Eye Contact

My name is Dani Ryan and I am one of the students from City High who accompanied Mrs. Osborn and Mr. Huppert to Costa Rica in order to learn about sustainability.  I'm really glad to be home, but now that I'm here I can't help day dreaming about when I will get to go back and visit all of the amazing people I got to meet. The families and students that were so patient with my Spanish and so accepted me so graciously into their homes have made a huge impact on how I view the world.  Not only have I learned about new ways to maintain a garden or enlarged my vocabulary, but I've learned how important communication is.  The best example I can provide is probably my cell phone.  Before I left for Costa Rica I have to admit I was glued to it.  I hardly ever sat down with my parents and just had a conversation with them with out having to stop every few minutes to send a text.  I left my phone in the U.S. while I was in Costa Rica and talking to everyone without my phone in my hands really made me realize how much I was missing when my eyes were glued to the phone screen.  I was having a better conversation with people I had just met that didn't speak the same language as me than my own mother.  That sounds so silly to write about in a blog but it was kind of a big deal to me, and I think it would relate to a lot of teenagers and adults alike.  The time has come for me to put my phone away and make some much needed eye contact -because that is half the battle of communication.