By Clay Weum

For the Times

Costa Rica is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, home to lush rainforests, stunning beaches, and epic volcanoes. So it is not surprising that the country is a tourist mecca, hosting people from all over the world coming to see what Costa Rica has to offer. 

Most of these tourists miss some of the most unique and beautiful parts of this amazing country: its wild interior and its hospitable people. However, that was not the case with the Monticello High School Spanish Club, which traveled to the country last week for a week of cultural and language immersion. 

“My trip to Costa Rica with Go Tico has been a trip of a life time,” said Monticello’s Alyssa Holcomb. “The views from all of the hikes have been absolutely incredible.”

The students traveled to the Rio Cuarto region, located in the Northern Central Valley, an agricultural region thriving on pineapple on a large scale and more locally mango, pineapple, banana, and yucca. The students lived and ate in different families’ homes in the tiny town of La Flor, a tight-knit agricultural community of about 300 residents.

There is definitely some “culture shock involved,” said one of the students. “They live in small houses right next to their neighbors and consider 9 p.m. a perfectly reasonable bedtime. So it took some getting used to.” 

During the day the students would spend most of their mornings visiting the beautiful sights in their region, such as waterfalls, biological reserves, and the Arenal Volcano before returning in the afternoon to engage with the local youth and teens. Highlights included participating in a community library project that was started by their host company, GoTico! Costa Rica. 

Literacy is not an integral part of public school education in rural Costa Rica, so the company has worked to raise donations from both domestic and international donors, providing hundreds of books and educational activities to local residents. Students facilitated story times with kids and engaged in conversation and games with peers. The Library project’s goal is to increase access to books and grow a love for reading and the creativity that comes from imagining through literacy. Monticello students also spent time with youth through other academic enrichment activities before connecting with peers through evening conversation activities.

“Bonding with the community is something I will never forget. We were all able to practice our Spanish and the Ticos were able to practice their English with us,” Holcomb said.

One thing that surprised many of the students was how well-attended some of these activities were, bringing in many kids and teenagers from as far as 30 minutes away. Local residents commented that “knowing English is important here. In a country so dependent on tourists, the ability to speak English increases the prospect of securing well-paying jobs.”  

Cultural and language exchanges allowed local youth to put their English skills into practice while giving U.S. students the chance to apply their own classroom learning to real-life conversation. Being in a non-touristy area made using Spanish a must. “You learn fast when you absolutely have to,” one of the students said. “I think I’ve picked up more knowledge here in a week than I did last semester,” said Inanda, senior. 

Many of the student’s biggest takeaways from the trip were the importance of sharing culture, the value of getting out of your comfort zone and seeing the importance of living with less and its role in living sustainably. Costa Rica, as a country, values protecting the planet, so much so that it runs off 99.78% renewable energy and is a world leader in reducing its carbon footprint, in fact, not actively contributing to climate change (Frenadez, Costa Rica’s Renewable Energy). 

The life expectancy of the country is three years older than in the United States, and the country is placed as the seventh happiest country on earth, ahead of the U.S., which places 49th (Veenhoven, Rank report Average Happiness in Nations 2010-2019). In the La Flor community, significant portions of the local’s diets are made up of food that is grown within their backyard and visitors would be hard-pressed to find evidence of waste. Seeing and living this firsthand provided visiting students the opportunity to see how it is possible to live a full life living sustainably and getting by with less.

The trip’s goal was to connect students authentically with Costa Rica, leaving them in awe of the beautiful country but also observing, living, and appreciating a different way of life through culture-sharing. It was evident at the end of the trip that the unique experience for these students was given by their direct interaction with the local community who worked hard to welcome and share their lifestyle. At the same time, these students experienced a different way of living while also giving back to those who enriched their time abroad. For these students, stepping outside their comfort zone was challenging but also rewarding in one of the best ways. 

To check out the Madison-based family-owned organization facilitating the experience, go to https://www.goticocr.com/.