Perpich Spanish Students Travel to Costa Rica for Spring Break

March 27, 2023

Perpich Arts High School students and instructors traveled to Costa Rica for spring break and spent eight days exploring four geographic regions.

As Perpich Arts High School began spring break, nine students and two instructors headed for Central America. The group traveled to Costa Rica and spent eight days exploring four geographic regions: the rainforest around Arenal Volcano, the Santa Elena cloud forest, the Pacific coastline of Puntarenas, and the hills around San Jose.

“Costa Rica is known for ecotourism,” said Sarah York, Spanish Instructor. “They have a history of preservation, and inviting visitors to learn what makes these fragile habitats so important.” Their tour guide taught them about the ecosystems, flora and fauna, history, and cultural importance of the places they visited. “We hiked across hanging bridges through the rainforest, looked for frogs and snakes in the cloud forest, rode horses on a regenerative farm, planted trees with a reforestation project, and kayaked across a lake at the base of a volcano. The wildlife sighting was epic! We got rained on, we got sunburned, we got a healthy dose of rice and beans, we got to know each other really well, and we got to try out our Spanish on lots of locals.”

The Perpich students on the trip were all either current or former students in York’s Spanish class. Jess Nite, English Instructor, joined the trip as a chaperone. Reflecting on the trip with the students, York said, “I was so impressed with the way the Perpich students carried themselves out in the world. They were open-minded and curious, and showed care and respect everywhere we went. I’m grateful to have shared this experience with them.” Sarah hopes this type of travel and immersion opportunity can happen again next year and is already in the early planning stages.