Costa Rica Global Studies

Where to begin? This group has seen and accomplished so much in the past week! They have traveled from mountains to the sea and back again. After a few days on the Gulf of Nicoya learning about some of the innovative sustainability initiatives that are based in this beautiful area, the group traveled back to the Monteverde cloud forest to begin one of the most critical portions of the trip, their homestays!

 

In the small village of San Luis, students settled into their new homes and themselves during their week of homestays. Splitting the days between spending time with their host family and working on their most ambitious community service project yet, this week saw our students coming into their own and really immersing themselves in the “pura vida.” There is no substitute for the simple yet profound experience of waking up and helping your homestay family make breakfast, or the feeling of being truly welcomed and accepted by a community of strangers in a culture and environment very different from your own. 

Each day during their homestays, the students came together and worked very hard on their next community service project on the “Casa Marcileno Cruz” with the San Luis Development Association. We are excited to share more about this project with you all next week, and show off one of the many impressive accomplishments from this group! The families and friends of these remarkable students, as well as the whole Steamboat Mountain School community, should be very proud of the hard work they have put in throughout this trip. The students and community came together on their final evening in San Luis to show appreciation and gratitude for each other with a good old fashioned cookout and dance. Although it’s hard to say goodbye to a community that has been so welcoming to our students, the group is excited to be traveling out to the coast of Guanacaste to continue their adventures!