Time Capsule Letter – October 2016
Hola chicos,
I am hoping this letter finds you all happy and healthy. I can’t believe that it’s been months since our adventure. Can you? I think about you, our service projects, and adventures on a daily basis. You truly had an impact on me.
My main highlights are the great community service projects we worked on. When I left Costa Rica, the organic school garden at Escuela Gavilan had tons of little vegetables and herbs growing. Soon enough, the students will be able to enjoy casados (do you remember what that is?) made with the vegetables that YOU planted. Way to go, way to dedicate yourselves. Additionally, the tables, chairs, and flower garden at Escuela Buenos Aires never looked better. Your hands are on those tables (literally). A more beautiful school creates a more positive learning environment. I am extremely proud of your hard work and dedication. You did it, way to go!
What a beautiful time spent together. It’s incredible to think of how much we did in just a few days. Let’s all take a moment to remember the delicious food, the beautiful beach where we spent the night (Playa Iguanita), all the laughs we shared, Sean’s “heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy”, Selena’s connection with Carlos, dancing with Manuela on her birthday, Tobias cracking us up on the bus’ microphone, Giovanni’s laugh, our adventure day at Guachepilin, and most importantly, all the connections and memories you made.
I hope the time we spent together left you with sprouting seeds of self and community development. I encourage you to continue doing great things, to continue exploring the world, to remember the way you felt in Costa Rica and what sparked those feelings. Continue challenging yourself. Appreciate all the small moments, they are often the best.
You made my summer extremely special and I thank you for it. I came home as an upgraded version of myself, and it’s all thanks to you and the Costa Ricans we met on our trip. Our summer was simply unforgettable.
I wish you all the best. I hope our paths cross again.
Love,
Ric Barron
Summer Blog Posts
Day 1
La Pura Vida has started! The Costa Rica – Empowering Rainforest Communities group is great. All flights arrived on time 🙂
The group arrived in waves – mid morning/early afternoon and late afternoon. The early group had lunch at our Horizontes Home Base. When the second group arrived at the home base, the first group gave them a tour and got them oriented. Mary, Madeline, and Tamara led some interactive activities before dinner. Speaking of dinner, we had chicken, beans, rice, salad, avocado with jugo de guanabana (sour juice) and jello as dessert. After dinner we saw some horses, played some games, created community standards, and reviewed the program. We ended the night with some “shout outs” at about 8:30pm. Everyone was tired, but we are off to a great start! Next blog coming soon!
Day 2
Today was our first full day in Costa Rica. We started off the day in the classroom where we got to learn about Costa Rica and what it has to offer from Rosbin, our local director at our Horizontes Home Base. We also established four different committees to focus on the different aspects of our trip. They are: culture, media, language, and fun!
After lunch we had our first day of service in the Horizontes nursery – we packed soil in little bags and planted seeds. The seeds we planted are part of a 24,000 plant reforestation project. We got to learn about the different trees and how much they are worth. We have really gotten to know each other and have become a community. For example, we all got together and listened to Tobias play some strings while Danielle sang. To end the night, we learned about preventing forest fires with a surprise visit from Toño Pizote (Costa Rica’s Smokey the Bear). We miss you, see you soon :).
Sincerely,
The Media Committee – Mary, Zoe, Kim, and Jordan
Day 3
Hola!
On our second full day in Costa Rica we all piled into a van and drove to a field in the middle of the forest. While we were there we used machetes to clear weeds that were surrounding the trees so that they could grow. We worked so well together that we accomplished two days of work in only a few hours. After lunch we drove to a nearby community and picked up trash with the local school children. After the hard work we played a game of soccer with the locals (They were way better than us) and shared empanadas with them. Then after dinner we went on a night hike where we got to see some of Costa Rivas dry forest inhabitants. Then got a goods nights rest.
Xoxo from the media committee,
– Jordan, Mary, Kim, and Zo
June 18, 2016
¡Hola!
The past few days have been very busy. On Thursday morning we started the day by planting trees in front of our Horizontes home base with Rosbin. Later that day we drove to Playa Iguanitas, a beach nearby to swim, snorkel, and kayak. Even though it rained a little, there was an amazing sunset and even a double rainbow! Then we spent the night under the stars.
The next morning we had free time on the beach before heading back to Horizontes. On Friday night we celebrated Manuela’s (one of our favorite cooks) birthday. And then we were all surprised by una cimarrona, a band that played drums and trumpets for us as we danced around. Later that night we started packing to leave for our new home base in Bromelias.
We are sad to leave all our new friends in Horizontes but excited for the rainforest! There might not be any Internet and service at the next home base so this may be our last blog post for the next few days. But we cannot wait to talk to you soon.
Puts Vida,
Jordan and Mary
June 23, 2016
The past few days have been my favorite days so far on this trip. We first got to Bromelias late Saturday afternoon and met the staff. On Sunday we got to start our service at one of two different schools Buenos Aires, and Gavilán. At Buenos Aires we are working on re painting the tables that previous GLA members have made. We also are painting 2 liter bottles to plant in the ground and make a border for the garden. They are using the garden to grow plants to help feed the students. At Gavilán we are clearing the ground and putting up a cover for the organic school garden for a safe place for students. After service we have been spending time with the members of
the community. We have had a dance class, painting class, and a cooking class all taught by locals. On Tuesday we went on a hike up the volcano on Oscars land and got to see a waterfall and swim in the hot springs. We are looking forward to getting back to are service projects tomorrow and finishing them up. We miss you and we will see you soon.
Xoxo Jordan