Angela Taurino

Angela Taurino underwent an exciting teaching experience in Los Planes, a small town in the Southern reaches of Costa Rica through the Center for Cultural Interchange volunteering program.  From Monday through Thursday, Angela was able to teach three classes a day, ranging from the youth of kindergarten to the teenagers in grades one through six.  At night she decided to teach an additional class for the adults of the community, mostly the parents of the school children who, like the rest of the Bahia Drake community, never had the chance or the income to receive an education in English.  Not one person in the school could speak English, leaving Angela to teach these classes all on her own.  On Fridays, she, with volunteers from the local town, taught the students agricultura, which included issues with the environment and hands-on experiences with planting mango trees in the school yard and maintaining an organic garden.  Angela was able to be immersed in Tico culture by living with a family who was very active in the Los Planes community.  Her host mother, Mayra, ran Tesoro Verde, which was an eco-lodge geared towards tourists who wanted to travel without impacting the environment.  Here, Angela maintained the plants, educated visitors about the bio-diverse Corcovado National Park, and created a web-page for the English-speaking tourists.  Upon her return home, Angela joined Big Brother Big Sister, works for America Reads, and plans to volunteer with Silver Lake Park, where she will educate elementary school students about environmental concerns.