When I was nearing the end of Year 12, my school got a visit from a company called ‘Camps International’ – a travel company offering ethical journeys with impact. Their presentation to our year group spoke about their aims for their expedition in Costa Rica, and how our volunteering would boost the local economy and help children in neighbouring villages. Activities such as beach clean-up and reef restoration were on offer, alongside getting a scuba diving license.
Fast forward to 13 months later, I’d finished my A-Levels, and I was on the plane to Toronto, ready for my connection to San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. My main emotion was excitement, but also nerves. What if I couldn’t keep up with the physical/manual labour of the expedition, what if I didn’t like the food, would the language barrier be too much? The entire travel day was spent with thoughts like this swirling around my head, making for two anxiety filled plane rides.
Their uniquely positive outlook on life is pure and refreshing, and something that kept me happy during my month out there.
However, once I landed and arrived at the first camp, all those worries melted away. On my first day, I met the locals of the village we were staying in, who were full of kindness and eager to see the work we were carrying out around them. Whilst we were restoring the dock on the river, they would bring us food and drink, all coming from their own pockets and despite having things to do themselves. They would sit around on our lunch break and teach us about local Costa Rican customs, and the importance of saying ‘Pura Vida’ to everyone you see! Their uniquely positive outlook on life is pure and refreshing, and something that kept me happy during my month out there.
The second village I visited was further from the city, and deep into the Costa Rican rainforest. Our main focus here was on helping the local children, by improving their English and renovating their school, to make learning and play safer. Seeing how little they had, yet how positive they remained gave me such a newfound appreciation for my life and made me realise how much I take for granted. The children taught us games which we played with them, and as we helped them with English, they in turn helped us with Spanish, so we could all communicate better. Most of the children had never left their village before, and had never seen anyone who wasn’t Costa Rican, or looked different to how they did. But they welcomed us with opened arms and changed my trip for the better.
Things that once felt so important to me (social media, school, even makeup!) began to take less precedence in my life, as I realised that they didn’t really matter anymore.
Being surrounded by people with lives so drastically different to mine made me slow down. As the trip drew to a close, I realised that my perspectives had begun to shift. Things that once felt so important to me (social media, school, even makeup!) began to take less precedence in my life, as I realised that they didn’t really matter anymore. Human connection is so much more important, and I met people that I ordinarily would never have had the chance to meet.
Was every moment of the trip perfect? No, not by far. There were unexpected delays, times where I felt out of my comfort zones, and definitely days where I wanted to go home and be in my own bed. But I think the perseverance of the trip really shaped who I am as a person. It made me realise how to travel ethically and support the local communities of where I visited. This trip made me realise that there are endless opportunities in our world, and that I need to take as many chances as I can, as one trip could really change your life.