Bryan Bernal volunteered in Costa Rica and is also a recipient of the United Planet merit scholarship! His work in the sea turtle conservation quest gave him the opportunity to explore the importance of the animals and preservation for the ecosystem. All while being exposed to a different lifestyle in Costa Rica. He shared his story with us and now it’s our turn to share it with you:
My name is Bryan Bernal. I am currently 19 and I live in Neo
sho, Missouri. I will be starting my junior year of college in August. I attend the University of Arkansas located in Fayetteville, Arkansas; my major is civil engineering. I was awarded the short-term volunteer scholarship in the spring of 2018. The country I chose to volunteer in was Costa Rica. I volunteered in Montezuma, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, and I absolutely loved it. I would volunteer in the same project without a second thought. I loved the food, people, and culture.
A popular and typical plate in Costa Rica is the Gallo Pinto and a Casado. The base for the Gallo Pinto and the Casado is white rice and black beans. The Gallo Pinto will have a fruit or a sausage on the side, and the Casado will have chicken or steak, salad, and some delicious plantains. The people in Montezuma and all of Costa Rica are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They treated me with nothing but respect and politeness. The culture in Costa Rica is unique and one of a kind. The people of Costa Rica are stress free. They live by the saying “Pura Vida” which means to just enjoy the moment, and you can really see the people of Costa Rica living by this saying.
The daily life in the sea turtle project was fun and never a dull moment. The volunteer’s day started at eight in the morning with breakfast we would later move on to the activity for the day which usually consisted of beach cleanups or practicing how to make a sea turtle nest. We later get a break and eat dinner. After dinner we had night shifts and patrolling shifts. Night shift would take care and watch for the nests that were in the hatchery and the patrolling shifts would go on the beach and try to locate sea turtles that had left a nest, so that we could take the eggs over to our hatchery. Sea turtles are so important to our environment; they are a keystone species in the ecosystem. They are vital for their ecosystem because without them many more species will go extinct, they help keep a balance.
Some challenges that I faced in Costa Rica were tough at first, but I was able to overcome them. For example, I did not have the luxuries that I had back home like air conditioning, fast food restaurants, being able to drive to places, hot water for showers, closed windows, all of these challenges were tough at first, but I am so glad that I experienced them. I have a new respect for our environment and I want to be a part of the solution not the problem, so whoever is reading this remember to RECYCLE, USE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PLASTIC, AND BE MINDFUL OF OUR EARTH BECAUSE WE ONLY GET ONE.
Thank you Bryan! We do only have one earth and it deserves the same respect that we have for our friends and family. You can also be part of the solution by taking part of our environmental sustainability projects.
Learn more about United Planet’s opportunities to volunteer in Costa Rica.
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United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
