During this fine stretch of spring at Mines, in between all of the physics homework, epics sketching, and unexpected NHV essays, I ran into a group of people called Intervarsity. They welcomed me with open arms, and starting from scratch, I began to attend more and more of their meetings, bible studies, and events. One fabulous event put on by not only Intervarsity, but all of the youth groups around campus every February is called Soiree. You'll have to find an insider, or someone who speaks french, to find out how to pronounce it. Inviting every girl on campus, all the guys get together and organize this huge, fancy, and hilarious dinner/comedy show/dance night that is definitely a must-see. And as a perk, the whole event is put on through the goodness of their hearts, at no cost to the ladies. It was spectacular to say the least, it literally felt like we were at Broadway.

 

At Broadway, Soriee 2012

 

Now I couldn't talk about spring this year without mentioning our extreme plans for Spring Break! A couple months back, me and a friend ended up going to an info session about a trip to Costa Rica planned for spring break. I didn't really think I would go at first, but after some mutual coercion and longing for culture, my mind soon changed. Led by two guides through the Outdoor Recreation Center, I was part of a group of 12 students that ventured to the lands of Costa Rica during our break from school. I'm still quivering with excitement from the trip (and recovering from getting sick afterwards), which ended almost two weeks ago. Jumbled together with a group of random people that somehow went to Mines too, we were quickly introduced to the culture of Costa Rica after finding our way around multiple towns, ordering food, and just living daily life in a different way. The trip was emphasized as a down-to-Earth backpacker-style travel experience with a focus on interacting with locals to get as valuable and relevant a learning experience as possible. We carried everything we needed for the trip on our backs and moved from hostel to hostel through Turrialba, to a town on the coast called Puerto Viejo, and finally San Jose. Included as part of the fee for the trip, we participated in a canyoneering experience where we zip-lined through trees and repelled down waterfalls. We also spent two days rafting on the river Pacuare and had the opportunity to visit a local indigenous village. By the end of the trip, we were inseparable, and had shared so many fears, moments, and snacks that we just didn't care about boundaries any more. It was quite inspiring for me, after having worked as a girl scout camp counselor, to see a group that had challenged itself so much and grown so much in such a short amount of time.

 

 

 

After getting up every day to do something new and running around with heavy backpacks on all week through the extreme humitidy, we were thoroughly exhausted once the time came to return to the States. When we got back, we couldn't stop saying "Ola" and "Gracias" to people for weeks! As an afterthought, I just have to say that I have never experienced an entire bag of stuff getting so smelly that I had to wash everything to get the smell out (for some of my clothes, twice). All in all, an epic trip with an epic group of people, to a beautiful and inspiring country. I really hope I can give something in return to Costa Rica someday. Although the cost may be great, great as in practically a whole semester's work study earnings, travel truly opens the mind in ways that just book learning can't.

Speaking of which, I've got some bookwork to do. Until next time, Pura Vida!