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"I advertised to all my students in my Spanish classes," said Simon. "The trip was originally scheduled for last year, but it was cancelled because of 9/11."
Simon said this was not the first time she took students abroad; however it was the first home stay and community service project she had ever gotten students involved in. "I travel [with students] every year to places like Spain, Costa Rica and Peru," she said.
This March, Simon took her students to Piedades de Santa, a Spanish town outside of San Jose.
The students paid $1200 for the school trip out of their own pockets. According to some of the students who went, however, this was a small price to pay for the experiences they retained from their journey.
The first few days of the 10-day trip the students had the opportunity to explore the country's natural beauty. Simon took the group to places such as the Arenal volcano, where they spent the night in a "really nice hotel with hot tubs," said Lisa Pachence, 18, a student who went with the group.
The group also took a 5-hour boat ride through the jungles of Tortuguero, where they saw animals such as crocodiles, spider monkeys, river otters, snakes, iguanas and sloths.
Many of those who went said their favorite part of the trip was going horseback riding for two hours to a waterfall that was over 200 feet high.
After a few days of memorable fun and tourism, the students moved in with their home stay families so that they could begin their community service project.
According to the students, the families were more than generous with their homes.
Pachence said that the family she stayed with was considered middle class for Costa Rica, but they were a family of 10 living in a four-room house.
"Our family only had one bed, and they gave it to us," said Tim Arbeiter, 17.
The project that Simon had arranged with Nystrom, a former Peace Corps volunteer and Spanish teacher, involved fixing up a rural two-room schoolhouse outside Ciudad Colon. Students helped repaint the building and construct a playground for the children. Afterwards they had a chance to meet the 50 students they were helping, and held educational and recreational activities for them. The Pennington students even taught the children the game of soccer.
In addition, Pennington School students and faculty collected shoes, clothes and money for school supplies to take to the children in the third world country.
Simon, who purchased the supplies before leaving on the trip, said that the monies given to the Costa Ricans came from various school fundraisers, such as "Dress Down Day," when students pay to be able to come to school in casual clothes.
"It just looked like Christmas in March," said Simon. "[These are] poor children the country has just forgotten about."
According to Simon, Nystrom, who heads the Humanitarian Foundation as well as approximately 50 other mission projects, is a remarkable woman.
"She takes youth off the streets and helps them get back on their feet and find jobs," said Simon. She said Nystrom has helped lost individuals such as prostitutes and murderers, leading them back on a path towards a better future.
According to a recent press release, Nystrom describes her mission in Costa Rica as "sharing goods, services and small financing with a variety of at risk populations so they can improve the quality of their lives."
One example of this woman's efforts was Nella, a 17-year-old single girl with a 2-month-old child. Nella's job was to help arrange accommodations and meals for the Pennington School students. If she could carry through with her responsibilities, she would prove to Nystrom that she was ready to find a regular job and live on her own again.
Nella, as well as many other individuals that these missions help, came from a past full of sorrow and pain.
"She told us her story . . . and we all sat there with our mouths open," said Simon.
Now, thanks to Simon, Nystrom, and all the other individuals that helped organize the trip, several high schoolers have a better understanding of what mission trips mean to third world countries such as this one.
"It was really gratifying to help someone else," said Gabby Wallace, 16. Wallace said that her parents have always told her to be thankful for what she has, but she never fully understood poverty and what it meant to go without before seeing the way people live in Costa Rica.
"It was a great experience; we didn't want to go home," said Simon.
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The Pennington School is an independent coeducation school for students in grades 6 through 12, providing facilities for both day and boarding students. Its curriculum is college preparatory, also incorporating special programs for international students and for students with learning differences. Athletics and the creative and performing arts are important facets of life at the school. The Pennington School is connected with the United Methodist Church.
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