My placement:
My placement in Atenas, Costa Rica was perfect because it was a small town, and everything was within walking distance from my host home. I spent each day in a fourth-grade classroom teaching English for part of the day, then helping in other content areas for the rest of the day. I came home to my host family that included three children, and I would spend the evenings with them, then eat dinner. On the weekends I would travel and see all the beautiful places and cultures in Costa Rica. This was the highlight of my overall experience.

The host culture:
My favorite part about my host culture was how family-oriented life was. It was not uncommon to come home to a cousin visiting for lunch, for family days on the weekends with the whole family, or even nights out for the adults. While I was there, I really felt like part of the family and like I had a sense of belonging while in a completely different culture. There was no better feeling than sitting at the dinner table with the family at the end of the day and hearing stories of the past or about the day’s happenings.

Navigating challenges:
The most challenging part of living in my host nation was my lack of Spanish. I went knowing a little bit of Spanish, hoping I would pick the language up quickly, but that was not the case. It took about 4 weeks for me to be able to confidently speak full sentences. I worked each day and my biggest challenge proved to be my biggest success because I can now follow and participate in a slow conversation. Had I gone with more Spanish speaking abilities, I may not have pushed myself as hard and improved as much.

Professional development:
Of the many lessons I learned professionally in Costa Rica, the most important was work/life balance. Teachers went to work and when they went home, it was designated family time. Before going to Costa Rica, I spent every waking minute doing work for student teaching and am confident that had I not have gone to Costa Rica, I would have continued to work that way as I started my first teaching position this year. I learned to prioritize family and myself at times, rather than ignore my personal needs to work.

Advice for future students:
My biggest piece of advice is to soak in every moment and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. There are going to be hard days when you struggle with being away from home. Embrace those feelings and lean on other participants that go through this shift with you. You will come out of the experience having learned something new about yourself.

Anything else?
Thank you to Global Gateway for helping future teachers to broaden their teaching capabilities and compassion through seeing education in different perspectives. I am a more compassionate teacher, especially for English language learners, because I was a language learner and have empathy for these students.