Trip Planning Since School Started
Hughes and his team have been working on trip logistics and making travel arrangements since mid-September. "Most of my fall has been involved in sitting down and working out the budget, flights, hotel rooms, and getting pricing figured out," Hughes says, but he and his team also conducted an applicant review and selection process, began fundraising for the trip, and strove to communicate as much information about the trip as early as possible to the twenty-two freshmen selected to participate .
"That was a big thing I focused on. Last year, when I went home for Christmas break I told my family that I was going on this trip but I wasn't able to give them many concrete details because I didn't really know any," Hughes says. He wanted students to be armed with more details about the trip, so at pre-departure meetings this fall Hughes says "we were able to give a couple of presentations and we had a really good handout, a rough itinerary and a general overview of the trip--where we’re staying, what we’re doing, where we’re going."
With that mission accomplished in the fall, this spring Hughes and the five travel sub-committees he leads have been helping everyone prepare for the trip. Each sub-committee, consisting of a student leader from MSC FLI and 4-5 freshmen taking the trip, has a different responsibility. "One group, for example, will focus on helping everyone develop basic Spanish skills. One is in charge of fundraising to help lower the trip cost for each participant. One tries to give everybody information about Costa Rica history and culture," he says. "We have another sub-committee in charge of things like safety, documentation, packing, and what you need to know to travel. This group also hosts socials to help everybody get to know each other."
Where They're Staying
MSC freshman leadership organizations have been sponsoring this spring break trip to Costa Rica for several years, and each year the Texas A&M Soltis Center for Research and Education in San Isidro has served as the group's home base. In addition to staying there and taking almost all of its meals there, the Soltis Center is one of the trip's service project locations and offers participants most of the educational and recreational experiences they have during their time in Costa Rica. The center includes 250 acres, which houses dormitories, offices, classrooms, labs, and a cafeteria, and is adjacent to another 120,000 acres of forest.
"The days are structured," Hughes says. "In the mornings we'll do the service projects, then in the afternoon is when we do our fun excursions." The service projects include working at the Soltis Center where Hughes says the students "will do pretty much whatever they need done. A lot of it is rain forest conservation type of work." Last year the group built a small garden so people who can't hike the rain forest trails at the center can still see some of the indigeneous plant life, and they also built a step trail from the center to the trailhead.
The other service project location is at a local school near the center where the group works on craft projects and plays games, especially soccer, with the Costa Rican students. Hughes says that visiting the school turned out to be one of the best educational experiences on the trip. "The age groups range from elementary up to high school. Most of the kids don't know any English, but despite the language we are able to interact and communicate without speaking. That was a pretty cool experience for me," he says.
Where They're Going
Afternoon excursions include the thrill of riding a zipline over the rainforest, a taste of local cuisine in the local town of La Fortuna, and guided hikes through the rain forest and up to the volcano Arenal. As one might expect, the zipline is one of the most popular excursions, and hikes deep into the rain forest also make significant impacts on students, but for the past several years students returning from the trip have consistently agreed that one of the highlights of these afternoon excursions has been, in fact, a person rather than a place.
"Alberth, our guide when we're there, knows pretty much everything about the rain forest," Hughes says. "He's really, really passionate about nature. It's refreshing to go out on hikes with him because you can tell he's really excited about it and wants to teach people." Hughes' words echo those of many other students who have been to the Soltis Center, and it's clear that Alberth Rojas Carranzaa, the Research and Academic Program Assistant at the center, not only provides students with lessons in biology, geology, and local culture, but also inspires them with his infectious enthusiasm and generosity. "You really get the sense that they (the Costa Rican people) value what you have to say," Hughes explains. "If you were to go ask Alberth a question, even if he was doing something he would stop and look at you and actually take the time to have a conversation and answer your question."
Sharing the Experience with Others
Hughes is returning to Costa Rica this spring break because the trip made a big impact on him last year. "It probably was the highlight of my freshman year," he says. "I have a hard time putting it into words, but it was just really impactful. A lot of my good friends now were on that trip." He also saw opportunities for improvements and, more importantly, wanted to be part of making the trip possible for this year's freshmen. "I knew I wanted to be on staff (as a student leader) for FLI, and this travel coordinator position was open," says Hughes. "The trip was a defining moment of my freshman year, so I wanted to make sure that it could happen for other people this year."
Now, after six months of work, Hughes and twenty-nine other people from Texas A&M are ready to experience what for some will be trip of a lifetime. For others, it will be the first in what they hope will be a lifetime filled with global experiences. If you would like to follow along on their adventures, be sure to check out the blog the group will be keeping during their trip - aggieadventuresabroad.blogspot.com.
You can also view a flickr slideshow of photos from past trips.
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