Costa Rica

  ¡Hola!  Today we had an earlier breakfast than usual. The reason being? Today we went to Reventazon Hydroelectric Plant! Only one turbine was running today, because power demand was low in Costa Rica. We went up to the dam and saw the pensocket, a closed pipe that directs the water down to the turbines. Our guide Byron gave us insight into the benefits of hydropower. On our way back to EARTH we went to a rest stop where we had empanadas. Our own Sean McCord began teaching the local kids about some renewable energy sources. After a quick bite to eat we headed on back to EARTH.    Back at EARTH University, we tested our ability to handle cognitive dissonance. This is when a…

Hola! Today was yet another beautiful day here in Costa Rica, reaching a high temperature of 90 degrees! My favorite part of today had to be visiting Reventazon Hydroelectric Power Plant. It was truly incredible to be able to tour such a state of the art facility that generates and provides roughly 375 megawatts of electricity to Costa Rica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The view from the top of the dam was sensational, as the natural beauty of Costa Rica’s mountains are breathtaking. On the road leading up to the facility, there were numerous monkey crossing signs, but no monkey was spotted. Before we went and saw the actual power plant, our tour guide brought us into a room with an incredibly…

  Pura Vida mi amigos! My name is Zachary Sylvia. I am going to be a sophomore next semester at Mass Maritime and this experiential learning trip has been nothing but educational as well as full of fun!   Today we traveled off of the EARTH University campus to the Reventazón Hydroelectric Plant in the Limon Province of Costa Rica. Visiting this plant was definitely an amazing experience but that isn't what captured my attention the most today was a short movie that we watched.   Upon returning to EARTH we had a class taught by Commander Montanez. He showed us a short film about the impacts and opinions of dams in communities surrounding dams. What struck me the most from the video…

  "I want to go into design with a focus on fusion energy and hydrogen fuel cells." Name: 4/C Patrick L. Fahey Hometown: Duxbury, MA "I want to work for Eversource or National Grid as an engineer." Name: 4/C Codey J. Murray Hometown: Whitman, MA "Working at a nuclear plant or a job with an innovative company like Tesla." Name: 4/C Adam C. Lanctot Hometown: Foxboro, MA "Working for Tesla." Name: 4/C Neil W. Collins Hometown: Wrentham, MA "I like working with my hands so something with installation or maintenance instead of a desk job." Name: 4/C Adam C. Beal Hometown: Barnstable, MA "A job working with natural resources or at Tesla." Name: 4/C Doug Walker Hometown: Falmouth…

¡Hola! Today we had another fresh breakfast at EARTH's cafeteria. Then we had another 3 hours of intensive Spanish and received certificates of completion. Hoy, nosotros apprendimos como preguntarte los dinero por el producto. Then we had some free time to get lunch and socialize with the students here at EARTH. While playing pool we practiced our Spanish.  Later in the day we had a lecture from Prof Montanez and Prof DeMasah. He gave us an overview of what to expect in our coming years, as well as some advice. She tested our current knowledge of topics we've studied and will be studying in regards to sustainability, unit conversations, efficiency and making good comparisons. After that…

¡Hola!  No matter what you do here in Costa Rica, it’s always a good day. We had our first intensive Spanish class today, something all students who aren’t fluent in Spanish have to do here at EARTH. There are students here from all over the world, representing over 40 different countries and the main language on campus is Spanish.  During our Spanish class we were paired up and assigned to find someone on campus to get to know.  Adam Lanctot and I found Vanessa.  Like the almost all the students here, she is bilingual. We spoke some Spanish, she spoke some English and we got to know her. That’s Vanessa with us in the picture.  Learning about all the different cultures, backgrounds,…

  ¡Hola! Today we had another fresh and delicious breakfast at EARTH, followed by 3 hours of intensive Spanish.  Mi amigos, it was tough. We learned how to ask and answer basic questions. We even had to find and ask a student for a picture; IN SPANISH! ¿Quieros una foto? ¿Esta bien? Then we had some free time to eat a good lunch and play some pool.  We had an afternoon lecture on renewable energy sources. Our professor, Nelson Jimenez, gave us background information on their engineering program CIDER and we made some simple machines and did an electrical wiring project. A girl at EARTH showed us here project using the waste products from wood burning stoves into methane for energy…

  "I would like to work to get power to nations in need." Name: 4/C Patrick L. Fahey Hometown: Duxbury, MA "Nuclear energy should be used more in the United States because it is a safe and efficient way to produce energy as long as it is done correctly." Name: 4/C Adam C. Lanctot Hometown: Foxboro, MA "Nuclear energy is important for the future and will make a lot of money." Name: 4/C Neil W. Collins Hometown: Wrentham, MA "Improving the ecosystem through solar and wind power." Name: 4/C Doug Walker Hometown: Falmouth, MA "I know that crude oil will not last forever so finding new and renewable forms of energy will be crucial to the future of humankind." Name: 4/C Lukas J.…

  Today was our third day at Earth University. My favorite party of today was when we took a look at the CIDER program on campus. CIDER deals with renewable energy and students who are interested in it. NOTE: CIDER stands for Center For Research & Development In Renewable Energies We learned about solar, wind, hydrogen, and hydroelectric energy. One of the tasks given to the students was to build a circuit with a light bulb, powered by a solar panel. We were all shocked when it worked.  Check out this article about EARTH's CIDER  Off The Grid: Promoting Renewables In Rural Communities  https://www.earth.ac.cr/en/feature/cider-helps-revive-rural-communities-with-renewable-…

  Good afternoon from beautiful and sunny Costa Rica! One of the classes we had today was about renewable energy. Hands down, best activity here in Costa Rica so far! I loved the mini models of wind turbines and solar panels that they showcased. We also did an electrical project using a solar panel as the source which came out great! The class really gave a general understanding of the different ways of producing and using green energy before we move on to the life-size models later in the trip.