Well it is the night before the trip and i am looking forward to feeling the sweltering sunshine on my skin again. Also i can’t wait to see the familiar sights and sounds of nature and culture. The inconsistence rain fall may become annoying but i hope to have an amazing time.

-Matthew lallman-

Wow, just less than 24 hours until we arrive in Costa Rica.
I am extremely overwhelmed and nervous. I do not know what
to expect. This is my first time out of the U.S and I am
glad its to a country where I am familiar with the language.
Since I can speak spanish I think I will have a greater
connection and understanding with the people of Costa Rica.
My biggest anitcipation is hiking and walking through the
rainforest, and seeing the vast amount of animals that live
there. Here in Connecticut I don't see much of a variety of
animals that's why I am excited to encounter many animals in
Costa Rica. One of my assignments on the trip is to study
inverbs, as of right now i dont know much but when we leave
Costa Rica I hope to know all there is to know about
inverbs. I just hope i don't get bit by anything. This trip
will surely be a lifelong memory and I am grateful for this
opportunity. See you all very soon!

Chris R.

Only four days until we all finally meet again & leave for Costa Rica! I can't wait to land in San Jose, soak up some of that 90 degree weather and hope I don't burn to a crisp. Having little fear of planes or traveling, I'm more excited than anything else to experience what the tropical country of Costa Rica has to offer. Hearing nothing but amazing stories from Professor Wasko, I definitely cannot wait to see these leaf-cutter ants for myself as well as many other critters, reptiles, and other animals I would never see in Brooklyn, NY. I also can't wait to be out in the field, I feel like i'll be able to adjust really well with my surroundings. I've always wanted to do zip-lining & snorkeling and now I finally can.. I know it will definitely be an experience I won't ever forget. Writing this is making me even more ansty to be there!

See you all soon!!

-Maria M.

Blog entry

Only 6 (or 5 depending when this gets posted) days left until I go off to Costa Rica! I'm so excited and nervous all at the same time. I can't wait to see the different types of birds, plants, and the country itself. I'm not so excited to see the bugs and snakes, but sadly I know I'll encounter them. I hope the days don't go by fast while we're all there and I also hope I'm not the only one that hasn't packed yet. I believe I'm the only freshman going this year and since I don't know anyone, I know I will make new friends and also have a lot of fun. I can't wait!
Jennifer M.

Nervous, Excited, anxious, scared. These are all my emotions about Costa Rica. I can't wait to see what I will discover and explore. I know I'm going to be nervous to try new things, but I am willingly to put that side and become more open-minded to new experiences .I want to step out the box of my everyday life and fears. So even though I'm nervous about zip lining and snorkeling, I will defiantly do it with palms sweaty and shaky hands.  I am also excited about my assignment on Costa Rican birds.  I can't wait to study the different types of birds that are out there.  Costa Rican birds are so eccentric and different from my everyday New York pigeons, I'm so eager to learn more about them. I am also excited to try the food and the different fruits.  My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago (an island that is off the coast of Venezuela). I had visited Trinidad and Tobago many times. So I am a little familiar with the island life. But I know that Costa Rica is little different from Trinidad, so it will still be a new experience for me. I can't wait to see what the trip has in store for me. I am excited to be working with Dr. Wasko and his colleague Susan and also the classmates. I hope we all have a wonderful eye-opening experience. See everyone soon :)!!!

Shantel R Isaac

Another year, another course...

Welcome back!

After a tremendously successful experience last year, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to bring another group this year.  There was quite a bit of rigmarole to deal with in setting things up this year, from both student and administrative ends.  But we made it happen... huge thanks to Marge Arnold and David Goldenberg for making this possible.  All said and done, we now have a somewhat smaller group this year, but it should be no less fun. 

Our trip runs from May 31-June 10, and we'll be visiting various areas around Costa Rica.  As always, stay tuned here to hear about our adventures.  Personally, I can't wait to get back, visit old friends, re-explore my old stomping grounds, and introduce another crop of students to one of my favorite places on earth.  Only 27 days to go!

--Dennis Wasko, 5/3/11

There is, and it seems there always will be, something
about the way life happens in places like these that will
forever appeal to the more illogical divisions of my heart.
Yet, more and more every day that I have been here, that
sense of the illogical is becoming a larger part of my
serious contemplations.
Every iota of smell, color, sound and thought--if they
could speak, they would rapidly learn to how to scream and
tell me "you belong here!" And at some moments, it's
almost like they already can. They whisper subliminal
messages to my senses to get me to stay.
I can still remember my first taste of the platanos here!
It was like a rookie angel tripped in heaven and
consequently fell into my mouth, and his surprise only
exponentially increased the bubbles of heaven-dust that fell
from his robes onto my waiting tongue. Yes. Yes, they were
that good.
In fact, every day I have been here I have fallen in love
with something new. And now, on our last day, all I can
think about are the little things that I took for granted
here and won't see again back in NY. I love watching the
businessmen in crisp white shirts paired with neatly pressed
slacks as they rode to work straddling speeding motos. I
love seeing the uniformed schoolchildren walking towards the
brightly-colored homes that shade them from the sun but give
lizards the opportunity to bask in it. I love the
devil-may-care attitude of the sprawling fauna that
furiously and deliberately encompass these homes in spindly
arms of neon-tinted comfort. I love the borrachos (so
infamously known for their jauntily perched fedoras and
wrinkled button-downs) that take frequent breaks from
warming their seats at the bar to spy on a bunch of
unsuspecting gringos. I love the colors that remember to
vehemently shove the city-induced grays from the events of
my mind. I love how the thunderstorms here force the world
to wake up from what is, more often than not, a food coma.
Most of all, I love how you never had to walk far to find
a spot where something beautiful could begin—whether it
was at a bug-filled hostel that revealed surprises when the
clouds cleared, in the middle of a pitch-black jungle
where, despite the fact that you couldn't see your hand in
front of your face, you could still see the bravery in
someone's heart, or on a slippery log in the middle of the
beach where you get bitten alive, but also where ghost crabs
danced underfoot and waves kissed your toes and you realize
you've stumbled into a waking dream.
We lived, we learned, and now we leave. But we'll be
back.
I remember now the first thought that graced my mind upon
its initial intake of the world here. It was, "I'm
home."

--Amanda Ramcharran

Tuesday 6/1

Hello

Today we spent another 5 hours on the bus, but this time we
were on the smaller bus and it was no where as near as
comfortable as that humongous bus. But as soon as everyone
saw the water, our eyes lite up and our spirits lifted
making everything seem okay again. The water was so blue it
was the same color as the sky so all the boats looked like
the were floating in mid-air. Then once we checked in, we
went to the beach and just sat around for a long time. And
the water felt like bath water it was so warm. Then we went
around shopping at all the local shops and got a bunch of
presents! After we all went out to eat as a group and I
think that was the best quesadilla I ever had. Then we
walked along the beach and all just chilled. It is so
beautiful and warm here I wish I could stay longer.

Mallory D.

You know you've been to Costa Rica on a Tropical Ecology
course when...
Your toasts at dinner always consist of something along the
lines of "NO MORE FIELD PANTS!"
Your beloved Professor opts for going a tad fruity in order
to protect the virtue of his female students by proceeding
to blow kisses at the offending tikos.
Your flash light and headlamp have simultaneously attached
themselves to your body like bog flies.
You refer to the cheese that locals make as "squeaky
cheese."
You have lengthy arguments over made-up words while playing
Boggle.
You take communal showers with several different species of
moth every night, so much so that you start talking to them
while you're washing your hair.
Every time you see a brown and yellow bird you scream
"BANANNAQUIT!" Even when it isn't one.
You utilize Howler monkeys as an alarm in thew morning.
Eau de Bug Spray becomes your newest and most cherished
scent.
You exponentially acquire a new set of bruises and scratches
every day, and you've quickly stop questioning where they've
came from.
You're willing to walk for half a mile in the middle of the
night just to get to the nearest bar, sprinting all the
while and contemplating who will get eaten first. You make
sure to tell everyone not to look back. They do. You all
trip over each other trying to walk even faster.

You've met at least one Fernando, Felix, or Oscar.
You've thought about keeping the Imperial label that so
neatly came off in your hand for a scrap book.
You've overused the phrase "so good" at mealtimes.
You've completed at least one hike that, in the middle of,
you seriously wondered if you were going to die.
You rocked a pair of giant, clunky, black rubber boots and
kind of fell in love with them.
Some bird or insect has violated you by stealing a kiss in
the middle of the jungle.
You've learned skills comparable to that of a ballerina
while trying to be quiet and spot animals on a hike while
wearing hiking boots.
You've pontificated upon whether or not leaf cutter ants
could steal keys.
You kind of want to be bitten by a Bala. Just to see if you
can handle it.
You've peed in the jungle and felt a sense of accomplishment
as you buried your tissue and marked your small piece of
territory.
You love Susan and Dennis like family. And then you make up
alter egos for them at night.
You sit in the grass taking in breathtaking views while
talking about life and going off on random tangents that
range from demon children to Disney movies.

--Amanda Ramcharran

Vanessa

Day one
Waking up at 6:30AM was not really my cup of tea but it's
weird how my body adapted to it so quickly. Maybe because
everyone is up and starting their days. The first morning we
were here we had rice and beans for breakfast with squeaky
cheese and fried yuca with cheese inside, which was
definitely different compare to pancakes or bagels i'm use
to having for breakfast. We stayed in San Jose the first
night but then took about a 5 hour drive to Guanacaste ! As
I was on the bus, I realized how much CR is becoming
Americanized. There were billboards written in English, pay
tolls on the highway, many cars that are in the US and so
many other things. The food here is delicious especially in
restaurants. It is so humid outside but when it started to
pour, it's just so refreshing! The air to me is just so
clean and pure, except when trucks ride by and the dirt gets
in your eyes and mouth. I definitely miss the internet and
my phone because there is no type of communication to the
outer world here. But i realize I can live without it.

vanessa.