First Steps

I'm sitting here watching my nice, shiny new blog take shape. Don't touch it! I'll be forever trying to get the fingerprints off. An interesting paradox since the purpose of it is to accompany the process of drenching my life in the fingerprints of the world. But where would life be without a little paradox, eh?

For those not in the know:

The Destination: Costa Rica, Central America
The Home: Heredia, northeast of San Jose with a host family of three; mother, father and son
The Duration: 141 days, January 31st through June 20th
The Purpose: Culture study, language immersion, a comparison experience with two months in Nicaragua, a crazy-amazing adventure on zip-lines and a life experience to challenge and inspire.

Basically, I'm studying abroad at the Universidad Nacional. I'll be taking classes full-time, living with my host family and having amazing life experiences. Details to be filled in as I go along. I hope this blog allows those who read it the opportunity to follow my experiences and adventures and, of course, an alternate form of time-wasting. Afterall, facebook is so last week. I would love to hear from people here on this blog or via email while I'm gone. I have an absurd amount of patience for long, verbose communications from friends and family and (internet access provided) usually excel at returning the favor. I'm also on skype, which has become my best friend while traveling internationally.

A word on the title for those who don't read Spanish: It is taken from the Gabriel García Márquez quote posted beneath it (surprise!). The quote as a whole essentially states that most people go through life wanting to live at the top of the mountain, without realizing that true happiness comes in the way you climb the cliff. This blog is titled "To the peak of the mountain." There are intermittent peaks along the way and goals I hope to achieve but life is about the journey and this blog is about life.

Though, let's be honest, this trip is all about the zip-lines ;-)