Costa Rica is commonly known for its tourist spots, which are marked by breathtaking scenery and lush environments. The image of paradise makes it hard to believe that such a vibrant place would lack the necessities which many in the U.S. take for granted.
Over the summer of 2012, 18 McLean High School students boarded a plane and headed down to Costa Rica to volunteer.
“I was contacted by a non-profit organization called Walking Tree Travel whose mission statement is to really bring authentic travel to students through service projects,” Spanish teacher Meaghan DeRusso said. “The point is we go, we learn, and we benefit as United States individuals, and we go over and stay with families, and at the same time we also worked.”
The students arrived in the city of San José where they spent one night at a hotel. They watched a soccer game in a town called Alajuela where the local leagues were playing and got a chance to taste local food.
Junior Nikki Lind was not new to the Costa Rican experience. Lind had been to Costa Rica before on a family vacation in San José.
“It was weird to be there again. [It] felt like déjà vu, and San José isn’t that nice of a city. It’s kind of poor and the buildings aren’t that great,” Lind said. “It’s interesting when you first go there, because you picture it as some great beach town and it isn’t really the touristy place.”
The day after, the group set off for a two day stay at Pura Suerte, an organic farm in the tropical rain forest. They stayed in jungalows, which are cabin-like structures raised off the ground.
“When we first arrived, we went to a small sustainable organic farm, where we lived right on this farm in the jungle. The kids lived in jungalows, and we did yoga class early in the morning and then learned about the vegetation in Costa Rica and the types of food you can cook from the land. We hiked to a beautiful waterfall called Nuyaca Waterfall. After that, we went straight to the village,” DeRusso said.
Then came the village stay. Each student received a host family, whom they lived with for five days. During the stay, they began to notice radical differences.
“It was completely different; it made us realize how fortunate we are here. We have hot water and they only have cold water there; ours is filtered and theirs was drinkable, but you still saw particles. Their stoves were wood-burning stoves, so you would have to put in wood and coal and catch it on fire,” senior Nick Echeverria said. “It rained every day, it stormed every day, but that didn’t really matter, you got used to it.
“I mean, people there had really old trucks and it took a very long time to get up the driveways. The driveways there aren’t really driveways. It’s just going up a muddy pathway, with like a cliff on the side.”
The village the students stayed in is called Herradura, and there was only one ‘road’ that ran through town, which is what the students worked on.
“It was rough work, too; I mean, some of us took Advil for our backs. But basically, we hand mixed cement using river water and sand. We dug out potholes and refilled them, which allowed for a more driveable journey to town,” Lind said
Near the end of the village stay, two things happened that made it all worthwhile.
“The McLean students brought over 70 books; they brought soccer gear, art supplies, and clothes. We brought all this stuff to donate to the one school in town. That was all packed in their luggage they underpacked clothes and underpacked for themselves to overpack for the donations. And it’s absolutely amazing. We taught English and we made our donations, it was just an amazing experience,” DeRusso said.
Although the McLean students’ suitcases were lighter when they left, they didn’t leave empty-handed.
“After doing all that work in the village, the town actually threw us a party for the last night. The town came together and cooked for us and thanked us. They said that the McLean students were some of the best prepared and with some of the best Spanish that they’d ever seen. It was just an experience of a lifetime. It was amazing to see the students forming relationships with Spanish and the families,” DeRusso said.
With one day left, the students went to the beach and were taught how to surf before boardingthe plane to return home.
Junior Katherine Pardo said, “The home-stay was an unforgettable experience. Even though the people I was staying with had little, they were always optimistic and made the best out of every situation. I really enjoyed being able to give back to the community, and I would love to do the trip all over again.”
