I have done most of my packing and have printed out all of my important documents and then we had some sort of transformer explosion in the neighborhood and now my desktop computer and printer will not turn back on! I have to leave tomorrow and there is no time to see if they can be fixed. I hope that Rich will be able to do that for me. Luckily I backed up most stuff. I hope I haven't lost the other stuff and that my computer and printer have simple problems that can be repaired easily. Rich will drive me early tomorrow morning to Tampa Airport and I will fly to Miami, then on to San Jose, Costa Rica. I have arranged for the Montana Linda, the School of Languages to send me a driver ... read more

I have one more week before my flight leaves for Costa Rica. This will be the first of two trips I will be making to Central America in 2008. During the first, I hope to strengthen my Spanish Language speaking abilities and get a better idea of the Costa Rican culture in a relaxed atmosphere. During the second trip I will be with a group of undergraduate and graduate students from USF. The students all have different backgrounds including Public Health, Journalism, International Studies and Anthropology. I am looking forward to getting different perspectives from the group. My travels are related to a Masters in Public Health that I hope to finish in December of 2008. I have been given the opportunity to do my required field experience with two Anthropology professors from USF. One professor ... read more