studying the energy and monetary flow of an organic coffee/cattle farm and a conventional one. I'm going to compare the two farms to a permaculture system and try to make suggestions on ways in which the farmers can harness more of the energy used in the farm. I'm also going to briefly study bird diversity and bee diversity in the two farms. Hopefully, I'll get some good results.

On a lighter note, I went to this awesome movie theater with a few of my pals the other night. We saw The Last King of Scotland (which is a great movie, by the way). The theater is called the VIP theater. It was 2 for 1 (only 4 bucks!) since it was Wednesday. But the best part about the place is the theater. Every theater has plush leather lay-z-boy chairs! You can also order drinks and food from the waiters who come around. It was an awesome experience. I sipped on a nice glass of red wine while laying back with my feet propped up and watched the movie. It was pretty cool.

Last night we all went to the Jazz Cafe, the first bar we went to together way back when. There was a good jazz band playing some Coltrane stuff. It was a sad night out though. We were all nervous and bummed that we're not going to see each other for a month.

Well, I have to go now. I'll have limited access to internet while I'm away (probably once a week). Happy travels everyone!