I’ve landed back in Pittsburgh, I’ve had a few days to reflect on Costa Rica, and I think my biggest takeaway is that I need a little bit more “pura vida” energy in my life.

As I said in my first post, “pura vida” translates to pure life, and, among other things, can be used to say “no worries” or “don’t stress about it.” (Note: it’s most commonly used as a farewell, hence the title of this blog). To me, it’s a perfect little mantra to remind myself to take a deep breath, calm down, and reassess. Even though I’m still far from where I want to be in this skill, I think I’ve grown a lot in my ability to step out of my comfort zone: to try new things, to expose myself to being embarrassed, to embrace the bumps in the road.

In my past four blogs, I’ve mentioned various examples of times where I tried to embrace la pura vida: karaoke night, distributing questionnaires, spontaneous day trips, and so on. To the surprise of no one, these are the moments that ended up my favorite memories. So, if I could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students it would be this: don’t let your anxiety get in the way of making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course, stay safe, be cautious, and consider the risks, especially when in a foreign country. However, there were many moments where I almost let my stress stop me from doing something that turned out to be completely harmless.

I also have so many people to thank for making the experience as amazing as it was. My parents, who supported me emotionally and financially, and even helped me improve my research project. My host parents, who provided a comfortable, supportive environment while I was abroad. My friends Kenya, Lia, and Jennifer (also my research partner), who were with me during basically the whole trip and who kept me in line when I got too grumpy or became too much of a stick in the mud. And finally, my amazing, wonderful, fantastic professor, Ana-Paula, who made the whole thing possible: from the first week of the seminar, to the airport on the way home, she was there to guide and advise me in anything I needed. Without all of them and more, I wouldn’t have gotten very far at all! It was an amazing experience, and I can’t put into words how deeply grateful I am.