When I arrived in Costa Rica, I felt shocked that I had actually successfully made it, and unprepared for the whirlwind schedule we were about to undertake. I was right; I was not prepared at all. Every day in Costa Rica presented a new challenge, a new task, a new goal, a new opportunity to learn. There were always questions to be asked and answers that may or may not be given, but those open-ended answers were far more rewarding than a straight-forward response could have been. I felt I was on a journey with the 21 other students on my trip toward the pursuit of a truth we could never quite know, but that everyone in Costa Rica was working to find, too.
Going on this trip was the culmination of several educational goals I had set for my time at University of Washington. The first was simple: go on a study abroad trip. Check! But others were more complex. Work to look beyond the Western perspective on climate change and ecological restoration. Interact with individuals who are on the ground, doing the hard work. Gain firsthand insight into the impacts climate change is having on other regions on the world. Traveling to Costa Rica was a necessary change to look beyond my insulated academic world in pursuit of these goals.
Furthermore, being in Costa Rica clarified many personal career goals as well. I am passionate about the environment, about farming, about food justice and accessibility. But I only know the food systems of which I am a part, and being in Costa Rica put me in contact with a completely different system of production and distribution and consumption. There were things that seemed better-tropical fruit trees are inherently perennial, and can work to promote soil health-and things that seemed much worse-Costa Rica currently uses 18.78 kg of pesticide per hectare, versus only 2.38 kg/ha in the United States. These differences helped me to visualize the food system I desire for not just myself, or the affluent, but for the globe. I firmly believe that we cannot abandon the global food system, but we can be doing it much more healthfully and sustainably. The practices I saw in Costa Rica helped me see that.
The primary way that visiting Costa Rica has influenced my future coursework is by building a fire under me to keep going to new, different places to better understand the work that those communities are doing. After spending three weeks in Costa Rica, I feel more motivated than ever to travel outside the Pacific Northwest again pursuit of more knowledge on efforts in ecological restoration, sustainable agriculture, and community involvement. I learned from my time that the best gift technology has given us is the ability to teach each other. If I am not utilizing that gift, then I put the planet in even greater danger than it is already in.
Over the course of the time I spent in Costa Rica, I learned a lot about myself, the people I was traveling with, and our planet. I feel more aware than ever of the fragility of our society in its current state and the damage we do every day by not acting in a systemic way to combat climatic and ecological changes. However, I also feel empowered. Costa Rica is a place that is working at all levels, local to national, and in all sectors, governmental and recreational, to combat climate change, promote ecological diversity, and preserve the planet as we know it. It is a great start, and it is time for us to take up the call, too.