Hannah Smith's Page

I got on a plane. We will start with that. That was the easy part. From the tiny airplane window upon descent, the largest city in Costa Rica was a compilation of tin roofs. There were no high rises, or even any freeways that were detectable from the plane. I was no longer in the United States, and I was definitely not in the little safe haven box canyon that had served as the backdrop for my entire life. It was strange, and I was a stranger. With this feeling, the adventure began.
Off of the pl… Continue

I wrote my name on all of the papers, my signature scrawled on every line required. I was signed up for six weeks of deep brain stimulation with a continuous direct current of shock therapy. My mind had been like a dry sponge inside my skull, thirsting for culture. I had craved ethnicity, diversity and vitality in my humdrum life. After my treatment, I had expected to be healed, and so I willingly submitted myself to a month and a half of Costa Rican culture shock therapy. But I failed to read t… Continue