{"id":10788,"date":"2024-04-15T08:05:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-15T13:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=10788"},"modified":"2024-04-15T08:05:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T13:05:20","slug":"uw-whitewater-costa-rica-travel-study-changes-students-lives","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-whitewater-costa-rica-travel-study-changes-students-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Whitewater Costa Rica travel-study changes students\u2019 lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Danijela Gallo found the affirmation she was looking for. Montana Petersen found new perspectives on the pace of life. Billy Williams found an experience he describes as \u201chome.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students were part of a 12-day\u00a0faculty-led travel study class<\/a>\u00a0for students interested in health and aging. The course, held in Atenas, Costa Rica, immerses students in Spanish while giving them an opportunity to visit one of the world\u2019s \u201cBlue Zones\u201d \u2014 five regions of the planet known and studied for human longevity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the privilege of meeting a remarkable 90-year-old woman named Lourdes, who was still actively riding horses, dancing and cherishing moments with her family,\u201d said Gallo, who is\u00a0studying to become a speech language pathologist<\/a>. Gallo, who comes from Greendale, said the experience affirmed her recent decision to take on\u00a0Spanish<\/a>\u00a0as a second major.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognize the potential to work with bilingual students in the future (as a speech language pathologist),\u201d she said. \u201cThe warmth and kindness of the people in Costa Rica left a lasting impression especially because of their enthusiasm for my efforts to learn Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictured: UW-Whitewater\u2019s Danijela Gallo, left, and her friend Lourdes, who gave her insights into food, family, exercise and happiness as keys to a long and happy life. (Photo courtesy Danijela Gallo)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A passion for hands-on experience<\/h3>\n

Jodie Parys, a professor of\u00a0world languages and cultures<\/a>\u00a0and a certified medical interpreter and translator who teaches a course in medical Spanish for health professionals, began creating the course as a \u201cpassion project\u201d about eight years ago.<\/p>\n

The course is cross-listed for Spanish, social work and public health students at the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to have an experiential piece of the course where students could go to learn about health care systems elsewhere in the world,\u201d said Parys.<\/p>\n

During a sabbatical in 2020, Parys established a connection with ARCOS Learning Abroad and traveled to Costa Rica, where her vision became a reality. An ARCOS director onsite in Atenas works with Parys to arrange the activities she selects for her students.<\/p>\n

Back in Whitewater, Parys also connected with colleague Jeannine Rowe, a gerontologist and professor of\u00a0social work<\/a>\u00a0whom she knew from her work with the office of\u00a0Community Based Learning<\/a>. With Rowe, who was eager to join Parys, the picture became complete.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

UW-Whitewater students in Costa Rica<\/h3>\n

In 2022, 18 students were ready to go for the first class when a surge in the Omicron variant of COVID-19 deferred the trip. Several of those students signed up again the following year, and the course was launched in January of 2023. Gallo, Petersen and Williams were part of another group of 15 who went to Nicoya in 2024.<\/p>\n

Students boarded with host families and spoke only Spanish for the length of their visit. Their days were active as they learned about health as a broad concept encompassing the mental, physical and spiritual.<\/p>\n

A highlight for the students was their visit to the Nicoya Peninsula Blue Zone. There, the students visited an organic coffee plantation, learned about other organic farming practices and cooked and ate an eight-course lunch alongside residents. They were told about native plants and efforts to preserve heirloom seeds.<\/p>\n

Parys said many of the older Costa Ricans arrived on bicycles to meet the students. One man was a 98-year-old farmer who had a message Parys related as, \u201cIf I stop moving, I die. This (farming) brings me joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallo asked her friend Lourdes for the recipe to longevity.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe attributed her prolonged and joyful life to her large family of 16 children and 14 grandchildren,\u201d said Gallo. \u201cAnd her passion for horses, a diet rich in natural foods, and a deliberate avoidance of stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gallo\u2019s classmate Montana Petersen has been president of Latinos Unidos, a\u00a0Precollege Program<\/a>\u00a0intern, and the undergraduate coordinator in the\u00a0King-Ch\u00e1vez Scholars Program<\/a>. She is back on campus living the involved student lifestyle but with some coping skills from Costa Rica.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Two
Montana Petersen, left, in a cooking exercise. Costa Ricans cite access to fresh, organic produce as one ingredient to health and longevity. (Photo courtesy Jodie Parys)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething that stood out to me was the general health and longevity of the elders in Costa Rica,\u201d Petersen said. \u201cPrioritizing movement and community is proven to increase the length and quality of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrianda (Salinas) and I went out dancing with our host family,\u201d she added, referring to social work major Brianda Salinas, who also participated in the travel-study. \u201cWe were the youngest people at the venue, and it was very cool to see how the entire room was moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A measurable impact<\/h3>\n

During moments when students gathered for class discussions, Parys saw the impact on the students in the experiences they shared, sometimes with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were blessed with an amazing group of students,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were just open-hearted students. Everyone was in tears. They said there was more of a sense of belonging than they had ever felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The students also were shown Costa Rica\u2019s national health care system, which includes comprehensive care funded through payroll deductions, much like Social Security in the U.S., and a privatized system in place for specialized care.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fascinated by this dual system and thought it would be a great case study,\u201d said Parys.<\/p>\n

Billy Williams, a\u00a0psychology<\/a>\u00a0student working on a\u00a0pre-medical certificate<\/a>, knew Parys from taking her classes. A junior, Williams was feeling his opportunities were running out to be able to go on a travel-study. So he jumped at the chance to take the course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medical aspect of the travel-study was very interesting to me,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThere are so many different ways they approach health care. Not all communities there approach it in the same way. We saw an indigenous community who does more traditional medicine and spiritual practices, and that was very interesting. We learned a lot about how their health insurance works and how it differs from ours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe struggle to fully support a lot of communities,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was really, really fascinating to see that almost everyone there has that kind of support and access. And figuring out how that\u2019s made possible was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 hosts were Flory, a homemaker and \u201csobadora\u201d who knows therapeutic massage and Gilbert, a carpenter. Their son Andre lives in the home, and their grown daughter Noelia came by every morning on visits Williams will not forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoelia would stop by every morning on her way to work to see her mom, give her a kiss and wish her a great day,\u201d said Williams. \u201cTheir sense of family is one of their cultural traits that I really love. You can feel it as well as see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams one day hopes to serve a Spanish-speaking community as a physician.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really helped me connect with that side of me and feel that this is where I belong,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was truly life-changing for me because it made me feel a way I had never felt before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictured: Billy Williams, right, learns to dance as some of his classmates look on during the Costa Rica travel-study. Williams would like to work as a physician serving in a Spanish-speaking community. (Photo courtesy Jodie Parys)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Written by\u00a0Craig Schreiner<\/a>\u00a0| Photos submitted<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uww.edu\/news\/archive\/2024-03-costa-rica-travel-study<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Danijela Gallo found the affirmation she was looking for. Montana Petersen found new perspectives on the pace of life. Billy Williams found an experience he describes as \u201chome.\u201d The three University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students were part of a 12-day\u00a0faculty-led travel study class\u00a0for students interested in health and aging. The course, held in Atenas, Costa Rica, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[84],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-10788","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-whitewater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/10788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=10788"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=10788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}