Each November for International Education Week, the UR community comes together to learn about another culture. It’s part of a national effort to highlight the importance of global engagement, dialogue, and cultural exchange.

This year, classes were infused with Costa Rican-related topics. Scholars traveled to Richmond to offer their insight. Students, faculty, and staff learned more about biodiversity, practiced speaking Spanish, and tasted the country’s cuisine.

One event celebrated some of the country’s famous exports with a coffee and chocolate get-together in the Well-Being Center’s demonstration kitchen.

“I’m so glad we’re getting to taste food from a culture that most of us have never experienced,” said junior business economics major Ahona Anjum while enjoying a concha, a puffy, chocolate-coated pastry shaped like a shell.

“It’s definitely exposing us to new things,” said senior geography major Kendal Hart, who had eaten a slice of coconut milk chocolate. “I really liked that, and I’m not a big fan of coconut.”

Later in the week, the Heilman Dining Center served up an authentic Costa Rican dinner featuring menu items that included beef yucca cake, ginger grilled mahi-mahi, vegan sancocho soup, and plantanos.

“One of our visiting scholars from Costa Rica said that she never imagined she’d have such an authentic meal in Richmond, Virginia,” said Martha Merritt, dean and the Carole M. Weinstein Chair of International Education, which hosted the week, themed “Pura Vida: Costa Rica.” 

Juliana Martínez Franzoni, a professor from the University of Costa Rica (UCR), spoke about the challenges facing the Central American country in her talk, “Problems in Paradise: The Rise and Erosion of Costa Rica’s Exceptionalism.” She also guest lectured on the topic for two classes taught by Jenny Pribble, a political science and global studies professor.

“Most people know Costa Rica for two things,” she said. “It has no army … and the second has to do with Costa Rica’s biodiversity. Costa Rica makes up just 0.03% of the Earth’s land area, and yet contains around 6% of the world’s biodiversity.”

Other guest lectures included Milena Cambronero of the School for Field Studies discussion, “Do Costa Rican Forest Fragments in Community-Managed Water Protection Areas Serve as a Refuge for Endangered Animals?” and Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting science journalist Amy McDermott’s presentation on climate impacts in Costa Rica.

“The three talks had robust attendance —175 people in total — and great questions from students and faculty,” said Merritt.

Students and others had the opportunity to practice their Spanish during a lunch with Latin American, Latino, and International Studies majors.

A fair held in Tyler Haynes Commons featured 19 stations with connections to Costa Rica.

UR faculty, staff, and students signed up for an Ecochallenge and logged environmentally sound practices — everything from riding a bike to work, walking 30 minutes outdoors, and washing laundry in only cold water.

“Both the week-long Ecochallenge and the Costa Rica Fair had over 200 participants from all parts of campus,” said Merritt. “We hope that learning about sustainability practices and how resources are conserved in other cultures leave a lasting impression on participants.”

The closing events included a BioBlitz, where students searched for and documented species in UR’s Eco-Corridor, while study abroad students did the same in Costa Rica. The students shared flora and fauna sighted in both locations through the iNaturalist app.

“While our local sightings from the Eco-Corridor included turkey-tail mushrooms, squirrels and a white-tailed deer, I heard a gasp during one of the talks when a toucan was posted from Costa Rica,” said Merritt.

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