Introduction

Welcome everyone to my blog! Whether you are a friend, family member, teacher, former coworker or just randomly stumbled across this blog I hope it is enjoyable for all.

So what is the story here you are probably thinking? What am I doing that is blog-able? Well the short and sweet version is that I am going to Costa Rica to do work as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for about ten months. Great, right? Well there is more to how I arrived at this spot.

When I arrive in Costa Rica on June 29th it will be the fourth time I have gone to the country in the past two and a half years. It all started by chance in my sophmore year of college when I wanted to study abroad, but wasn't looking forward to the costs or the classes so I decided to go the volunteer route and learn a foreign language by being totally immersed in a culture. I had heard good things about Costa Rica and decided to volunteer there for six months working in a wild animal rescue center and a women's recycling association.

At the end of my volunteer term I knew that there was no way I could write this off as a once in a lifetime experience and just move on with my life. Living with less and being happy is tough to acheive in the United States as you are measured by how much "stuff" you have. What is a grocery store that doesn't have at least 50 different kinds of cereal? I didn't even see cereal in Costa Rica. Microwaves, dryers, cable, hdtv, computers, internet, hot shower, dvd... forget it. I was deprived of all of this at my host families house but it didn't bother me one bit. Watching endless hours of tv was replaced by casual conversations on the front porch. By the end of my term I had a second family, about seven mothers keeping the girls off me (ok that's not completely true... the part about me having seven mothers ;) ), and an endless amount of friends. Experiencing that and then coming back to the U.S. can make you sick to your stomach. Things are great here because we have all this stuff to entertain us and make things happen faster. The trade off we must endure though is working longer and having all these distractions that take away from justs shooting the breeze with friends and family.

I wanted out the day I got back, however I still had two years of school left to complete. To hold me over I made a visit in the summer and through my volunteer work at the University YMCA I was able to lead a trip to Costa Rica last January for two weeks. My long term plan was to graduate and then apply for the Peace Corps and get out for 2+ years. I was moving really well in that direction until I failed my medical exam because my asthma condition prevented me from being able to serve anywhere with them. I was dissapointed initially but I think it was for the better as I ended up falling into my volunteer job with Habitat for Humanity International. They have long term volunteer positions overseas and one happened to open up in Costa Rica in the same area where I had volunteered two years ago. This time the medical form was about a page and all they required was that I bought travel insurance.

So here I am, a 2008 Construction Management graduate from the University of Minnesota leaving to do a volunteer job in Costa Rica. I know for a fact that not many people with my degree do volunteer jobs as there first job out of school. Many classmates I talk with can't get over the fact that what they make in a day, is what I'll receive in a month ($200 stipend). It goes a little further in Costa Rica, but on a larger scale it might cover my monthly loan payment. It doesn't matter to me though. Thanks to great internships with Ryan Companies and Flatiron and being very frugal I was able to save up enough money to support myself for ten months. Besides, I have my whole life to make money and the people I am going to be helping wouldn't know what to do with $200. So why should I?

At my commencement ceremony I was invited by my college to speak as the student speaker. It was a great honor for me and I really tried to put some sensibility on the building industry as "I just couldn't justify building shopping malls and office buildings when there are people on this planet that can't even meet their basic needs." At this point I may not be using my degree to make money but I'm using it to make the world a better place.

At this point my excitement is only building (literally) to go down there and get started. I plan to use this blog to provide insight on working non-profit construction in a developing country as one of my long term goals is to have my own non-profit organization in a foreign country. I also hope this blog will encourage others to get out and volunteer/work outside the U.S. as it is one of those things that you have to do to really "get it". A good place to start would be with Habitat as they are all over the world, and if you came to Costa Rica I might just end up being your tour guide ;)

Ok that's just about enough history to bring everyone up to date. That's what I'll be blogging about the next ten months or so, so check back often as this blog is going to grow.

Pura Vida,