Costa Rican Adventures Begin!

    Hello my dear readers! Or shall I say Pura Vida! I have some exciting updates on my adventures! But first, let's revisit the purpose of my blog. This blog will serve many purposes: to chronicle my adventures in Costa Rica, especially what I learn there about environmental practices. The exposure I receive in traveling to a Central American nation will allow me to compare and contrast the livelihoods, local initiatives taken, and other interesting facts with my American lifestyle.

     Whether you're interested in the environmental perspective, or you just want to learn more about other countries and other people, this blog will include both. Secondly, this blog will give you ideas of what you can do in your community, in your environment, to make the world a little more sustainable for your grandchildren and future descendants, just as Theodore Roosevelt said, “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value.” The advice and ideas will not be boring, it'll be creative, and thought-provoking. As we all know, the 21st century has given rise to very busy people with busy schedules. If we can tweek a few of our practices, amongst 300 + million people in the United States, then even recycling one plastic bottle per person will make a major difference.

     I want you to post questions, talk about some problems you notice, and I can find solutions for you! I hope that at the very least, this blog will make you more aware of your surroundings, make you recognize what is going on. Social Media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are so successful because of their ability to reach many people and make them aware of life. We all have seen those articles on Facebook that make you emotional about a poor family in an underdeveloped world. Although these stories may be heart-wrenching, they do make us aware of our surroundings, so next time a topic relating to it comes up, we have something intelligent to say (I'm sure that you've probably experienced that awkward moment in a conversation when you have no clue about what is going on). People have even started making bets with their parents that if their photo on Facebook reaches 1,000,000 likes, then they can get a puppy! I've even liked a few of those pictures, and maybe you have as well.

     But jokes aside, this blog should give you a viewing glass into the life of a 16 year old American girl who wants to follow the dreams of many before her, like Roosevelt, and do her part as a Global Citizen in benefiting the world. However, this blog won't end after my adventures in Costa Rica- this blog will continue till at least this summer. Legacy International is an organization which works with the U.S. State Department to sponsor a US-Indonesian Youth Leadership Program, which selects 6 high school juniors from across the United States to travel to Indonesia to study the environment, meet local officials, live with host families, and provide insight on American environmental initiatives. I am so honored to be selected  as a Cultural Ambassador in this program and to take part in these two prestigious programs, and as I travel around the world this year, I hope that knowledge I gain and my insight makes you travel along with me on my adventures as well!

    Now for my Costa Rica update! I am en route to Costa Rica, and am enjoying observing the various landscapes as I fly from DC to Miami. It's incredible to see the transformations between city to suburban to urban areas. I was thinking how beautiful the roads are, twisting and turning like snakes below, or like veins in the human body, until I caught myself. I realized that these roads were just simply mimicking real beauty- the rivers. If you've read “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” or “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, then you'll know that back in the 19th Century rivers were major sources for transportation. I am quite ashamed of admiring gravel, tar, and concrete, but it shows how the mindsets of people today have changed drastically, which is a great reason to explore other cultures and other environments. Also as I look through the window, I see patches of land, different shades of green which flow beautifully along the hills and curvatures of the landscape, like a quilt. One very unique river I noticed had very muddy looking water which suddenly transitioned to a navy blue. Oftentimes, we find beautiful shades of water in the Caribbean and in islands in Asia, which shift from a clear green to a crystal blue. However, this transition wasn't appealing to the eye and was actually a little disturbing. WIthout GPS I cannot determine what area that river was in, or the underlying causes of the shift. All I can do is hope that the muddy water was that brown color due to sand. There can be natural causes such as erosion and there can be strange causes, similar to how in 2012 the Yangtze River in China flowed red, as red as a tomato! Back in September of 2012, the river suddenly turned red, due to suspended sediments, silt, and pollution. Who knew that pollution could have such a major impact on the water?

    Now to end my blog today, I have a few tips for you all to manage this spring weather! How many of you use fertilizer to make your lawn look as fresh and green as the example on the fertilizer bag? Environmentalists are often against the use of fertilizer for this reason: excess fertilizer collects as run off after a rainy day and flows into the local bay or river (for Rockville, it is the Chesapeake Bay). There, the fertilizer stimulates algae growth, which is that gross gooey green stuff that gets caught in your toes when you try to wade in the water. Well, the bacteria which break down the algae take out oxygen from the water, leaving an area called a dead zone, for a reason. No marine life can live in dead zones, and unfortunately dead zones are creeping up on us around the world. Just as humans require oxygen to live, marine life does so as well.  So, just a recap: the more algae, the more bacteria, and the less oxygen. Whether or not this process makes sense, the main word to recognize here is "EXCESS fertilizer". If you can use just enough fertilizer to serve your lawn, it shouldn't be too saturated and cause such a magnanimous effect on your local watershed. Although the directions on the fertilizer bags call for a certain amount of fertilizer to be used, you will find that half a bag works just as well! Wondering what to do with the other unused half of the bag? How about giving it to your neighbor, whose lawn could use a little shaping up? Or better yet, save money by splitting the cost of the fertilizer bag with a friend or neighbor and sharing that one bag? You save money, both your lawns look great, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that the fertilizer you used will not kill our precious marine organisms! Try it out, and comment on whether you noticed a difference in the quality of your lawn!

    Adios for now! More tips and stories to come!