7/17/2015
All students have arrived safely!
7/18/2015
Day 2- it’s day 2! It has been crazy, today we filled bags with dirt + added seeds. One day they will grow into plants + will be planted into the ACG (area conservation of guanacaste) while we were working it rained! It hasn’t rained in weeks and it was a blessing! We learned about the aforementioned ACG from the local director, Rosbin. We played some more ice-breaker games and by the end of the day it felt like everyone was best friends. A group of people played soccer in the rain and many took pictures. Everyone seems comfortable around each other + has had much energy. A highlight of the day was going on a night hike lead by our nature guide Freddy. We saw a boa constrictor, a scorpion, and some cool birds. It would have been cool to see a tarantula! We had a hilarious talk about airplane stories and I’m ready to go to bed. The whole group is excited and ready to embark on a life changing journey, making new friends, being immersed in the culture, learning and having a good time. Tomorrow we go to the beach and play soccer with the locals.
Marie
7/19/2015
We had an early wake up call at 6:30! For breakfast we had pancakes with gallo pinto, which is rice and beans, they oddly complimented each other very well. We met up with our local conservation out front of Home Base and he gave us instructions on how to prepare the fence we would be painting the next day. After service we ate lunch and got ready to head to our first beach, Cabuyal. Our mentors warned us of sting rays on the beach, at one point we all sat on the shore looking at the ocean and we could see sting rays jumping out of the water, spinning and flapping there fins. We also learned out to do the Steve Ray shuffle!! Afterwards we went to a local soccer field and started playing a game with some of the locals.
Playing with the locals was really cool because it was the perfect opportunity for us to practice our Spanish skills with the locals. At the end of the game Carri, Emma and I talked to one of the players named Tatiana. It was a cool experience to have somewhat of a decent conversation with one of the locals. The locals gave us treats after the game with little notes on them, it was so sweet and eye opening to do that with them.
As soon as we got back we ate dinner and watched the Costa Rica vs Mexico Gold Cup soccer game. Then we met up for a group activity, we watched a TED talk about a women from Nigeria telling us what a single story is. Then we broke into mentor groups to discuss what we were thinking about what we just watched. After that we all just got together in our little hangout corner and chatted for a bit, we were all so tired so we cleaned up and got ready for bed!! Day 3 was amazing!!
Steve Hill
7/20/2015
7/30/2015
All students have departed safely!
