Pitroipa Soukeyna Djahira, Grade 11
UWC Costa Rica
‘’Service week is not just a week. It is an adventure’’
UWC is not just a movement of 18 schools. It can also be an interesting adventure in another country or just in the middle of nowhere with good quality people.
Each year, UWC Costa Rica CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) office organizes service week around the country. This year it was held from the 18th to the 21st of February. Staff and students from the campus are divided into random groups based on their preferences and reasons to help communities around Costa Rica. Some people had the pleasure to go to the beach to clean and observe turtles in CIRENAS (the name of the place). Some went to Santa Teresa to share ‘agents of change’ skills during the agent of change camp tour. Others stayed on campus to help maintain and improve the campus facilities. However, some people like me were sent in the middle of nowhere to the organization of Quittirisi-Zapaton to help a Costa Rican indigenous community.
Most of the UWC students would tell you how amazing their service week was and how they were excited about it. At first, this was not the case for me. I felt that I would not have the opportunity to accomplish very much, and I thought that my group would be easily bored. We didn’t know where we were going, and all the information was unclear. But, our team of 7 students and 2 educators jumped into this adventure, this adventure into the unknown. It so happened that this was a really good way for us to bond, share funny moments and learn a lot!
We rode for 3 hours on a rocky road, sweltering in the heat. As we went on, we got even more anxious. We did not know anything about this place and, it seemed that we were going into a wild and dry jungle with nothing to do. When we arrived, we discovered that we were going to live in a mini house; I was going to sleep on a matrix in the kitchen, with water only from 1 to 6 pm. We had a feeling that this would be a very long week.
But throughout these difficulties, this is when we really started bonding together. After seeing the conditions, we ended up talking more to each other while organising everything. We did an investigation of Zapaton, hiked in nature and went to a hill to watch the sunset. It was moments such as these, that helped each group member to get to know each other better. The Sunset was beautiful. While Costa Rica has a lot of beautiful sunsets, this one was one of the prettiest I have ever seen. This is the kind of time when you feel grateful for being here. The feeling is warm like the orange color of the sunset but also comforting like the blue shade from the sky.
It was one of our greatest moments. Hiking during the night to go back to our host house was an interesting and unique experience for me. We were all listening to music and talking to each other. It was a time, where started becoming more comfortable with each other and familiarised with the place.
It was Tuesday: time to start working! Our work was about helping the community by directing visitors to the various tourist sites nearby. Along with an educator and two of my peers, I was painting a mural for the water point place. We were brainstorming ideas and sketching on the wall to have the best drawing possible. It seemed that our creative and artistic skills were going to be challenged during this week. In the end, we did a pretty good job and the signs were easy to understand. The indigenous community was really happy with our work, and I think it was much more than they had expected.
I particularly liked the way our team was efficient while working. We were working daily from 8 am until 1:30 pm and in the afternoon from 3 pm until 6 pm. In the afternoons, in particular, it was really hot, but we were able to meet each other during lunch or dinner, discussing, laughing and playing cards against humanity. During break time, I started feeling I was in a summer camp, free from academics and enjoying a different phase of my UWC experience. Particularly with the educators, it was really interesting to see them going back to their teenage years, playing and discussing with us. We even got to learn about their past, and how they find life as teachers. We learned more about each other’s cultures. I remember this discussion about witchcraft and superstition in our countries and this discussion about being an adult and when you realise that you are an adult. We felt a little bit closer to our teachers and it was interesting to get to know about their personalities. So, in general, the environment in our group was great. Even if we were not all familiar with these types of work back home, we enjoyed a different experience with good quality people and great music. We were all excited to go back to campus but, we were not complaining.
The week went by really quickly - it hardly felt like we had spent any time. We were done with most of the signs and completed the mural. All that was left was to set up the signs. We did even some extra work and built stairs to help the community gain access to certain areas of Zapaton.
What I learned is that not all the places in Costa Rica are well developed and have the best infrastructure. The indigenous community in Costa Rica is living aside from San Jose in modest conditions. They rely on agriculture and tourism via the natural waterfalls to make a living. Despite the tough conditions, they try their best to take care of their peers. They share water as much as possible: the water cut from 1 to 6 pm is a way to give access to water to the other side of the region.
UWC is not just a movement of 18 schools. It can also be an interesting adventure in another country or just in the middle of nowhere with good quality people.
Each year, UWC Costa Rica CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) office organizes service week around the country. This year it was held from the 18th to the 21st of February. Staff and students from the campus are divided into random groups based on their preferences and reasons to help communities around Costa Rica. Some people had the pleasure to go to the beach to clean and observe turtles in CIRENAS (the name of the place). Some went to Santa Teresa to share ‘agents of change’ skills during the agent of change camp tour. Others stayed on campus to help maintain and improve the campus facilities. However, some people like me were sent in the middle of nowhere to the organization of Quittirisi-Zapaton to help a Costa Rican indigenous community.
Most of the UWC students would tell you how amazing their service week was and how they were excited about it. At first, this was not the case for me. I felt that I would not have the opportunity to accomplish very much, and I thought that my group would be easily bored. We didn’t know where we were going, and all the information was unclear. But, our team of 7 students and 2 educators jumped into this adventure, this adventure into the unknown. It so happened that this was a really good way for us to bond, share funny moments and learn a lot!
We rode for 3 hours on a rocky road, sweltering in the heat. As we went on, we got even more anxious. We did not know anything about this place and, it seemed that we were going into a wild and dry jungle with nothing to do. When we arrived, we discovered that we were going to live in a mini house; I was going to sleep on a matrix in the kitchen, with water only from 1 to 6 pm. We had a feeling that this would be a very long week.
But throughout these difficulties, this is when we really started bonding together. After seeing the conditions, we ended up talking more to each other while organising everything. We did an investigation of Zapaton, hiked in nature and went to a hill to watch the sunset. It was moments such as these, that helped each group member to get to know each other better. The Sunset was beautiful. While Costa Rica has a lot of beautiful sunsets, this one was one of the prettiest I have ever seen. This is the kind of time when you feel grateful for being here. The feeling is warm like the orange color of the sunset but also comforting like the blue shade from the sky.
It was one of our greatest moments. Hiking during the night to go back to our host house was an interesting and unique experience for me. We were all listening to music and talking to each other. It was a time, where started becoming more comfortable with each other and familiarised with the place.
It was Tuesday: time to start working! Our work was about helping the community by directing visitors to the various tourist sites nearby. Along with an educator and two of my peers, I was painting a mural for the water point place. We were brainstorming ideas and sketching on the wall to have the best drawing possible. It seemed that our creative and artistic skills were going to be challenged during this week. In the end, we did a pretty good job and the signs were easy to understand. The indigenous community was really happy with our work, and I think it was much more than they had expected.
I particularly liked the way our team was efficient while working. We were working daily from 8 am until 1:30 pm and in the afternoon from 3 pm until 6 pm. In the afternoons, in particular, it was really hot, but we were able to meet each other during lunch or dinner, discussing, laughing and playing cards against humanity. During break time, I started feeling I was in a summer camp, free from academics and enjoying a different phase of my UWC experience. Particularly with the educators, it was really interesting to see them going back to their teenage years, playing and discussing with us. We even got to learn about their past, and how they find life as teachers. We learned more about each other’s cultures. I remember this discussion about witchcraft and superstition in our countries and this discussion about being an adult and when you realise that you are an adult. We felt a little bit closer to our teachers and it was interesting to get to know about their personalities. So, in general, the environment in our group was great. Even if we were not all familiar with these types of work back home, we enjoyed a different experience with good quality people and great music. We were all excited to go back to campus but, we were not complaining.
The week went by really quickly - it hardly felt like we had spent any time. We were done with most of the signs and completed the mural. All that was left was to set up the signs. We did even some extra work and built stairs to help the community gain access to certain areas of Zapaton.
What I learned is that not all the places in Costa Rica are well developed and have the best infrastructure. The indigenous community in Costa Rica is living aside from San Jose in modest conditions. They rely on agriculture and tourism via the natural waterfalls to make a living. Despite the tough conditions, they try their best to take care of their peers. They share water as much as possible: the water cut from 1 to 6 pm is a way to give access to water to the other side of the region.
Another thing that I learned and that impacted my perspective on indigenous people, is that they lost a lot of their culture during colonization. They have lost their traditions, typical recipes, and even their bloodline. It is rare to find someone who is of a complete indigenous bloodline. They even asked us for feedback on how to improve their services to be able to welcome more tourists.
During this whole week, we were cut from our privileges of running water and air conditioning, but as a result, we learned how to give back to the community and step out of our comfort zone. This adventure is what UWC is about. Stepping away from our privileges, learning from the community that we are living with and make an impact. I spent a lot of time outside of campus, cut from the internet and academics. I learned about a different side of Costa Rica, and I am ready to give back to my community too. |
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