It was early in the morning. Liliya and I had been sleeping in the student dormitory which was connected to the cafeteria, until we moved into our new house. Typically, due to the sun rising and the birds chirping I’m awake right around 6:00 A.M, though sometimes when groups are arriving and departing at late and early hours I’m up even earlier. Stepping outside the door at quarter to seven, and I was greeted by one our Water and Wave Semester students. Water and Wave Semester had officially ended their course the night before. Often times when people finish their course with us they spend the night in a hostel, and stick around Costa Rica to see some more sights. Other times they stay one last night with us, followed by a drop off in the ... read more

On November 13th of 2007, my wife Liliya and I began our first trip to Costa Rica. It is perhaps a misnomer when I define my activities in Costa Rica as a trip. It is in fact a job. I have been hired as the new Marketing and Communications Director for Costa Rica Rain Forrest Outward Bound/ (CRROBS). Our trip began early in the morning. Flying out of Minneapolis, MN we had stops in Chicago and Dallas before we made it to San Jose International Airport in Costa Rica (SJO by the airport code). Getting through the airport was easy enough. The line formed, and went way back. There was a wide variety of foreigners passing through immigration, ranging in age from late eighties to several days, and appearances ranging from the very scruffy to the ... read more