1. Studying abroad is expensive. While the Kansas State study abroad office is very generous with its scholarships, it is hard to avoid several thousand dollars of expenses. The flight costs money, tuition costs money, and the program general charges extra. On top of this, you will want to travel, possible go to bars with friends, and enjoy coffee at cafes, so your money will be constantly draining. Financing your trip without taking out loans is possible, but it requires sacrifice. I got a job at a pizza restaurant during the semester before my summer in Costa Rica. I worked 20-25 hours a week, which, combined with my 17 credit hours, meant that I was sleeping very little. I did not have time for extracurricular activities, and sometimes had to forgo parties to study. I listened ... read more

Yesterday Robert brought a couple of gallons of raw milk to the kitchen and taught us to make cheese. The process is surprisingly simple, and this morning I was rewarded with hot pepper cheese in my scrambled eggs. I finished my eggs quickly because Crispin, Max, and I were late for our bus. The previous afternoon I had been climbing around in an avocado tree dropping avocados down to Crispin when the wind picked up. We looked upwind and saw clouds swirling and lightning flashing around the top of the mountain that dominates the eastward view from Robert's farm. The windmills that typically turn at the mountain's summit were obscured. As we watched the clouds churn, we realized that we hadn't yet climbed that mountain. I am leaving the farm soon, so we promptly asked Robert ... read more

The backpacking trip went perfectly, although I have been informed that Cerro Chirripo is only the highest mountain in Costa Rica, not Central America. We woke up early on Sunday and quickly completed our work. We left the farm at noon, hiking to Ciudad Colon and getting on a bus to San Jose. We arrived in San Jose 45 minutes before our next bus was scheduled to depart, so we quickly walked/jogged the 22 blocks to the next bus station. Arriving just in time, we bought our bus tickets and settled in for the beautiful 3 1/2 hour ride through cloudy green mountains to San Isidro. In San Isidro we had an hour to kill before our final bus ride so we sat in a park and observed all the church-goers before sipping a beer at ... read more

Yesterday I was a bit uncomfortable. We stayed up late drinking wine (damn Henry and his DJing), and everyone was sluggish when we woke up. Food was running low, so Robert gave us some money to go purchase produce at the farmer's market that was going on in town. We all went, and the walk doubled as a last goodbye for Alex. We got to the market, and Alex said that he had to carry on to the bus station. The girls cried, the guys hugged, and off he went. He has more work lined up down in Panama, but plans to party on Costa Rica's Caribbean side first. I wish I could go. Anyways, the girls were pretty upset, so they got beer and cigarettes and we literally sat around the park for a few ... read more

I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, at around noon on July 25th with the intention of finding a bus to take to Ciudad Colon to begin WWOOFing. I was a bit nervous. San Jose can be dangerous, and the bus station is located in an area nicknamed the "red zone" due to all of the muggings and pickpocketings that occur. Being a gringo is enough to make one stand out in San Jose, and the enormous backpack I was hauling made me feel like even more of a spectacle. I walked quickly and stuck to more crowded streets and was able to reach the bus station without any trouble.A cab driver talked me into buying a ride from him. This cost me $20 as opposed to the 50 cents that the bus would have cost, ... read more