Scott Pralinksy

Scott Pralinsky: from Air Force chaplain to volunteer coordinator

Where and what Scott was BCR (Before Costa Rica)
Scott has done a variety of things, including non-profit work and being a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. Before coming to Costa Rica he lived in Hollywood, California.

How Scott came to be in Costa Rica and what’s he’s doing now
Scott came to Costa Rica on vacation in early 2004. He found the people here so friendly (especially compared to folks back home in Hollywood) that he decided to stay for good. Living in the San José area and commuting to California, he finished his graduate degree in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

In 2006 he and his Tico partner, Isaac Garcia, founded Tropical Adventures (www.tropicaladventures.com), a cultural enrichment program that arranges for visitors to study Spanish by volunteering in local communities. Projects range from working with kids in an indigenous elementary school on the Talamanca Indigenous Reservation to working (underwater!) with endangered sea turtles.

Scott, do you have any advice to the average norteamericano who says s/he wants to help "save the rainforest"?  
“I'd say there are some simple things we can all do right from home. Start there! Take a carbon footprint test like this one:
http://erasemyfootprint.com/calculator.cfm

And certainly coming to a beautiful place like Costa Rica and seeing / experiencing a rainforest firsthand gives one a different level of respect. Come plant some trees! (Come see the damage we see every day from people illegally cutting trees down!) Help us go to some classrooms and talk to these kids about the environment. It's fun. Then plant some trees with the kids. You'll love it. Then take this same information back home and teach your own kids.”

 « More Expat Profiles