Home, Bittersweet Home: Reflections

Forestry might not be my calling, but this trip definitely made me realize the beauty of the rainforests and their biodiversity. Painting also might not be my thing, but it gave me a chance to try to help people in a completely different walk of life. I did learn, though, that I lOVE traveling. I love meeting new people and learning about a new culture. Costa Rica is one country, but it opened my eyes to the world.

The one aspect that caught my attention, however, was something that Adam asked on the second day of painting. “Do you think that an extra layer of paint is going to help these kids?” and when I thought about it, my answer was “no.” An extra layer of paint is not going to make sure the kids stay in school nor is it going to ensure they will be successful. This is my only regret about the trip. I feel pretty good about the community service we completed by painting the school, but at the same time, I feel as though there is something we could have done that would’ve been more significant. Something that would leave lasting change. Who knows, maybe some of us or even one of us will go back someday and do just that.

Junior Project. Those are the two words that planted the idea of traveling to Costa Rica into my head. It may have started off as a school project, but it became something more. I met many amazing people, some Ticos, some Americans. I learned a lot about the rainforests, about Costa Rica, and even about myself. Pura Vida. Those are the two words that will end this essay and begin a new chapter in my life.

July 7, 2012

Day 15: We got up and finished packing our things, we ate our last Costa Rican breakfast of the trip, and drove to the airport. I had to go pay my $28 airport fee. Next, I got my boarding pass. I found Adam under the sign where he told us to meet. We said our goodbyes to our awesome mentors, and filed off through security.

On the floor of the Liberia airport

Grace and Zach E. were the first ones to leave, but not before we all said bye to them. Then, all the people on the group flight left. You would not believe the tears. Finally, it was just Matt, Chang, Zach A., and me. We bought some (extremely overpriced) airport food, and ate until it was time to see Matt off. Next Zach, and then I had to leave Chang. Talk about a sad day L

July 6, 2012

Day 14:

The day started out very early i.e. we were up before the sun was up. We had mostly packed the night before, but we made sure everything was ready to go. We stuffed breakfast into our mouths and downed at least one cup of Costa Rican coffee. We filed into our vans and off we went. We were going to ride horses, white water tube, and go zip-lining.  

 

We arrived early and ended up having to wait for a while, but eventually, a person came to help us. The first activity was horseback riding.

Now, I should tell you that I am an equestrian, but I ride English style whereas these horses were decked out in Western saddles and neck reigned. Let me just say, I’m probably not going to cross over any time soon. But anyway, other people had fun so that was good.

Next, we went tubing, which was pretty fun.

Then, we went zip-lining which was probably my favorite activity of the day.

Nora conquers her fear of heights

Carrie is being Spiderman!

After our adventures, we went back to Horizontes, cleaned up a little, and went to a restaurant. The food was great! We then spent one last night at Horizontes, our last one in Costa Rica.

July 4-5, 2012

Day 12: It was July 4. Mapache himself is a very patriotic man, so when he found out it was America’s Independence Day, he got a pig. Yes, he found us a live pig. It was slaughtered and some of us watched, but not in a creepy I-love-blood sort of way. For the most part, it was just curiosity....

Day 13: We all went on a really long hike. By long I mean we left at 8:30 in the morning and got back around 5:30 pm. We walked through the rainforest, to a waterfall, and finally to the hot springs where we played in the mud.

It was drizzling most of the day, so everything was pretty wet and slippery, meaning we had to be careful of mud and rocks. Also, we had two separate groups and a guide for each. In the forest we saw both primary and secondary trees. There had been a natural disaster a while back which knocked out some Old trees, leaving a gap in the forest where new, quick-growing trees could live. The new trees, however, don't have a long lifespan, so they die relatively quickly leaving room for the types of trees that had been destroyed.

Old tree with parasitic vines

Near the base of the Volcano

 Then, we stopped for a while by the waterfall so we could eat the sandwhiches we packed for lunch.


Our end destination

Finally, we walked to the hot springs which were very relaxing after a long day's hike.

July 2-3, 2012

Day 10:

In the morning, we began painting the school. Which was kind of fun, but very messy… In the afternoon, we played with some Costa Rican children (approximately 8-12, maybe older, maybe younger). We played games such as Frisbee, freeze tag, and red light green light. It was really fun! 

Even Arnie, helped out!

Day 11:

We painted once again in the morning. Adam talked to us about something he calls “Cultural last Minute-itus.” It basically means that in the culture of Costa Rica and many other Central American countries it is socially acceptable, even the standard protocol, to wait to do everything until the last minute. If you’re meeting with someone at a certain, don’t expect them until at least 45 minutes after the stated time.

Anyway, he asked us what we should do while we waited for a woman to bring the keys (she’s the reason he started talking about cultural last minute-itus in the first place). We decided to pick up trash around the school.

Back at Home Base, we started a game of Assassin (with water guns), but Chang got me out almost right away. In my defense, I was trying to hang laundry out on the line.  

July 1, 2012

Day 9:

We took a hike with Mapache, Little Oscar, and Oso the dog. Mapache stopped us every now and again to point out various plants. Along the way, a couple people were stung by some crazy bees, but overall, the rainforest is SOO pretty. Here are a few pictures:

Mapache is showing us a skull he found

Look at all the catepillars!

Oso is just taking a quick rest. Que lindo!

In the afternoon, we split up into groups, and each group visited a different family. The point of the exercise was to meet the people we were hoping to help by painting the school. The family we met with was somewhat shy. They didn’t ask us many questions, but we asked  them a few. The father’s major concern with the school was not the paint job, but the fact that it doesn’t have any English lessons. He told us one needs English to get a good job. He was also very proud of his home because he had built it. If I were him, I’d be really proud too.  

Nice house, huh?

Yes, that's a pigeon

June 30, 2012

Day 8:

We went to a nice beach (one we could swim in). It was  SOOO nice. The only drawbacks were a) the sun and b) sand fleas or some sort of biting organism in the water. A couple people got some really bad sun burn, but all in all the day was very fun.

After we came back from the beach, we packed up once again and headed to the volcano where we would stay at Mapache’s. Just a couple fun facts: “Mapache” means “raccoon” in Spanish; Raccoons are known for being very intelligent; and Mapache’s real name is Oscar.

We arrived at his place in the afternoon. He designed all of the buildings on the property, his goal being to spread environmental awareness through tourism. We ate dinner, did our usual hanging out (we had an interesting talk about dreams) and finally went to sleep.