Outdoor adventures teach life lessons

Up to 50 students from the Bloomington campus will be given the opportunity to kayak past crocodiles, monkeys and toucans in the rainforests of Costa Rica, swim by ocean fish while scuba-diving in the Great Barrier Reef or watch baby tortoise hatch from their shells. \nThe International Student Travel program allows students to travel to either Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic or the northwestern Pacific coast of the United States, to participate in four-week long service learning and outdoors adventures while being immersed in the culture of that area.\n"You are not just going to see a country, you get to be a part of the country," Coordinator Jennifer Arnott said. "Students become immersed with the culture and because of that, they come back with this precious keepsake because of these rich experiences."\nThe first two weeks of the trip involve bettering the community of the location either environmentally or socially. \nIn order to improve the environment, students have replanted trees in the rainforest, headed conservation projects, worked with endangered species such as the Kiwi and the Sloth and rehabilitated damaged coastlines. \nIU participant Molly Beckman was given the opportunity to relocate nests of turtles to a hatchery so poachers wouldn't capture the premature eggs. \n"It opened my eyes a lot more," Beckman said. "Any new place you go gives you a whole new perspective."\nStudents can also choose to work on social projects, which include building a home for the homeless in Costa Rica, helping children learn how to understand English, medical projects, feeding the poor and setting up recreational activities. \nBeckman said the trip educated her on the social conditions of other countries and taught her to be thankful for what she has. \n"The living conditions people have here in the United States compared to how people in other countries live in is eye opening," Beckman said. "I mean, there you are lucky to have running water. You sleep under mosquito nets. You have to go outside to use the bathroom. You wake up to the sounds of monkeys. It is completely different."\nThe community benefits greatly as well, Arnott said. \n"The children we work with are absolutely gorgeous," Arnott said. "In the village, you are like the 'Pied Piper.' After meeting with the children, they follow you around the town in a huge conga line because they are fascinated with your culture."\nThe next two weeks of the trip involve adventures in the outdoors. Such activities include windsurfing, kayaking, rapelling down the cliffs of the Blue Mountains in Australia and spelunking in the largest cave in the Caribbean. \nBeckman said she spent plenty of time hiking through the rainforest, whitewater rafting and going on a horseback ride around the edge of the volcanic Monte Verde. \nThese adventure trips teach these students life lessons as well, Arnott said. \n"I gained a better understanding of 'testing my limits' and loved every minute of it," IUPUI student Carrie Schmitt said. \nStudents can also gain course credits for the trip. Arnott said their tactic of teaching students is by allowing them to experience the culture rather than reading about it. \n"I came to Costa Rica not speaking a bit of Spanish and came back being able to survive on my own there," Beckman said. \nAnyone interested in being a part of the program can come to an informational meeting tomorrow in the Persimmon Room of the Memorial Union. The meetings are 45 minutes long and are being held on the hour from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Or check out their Web site at www.istravelonline.com.