This issue was published on May 14, 1998

Recently, 10 high school seniors and their chaperone, Spanish teacher Lynn Ditchfield, returned from an educational field trip to Costa Rica.

"It was a fabulous trip; it incorporated important experiences for all of us," said Mrs. Ditchfield.

During the seven days spent in the outskirts of San Jose, the students stayed in the homes of Costa Rican families.

Their days were spent doing community service work in various schools helping with activities such as theater, arts and crafts, and garden work.

The last day of work was celebrated with a play written by young Costa Rican students, and directed by Mrs. Ditchfield, Rafe Mazer, and Mara Ditchfield.

The other high school students created art that was incorporated into the play.

Seniors Sara Quartochi, Alison Smith, Jennifer Cottle, Elizabeth Hagerty, Ben Higgins, Michael Laverty, Chaya Thanhauser, and Erica Koines all felt that their work gave them something to be proud of.

After getting an idea of city life the students took a relaxing day trip into the mountains of Cartago, where they hiked into the valley and saw different animals and plants, and swam in a mountain pool.

Jennifer Cottle said her favorite aspect of the trip was the wonderful views. "At least half of my pictures are of the mountains. The rest are of the children. They were great."

"I loved the way we all came together, the experience of working with kids and putting a play together was enjoyable. The kids were really enthusiastic," said Mara.

"It was a really good experience. The volunteer work with the schools we did really made the trip worthwhile. The whole adventure made me appreciate the things I took for granted," said senior Alison Smith.

Seeing the pollution in the city bothered Chaya Thanhauser. "Spending a day in the rain forest changed my opinion of the dirtiness, though," she said.

"I thought we learned so much more by living with our host families than by being in a language classroom. It was a good cultural experience getting to know the people. It was something I would love to do again," said Sara.

Everyone who attended the trip came back with a bag of coffee, a jar of guava jelly, a handful of memories, and an immeasurable feeling of appreciation.