Having the opportunity to go to Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna this weekend was amazing. Hiking up the trails and being allowed the opportunity to see a volcano was something that I will never forget. The amount of green forest surrounding the base of this still active volcano was breathtaking. This weekend has once again reminded me of why the environment is so important to people in Costa Rica. The various environments and habitats that are presents in Costa Rica are unique. Having hiked around the various types of forest now several times I still wonder how this country can possibly be so small. The fauna and flora here are beautiful.
In my research of Costa Rica it has been repeated several times that Costa Rica hold 6% of the biodiversity in the world. Having experienced some of the different terrains that this country has to offer makes this obvious. I know that in the future there will be ways to incorporate many of the things that I have learned here into the classroom. Teaching chemistry will allow me to utilize a lot of the information that we have learned about the environment. I am excited to see the ways that I can incorporate this experience into my classroom.
In addition, there were several parts of the experience that demonstrated the environmental awareness of the Costa Rican people. On the way we saw many wind mills, showing the awareness of the country of alternative energy sources. I remember a few months ago I read about how Costa Rica had gone around fifty days without using nonrenewable energy. This exemplifies the way that the people of Costa Rica, or at very least the government, care about the health of the environment. All of this information will be helpful in my research for the action research project.
Today in class we also watched a video of a speech by JK Rowling. It was titled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure.” The things that were discussed in this were so important to me because I failure is something that I struggled with a lot in high school. It took until my senior year for me to realize that failure is not a bad thing. Failure allows us to learn and to appreciate life more. This video for me was so important and relevant in my life. I too am the type of person who is a good test taker. I manage to float by with minimal effort, however, I know that eventually this will change. At this point in my life I am trying to find something to challenge myself with. I want to discover my limit and maybe fail a few times. Failure teaches us and makes us strong. In a twisted way, failure makes life sweeter. In order to experience everything that life has to offer, one must at some point experience failure. It breaks people free of the “narrow spaces” that JK Rowling referenced in her speech. This trip has demonstrated struggle and at time failure and for that I will always be grateful.
In my research of Costa Rica it has been repeated several times that Costa Rica hold 6% of the biodiversity in the world. Having experienced some of the different terrains that this country has to offer makes this obvious. I know that in the future there will be ways to incorporate many of the things that I have learned here into the classroom. Teaching chemistry will allow me to utilize a lot of the information that we have learned about the environment. I am excited to see the ways that I can incorporate this experience into my classroom.
In addition, there were several parts of the experience that demonstrated the environmental awareness of the Costa Rican people. On the way we saw many wind mills, showing the awareness of the country of alternative energy sources. I remember a few months ago I read about how Costa Rica had gone around fifty days without using nonrenewable energy. This exemplifies the way that the people of Costa Rica, or at very least the government, care about the health of the environment. All of this information will be helpful in my research for the action research project.
Today in class we also watched a video of a speech by JK Rowling. It was titled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure.” The things that were discussed in this were so important to me because I failure is something that I struggled with a lot in high school. It took until my senior year for me to realize that failure is not a bad thing. Failure allows us to learn and to appreciate life more. This video for me was so important and relevant in my life. I too am the type of person who is a good test taker. I manage to float by with minimal effort, however, I know that eventually this will change. At this point in my life I am trying to find something to challenge myself with. I want to discover my limit and maybe fail a few times. Failure teaches us and makes us strong. In a twisted way, failure makes life sweeter. In order to experience everything that life has to offer, one must at some point experience failure. It breaks people free of the “narrow spaces” that JK Rowling referenced in her speech. This trip has demonstrated struggle and at time failure and for that I will always be grateful.