Finally Caught Up

So it has been a little more than one night since my last post, but that it Ok. This post is going to get you caught up on all the rest pf activities we have done to this day. Since the first weekend, we went Manual Antonio beach, Tortoguero and Limon, and Monteverde Cloud forest.

At the hotel in Manuel Antonio

The weekend after our first full week of school was extremely well deserved and was long awaited. That week had been a bit stressful as we were starting our new education rhythm, and we had to find and create our new routines to manage all the work we had to do. Although we had many fun excursions planned and were living in different country for three months to experience the culture, we are studying abroad and so there was work to be done. The majority of us are taking 14-16 credit hours, many of those (me not included) with teaching practicums and extra music classes and practice required. As such we needed to plan our routines so that we could balance our studies and take full advantage of our time here to explore and experience Costa Rican culture. Needless to say however that our first full length excursion to Manuel Antonio beach and National park was  more than welcome.

Manuel Antonio is one of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica. It is on the Pacific Coast and it took us four hours to get their by bus. On the way we stopped on a bridge overlooking a river that was full of large crocodiles. It was cool, but one of the things we really were not expecting to see. Anyways we arrived at Manuel Antonio beach around 2pm so we spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun (I did not get sunburn believe it or not). The next morning however we went to the Manuel Antonio national park where we saw many exquisite animals like monkeys and sloths. We even saw (more like heard) two sloths fighting. It was like watching people argue in slow motion, with arms and from high up in a tree. The park tour and hike lasted about three hours then we were free to relax on the beach. Later that night we went to Latin dance club, where I whipped out my ballroom dance moves and impressed everyone on the trip.

Salsa dancing at the Latin Dance Club

The weekend after our Manuel Antonio beach excursion, we visited Tortuguero and Limon the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Tortuguero is a national natural park on the Caribbean coast that is only accessible by boat. They park specializes and does a lot of work with protecting sea turtles as the beaches along the park are popular nesting sites. The area’s main source of income is from eco-tourism which is when people pay to come see and appreciate the natural environment. As such we stayed in an Eco-resort which incorporates the natural environment into the resort experience. Over the weekend we took 4 boat tours on the rivers and saw exotic

Afternoon boat ride on the rivers in Tortuguero

animals such as crocodiles, monkeys, sloths, iguanas, sea otters and more. Unfortunately there weren’t any sea turtles because it was not turtle season but it was still pretty fun.  After we left Tortuguero, we went to Limon to visit the port city and also to visit a banana plantation. We are taking a class on foods in Costa Rica and the banana plantation was cool because we learned of the importance bananas to Costa Rican development, culturally and economically.

Chillen out by the port in Limon on the Caribbean

The following week was our Monteverde cloud forest Excursion. Monteverde is a town outside and built around the cloud forest in the mountains in Guanacaste.  The forest is a popular destination for hikers, bird watchers and nature folk in general.  We visited the forest national park which was beautiful and saw lots of exotic birds including the rare quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala and one of the most beautiful birds in the world. The highlight of the trip for me however was a zip-line adventure that we had in the canopy of the forest.  There were 13 lines in total, two of which were over a km in length and we had to cross them in pairs. The experience was  nerve wrecking and adrenaline filled the entire way as we were easily over 10oft off of the ground.

Ziplining through the Canopy in Monteverde

Group before an afternoon hike around the hotel

These were all the major weekend excursions that we went on since being in Costa Rica. If you are prospective student, remember that March 15th is when admissions results come out. Also if you have any questions about anything related to admissions, send them by email to interadm@elon.edu or to cborden2@elon.edu.

Weekend 1- Waterfall Gardens, Volcanoes, Coffee Plantations and host family

Hey all,

So the first weekend in Costa Rica was pretty busy, we got thrown right into it. We got to San Jose on Saturday around 3pm and went to the school where we are taking our classes. It is called Mesoamerica, a small Language school where they teach Spanish and English, the Elon Center here in Costa Rica. The person in charge is Linda Holland, she is sort of like a dean of the students on the trip but she is the owner of the school, which is also a private business. Anyways we got to the school around 4 and we were picked up by our host

Carlos (Papi), Nikki, Dani and I eating out one night

families. My host family is obviously the best. I am only the second person that they have hosted for a semester so they are relatively new at hosting students long term.  Anyways my family is awesome, my mom and dad are Arleyne and Carlos, and I have two siblings, a 20 year old brother Dani and a 17 year old sister Nikki. They are extremely awesome and friendly, and it has been a blast living with them up till now.

We spent our first night, Saturday night with our host families getting settled in and stuff, but then our activities started bright and early at 8 am Sunday morning.  That morning we all met up at Parque Sabanilla  (a pretty central location to everyone) to catch the bus for our Sunday adventure. Our adventure started at the Doca coffee plantation.  We arrived shortly after 9:30 and we were fed a delicious Costa Rican breakfast of gallo-pinto (rice and beans), fresh fruit, eggs and fresh coffee, straight from the plantation. It was some of the best coffee that I ever had to this point. Costa Rican coffee trumps all. After breakfast, we went on a tour of the coffee plantation and we saw how the coffee beans are picked and processed before it becomes a the coffee that we brew and drink. It was interesting, we learned how of the coffee produced only 10% of top quality coffee is kept in Costa Rica and all the rest exported to stores like Starbucks. Despite this however, the 2nd class coffee which is sold locally is often better than the top quality that is

Kyle, Caroline and I during the plantation tour

exported because those beans get mixed in with coffee from all over the world so it loses its flavor, there fore 2nd class Costa Rican coffee trumps all (or at least Starbucks).

After the plantation we went to the Poas Volcano. Costa Rica has several dormant and a few active volcanoes that have turned into nature parks for eco-tourism. There was a bit of hike associated with this stop because it is a volcano we had to hike up to the tope to take picture and see the inside of the crater of the volcano. That would have been awesome however if the weather was better. There were think clouds everywhere. Since the volcano is pretty high point we were practically standing in the clouds and it was extremely windy. We could not even see the crater because the cloud cover was thick. It was cool though because we were in the clouds. It wasn’t raining but everything got wet because we were practically walking in the clouds.

We waited at the top of the Volcano for probably around an hour hoping that the weather would change but things never got better so we left and went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. These were awesome and extremely pretty. We had lunch provided for us at the gardens then we practically explored the gardens freely. There were lots of exotic birds like Toucans and Macaws, there was a butterfly garden, tree frog place, and a collection of dangerous snakes. They even had Jaguars, Pumas and sloths! After we looked at the animals, we

Molly and I catching butterflies at La Paz

walked along a path that went past the three waterfalls that the park were named after. These waterfalls were simply amazing and beautiful, more eco-tourism. Eco tourism is when you use the environment as a means of attracting and promoting tourism. This generates revenue from tourism and increases awareness and helps with environmental protection. After the waterfalls we went home, ate dinner with our host families and prepared for school because we are students, so we had to prepare for orientation and our first classes etc.

This first weekend was lots of fun and I bought a Costa Rican hat that I wear just about everywhere. It has become my trademark but I like it and its utility (its got a small pocket at the side). Although technically not part of the weekend later that week the Political Science class we took a field trip to the Asmblea Legislativa, which is like their version of the Parliament or Capitol Hill. It was a really cool experience because we met many Costa Rican senators and even a former first lady.

Political Science Class with former first lady at Asmblea Legislative

That’s about it for the first week and weekend. That week was mainly orientation and our first week of classes. I am taking a full 16 hours so things are difficult. Especially since the days end at around 10pm but start much earlier at around 6 am. I am taking Latin Ameircan Politics, Latin American Literature, Spanish 227 and the Upper Level GST on food and so far so good with classes. They are challenging and require a lot of time with work but it is not impossible. Anyways I now have to catch you up on three more weeks of activities.

Blending in with nature to attract butterflies at La Paz

Until next post (prolly later tonight or tomorrow)

Long Overdue Update Post

Hey guys,

At the hotel at Manuel Antonio Beach

So this post is very long overdue and for that I am truly sorry, but I am safe and sound in San Jose, Costa Rica. These last few weeks to a month have been extremely busy and the weekends were spent travelling, aka no time for much extra activity. However my classes, and my host family are all amazing. This post is just to briefly say hey I’m here an having awesome time. There will be a more in-depth post after this with all the activities we have done up to this point.

First of all, here is a quick introduction to the whole group.  The picture to the left is photo that we took during our first week in Costa Rica.

Group picture in down town San Jose

This picture was taken in the heart of San Jose during  our       first tour of the city. It is only a 20 min bus ride from Mesoamerica, the language school where we are taking our classes. There are 20 students from Elon on this Study Abroad making it one of the largest this semester. Of the group, 14 of them are education majors, and one of them is doing an education practicum that is available in Costa Rica. The Elon Center in San Jose program is pretty popular for education majors because of the opportunity to do their teaching practicum here. The people in charge of the Elon Center in San Jose have good connections within the Education system and so the teaching opportunities are phenomenal. For us non majors, the weather is beautiful, but there are also excellent environmenta science and political science classes offered. Anyways this is the group and we are all extremely excited. Look forward in the next few days for more blog posts about the various adventures we had.

 

Anthony

Study Abroad Adventures: Anthony in Costa Rica

Hey guys,

So if you watched the video blog post, you would have learned that I am going abroad for this next semester to Costa Rica. I will be going to the Elon Centre in Costa Rica, one of its three centers in the world. The other two are in London and Florence, Italy. I will be there from January to May , and I will be taking classes that count towards my Elon GPA.  There are 22 people on the trip and they are awesome.  I am sure by the end of this Study Abroad experience we will all be very close, or extremely sick of each other (hopefully we’ll become good friends).  The majority of the people going on the trip are teaching fellows, because the Elon Center offers a teaching practicum. What that means is that education majors at Elon can teach in the Costa Rican education system. I am not an education major, but I am Latin American concentration for international studies so this trip is to help me concentrate on Latin American affairs.

One of the things we are supposed to do in Costa Rica is maintain some sort of a journal and that can be written or even a blog. Luckily for me however ,Cheryl Borden director of International Admissions has given me permission to use the blog as a journal of my experiences. This being said every week I will do a post on the awesome opportunity at Elon that is a Study Abroad. I will also include important updates with regard to admissions as they occur.

I leave Saturday, so tune in next week for the first chronicle of my Costa Rica adventures. Don’t forget if you have questions, you can contact Cheryl Borden in the office of admissions at cborden2@elon.edu. Be sure to follow Eloninteradm on the twitter to see daily updates about admissions and special campus events.

Thanks, and Hasta Luego

Winter Term Updates!

Welcome back to the Destination: Elon blog!  Today’s video blog is the first of 2012 and features information on Winter Term, El Centro de Espanol, study abroad, and a few admissions updates – enjoy!

Don’t forget to contact us if you have any questions that we can answer!

Anthony:  interadm@elon.edu or on Twitter:  interadm

Cheryl:  cborden2@elon.edu or on Twitter:  CherylAtElonU

Adios Anthony!

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Winter Term Performing Arts

Hey everyone,

So its Winter Term here at Elon and boy are things busy. Classes are winding down and Elon’s construction projects are kicking up. Also, keeping up with the traditions of the end of Winter Term, the Performing arts department is producing many different shows, some of which were classes.

Last weekend for starters was the Elon Cares benefit concert. This concert features singers from Elon’s vocal performance and musical theater programs. The purpose of this concert each year is to raise awareness and funds for a wide variety of issues in society today. This year, the concert featured drug addiction groups, breast cancer awareness and gay rights movements, but the main issue that was focused on, was AIDS. Unfortunately I did not make it in to see the show but based on what I heard it was very successful. Here is a video from this year’s Elon Cares, as found on youtube

 

On Thursday the 19th, Elon’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth opened in the black box theater. This play is one

A scene form the play

of Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies of love and murder. This is play is generally done by members of the Elon BFA acting and music theater programs. The show opened on Thursday the 19th and shows runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the 2nd of February.

 

Two other shows going at Elon:

Tapped Out:  Every Winter term  Gene Medler one of Elon dance instructors teaches a tap dancing class and their final project is a big production showcasing the skills that the students learned during the Winter Term.  There is generally a wide range of skills on display during the show and it features elements from different types of dance of dance including African, jazz, pop, ballet and more.

French Comedy:  This did not happen last year, but this year a French acting class was offered and the end result is two days of French comedy plays. The plays will be performed completely in French, but there will be English subtitles on projected so people can understand the dialogue. Check out this Phoenix 14 News feature story on the French comedies.

Well, thats it. Sorry it took so long but things have been hectic. Look forward to more posts in the next week. Congrats to all students who have been accepted to Elon so far, I hope you really consider attending school here. It will be worth your time. Other wises admissions results will come out on a rolling basis.

Have a good weekend,
Anthony
Elon’13

Congrats Elon Class of 2016

Congrats to the new Elon class of 2016.  The Early Decision results came out earlier this week on December First. Glad to have you as part of the Phoenix family and I can’t wait to welcome you to Elon in the fall of 2012.

If you applied but don’t know where to go to find your results, head to Elon ontrack : ontrack.elon.edu , and click on the link that says Ontrack for Applicants.

Now that you have been admitted to Elon, here are some useful events for you to come too:

1. Spring Orientation March 9-10 and April 20-21:

So newly admitted students have opportunity to attend Spring Orientation sessions. Spring Orientation is a two day event that celebrates the new freshman class and helps prepare the students for classes and enrollment in the Fall. It’s a good opportunity for freshmen to get to learn about life on campus and any thing else that interests them or is on their mind about college. So I highly encourage you to attend one of the two sessions in March or in April.
Here is the link the Spring Orientation  website : 
http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Note.aspx?id=941786

 

2. Phoenix Fridays – February 10 and 17; March 30; April 13 and 27:

Phoenix Fridays are days when admitted students can come to campus and get paired with a current student who will take them to their classes. This is a great way for an admitted student to get a feel for Elon’s academics, as well as to better see college campus life. I did something similar to this and it was the deciding factor for me to come to Elon so highly recommend this event.
Here is the link to the Phoenix Fridays event:  
http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Note.aspx?id=934593

 

Anyways that’s all. In case you applied Early Action remember that the  notifications of acceptance come out then. Also if you haven’t already applied you can still apply, the regular application deadline is January 10th so you have some time, but get them in quick.  And if you are interested, you can still apply for Fellows Programs until January 10th. This link will explain the fellows programs, their requirements and their benefits : 
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/admissions/Fellows/

 

And I will leave you this video to get you excited and pumped about coming to Elon:

All the best, and Congrats again Class of 2016,
Anthony
Elon 2013