It would probably be helpful if I explained these details.
I am traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica with a company called International Studies Abroad (ISA) and section of their company called ELAP. I will first be volunteering/interning through ELAP at an organization in the city. Following these four or five weeks, I will take classes at Veritas University for four weeks.
As I am an Environmental Policy and Analysis major with an International Perspectives major, simply traveling abroad covers my specialization. The class I will be taking will also be counted as some sort of credit. (My advisors assure me they can work their magic.) The contact hours spent volunteering will translate into (hopefully) two credit hours for the internship required for the environmental major.
The placement for my internship is at an international non-governmental organization called Centro de los Amigos para la Paz (CAP). What that translates to is Center of Friends for Peace.
CAP (Centro de Amigos para la Paz) was founded by Quakers in 1983, and is dedicated to promoting understanding of international peace, social justice, and ecological issues. CAP’s mission fits well with Costa Rica’s proud tradition of being a pacifist, anti-war country. In particular, CAP researches and then distributes reports and newsletters to the general public relating to current topics and initiatives being discussed in the Costa Rican government. They also organize a variety of educational seminars and workshops.
It uncertain what I will specifically be doing. This will be determined upon my arrival. We will set my schedule and find a place for me to work. There are a variety of things I could be doing on their different existing projects. Because they are focused on human rights and peace, they are closely related to environmental issues. My hope is to work on things of this nature (obviously). I saw on their website that they have previously built bike paths and worked with kids to plant trees along sidewalks and the bike path. This would be fantastic to be a part of if they are still working on it. I am excited to be working in an NGO and will hopefully gain a better understanding of how they work. (I am interested in working with NGOs and non-profits in the future.) Another advantage is that this is an international NGO so I may be working with people from all over they world. Because of this there may be more English spoken than Spanish. Though this is comforting it is also kind of a bummer. Although I'm sure I will be challenged with speaking Spanish in many other areas.
The journey to finding my placement was a little tough because of the options for environmental students, my language level, and the availability at the organizations. I hoped to be working more directly with Costa Rican people doing outreach, education, service, etc. I would have loved to be outside in the lush Costa Rican environment. I had several different options that were either unfitting, like running a petting zoo at a conservation park, or the supervisors would not be there to work with me during the time I will be there. One potential project was to build a garden with children at an education center. However, I am very excited about my placement and am sure that I will learn many new and useful things and be of service to the organization.
My classes are not set as of yet. This happens a little later on. (P.S. I am doing it backwards. Most people take classes first before interning. They do not offer environmental classes until the last session. Because of this I had to intern first so that I could come back for fall semester at BG). I am supposed to take a spanish class and an elective taught in english. The spanish classes are in the morning to afternoon and electives in the afternoon to evening with field trips on some weekends. The class I am planning to take is called Environmental Awareness and Sustainable Development. This class covers a wide variety of issues using the Costa Rican environment as an example and will study things like the banana and coffee farms, ecotourism, conservation, etc. It looks amazing.
What about dance? Oh, no worries, I will be dancing. My hope is to get out of taking the spanish class somehow, since I will have already been in San Jose for five weeks and take two electives instead. The second elective being Theory of Latin American Dance. This class doesn't have weekend field trips that will conflict with the other class. It also looks amazing. I would learn the history and theory of Costa Rican and other latin dances and, of course, learn to do them. Many classes are comprised of watching classic dance movies and discussing them. Then, on some evenings, instead of having class we would travel downtown to a discoteca or club and just dance. I would love to take this class. If I am unable to, I hope to find local dance classes to participate in. If I can't find those, I hope to find friends to help me learn their ways of dancing and will simply go to the club and dance.
So that is basically what I am doing in Costa Rica.
Where will I be living? I am basically a foreign exchange student. I will be staying with a family who has hosted students many times through ISA. The Vargas' will be my Costa Rican family. They live in the Zapote District of San Jose. This is also where Veritas University and the ISA office are located. This area is a middle/upper class neighborhood and is still close to downtown.
I will have my own room and bathroom in the Vargas' home. There will be one other girl coming to stay there as well through ISA.
One question everyone seems to be asking me is "How are you going to survive as a vegetarian?" Well, I have learned that it really won't be bad at all. I will be eating a lot of beans and rice and amazing fruits (YESSS). I was specifically placed with this family with my dietary choices in mind. Senora Vargas enjoys cooking vegetarian meals. I am very excited to give her the gift I purchased, a maplewood cutting board with "CLE" carved into it.
I think that is a pretty good summary of the details for now.
Why am I going? Well, as I explained, this trip counts for several requirements for my major. In addition, I simply love to travel and have always wanted to study abroad. I chose Costa Rica because of its rich environment that is perfect for studying and is an example of great conservation and ecotourism, its dance culture, and spanish language. Although I am far from fluent, I have had spanish training that I figure I should put to use. Also, as I explained above, I want to be able to dance. Costa Rica seemed to be the perfect place to do all of this. Not only that, but Costa Rica has lush forests, mountains, and beaches all ready for exploration and adventure.
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