MY PROJECT IN COSTA RICA (2012)
DESCRIBING MY PROJECT:
For my project I traveled to Costa Rica with an organization called International Student Volunteers for five weeks and the Galapagos Islands for another week. The first week I attended Intercultura for Spanish classes and lived with a host family. I also went to dance lessons where I learned to merengue and salsa. The following two weeks I worked on a national park with sea turtles as our main focus. Between 8:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. we would take turns walking the beach searching for leatherback, olive ridley, and black sea turtles. During the day I had chores such as, raking new pathways, moving debris from the beach, and cleaning the reserve. The two weeks after that I journeyed to every end of Costa Rica visiting incredibly stunning landscapes. In these places I went zip-lining, rappelling, horseback riding, white-water rafting, hiking, surfing, kayaking, and much more. The last week I hopped a plane to Ecuador then to the Galapagos where I swam with sea turtles, sea lions, and hundreds of colorful fish.
WHAT INSPIRED ME:
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
- Mark Twain
- Mark Twain
I find this quote by Mark Twain incredibly true, and it's this mindset that inspired me to work with ISV. The opportunity that ISV provides to explore distant areas of the world is one I myself couldn't turn down. Once I found a volunteer project that dealt with sea turtles in a country like Costa Rica I had my bags packed.
HOW DID I PREPARE FOR MY PROJECT:
The International Student Volunteer website (isv.com) provided sufficient information to begin preparations for my travel. Once it got closer to my departure date I received a complete guide on how to prepare via mail. I followed the instructions I was given.
CHALLENGES I FACED IN PREPARING:
For my volunteer project I was only allowed a backpacking pack. Trying to fit all my clothes, toiletry items, and supplies for six weeks into my small pack proved difficult. There were a few times where I forgot to put something in that I wanted near the bottom of my bag, and since there was only a top opening I pulled everything out on several different occasions to repack.
HOW I FELT WHEN MY PROJECT BEGAN:
On the decent down to Costa Rica I was having mini heart attacks of excitement in my airplane seat. To experience another culture that was new to me was a dream come true because I love learning about traditions other than my own. To meet all these other students that were enthusiastic about serving was exciting as well. I was nervous about speaking a language I knew almost nothing about, but recognizing that I was not alone in that boat made it easier.
CHALLENGES I FACED TRYING TO COMPLETE MY PROJECT:
Bugs loved me. During my first week in Heredia the mosquitos constantly swarmed me, but I never saw them only the marks they left. On one occasion my host mom drove me to the pharmacy because I had hives all over my body because another insect craved my blood. The most frustrating part was that I was the only person with this issue. The other international student volunteers had maybe one or two bites total, where I had over twenty bites on just my legs. My roommate, I don’t think obtained even one bite either.
THE FUNNEST PART:
The part of the project that I enjoyed the most was interacting with the Costa Ricans and the wildlife. I understand that is a very broad statement, but it’s hard to pinpoint “The Best” experience when everyday was a blessing. The volunteer work I did in Nancite was probably my favorite section of the trip because I loved working with the sea turtle researchers, Wilberth and Rangel. They were incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about not only sea turtles but the land that surrounded them. I loved practicing Spanish while they practiced English via my bilingual flashcards. My favorite response they taught me was “Yes dude,” in Spanish. Since I spent so much time with these two they revealed the crocodile’s lair without the whole group so I could film in peace. Wilberth during the night walks caught baby crocodiles heading to sea. They were about two and a half feet in length that he would hold up for the group to pet.
THE MOST FRUSTRATING PART:
The most frustrating part of my project was my inability to speak Spanish. I am thankful for the Spanish class I took at Intercultura, but it’s impossible to learn a language in one week. Although, I do believe that this barrier made friendships with the Costa Ricans stronger because you couldn’t just rely on words. I was more aware of their emotions and body language. My desire to learn Spanish forced me to spend more time with the Costa Ricans, which I consider many of which to be my good friends.
HOW WILL COMPLETING THIS PROJECT HELP OTHERS:
After the project I became an International Student Volunteer Representative. This means that I help people sign up to volunteer internationally in countries including: Costa Rica, Ecuador, South Africa, Thailand, Australia, Dominican Republic, and New Zealand. Recruiting volunteers for these projects is essential since many would be shut down otherwise. The volunteers give the areas they work in a chance to grow and develop. In turn the projects give the volunteers experience and broaden their spectrum of what goes on in the world outside of their own lives.
HOW COMPLETING MY PROJECT HAS ALREADY HELPED OTHERS:
Volunteering helped the sea turtle researchers work load significantly diminish. Instead of trying to measure the shell, tag the flipper, count the eggs, etc. alone they had a team. This meant for more accurate data collection since each person had their own job to worry about. Also, if another turtle came up on the beach the group, having nine people, could split, and the second group could begin on the next sea turtle. In the mornings we raked new pathways to the beach in case the other flooded, a task that may have taken the four Costa Rican men a couple of days, and took the ISV team only a few hours.
ITS BENEFIT TO ME:
The project has made me aware of my love of working with sea turtles. I now have the opportunity to analyze sea turtle blood samples at Southern Utah University (SUU). I get to meet with one of the most famous sea turtle researchers in the world, James Spotilla when he comes to SUU. I also have the option to go back to Costa Rica and work with the sea turtle research program. My project leader invited me back to Costa Rica to do service on Coco’s Islands, as well.
HOW DID I PREPARE FOR MY PROJECT:
The International Student Volunteer website (isv.com) provided sufficient information to begin preparations for my travel. Once it got closer to my departure date I received a complete guide on how to prepare via mail. I followed the instructions I was given.
CHALLENGES I FACED IN PREPARING:
For my volunteer project I was only allowed a backpacking pack. Trying to fit all my clothes, toiletry items, and supplies for six weeks into my small pack proved difficult. There were a few times where I forgot to put something in that I wanted near the bottom of my bag, and since there was only a top opening I pulled everything out on several different occasions to repack.
HOW I FELT WHEN MY PROJECT BEGAN:
On the decent down to Costa Rica I was having mini heart attacks of excitement in my airplane seat. To experience another culture that was new to me was a dream come true because I love learning about traditions other than my own. To meet all these other students that were enthusiastic about serving was exciting as well. I was nervous about speaking a language I knew almost nothing about, but recognizing that I was not alone in that boat made it easier.
CHALLENGES I FACED TRYING TO COMPLETE MY PROJECT:
Bugs loved me. During my first week in Heredia the mosquitos constantly swarmed me, but I never saw them only the marks they left. On one occasion my host mom drove me to the pharmacy because I had hives all over my body because another insect craved my blood. The most frustrating part was that I was the only person with this issue. The other international student volunteers had maybe one or two bites total, where I had over twenty bites on just my legs. My roommate, I don’t think obtained even one bite either.
THE FUNNEST PART:
The part of the project that I enjoyed the most was interacting with the Costa Ricans and the wildlife. I understand that is a very broad statement, but it’s hard to pinpoint “The Best” experience when everyday was a blessing. The volunteer work I did in Nancite was probably my favorite section of the trip because I loved working with the sea turtle researchers, Wilberth and Rangel. They were incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about not only sea turtles but the land that surrounded them. I loved practicing Spanish while they practiced English via my bilingual flashcards. My favorite response they taught me was “Yes dude,” in Spanish. Since I spent so much time with these two they revealed the crocodile’s lair without the whole group so I could film in peace. Wilberth during the night walks caught baby crocodiles heading to sea. They were about two and a half feet in length that he would hold up for the group to pet.
THE MOST FRUSTRATING PART:
The most frustrating part of my project was my inability to speak Spanish. I am thankful for the Spanish class I took at Intercultura, but it’s impossible to learn a language in one week. Although, I do believe that this barrier made friendships with the Costa Ricans stronger because you couldn’t just rely on words. I was more aware of their emotions and body language. My desire to learn Spanish forced me to spend more time with the Costa Ricans, which I consider many of which to be my good friends.
HOW WILL COMPLETING THIS PROJECT HELP OTHERS:
After the project I became an International Student Volunteer Representative. This means that I help people sign up to volunteer internationally in countries including: Costa Rica, Ecuador, South Africa, Thailand, Australia, Dominican Republic, and New Zealand. Recruiting volunteers for these projects is essential since many would be shut down otherwise. The volunteers give the areas they work in a chance to grow and develop. In turn the projects give the volunteers experience and broaden their spectrum of what goes on in the world outside of their own lives.
HOW COMPLETING MY PROJECT HAS ALREADY HELPED OTHERS:
Volunteering helped the sea turtle researchers work load significantly diminish. Instead of trying to measure the shell, tag the flipper, count the eggs, etc. alone they had a team. This meant for more accurate data collection since each person had their own job to worry about. Also, if another turtle came up on the beach the group, having nine people, could split, and the second group could begin on the next sea turtle. In the mornings we raked new pathways to the beach in case the other flooded, a task that may have taken the four Costa Rican men a couple of days, and took the ISV team only a few hours.
ITS BENEFIT TO ME:
The project has made me aware of my love of working with sea turtles. I now have the opportunity to analyze sea turtle blood samples at Southern Utah University (SUU). I get to meet with one of the most famous sea turtle researchers in the world, James Spotilla when he comes to SUU. I also have the option to go back to Costa Rica and work with the sea turtle research program. My project leader invited me back to Costa Rica to do service on Coco’s Islands, as well.