To everybody who thinks they have been on a vacation, it was probably nothing in comparison to this. Senior, Ashley Wenson has traveled to well-known country, Costa Rica for the second summer now and still loving it. If she is lucky enough to go, Ashley joins her mom on vacation with the school she teaches at. This is a wonderful opportunity to just relax and get away from daily life for a few weeks or so.
While Costa Rica seems like a beautiful country, there were some startling aspects of her experience. “Something I wasn’t expecting in Costa Rica was all of the bugs and little animals in the rooms. One night we stayed right in the middle of the rain forest so bugs were everywhere! We had to make sure our suit cases were closed so little lizards and bugs wouldn’t crawl in there. I also wasn’t expecting to see stray dogs roaming everywhere we went. It honestly would be shocking not to see at least 5 stray dogs everywhere we went,” Ashley adds.
So there were some cons to this vacation but she keeps a positive attitude through it all.
Food in Costa Rica is very different from the U.S. and she had some strange encounters with different types of food there also. “My favorite thing to eat in Costa Rica was all the fresh fruit. There were many different exotic fruits I got to try that aren’t in the U.S. one unique thing I ate in Costa Rica that isn’t so popular in the U.S. is iguana. Iguana is very popular to eat in Costa Rica I was very nervous to eat it because I didn’t know how it was going to taste but it tasted just like chicken. Beans and rice are very common to eat there too. I had beans and rice as a side for almost every meal we ate,” Wenson says.
Although the bugs and animals might have been a problem, that did not set her off when it came to activities. Her experiences she had there were exciting and fun and definitely memorable. “My favorite activity that I did when I was in Costa Rica was when I went white water rafting. There were six people in a boat and also an instructor. It was so fun moving through the rapids, enjoying the thrill ride and trying not to get taken into the water from a rough rapid,” Wenson states.
She had a lot of fun doing different things she can’t do where she lives. It must have been fun to have that opportunity to try new things she hasn’t done before because not everybody gets to experience these things. Despite all of the things that weren’t too great she would always want to go back because of its calming and peaceful environment.
“One thing I look forward to every time I go back is all of the beautiful scenery and of course the beaches. Since Costa Rica has such nice beaches it’s always nice to just relax on the beach and enjoy the ocean. Costa Rica has amazing scenery because at one of the hotels I stayed at all I had to do was look out the window and you see mountains in the horizon and trees and flowers everywhere,” Wenson adds. Costa Rica is known for such beautiful landscaping. How could one resist the beauty of all of the trees and wildlife?
She learned from her experience that the U.S. and Costa Rica have similarities and differences within their countries. “The culture differs because the main sport in Costa Rica is soccer which is known as football there. Many people walk instead of using cars because the only main city is San Jose which is also the capital. There were many restaurants where we ate outside because it’s always nice there,” Wenson concludes.
Ashley would much rather live in the U.S. only because there is a much better chance she won’t have beetles in her soup even though it is nice being around beaches and nice warm weather. She has a great time every year she goes and looks forward to many more.
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