Spanish Students Return From Costa Rica

Along the vibrant turquoise beach of Costa Rica, street performers line the beach, playing upbeat tunes on the xylophone, singing heartfelt songs, or juggling soccer balls as crowds walk by and throw change into the performers’ hats. However, one group stands out among the crowd.

On March 16, 2025, Hastings Senior High School’s Spanish III students returned from their spring break in Costa Rica.

Last year, students taking Spanish II were offered the opportunity to participate in a foreign language trip to Costa Rica. During this spring break, eight students were finally able to board the plane and head to the tropical country, and for some students, this was their first time traveling to another country outside of the United States.

“A lot of people were very nervous, but I didn’t really get nervous. I was actually really excited. I mean, [I’ve] never been out of the country,” junior Serenity Johnson said. “I’ve kind of always wanted to learn Spanish since I was a kid… I never knew much about their culture other than the fact that I loved the language [and wanted] to experience it.”

Upon arrival, students spent the first few days on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, staying at a hotel before heading inland to their host families in Turrialba. At the coast, students visited the  Jaguar Rescue Center and experienced life on the beach of Costa Rica.

“[The students] got to see what beach life was like [and] that’s a completely different culture within [Costa Rican] culture, because there’s a lot of Afro influence there on that side of the coast,” Spanish teacher Linda Shaw said.

During their stay in Turrialba, the students were divided into groups and put with host families. This gave students a sense of what it would be like to live in a regular, local Spanish household.

“We tried to hang out with them as much as we could and speak to them as much as we could… Of course, they know that we;re basically beginners in Spanish and in the culture,” Goodrich said. “They tried their best to help us through it and they were just amazing people, and saying goodbye was really hard.”

In Turrialba, students engaged in several activities, most of which were nature-related due to the host family program used, Explornatura, meaning “explore nature.” Activities included rafting, cooking class, Latin dance class, canyoning, zip lining, suspension bridge crossing, tours, and more.

“I ended up getting thrown out of the boat. That was not fun; that was terrifying, and it was really weird. You always hear people talk about their life flashing before their eyes or time slowing, and that happened… Oh, I also lost a shoe too,” Johnson said while laughing.

Whether the students went to the market to buy trinkets or simply explore, they met with welcoming attitudes.

“[The locals] were really nice. I mean, yes, we did get some stares… especially when we have to travel in a big group. It’s like a bunch of white people of course, and it’s kind of weird. But, the people seemed really nice and friendly and very welcoming,” junior Kailey Goodrich said.

The students observed the locals extended their kindness towards stray animals too.

“Here in the U.S., you know, with stray animals, it’s very, ‘Don’t touch them ever,’ but everything is very open in Costa Rica, and so they take care of the animals. They’re fed, [given] water, [and] they go where they want,” Johnson said. “I had this one stray dog run out to me, and I love animals so of course I pet it. So, it sort of followed us, and it’s really hot in Costa Rica… I pulled out my water bottle and I gave him some water, and then we had to spend the next twenty minutes trying to get rid of him.”

Students immersed themselves in an entirely new culture than they are accustomed to in the United States. From the food to how people drove, there were numerous differences.

“The food was also way healthier, especially the fruit. The fruit was amazing because it was fresh of course,” Goodrich said. “Almost everyday, breakfast, lunch, or dinner… you would have beans and rice [with each dish], and they were really good, but you would just also get really tired of it because it was the same thing… [My host family] also asked what we would want, which was really nice and thoughtful of them.”

Additionally, there were also some more unique differences such as a different water and plumbing system. Costa Rica’s infrastructure is not as advanced as the United States, resulting in a more restrictive usage of toilets and needing to manually turn a shower’s water heater or “califont.”

“[We chaperones] tried to, as much as possible, avoid major culture shock because there are things like the plumbing… It’s those types of things that we prep the students on so that it doesn’t become an awkward situation like ‘Oh. somebody clogged somebody’s toilet because they put toilet paper in there when they weren’t supposed to.’” Shaw said.

One major distinction that did not go unnoticed by any of the students was the difference in climate between midwestern Nebraska and Costa Rica. The climate in Costa Rica reached blistering levels of heat, sometimes rendering the students’ sunblock useless.

“When I got sunburnt, I didn’t notice it and I thought that they were just kidding [about me] being really red, but when Serenity showed me a picture of what my back actually looked like, I was like, ‘Oh my lord.’” Goodrich said. “I didn’t think it could get that bad, but as the days went on, it hurt really bad.”

Besides viewing Spanish culture, another objective was to teach the students. Students attended Spanish classes from eight in the morning until noon. They were divided into two levels with one class focusing on Spanish culture and history while the other focused on language strengthening.

“It wasn’t traditional. We actually didn’t go to a school. We went into this bed and breakfast and there were two teachers… For those four days, we played some games but we also learned to use proper tenses, personality traits, and physical traits,” Goodrich said.

However, the main academic focus was putting students in a Spanish-speaking environment. The trip gave students a chance to engage in a real-world application of Spanish and think of what to say on the spot.

“As a teacher, what is so cool is just really being able to give students an opportunity to travel somewhere and use what we do in class in a real world environment because that’s just not something that you can replicate in a classroom,” Shaw said. “Sure, you can say that we’ll bring some native speakers in and have a conversation with them, but that would be kind of scripted.”

This year, Shaw and former HHS teacher Jean Davis (this year’s sponsor) chaperoned. Even though the students spent their entire spring break with teachers and tour guides, some students did not mind it but rather appreciated being able to go on the trip knowing they had experienced adults nearby.

“Honestly, they were the best teachers to probably go on [the trip] with us because they were very patient and very kind with us. If we made a small mistake, it’s not like they were hounding us about it,” Goodrich said. “They were always checking in on us, which is nice, and it’s especially [nice] since you’re really [far] away from home.”

Shaw also enjoyed the trip with this year’s group of students.

“Not every group is [has] great travelers. Some people can be pretty high maintenance… This group was very much what we would say in Spanish, ‘pura vida.’ They would just go with the flow you know?” Shaw said. “Let’s say, it took longer to get somewhere than what we had originally been told. There wasn’t a lot of complaining… So, they were a great group to travel with.”

In the past, students have gone to countries such Mexico and Spain, but due to convenience and also safety reasons, Costa Rica became the main destination. A week after leaving Cuernavaca, Mexico, an incident relating to gang violence occurred not far from where students were staying.

“First of all, we love the program that we work with in Costa Rica… Because of the way things are right now in Mexico with gang presence, I don’t see us going back to Mexico,” Shaw said. “Then as far as Spain goes… There were some students that were not attending class… The homestay program was not as strong as what the homestay component is of the program that we use now.”

Shaw has been going on the Spanish trips since 1999 and wishes to continue going on the trips to Costa Rica.

“It feels like home away from home for me because I have traveled there so many times… I just feel very comfortable there, and I feel safe there too. And, you can’t take that for granted because there’s a lot of countries that we could potentially take students to, and I don’t know that I would necessarily feel safe,” Shaw said.

The Spanish trip takes place every two years and is only offered to Spanish III students. Overall, it serves to help students experience Spanish culture, practice speaking Spanish, and just have a unique vacation.

“[If given the chance] I would definitely do it again because I loved the culture and I want to learn more Spanish. It’s just an amazing place to be,” Goodrich said while fidgeting with a bracelet she bought in Costa Rica. “If I could, I would do it over and over again. I would say Ms. Davis and Señora Shaw, even Señor Mueller [since] he goes on them sometimes, are lucky to go as much as they are able to.”