Archive for the 'LSCR' Category

I recently talked with Morgan & Kenny to get the latest news from their Costa Rican adventures!

This past week, the group has been enjoying settling into their homestays in the center of San Isidro. Everyone has embraced the opportunity to practice their Spanish and learn about Costa Rican culture and traditions.  They have received glowing reviews of the homestay families from the group and it seems that everyone is going to miss their new families when they depart for their weekend on the South Pacific coast at Marino Ballena National Park.

Another highlight of the week was their community service work at the local high school. The group assisted in English classes for the morning, and got the chance to interact with “ticos” (Costa Ricans) their own age. On Wednesday afternoon, the group also went to see the final Harry Potter movie, during which they practiced their language vocab by reading the movie’s Spanish subtitles! Finally, the group went zip-lining at El Mirador del Valle, a beautiful point that overlooks the luscious green valley where San Isidro is located.

Next week, they’re looking forward to their final week together in the Fudebiol Reserve outside of San Isidro. They are especially excited for a service project with a local daycare center that they visited during one of our excursions with Omar during the first week at Montaña Verde. The group loved interacting with the children at the Centro Infantil Rivas when they dropped in the first time so everyone is very excited to go back. That is, after their nice relaxing weekend coming up at La Cusinga Eco-Lodge!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos from Morgan & Kenny this week. Once they return to Williamstown, though, we’ll upload all of their photos onto the Overland SmugMug site!

Pura Vida!

-Melissa

Team Toucan has had a wonderful week!  They spent last weekend enjoying the hot weather on the Pacific coast at La Cusinga Lodge.  There, they spent several hours playing soccer on the beach, diving into the waves of the ocean, and swimming in a natural pool about 5 minutes from their rooms.  The kitchen staff made delicious meals, and the group agreed that their favorite meal was the first night, when they ate chicken and beef kabobs with yuca tortillas, rice, beans, and banana bread for dessert.  While at La Cusinga, they also had the privilege of seeing a whale!  Although it was pretty far in the distance, it was still an amazing sight to see!

After returning from the beach, Team Toucan immediately started homestays in Quebradas.  Everyone is loving their homestay families, and a highlight of each day is when the group reunites first thing in the morning and everyone starts to share tales of the night before!  Some highlights of the homestays include: eating authentic gallo pinto (rice and beans) for breakfast, teaching card games to the families, playing soccer and other games in the plaza, and sharing drawings and artwork with host siblings!

Team Toucan has been doing an awesome job with service this week!  They spent Tuesday morning in a local neighborhood, Los Angeles, collecting and separating recycling. Even though the group had to get their hands dirty, everyone participated, had fun, and accomplished a lot in a small amount of time!  Team Toucan also weeded a garden at La Escuela Quebradas (an elementary school close to the homestay families), and replenished the garden with new soil. Once this job was done, they spent some time in the classroom teaching English to the local students.  This was one of the highlights of the trip so far, as everyone enjoyed interacting with the children!

Later in the week, they visited an indigenous reserve where they learned about the traditions and culture of the BriBri tribe.  Here they learned about the plants they use  for natural medicine, how to ground corn and much more!  Local women prepared a delicious traditional meal for them, consisting of rice, beans, vegetables, avocado, and pejivalles.  After lunch, they were taught a traditional BriBri dance, and our group followed with the “Cotton Eye Joe.”  They then played “Pin the Nose on the Clown” with local children.  This was a highlight of their time at BriBri because all of the donation items had been wrapped for the kids to open as prizes.  Each kid loved their gift, and it was fun seeing the joy it brought them!

Everyone is very anxious for their rafting trip this weekend!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos from Cara & Evan this week. Once they return to Williamstown, though, we’ll upload all of their photos onto the Overland SmugMug site!

Pura Vida!

-Melissa

Hola a todos!

I talked with Kenny & Morgan to get some news from their first week in Costa Rica.

They have had a great first week together at the Montaña Verde Reserve in Costa Rica!  The group has been kept quite busy with service projects, Spanish class and excursions to the nearby city center of San Isidro and the local community of Rivas. During service work in the mornings, they had the opportunity to help with land erosion prevention, separating recyclable materials and other trailwork projects at Montaña Verde. Class has been kept high-energy with with games of Bingo and Scrabble in Spanish as well as learning and participating in the process of making paper from recycled material.  Their excursions have been possible thanks to Omar, Montaña Verde’s groundskeeper.  He has taken them on day hikes through Rivas, where they visited his aunt who shared her amazing art and jewlery with the group.  He also led them on a beautiful hike to the banks of the Chirripo River where they ate a snack and swam in the one of the river’s natural pools. One of the highlights of the week was visiting a local high school where the leaders were amazed with the group’s enthusiasm toward interacting with the local Costa Rican high school students.  They chatted amongst themselves, taught each other dances and played soccer together. They are hoping to organize another get together with the local school next week. They have wrapped up their week-long stay at Montaña Verde and everyone is excited about the weekend rafting trip down the Pacuare River!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos from Morgan & Kenny this week. Once they return to Williamstown, though, we’ll upload all of their photos onto the Overland SmugMug site!

Pura Vida!

-Melissa

Hola a todos!

I recently heard from Cara & Evan with some news from their first week in Costa Rica!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos from Cara & Evan this week. Once they return to Williamstown, though, we’ll upload all of their photos onto the Overland SmugMug site!

¡Pura Vida!

-Melissa

I recently checked in with Ray and Elena to see how their trip is going!

This past week, saying goodbye to host families was bittersweet. The students enjoyed really enjoyed their week in Costa Rican homestays – playing with the children in the house, learning about the life of a bread baker, playing with various family pets, and bonding with host moms and dads… some of the students even ran to meet their host “grandma” at the church in Santa Elena for one last goodbye. They all hope to keep in touch with their families, and maybe even visit them at some point in the future!

As their week in Monteverde came to a close, they had a really meaningful last day of service. They had spent a week working with a family, building a cement walkway, fixing up their stairs, and spending time with the two children in the house. By the end of the week, they all felt very close and connected to the family and didn’t want to leave! This was clearly a mutual feeling, as the older sister made a cake for the group, and the two little boys made Thank You cards (construction paper flowers glued to Popsicle sticks with messages of gratitude on them)! They said their goodbyes to the family and left satisfied with their work, happy with the experience, and a bit sad that it all ended so quickly!

After a week of hard work in classes and service projects, they spend the weekend exploring all that Monteverde has to offer. They stopped by the local market on Saturday morning and challenged everyone to find one thing they have never seen before in the US. While some things they tried were better than others, they came to love a cool local fruit called mamon chino. They are red and prickly, and sort of taste like grapes. To eat them, you have to bite open the prickly shell and chew on the fruit… then spit out the pit! The group also toured a Sugar & Coffee plantation called Trapiche. They learned about the process of harvesting coffee and sugarcane, enjoyed yummy handmade sugar cane treats, and shared a beautiful lunch made by the women family members that own the farm, including many local products that they grow themselves.

Their next stop was Playa Flamingo (Flamingo Beach). Mornings were spent jamming out to Spanish tunes to keep the energy high, and painting various public buildings in nearby communities. They painted a health center in the nearby town of Brasilito and also the interior of a children’s health clinic. The students enjoyed hearing about the health clinic, how it benefits the community of Huacas where it is located, and felt like their work was really helping the people with whom they interacted. They also went snorkeling, enjoyed the clear blue water of the Pacific Ocean, and spent afternoons on the amazing white sand beaches of Flamingo. The students loved swimming at any chance they got! In the evenings, they relaxed at their lodge accommodations, spent some quality time playing mafia, telling stories and laughing, cooking delicious meals for ourselves, just having a blast…

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a photo from Ray & Elena this week, but when they return to Williamstown, we’ll post all of their pictures on our SmugMug site!

-Melissa

I got an update from Ray and Elena about their experiences so far in Costa Rica!

At the end of last week, they had a tough time parting with the beloved Spanish teachers, Ania and Genith, as well as their service coordinator, Alejandro, but eventually left Saripiqui looking ahead to their rafting adventure on the Pacuare. The rafting was awesome! The guides told them a spooky ghost story (in Spanish) which had them all walking around in pairs or groups for the rest of the night.  The camping was quite glamorous, as far as sleeping outside goes. The guides cooked an amazing lunch of tacos and fresh fruit and they spent the late afternoon hanging out in hammocks at their campsite and learning a few “futbol” tricks from the local guides.

Hello!

I recently talked with Kenny & Morgan to find out more about their adventure in Costa Rica!  After a long week of service and class at the reserve, they were rewarded with a relaxing weekend on the coast at Marino Ballena National Park. The group accommodations at La Cusinga Eco-Lodge were beautiful! The lodge was founded by a very inspiring naturalist from the midwest of the United States, whom the group enjoyed getting to know. They filled the days with beach time, exploring the caves, and swimming in the natural pools beneath the waterfalls.

Upon their return to San Isidro, they traveled to the smaller community called Quebradas, to start their week of homestay visits. Each student was assigned a homestay with another student on the trip, and though everyone was a bit nervous, they have really warmed up to their “familias” and embraced the new experience. They have loved the home cooking and the chance to practice their Spanish with host parents and siblings. This week, they have also continued their service projects, helping out in the community of Quebradas and going to a local recycling center in Perez Zeledon, the region that encompasses all of the surrounding towns.

As for Spanish classes, they have been a ton of fun this week. On Wednesday, they visited an orphanage and went to see Cars 2 in Spanish. On Thursday, they went to a farmers’ market and were able to interact with local vendors and purchase fresh fruit and vegetables. The highlight of the week was definitely zip-lining on Wedsnesday. The group loved it! Overall, they’re doing great – really coming together and supporting each other through their new adventures in Costa Rica.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos from LSCR 3w1B this week. Once Morgan & Kenny return to Williamstown, though, we’ll upload their photos onto the Overland SmugMug site!

Hasta luego!

Melissa