Departure and Arrival
Departure day: January 5, 2023. Rendezvous Eppley Airfield OMA 5:00 am. Wheels up 7:05 am. Destination: Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama.
The preparation for the first LEAD International Study and Travel Seminar (IS/TS) to leave the country in the post-covid era began 15 months before as LEAD 40 gathered for the first of a dozen or so seminars.
LEAD Director Dr. Terry Hejny frequently reminds us that IS/TS is, like all seminars, not a "trip". It is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the global ag industry and develop new cultural perspectives. To be certain, this is no vacation. During the previous months LEAD fellows compared notes from personal and professional travel and participated in cultural study and discussion to prepare for ITSS. Leaning on each other as well as networking with past LEAD fellows provided guidance through the shared experience ensuring a successful beginning to the International Study and Travel Seminar.
Like any significant undertaking uncertainty and adjustments are an expectation. This seminar was no exception. Despite the best laid plans of the director's office, things changed fast. Originally scheduled to arrive in Guayaquil, Ecuador on January 4th, the seminar was forced to substitute Costa Rica for Ecuador due to civil unrest in the region. With less than 2-weeks to adjust flights, accommodations, and seminar activity the plans were altered. While plans may change objectives do not.
Day-one began at 3:00 AM for those of us within a manageable drive to Omaha. For those beyond striking distance from our point of departure, the seminar began a day earlier. For nearly half of LEAD 40, day-zero was travel day followed by a stay at an Omaha hotel. Regardless of where fellows awoke on January 5th, we congregated at the rendezvous point and prepared to depart OMA for DFW and onto SJO – San Jose, Puerto Rico for transport to Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE) which will be homebase for three nights and two days of education at the center and surrounding ag communities.
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