| I was half way through my last year of an Arts degree, sitting on my couch pondering what I was going to do with my life, when I came across YCA on the internet. After deciding to go to Costa Rica, everything seemed to fall into place and I could barely contain my excitement! For 10 weeks I lived on a small island off the Pacific Coast named Isla Venado, with 5 Aussie volunteers, 5 Canadians and 2 Costa Rican group leaders. At first it seemed like the cultural barriers were greater with the Canadians than they were with the Costa Ricans, but by the end of our project our group of fellow Challengers had become one big family. Our project involved working alongside the community on a local youth centre, teaching English to the local children, and building a mosaic wall under the hot Costa Rican sun. One of the many challenges during project was not having water for 2 weeks so we ended up showering in the rain and carrying buckets of water back from the well on our heads! The community of El Jicaro were the most generous and warm people I had ever met. One family who had 11 children still invited all 12 of us for dinner. Upon leaving, our adopted community families thanked us for doing our washing in their washing machines, thanked us for watching movies in their living rooms, and thanked us for eating in their homes. We left feeling they had given so much more to us than we could ever give to them. Before leaving Australia I underestimated what a small part of communication is actually spoken. My Spanish was terrible, and still I managed to cultivate intense bonds with the community which I know will last a lifetime. After arriving home from Costa Rica, I again had to think about what I wanted to do with my future. I have since decided to do a Master in Development Studies. If studying this degree means meeting and working with amazing people like the ones I met in Costa Rica, then that’s what I want to spend the rest of my life doing! | 
