Reflection by Fatimah Fair
Last summer, DCPS gave me and hundreds of other students the opportunity to travel abroad for free. I travelled to Costa Rica, and had the experience of my life.
The itinerary for my stay in Costa Rica was packed full of activities and excursions that made
me step out of my comfort zone and do things I had never thought I would be able to do. On our first day in the country, we visited La Fortuna Waterfall, a 70 meter waterfall in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. We also got to zipline through the cloud forest of Monteverde, which is something I have always wanted to do. The sights seen when ziplining through the clouds -- literally -- was unimaginable. During our tour of the cloud forest the next day, we learned about Costa Rica’s biodiversity and ecosystem. On the last days of the trip, we took a two day whitewater rafting trip on the Pacuare River. Again, living in DC and not having the opportunity to take many “adventure trips” in my life, white water rafting is an activity I have always wanted to try but never thought I would be able to given the circumstances. Although it was scary at first, I learned how to paddle, command a boat, work with a team and I got to see some beautiful scenery.
The main purpose of our trip was the “Service Learning” aspect, in which we volunteered at
WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network) for 4 days and assisted sea turtle
researchers. We spent the daytime cleaning up the beach and learning about sea turtles such as the Leatherback (which is HUGE), the Green Turtle and the Hawksbill Sea Turtle. Every Night, rain or shine (often rain because it was the rainy season), we walked the beach for 4 hours, an 8km stretch, looking for nesting female sea turtles. The purpose of this was to collect the eggs after she was done nesting to protect them from poachers, people who kill turtles for their shell and food. If I wasn’t on beach patrol, I had a shift at the hatchery, where we checked the nest for any emerging baby turtles, then collected some data before we released them into the sea.
From this trip, I had a new perspective on my life and American life in general. I realized how
little one needs to survive. You can be fine without wifi at your fingertips and cell phone service everywhere, and because of the isolation my study abroad group and I became like a family. Although we only spent 17 days with each other, for those 17 days we laughed, played and learned from each other. To this day, we still tell each other what’s going on in our lives and meet up because of how close our bond became through games of Uno and night patrols were the only entertainment was to talk. I also learned to push myself to do things I never imagined myself doing. Additionally, I realized how important animals and conservation organizations such as WIDECAST are. We all play a role in helping maintain our beautiful planet and wildlife.
From studying abroad in Costa Rica, I discovered my interest in marine biology, which prompted me to apply to CIEE’s 3 week marine ecology program in Bonaire this summer. With much gratitude, I was given a full scholarship to study marine ecology in one of the most diverse coral reefs in the world. However, without the initial opportunity given to me by DCPS, I would have never thought of marine biology as a possible career path. I encourage all DCPS study abroad students to truly value every moment of their time abroad, take their experiences and apply it to their future through continuing to search for travel opportunities and broaden their horizons.
