Costa Rica – (CRX2) – July 9th – July 29th

Welcome Global Works travelers, parents and friends.  We are excited to share with you trip updates from around the world.  As our main office receives updates from the trips we will update the page as we receive news from the field.

Update #1:
Before we even came, we saw the leader blogs online. Jackie had a fake moustache, so we knew she´d be fun! Peter, one of our leaders, reminded of us Allen from the movie “The Hangover” when we saw him, because of his beautiful, curly locks. After being here for a few days, we got to know all the leaders, and they are all incredible. The amount of energy they bring to the activities is great!

Also, at the airport, everyone was super friendly (PS to future Global Workers~ Don´t worry about coming on the trip alone!)

Regarding Costa Rica itself, we were expecting a lot of sunshine and warm weather. Although there is a lot of that, we soon discovered that there are also crazy rain storms that occur during this time of year. The people we have met here have all been very friendly and hospitable. The meals have, for the most part, been yummy as well.

The first day we were in Costa Rica, we did activities to talk about the goals we wanted to set for the trip, as well as the expections. We played some ice breaker games and got to know eachother. Then, we headed into town to eat lunch and sit out the rain storm while watching the Germany vs. Uruguay World Cup Soccer game. (Go Germany!) After lunch, we went into the plaza to do a scavenger hunt, in which we had to talk to the locals in Spanish. It was difficult to communicate, but fun to try.

On Sunday, we woke up at 5am, which no teenager wants to do. We took our VERY limited packing and got on the two hour bus to the river rafting base camp. There, we had a GREAT breakfast. After a 40 minute ride up the mountain, we found out that we had to hike 40 minutes back doooown the mountain on rocky hills in our extremely comfortable (not really) water shoes.

Once we arrived at the river, we split up into our different rafts, and met our raft guides: Arnaldo, Michael, Peluche (which means stuffed animal or teddy bear), and Yonder. The guides even spoke English. They taught us rafting commands like “get down” and “highside”. So, there we were, 20 high school kids, going in with both fear and excitement to class 1-3 rapids. But, after the first rapid, we all felt safe because of how amazing the guides did their jobs. So rafting: We “did work” (got stuff done!). It had to be the sickest, most amazing feeling ever. Every time a wave hit us, it was like a wave of adrenaline. As far as the scenery along the Rio Pacuare goes, we have never seen anything so beautiful. There was green everywhere as we sailed down the river, seing unreal waterfalls as the guides told us stories of the indigenous people and the mountains. After a couple hours of rafting, we stopped at an area where we walked through rocks and mud (the usual) to reach a sparkling, fresh water spring where we were able to swim. After swimming, we ate a snack of watermelon and pineapple. We then rafted and arrived at a campsite. We were assigned to our “boxes”, which were little wooden huts with screens. We ate burritos for lunch, prepared by the multi-talented guides. After lunch, we played games, had dinner, and fell asleep to the soothing sounds of bugs, rivers, and nature.

The next day, we awoke to find ourselves facing class FOUR rapids, which scared us beyond belief, but the guides made it memorable and safe. We also swam in the most beautiful waterfall and continued to raft until we hit the last rapid, Graduation Rapid. Needless to say, rafting was an unforgettable experience of constant excitement, and the beauty of the setting was unimaginable. We all couldn´t believe how much we enjoyed it and how much we´d love to go again.

Now that rafting is over, we´re excited about what is to come. Costa Rica has been an amazing experience so far, and we´re excited for the future activities such as zip-lining and surfing at the beach. Learning how to try these new, fun things is a thrilling thought to us all. Another aspect of the trip that we are excited for is creating life-long friendships with all the wonderful, charismatic people on this trip and the friendly locals. Monkeys are exciting too. We haven´t had encounters with any yet, but we are delighted at the idea of spotting any kind of monkey.Also, we are ecstatic about our home stay. A home stay is when two people from the group go stay at the locals´ houses and learn about their culture and interesting lifestyles.

Overall, we have had a great four days and are excited about what is to come on this wonderful Costa Rican adventure.We could probably tell you endless stories, but this is all we can write for now, because today we´re headed for the cloud forest!

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Leader Update –
Kids woke up and the smell of beans, eggs, and orange juice trickled up their nostrils. Some kids took, and some chose not to shower at all. After the morning snack, the kids traveled outside for the oh so ridiculously awesome name game. One student couldn´t remember a single female´s name. The group laughed, chuckled,  and cracked up because the kids had trouble remembering names.

Then, the kids played an intense game of thunder butts. The kids´passion and competitive spirit bursted out of their body language.  Getting hungry, the kids dined on Costa Rican cuisine and watched Germany triumph to victory over the shameful Uruguay in the 3rd and 4th place world cup soccer game.

Once in town, the youngins faced the challenge of a scavenger hunt in a torrential downpour. These newly converted Latin Americans showed off their newly learned language as Spanish shot out of their vocal chords.

After this adventure, the veintiuno amigos longed for body movement. They GW Leaders said they would hire an experienced salsa extraordinaire namen Randallllllllll.

The kids´souls were tickled as their lower bodies moved in several directions to make rhythmic hip dance moves. Then the young patowons (uhh…star wars reference?) gave up their cellular devices to Lord Vader and the rest of the counselors.

After a late night of “clubbing” and “partying hard” (salsa dancing at the hostel), the kids had oh so much trouble getting up in the early hours the next morning.

Update #2:
After a four hour long drive we began our 3 mile long hike into the cloud forest. The weather decided to disagree with us as we walked down steep hills in pouring rain.  We made sure to keep from slipping and falling in the mud.  When we arrived at the eco lodge we were very relieved that the long hike was over.  After dinner, we engaged in an intense game of Mafia, with the winner using clever arguments to fool the others.  After the long hike you could only imagine that we would be exhausted, so we went to sleep early for the next day at work.

The next day we woke up and had breakfast at 7, which was amazing pancakes.  We set out to a trail where we picked and shoveled the dirt following our demonstration.  It was perfect weather for having to transfer huge mounds of dirt up the trail to a potential drying room.

The people up there were responsible for spreading the dirt to level the floor.  When our work was done we went up to the porch of our lodge and were able to see the Arenal Volcano perfectly.  We played literally a world record game of Mafia.  No one survived.  We then BPed (bug planned) for the night and passed out.

We woke up tired after a long duration of work.  The children listened to Andre´s (family´s 2 year old son) beautiful laugh, which brought healthy spirits in their hearts.  We had an oh so amazing breakfast that woke up the children.  We put on work clothes and began placing wood on the path so that it would not erode.  After a long morning of work the children had lunch, which was great.  After that the kids finished up the work they had started and settled down until the night hike.

Although it was hard to tell whether it was monkeys or Roy (Eco lodge guide) making animal sounds, the search was worthwhile.  Watching spider monekys swing from tree to tree across the rainforest trees was an incredible experience.  This was then followed by a strenuous hike to the waterfall.  The waterfall not only cooled us down but provided us with incredibly beautiful scenery.  Even though the water was freezing cold, it was refreshing after a hard day’s work.

So, all of us went on a night hike through the mysteriously dark rain forest, to learn about the animals.  We saw a tree with some puma marks on it and played a game where we turned our headlamps off for 5 minutes without talking and listened to nature’s call.

Our hike back to civilization began at 830 in the morning.  It was humid, hot, muddy, uphill, steep, rocky, and long, 3 and a half miles long.  On the hike it was rewarding to see some of what we had built the day before.  Another positive aspect of the hike was that we got to see all these cool animals, and lots and lots and lots of insects.

After 3 long hours of hardcore trekking we saw a glimpse of the parking lot in the distance.  And we were done!

After the hike back from the cloud forest we are getting ready for the homestay tomorrow.  We are all excited and nervous because we don´t know what to expect, and excited to meet our new families for the next 8 days.  We are nervous about how much English the families speak and the new foods we will try at the houses.  We are excited to break out of our comfort zones and try new things.  It will be a really great experience.

Update #3:

Culture- We have learned numerous interesting facts about the Terraba culture during our time here so far.  Our culture teacher told us many intriguing stories, legends and prophecies of the history of their culture. Whether it was about the princess of Spain or the snake-shaped river, were always on the edge of our seats, eager to learn.  It was a very educational night that greatly expanded our knowledge of Terreba culture and the world.

Service Projects- We have been working hard this week painting classrooms and constructing a new office for the principal.  We are lucky to have many Terraba children help us with our work.

Activities- We have are lucky enough to have time to enjoy many different activities in the afternoon with our host families after we finish our work.  Here are some of the things we´ve done: Jewelry making-After a long day of working, we settled down into the school house and were taught about the native art and jewelry making methods of Terraba.  The woman of Terraba showed us how to make bracelets using different kinds of seeds and wood.  They also showed us two big fruites with intricate designs carved into them.  Along with that we saw prints and pictures hand made in the community.  We were each given a ´´nene´´ seed which is said to bring good luck.  We were also given wood to design our bracelet.  They were all different even though we were given the same materials.  Everybody loved their bracelets and many wore theirs the following day.  We all hope that the ancient beliefs are true and that they bring us good luck.

Excursion- Today we woke up before the roosters for once.  We started on our excursion to the river and the nature preserve that was planted by many of our host families.  There Paulino, one of the community leaders, explained to us his life´s work of reforesting the jungle over the course of 30 years of planting trees.  We spent time in a traditional Terraba houses and got to see all the giant insects surrounding it.  After our morning in the jungle, we stopped at the river to swim in a popular swimming hole.   It was a wonderful day  and the best part was we didn´t have to work!Note from the guides-We have been SO impressed with how hard the group has been working but above all how much they have opened their minds and hearts in the community.  It has been a pleasure to watch them share laughs with their host families, and it makes our day to hear from them and from the people in Terraba that they are enjoying their time here.  We´re all sad we are leaving in 2 days!!

Update #4:
Paulino, the community leader in Terraba, took us on a hike up to his finca. The finca is an ecological reserve that he and his brothers started. They planted 37,000 trees over the last 30 years so the animals and plants would have a place to grow and thrive. The hike wasn’t too long, but it was a little difficult. When we got there, we could immediately appreciate the beautiful view..much like the rice appreciates the beans at every single meal.  We saw interesting wildlife and traditional Terraba architecture that Paulino had planned and built with his family.  After the hike, we swam in the quebrada (a river).

That night, we had lessons on the Terraba language from a local teacher. For example, Tako means “my name is” and there 36 letters in the alphabet.

After learning a little of the Terraba language, we offered up some English lessons the next day. We sat down and asked the kids what they wanted to know in English. We got some ideas and taught the 6th graders. The other kids were so interested that they asked us to teach 4th and 5th grade too. This age group of kids had been kind of shy towards us during the first few days, but this experience really opened them up. There were lots of smiles from then on. After teaching in the school, we also taught lessons to the community members in the evening. We taught them simple greetings, basic vocabulary, useful phrases, and ended with an intense word game. Everyone was a winner.

Friday, we had a huuuuuge mud fight on the soccer field. We can’t even put it into words. That night we had a dance. We all changed out of our work clothes and into some nice attire. We walked into the dance and were immediately met by the loud music and greeted by the laughing village children. Immediately, all of the local boys picked a girl and asked her to dance. We were all surprised at their dancing abilities and how different two cultures of dance could be. For hours we danced salsa, merengue, and bachata as each boy continuously switched partners to get to know all of the girls. At the same time, the smaller children played outside and watched the dance through the windows. After a fun and tiring night of dance, we headed home to our families to rest up before our last day in the community.

On Saturday, our last full day to enjoy Terraba, we woke up to a delicious breakfast and marched down to the escuela (school) to make some traditional Terraba tamales with our host moms. The Senoras showed us how to make the tamales using vegetables, rice, and chicken. After making the tamales, we spent the day hanging out with the kids. Once the sun set, we said our thank yous and official goodbyes and enjoyed a fantastic tamale dinner with the community. To wrap up the night, we brought out graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows to show our new friends how to make the traditional US snack of smores. The Terraba crew had never had a smore before. The kids laughed and roasted the marshmallows over the fire using banana leaves instead of sticks. They all kept begging for more. It was fun to share one last night together.

The next morning, it was time to head to the beach. As we waved goodbye and hugged our homestay families, tears were shed and we realized what an impact we had made on them and they had made on us. We will remember everything they taught us, and we will cherish the hundreds of memories forever.

Now we are at the beach.  It’s beautiful here. Yesterday, we had surfing lessons and the water was warm. W are excited to try it again today.

We went ziplining this morning. We saw a sloth, a pizote family, an owl, and a toucan. We also ate termites! They weren’t as bad as we thought they would be.

It’s hard to believe our trip is wrapping up. We will miss all of our new friends, but we are excited to get home and see our families again!

Photos coming soon!