All of a sudden there was a ton people in the house.

I smiled last night when I walked out of my room after being in there for maybe one minute only to find that the population of Ticos in the kitchen tripled. It seemed to me that that moment was the epitome of my life here. Surprise, happiness, excitement and family. Thinking back, the first time I walked into the house no less than five strangers followed in after me: friends of Eder and Max, brothers of my host mother, cousins, neighbors and friends of neighbors. While I was meeting all of them and trying to practice their names, new, exotic fruit was being shoved into my mouth and a whole new world was forming around me and I had and hour to soak it all in before I was out of the house again and back with the group.

I have done and seen so many things and lived in such a way that I can’t even begin to describe it. I’ve eaten rice and beans all day, I’ve shaved with cold water for the past three months, I’ve been awoken to the sound of double gated homes being locked and unlocked, I’ve gotten hooked to a dubbed television series and had in-depth conversations about plot development, I’ve been to Mal Pais, Monte Verde, Arenal, Manuel Antonio, Puerto Viejo, Tamarindo, Braulio Carrillo, Cerro de la Muerte, Nicaragua and Panama. I don’t really know the best way to wrap up an entire semester of personal growth, invaluable knowledge and new experiences. I recently went bungee jumping but even that doesn’t seem as crazy as the culmination of experiences I have had in such a short period of time.

Living here in Costa Rica has been amazing and I would not trade this opportunity for anything in the world. There is really only one phrase that I can think of to really describe what I feel and, of course, it’s a Tico saying: Pura vida, mae, pura vida.

-Craig R. Campbell