Costarican Explorer

I am a Pittsburgh Public School, Spanish teacher and feel very fortunate to provide language and cultural instruction to a wonderful group of young people who consistently demonstrate an interest in and amazement towards the wonders of the world around them. Sometimes the small cultural differences that astonish my students are things I take for granted having lived abroad and traveled outside of Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania. Many of our students have only seen the city of Pittsburgh.

As a language teacher, I am committed to opening my students' eyes to diverse opportunities for their future. I would like to introduce my students to exciting experiences that enhance their education. Because of my desire to give the world to every one of my students I have partnered with EF Tours for a spring break trip to Costa Rica.

For eight days in March, seventeen 8th graders will have the opportunity to take a canopy tour of a rain forest, visit a coffee plantation and rotisserie, a pineapple plantation, a biological reserve, an international school and hike a volcano national park. In addition to giving these students a practical application for their study of Spanish and bringing their Social Studies books to life, they will be exposed to science and business opportunities not necessarily visible in their neighborhoods or to them at all in Pittsburgh.

More than half of the students accompanying us on our inaugural international Spanish field trip have never been on an airplane. The furthest many of these students have traveled is to Baltimore on a school field trip. In addition, a large percentage of the students who plan to travel with us receive free or reduced cost lunches at school. I feel that it is imperative that before these students enter high school, they have an understanding of what opportunities exist for them if they work hard and dedicate themselves to their education.

While these students have been working hard to fundraise the total cost of their trip since late September, in such a short amount of time it will be difficult to raise the entire cost of the trip. Please consider donating a small amount and making the dream of international travel a reality for these deserving students.