I'm going to be FAMOUS!

I've yet to share much info about the most imminent of my excursions, Costa Rica, simply because of my own lack of knowledge as to what the trip would entail. Well, it's less than 48 hours to departure, and now I have all the details!  Best news about this trip, a videographer is accompanying us to make a documentary of our trip to be used in marketing material for the Elon M.Ed. program.  Translation: I'm going to be FAMOUS!  Of course that is entirely dependent on your definition of fame, but let's not be picky!

Lucky for me, I am meeting the group at the RDU airport which means an extra bit of sleep for me on Friday morning.  The crew will be boarding a bus in Elon around 3:30 or 4 in the morning, but I will simply have to be at the airport at 5 am.  We will fly into San Jose, Costa Rica via connection Miami, but then hit the road right away to our first destination--La Fortuna where we will see Volcán Arenal and visit a hot springs resort.  Our trip planners have been kind enough to consider that we are within days of finishing what was most likely a busy and stressful school year, and thus scheduled vacation-type activities for the first weekend.  After our first afternoon/evening in La Fortuna at Hotel La Pradera, we will depart Saturday morning for Guanacaste.

We will get to spend our weekend at Playa Grande in the comfy RipJack Inn.  With no real plans, we've been encouraged to try surfing, yoga, and do some relaxing.  I guess that's something I can comply with!  We'll stay there until Monday morning, when the work begins with two school visits to Brasilito School and La Paz School.  After that, we will trek back to San Jose where we will stay for the remainder of the trip at Apartotel Maria Alexandra in the suburb of Escazu.

While in San Jose, we will visit a vocational school (Colegio Vocacional Monseñor Sanabria), a Catholic school (Nuestra Señora ...I think that's the right link), and a private school (St. Michael School).  Additionally, we will get to meet and socialize with a group of Costa Rican teachers and visit the Ministry of Education.  We'll finish the week with a group dinner Thursday night, and then a day-long trek back to RDU via Dallas/Fort Worth on Friday.

I'm SO excited to be heading back to Central America for an entirely new experience!  Check out the "Costa Rica Map" tab at the top of the page for a cool interactive view of our journey!