San Jose, Costa Rica 2020...2022
My courtship with Costa Rica began back in 2010, when I made my first trip with the Penn State Altoona Women's Soccer Team through a company called Costa Rica Soccer. Little did I know I was about to fall hard from the people, culture, and pure life of Costa Rica. Much of my love stems from the passion shown by our tour guide, Sergio. His lust from life and adventure, his genuine passion for his country, and his spiritual energy were empowering for me at a time when I had a lot of questions. From this 9-day trip, I felt a new sense of self and purpose. I left with a rejuvenated soul, ready to tackle whatever was next. Upon return, I found myself longing to keep that connection alive, and to continue to flourish in the spirit of the people and culture of Costa Rica. Fortunately for me, I maintained a friendship with Sergio, and planned more opportunities to return to Costa Rica with the soccer program. In part to renew myself, but also to provide this experience for the young women I coached at Penn State. These trips took place in 2014 and 2019. Each trip I took included community service and for the two trips in 2014 and 2019, I extended our community service to include working on small mural exchanges with children in Altoona, PA and children in Costa Rica. You can check these out HERE-2014 and HERE-2019.
When working on these mural projects with the children, I could see the impact it was having on them and I recognized this to be capable on a much larger scale. The amount of positive influence this culture and these people had on me warranted something in return, and it needed to be something that I felt would be reciprocal of the blessings I have received throughout my travels. So, in August of 2019, my mural partner, Anju Jolly, and I took a flight to Costa Rica and spent two days traversing the city of San Jose, looking at walls! That's it...just looking at walls. Our goal was to locate a wall for a significant mural exchange , in a location that could be sincerely and positively impacted by this program. We looked at A LOT of walls, but I knew from the second I laid eyes on this wall, that this would be the one. It was BIG (85' long and 15' tall), a monster, especially for Anju who had never worked on anything quite so big!
When working on these mural projects with the children, I could see the impact it was having on them and I recognized this to be capable on a much larger scale. The amount of positive influence this culture and these people had on me warranted something in return, and it needed to be something that I felt would be reciprocal of the blessings I have received throughout my travels. So, in August of 2019, my mural partner, Anju Jolly, and I took a flight to Costa Rica and spent two days traversing the city of San Jose, looking at walls! That's it...just looking at walls. Our goal was to locate a wall for a significant mural exchange , in a location that could be sincerely and positively impacted by this program. We looked at A LOT of walls, but I knew from the second I laid eyes on this wall, that this would be the one. It was BIG (85' long and 15' tall), a monster, especially for Anju who had never worked on anything quite so big!
Following the spring 2020 trip to Costa Rica, energy was high, anticipation of the completed mural was brimming, and plans were set for a return to Costa Rica in June to FINISH the mural!!!
Enter COVID-19...and our production came to a screeching halt!
As Covid-19 swept the globe, so did the reality that this project was not to be completed any time soon. Initially there was anger, discouragement, a little panic, but mostly disappointment. I was disappointed that this mural would not be completed as originally planned. My main concern was the children and community we were seeking to engage and gift the mural to. You see, the community in which La Escuela Pacifica Fernandez is located is a Hatillo district, known for its lack of resources, lack of government support, and lack of hope. I did not want to abandon the project, and I did not want to abandon these children, this school, these families, and their community.
While I continually held out hope and reassured our Costa Rica partners that we were still committed to the mural, I have to admit I was not always so sure. With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, I really didn't know how this was going to work out.
Let's fast forward to fall of 2021...
Costa Rica opened its doors back up to travel from Pennsylvania (Yes, their entry was even state specific!). Anju Jolly and I planned a trip in August of 2021 to visit the mural. We wanted to make a trip for several reasons.
The trip was AMAZING! While there were plenty of Covid-19 restrictions still in place, we were able to successfully complete our trip, add a panel to the left side of the mural, and reassure the community that we would finish the mural!!
Enter COVID-19...and our production came to a screeching halt!
As Covid-19 swept the globe, so did the reality that this project was not to be completed any time soon. Initially there was anger, discouragement, a little panic, but mostly disappointment. I was disappointed that this mural would not be completed as originally planned. My main concern was the children and community we were seeking to engage and gift the mural to. You see, the community in which La Escuela Pacifica Fernandez is located is a Hatillo district, known for its lack of resources, lack of government support, and lack of hope. I did not want to abandon the project, and I did not want to abandon these children, this school, these families, and their community.
While I continually held out hope and reassured our Costa Rica partners that we were still committed to the mural, I have to admit I was not always so sure. With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, I really didn't know how this was going to work out.
Let's fast forward to fall of 2021...
Costa Rica opened its doors back up to travel from Pennsylvania (Yes, their entry was even state specific!). Anju Jolly and I planned a trip in August of 2021 to visit the mural. We wanted to make a trip for several reasons.
- We wanted to make sure the mural itself was OK! We wanted to check that the materials held up through the heat, rain, wind, sun, etc...
- We wanted to provide hope for the community that we were in fact committed to the completion of this mural, and that we would be back to finish it when the timing was right, and it was safe to do so!
- We wanted to add a little to the mural to again, showcase our commitment to completing it!
The trip was AMAZING! While there were plenty of Covid-19 restrictions still in place, we were able to successfully complete our trip, add a panel to the left side of the mural, and reassure the community that we would finish the mural!!
