Farewell!
One last group selfie at Miami airport baggage claim. 7/28/2015
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Farewell!
One last group selfie at Miami airport baggage claim. 7/28/2015
Adventures at the Beach
Dionis with his fish that he caught with a homemade fishing rod.
Andrew reading his book on the beach.
Andrea sitting on the beach in San Juanillo.
[Disclaimer: Story time between friends on the beach]
Once upon a time off the coast of Guanacaste, Costa Rica there was a Princess named Avionne. One day Avionne went to the beach with a group of her friends wearing her sandals, but not just any sandals her clear bedazzled plastic Walmart sandals. Rumor has it that these sandals sparkled like her cocoa butter vaseline or the sparkle in her eye when she laughed. Being the princess she is Avi dared not fully submerge herself in the water for fear of getting her recently flat-ironed hair wet. So while the rest of her friends frolicked in the water our damsel stood along the shore letting the waves lightly brush against her smooth legs. However the beach was not up to the princess's standards, rocks and shells were scratching the soles of her feet, so she decided to slip on her sandals. Both sandals in her hand Princess Avi sits just close enough to the shore where the water can hit her, and begins placing the majestic sandals on her feet. The first sandal was a success, but before she knew it the ocean had engulfed her second flip flop. Avi searched frantically everywhere and was distraught she surely thought that her shoe was lost forever. The princess trudged home with a sullen look on her face and hopping on one foot. After lunch the group regressed back to the beach. Some people swam, some fished, and some even explored like our hero Ciaran. Now Ciaran has many talents which include impersonations, making people laugh, and being artistic. He was not of royal blood, but everyone in the group loved him. Little did everyone know that it was Ciaran's life goal to be knighted by Avi. Ciarans decided to take pictures of the sunset to send back home by hawk to his family, and in order to get the best angle he had to climb on the rocks. In the corner of his eye he saw something twinkle like the stars in the night. He took a closer look and lo and behold it was Princess Avi's flip flop. He quickly grabbed it and rushed ashore calling for her majesty. Princess Avi was elated beyond measure and knighted him then and there on the beach.
THE END
A sunset at San Juanillo.
Our Last Few Days in Costa Rica
We've been relishing the last few days of our trip and our time together, not posting as frequently as before. Here are a selection of photos from our past few days.
7/23/2015 Ciaran, Emily, and Fabian help to clean the beach at Ostional, clearing the way for baby turtles to cross the beach.
We took a tour around our finished project, showing off our hard work and accomplishments to each other. Here Felix explains the work that he and other group members did in the kiosk that will become a library and environmental classroom.
Photos from our finished work project in Bosque Chalcuapa
One of the trash cans made from used soda bottles that we made along with volunteers from the local Red Cross.
Andrew shows us how to use one of the seats that he and his crew built out of recycled materials.
We all pose by the big strangler fig tree that grows in the center of the network of trails at Bosque Chalchuapa. Members of Team Bosque covered all of this ground with stones and gravel, which they brought in many wheel barrow loads through the woods.
Another section of Team Bosque show off the stones that they lined the path with on our first days of the project.
Celebrating all our hard work, we all walk the carefully cleaned paths that snake through the woods.
One of our many inspirational signs that add character to the trails. (Community members requested quotes in both English and Spanish.)
Reflections on the Homestay Experience 7/23/2015
Ciaran: My homestay was amazing. I went into this expecting to just hang around the house and eat meals with my family while doing everything else with the group, but I actually spent a lot of time and bonded with my family. I created relationships that I hope will last a lifetime. I never imagined myself saying this, but I actually cried when leaving my family. I am going to miss spending time everyday with my mom, brother, and numerous aunts (7). Overall, my stay in Santa Maria de Dota was a life changing experience full of emotions and laughter.
Carley: My homestay experience was very rewarding. The willingness of all the families in one community to take someone in for a few weeks was astounding. I was expecting my home just to be a place where I slept and ate, but it was so much more. Not speaking the same language was difficult but it really showed me how love is felt and words aren't needed to express how much you care for someone.
Manuel: My homestay experience was unforgettable. Both of my parents were very open with me and talked to me about their past which at the end made me learn a lot. Whenever I was home it felt as if I was in my real home. I was always anxious to be with my host parents because they are something different. There was always a joke, we were most of the time laughing and we really bonded together. My brother were very special both of them since I always wanted a little brother, now I had two and got to experience what it was like to have younger brothers. I really liked my family and I honestly would love to see them again. In general, I really like the fact that I didn't only felt home in my house but also in other host families houses. It was amazing, I'm really going to miss this place.
Gabbi: My homestay experience was quite unique. I stayed in a home with only my mother, Norma, and my brother Daniel. Fifteen days has never gone by so fast. My mother was willing to do everything and anything for me. It was a different and new experience. I really enjoyed the community, and was able to meet a lot of the community since my mother is quite the social person. I was also able to connect with her children who brought me out to the movies, hiking, and zip-lining. In fact I learned most games and words from my "pequeno maestra," my mother's granddaughter. I will miss the nights surrounding the dinner table and screaming our lungs out with my guide and bus driver over the many soccer matches. I will miss the abundant love provided to me whenever I was in need. I will miss Santa Maria, a nice little town tucked away in the valley surrounded by gorgeous views and smokey mountain tops. Until next time.
Avionne: I absolutely loved my family. I had a mother, father, and two sisters that will be forever in my heart! They are my second family and I hate that I left them! I learned a lot from them because I came on this trip knowing one year of Spanish and now I know a little bit more! My homestay was really the best and it felt like it was really my home! They took me places that were amazing! I even met my great grandparents. My little sister was 5 years old and that was my everything! She is my little princess! I didn't want to leave! My baby sister was 1 and she was the cutest. My mom was the best because I didn't really understand Spanish but she helped me out a lot. My mom is really a great mom. She keeps everything in order. My dad is a pretty great person. He is funny and takes care of his family. He makes sure they have everything they need. I even helped them with English! I will keep in contact with my family and I will come back to see them again because they are so special to me! It is so crazy how they became so close to my heart in 15 days. I love them with all of my heart. I care about them like they cared for me. They are my forever family!
Lorea: My homestay experience at Dota was incredible. It has been such a surreal experience I still cant wrap my head around the fact that I lived 2 weeks in a strangers home and that after those two weeks that stranger would suddenly become more like family. The amount of love and care we received was out of this world, so adjusting to so much affection at first was a bit difficult. I learned more at the homestay about the endeavors of Costa Rican people than the rest of the trip, and finally got to take a step into their shoes. I will never have enough words to describe my gratitude for Dota. I will be forever grateful.
Some More Adventures!
This is one of our favorite photos, taken a couple of weeks ago in Sierpe when we visited the pre- Columbian spheres in the park there.
Our hands look a little different now. Many of us have taken advantage of the exceedingly talented nail artists here in town. If you think some of the designs on our fingers are wild, you should see our toes. (7/20/2015)
This afternoon we visited the local school, which just started back up today after a winter break. Here we are playing with some of the bright young minds of the preschool classroom. We acted out our favorite activities. Among the preschoolers' favorite activities were futbol, playing with cars, and playing "princess."
Coopesantos Wind Farms
Today's adventure brought us up windy hills and to the tops of the valley. When reaching the top we learned the ropes of controlling a wind farm. May not sound too hard, but when the equipment scales at 150 feet tall, with 7 farms containing 15 mills it blows you away. Each individual windmill can power 500 houses. This farm, COOPESANTOS, provides 30% of all the electricity in the Los Santos area. Every year the company produces enough energy to power 250,000,100 watt light bulbs. What shocking numbers!
- Gabbi and Ciaran
Fabian and the brave engineers of Coopesantos explain how wind farms work.
Where it all happens
All of our host families warned us that it would be cold, windy, and rainy but it turned into one of the most beautiful afternoons of this entire month.
We got to go inside one of the turbines towers!
We took full advantage of our gorgeous surroundings to take as many photos as we could fit on our phones.
Avionne, Felix, and Emily enjoying the gentle breeze, thinking about how it was powering homes in the area.
Andrew shows off his new haircut.
Mario agreed to sit in for Manuel, who was doing fun things with his host family. (Panoramic shot composed by Andrew.)
Coffee Tour
Santa Maria de Dota, our host community, grows some of the best coffee in the world. Today we took a tour of the whole coffee process, from crop to cup:
Arabica coffee grown together with guineo bananas and nitrogen fixing plants to create sustainable, shade-grown crops.
(Emily and Carley looking over the crops at Coopedota.)
Our guide, Gaby, showed us the inner workings of the coffee plant:
Coopedota roasts, packages, and sells several of its own brands, as well as selling beans to other roasters, some of which you might recognize:
Fabian treated us all to fancy coffee drinks at our award-winning local coffee shop:
Mario's Birthday
Ciaran's host brother, Mario, has been working beside us each day on our service project and accompanying us on most of our afternoon activities. He's become like a close cousin in our little family. Last night his mom threw him a birthday party in the same place where we had Gabbi's.
(While waiting for the other party guest to arrive, we played and epic game of musical chairs and our driver, Oscar, showed us how to pick up a (clean, empty) bottle with two hands holding a foot behind the back. Many of us tried but only Andrea had the flexibility and control to delicately tap the bottle with her nose.)
(Ciaran, Mario, and his Taylor Swift cake.)
.(Mario contemplating his wish.)
Service Project in Bosque Chalchuapa
Gabbi, Lorea, and Em paint signs that will be posted throughout the trails bearing inspirational messages.
Dionis, Andrew, and Felix cut boards for the signs
Manuel mixes concrete for the library floor.
Dez and Alanna haul material into the woods to line the path.
Nati, Carley, and Ciaran show their progress on the mural:
Gabbi is overwhelmed by the many signs she and her crew have been painting:
Felix makes sure that Lorea and Carley stay hydrated:
Afternoon Visit to Organic, Sustainable Micro Coffee Producer
Felix, Dionis, Carley, Emily and Ciaran greet some of the farm's many pigs. The farmers use the pigs waste, as well as coffee byproducts, to create biofuel.
Marcel describes the life cycle of a coffee plant.
Gabbi and Felix make us coffee the Costa Rican way, with a chorreador.
Dionis and his new best friend.
Marcel shows us the prize that this farm won for their world-class coffee.
Other Host Family Meetings
Manuel stepped easily into his role as big brother within his host family!
Felix embraced his new Mom and Dad as if he'd known them for years!
Andrew and his host mother finally meet!
Lorea’s Host Family
Lorea's family, especially her younger brothers and sisters, were very anxious to meet her!
Fundación Nubotrópica
(The wild avocado (the green fruit pictured below) is the quetzal's favorite food. From all the pits left on the ground right under the tree, we can tell that the quetzals haven't been here)
This afternoon we went for a short, rainy hike in the Fundación Nubotrópica just outside of our host community. Nati's host brother, Marcel, is just beginning his career as a guide so we invited him to come and tell us all about this mountainous ecosystem. He did a great job. We weren't able to see one but we learned all about the quetzal, a stunningly beautiful bird that lives in this region and survives on wild avocados.
This huge oak tree might be 600 years old:
It rained on our walk but we were prepared, especially Felix:
Nati's host brother Marcel learning the ropes from our guide, Fabian.
Our host community, Santa Maria de Dota, as seen from the mountain:
Mural Project
One small part of our community service project at Bosque Chalchuapa is a mural that Carley, Ciaran, and Nati are painting on one of the buildings there.
Gabbi’s Birthday - July 13
For Gabbi's birthday we decked out a barn/event space and threw her a rockin party, including two futbol-shaped piñatas in the colors of her host mom's favorite team.
Photo from Campanario
Santa Maria de Dota - Community Service
by Ciaran
We are building a library, cleaning the trails, and painting a mural at a local park here in Santa Maria de Dota. A small chunk of forested land has been donated by a wealthy community member so that everyone can enjoy beauty and tranquility. We are doing projects to clean it up and make it more inviting so that it attracts more people.
The empty building that we are turning into a library. 7/9/15
Felix, Andrew, Manuel, and Dionis learning how to remove the old concrete. 7/9/15
Emely adding rocks to line the pathway. 7/9/15
Lorea, Avionne, and Manuel breaking up old concrete to use as rocks for lining the pathway. 7/9/15
Emily and Dez pulling weeds. 7/10/15
Andrew breaking some concrete. 7/10/15
Gabbi putting rocks in a wheelbarrow for a path. 7/10/15
A part of the new path 7/10/15