The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Costa Rica were the smells. As 1 set foot into the moist tropical air, I was immediately overwhelmed with humidity, the aroma of unfamiliar plants, and excitement for this unknown world. Everywhere I went for the first several weeks, I was welcomed with new sensations of something different in the air. Even now, after seven months of being back in the United States, the images, smells, flavors, and people remain ingrained in my senses and are present in my daily interactions and decisions. Due to such strong sensory, as well as emotional, experiences, I feel blessed with a new awakening and awareness in life. This, in turn, has brought new complicities to my understanding of human interactions and furthered my capacities of facing adversity
