The Connections Experience, Costa Rica

2008-02-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

A meaningful and life-changing travel experience for youth and families!

Through a cross-cultural, project-based, experiential, exploratory, and multi-intelligence journey, participants engage in mind-expanding activities that help build connections with the natural world, other cultures and their inner selves. Highlights include home-stays with rural farming families, collaborating with local youth on volunteer community projects, spending time in the rainforest, artistic & multi-intelligence expression, global awareness workshops, and much more! One week and two week trips to Costa Rica are available year round.

Activities vary depending on destination, season of travel & specific needs of the travelers - activities may include hiking, horseback riding, mountain climbing, cave exploration, swimming in waterfalls and with dolphins, helping take care of rehabilitating wildlife, sea turtle rescue, mural painting, canopy exploration, jungle hot springs, and much more!

Daily activities incorporate important discussions and reflections on themes such as BALANCE, APPRECIATION, POWER, PATIENCE, DISCERNMENT, LOVE, PEACE, JUSTICE, SIMPLICITY, FEAR, etc.

Participants learn about these themes primarily through witnessing real-life situations and activities that promote and facilitate self-reflection. Designed by a Central American social scientist & educator, the Connections Experience is also designed to facilitate a wide variety of "teachable moments" whereas important lessons in history, sociology, anthropology, economics, sustainability, development, psychology, applied research, and social justice come up (at times spontaneously).

The flexible curriculum is also designed to expand the participants' world view and understanding of their interconnectedness and how each of their actions affect each other and their natural world, whether they are a rainforest rancher or a U.S. consumer.

Traveling and hosting participants often become inspired and empowered to 'be part of the change they wish to see in the world.' Participants are shown how to find the tools, resources and knowledge needed to take immediate action on whatever environmental or social issue is most pressing in a community and to collaborate in carrying out a small pragmatic project aimed at taking concrete action to create a more peaceful and sustainable world. Participants are encouraged to continue collaborating and to stay connected even after the trip concludes, building long-lasting cross-cultural friendships between participants.

An important part of this is that the traveling participants bring much needed support to isolated activists that have been working hard to carry out social & environmental justice projects for their community and wildlife. Examples of some projects that have been funded so far thanks to this initiative include two community recycling centers, an endangered tree nursery, a school organic garden, a riparian reforestation project, a wildlife rescue center, and a sea turtle recovery program. In addition, these local activists receive opportunities to manifest their passion as well as receive a stipend that allows them to continue their higher education and helps curb their forced economic migration to the cities and the U.S. in search of paid work.

Furthermore, the local participating families receive a stipend for hosting the visitors and through their involvement are inspired to become more sustainable in their daily practices and ways of generating income for their families. This stipend also represents a substantial economic support for the single mother households involved.

All who are touched by this program tend to be left with a heightened sense of interconnectedness with the environment and global community and are left with feelings of empowerment, motivation and inspiration.

Future destinations (in initial planning stages) include El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Bolivia, India and the Native American Nations of North America. Please contact us if you live or work in any of these regions and would like us to come to your community.

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Some testimonials:

"This has been a life changing trip to say the least. I feel so much more confident in trying new things - the food, meeting new people, jumping into rivers & speaking Spanish with locals."

- 16 year-old participant (Spring 2006)

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"This experience was amazing and has definitely changed me forever!"

- 17 year-old participant (Spring 2006)

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"The experience was incredible and life changing"

- 16 year-old participant (Spring 2006)

photo taken by A.Klootwyk