It’s hard to believe that exactly four weeks ago today I was
boarding my flight to Costa Rica! Time
flew by so fast and I definitely experienced different sights and emotions I
never thought were possible. Rewinding
back to the fall of 2012 I remember walking into the College of Education
hustling to get to class. As I walked
through the atrium there were posters and tri-folds set up all around promoting
education abroad. I thought to myself
that I would LOVE to stop by and read through everything but I would be late to
class! My 1 hour and 15 minute class
seemed like forever when all I could think about were the opportunities to
study abroad in Education. I had always
wanted to study abroad but I was told it really wasn’t an option being an
education major, so when I finally had the chance to read through the posters,
pamphlets and stories I knew I had to experience education in a new
Country.
I recall walking back and forth through the isles of posters
and I always found my way back to the Costa Rica Immersion program. After listening to Dr. Powell rave about the
program and all it has to offer I was hooked.
I grabbed a pamphlet for my friend Kristen and headed to a secluded
space in the lounge to call my mom. On a
normal basis, I call my mom three to four times a day so I was hoping she would
pick up so I could tell her all about this trip and how badly I wanted to go on
it. We had a “family conversation” that
night crunching numbers, listing pros and cons and reviewing all that the trip
entails and what it has to offer for my future in education.
I picked a winner! I
was thrilled when my friend Kristen and I sent in our applications and fees for
this trip. We gossiped for hours about
everything we would learn and accomplish on this trip. I couldn’t wait to meet the Tico’s of Costa
Rica and all of the wonderful children as well as my host families. I really liked how this trip was balanced
with education, learning and service experiences as well as interesting weeked
excursions. Knowing that I would be
staying with a host family was a concern of mine. I get a bit nervous with the unknown and this
was a HUGE unknown. I knew I could handle
whatever would be thrown my way so I was confident in myself in most aspects of
the trip.
I definitely learned a lot about myself being in a foreign
country for three weeks. I learned that
I do not have to be so dependent on my friends and family and that I am content
with myself, my life and my attitude towards different things. Staying with a modest family put many things
into perspective for me. I learned that
I can survive without my hairdryer, straightener and designer jeans. I can live in a small room with bugs and not
have a panic attack. “I can do anything
I set my mind to” was my little motto during the trip. I learned that being materialistic is not a
necessity in life and that I was completely content sharing and conversing with
my host families instead of watching TV, texting or playing on my iPad. Internet, internet, internet…… that was a HUGE
adjustment. In our society we are so
accustomed to wifi everywhere that when I learned my families did not have wifi
I was a little uneasy. I questioned,
“how would I email or talk to my parents?” “how would I get work done”. Simple, you make it work. As a teacher, flexibility is key so I really
learned the value of being flexible and going with the flow on this trip.
The hardest adjustment on this trip personally was
communication. It was extremely
frustrating not being able to communicate and converse with my families,
teachers and people in the community.
For example, I could not for the
life of me figure out how to work my electric shower, and I did not know how to
communicate that to my family other than looking like a complete fool acting
out with hand motions. Going through
something as silly as that really puts things into perspective. I took communication for granted before. I’ve had children in a field experience who
could’ve been struggling just like I was to communicate, but I didn’t truly
understand until I went through it myself.
I know have EMPATHY for my English Language Learners. I can share my own struggles and find ways
that I overcame them to help future students.
I think that was one of the most significant experiences and connections
I made over the course of the trip.
I believe that knowing what I know now, I will be able to
teach my future students so much more due to my experiences in various schools
in Costa Rica as well as the humbling experience I have gone through.
Learning a second language is not easy. It very tough and I applaud all of the
children who are bilingual in Costa Rica and around the world. I wish I could say that I was fluent in
Spanish but I’m not quite there yet, someday!
I embarked on this journey will moderate/average Spanish speaking
skills. I could converse for a minute or
two and I can understand more than I can speak.
Going through homestays, spanish class and cultural experiences I was
able to embrace the language and develop a higher level of speaking skills
during my time in Costa Rica. Prior to
this experience I thought that learning a language meant memorizing and
reviewing verbs, phrases and facts when in reality conversing and using the language
outside of the classroom taught me so much more than sitting at home looking
over notes. That was very significant to
me because I will now be able to translate the way I learned into my future
classroom for my students. I wonder how
many times teachers tell students, “go home and memorize these vocabulary
words” when the teachers could be taking the students outside to actually use
the words in their true context using inquiry based learning.
There were many “ah-ha” moments during my time in Costa
Rica. I didn’t realize how hard some of
the situations I was put in would be so this trip really challenged me to be a
strong, independent person. One major
“ah-ha” moment was not such a great “ah-ha” it was actually walking through the
street of La Carpio which Is a filthy, impoverished strip of land where many undocumented Nicaraguans live. This
experience was emotionally and physically draining, but taught me more than I
could ever imagine about children, families and living in extreme poverty. Walking around La Carpio made me completely
re-assess my own life, way of living and goals.
Actually seeing poverty right in front of you is a tough experience when
I know that I can go home to a warm, clean bed and running water. Realizing that many if not all of the people
living in La Carpio do not have any of those things is saddening. It makes me want to jump in and help in any
way possible. Prior to this trip I
thought I knew what poverty was but I really didn’t. Yes, I’ve seen homeless in New York City and
poor families in Camden but I’ve never seen this many people living in
conditions such as those in La Carpio.
My perception of poverty definitely changed after hearing about the
women, children and families and what they go through on a daily basis. Hearing, “Poverty as a Childhood Disease”
clicked for me. It reinforced in my mind
that children in poverty are hungry, sick, achy etc… and as a teacher I need to
take all of those accounts into consideration in my classroom. If a child puts his or her head down in class
a first instinct for some teachers is to call the student out and discipline
them for sleeping in class when in some cases, that child may have been up all
night without clean clothes, food or water and did not have a bed to sleep in
or had to take care of younger children in the house. In my future classroom I will remember never
to “jump the gun” and assume a child is doing something wrong when in fact they
could be struggling in ways we can’t even imagine.
One prompted question asked if I had the choice between two
classrooms, one middle socio-economic class with few ELL students or one lower
socio-economic class with predominately ELL’s I would say that I would choose
the lower class students. Prior to this
trip I’m not sure which I would choose, but after working with students in
Calle Hernandez and Santa Elena Primary and I know that I can make a positive
impact and difference in the lives of children who come from struggling
families. One of the greatest influences I've had so far are the children. The
students I met on this trip will stay
with me for the rest of my life and I want to reach out to many more students
like them one day. It fills my heart
knowing that I can be the change that the students need to succeed and
hopefully down the road my students will have brighter, more successful futures
because of the opportunities I will bring to my classroom and the empathy I
have for my students.
Overall this trip was an extremely humbling and educational
experience that I will take with me throughout my entire life. I have learned about language, education,
poverty, sustainability and much more in only three short weeks which has
greatly impacted the way I will live my life from now on. To anyone who is considering going on this
study abroad trip I would highly encourage you to do so. I have learned things that I would NEVER have
learned sitting in a classroom in North Carolina. My experiences in Costa Rica have shaped me
into a better person and future teacher for my students. If you are looking for an experience such as
that, I would definitely recommend the total immersion trip in Costa Rica.
