My last view of the valley of Atenas, "the best climate in the world."

For me Costa Rica has been the sweet, sticky flavor of Valencia orange juice that I suck off my fingers after using my teeth to peel the warm fruit that I pulled from the tree using a six foot wooden pole with a green net at the end.

Like myself, the orange and mango trees are not native but we thrive in this land of warm people. I leave the seeds and peel in the dirt as I ascend to class with a trickle of shiny orange juice drying to the inside of my knee. Beside me hangs a string of colorful sarongs drying in the sun.

This rainbow collection that has grown together over the past 90 days will split and fly away tomorrow with their respective owners. More than bright cloths; memories of gallo pinto, bumpy roads, slow sunsets, and lush forests will color our lives.

Over the next couple decades our new knowledge will be manifested in action from Vermont to Vietnam to Vegas, Cali and the Chesapeake, Japan, Michigan, El Salvador and beyond. May we always act locally for global change.

Everyone leaving from our last academic excersize, a presentation of our research to the MINAE, the Costa Rican ministry of the environment.