In February 2018, completely out of the blue, I had an idea: To leave Hong Kong and relocate to Costa Rica. We had never been to Central America, nor did we know anyone there. Instead our childhood was spent in the UK and as adults we had worked in Hong Kong, travelling extensively around Asia. The entire American continent was an unknown mystery for us!
We had tried relocating out of Hong Kong before, maybe to Singapore? Sydney, Australia, or even Walnut Creek in California? Nothing ever gained traction until the plan to move to Costa Rica hatched.
By June of 2018, we'd reduced 20+ years of living in a big house down to just four suitcases and a dog pallet for Jochi, our border collie.
Maggie checking in Jochi at Hong Kong international Airport.
We arrived in Costa Rica, following a short RV trip around California, on 13th July, 2018. The next morning, tired and confused, we woke up to watch the World Cup Finals. Grasping on to this as one familiar thing in a world which was strange to us. We had stepped into a new and unknown phase in our life.
We did have some sort of vague plan. We had booked a month at a Spanish Language School, with two weeks in Jaco and then two weeks in Coronado, north of San Jose. We happily settled into school, but quickly the month was over. On the last day of school, it really felt like we'd come to the end of a long conveyor belt of manic activities. Going away parties, selling or giving away 20 years of accumulated stuff and making arrangements for pets had taken up all our time. All the plans we had been making all ended here. We really had no plan once Spanish school in Costa Rica finished.
Bel and Maggie getting ready to study in our onsite apartment at Academia Tica, Coronado.
So began a four month exploration of Costa Rica, where we really just felt like a feather in the wind. To be honest, we were now questioning our move at every turn. Having had the luxury of travelling to many beautiful places in Asia, Costa Rica was nice, but it wasn't mind blowing for us. It certainly wasn't paradise. There was no love at first-sight moment.
It was just, ok.
We liked Costa Rica, but we didn't love it.
It really was a very soul searching time. We couldn't imagine what we were supposed to be doing here and spent lots of time engaging in writing, reflection and daydreaming.
Bel writing while we lived on the beach at Bejuco.
On top of this, we were also trying to homeschool our 8 year old daughter, who had spent all her time up to now, attending a fantastic International school in Hong Kong. It quickly became apparent that if we were going to stay in Costa Rica, we would need to find a great school for her.
By complete coincidence we were passing through Ojochal on our way down to live in the Osa Peninsula, when a person we met that morning told us about someone who had bought a property to make a school. She didn't have the contact, but knew the owner was running a school up in Manuel Antonio. Bel did some research and found out the owner was looking for help. Bel sent off a message inquiring about any positions.
No sooner had we arrived in Osa Peninsula when we received word back that if we were interested in helping out at the school then we should meet in Uvita. We had just arrived in Osa. It was another 5.5hour round trip back to Uvita, to meet someone we didn't know, and to talk about a project we had barely any clue about. But at the time, we were open to all possibilities. After all, we were stuck in that 'Why are we here' mode of thinking, which you all probably have felt at some point in your Costa Rican journey.
So, this is how we first met Alys, and in that small brief meeting, in newly opened Sibu, Bel agreed to help Alys with some administrative work in exchange for Maggie attending two days a week of school during the last month in Manual Antonio, with the view to working full time on the project once the school moved to Ojochal.
On December 15th 2018 we moved on to the Life Project campus and started an amazing journey. It was truly fantastic to be part of something that had real impact within a rapidly growing and changing community.
At that time, we were also participating in a lot of plant medicine ceremonies, and it quickly became apparent to us that providing education to children was the medicine we were tasked to dispense here in Costa Rica.
Interestingly, despite having been a teacher since 1997, running learning centres and creating teen and tween adventure camps, when I first moved on to Life Project, I never told Alys I was a teacher, and spent the first few weeks clearing the land, making new pathways and cutting out the Fire Circle.
At the time I thought I was coming to Costa Rica to escape teaching, but Ayahuasca told me differently.
Soon I was teaching three days a week at LPE, and by now, Bel was working full time. On top of this we also began the La Choza community, offering large community dinners every weekend for the many families and travellers arriving. It was hard work, but a magical time that we feel blessed to have shared with so many amazing people.
Even during Covid, LPE only switched to online classes for a short while, and everyone worked tirelessly to bring the kids back to school as quickly as possible within the regulations required. This represented a considerable juggling act of ideas, given the diverse viewpoints held by all the teachers and parents.
During our time at LPE, the advertised age range for the school was 5-12 and as our daughter passed her 10th birthday in September 2020, it was clear we needed options. Other than the schools in and around Uvita, which we did not feel to be a good fit for us, there were no offerings for children above 12 years of age.
In January 2021 it was communicated that there were no immediate plans to open a Middle School and any initiative would need to be "parent led." Understanding all too well the work it takes to set up, administer and maintain an educational centre the time pressure was real and both Bel and I felt fully motivated to lead any initiative.
What developed was the framework for what is today Osa Jungle Academy. A modular approach providing flexibility and choice for both students and families. A suitable environment for young teens to explore and grow their personalities and interests. To enable the latter, some distancing from younger students was deemed very important, both in terms of physical space and how timetables and classes were structured. Importantly, this new framework was to operate under the umbrella of LPE.
Discussions continued throughout 2021 and in August it was communicated that no new Middle School program would begin until 2023. Maggie was turning 12 in 2022 and the thought that a suitable educational program would not even be in place, let alone tried and tested until after her 12th birthday, was not an option for us. Also, having spent months researching what an ideal program may look like for middle schoolers, we had become passionate about certain program elements under the new framework, especially the availability of niche courses, more sports and working with a diverse range of teaching talent. So it was then that we finally ended our incredible 3-year journey with LPE to focus on Jungle Academy.
In October 2021 we officially launched our plan to create Jungle Academy. One of the first novel things we were able to do was to declare that Jungle Academy would aim to operate on the Bitcoin Standard. By the end of November 2021, we also launched Bitcoin Jungle, which has had a profound effect on the local economy of the area and is now shaping up to be a significant draw for many Bitcoin tourists and is an internationally famous project. Without the launch of Jungle Academy, there may never have been a Bitcoin Jungle Project.
Our first class at Jungle Academy opened on Feb 7th 2021, at 8:00am, and had one student.. Bel and I joked that we'd laugh about this soon enough, and we weren't wrong. By September 2021, we'd grown to nearly 40 students. Our secret sauce to being able to expand so quickly - accessibility and responsiveness.
Jungle Academy's timetable is clear and precise. Parents are able to send their kids to our program with little fuss or heavy long-term financial commitment. Students know exactly what's being taught, and when. We expect all our teachers to teach all the classes they are committed to teach in a Cycle. We do not substitute teachers in and out unless there is a good reason.
Having been in Costa Rica now for nearly five years, we have carefully crafted a learning environment that is in harmony with many of our parents/clients actual needs. We believe that our Cycle model works in bringing teens and tweens together. And this is one of our driving factors, creating a network of young adults, who don't feel isolated once they move to Costa Rica.
We believe this singular focus on Middle school aged students will serve us well in the long-term. We are constantly asked to open up classes for younger age groups, which we always politely decline. Having been involved in education now for over two decades, we realise that every age group needs very specific attention, and trying to be all things to all people, all of the time dilutes the care and attention students need.
Across the world, Middle Schools and Primary Schools are separated for good reasons. Here in Costa Rica, they are often blended because there are not enough students numbers to justify a separate space. But this is exactly the problem we set have out to solve;
Why do so many families leave Costa Rica once their children reach Middle School age?
We believe it is because students at this age need much more sophisticated networks and activities to participate in than their younger counterparts. So, dedicating our experience and knowledge to creating a space solely for teens and tweens has now become our life's work.
It's been a fantastic first year. As our program and offerings mature, our classes will become even more focused on rich, engaging content and there hasn't been a second where we have regretted our decision to walk this path.
R
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