What do you wish someone had told you before you went abroad?
One thing I wish someone told me before I went abroad was take as many photos as you possibly can; even of the smallest thing, capture it. Capture that moment.
Yes, when you get home the photos won’t look the same, they won’t tell the whole story, but it will bring back that memory, that feeling. No one else may understand how it impacted you, but that doesn’t matter. It happened to you and you feel it, you share that moment with the other kids that were on the trip. Even to them it might not mean the same, but it’s something you share forever.
You only get a moment once, don’t let yourself forget it later on in life when times are stress filled and crazy. Take the photos, be the annoying mother that wants 100+ photos. It’ll be 100% worth it.
What made this experience unique and special?
A big reason to why this trip was so unique and special to me was because the inside access we got. Two out of my four councilors actually lived in Costa Rica, the one even lived in Sarapiqui. He made us feel like we were apart of the community and that we’ve been living there for a couple of months. It was amazing.
Another reason would be, when we were at our work site there were people from the community running it, one of the helpers was actually a kid close to my age. I tried my hardest to communicate with him, but my spanish is extremely rusty. Although, as the time went on you kind of just started to understand everything they were trying to tell you, even if you’ve never heard that word before.
So the two biggest reasons why I felt this trip was special was because of the community feel to it, and the language barrier that seemed to disappear after awhile.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Something I’d tell someone that’s interested in going on the Sarapiqui program, in Costa Rica, would be: BRING A RAIN JACKET AND RAIN BOOTS. I cannot stress that enough because everyday it rains almost on a cue. Always an hour or two after lunch, it baffled me how precise it was.
Not only will you use those rain boots for actual rain, but you’re going to need them when you’re mixing cement. Unless you want to ruin some sneakers, I suggest some beat up converse (It will give them some personality). But, rain boots are your best bet because it’s not fun to have cement in your sneakers and on your socks, I know from personal experience.
What made this trip meaningful to you, or how did this trip change your perceptions or future path?
Down in Costa Rica it’s a very humbling atmosphere. The first day was probably gave me the most amount of perspective.
We were driving out of San Jose to go to Sarapiqui, where we would be staying for most of the trip. I looked out the window and there I saw, a community of makeshift houses. They were sloppily put together pieces of leftover scrap metal or sometimes splintering wood. All of them were close together, almost like they were connected. As we slowed because of traffic, I got to look more in depth. I spied some ratty laundry hanging outside and blankets being used as curtains.
Hopefully this memory will help keep me grounded in the years to follow.