I am editing the video explaining everything about my gap year, but until then I was thinking of giving y'all a little heads up so you know what is going on!
In June 2013, I decided to take a gap year because I was stuck in a major that I wasn't sure that I wanted anymore. I felt like just spending time at my university and studying something that I'm not sure I want to do for the rest of my life was a waste of my time and money. Before I went to university, my college counselor wanted me to do a gap year somewhere, but I was hesitant because I did not want to enter my freshman year of college at age 20. My roommate my freshman year was 17 when she first moved in. In hindsight, I feel like it was a good decision to go straight to college because a 20 year old living with a 17 year old would not have worked out.
After my decision was made to take a gap year, my college counselor then set me up with the gap year program that her children did before they went to college and the one she wanted me to do. (If any of you want the information on the program, just let me know and I'd be happy to share everything with you!) I knew that I wanted to have half of my year be community service and the other half to be an internship or two to discover what I am truly interested in.
So, three months later I hopped on a plane to San Jose, Costa Rica to start the next chapter of my life. I was hesitant to go to Costa Rica because I have never been to a Central American country nor had I really expressed any interest (I now have no idea why!). Not to mention the fact that I had not taken Spanish for three or four years and I could barely remember how to say "Hola." Alas, I put all of my fears and doubts aside and decided to go on this extraordinary adventure. This section of the year is the community service portion.
For the first four weeks of my trip, I will be living in the city of San Jose attending Spanish classes every day. I am living with a lovely Costa Rican family that is still learning English, so we both are faced with new challenges every day. The more our family is around each other, the faster we learn. A lot of Costa Ricans that I have met do not speak much English and I do not speak much Spanish, so being immersed in the culture helps so much when learning a language.
One day when we were walking around San Jose, we found a room that was only full of hammocks. Not sure how this could be any more perfect.
Livin' la pura vida!
I need to learn as much Spanish as possible because for the second leg of the trip because after the 4 weeks in San Jose, I will be teaching the Tico children English for 6 weeks. I'm not sure yet where the service "internship" will be. I believe that I have the decision to either go to a rural area, or stay in San Jose and work with the less fortunate children here. Both would be amazing, yet very different experiences. I think I am leaning more towards the rural option because I am so curious of how they live and how I can help them.
My last two weeks in Costa Rica are very different from the rest. After a busy three months working in Costa Rica, I will take a two week break and just rest. I will be going to Jaco, a city on the pacific coast of Costa Rica that is well known for its great waves for surfing. So for those two weeks, I will only be focusing on yoga and surfing and reflecting on everything I have learned on my journey.
Playa Jaco waves that attract thousands of surfers.
From now on I shall be writing lots of travel blog posts about my adventures in Costa Rica! I am so fortunate to be able to have this experience and I cannot wait to bring y'all along for the ride.
Next post will show you about my amazing weekend in Manuel Antonio! Pura Vida!
Have a wonderful day! xoxo
Annie Blair
YouTube Channel
All the photos belong to me besides the last surfing photo.
