2025 concludes another year of Sophomores from Convent and Stuart Hall being allowed to go to Dominical, a town in Costa Rica near the Pacific Coast. The class of 2027 had been eagerly anticipating the trip, with us being told that the trip would be a defining moment in our journey through high school; reflecting on the memories we created during our stay, it’s fair to say the trip lived up to if not exceeded our expectations.
One short trip out of SFO to reach San Jose (Costa Rica) and we were on a bus speeding to Dominical. The first day consisted of going to the pool to help deal with the heat we had just been introduced to, and eating. We would find out the next morning our food for the trip was going to be predominantly beans and rice, with pork and chicken to keep things interesting and healthy.
We began our first of three days of activities by splitting into three groups, with my group going surfing or snorkeling the first day, right after a hike through the Costa Rican jungle meant to show us the beauty of the ecosystem and teach us how to contribute to keeping it clean. Other groups got to go help garden, paint, or dig ditches at a local school in the nearby town of Silencio, before blowing off some steam by going white water rafting through 3.0 rapids. The third and final group went horseback riding to and from a waterfall, where they would climb a rope up through the water to jump off of.
The highlight for the evenings was salsa dancing between enthusiastic students, a dance put on by locals to demonstrate to us their culture, and a talent show, with the highlight being Kaden Gandhi and his performance with a trumpet. As one of us, Jaiden Tam noted, “Inspirational.” If this wasn’t your type of thing, then the night hike being led by Mr. Campos through the jungle was an enjoyable alternative.
Students would get to enjoy a beach day before they left for San Jose, body surfing on waves that were “small yet strong.” as described by Jack Wicker. Finally, we ate at a Costa Rican Denny’s, which was an interesting experience, to say the least before we went home.
That concluded our trip, and looking back on it I only wish I could experience it all again, fun activities and social interactions between students in a stress-free and beautiful environment having left us Sophomores almost disappointed to be home (but not too disappointed).