Traveling to Costa Rica to volunteer with Tropical Adventures at La
Escuela del Rio Negro was unmistakably the most memorable experience of my life
as of yet.

I first arrived at the San Jose airport and
after being dropped off at the bus
stop I quickly realized that for the next
two weeks interactions in English may be very scarce (besides those with
Tropical Adventures Staff). Having
studied a lot of Spanish in high school, I
quickly adjusted and began talking with the locals and ended up having very
interesting discussions. Being comfortable with Spanish was a must once I met
my host family, who spoke only Spanish.

Living with a host family is a unique experience
to say the least. I believe it is the best way to see the biggest cultural
differences in Costa Rica in the shortest amount of time. I was exposed to
different foods, lifestyles, and even some foreign TV programming. I always
felt safe and accepted with my host family.
The school at which I volunteered
was also right across the street. Not only was
this convenient, but it allowed
me to get to know students from the school before and after classes; some
students were even friends with Berta’s (my host mom’s) grandchildren, and thus
were constantly running throughout the house! The students were cute, funny,
but most importantly seemed heavily enthused about learning English. I almost
forgot, they were amazing at Frisbee!

In addition to volunteering, I also had some
time set aside to indulge in some tours of Costa Rica’s natural attractions.
White water rafting and zip lining through the rainforest turned out to be an
awesome way to see some beautiful sights and experience true adventure in the
wild. I was lucky enough to meet some awesome people on both tours and have an
overall great time!

Jason Marschke

 Missouri,USA.