Costa Rica Trip

Peace Students' Fundraising Proves Fruitful

Burbank, IL – April 21, 2008 – A car wash in September kicked of 12 Queen of Peace students’ efforts to fundraise for the opportunity to take a spring break trip to Costa Rica. Their hard work proved fruitful. On March 19, these 12 students accompanied by two Peace Spanish teachers boarded a plane to spend a full week immersed in the beauty and culture of Costa Rica.

Students paired up and stayed with host families outside of the city of San José. During the days, groups hiked in the Tirimbina Rain Forest preserve, visited Arenal Volcano to watch the lava flows, learned about coffee production at Café Britt, attended a local artisan’s marking, performed a service activity at a local orphanage, rode horses, zip-lined through the canopies, and took a boat excursion to Turtle Island on the Pacific Coast. Students returned to their host families each night to learn about daily life in Costa Rica and practice their Spanish conversational skills.

According to Peace Spanish teacher and chaperone Heidi Hansen, “the girls very much enjoyed learning about Costa Rican culture. The largest highlight for me as a teacher was hearing the girls’ comments about their host families. I heard comments about speaking Spanish for hours and how easily they understood. The girls are already clamoring to come back and visit all the new friends they made. It was a fabulous experience that we plan on continuing for future classes at Queen of Peace.”

Pictured here in Costa Rica: (front left) – Rachel Glover, Alex Swieton, Elsa Benitez, Abby Point, (back left) Andrea Ferrara, Taylor Vrabec, Christina Mikus, Elisabeth Andrade, Janet Rodriguez, Rocio Estrada, Angela Amador and Patty Smith.

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