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Jonle Sedar ’91 at Flamingo Beach with her husband,
Carlost Najarro, and their three boys.

Jonle Sedar '91

Costa Rica

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, native Sedar has made Costa Rica her home.
There she serves as a conduit for the exchange of world cultures.

Jonle Sedar ’91 grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Liberty High School in 1987. At Moravian, she majored in history and French. Afterward, she studied for a master’s degree in international development at American University. “During graduate school, I took a semester off to learn Spanish and chose to study at CPI Spanish Immersion School in Costa Rica,” says Sedar. “I fell in love with the language, the country, and the school, so I was thrilled to move there and secure a position with CPI [Centro Panamericano de Idiomas].”

Sedar is the administrative director of the Groups Department at CPI. The school helps students of all ages perfect their Spanish language skills but also provides opportunities for those students to immerse themselves in the culture and experience the country. “What I love most about my work is engaging with students interested in an experience abroad that is authentic—one that involves personal growth by way of the expansion of cultural capacities through second-language acquisition,” says Sedar. “It is so powerful to observe students’ newfound cognizance in appreciating the cultural parameters of others."

“I simply would not be the person I am today without having traveled.”

“I am very invested in global understanding,” continues Sedar.
 “I fully see living abroad as providing an opening for an expanded sense of community, which leads to a greater level of consciousness.”

Sedar tells CPI’s middle and high school students that she had
 no idea how different people’s lives were until she began to travel. “I simply would not be the person I am today without having traveled,” she says. “And, in turn, experiencing new cultures helps me to be a better American, as I continue to understand, also, that within our own country there are so many subcultures and subtle dynamics—a level of diversity that makes the United States so strong and a powerful model.”

 

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Birdwatching in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
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A quetzal
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A strangler fig
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The CPI Spanish Immersion School in Monteverde, Costa Rica
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Looking out over the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Insider Tips: Jonle Sedar’s Costa Rica

FAVORITE BREAKFAST SPOT: Surf Box in Flamingo Beach; it offers a nice twist on traditional fare along with the most yummy hummus.
BEST PLACE TO EAT ON A BUDGET: Any local café (called sodas) will serve a large portion of rice, beans, and a meat for a reasonable price, around $8.
MUST-TRY LOCAL FOOD OR BEVERAGE: Anything with sun-ripened mango or pineapple, whether in a fresh juice or sorbet or on its own.
FAVORITE LOCAL MUSICAL GROUP: Editus is a Costa Rican group that encompasses the essence of the culture, with an emphasis on the Costa Rican desire to promote the protection of natural resources. This is an important part of the Costa Rican culture and values, reflected in the fact that 30 percent of the country falls under the protection of national parks or private reserves. Listen to Editus’s “Pasaje Abierto” here at mrvn.co/editus.
YOU SHOULDN’T LEAVE COSTA RICA WITHOUT visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Only 1 percent of all the earth’s forests are classified as cloud forests, and with the changing climate, 30 years from now, the Monteverde reserve might not be around as the beautiful, biodiverse forest we know today. Its misty, almost magical, ambience lifts both spirit and mind, making it not only one of Costa Rica’s but the world’s most special places to experience.
MOST FUN THING TO DO OFF THE BEATEN PATH: My favorite out-of-the-way adventure is river tubing near the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano at Hacienda Guachipelín. The experience alternates between floating on a calm river and whisking down rapids through the tropical forest, concluding with a mud bath/ thermal water soak at the rustic spa.
FAVORITE PLACE TO SIMPLY TAKE IN THE SCENERY: Watching the sunset from Flamingo Beach in Guanacaste. Few people, a lovely sea breeze, an incredible oceanscape, white sand between your toes, blood-orange and purple-hued clouds as the sun drops below the horizon—it’s the whole package.
SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT COSTA RICA THAT WILL SURPRISE MOST PEOPLE: With all of its renowned scenic beauty, wildlife, and undeveloped space, what’s best about the country are the Costa Ricans, or, as they call themselves, Ticos. They are among the nicest, warmest people you will ever meet.
PURA VIDA Visit Costa Rica and you are 
likely to hear the words pura vida. Spanish for “pure life,” the phrase 
is spoken as a greeting, a farewell, and an emphatic declaration, as in, “How was Costa Rica? It was pura vida!” explains Sedar. “On a deeper level, it reflects the Costa Rican cultural values that I have grown to appreciate, which emphasize being mindful and celebratory of life.”