Final Reflection

We've officially been back in the states for about three weeks now. Looking back at when we were in Costa Rica, there's a lot that has changed about me. The whole trip overall was amazing, it's something I'd definitely do again without a second thought. Even though we did a LOT of work (we worked really hard almost every day we were there, the worst part of the trip were the ants in the rainforest), I really enjoyed going on the trip. Before we left, I expected to miss being in another country, but I didn't expect it to really have this much of an effect on me.

The work we did was extremely hard and tiring but in the end we all pulled through. I think it was a little harder on me because of my leg, but everyone helped me get through it, having me do less difficult work even though I didn't want to. Because of the close living conditions and everything, I thik it was impossible for everyone not to get to know each other better and become great friends in the end. I didn't really know many people that went on the trip other than the peope that were in my class, but in the end I got to know everyone a lot better, even the teachers that went (I would have never expected the teachers to be much different than they are during school, but they are!)

Experiencing a different culture, meeting and working with the people we met there really made an impact on me. While we were in the rainforest working near the school, it really made me rethink the things I take for granted every day. The place they had class was just an old pavillion-type thing. They didn't have much, but they were extremely happy and appreciated the things they did have. It was the same way while we were in La Carpio. The houses were made of corrugated metal, they barely had running water and a clean environment, but they were all still happy.

These are things you more than likely would never see in the US. People just don't appreciate the things they have, always wanting the latest technology and clothes. I do admit that I always want more things, but after going and staying in a different country for 12 days and seeing how they live with much less than what I have, I appreciate what I have a lot more than I did before. Looking around Pittsburgh, seeing the way people act as compared to the people we met in Costa Rica, I kind of feel ashamed. Other countries look at Americans and whether we like it or not, we tend to fall under the typical stereotypes that are set for the US. Americans are so different than people in other countries and we tend to think that we're more superior than them because of our technology and government and whatnot, but in reality, we really aren't superior to anyone. This trip changed my perspective about the US (even though I have a more negative outlook.) I think that everyone should try to go on this trip from our school.