Get Help

Costa Rican experience

Eight students learning in Costa Rica
October 7, 2014

Seven Clarion University students and one University of Pittsburgh student found themselves on a pilgrimage this summer when they agreed to take an international class in Costa Rica taught by Clarion’s Dr. Sandra Trejos.

While a religious pilgrimage was one part of the trip, the overall experience of traveling to another country served as its own journey for the students, who grew individually by meeting new people, trying new foods and humbly participating in the culture.

The students on the trip were Sofia Barboza, Ryan Brantner, Kelsie Conrad, Cara Delmaestro, Emily Schierberl, Kristin Selker, Megan Smith and Stephanie Warner.

The students had a seasoned tour guide in Trejos, a native Costa Rican. Trejos relied heavily on her contacts to set up meetings with companies within the country to enhance the course, “Understanding the Costa Rican Society.”

Students visited a tortilla factory, Intel and Citibank, among other companies. The students were quick to notice the difference in workplace standards and conditions between the tortilla factory and other factories in the United States.

Smith, a senior international business and economics major, said the working conditions were incredibly hot with long hours and only one main break. “I don’t think that would be acceptable in the U.S.,” Smith said.

The factory operated without any industrial fans, said Brantner, a senior business management and human research major. “It was kind of hard to see,” Brantner said.

However, despite their conditions, “they were so happy,” said Schierberl, a senior economics and finance major.

“Sometimes we can be happy because we don’t know any better,” Trejos said. Trejos added that just because something is legal doesn’t necessarily make it right.

Costa Rica ExperienceThe students may have been surprised by the work conditions, but they weren’t surprised by the happiness of the people, because Trejos prepared them before the trip began.

“You used to say the richness isn’t in the infrastructure, it’s in the people,” said Selker, a junior biology major minoring in business.

The students’ trips weren’t all serious in nature. They had the opportunity to dine at the Irazu Volcano, soak in some hot springs, zip line through the rainforest and watch theatrical and musical performances at the National Theater, where the country’s president was seated near them. Trejos said it’s common for the president to be so accessible in a small country like Costa Rica.

The students also were surprised one day when Costa Rica’s former minister of finance, Federico Vargas Peralta, spoke to them for 30 minutes. Trejos just happened to run into Peralta in the same building as the students’ class.

However, the two events that stood out most to the students were also the most unique.

The first was a trip to a bilingual school where one of Trejos’ friends is principal. The school children were eager to speak to their new English-speaking friends and peppered the Clarion students with questions about the United States and Pennsylvania.

Schierberl said one boy asked her, “How many volcanoes does Pennsylvania have?” She told him that Pennsylvania doesn’t have any volcanoes, which was shocking to him. “You have no volcanoes?” the young boy said.

Another young boy invited Brantner to play soccer, and the school opened the soccer field for them.

Trejos told Brantner that gesture was a sign of being welcomed, because the field wouldn’t have been opened for just anybody.

The other experience that was a defining moment for the group was the pilgrimage to Basílica Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in the colonial capital of Cartago. The pilgrimage is a religious journey to honor the Virgen de los Ángeles, Costa Rica’s patron saint.

The Clarion group was offered the day as a free day to do as they pleased but the entire group decided they’d rather walk five hours or 14 miles to the basilica to participate in the pilgrimage with the Costa Rican faithful.

Catholicism is Costa Rica’s national religion, and Trejos was planning to attend with her family. Trejos said she didn’t try to persuade them to attend the pilgrimage, but the group wanted to be part of it.

“I chose to do this because it was just another way to get immersed in the culture, and I am Catholic,” said Warner, a senior accounting and economics major.

Conrad, a junior international business and economics major, said even if you’re not religious, the day is still meaningful and affects you.

The group walked with Trejos’ family, which Trejos said impressed her family as well as a camera crew from a local news station. The students were interviewed while they were on the journey, and camera crews captured the students a second time when they were in the basilica. Trejos said Costa Ricans kneel from the entrance of the basilica to the altar, and the Clarion students followed suit.

“It was the best day of my whole life,” Schierberl said of the pilgrimage.

Trejos’ daughter, Barboza, was the Pitt student who attended the trip.

“One of the biggest surprises for me was how much I really enjoyed being able to share my culture and what I knew about Costa Rica with students my own age,” Barboza said. “I was also amazed by how willing the (Clarion) students were to learn about Costa Rican culture.”

The trip also had its share of surprises for Trejos and her daughter who don’t usually see the sites when they visit Costa Rica.

“This trip was unlike any of my other visits to Costa Rica. Normally when I visit, most of my time is focused on seeing family and doing family events. I normally do not visit much of the tourist parts,” Barboza said. “During this trip, I did many things that I wouldn't have done if (not for) the context of the course.”

In turn, the trip helped the other students dispel misconceptions they may have had about Costa Rica. In particular, the climate surprised students the most. Costa Rica has seven different climate zones, and the students experienced a few of them, including the hot beach, cold temperatures in the higher altitudes by the volcano, the rainforest while on zip line and the 75-degree spring-like conditions where they stayed.

Students also tried the country’s typical dish, casado, which consists of rice, beans and your choice of meat with sides of fried plantains and vegetable stew. They also enjoyed natural refreshments of blended fruit with water.

No matter what the students were doing, Trejos said one thing was true during the entire trip: “These students make Clarion look so good.” 

Last Updated 1/11/21