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BHS's Dr. Jenny Santilli Brings Costa Rica Experience Back to Classroom after Earning Immersive Trip

By Trina Runner on March 13, 2019 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

When some people think of a globetrotter, they think of someone wearing red, white and blue and spinning a basketball on their finger.  For Bridgeport High School students and staff, the globetrotter image comes in the shape of Dr. Jenny Santilli.  Dedicated to not only teaching the Spanish language, but also the culture, Santilli has traveled the world and shared her experiences with her students for 37 years.  Her most recent excursion, however, was her reward for encouraging other teachers to explore other countries with their students.
 
In 2017, Santilli won a scholarship to attend the summer institute in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  It was one of her few trips without students and it expanded her knowledge of the country by immersing students fully in the culture for two weeks.  Upon her return, she shared a stories of a version of Mexico that tourists may not experience and it encouraged one of her students to study abroad that fall.  
 
After taking students on international excursions around the world for most of her teaching career, she recommended EF Tours to BHS Art Teacher Courtney Rankin last year.  Rankin and four students studied art history in Italy and Greece last summer and the recommendation earned Santilli a free trip to Costa Rica.  She landed in the country on Valentines Day, which was appropriate since she fell in love with it.
 
The Teacher Appreciation trip included 40 educators from across the country.  They first explored the Dirty River.  Contrary to its name, the orange water is not caused by pollution, but by volcanic sulphur. The tour bus cascaded along the river into Braulio Carillo National Park, where they saw sloths, goats and exotic birds.  
 
Since Costa Rica is the largest exporter of pineapples in the world, the trip included a tour of a pineapple plantation.  They had the opportunity to taste them freshly picked fruit, sliced in the field. The plantation also is home to hundreds of buffalo, who are fed a pineapple mash that tenderizes them from the inside out.  Santilli’s first experience tasting buffalo was a pleasant surprise.
 
The group stayed at a resort in la Fortuna, complete with volcano hot springs.  The healing minerals made for a relaxing experience for the road-weary travelers.  Breakfast was served overlooking the Arenal Volcano and the visitors were joined by a few lizards and birds.  
 
For Santilli, the most exciting part of the trip was the Arenal Hanging Bridges Park.  Fifteen bridges, six of them swinging, leading tourists into the rain forest.  On the trip, they saw howler monkeys, snakes, birds, tolomucos, and some very busy ants that mixed leaves with their saliva that is used for mushroom fertilizer.  
 
Costa Rica is known for coffee, and, although Santilli is more of a tea drinker, the trip to the coffee plantation was remarkable.  The cooperative was primarily owned by women and employed Nicaraguan immigrants.  The group tasted the coffee and learned of the health benefits of the elixir that is exported all over the world.
 
When the teachers visited the capitol city of San Jose’, they visited the national cathedral, several art installations and some delicious local cuisine cooked over a wood stove.  As they ate, they were entertained by traditional Costa Rican music and dance.
 
Leaving the tropical paradise proved difficult, especially since Santilli arrived back in West Virginia to snow and a teacher strike.  Regardess, she described the experience as a “spiritual rejuvenation that fed the soul.”  
 
In 2020, Bridgeport High School students will have the opportunity to participate in a service tour of Peru.  During the Costa Rican trip, Santilli met others who had done the Peru trip and got tips on proper protocol.
 
“We decided to do a service trip this time so that students can help those with a real need and fully experience cultural immersion,” said Santilli.  They will practice their communication skills with native speakers and get more familiar with local traditions.”
 
In her nearly four decades of teaching, it has been Santilli’s goal to encourage students to become globally competent citizens.  
 
“Travel expands our view of the world and helps us understand other points of view and different value systems,” said Santilli.  “Trips abroad with students builds their confidence and independence and instills pride in their own heritage.”
 
 


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