Kicking through language barriers in Costa Rica

This is my second Global Village trip to a country where I don’t speak the native language. My first trip, to Honduras in 2007, was a real wake-up call. My two years of high school Spanish had happened too long ago to help with anything other than “gracias” and “sí”. I found it hard to rely on others to translate and even harder to play with the kids on the build site when I could hardly ask their names. This trip to Costa Rica was no different. But as I learned on Friday, our last day on site, you don’t need to speak the same language to have fun.

Picture nine Americans playing soccer – sorry, make that fútbol – against what seemed like 40 Costa Rican kids (and Carlos and Mauricio, our driver-who-was-really-more-than-a-driver). I don’t have to tell you how fun it was to watch (and I probably don’t have to tell you that the Ticos won). The non-soccer players were on the sidelines, tossing Frisbees with even more neighborhood kids. But then. Then came the water balloons. After a pretty organized balloon toss, we decided what we really needed was a good ol’ water balloon fight. And you know what? Not once did I feel like our group was disconnected in any way from the Costa Ricans because we couldn’t understand each other. Our smiles, our laughter, our cheers after goals were scored, the fun we shared under the hot afternoon sun – that connected us in a way that transcends any written or spoken language

It was really, really hard to say good-bye after that afternoon of play and after a week of working side-by-side with these strong, persistent, and generous Costa Ricans. I think we all secretly hope that one day we can come back to visit and see all 38 families happily – and securely -- nestled into their new homes. And maybe we’ll ask for a fútbol rematch.

--Andrea Cole, Global Village Trip photographer