Brown County High School’s Spanish students took a trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica during the week of spring break.

Lauren Spiece is a Spanish teacher at Brown County High School who has given these students an amazing experience by taking some of her current and former students on an educational trip to Costa Rica. Students were able to experience the Latin American culture as well as the beauty of the country.

Spiece said she plans the international trips to allow students to see a different culture firsthand while also giving students an opportunity to see the world outside of school.

“I chose Costa Rica because it is a Spanish speaking country and I had traveled to Costa Rica before and fell in love with the people as well as their culture,” Spiece said.

Students visited a high school and got to see how the students were taught in a different country, Spiece said. They also took a tour of the Arenal Volcano and got to experience traditional Costa Rican dance.

They also had some downtime to relax by the beach, go shopping and zipline through a forest. In addition, they took a cooking class and were introduced to some fruits native to the country.

“The one thing I always cherish about these trips is seeing the students so excited and happy experiencing a different culture,” Spiece said. “It just makes my world-language-teacher heart so happy to see them making connections not only to information from our class but connections with another culture and its people.”

Spiece said she will continue to plan these life-changing experiences. She said the next one is two years from now and a destination hasn’t been determined yet.

Lillee Sheckles is a senior at Brown County High School and offers regular reports on happenings in the school.

Lillee Sheckles is a senior at Brown County High School and offers regular reports on happenings in the school.