The future.

DUN-DUN-DUN.

The future.  In some ways it sounds so ominous, and I suppose it could feel that way without any exciting moments on the horizon.  Luckily for me, the next few months of my future will be full of such moments, and therefore thinking about the future, right now, gives me a sense of anticipation, and a promise of fulfillment.

I'll tell you why.

This post will be short and sweet, since I've already monopolized your attention with my last two extra-full posts about Australia and Indonesia.  I just want to take the opportunity to explain where I'm at in my life, and to document the moment so I can look back and say, "I remember that time."

Today is Thursday.  On Sunday, mi querida Mama and I are flying away to Costa Rica for a (in her case well-deserved) tropical vacation.  We'll be there together for about two weeks, exploring the trails, forests, waterfalls, and hot springs around Volcán Arenal (near the town of La Fortuna) and Monteverde.  We'll spend Christmas in a cloud forest, and then a couple days later Mama will return to Colorado and leave me behind.  I'll spend a week seeing more of Costa Rica and visiting some wonderful friends there, and then right after the new year I'll be starting my six-month stint of research as a volunteer with Cloudbridge.

This is something I've been looking forward to for quite a while, for various reasons.  It will finally be getting me back in the field doing conservation work, which I've felt has been quite lacking from the last year of my life.  I'll be based in a part of Costa Rica I've never seen before, nestled right next to the mountainous Chirripó National Park.  And I'll gain experience and produce my own research, which will be a good stepping stone and resume builder looking ahead into grad school.

Yes, I said grad school.  I've finally had enough shenanigans around the world to feel ready to dig into my studies again, though I have yet to pinpoint where and what for.  With so much information and so many different schools to wade through, starting the grad school search was a bit overwhelming, but I'm making progress and finding a few programs I like right here in Colorado.  Being so close to family, friends, and the mountains certainly wouldn't go amiss, but only time will tell if it's truly the right option.  Besides, I have some forests to explore between now and then :)

Pura vida, mates, and happy holidays to everyone!