Sebastian Elsenbroek
This summer I had the incredible opportunity to go to Costa Rica and spend over three weeks there doing an externship and getting to experience the country’s natural beauty, its animals, its people, and culture. My externship took place at Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center in Alajuela. The center is located on 35 acres of forest and has over 125 species of animals. They have a sanctuary of 800 non-releasable animals that guests can visit, along with receiving over 3000 animals each year through their wildlife rehabilitation center. At the center, I was able to learn from and work directly with the veterinarians on staff, doctors Sara, Sofía, and Isabel. They taught us proper restraint and handling of the animals, along with how to do physical exams, take blood, and give treatments. I was able to work with a wide variety of animals, including lots of different birds, monkeys, and turtles.
Every day was different, but each morning usually started with morning treatments for recent intakes. Then a couple of times a week we would sample their bird collections, like the parrots, macaws, and owls. We would catch them, do a physical exam, band them, take blood, give dewormer, and weigh them. Then back at the lab we would find their hematocrit and total protein, and occasionally look at blood or cytology smears. Throughout the externship, we also did several necropsies on animals, including a cool case of an adult kinkajou believed to have anophthalmia that I presented to the doctors and interns. Every day we would receive multiple intakes of new animals that were brought to the center. We saw many pets that were given up or confiscated, abandoned or orphaned animals, and injured animals from things like fights or electrocutions. I enjoyed the emergency cases we had, and it was amazing to witness the resilience of these wild animals. It was rewarding to see the recovery of some of them, and we were even able to release a couple of animals that we had received.
Outside of the externship, the other interns and I had movie and game nights and took our days off to explore the local town and go to the nearby volcano, Volcán Poás. I was also able to travel before the externship started and spent a few days by the coast at Manuel Antonio, where I was able to see all kinds of animals and beautiful beaches. I spent a day in the capital of San José as well and went to a museum and theater and learned about Costa Rica’s history and culture. All the people of Costa Rica, los Ticos, were extremely kind and friendly and I love the Pura Vida theme that permeates the country. The food was always good, and although I am not fluent, I do think my Spanish greatly improved.
This experience increased my cultural awareness in many ways. Most of the interns and staff at the program were international, coming from places like Spain, Ireland, and Norway. I was able to spend a lot of time asking questions about how veterinary school and medicine works in other countries and picked up lots of other fun international phrases and cultural knowledge. Experiencing Costa Rican culture happened mostly outside of the externship for me. I really enjoyed my time at Manuel Antonio and at the museum and theatre in San José. It was in these places that I was able to interact with locals, practice my Spanish, and learn about the country’s history and culture.
Pura Vida was an important cultural idea in Costa Rica. It literally translates to pure life and can also mean simple life. This phrase is found throughout the country and describes the attitude of the people well. It can be used as a greeting, goodbye, an answer to ‘How are you?’, and in celebration. It means that no matter what your circumstances are, you can still enjoy life; it is a simple appreciation for life and that life is what you make of it. This idea shows in its people, as most Ticos have a relaxed, happy, and worry-free attitude. It is easy to adopt in Costa Rica as well since it is a tropical paradise. The country’s natural beauty was stunning, and most people seem to have a genuine care and concern for preserving their country’s wildlife and environment.
I had an incredible time in Costa Rica and wish that I could have stayed longer. Although my externship was meant for gaining clinical experience with wild animals, I left having learned much more about people and the beautiful ways we all live our lives.
