Before you read the rest of this post, look to the right. There’s a little blurb, underneath that super awesome picture of me. Read it now. I’ll wait.
Did you read it? Good. See how there’s that little word “figuratively”? Well, scratch that word out of the sentence now and put “literally” in its place.
Because I am going abroad.
I have been waiting for this moment for years. I’ve always wanted to travel, and study abroad programs were a big part of my college-decision-making process. Lucky for me, the college I chose has a great one. I’m becoming a fairly decent Spanish speaker (my recent oral exam grade proves it! woo!), and I love warm, beachy climates, so after the spring semester ends, it’s off to Costa Rica!
I’ll be in Spanish classes while I’m there, and I still have a lot of planning and studying to do. But as far as I understand, we are allowed to explore the area as we like when class is not in session, and I cannot wait to discover the beauty of the language and the people — and especially the national parks. Apparently, Costa Rica is the home of actual, real-live sloths. Here at school, I’m affectionately (I think) known as “the sloth” by my friends, so I think it’s decidedly appropriate for me to meet some of them.
My blogging plan for Costa Rica is to post once a week while I’m there. I’ll be taking copious amounts of photos, and I’m sure I’ll need to vent about all the ups and downs of living in a foreign country for the first time. Also — and this is what I’m really excited about — I plan to write each week’s post both in English and Spanish. This is as much for me to practice as it is for any Spanish speakers out there who may stumble upon my blog. The two versions may not be the exact same, as I’m much more fluent in English, but I’m extremely excited to experiment.
I don’t leave for a month or two, but I’m so excited for this trip I just couldn’t contain my enthusiasm. Also, I had intended to fulfill today’s Blogging 101 challenge of adding a new element to my blog by embedding pins rather than images in my post. Sadly, Pinterest only offers the code in Javascript rather than html, which is what WordPress uses. At least I can say I tried.
NerdyWordyBirdy 
Hello!
Stumbled upon your blog on another blog and I could not resist commenting on this post! Sloths are my second favorite animal (after turtles), and I actually went to Costa Rica for a week the summer after my senior year of high school! I was able to see 2 sloths – one two-toed and one three-toed. My life was made! Also, I went to Manuel Antonio National Park….and it is AMAZING! But look out for the capuchin monkeys….they are NOT afraid to steal your stuff!! I’m very excited for this experience for you! It is an AMAZING country. I cannot wait to read your posts about it!! How long will you be studying abroad there??
-McKenna :)
Aaah that’s so cool you’ve been to the same place I’m going! Good tip about the monkeys–would not have thought of that. :) I’ll be there four weeks starting mid-May. I’m so incredibly excited. Thanks so much for stopping by, by the way!!
So excited for you! Are you going to visit the Sloth Sanctuary outside Limón? That is the one this I didn’t get to do, but it is the main reason I want to go back! :)
The one I found online was near San Jose, I believe
Interesting! I didn’t know there was one in San Jose, but that is awesome!
So exciting!!!! I can’t wait to read your posts and see the photos.
Sounds exciting! Enjoy your stay and will be looking out for your posts..
Thanks so much!
the Ticos are the nicest people I’ve run across in my travels, you’ll love it there
Ahh I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Makes me a little less nervous.
I was wondering about how to get pins onto a blog post. The photos look great anyway. Your trip to Costa Rica sounds exciting and your plan to blog in both English and Spanish will be fantastic.
It’s a but frustrating but it all worked out! I’m so excited to blog about it.