Nearing the end and amazing experiences
Door: Wessel Groot
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Wessel
10 Mei 2017 | Costa Rica, San José
Dear people,
It has been a while since you heard from me but in this case that is a positive sign as so many things happened (fortunately mostly positive) that I found myself unable to put everything on paper.
My last blog I wrote on the plane back to Costa Rica after having had an amazing time in the Netherlands. Ever since I have been back the intensity of my studies has increased considerably, while at the same time, dozens of other things kept me busy.
In the beginning, it was good to be back. I felt charged from a great time during the Christmas holidays in the Netherlands, I energetically started a course on the Kurdish situation in Iraq. I even received an open invitation for a visit to Kurdistan, which I will make use of someday, clearly. Furthermore, I have followed courses on gender, disarmament-, demobilization and reintegration after a conflict, nonviolent resistance, transnational organized crime, terrorism, and peace education. I am simultaneously working on some publications (which is a time-consuming activity).
Besides this, I have had to opportunity to do many great things. For instance, together with a friend, I organized International Day for Sports Development and Peace as a subsidiary event of the international organization Peace & Sports. It was a great success and we had a lot of participation.
Furthermore, I had the honor to chair the United Nations Security Council during the UPEACE Model United Nations Conference. This was such a great experience. It was really nice to be on the other side of the debating table for once. Whereas I have often been a delegate of such conference, it was now up to me to facilitate the debate and come to great resolutions.
I have also had the pleasure to spend an unforgettable week in Guatemala. I was warmly welcomed by a good friend of mine and his family, to then experience a heartwarming degree of hospitality. I was taken in as part of the family and we made various trips to some of the greatest places in the country such as the highlights of Guatemala City, the historical town of Antigua, lake Atitlan, many of the impressive volcanoes and we got to see some of the nation’s greatest nature.
While I was there, I received great news to be accepted for Brown University’s BIARI program, for a research training and network event. This means that after Costa Rica, I will spend almost a month in the United States and will surely visit some friends and cities. I will, for instance, go to New York, maybe Philadelphia and lastly, to Boston with my girlfriend.
The two outright highlights from my time here in Costa Rica are, firstly, that I got to meet a very special girl, Daniela. She has absolutely changed my life and I cherish every moment we have together.
Secondly, the visit of my family and four of my best friends from Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. We have seen and done so much in two weeks. With my friends (Joel, Ron, Dennis and Gijs) we have had a great road trip that took us, largely on unpaved roads, to cloud forests, tropical beaches, local restaurants, hot springs, national parks, hilarious karaoke experiences and nice clubs. It was fantastic to spend time with them and to show so much of the beautiful country while at the same time unwinding a little bit from university, which had been hectic. With my parents and sister in the country too, I tried to really balance things out. They went on a trip with a very similar route, so I could spend a lot of time with them too. We went to great resorts, locale and modern restaurants, great national parks, hot springs and more. We both rented solid 4x4s which counts as a necessary luxury in Costa Rica. The first trip with my family, girlfriend, and Ron went to a beautiful restaurant with an extraordinary view of the capital San Jose. The road there, however, was partly unpaved and very steep. This initially caused for quite some panic among the newcomers, but luckily everyone got quickly used to the new environment.
One of the highlights which we did as a group must have been our visit to adventure park ‘Xtremo’, you know those parks with zip lines, Tarzan swing (where you jump off a platform and fall for 10 meters after which you make an enormous swing and a ‘superman’ where you hang up-side-down while you slide down the zip line. This sounds maybe a little standard but these cables spanned a length of maximum 1000 meters across a canyon. Great experience and adrenaline kick assured.
Lastly, I have been celebrating a very nice birthday with friends and my girlfriend organized a successful wine tasting and moved into my own apartment. All in all, it’s fair to say that things are going really well. Also, by June 28th, I will be back to the Netherlands!
Best, Wessel
It has been a while since you heard from me but in this case that is a positive sign as so many things happened (fortunately mostly positive) that I found myself unable to put everything on paper.
My last blog I wrote on the plane back to Costa Rica after having had an amazing time in the Netherlands. Ever since I have been back the intensity of my studies has increased considerably, while at the same time, dozens of other things kept me busy.
In the beginning, it was good to be back. I felt charged from a great time during the Christmas holidays in the Netherlands, I energetically started a course on the Kurdish situation in Iraq. I even received an open invitation for a visit to Kurdistan, which I will make use of someday, clearly. Furthermore, I have followed courses on gender, disarmament-, demobilization and reintegration after a conflict, nonviolent resistance, transnational organized crime, terrorism, and peace education. I am simultaneously working on some publications (which is a time-consuming activity).
Besides this, I have had to opportunity to do many great things. For instance, together with a friend, I organized International Day for Sports Development and Peace as a subsidiary event of the international organization Peace & Sports. It was a great success and we had a lot of participation.
Furthermore, I had the honor to chair the United Nations Security Council during the UPEACE Model United Nations Conference. This was such a great experience. It was really nice to be on the other side of the debating table for once. Whereas I have often been a delegate of such conference, it was now up to me to facilitate the debate and come to great resolutions.
I have also had the pleasure to spend an unforgettable week in Guatemala. I was warmly welcomed by a good friend of mine and his family, to then experience a heartwarming degree of hospitality. I was taken in as part of the family and we made various trips to some of the greatest places in the country such as the highlights of Guatemala City, the historical town of Antigua, lake Atitlan, many of the impressive volcanoes and we got to see some of the nation’s greatest nature.
While I was there, I received great news to be accepted for Brown University’s BIARI program, for a research training and network event. This means that after Costa Rica, I will spend almost a month in the United States and will surely visit some friends and cities. I will, for instance, go to New York, maybe Philadelphia and lastly, to Boston with my girlfriend.
The two outright highlights from my time here in Costa Rica are, firstly, that I got to meet a very special girl, Daniela. She has absolutely changed my life and I cherish every moment we have together.
Secondly, the visit of my family and four of my best friends from Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. We have seen and done so much in two weeks. With my friends (Joel, Ron, Dennis and Gijs) we have had a great road trip that took us, largely on unpaved roads, to cloud forests, tropical beaches, local restaurants, hot springs, national parks, hilarious karaoke experiences and nice clubs. It was fantastic to spend time with them and to show so much of the beautiful country while at the same time unwinding a little bit from university, which had been hectic. With my parents and sister in the country too, I tried to really balance things out. They went on a trip with a very similar route, so I could spend a lot of time with them too. We went to great resorts, locale and modern restaurants, great national parks, hot springs and more. We both rented solid 4x4s which counts as a necessary luxury in Costa Rica. The first trip with my family, girlfriend, and Ron went to a beautiful restaurant with an extraordinary view of the capital San Jose. The road there, however, was partly unpaved and very steep. This initially caused for quite some panic among the newcomers, but luckily everyone got quickly used to the new environment.
One of the highlights which we did as a group must have been our visit to adventure park ‘Xtremo’, you know those parks with zip lines, Tarzan swing (where you jump off a platform and fall for 10 meters after which you make an enormous swing and a ‘superman’ where you hang up-side-down while you slide down the zip line. This sounds maybe a little standard but these cables spanned a length of maximum 1000 meters across a canyon. Great experience and adrenaline kick assured.
Lastly, I have been celebrating a very nice birthday with friends and my girlfriend organized a successful wine tasting and moved into my own apartment. All in all, it’s fair to say that things are going really well. Also, by June 28th, I will be back to the Netherlands!
Best, Wessel
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
