In addition to spending time with my host family, I spent a lot of time with my fellow study abroad peers. I truly appreciated having such a strong support group during my time abroad, as we were all going through the same roller coaster of emotions during the end of the semester. We seemed to all agree that we were excited to return to our families for the winter holidays, even though we also agreed that we would miss this once in a lifetime trip. Additionally, many of my friends and I compared this trip to living in a dream, because even though we had changed so much and enjoyed so many fun experiences, we knew that nothing had changed back home. Returning home would feel like waking up from a long dream.
In order to celebrate our “dream” together one last time, we had the opportunity to rent out a country club to host one last dinner together. All of our professors and study abroad directors were invited and we danced the night away at El Castillo, the castle.
The last day I was in Costa Rica, I remember sitting next to my host mom, crying, telling her that I did not want to go back to the United States. I was having so much fun in Costa Rica that returning to my normal everyday life scared me. When she dropped me off at the airport bright and early, I could not help but sob into her arms. Then she told me that she would always be waiting for me to return with brazos abiertos, open arms. As I said my farewells to my host mom, I looked around and saw all of my peers crying in their host moms' arms, too. All of our moms waited for us to board our plane and waved to us goodbye as we took off.
