Education students to visit Costa Rica over learning break

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on February 15, 2024.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

From February 19-23, eight Medicine Hat College education students will be immersing themselves in Indigenous culture in Costa Rica.

This opportunity over the learning break will see the students spending time with the Bri Bri peoples, an Indigenous community who live completely off-grid in the rainforest.

Torrie Jantz, a fourth-year student, was motivated to apply for the opportunity to learn about culture through the lens of those Indigenous to the lands of Costa Rica.

“This experience will help me in my career, to connect with students that are both Indigenous and non-Indigenous and add to my piece in reconciliation. Especially being an educator, it’s very important to be responsible and try to not fix the past, but to make a better future for everyone,” says Jantz.

“I try not to be ignorant, and I try to learn as much as I can so I can be more empathetic and connect with others on a different level. I think that having this experience and learning about Indigenous people, outside of Canada and North America, will be awesome and helpful to bring up in future lessons and while making connections with my colleagues.”

The full cohort of students will be taking a trip to a school within the community, so see how the education system differs from the one they were raised in.

Fourth-year Métis student Jillian Teichroeb looks forward to the opportunity to interact with Indigenous cultures outside of her own during the trip, and believes that listening to other people’s stories is the true path to learning.

“I look forward to seeing how their relationship is to the country as a whole and compare it to Canada and our relationship with Indigenous people, and how we’re working towards truth and reconciliation.”

The opportunity was fully funded by Global Skills Opportunities.

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