Senior Nadia Busekrus spent two weeks on an all-expenses paid trip to the Central American country of Costa Rica through the National Spanish Exam (NSE).
Annually, the NSE offers 12 travel awards to Costa Rica through a commercial study and travel group. To qualify, participants must be high school juniors, have received a medal placement or achieved a score in the 75th percentile or higher on the NSE, be registered to take the NSE the following year and agree to study Spanish during their senior year of high school.
Only one student from each school participates. Busekrus represented Sacred Hearts Academy.
Busekrus left Hawaii on July 17 and traveled to Houston with two other Hawaii students. In Houston, they met other trip winners and then flew to San Jose, Costa Rica, on July 18.
“All of the other students that I was with were wonderful. They were so friendly and we all enjoyed getting to know each other and spend time together. I think we were able to bond quickly because we all shared a common passion in Spanish,” said Busekrus
Busekrus appreciated Costa Rica’s natural wonders.
“We spent our first night in San Jose in a hotel by the capital, but we started out early the next morning for Lago Arenal. There, we had the opportunity to go to hot springs and also kayak out in the lake which is located in the shadow of the Volcano Arenal. After that, we made a three-hour drive up the mountain to the Monteverde Cloud Forest area where we stayed for two nights,” said Busekrus.
“We got to go out into the town there which was very enjoyable. Next we went to Puntarenas and stayed in a hotel on the beach for two nights. Last, we went to San Jose where we were able to visit a few museums and learn more about the history of Costa Rica.”
Busekrus has long wanted to study abroad. The trip fulfilled her dream and gave her the opportunity to learn more about Spanish culture.
“My favorite memories are of talking to local people and really feeling like they appreciated our efforts to speak in their language. Several people honored our group for having received such a good education in the language and were very excited to converse with us. This was a wonderful experience and has given me a hunger to travel abroad again in the future,” said Busekrus.
