As spring break approaches, some students may plan to travel. For others, studying is the plan. But for the spring break of the 2024-25 school year, all students on campus are invited to blend leisure and learning by joining Spanish teachers Marcela Vicente and Yuridiana Franco in a non-Frisco ISD affiliated, EF Tour trip to Costa Rica with a virtual informational meeting being held Wednesday at 6 p.m.

“So we’re going to Costa Rica in the spring break of 2025,” Vicente said. “This is a tour from EF [Tours] which is a company that takes students around the world. I am the tour leader, and Ms. Franco is also going with me as a chaperone and a tour leader. So we are both doing this trip and before that one, we’re going to Spain this summer.” 

Students can explore the history and culture of Costa Rica, as well as the ecosystems around them, and they’ll be supported and guided every step of the way. 

“As a leader, we have a lot of meetings, [and] we also have, which I think is very interesting, tour guides in every part of the trip,” Vicente said. “So I’m in charge of the kids and trying to keep them safe, but in reality, in the cities that we’re going to visit, we’re going to have a tour guide who are going to be the experts of the place (especially because this is the first time on this trip, so we don’t really know it). So I think it’s very important that they offer that and so that way we can fully take advantage of the trip.”

Science enthusiasts and Spanish students alike can both benefit from different elements of the week-long trip according to Vicente. In addition to academic opportunities such as papers for credit being offered, the trip itself provides an environment for learning.

“It’s a very good experience for students who want to practice Spanish because they are going to be immersed in the language, so they can practice the language, they can hear people talking, and so it’s going to be a very good language experience,” Vicente said. “But it’s also a good experience for students in science classes because basically, with this trip, students are going to be immersed in a lot of nature, animals, the ecosystems, and a lot of things that Costa Rica offers.”

For junior Aswikha Karthikeyan, a current AP Spanish and AP Biology student, the trip ties in perfectly with her Spanish class project. 

“For me, this opportunity to travel to Costa Rica is important because it’s a nice way to understand the culture of Latin American countries,” Karthikeyan said. “Specifically, I am doing a year long research project about Costa Rica in my AP Spanish class, so its a good opportunity to experience the knowledge I’ve acquired.”

The best part of the trip, in Vicente’s eyes, is the opportunity for exposure to other cultures. 

“I really, really love to travel,” Vicente said. “So I want to help students to experience that and [see that] there are so many different things we can see around the world, that [life] isn’t just what we see here. I feel like sometimes, we live in a kind of bubble here, so going abroad and going to different places is very cool because I feel like we can see different people, see different cultures and experience them, and that’s the best thing ever. I like to do this with my own kids, and I’m excited that I can now do this with my students.”