Finally a Chance to Relax

Callan Kerley

Today we just kick up our feet and swam in the Pacific Ocean. The San Antonio Beach here is so amazing you have not idea! The water is warmer and sun is nice and bright. We were so happy to just relax and have fun since we put in hard work to benefit others who were in need. The only issue was we starting getting interacting with people who were tourists and our hotel and beach location was in a tourist area. It felt very different to be in tourist area after interacting with Ticos from La Carpio and the rainforest. It didn’t feel the same at all. When we arrived to San Antonio Beach I noticed that there is a difference between visiting Costa Rica and actually visiting the culture of Costa Rica. When you are tourist in a country youre not experiencing the culture you are just looking around at the country, trying different foods and maybe interacting with a Tico who probably knows English. Our trip was different because not only tried different foods but also experience the culture by helping one of the poorest neighborhoods and putting in about five hours worth of blood, sweat, and tears to making the community in the rainforest better. Our Spanish has improved and we made friends with the Ticos in both areas. Even though the beach was such a treat, it was different to be a part of the stereotypical tourist group. We wanted to try so hard not to be like the typical tourist and I think we as a group accomplished it. Seeing the other tourists at the beach makes you realize how this trip made you grow as person, because we weren`t just there to visit Costa Rica and leave, we were there to experience Costa Rica.