Christopher Clark, above in red, spent time in Costa Rica this summer helping to build a road and clear land for a school’s garden. Christopher Clark has a new appreciation for “la pura vida.” During a visit this summer to perform community service in Costa Riva, the 16-year-old got a taste of “the pure life” in the Spanish-speaking country, where the phrase also is used similar to “awesome” or “great” in the English vernacular, or is an expression of eternal optimism.
“It’s a great way to find your inner self and be courteous to other people,” Christopher said of spending nine days in June when he helped to build a road and clear land for a school’s garden.
The junior at North Brunswick Township High School decided to dedicate the early part of his summer to helping people in Central America because of an email his mother received from the school’s Key Club. Through the Rustic Pathways program, Christopher traveled alone, out of the country, for the first time ever.
“My mother said it would be a great experience,” he said.
Christopher spent more than a week in the third world country with 33 other students ages 14 to 17 from across the country, and from Madrid, Spain. They conducted physical labor for more than 25 hours, helping to build a road on the side of a mountain so that vehicles and motorcycles could ascend the climb, moving dirt around and weeding to prepare gardening areas for a school, and practicing English with local third and fifth graders.
“It was really enjoyable as a whole to connect with people on the trip.
“They knew broken English and most of us knew broken Spanish, so it was a mutual relationship,” said Christopher, who has studied the language in school.
The group stayed in a base camp rented by Rustic Pathways for the week. There was some culture shock, he said, since food was prepared differently and because the toilets do not flush with toilet paper – the paper is thrown into a nearby trashcan.
Also, there was no specified construction official on site of the land projects, since most people are just working themselves to help out the betterment of the community.
Returning to American life, Christopher said he realized a sense of taking initiative and volunteering more.
“I feel like I can give back more. I’m more willing to help other others more than I have ever been,” he said. “I realize how lucky I am as an American.”