Adriana’s Global Engagement ReportI studied abroad on the Field Course: Primate Behavior program in Costa Rica. One

memorable experience from this program standing on the balcony of the house I was staying in and watching the thunderstorm and strong winds thrash the nearby rainforest. All of the students and I were watching the storm in awe, taking out our phones at first in the hopes of capturing lighting on video. The storm raged on for a couple hours, and we spent the entire time bonding with one another to the distant sound of rain and thunder.

Once the students and I arrived in Costa Rica, we stayed in a hotel in San José for a couple nights while waiting for other students to arrive. Afterwards, we stayed in a resort hotel for a couple nights at Tortuguero National Park, where we observed monkeys and other wildlife along the river. The hotel in San José was one of the best hotels in the city, with internet access, breakfast, and plenty of seating areas to hang out and relax. The resort in Tortuguero was immersed in wildlife. There were lots to do at the resort. Students and I took a tour of the frog habitat, watched sea turtles lay their eggs in the middle of the night, and went ziplining in the forest. While some programs on this trip were planned, there was a lot of free time to be able to work on our research proposals.

Left: Caribbean Sea at sunrise, around 5 am; Right: hammock at the resort at TortugueroAt the field station, we stayed in a building surrounded by the rainforest, with the entire

second floor dedicated to all of the students on the trip. The first floor was considered our “study space” and had lots of tables, a library with lots of printed out research for our projects, and a white board. When we weren’t studying there, the space was used to eat our meals together, which happened everyday at 7am, noon, and 6pm.

This housing arrangement was ideal because it was in the middle of the rainforest, and students had the ability to freely travel to the rainforest whenever they wanted. This meant we could plan out our own research methods. The students on my program loved this arrangement, and most of us willingly got up at 5am every morning in order to observe monkeys and gather enough data for the day before noon. This made it so we would have the majority of the day free to do whatever we wanted, including resting in hammocks, hiking in the rainforest, going for a run, or analyzing on our data collection.

Left: trail to head into the big forest; Right: patio outside the houseThe cost of living in Costa Rica is a lot less expensive than in the US. Since most

workers earn less money than workers in the US, we were often encouraged on the trip to leave a tip, even if it was already included in the bill, which it often was. At the end of the trip, all the students pooled together their money and left a large tip for all of the employees at the field station, who only earned about $200 a month. These employees cooked all of our meals and cleaned the house.

In order to get money abroad, you could use ATM machines in San José and in a small city outside the field station, which we visited twice. There were no other opportunities to get money, so finances need to be planned ahead of time. Additionally, both American and Costa Rican currency (called colónes) are used. The only caveat is that any US dollar that has a pen mark, tear, rip, or any other kind of marking on it cannot be used because it cannot be exchanged for colónes at the local banks. If planning to bring and pay with US money, make sure bills are in perfect or near-perfect condition.

Most meals are paid for by the school, except a few lunches and dinners. The cost of meals vary depending on where you go and what you order. There are a lot of higher-end restaurants where waiters speak English and take credit cards. Most meals cost around $15 USD, but if money is tight, ordering something simple such as a sandwich or fries can decrease the cost of meals.

The current exchange rate is approximately 550 colónes for every $1 USD. Supermarkets, grocery stores, and restaurants generally use simple calculators to do the math and give the correct change in colónes if paying with US dollars. Additionally, at the tourist market, sellers set two prices for all items, one price in dollars and another in colónes. It is generally better to pay in colónes because items end up being a little bit cheaper than if you were to pay in US dollars.

In order to succeed on this program, the best advice I can give is to put all your effort and energy into the class. However much effort you put into the class is the same you get out of it. There will be times where you are tired, hot, sweaty, etc., but if you push yourself even just a little outside your comfort zone, you will feel so accomplished in the end. Take advantage of every single opportunity. If it is a hot day but you have your monkeys (or whatever you are studying) in sight, stay out a little bit longer. The next day could be stormy and you could not

get any data. Something similar happened to me, where I was very tired and hungry after studying monkeys for five hours, but the monkeys I was studying were right above me in the trees. After five and a half hours, I decided to return to the house. A few days later, there was heavy winds, rain, and lightning, and I was only able to gather 30 minutes of data that day. I could have stayed out a little longer on the days where I had the monkeys on sight and the weather was bearable.

Since this is an SCU faculty led, the grading system are the same as the ones at SCU. The syllabus, which a draft should be available way before you even decide to take the course, explains the requirements, assignments, materials needed, and more. Essentially, you are required to take a prerequisite course before the program, or obtain permission by the instructor. Some assignments that are graded include an article presentation (which you are given time well in advance to prepare for), a first draft of your proposal, you fieldnotes, and more. There is also one exam, but you are given ample time to study and prepare for it. You are also able to study with all of your classmates, which is very helpful and makes studying a lot easier. The hard part of this program is not the exam, reading assignments, or lectures (there are only 4 or 5 of them). The hardest part is motivating yourself to get back into the rainforest and collect more data after coming back to eat breakfast and rest. It’s putting on your rain boots, field pants, and bandana, and preparing yourself to brave the 90 degree heat and inevitable bug bites you will get despite putting on loads of bug spray. It’s knowing you will have to walk far into the rainforest in the hopes of finding monkeys quickly so that you can gather the amount of data you need in order to make it back for lunch at the house. It’s having four and a half hours of data and thinking that’s enough for the day, but knowing you should stay out just thirty minutes more.

When not out collecting data, I would be relaxing in the house reading my books I brought or listening to my music. I also worked on my research project and compiled the data I collected to be turned into statistical analysis. There was a lot of free time, so there was plenty of time to rest and recharge in order to tackle the next day of looking for monkeys. Additionally, the other students and I had occasional movie nights, played card games, and really got to know each other while on the trip.

It is optional to bring a laptop or tablet. I brought my tablet so I could have all of my assigned readings in one organized place. A handful of students brought their laptops in order to type out their projects, but there was only internet in San José. A lot of students ended up borrowing laptops from those who had brought them, but it is not needed in order to complete all the assignments. I was able to write out my assignments by hand with no problems. Also, I did not want to risk anything bad happening to my laptop. There is also a library of books and journal articles printed out that are great resources for projects.

My advice to students making friendships with locals is to try and have conversations with them. Even if your Spanish knowledge is limited, saying hello and smiling is a great way to start a conversation with them. It would be a great idea to learn basic conversational words and phrases such as, “how are you”, “what is your name”, and “where are you from”. Some cultural sensitivities to be aware of is the fact that all the items you brought on the trip costs more than what most of the locals make in a year. That is why we are encouraged to leave tips wherever

we go and to ensure we do not leave any waste that we brought. It is not sustainable nor ethical to leave more trash in a region that cannot afford to recycle or rid of their own trash.

An activity students should take part in is the zipline adventure in Tortuguero National Park. As mentioned previously, we visited that park for a couple of nights, and have a chance to zipline through the rainforest for $40. I chose not to zipline, but I heard that it was a lot of fun from the other students who did do it.

The predominant religion of the region is Roman Catholic, however I did not stay long enough to observe the local people participating in any religious activities. The only thing I noticed that was remotely religious was a decal of Jesus Christ’s face on the side of the bus we took to the river.

Race and ethnicity did not play a huge role in my experience at Costa Rica. The woman who owned the field station stated how Costa Ricans viewed Nicaraguans as dirty and bad; while Nicaraguans viewed Costa Ricans as pretentious. I did not experience any proof of this in my experience. Our bus driver and tour guide, Modesto, is a refugee from Nicaragua who has been living in Costa Rica for a long time. He is the nicest, most knowledgeable tour guide I ever had.

In terms of privilege, I know now that we have so much privilege here in the United States. Simply being able to recycle everyday items such as paper, batteries, bottles, etc. is a huge privilege we have. In Costa Rica, we were told not to leave any trash over there, especially batteries and bug spray bottles, because there was no way to recycle or dispose of the trash. At the field station, all the trash was burned in the rain forest. In addition, I know I will probably earn way more money in my life than locals will in their lives. It is easy to feel guilty because of that, but I believe feeling guilty takes away the feelings and experience of those who are disadvantaged. We must take action to ensure disadvantaged groups get the same rights and opportunities as those of us with privileges. I believe it is my job as a student of a Jesuit education to fight for those without a voice; to take our experiences from abroad and try to make the world a more just place.

Picture of graffiti found in San José, reads: “Capitalism = cancer” in Spanish

I did not notice gender roles or identity at play in my host community. From the different places I stayed at, both men and women were waiters, bussers, etc. I did notice that women took

on more cleaning and cooking roles while men cut and trimmed wood in the rainforest. This is probably because of prevalent gender roles that are embedded in Latin American culture. My professor also told me that the women at the field station got paid less than men. This could be because they did different tasks, however. To those whose gender or sexual orientation may differ from the community’s demographic, I would advise them to be aware that deviating from the norm in terms of gender identity and presentation is not very common in Latin America. There may be some uncomfortable moments, but it is because locals are not used to it. It does not mean you are wrong or that you are not valid. It is simply a different culture with a different understanding of sex and gender, two socially constructed concepts. I would recommend reaching out to the professor in terms of resources and support while on the trip. Also, the group of students on the trip are all very supportive and kind people. If you are comfortable with it, I would suggest reaching out to a student or two that may be a helpful resource while abroad.

Class played a big role in my experience because like I mentioned earlier, I will probably earn a lot more in my lifetime than will the locals I encountered on my trip. I did not notice any discernable class differences during my program. Most of the locals appeared to be working class and poor. They do not have a lot of power nor privileges from what I experienced, however I am unaware of their political power and how much of a voice they have in their government.

I had to apply for outside scholarships in order to be able to do this program. Coming from a working class family, paying for tuition for this trip, even if it was half-price because it is a summer course, was simply not feasible. I am very grateful to be given a scholarship that paid for most of my tuition expenses. One thing I learned on this trip was just how privileged other Santa Clara students are. My socio-economic class was highlighted more in instances when other students spoke about taking vacations in foreign countries, being able to afford other luxuries, and not having to seek outside scholarships for this program. It felt a little disempowering because I know I do not have certain privileges because of my socio-economic status. One thing that helped me was reminding myself that I am in this class to learn and experience new things. I also wrote about my thoughts in my field journal, which I found very therapeutic.

From my experience, I do not think there are a lot of resources for educational enrichment for children there. We were supposed to have a day of playing and getting to know the local children, but with our busy schedule, we were not able to do so. Instead, we pooled together money and donated a new chalkboard for the school. As mentioned above, we learned most of the conceptual lessons during lectures and readings. There were only four or five lectures, and we took a test to apply what we learned. We also had a couple lessons about anthropological methods in the rainforest. These were tiring but fun and exciting because they were our first few times in the rainforest. They were tiring because I was not used to standing up and walking around in hot, humid weather. By the next few times, though, I got used to it. To maximize your learning opportunities, my biggest advice would be to step outside of your comfort zone and ask questions. While learning methods in the rainforest, it’s easy to slack off and let others in your group do most of the work, but it is important to stay engaged and keep

focused on the task at hand. There were times I did not want to grab the measuring tape and step into the forest to measure tree widths because of bugs or because I was tired, but I knew the faster I did so and contributed to the team, the sooner we could be finished and return to the house.

Most of the activities are planned out in advance, but students are given one day after traveling and one day before returning home to explore San José. There is a museum, the tourist market, the downtown area with great places to eat, and other shops to visit. I visited the museum with a few friends and was very impressed by it. A lot of the signs are bilingual, so it is easy to follow along. There was a butterfly exhibit, an exhibit about the cultural history of Costa Rica, an exhibit about gold, and so much more. I loved seeing local children there with their families get excited about the butterflies or other exhibits. It reminded me of the children here and how they get excited and start calling their parents to show them something. I recommend bringing your student ID to get a discount when buying a ticket.

The kinds of shops available are a tourist market, a few small sustainable gift shops, and supermarkets. The tourist market is a long string of shops set up on a block that all sell the same kinds of items: keychains, magnets, shot glasses, stuffed animals, tee shirts, etc. The sustainable gift shop in San José sells a lot more higher-end gift items such as artwork, wooden keychains that were sustainably cut, and other items. The supermarkets sell most of the same things our local Walgreens sells, except different brands of items such as cookies, chips, etc. The supermarket is where you must ensure your bills are in near-perfect condition or else they will not accept them. I highly recommend buying any snacks here that you think you will need or want while in the rainforest. They could also be brought from the US, but it will add to the weight of your luggage. Items such as toiletries may come in smaller packaging, so make sure you pack everything you need from home.

Left: sunset in the rainforest; Right: bridge to head to the bamboo forestBefore going on this program, know that some days will be challenging and will push

you outside of your comfort zone, but it will all be worth it in the end. Nothing has been more satisfying than having designed and carried out your own research, and having written an entire research paper on it.