A group of Costa Rican students are returning home with Canada in their hearts.
“It was amazing,” said Jason Nuñez, who was one of the 17 students visiting Lakehead University in Orillia. “It was a great experience for all of us because maybe we had never done something like that.”
The students were in town for three weeks, studying the English language for 10 hours a week and volunteering in the community, said Katie Fraser, Lakehead’s international engagement specialist.
“They wanted to understand different sectors better,” she said. “We set up volunteer placements for them in eight different organizations around Orillia, largely in the social service sector.”
Information Orillia Volunteer Link (IOVL), a program funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, was partnered with Lakehead International to share its expertise and connections to help organize these volunteer placements for the duration of their visit.
The students covered three streams — Canadian culture, Canadian environment, and people connecting with people — by spending nine hours a week in community service.
“Volunteering has been a very good experience,” said Nuñez, a student of Tecnológica de Costa Rica, who had the most fun interacting with kids at the Orillia Museum of Art and History. “It was an amazing, amazing experience. We learned a lot for every place that we (went).”
Among the places where the group volunteered was Birchmere Retirement Residence, where they won many hearts, said Ashley MacGregor, who was at Lakehead University on Friday for the graduation ceremony for the international students.
“The residents really enjoyed the time with the students, and they were asking when they’re coming back,” said the activity co-ordinator at Birchmere. “It blew me away to see how polite, well-spoken and caring all of the students were.”
MacGregor said some of the residents had memories of visiting Costa Rica and could relate to the conversations they were having with the students.
“It was very amazing because we were talking about how our country is,” said Nuñez, who lives in Cartago. “We showed them some postcards about Costa Rica, so we could interact with them about our places in Costa Rica. We have a lot of nature, a lot of volcanoes, a lot of beaches and also our animals, which is very exotic for all the people.”
Gabriela Solano said her favourite part was interacting with children during her time volunteering with Kids for Turtles.
“It is an amazing experience because you understand Canadian culture and all this stuff in Orillia,” she said. “When you say Canada, you (think) Toronto, all the big cities; you don't know the small towns. It was fun to see organizations that do good stuff.”
Solana said she had always admired the way of life in Canada while growing up in Costa Rica.
“I had huge expectations and all of that was accomplished,” she said.
In her interactions with people here, Solano said she shared information about her family and country.
“I told them that we're kind people and like to protect others. We like to be friendly with others,” she said.
The point of the trip was to focus on three things, said Nuria Vindas, program co-ordinator and English-as-a-foreign-language instructor.
“First, develop their language skills,” she said. “In Costa Rica, when they graduate, they will have more job opportunities if they can speak a second language.”
The second aspect, said Vindas, was volunteering.
“It changes your perspective in so many areas,” she noted. “It also develops soft skills. Our university specializes in engineering and by volunteering in the community, they're also practising their language skills and learning about different realities. Sometimes we get a different picture back in Costa Rica, that everything in Canada is picture perfect and that everyone is wealthy, but it is not true.”
For example, by volunteering at The Sharing Place Food Centre, said Vindas, the students could see there are also people here that need community support.
“What they do at the organization is inspiring for the students,” she said.
As well, going to Birchmere made students more sensitive about working with vulnerable people, such as seniors.
“For all of us, it was the first time we've come to Canada,” said Vindas. “It's a different experience. It makes you go back home appreciating what we have in our culture and also learning about Canadian culture and Native culture.”
Fraser said the experience was “a great way for Lakehead to develop different partnerships in the community and really build upon relationships that we already had in a new way. This was a great way to share cultures and do mutually beneficial activities.”
It was a positive experience for the IOVL, too.
"The students employed by IOVL are grateful they were able to be an integral part of a project that proved to be a truly unforgettable experience for everyone involved," said Sukhi Kaur, manager of volunteer and youth engagement services with Information Orillia.
