Day 1: By Emily Seymour

After months of anticipation, we finally arrived in Costa Rica! We were all exhausted but excited once we landed. Our journey wasn't over just then. We had to drive for a few hours more just to get to the Soltis Center. The drive opened our eyes to what poor really means in other parts of the world. While sometimes we complain our house is "too small", these houses were actually very small. Despite this, the people still seemed to have a joy that was very evident all around. Children played soccer with makeshift goals along the side of the road and families gathered around dinner tables while their front door was wide open. Further along the way we drove through the cloud forest. This was exciting and terrifying at the same time. None of us could figure out how the driver was able to see the road because all you could see were clouds and headlights. Somehow he did it perfectly and we finally arrived safely at the Soltis Center!

It is absolutely gorgeous here. The Center is in the middle of the rainforest so there is so much life and activity all around. You can't walk through the halls of the center without seeing an assortment of bugs crawling and flying across the floor and walls. It's gross and cool at the same time. We all were shown our dorms. They are so cool, aside from the fact that if you leave lights on, bugs will come near. After that, we were served a delicious meal of beans, rice, and steak in red sauce. So far the food's pretty good. 

After finishing up our meals, we had our orientation with Albert. He is so smart and knows all about the animals and plants in this rainforest. At the end of the presentation, he told us all about the potentially harmful animals. Yay for venomous snakes! Basically you have to be super careful walking anywhere, especially at night. Regardless, we were all super excited for the night hike! Only half of us got to go on it tonight because 30 people in a rainforest at night with one guide is a little much. Before we even left the sidewalks by our dorms, we came across tons of bugs and a huge toad. On one of the doors there was a moth that was nearly twice the length of an iPhone. Can't find that in College Station. Once we entered the forest, we saw countless bugs and frogs. We were on high alert for snakes, though. A few times Albert would go off and try to find different animals to show us. He is an absolute pro at finding things. For instance, he shined his light on a leaf and realized a caterpillar was on the bottom of it. I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to find that one. About halfway through the hike, we found our first snake high up in the tree. Props to Charley for that one. A minute later Albert found another one in a tree and grabbed it. It was not venomous, I promise! We all got the opportunity to hold it if we wanted, too. Of course almost all of us jumped at the opportunity and posed for some pictures. Too bad the snake smelled terrible and left our hands smelling gross. The price you pay for being adventurous. The rest of the hike was a lot of fun as we made our way deeper into the rainforest. At one point we turned all the lights off and just stood there in complete silence. You could really hear everything without the distractions of your other senses. It was so neat and the hike was such a unique experience. Tomorrow we begin our service projects so I could not be more excited! We had such an adventure for only half a day in the country so I can't wait to see what's to come! Plus I can't wait to see a sloth (hopefully!). It's going to be an exciting and busy next week but we all are stoked to experience Costa Rica!