By Elizabeth Celente ’11, Staff Writer

My trip to Costa Rica this summer was so much more than a vacation.  My trip was a chance for me to learn and experience a different country in a whole new way.  I went with a group of about thirty kids, and we stayed at a service base at the bottom of a volcano.  The first thing I remember thinking was how beautiful and colorful everything was.  The houses were all different colors from blue to pink to orange, and there was more green surrounding me than I had ever seen.

After a three hour drive from the city to the service base, we had a quick lunch and immediately went off to an orphanage to start our community service.  The kids were adorable and well-cared for, but the poverty in the region was overwhelming.  Despite this, the kids just wanted play with us. They were so excited to play games with us that nothing else mattered to them, and it was uplifting to see the children so happy because of us.

Over the ten days in Costa Rica, my service group visited about eight or nine schools, and each time we were received with the same reaction of energy, excitement and eagerness in the kids’ smiling faces. Not only did we learn plenty of Costa Rican games like El Pulpo, but we taught the children traditional American games as well.  Trying to explain the games in Spanish was often difficult, but it forced us to practice speaking the language.  No matter how many different games we played, there were always two things that everyone wanted to play; jump rope for the girls and soccer for the boys.  The energy and excitement of each young child we visited thrilled me, because they really made me feel like my efforts were making a difference.

In addition to the visiting schools, my service trip involved a large amount of manual labor as a part of our service.  On the second day in the country, about eight trip members including myself, walked about a half mile up the road carrying all of our tools and equipment.  We arrived at an elementary school where we were going to help with the process of building a basketball court.

In this area of Costa Rica, a school with a basketball court was almost unheard of.  However, our program director had talked with the principal of the school, who needed to help her students by giving them a safe place to play.  She told us how they would often go across the street to the field to play soccer, but older kids would follow the younger kids, usually to beat them up.

That morning was the hardest work most of us in the service group had ever done.  We shoveled rocks, sand and dirt into wheelbarrows, and lugged it across the field where we dumped it into a machine.  Someone would then take a wheelbarrow of the cement and dump it on the ground, where then some workers evened it out.  In the sun it was about 105 degrees, and there was no shade.  However, not once did anyone I was with complain about a single thing, as it was clear that everyone was glad to be doing whatever they could to help.  Building the basketball court was by far the most difficult and rewarding part of my service trip.

The final community service we performed was painting, furnishing and cleaning up some of the schools.  We painted a classroom, sanded and stained desks, removed trash, and did many other small activities that added up to make a huge difference.  By the time we left, many of the schools we had visited had completely different appearances, and were much safer for children to attend.  While the service component of the trip was hard work, we would still take breaks to play games with the students.  There was not one minute when we were bored, and although we were often tired, everyone worked through it to get the job done.

In addition to working very hard, we were also privileged enough to get to experience some of the most beautiful and relaxing places in Costa Rica.  One night, we were taken to a high-class spa where there were natural hot springs.  After working hard all day, the springs were incredibly relaxing.  We stayed for a few hours, which was more than enough time to make us feel just a bit spoiled by being at such a nice spa.  In addition to this luxury, there were other adventure activities available to us like zip-lining, horseback riding and kayaking.  The horseback riding in particular was outstanding, with the three hour ride leading us up a volcano.  On the ride, we all got to trot, canter and gallop on our horses, even through a river.

My trip this summer was unlike anything I could have hoped for.  I believe it is important for everyone to see another way of life, and to live it like I did, if only for a week.  I could not be more thankful for this experience, and I want to express my gratitude to Mr. Feinberg for giving me the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica this summer.  If anyone has any questions or wants to know more about the grant that allowed my trip, contact Mrs. Masterson in admissions, or approach me directly.  This service immersion is an amazing opportunity that is available to all of us at Newark Academy.  I am so glad I took advantage of it, as I will never forget what I learned and did in Costa Rica.