Left my Heart in Costa Rica

You’ve had that moment; the one where you know a part of your heart is changed. Was it graduating, discovering a new place, or just an awesome night? I can tell you about many moments that changed my heart, but I’ll stick to the most recent.

Costa Rica was the host of my heart for four weeks this past summer. I travelled on my own to meet up with a student group organization. The organization is responsible for assigning people from all over the world to a two-week volunteer project, followed by two weeks of adventure travel.

Pre-Trip:

The travel organization emailed me with my host town name: Tarcoles, Costa Rica.  My first thought was to look this place up on Google. I’ll do you the favor of “googling” Tarcoles, and I’ll link one keyword for you  Crocodiles. I didn’t know how to anticipate my stay in this town after my halfhearted research. A part of me wanted the surprise, so I left my image at crocodiles. All I knew is that I was going to meet new people, stay with a host Spanish family, and hoped to all mighty that Crocodiles didn’t like Canadians.

Post-Trip:

When I got to Tarcoles, I realized that it was a small beautiful town on the sea. I met my host mom, Melanie. I didn’t know at the moment that two weeks would mean my heart would be changed. I also found out that the town of Tarcoles isn’t actually known to have crocodiles. Tarcoles, is named after the river which is crocodile infested.

Tarcoles Beach, Personal Photo.

My travel organization situated myself, and 10 other women from the states and the UK within Tarcoles. We all had an individual host family, and we spent time doing cultural activities, and working in the town. Our main task was to work on basic community development projects. We became affiliated with Por La Mar, and Coope Tarcoles.  Throughout our two weeks we represented PorLa Mar and Coope Tarcoles through our work. Some examples of our development were; park cleanup and landscaping, beach cleanup, painting, building maintenance, and School maintenance.

 

Work on Coope Tarcoles, Personal Photo.

I spent two weeks bonding with my volunteer group. I created a strong relationship with my host mom (mama Tica). She cooked the most amazing meals, and we watched a lot of Spanish music videos together. The girls in my volunteer group and I spent time with our host families engaging in cultural cooking, soccer games on the beach, and game nights. The volunteer group I had, soon became my second family. I have bonds, and relationships that will last a lifetime. I am thankful that I was able to make a difference, and gain more than I could ever imagine. My heart is forever changed, and I hold Costa Rica responsible for that.  

Tarcoles Beach, Sunset. Personal Photo.