GoBeyond Costa Rica: Pura Vida Experience

When I was looking for things to do over the summer I knew I wanted to something that would help people so I started looking at service trips. I had taken two years of spanish so I was interested in going to a spanish speaking country. The Costa Rica, Go Beyond Trip sounded perfect. In the time leading up to the trip the Go Beyond staff was extremely helpful and answered all of our questions. My parents had a lot of concerns but Go Beyond provided information for a few families who had kids who went on the trip previous years and they gave glowing recommendations. I arrived in Costa Rica and met the friendly staff. The next fourteen days were a blast. We painted houses, worked with the costa rican children in schools, learned how to wax floors, spent two nights with an indigenous tribe, and rafted! The community service we did was hard work but passed by so fast because it was so fun. All of our meals were excellent and the places we stayed beautiful. I made friends that will last a lifetime and can’t wait to hopefully go on another trip soon!

I had a blast on this service trip and it was very beneficial to my personal growth. I learned a lot about myself and got the chance to help others and see real life results. The atmosphere of the whole trip was positive and great for learning but also having fun. I loved having the chance to enjoy myself, learn more about Costa Rican culture, and make new friends all at the same time. On the trip I got to visit the beach, white water raft and jump off waterfalls. We worked in a slum city of the capital of Costa Rica and got to take kindergartners to a wildlife zoo and a children’s museum as well as teach them english and work in their school. In addition to that, we helped clean and renovate a family’s house in the same city. We also were able to live with indigenous people in the mountains, and make native crafts.

I got to know the locals very well through all of our activities. This trip was amazing. It gave me the opportunity to itch my travel bug, do meaningful work, and make incredible new relationships. This trip gave me the opportunity to learn new things, see new places, and meet new people that I wouldn’t have other wise. The service projects brought us face to face with some of the most dire problems in these communities.

This program was awesome! At first, I was unsure as it was my first time going overseas and it would be for three weeks. The majority of the hotels we stayed in were really nice, with the exception of one in the rainforest. Also, the home stays were very nice- the families themselves were extraordinarily kind, or at least in my case they were. Service work ranged from helping save turtles to building bunk beds in La Carpio to helping build/clean up a retreat for the children of La Carpio (a ghetto in Costa Rica). On the weekends, we would do non-service things, such as surfing, scuba diving, and horseback riding.

If ou decide that one day you want to go out and start an adventure, this is the place to go. The staff are all so friendly and attentive when it comes to us and you get to learn so much about Costa Rica's culture and diversity. Wll worth every single penny I'm telling you.