Lauren Fawcett spent five weeks in San Jose, Costa Rica studying and participating in an intensive Spanish course along with an art theory and practice course. She adapted and immersed herself into the culture quickly by conversing with locals and exploring the areas around her. While she was exploring, she learned that Costa Ricans appreciate life in a deeper way and always said “Pura Vida” which means “pure life”. Lauren is studying Early Childhood Education and even though she could not volunteer within the schools, she visited a school and asked multiple questions about the schooling system in Costa Rica. In addition, Lauren immersed herself by walking 18 miles to Cartago for a national holiday called Virgen de los Angeles which is held on August 2nd. Millions of people walked beside her on the pilgrimage and conversed about various things with many different people. Lauren learned that people will walk for weeks to pray to the Virgin Angels on August 2nd. Also, Lauren helped paint a mural in a small neighborhood for her art class. The mural took a week to complete and she painted various things that inspired her about Costa Rica. One particular experience that she shared in her mural was a trip that she took on horseback up a volcano called Arenal Volcano. She also helped paint a large sloth after witnessing one in the rainforest for the first time at Manuel Antonio. On the weekends, Lauren took advantage of the opportunity to travel all around the country and see the many unique sites that she would never see elsewhere. Lauren experienced different but rich foods, music, language, and people, and she was grateful that she was able to have this breath taking experience of the pura vida lifestyle.