Ariyana Richardson , Glimpser (Introduction) :)

Meet me: Ari from Nyc 🗽🌍

Trip: T2C – Turrialba, Costa Rica 🇨🇷

Hey everyone! My name is Ariyana, but I go by Ari (my name gets misspelled a lot and Ari is more comfortable). I’m from New York City and come from a super multicultural background. My mom is Ukrainian born and Russian, and my dad is Trinidadian born and Cantonese 🇺🇦🇷🇺🇹🇹🇭🇰. I go to the Professional Performing Arts School as a pre-professional dance major and train at the Alvin Ailey School, so I’m really looking forward to exploring the local dance culture in Costa Rica 💃🏽.

Besides dance, I’m also super interested in medicine and healing. One of my goals for this trip is to learn about Costa Rica’s healthcare system and traditional herbal practices 🌿🩺. I love seeing how different communities care for each other and keep traditions alive.

Depending on the day, I can be really outgoing and participatory or more quiet and observant. I definitely wear my emotions on my face, so you’ll probably always know how I’m feeling . When I need to calm down or reset, my go-to is my favorite tea and a little self-care time 🍵🧖🏽‍♀️ (I hope it’s okay if i try to bring face masks for everyone).

Music is a big part of my life. Right now, I’m loving The Weeknd, The Neighbourhood, and Tyla, but I also listen to Brazilian bossa nova, samba, and Trinidadian soca 🎶.

Some of my personal goals for this trip are to learn something new every day, write about it in my journal 📓, take as many photos as possible 📸, and try not to cry more than once (we’ll see how that goes). I speak (not very well) and understand Russian (well enough), and I’m learning Mandarin Chinese and Portuguese too 🗣️.

Also, I am 100% the mom friend of the group. If you need hand sanitizer, a bandaid, Midol, or just someone to sit with, I got you (with leader approval of course for Midol/Tylenol etc) 💛. My biggest travel hack is bringing snacks everywhere. TSA lets you bring food, and ever since I found that out, my bag has basically become a pantry 🍫🍿. Let me know your favorite snack so I can bring some, and since I’m heading to Costa Rica just 10 days after getting back from Trinidad and Tobago, I might even come through with international snacks ✈️🌎.

I’m so excited to meet you all and create something unforgettable together. Let’s make this the trip of a lifetime . Stay tuned to see what we create together! 💫

Add me on IG: ariyanarrichardson !!

-Ari