COSTA RICAN INTERN TASTES LIFE IN MIDWEST

Few young adults have the opportunity to travel as Lil Quesada, 19, a native of Costa Rica, has experienced.
A second year student of the University of Costa Rica, Quesada is serving an internship at Impro Products, Inc. in Waukon, exploring, she says, the field of genetic biology. Though her major is in mathematics, Quesada says she is entertaining the thought of changing that focus to biology, with an emphasis in genetics.
"My father is veterinarian in Costa Rica, and met Paul Weighner during a business trip here three years ago," explains Quesada. It is through Weighner that the young college student was able to coordinate an internship with the Waukon business, and a co-owner Mark Weighner, brother to Paul.
It is also through her father's acquaintance that she was introduced to Dave and Laurie Martin of Waukon, the family who has hosted her throughout her stay, which began Jan. 3 and will conclude with the end of May. Their children, Roger, Greta and Val, have too, become close companions to Quesada.
Yet her tour will not end there.
"I plan to take next year off from college," says Quesada. "I will be visiting Indiana for one week after leaving here, then on June 3, will board a plane for Switzerland, where I will stay for two months." There she will be welcomed into the home of a family that, only a few years ago, hosted Lil's older sister, Marisol, while she attended one year of high school there.
From there, Quesada will venture to Italy for four months, where she will, again, stay with family acquaintances. There, she plans to learn the native Italian language, which will render her capable of speaking fluently four tounges - Spanish, English, German and, of course, Italian.
The remainder of the year will be spent touring Europe and visiting friends.
How does such a young person become so worldly? According to Lil, she was introduced to cultures beyond those of her Costa Rican home at the age of four, as a kindergarten student in her country. Lil attended a private American school, St. Anthony, located in Costa Rica, through fourth grade. She was then transferred to a German school, also located in her native country, until achieving her "arbitur," similar to a diploma in the United States, after completing her twelfth grade year. As part of her education, she recalled a class trip to Germany in tenth grade, a one-month educational tour of the country.
"In Costa Rica, many grade school students attend the country's state schools. They are less costly, but do not provide the quality of education that one can gain from a private school." According to Quesada, private schools include French, German, British and American systems. In these schools, children are taught by instructors of the respective country and in the language of that country.
Roles reverse, Quesada adds, once students graduate from high school and seek to test into college. "Our Constitution states that all citizens have the right to education. Therefore, state schools are very inexpensive, maybe $150 per semester." Quesada adds, "There are approximately five state schools in Costa Rica, and each can accept about 5,000 students per year, which makes them difficult to get into. Some 20,000 attempt to test into each school, each year."
But while state colleges are renowned in Costa Rica for quality education and links to prominent universities in other nearby countries, private schools are somewhat less reputable at the college level. "Students are not required to test into private colleges; they simply pay the tuition to attend," says Quesada.
And it is at the college educational level that many Costa Rican youths are afforded the opportunity to travel.
"Students in Costa Rica are encouraged to travel, to know other people and cultures, and learn to accept their differences." She adds, "There are two main peace organizations in Costa Rica that make travel opportunities possible - the American Field Service and CISV." Those who attend state colleges also have opportunities to study at networking universities in other countries.
Quesada says she has been traveling to the United States since the age of nine, then on family vacations. "My uncle has an apartment in Orlando, FL, where my family vacations every year."
Quesada has also visited a number of Costa Rica's neighboring countries, including Panama and Nicaragua.
Since this year's venture to the United States, she has seen, besides Iowa, the states of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, and North and South Carolina.
"I love to travel - to meet new and different people who think and do things in ways I've never experienced, and to see places I never knew existed."
Perhaps one of the most dramatic changes from her home country to rural Waukon, says Quesada, is the small town life. "I've seen places like this in the movies, but thought it was just made up for television." She adds, "I've always imagined the United States as a place of big cities."
What she has noticed is the hospitality that small towns have to offer. "It's nice. People here are totally different than those in the cities; they're more friendly, conservative and really religious. There are so many churches in this small town."
By contrast, Quesada explains that Costa Rica is predominantly consistent of Catholics, and so the majority of churches are of the same religion. "You would scarcely find a Lutheran or Presbyterian church in Costa Rica."
She adds, "People here really live their religions and are more intense. I like that."
In comparing her native country to the United States, Quesada also comments on the strong influence America has had on her culture, in the way of lifestyle, food, clothes, and other aspects of daily life.
She also notes the difference in costs between the two nations. "The basic things a person needs to live are much cheaper in my country," says Quesada. Examples might be food, clothes, household products, homes, and other such items. "Cars and other products we must import, however, are much more expensive."
Where gas can be purchased for an estimated $1.30 per gallon in Waukon, it would most likely cost $1.53 per liter in Costa Rica.
Client service, according to Quesada, also compares well here. "Everything is so quick. In Costa Rica, a person might stand in line for an hour and a half waiting to make a deposit at the bank. There are so many people." She adds, "I believe that businesses here are more organized and computer systems quicker."
In regard to family life, Quesada did note that mothers in Costa Rica typically do not work, but stay at home to rear their children. Likewise, youths do not typically begin to work until college, and even then it is mainly on a part-time basis. Education is of utmost priority.
"In my country, Sundays are a sort of family day. Most of the population in Costa Rica lives in the central valley because of climate and job opportunities. The cities there are only 30 minutes apart, and to travel from one side of the country to the other would mean only a few hours of driving."
She adds, "Here it is much more difficult for families to get together. Many live in separate states and the country, overall, is much larger."
But despite the fact that Lil has not been able to join her family for some time, she says the Martins have offered a comforting similarity. From winter ventures in the snow, a drastic contrast to the 70 to 80 degree weather to which Lil has become accustomed, to spring excursions on the golf course, far from the beaches of Costa Rica, the Martins have introduced Lil to the Midwest and peaceful way of life it has to offer.
It is these new experiences that Lil will take with her as she soon sets out for other far away lands. leaving this small town to a collection of memories and experiences.