Cultural Notes:

Inside View

1.  CV (British English) is short for “Curriculum vitae”(a Latin expression) which is a document that gives details of your qualifications and the jobs you have done. You send your CV to someone when you are applying for a job. The American word is resume.

Outside View

1.  Gap Year is the year between finishing high school and starting higher education in western countries. Taking a gap year involves pausing studies at the school for a year to take a long-term travel or complete a personal project or internship before they go to the university or work after graduation, so that students can experience a different lifestyle before entering the society. During the gap year, some students leave their home country to travel and others do some work related to their own major or volunteer work organized by some agencies or non-governmental organizations.

2.  Raleigh International is a youth-led development charity that wants young people everywhere to be able to change the world. For more than 30 years, they have run Raleigh Expedition. Their Expeditions are 4, 5, 7 and 10-week programmes in Costa Rica, Nepal and Tanzania that engage volunteers in long lasting change on community, environmental and adventure leadership projects. These programmes help tackle environmental issues, access to education for all, and alleviate poverty. All the work contributes towards the sustainable development goals. (For further information please check https://yearoutgroup.org/organisation/raleigh-international/ )

3. Costa Rica is a small country in Central America, not far from the Panama Canal. Nicaragua is its northern neighbour. Mount Chirripo is, as said, Costa Rica’s highest mountain. Its slopes are especially noted for their remarkable biodiversity.