Days 4 and 5

Ahhh...Thursday. Our day to sleep in if we wanted to. A number of the students got up, though, to go surfing. They said that surfing was kinda tough because there weren't as many waves. This being 2 days removed from surfing, high tide wasn't until about 10 or 11, so it wasn't as easy. Others went shopping, went to the bank, hung out at school, or simply slept in. At 10 we met back at the school and divided up into 2 groups. One group learned salsa and merengue and the other group had cooking class where they made guacamole and patacones. Around 11 we switched and the cooking group made empanadas instead of guacamole and patacones. Watching them learn how to dance was the highlight of my day ;) Unfortunately, they all looked SOOO tired in cooking class, but they made it through and got to eat some awesome food. We then had a little extra time to eat lunch before our classes started up again at 1. After classes, many of us were tired and went back home to rest before supper. After supper we met back at school for a movie night. We got to watch some Pixar shorts, drink juice and soda, and eat popcorn. At 9:15 when the movie stopped working, they asked me if they were free to go home. As soon as I said yes, they bolted out of there, eager to get home and sleep. Friday was a gorgeous day. We went to school in the morning, had classes, took our final tests, and had some type of culture class. We then ran to eat before graduation, but some of us ended up being late. We had our graduation where we got our "diploma" and then had to say a few words about our time here. After graduation, we changed into our swimming and hiking gear and headed off to a lookout and then a hidden beach called Playa Izquierda. The hike was a bit rough as we literally were climbing up a small mountain, but the view was FANTASTIC! Thankfully we got to rest there for a bit before heading down to the beach. Once at the beach, we got to swim in the very rocky ocean and just relax after our semi-arduous hike. Thankfully, we did not take the same route home and had a fairly easy way back. Our hike took us past most of our houses, so most of us just stopped off there, but some went to the bank. After supper with our families, we went out to a bar/restaurant called Tabanuco's to have a drink and go dancing. Don't worry! They made us all virgin cocktails of the signature drink of the area - agua de sapo. It was very tasty. After hanging out for a bit (and not dancing), about half of the group asked one by one if they could go back home to sleep. The rest of the group went to the school for a bit and then came back around 10, hoping there would be more people there and dancing. Well, seeing as it was Reggae Night (unfortunately) there wasn't very danceable music, but the kids made it work. Even the chaperones were convinced to dance :) After a good 40 minutes or so of dancing, it was time to head back home to make it in time for curfew - JUST as the party was getting started...shucks :) Tomorrow we have ziplining (called here canopy) and some will surf, most will shop, and we all will hopefully enjoy our last day here in Samara :(

Day 3

Middle of the week. The day we were told we would feel more at home with our host families and with the culture in general. From what I've seen, most of the kids have taken to this laid back, beach lifestyle quite swimmingly :) We started out our day in classes again. Hearing laughter and yelling through the halls makes me wonder what their doing, but it seems like they're having fun learning :) After classes, we had a little longer lunch break before going kayaking. Some of the kids went to eat and did a little shopping before heading back to school to meet our kayak guides. We were told we could only bring a few little things that would fit in the dry bag. We got down to the beach and after signing a waiver, getting our life jackets on, and learning a little bit about paddling, we were off to the island in the distance! Our guides helped us get past the small breakers and then we waited in the waves for the rest of the group. Only one group flipped, which is pretty good. We then began our arduous journey to the island. Sea kayaking is tough! After a few breaks, we paddled in one by one to the island. Unfortunately, a few people got a little seasick from the waves so getting back on solid ground was a blessing for them. After a little resting, some water and juice, and exploring of the island (lots of hermit crabs!), we got to go snorkeling. Not everyone went, but most tried it out. The water wasn't super clear, but we did get to see some fish. After swimming and snorkeling, we got to have some fresh pineapple and watermelon to get our strength back for the trip back. Thankfully, the trip back was MUCH shorter and the waves were with us. We then got a ride back into town, and headed off home to rest, change, and eat before FUTBOL! Unfortunately, when we got to the field (artificial turf small sided field) we found out that they were running behind because the lights had gone off. We were going to have to wait an hour before we could play. Knowing that not even half of our kids were planning to play, we decided to just head on back and have a semi-free night. Tomorrow, we have a semi-free morning and many of the kids are going surfing in the morning before cooking and dancing classes. (Again, pictures from kayaking are on the other camera - probably won't be up until we get back). Hasta luego!

Days 1 and 2

Our first day, Monday, we had to arrive at the school by 7:15 in order to "take our tests". Our tests consisted of a teacher talking to each of us, one on one, to gauge our abilities. Once we had all gone, we had to pledge to speak only Spanish on the campus, except for in the Multilingual Zone. They then put us into groups based on our abilities and we started school at 8:00. At school we have two breaks in the four hours of classes. During the breaks we all get together and drink coffee, tea, or water, and most of us try to use the Wifi, if it's working. Since it was our first day, we had to have orientation with Lindsey, the group coordinator of the school. She reminded us of some rules and of the activities we were going to do. We then walked about a block down the beach to a restaurant called Sherrifs. Most of us had a traditional meal, but some of us had American food. The best thing was the batidos - fruit smoothies. Delicious! After lunch we took a quick tour of the town before going to our volunteer activity at CREAR. We got to the community center which is their new base of operation. CREAR is an organization that provides supplemental education for children and young people in the area. Kids in this area only go to school for half a day (because of a lack of resources) and only get a very basic education so CREAR teaches them art, leadership, female empowerment, and has a library with tutors to help the kids succeed. We didn't work at the community center, but were taken to the poor part of town (Torito) and we got to help some kids make Popsicle art projects. There were not many kids because it was a kind of rainy day, so we had sometimes 3-4 of our kids working with only 1 or two. It was a low key activity, but a good chance for the kids to practice their Spanish with children (the hardest ones to understand!) and to make connections with the community. (Pictures are on the Facebook page) After CREAR, we had the rest of the night free, so many people went to the bank to try to exchange money and then all of us made it to the beach at some point. We had a good time swimming, playing frisbee, exploring the beach, and watching all the dogs :) Then we went back to our houses to do homework (yes, we have homework!), eat, and rest since the rest of the nights we would be doing some activity. Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, perfect for surfing. We had to go in the morning because this week, high tide is in the morning (it's an hour later every day down here). After signing the waivers, getting our rash shirts on, and taking some pictures, we were ready to go. We had an important lesson in surf safety, names of the parts of the board, and how to surf - did you know there are 6 steps? We all got to practice on land before going with our instructors to practice. The first few times, he would take us one at a time, tell us when to get on, when to start paddling and when to get up. After a while, he would then just tell us as a group which wave to take and when to get up. Finally, we were ready to start surfing on our own. We had to make sure to choose the correct wave which is NOT as easy as it sounds! After surfing, we all had some time to rinse off (in a tree!) and change and go eat lunch. We split up to eat lunch and all gathered back at school before 1 which is when our next classes were. I'm not sure about the kids, but they looked about as tired as I felt. Classes were hard that afternoon after surfing all morning. After classes, many people took a walk around town, some went shopping, and then headed home for a bit to eat with their families. At 8, we all gathered back at the school for a beach bonfire and roasted "S'mores" the Tico way. We got to see some crabs and lots of stars. Then we finally headed home for an awesome night's sleep. (Pictures from surfing are not up yet since I had to use a different camera). Hasta luego!

We've arrived!

(A reprint of our arrival notice) Hola from Costa Rica! Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know we made it to Samara! After almost a 45 minute delay in MSP, we were finally on our way. We got to Miami only 10 minutes late but then sat on the Tarmac for about 20 minutes. We finally got off and ran to take the sky tram to our next flight. We made it with less than 10 minutes to spare! We got to Costa Rica a bit early as well, but again had to sit on the Tarmac for at least 20 minutes. After immigration, baggage claim (so glad our bags made it - I was worried!) and customs, we finally got to eat. We met the NELHS group and after loading our luggage, we were ready for the last leg of the journey. As I write this, we are currently packed in our little bus, many of us sleeping, and expect another 3-4 hours until we get to Samara. We arrived in Samara around 7:15 and went with our host families.

New trip! 2015

Here we are on the brink of a new trip. I will try to post every few days to keep you updated on what we are all doing!