Climate Change Mitigation Students Arrive to CIEE Monteverde Campus

Young people from all around the United States have come to gather in Monteverde, Costa Rica to discuss, learn about, and take action against Climate Change. But before they get together, they must travel from near and far. Using just about every form of transit, the students along with my peer Program Leaders met in Miami Airport to board our flight to a remote city in the rainforest in a different country. Most stepped aboard the plane nervously excited while others strolled on with a cool confidence of veteran flyers. Honestly, I was impressed. We practically zipped through Customs and managed to all congregate before filling five buses in a relatively orderly fashion.

And so started our last leg of the trip up and down the windy road to Monteverde, a small city in the middle of the famous Cloud Forest of Costa Rica. Our journey would not be complete without an early stop for some local tica (term for native Costa Rican) meal consisting of the main staples: simple salad, rice and beans, stewed chicken, pork, or delicious steamed vegetables. After snapping photos of a gorgeous outlook and eating our fill, we hopped back on the buses peacefully sleeping away the bus ride. The buses pulled up to the campus and it was just a quick luggage grab and short walk to our designated housing units. 

The first day just flew by with formal briefings and tours capped off with their first class. I am always blown away with the ability of young people to be so welcoming, cooperative, kind, and helpful with each other when first meeting. It's always nice to see a group of strangers quickly become friends initiated by things as simple as a smile, friendly greeting, a quick wave of inclusivity, or shared interest. I can already tell the next three weeks are going to be filled with deep and meaningful learning experiences both academically and socially.