The following post features student writing.

Day 1 in San Jose de Rivas

Hi! This is Lucy from New York City and Bryan from Boston. Yesterday we had a blast. We started the day with a choice between an extra hike and a morning at the beach. On the hike, we made a long trek up a steep hill and it all paid off because we saw live monkeys and a beautiful view. At the beach, we relaxed and played frisbee before a nice walk back to the pool. Then, we packed up and said goodbye to La Hacienda Baru. On our way to the village, we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant with an incredible view. When we were done, we proceeded on the hilly route to San Jose de Rivas. When we arrived, we unpacked and got settled into our living space. A few hours later, the welcoming Ticos gave a ceremony to greet us. The president of the association made numerous remarks about how although we arrived in Costa Rica as visitors, in San Jose de Rivas, we are family. Then, each student was assigned a host family to aid and provide for them throughout the week. We ate dinner and danced with our families and later, danced for hours while the local DJ blasted music. After our celebration, we returned to our living space and everyone gave their high, low, and angel of the day. We showered, brushed our teeth, and settled in for our first night in the village.

Day 2 in San Jose de Rivas

¡Hola! This is Adam and Sophie from New York City! We had a really fun day today! We started our morning with tortillas con huevos (tortillas with eggs for you non-Spanish speakers!) and they were delicious. Our new friends, Eduardo and Jessica, led us on a hike up the mountain to a beautiful vista. We then got shown the town, where we got to visit the houses of our families. Before visiting the school and meeting the kids, we had an amazing lunch of, beans, salsa, fried tilapia, rice, and juice. After lunch, we met the kids at the school and played soccer against them (Adam and los chicos won). After soccer, we retired to the salon where we played games and waited to go to the soccer field for a community-wide soccer game. After our soccer game, we had free time; free time consisted of reading, naps, showers, games, and many other sports. Finally, we had dinner, which was spaghetti and meat sauce with a vegetarian option. Then we had our nightly meeting, and went to bed. ¡Fin!