The following post features student writing.

Friday

Hey, this is Sebastian and Liya. Friday was our first day of work. We were all separated into different groups to complete different tasks, which include filling bags with soil, mixing cement and placing tiles, spending time with the kids at the school, and making a path to a little pizza oven. In between working we were able to have fruits such as mango, bananas, pinneapple, and papaya. Then we took our break for lunch which consisted of rice, beans, chicken, and salad; we then got to see and taste fresh and exotic fruits from Costa Rica. Then we got back to work till 2:30 p.m. and went back to the homestead were we got to shower and relax. Then we got ready to throw our friend Sarah a surprise birthday party with the whole village! We had two cakes and a piñata and danced with all the kids of the community. We had our usual nightly meeting and went to bed. ¡Adios!

Saturday

Hi! This is Daisy from New York City and Emmi from California. Yesterday we started with the normal breakfast of rice and beans. There’s a lot of that here. We had a half day of work on a few of our projects: filling bags with soil, mixing cement, and digging out a sidewalk by the food stand near the Salon. A few kids also cleaned the kitchen and Salon, because to be honest we needed that. We stopped a little while after it started raining, so we could have lunch. Afterwards, we hung out in the Salon until 2:00, during which time we realized the power was out, causing cold showers for all. It did come back on after a few hours, which made everyone grateful for what we did have. Nora taught everyone to play Spit, which quickly became a hit. At 2:00, we headed down to la cocina for Bingo! There were some interesting prizes—Sebastian got a handbag and Macy got kitchenware—but it was fun for everyone, even if some people won way too many times. Afterwards, we went to dinner, which was, surprisingly, chop suy, a kind of soup with ramen-like noodles. We finished the day with our nightly meeting, as always, and we discussed a story called “The Green Banana” by Donald Batchelder. Then, because we’re always all exhausted by that time, we went to bed. So that was our day. Adios from Costa Rica! (hi, mom and dad 🙂 )