From June 25 through July 3, Spanish language student groups from three different area high schools, Twin Valley, Cocalico and Ephrata Area High School, teamed up to enjoy eight solid days of adventure in Costa Rica. Led by school chaperones Brian Cerullo (Ephrata), Anthony Tartaglia (Cocalico), Michael McKinney (Twin Valley) and Betsy Techman (Twin Valley), the group visited such locations as San José, La Fortuna, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio.

According to Twin Valley’s Techman (who teaches Spanish and English as a Second Language to high school and middle school students), the Spanish teachers of Ephrata, Cocalico and Twin Valley have a long-standing travel relationship. Together they organize a trip for students every other year, and the three schools cooperate and hold several fundraisers to help pay for their transportation costs. In the past they have traveled to Spain, but this year they decided to try something new – Central America.

The group traveled with the tour company NETC, and Techman said that each person came away very pleased with the tour which NETC planned, as the students experienced something far beyond what a typical summertime vacation can offer.

The educational benefits incorporated into of the trip were numerous. They communicated with the people of Costa Rica through their Spanish language skills and gained valuable cultural lessons - a cooking lesson, a dancing class, a school visit (where they played soccer with local students), and an oxcart painting class. They also enjoyed and gained knowledge of the natural environment of Central America through activities including night hikes in the rainforest and a zipline/canopy tour of the Monteverde Cloud forest.

“We are very proud of our students,” said Techman, “The handled each new situation with academic curiosity and the best of manners. They represented their schools and their country very well. Our talented bus driver, Alex, and our tour guide, José, commented to us that they were so pleased when the students regularly thanked them and appreciated their expertise as our guides. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of travelers.”