This blog post was written by Aliya during her 4th year in the Environmental Management stream.
Left to right: Isabella, Ashley, Lyn, and Aliya at the EcoCampus
Being able to travel to another country with my friends and get credits for it was hands down the most exciting thing about this trip. I don’t think I could have gone on the Semester Abroad by myself without having a good connection with the people I was going with. Not only did I strengthen relationships and learn new things about my friends, I also made new connections with other Environmental Studies and YorkU students of different majors.
Left to right: Hanisi, Amadeuz and Aliya at the EcoCampus
By planning to go on the Semester Abroad with people I already knew, the fun began before we even got to Costa Rica. Booking my flights originally seemed daunting: It was my very first time buying plane tickets on my own with my own money (I know, I know, I’m such a rookie). My friends and I met up at our local breakfast place, and searched for the best flight we could find. We were lucky to find a direct flight from Toronto to San José, where we would arrive two days before our Semester Abroad courses would start.
Aliya, Ashley and Isabella at the top of volcano Irazu.
With the extra days we had in San José, we looked for an Airbnb and found one that was only a 15 minute taxi ride from the airport and close to the town centre and local restaurants. We stayed in a small town right outside downtown San José called Alajuela. The first day we got to our Airbnb, we rested, walked around the town, and went out for dinner. It rained so hard that first day, I remember eating outside and not being able to hear my friends over the thunder and heavy rainfall! But it was still lots of fun, especially because I was with friends. On our second day, we visited the Volcano Irazu which was around an hour long bus ride and very high up, but also very worth it!
Aliya and Natalie at the Cloud Bridge Forest
During the courses, I made stronger friendships with people I had seen in my classes in Environmental Studies. It was really nice being able to get to know them on a more personal level and understand their story, how they feel about the course and just to have like-minded people to talk to. There were also some York students in the courses that were not in the Environmental Studies program. Some of them were Nursing students, International Development students, and students from the Glendon campus too!
It was great to enjoy shared experiences together. One time, we were laughing on the bus for hours about something one of my friends kept saying in Spanish which she thought meant something good. It actually ended up meaning “farts”. Later, we went to plant mangroves and it actually smelled like farts because of the sulfur in the soil and we were all laughing like crazy again.
On the bus going back to the EcoCampus
Travelling with friends was also a great way to get to know my friends better…even the parts of them I may not like. Because we were in homestays together, I had a taste of what it might be like to live together. For example, I learned that one of my friends is extremely messy; she likes to throw her clothes around everywhere! She also has the worst sense of direction and as someone who’s very good at knowing where I’m going, this was a big surprise.
Protected Area Management class
Having friends at the EcoCampus with me was great not only for the fun times, but also the harder times when I needed support. One day, from sunstroke, I got very sick at the EcoCampus. I was really grateful to have the support of my friends who comforted me and gave me gravol which is something I forgot to bring on the trip. Luckily, it only lasted 8 hours, so I was able to recover pretty quickly.
In the end though I made some new friends and strengthen my already existing friendships. I was very excited for the start of my fourth year where I get to see the same people again and continue to make the most of the fun times at York University!
