Connecting with Costa Rica
By Jessie Moniz, The Royal Gazette

How often does a kid from Bermuda get to play dress-up with a child from Costa Rica? Or a Costa Rican kid get to make a Bermuda kite or sample the delights of a cod fish breakfast?

It happens a little more often now thanks to the efforts of a world-wide exchange programme called ‘The International School-to-School Experience’ (ISSE). ISSE aims to give primary school children the opportunity to experience and understand other cultures on a first-hand basis.

This week, St. George’s Preparatory school students hosted nine visiting Costa Rican students from the St. Paul School in San José, Costa Rica. In June, students from St. George’s Preparatory School will travel to Costa Rica to meet up again with their new friends.

The kids involved were in the 11- and 12-year-old age range, and it was the first time away from home and parents for many of them.

“The first night was the worst,” said Marie Paula Murillo, 11. She said everyone had experienced some homesickness. However, her classmate Cristian Navarro, 11, was more stoic.

“I don’t have that,” he said. “I miss my parents, but not to cry. Some people cry. I think the first and second nights were the hardest, because you miss your bed and your family.”

On a wet Wednesday afternoon, The Royal Gazette talked with the Costa Rican students at St. George’s Preparatory School, where they were making traditional Bermuda kites.

“The hardest thing about making a Bermuda kite is keeping it all together,” said Rebecca Zumbado, 11. Rebecca turns 12 this week while in Bermuda. She was too modest to say what she wanted for her birthday, but she said, “Anything will be appreciated.”