Hola familia y amigos!
When it rains, it pours.
Today´s light rainforest drizzle brought about a downpour of problems in
our plans today. When we woke up at 5:45, we expected to hike back to
Katsi, the school where we taught yesterday. However, in order to get to
the school, we must cross a river, which is impossible when it rains
since it causes it to rise. After our cocineros Jocelyn, Jason, and Dr.
O´Neal prepared a typical Costa Rican breakfast of pinto gallo
(featuring beans, rice, peppers and spices), it was back to the drawing
board. We made an executive group decision to head to the local school´s
nursery to clear out their garden patch. Battling with various insects
(we´re talking baseball-sized spiders), weeding plants up to our knees
and sweating under the Costa Rican sun was a growing experience for all.
Yet after the sweat and toil, and some Disney tunes sung by Lindsey,
the plot was clear, complete with twelve orange tree seedlings. We were
even fortunate enough to have a yucca farming lesson from Orlando, which
made us appreciate the yucca in our dinner tonight.
We
returned back to our base for a mini-siesta, and then a few of us went
back on the road to seek more service and learning. Our next adventures
took us to the local co-op, and they needed assitance cleaning out their
plantain-packing facilitiy before their meeting. Some brave
souls--Gordon, Erin, Kellen, and Hunter--shoveled rotting plaintain
piles, complete with more of our beloved six-eight-and-hundred-legged
friends, while Yuliya and Ashton swept and hosed down the facility until
it squeaked. Meanwhile, Jason and Kelsey had an impromptu futbol match
with some local Tico children.
Back at the ranch, Emily
gave Kimmie friendship bracelet lessons while Erin trimmed Kari´s bangs.
A little later, a local Tica craftswoman came to sell us handmade
gourds and jewelery. Tonight we were pleasantly surprised with a little
Bri Bri culture including song and dance. Angela spoke with the
presenters afterwards and became their unofficial English to Bri Bri
correspondent.
We were going to conclude with a metaphorical water or rain
allusion but we are all very tired and excited to sleep until 6:30 in
our tree house tommorrow.
Buenas Noches!
Kelsey y Yuliya
P.S. Jocelyn would like to give a shoutout to her older brother who graduated college today. Congratulations we are all proud of you!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Day 3/4
Wednesday we got up at 5:45 to the sound of roosters and dogs fighting to eat breakfast and prepare for the day. We were picked up by a cattle truck to ride over to a nearby school in Suiri where we taught English in the morning and started painting one of the buildings in the afternoon. The school was very casual by American standards, with four small buildings and seemingly very impromptu recess sessions. Much of the day was spent playing soccer...
Thursday began in much the same way, and we resumed painting upon arrival at the school. English lessons in the afternoon were very successful, although recess took over fairly quickly. We also planted six trees at the school which will soon be producing fruit for the kids. We have learned a lot about the plants and animals in the area and have eaten so many tropical fruits right off the tree--guava, bananas, coconut, mango, plantains, lemons, oranges, and some things we do not even know how to spell.
We love our treehouse cabin where we are living and sleeping. There are 15 mosquito net beds and three mosquito net hammocks swinging in the breeze 15 feet above the jungle floor. The hangout hut is really cool, and the five hammocks there are always in use. We are getting used to cold water showers. Each of us has tried something new, seen something new, tasted something new, and made a new friend in the past few days. Happy times in Costa Rica!
Comments on this blog are welcome--we miss you!
Wednesday we got up at 5:45 to the sound of roosters and dogs fighting to eat breakfast and prepare for the day. We were picked up by a cattle truck to ride over to a nearby school in Suiri where we taught English in the morning and started painting one of the buildings in the afternoon. The school was very casual by American standards, with four small buildings and seemingly very impromptu recess sessions. Much of the day was spent playing soccer...
Thursday began in much the same way, and we resumed painting upon arrival at the school. English lessons in the afternoon were very successful, although recess took over fairly quickly. We also planted six trees at the school which will soon be producing fruit for the kids. We have learned a lot about the plants and animals in the area and have eaten so many tropical fruits right off the tree--guava, bananas, coconut, mango, plantains, lemons, oranges, and some things we do not even know how to spell.
We love our treehouse cabin where we are living and sleeping. There are 15 mosquito net beds and three mosquito net hammocks swinging in the breeze 15 feet above the jungle floor. The hangout hut is really cool, and the five hammocks there are always in use. We are getting used to cold water showers. Each of us has tried something new, seen something new, tasted something new, and made a new friend in the past few days. Happy times in Costa Rica!
Comments on this blog are welcome--we miss you!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Los Primeros Dias.
Well, we´re HERE!!!!!
DAY 1
Yesterday was a very looooong day. We woke up around 4 a.m. to get ready to head to the airport. We boarded around 7:55 to head to Miami. We arrived in Miami around 10. The airport was interesting, to say the least. Majority of the conversations we overheard were in spanish and all of the announcements were said in both english and spanish. We weren´t there for long before it was time to board our next plane. The flight to Costa was a smooth one and we arrived in Costa Rica just before lunch time. We were greeted by our Outward Bound leaders Britten, Orlando, and Jesus (but its pronounced hey-zeus lol). We prepared all our camping gear and ate a delicous Costa Rican dish as we waited for Gordon to finally arrive. Unfortunately most of us were not awake once he got to base camp because it was lights out at 8pm. We were able to sleep peacefully knowing that Jason was there to get all the bugs out of our beds.
Before we went to bed, we received our ¨jobs¨ for the next today. Yuliya was the ¨cacique,¨ meaning that she is the only one with a watch. We are truly on ¨Tico Time¨ now, just going with the flow.
DAY 2
Today has been a long day as well. We woke up around 5:00am to head to the Amubri village in the Talamanca region. Some people like Lindsey, slept almost the entire ride while others like Emily made bracelets to occupy the time. We stopped to eat breakfast burritos at a truck stop on the way and took a bathroom break, and we´re still gettting used to the fact that we can´t flush the toilet paper. If today´s ride was an ice cream flavor it would be Rocky Road, and this especially held true as we entered more rural areas. After about a five hour drive, the road ended at the shore of a river and we wondered how we would cross. But first, we had to eat lunch which was prepared by our ¨cocineros¨ Ashton, Kelsey, and Gordon. We loaded our gear and ourselves into wooden canoes and rode to the other side to find a cattle truck waiting to take us to our final destination: Amubri.
We are staying in a beautiful area, surrounded by greenery and hibiscus flowers. Raised huts house our mattresses which are made with matching sheets and comfy pillows, complete with mosquito nets over them. This was a very welcome surprise! Gordon, Kellen, and Hunter, however, decided to string up their hammocks on the beams of the hut...I guess we´ll see how that turns out tonight, especially since Hunter just fell out of one (don´t worry...he´s not hurt). We also have a hang-out hut, complete with hammocks and this lovely computer on which we are typing. This has definitely been a popular spot today. The bathrooms sit behind the hut, where the showers are cold yet refreshing due to the hot weather. We also have a kitchen, and we´re eager to taste our first meal in Amubri.
Since arriving in Amubri we have made many new friends. Most of our new friends are adorable little children, but Kelsey befriended a little lizard that she has lovingly named Thompson. Kari, Angela, Kellen, and Kimmie visited the local school and met some local kids.
It´s been raining off and on, but I guess that´s what you get when you´re living in the rainforest.
We would like to wish Dr. Oneal (El Señor) a very special Feliz Cumpleaños!
Las Hanashitas,
Jocelyn & Erin :)
Quotes from the Day(s):
Jason: ¨Dear Diary: Kari only shaves one armpit...¨
Jocelyn: "Ummm...do you think I´d be able to paint my nails on the drive tomorrow?¨
Hunter: ¨What are the chances that I wake up as a beautful butterfly?¨
Kelsey: ¨It´s kind of sketchy writing with this pencil.¨
Yuliya: ¨I like your pun.¨
P.S. sorry we won´t be able to upload any of the lovely pictures Dr. Oneal (La Señora) has been taking all trip, but the computer is limited.
DAY 1
Yesterday was a very looooong day. We woke up around 4 a.m. to get ready to head to the airport. We boarded around 7:55 to head to Miami. We arrived in Miami around 10. The airport was interesting, to say the least. Majority of the conversations we overheard were in spanish and all of the announcements were said in both english and spanish. We weren´t there for long before it was time to board our next plane. The flight to Costa was a smooth one and we arrived in Costa Rica just before lunch time. We were greeted by our Outward Bound leaders Britten, Orlando, and Jesus (but its pronounced hey-zeus lol). We prepared all our camping gear and ate a delicous Costa Rican dish as we waited for Gordon to finally arrive. Unfortunately most of us were not awake once he got to base camp because it was lights out at 8pm. We were able to sleep peacefully knowing that Jason was there to get all the bugs out of our beds.
Before we went to bed, we received our ¨jobs¨ for the next today. Yuliya was the ¨cacique,¨ meaning that she is the only one with a watch. We are truly on ¨Tico Time¨ now, just going with the flow.
DAY 2
Today has been a long day as well. We woke up around 5:00am to head to the Amubri village in the Talamanca region. Some people like Lindsey, slept almost the entire ride while others like Emily made bracelets to occupy the time. We stopped to eat breakfast burritos at a truck stop on the way and took a bathroom break, and we´re still gettting used to the fact that we can´t flush the toilet paper. If today´s ride was an ice cream flavor it would be Rocky Road, and this especially held true as we entered more rural areas. After about a five hour drive, the road ended at the shore of a river and we wondered how we would cross. But first, we had to eat lunch which was prepared by our ¨cocineros¨ Ashton, Kelsey, and Gordon. We loaded our gear and ourselves into wooden canoes and rode to the other side to find a cattle truck waiting to take us to our final destination: Amubri.
We are staying in a beautiful area, surrounded by greenery and hibiscus flowers. Raised huts house our mattresses which are made with matching sheets and comfy pillows, complete with mosquito nets over them. This was a very welcome surprise! Gordon, Kellen, and Hunter, however, decided to string up their hammocks on the beams of the hut...I guess we´ll see how that turns out tonight, especially since Hunter just fell out of one (don´t worry...he´s not hurt). We also have a hang-out hut, complete with hammocks and this lovely computer on which we are typing. This has definitely been a popular spot today. The bathrooms sit behind the hut, where the showers are cold yet refreshing due to the hot weather. We also have a kitchen, and we´re eager to taste our first meal in Amubri.
Since arriving in Amubri we have made many new friends. Most of our new friends are adorable little children, but Kelsey befriended a little lizard that she has lovingly named Thompson. Kari, Angela, Kellen, and Kimmie visited the local school and met some local kids.
It´s been raining off and on, but I guess that´s what you get when you´re living in the rainforest.
We would like to wish Dr. Oneal (El Señor) a very special Feliz Cumpleaños!
Las Hanashitas,
Jocelyn & Erin :)
Quotes from the Day(s):
Jason: ¨Dear Diary: Kari only shaves one armpit...¨
Jocelyn: "Ummm...do you think I´d be able to paint my nails on the drive tomorrow?¨
Hunter: ¨What are the chances that I wake up as a beautful butterfly?¨
Kelsey: ¨It´s kind of sketchy writing with this pencil.¨
Yuliya: ¨I like your pun.¨
P.S. sorry we won´t be able to upload any of the lovely pictures Dr. Oneal (La Señora) has been taking all trip, but the computer is limited.
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