Nina Escrivá Fernandez - UWC Costa Rica
“..until you have the opportunity to come by, I just want to say thank you!”
One year ago, I received a phone call that changed my life. By that time I did not know about the rollercoaster my life was going to be yet. It is incredible how many things can happen in the short period of only one year. I remember walking into my room for the first time, where my Rwandan roommate was waiting for me. I heard so much about that country, and I was going to life with someone from Rwanda for almost one year, I was amazed. We are so different but we discovered that to laugh and cry and even to live in the same room you do not have to be the same. It became even better when my second roommate from Haiti came a few months later. I learn each and every day from them. It has been such a great and emotional experience to talk with this girls about their lives, and the things that happened to them and their family.
Waking up with the sound of crickets and hummingbirds outside of my window, going outside to pick avocados or mangos from the trees and eat them for breakfast and being able to go to places where you can see monkeys, crocodiles or toucans everywhere, makes me aware of the environment more than ever. Costa Rica is so beautiful and we should keep it that way. Everybody should have the chance to see this now, or in 50 years. That is something we think about and fight for every day here on campus.
I realized how much I appreciate things at home. Today, the 30th of April, we celebrate “Koniginnedag”, at our college. People dressing up in orange and painting their faces in the colours of the Dutch flag. It makes me feel more proud and more Dutch than I have ever felt.
Words cannot say that much, and to find out what UWC really is you should experience it. But until you have the opportunity to come by, I just want to say thank you. With all the honesty I have, thank you. My life would not have been as incredible as it is right now without you.
Muchisimas gracias y saludos desde Costa Rica
