{"id":627,"date":"2010-06-03T13:20:22","date_gmt":"2010-06-03T20:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/?p=627"},"modified":"2010-06-03T13:20:22","modified_gmt":"2010-06-03T20:20:22","slug":"a-costa-rican-sabbatical-yields-many-surprises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/2010\/06\/03\/a-costa-rican-sabbatical-yields-many-surprises\/","title":{"rendered":"A Costa Rican Sabbatical Yields Many Surprises for Mark Hatch Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Greg Collette \u201912<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

There were 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls from howler monkeys, a two-mile walk (each way) to the grocery store, no television or Internet, and poisonous snakes. Costa Rica, besides the poisonous snakes, was the perfect place for Mark Hatch, Colorado College\u2019s vice president for enrollment management, to take his administrative sabbatical.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For Hatch and his family, it was the trip of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After a quarter of a century working in admissions at four private colleges, Hatch was ready for a break. Feeling, sometimes, due to the cyclical nature of admissions that he was running on a treadmill, Hatch wanted an adventure. He wanted a place where he could write and reflect, a place where he and his family could reconnect and not be distracted by the trappings of American life. A sabbatical in the small town of Monteverde in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, offered the perfect opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Established in the 1950s by Quakers who opposed the American draft during the Korean War, the town of Monteverde is considered one of Costa Rica\u2019s Seven Wonders. The town is well-known to ecotourists for its nature preserve, Reserva Biol\u00f3gica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde. The 26,000 acres, set aside by the Quakers in the 1970s, draws 70,000 visitors a year. Despite the influx of large numbers of international tourists, the town still remains relatively small and Costa Rican with only 7,000 residents \u2013 of which only 700 are American.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Life in Monteverde was nothing like the Hatches had ever experienced. Their house had little in the way of the conveniences of living in the United States.\u00a0 In addition to no Internet and television, they also had no car. But without the normal distractions separating everyone, Hatch and his family were able to reconnect. After dinner, the kids couldn\u2019t retreat to the TV or computer. Instead, the time between dinner and bedtime was filled with family readings and storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Outside of their home, everything was completely different. Instead of squirrels on their front porch, often there were toucans. One morning, Hatch recalls, there were eight toucans sitting on their porch chatting away. Although the flora and fauna were the most visible differences, the language and culture were the most daunting. For Hatch\u2019s wife and daughters, they posed little challenge. Hatch\u2019s wife knew Spanish and was taking classes in it; by the time they returned to America in December, Hatch\u2019s 8-year-old had an 11th grade proficiency in the language.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For Hatch, however, it was a different story. Having taken French growing up,\u00a0attempting to communicate with many of the locals was nearly impossible at first. By the end of his stay, he was able to let a taxi driver know where he wanted to go, but often, his 8-year-old would translate for him, an experience he describes as \u201ca proud one for a dad, but horrible for a 45-year-old man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The language barrier did not stop Hatch from engaging in the community while in Monteverde. He began working at the school his daughters attended, the pre-K through 11th grade Centro de Educaci\u00f3n Creativa, or the Cloud Forest School. Sitting on a pristine 106-acre campus located in the rainforest, the 200-student school focuses heavily on environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hatch taught courses on environmental education at the bilingual school. He spent 15-20 hours a week teaching both inside and outside of the classroom. For Hatch the courses he taught were a great way to engage with the students. They spent time in the local forests, doing everything from planting trees to testing water samples. And despite a student body that is 90 percent Costa Rican, Hatch found little trouble communicating with the students, which he credits to them, saying that the students were extremely good to him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It seemed Hatch\u2019s sabbatical was going to be spent doing things that were completely different from what he was used to at home. In August, the school hired an interim director after the previous director left. The new director was a local parent and did not have any administrative experience. It was not long before she asked Hatch to come in and look at the school budget. They realized that the school was in serious financial trouble. Almost overnight, Hatch\u2019s 15-20 hours of work per week doubled. The long hours, though tiring, were not a burden.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHelping the school became a huge passion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Originally, he planned on spending much of his time writing and reflecting, but working to keep the school from closing became a huge priority, second only to his family. \u00a0Yet, Hatch still gained much insight from the experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt made me incredibly appreciative of CC,\u201d he said. When Hatch left for his sabbatical, CC had just endured one of its toughest economic years in recent memory. In fact, Hatch had been approved for his sabbatical in May 2008, but with the recession hitting the country and the school, he decided to defer his leave until the following year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Although he already was amazed at how CC handled the financial crisis during the 2008-09 school year, his time in Costa Rica put a new light on how well CC was handling the economic recession. His experience also made him miss his work back at CC. Despite the cold welcome of January weather when he returned to campus, Hatch said it\u2019s good to be back helping students begin their futures here at Colorado College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Greg Collette \u201912\u00a0 There were 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls from howler monkeys, a two-mile walk (each way) to the grocery store, no television or Internet, and poisonous snakes. Costa Rica, besides the poisonous snakes, was the perfect place for Mark Hatch, Colorado College\u2019s vice president for enrollment management, to take his administrative sabbatical. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 … <\/p>\n

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