Bridge Year Costa Rica – Fall 2025

Hello friends! Now two months into our nine months abroad in Costa Rica, and with this

being my first blog of the year, I would like to provide some updates regarding adjustments, things we’ve seen and experienced, and my initial impressions of the program as a whole. Beginning with adjustments, I’d say we’re all pretty adapted to the swing of things at this point, with regular schedules around internships, Spanish classes, and host families. I, like some of my peers, am working at an internship centered around environmental work, and it’s an incredible change of pace from high school. My work can be found at the upper edge of Quebradas in a nature reserve called Fudebiol, which focuses on protecting the clean water and natural resources of San Isidro. The vast majority of my work is manual labor, be it weeding in the garden, taking a pickaxe to some rocks for a renovated parking lot, or general trail maintenance. What I find most rewarding, though, is how the time spent immersed in nature has provided ample opportunity to simply appreciate my surroundings.

Besides language, some of the largest cultural differences I’ve noticed between the United States and Costa Rica exist around environmental care. It makes sense, considering how Costa Rica has marketed its international image as a hotspot for eco-tourism, while the US is one of the largest consumers of natural resources in the world. Still, the differences are striking. Here, composting is the norm, with most places having separate bins for trash, recycling, and natural waste. In addition to this, there is a greater sense of care in the general attitude of the community towards the country’s natural setting. This feels refreshing coming from the US, where, while there are environmental organizations, the country is much more conflicted about the climate crisis, and there is a lesser emphasis on everyone doing their part to care for our world.

Another major cultural difference that immediately made itself apparent is the sleep schedule. Many people here tend to rise and set with the sun, which means very early mornings, but also earlier bedtimes. Luckily, this adjustment came fairly easily, I think in large part because of the 2-hour time difference that, at first, made every hour feel two hours later than it actually was. At the time of writing this, we’ve just returned from an excursion to San José, where we saw live music, toured several museums, painted miniature mascaradas, and even visited a volcano! This spirit of adventure has been plentifully present throughout the program, exemplified by previous trips to several waterfalls and hikes through places like the Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary, Cloudbridge, and a Cacao farm, where we had the incredible opportunity to try farm-made chocolate! We also recently took our first of many trips to the shore, where we spent the day body surfing waves and swimming in yet another waterfall. I also hammered open a coconut with some rocks and strung up my hammock between some trees, which made it easily one of my favorite days yet. There existed such a powerful tranquility there that was capable of washing away my thoughts, making me perfectly content with the present moment and in awe of the natural beauty of our world.

This sentiment is one I find myself feeling very often here—more than almost any other. It is inspiring, bringing with it a wild sense of clarity that evokes wonderful emotions. It is peaceful and can be found everywhere, from the way the sun sets with golden rays of light through cotton candy clouds, to the funny bugs that chitter and chirp in blades of tall grass. It is something that asks you to care. To care for our home, and the people, plants, and animals that all inhabit it. With all of the excess time to just think lately, I’ve found parts of myself more alive than they’ve ever been before. For all of this, I am immensely grateful. Grateful for this opportunity, for the world we’ve been born into (with all of its flaws and potential to grow), and the people that share it. Our world is truly something worth protecting.