Living and learning in Costa Rica while navigating and balancing my academic passions was a month of growth and mind-expansion. I lived with a community of students and staff at a sustainable academic center in Atenas, Costa Rica and got to work alongside the land through gardening and center projects while simultaneously working alongside my peers through exploration and reflection. I chose this program because I thought my future career lied within the realm of Environmental Justice; and I found that my passions expanded even beyond that. I gained ambitions as I learned about organic food systems. I especially loved working so closely in the garden and gaining a better understanding of the work done at a sustainability center. By harvesting herbs, weeding, painting the greenhouse, upturning compost, transplanting native species, creating a butterfly garden, harvesting mushrooms, and planting trees, I got to contribute my efforts, energy, and love back into the very place that was fueling me.
Our course was divided into three Field Exercises, or FEXes: 1 focused on economic and agricultural systems, 2 on water management, and 3 on green spaces in Costa Rica. We had many experiential learning opportunities to various locations for each FEX, getting to see different parts of the country along the way. For FEX 1, we visited Finca Orgánica San Luis, where we learned about their local delivery program, LIFE Monteverde Coffee Farm where we saw how integral the crop was to the country, and Organic Paradise Pineapple Farm, where we were exposed to the challenges of organics. For FEX 2, we visited Los Chorros and for the first time in my life I saw firsthand where my water was sourced. We visited 3 other organizations that oversaw water management for different towns. For FEX 3, we visited Monteverde Cloud Forest and Curi Cancha Reserve, the University of Costa Rica, Alto del Roble, and Tirimbina Biological Reserve. These daytrips and overnight excursions were supplemented by lectures about various topics of environmental justice: Indigenous rights, the history of biodiversity in the country, food justice, bats, community action, and more.
We also had weekends free in which we got to explore Costa Rica on our own and this was beneficial to me because I feel I got to balance being a part of a community and being a solo adventurer (and practice my Spanish). I visited Jaco, a tourist beach town, where I learned to surf and got first-hand experience of the detriment that capitalism has on the country. I got to visit the gorgeous Arenal volcano and dip in its hot springs. I got to explore the capital city of San Jose and experience a rainforest canopy tour through ziplining!
From kneeling in the dirt to climbing in the trees, I got to know nature on multiple levels. From bat night to bird walks, my aspiration to be an ecologist was resurrected. I will always carry with me what I learned of the patience of the sloth, the community mindset of an oropendola, and the regenerative systems of organic living. I feel so blessed to have been able to live my life the Pura Vida way!
Joslyn Primicias (BS Environmental Science) spent the Summer 2023 semester studying abroad in Atenas, Costa Rica through The School for Field Studies. Joslyn had the following to say about studying abroad, “Studying abroad as an environmental scientist is important to me because, in order to save the world, you have to see it first! The Earth is so big, and I am so small, but we are both magic.“
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