Costa Rica Middle School Service Adventure 2022

June 22, 2022

This morning, we woke up at hotel la Dehesa- we ate a delicious breakfast of pancakes, egg, fruit , and pinto. We headed through the mountains on a twisty turny road for about 2 hours. Some of felt a little woozy after the bus ride, bus as soon as a we got out do the bus, and got some fresh air- we were feeling good- We arrived at the finca de Crisley. As soon as we got off the bus, we saw an adorable puppy, named manchita. Crisley showed us the process of making cheese. The cheese was white, stretchy and pretty salty. The entire process was interesting, nothing like we had ever seen before.

After we made cheese, we sat down  and ate a homemade meal of salad, beans, rice and chicken. After lunch, Crisley showed us around the finca. He showed us the many fruit trees on him family farm. He also showed us the pigs, horses, and chickens. We walked down a path down in the rain forest and searched for poison dart frogs. They were orange and red. We learned they are toxic because did they ants they eat.  After our hike around the finca, we boarded the bus and went to our new hotel. We arrived and were in awe. Most of us have rooms that overlook the fruit forest, and hammocks on the balcony. We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing. We are excited to begin our first day of service in the community tomorrow.
Pura vida!
Alex, Zoey, Myrah

June 23, 2022

We woke up feeling tired from our adventure in the morning.  We had a delicious breakfast that consisted of pancakes, fresh fruit, and black coffee. Then, we hopped on the shuttle and went to La Lucha where we met the amazing students and staff which included teachers, the principle, and caretakers of the school.  The day started out with the kids having a break, and us at Global Works, got to jump in and play some games and soccer.  Our first job was washing the school walls, getting ready to paint them, and we then painted some chairs and desks for the students.

After lunch, which consisted of chicken, rice, beans, and salad, we had a “cambio es un parte del plan” (“change is part of the plan”) moment, and took the shuttle over to Proyecto Asis. While there, we learned about many animals that are in rehabilitation, and got to explore their habitats. After the tour, we made the animals meals which consisted of papaya, mango, green beans, carrots, and eggs.  After preparing the meals, we crates puzzles for the animals to get their food from, and then we delivered them. Some would bite them, smash them, or even drop them. All exhausted, we headed back to Heliconias, but made a quick stop at the supermarket to get some snacks.  While there, it started to pour, so we had a rainy drive the rest of the way back. The rest of the day consisted of dinner, games, and fun in the rain. We are excited to continue our projects in La Lucha tomorrow!

Pura Vida,
Hannah, Morgan, and Sean

June 24, 2022

This morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon and coffee. The coffee here is so good! We headed out to the school at La Lucha to complete the projects that we started. We mainly did touch-ups on the desks and chairs and started painting the railings. Our hands got covered in paint that was sticky and hard to scrub off! We also prepared to teach English lessons. We taught colors, numbers and body parts. It was a little scary because public speaking can be intimidating and we weren’t able to communicate as well as we normally could because we didn’t speak much Spanish and the kids don’t speak English. It was awkward in the beginning but it got better as we went on. The kids were so cute and gave us lots of high fives. We were happy to be able to put smiles on their faces.

After lunch (pasta with chicken and veggies) we came back to Heliconias. We played in the pool and had some epic chicken fights. A few friends were chilling in the cabins, reading, painting nails, or playing Uno.

We headed to dinner and had fried rice, salad, and fries – it was a big portion and it was super filling! To stay hydrated we had a small water-drinking competition. The winners got cookies!

After dinner we met as a group and played a bunch of games where we worked on our communication skills. In one game we had to make our way across the room as a team of 11 with all of our feet attached. It was fun and we learned a lot through trial and error. We saw a cockroach which freaked everyone out! We’re not quite used to some of the bugs yet but we are in the jungle after all!

We reflected on how the trip has been going so far and thought about things we want to work on in the coming days. We’re bummed that the kids won’t be at the school tomorrow, but looking forward to finishing our project!
Pura vida,
Luc, Jade, and Grace

June 25, 2022

Hello from Costa Rica!  This morning we woke up and had a breakfast of pancakes and fruit.  We went back to our cabins to gather things for the day.  When we got to the school for the day, we worked on painting the walls, which was very fun because we got to use paint rollers. We also had a small water fight, as we were cleaning the gutters which were full of moss and dirt.

We took quick break and played a game of soccer, girls vs boys, and it’s still unclear who won! The boys think they won, and the girls believe they did!

We then went to a local soda (which in Costa Rica is a small restaurant), where we got to have the food that we ordered the day before. We ate empanadas, nachos, papa nachos, and smoothies!

After lunch, we went to put the final touches on our projects. We did a second coat of paint on the walls, and repainted the soccer goals. Once we were done, we said our goodbyes to Jimelo and Josue, the guys who helped us with our projects.

When we got back to the hotel, we found out we had new rooms! It was a bit chaotic moving our stuff around, but it all ended well! Then, we had some chill time, one group re-enacted Dirty Dancing, some watched TV, and others just chatted. We finished off our day with a yummy meal, and our nightly meeting.  We learned about the different roles in a team, and how each one is important.

Good night,
Ronnie, Ashi, and Camille

June 26, 2022

We had an earlier morning than usual, and a busy day ahead of us.  This morning we woke up to a classic breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon. After breakfast, we piled into the vans, and headed to our ziplining adventure.

We all discovered we were all a little more nervous than we thought, especially when we watched Lindsey disappear into the abyss, but once she reappeared we were all relieved.  In total, there were 7 separate cables, the longest was half a mile long. Due to the weather, we all left with mud freckles, and smiling faces.

After, we got back onto the buses, and headed to lunch. We were stoked because there were swinging benches to eat on, banana splits to be eaten, and a market next door filled with snacks.

We arrived at the hot-springs and were surprised at how hot they were. We discovered a water slide, and tried to see how many people we could fit on the slide at one time. We attempted to take sunset volcano photos, as it appeared for the time in a few days.

To end the night, we had dancing lessons with Randall, where we learned the steps for merengue, bachata, and salsa. After a great day, we are looking forward to heading to the beach.

Pura vida,
Sadie, Mac, and Max

June 27, 2022

This morning, we had to pack our bags up as we headed off to the beach in Uvita. We had a 5 hour bus ride along the long and magical countryside in Costa Rica. We stopped for lunch at a buffet, and also souvenirs. Many of us got smoothies, treats, and coconuts. We saw many things along the way, some of which included alligators, palm tree forests, a heard of Buffalo with huge horns,  so many cows, winding rivers, and a flying toucan. We ended our day here at the new hotel, El Tecal. We are excited to surf and have a beach day tomorrow.

Buenas noches from Costa Rica,

Ansel , Colby, Izah

June 28, 2022

Today we woke up and had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, pinto, and lots of fruit. We had a short walk to the beach for our surf lessons, where we met our instructors. To start the lesson, they gave us rash guards, they explained how to get up on the board, and then we practiced on the sand. Once we all practiced, we grabbed our boards and hit the waves. Although there were lots of falls, everyone was able to stand at some point! We were all sad when the lesson ended.

After our surf lesson, we got to hang out in the water. We dove and jumped over waves, as they came to the shore. Then, we went back to El Tecal, where we jumped in the freezing cold pool to wash off the sand and salt. After lunch, we relaxed in our rooms, and then went to the market to get ice cream and other snacks to prepare for our travel day. We ended the day with a nice dinner and fun games, including music and dancing. We are now mentally preparing for our long drive tomorrow, and packing up our things.

Hasta pronto,
Anna, Nora, and Sebastian