The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2014

82 JULY-AUGUST 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LOCAL LENS BY JOSEPH DE MARIA n COSTA RICA Please submit your favorite, recent photograph to be featured in Local Lens. Images must be high resolution (at least 300 dpi at 8 x 10”) and must not be in print elsewhere. Please submit a short description of the scene/ event, as well as your name, brief biodata and the type of camera used, to locallens@ afsa.org . T his trail traverses the high-altitude rain forest on Barva Volcano, in the mountains overlooking San Jose, Costa Rica. The top of the mountain is nearly always shrouded in clouds. The trail has been hiked by Boy Scouts of America Troop 43 from San Jose, which includes many scouts and volunteer dads from the embassy. The troop has camped on the mountain twice. n Joe De Maria, a mid-level consular officer, is completing a three-year assignment in San Jose. There he volunteers with BSA Troop 43, where his son is a scout. Having previously served in Europe and East Asia, as well as in Washington, D.C., his next assignment will be in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. He took this photo with a Canon EOS 1100D, Rebel T3 with a EF-S 18-55mm lens.