This is the school that we are doing our service learningGreetings From Costa Rica! We have all arrived here safely and are having a blast! Yesterday was a long day that started with an early wake-up call. We met at the airport at 4:30 AM and boarded our flights to Costa Rica! Our travels went smoothly and we had no problems. During the second flight we all got to sit together and probably caused some sort of a ruckus, but we're good kids (; Ha Ha Once we landed in Costa Rica we were immediately greeted by a wave of extreme heat, with temperatures reaching a high of 100 degrees. The Global Leadership Adventures crew greeted us after we went through customs and retrieved our baggage. They were very welcoming and excited to meet us!
After an hour and a half drive, we arrived at the house that we will be staying in for the next week. We all dropped off our stuff in our assigned rooms and went out to the backyard to check out the view.
The view is absolutely amazing. From our pool area and backyard, we can look out towards the bay and ocean and see other neighboring towns. It's beautiful! We went on a walk that turned into a hike down a mountain to go see the town. It was very interesting and we were total tourists. After that, we had a quick meeting and then ate dinner. The food here is so fresh and sooo yummy! Everyone has been devouring their fruit because of how fresh and tasty it is. We love it! The rest of the night consisted of a Spanish crash course and our journal entry. Then we said goodnight and headed to bed (well, most of us did anyway). We were exhausted!
6:45 came way too early for most of us. Mira and Jordin were assigned as the leaders for today and were in charge of making sure that all of us kids were up. Sleep is a delicacy here for anyone that is sleeping next to a window (that would include me) because there is a rooster that loves to wake us up at 4:00 AM (yes Mr. Randy, we have already started referring to him as Lucky). The rooster definitely provides us with some comedy!
When everyone was ready and downstairs, we ate breakfast and prepared ourselves for the day. Jordin and Mira got all of the donations that we were taking to the schools today ready and we boarded the bus. After an hour and a half long drive, we got to La Libertad in San Dimas. The kids ran outside to greet us, and although shy seemed really excited to meet us. We were divided into three different groups and separated into jobs for the day. Every 40 minutes each group would rotate. My group (which consisted of Mira, McKenzie, Mason, and I) had the job to sand the desks down first. The other groups were either doing art with the some of the students or playing soccer with the kids. By the end of the day, we had sanded down the desks and painted half of the school. I would say it was very successful! We have already bonded with a few of the kids and Mira even got to ride on a student's horse. Miguel rides his horse three kilometers to school everyday.
When we were finished at the school, we boarded the bus and rode back to our house. We were all starving! When we got back, we ate lunch and had our afternoon coffee (for some of us coffee is not the best idea. Ha Ha) then most of us jumped in the pool for some volleyball! We had a great afternoon. But once 3:30 hit we had to get out to get ready for our guest speakers. When they arrived we walked next door to the church for our history lesson. Everyone learned all about Costa Rica's culture economically, geographically, and politically. We all took notes and really learned a lot. After our lesson we came back to the house and chilled before dinner. Some of us played a game called Mafia while the others went to the grocery store. We quickly became obsessed with Mafia and ended up playing it three more times this evening. It's a blast!
We had a wonderful dinner and a great meeting to end the day. During our meeting we have had some crazy large bugs "attack" us and it has been extremely comical watching whoever the bug's victim is (many times that has been me). After our journal entry, we all dispersed. Some people headed to bed but most of us played Mafia again. And now I am here, sitting in the living room in the dark, writing this blog. Tomorrow we are headed back to the school again and Cale and I have been assigned as the leaders.
We are all so thrilled to see what this next week holds for us. We have already learned so much about this country and it's culture and I think that by the end of this trip, all of our lives will be touched in some way. Spending time with these children at the schools and getting to know them is really a gift for us, and we are all so blessed and thankful to be here.
Adios for now,
-Hunter and the rest of the Ohana Institute crew
This is the view from our backyard. Isn't it incredible?
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