The following post features student writing.

Sunday

¡Buenos dias! This is Zach from Chicago and Nora from Boston! Yesterday we slept to the luxuriously late hour of 7:15 and started the day with empanadas con queso, which were followed by huevos de Zach. With full stomachs and eager attitudes we embarked on a journey only those comparable to Indiana Jones could conquer. We traversed the jungle with Angie, Mesel, Melin, and Christian (children from the village), moving slowly and not so gracefully over rock and water until after three hours of relentless climbing, we reached La Piedra (The Rock). Towering over the hills and valleys of Costa Rica we looked down upon what has been and will be our home for the next three weeks. The trip down felt miles shorter and hours faster until we escaped with empty stomachs. After a lunch of rice and beans we spent the afternoon entertaining ourselves. As a cloud engulfed the mountain and began to float through the salon, Nora began a tournament of the card game Spit that was only intensified when Adam connected to our speaker with some of his oldies. The rain came like clock work, just like every afternoon and soon enough a game of Tag turned into a heated fútbol game of chicas v. chicos. Time flies when you’re running around in a cloud and before we knew it, dinner time had come. Content and full, yawns started to spread thorugh the group. Then Nina made the mistake of pulling out the surprise of the night, ice cream. Sugared up and restless, we returned to the salon for nightly meeting and by some miracle, eventually fell asleep.

Monday

Hey, it’s Lucy and Charlotte! Yesterday we worked hard on our big projects for half the day and in the afternoon we got a cooking lesson from one of the women in the village. We made fresh tortillas and biscochos. Most of us visited our host families and did our laundry at last! We enjoyed getting to know a bit more about our families and even though it was difficult for those of us who don’t speak Spanish, it was a good experience. As always, it was fun to spend time with the kids in the village playing soccer and just hanging out. They never seem to run out of energy, no matter how tired we get! Last night, it poured of course. We’re still getting accustomed to the weather here. It’s hot in the morning when we’re working but it’s cold and rainy in the afternoon when we want to play with the kids outside. When it’s raining, we spend our free time in the salon. In the salon, we have a communal area where we all hang out and then two areas separated by a tarp where we sleep. There’s also two showers, which get super cold when the power goes out. Anyway, thanks for your time. We can guarantee that your children are having a great time. See ya on the flip!

Tuesday

Hola! It is Carlota from Spain and Gage from Chicago. Happy Fourth of July! Today we ate some pancakes at breakfast with peanut butter and nutella. After breakfast we worked for four hours on group work with the locals. The locals are very nice to work with, and to hang out with. After our work we ate some fried chicken at lunch. At the end of lunch, it started to downpour for the remainder of our work time for the day. In the meantime we all sat together in the salon and sang songs. Not only did we sing songs, but we made a song for the birthday girl of the day, Jessica, a local at the village. It reads:

Happy birthday, Jessica

thank you for all your help

for being there to talk to

we will remember you

cumpleanos feliz

encantados de conocerte

que dios te bendiga

con muchos anos

mas de vida

After dinner we had a bonfire at Jessica and Eduardos’ house, where we sang the song we made, along with a bunch of other songs. We were also taught a song by Jessica and some girls from the village, but we don’t remember the words. At the bonfire we had some big marshmallows in our s’mores. The night ended with all of us leaving the bonfire and having our nightly meeting.

Wednesday

Good morning from Costa Rica! This is Sarah and Connor. Today we had a jam-packed day of work and fun! We spent the morning indulging in some pancake-like food called arepas. Stuffing ourselves full, we headed off to work. Some of us worked on the sidewalk in front of the salon, while others worked on the tiles in the church and a few others were working on creating a path from the kitchen to the oven. After all of our hard work, most of us took a trip down to Rio San Jose. Despite its name, we did not swim in the river—it was more of a small, very freezing pool. We engaged in some waterfights with everyone else who came down to the river with us, including the village kids, and other students not in their swimsuits. After our chilly adventure, the village kids started an intense plant fight. Now, as strange as that sounds, these mosotes actually stick to your clothes. The result of this fight included me (Connor) becoming a walking mosote bush. When we arrived at the salon, some of us relaxed for the rest of the day, playing cards, showering or napping. Instead of relaxing, five of us went down to the soccer field next to the kitchen, and played some soccer. Each team consisted of about five players, although by the end it became three-on-three soccer. At dinner time, the sweaty soccer players and tranquil salon-stayers met up in the kitchen for a meal of rice, beans, vegetables, and meat patties. After a long day filled with laughs, our leaders announced in the daily evening meeting the plans for our excursion to a nature reserve tomorrow. We’re sad to be leaving our new home in the village for two nights, but we’re excited to explore the other parts of Costa Rica. Adios y Pura Vida!