2023 Lakeridge Costa Rica Middle School Service Adventure

Written by Lauren Sturges

On Thursday, we woke up for the last time in our host families homes. After breakfast and a few sad goodbyes, we got on a bus and drove an hour and a half to the Pacific Ocean. After getting settled into our new hotel rooms, we got dressed quickly and went to the beach. There, we learned how to surf, first on the beach and then in the water. The water was warm and there weren’t any rocks on the bottom, so this beach was perfect for beginners. Once everyone got the hang of it, our time surfing ended. After about 2 hours of surfing, we got out of the ocean and ate fresh bananas and oranges. Even though our time surfing was over, we still spent another hour playing in the waves and getting sunburns. Eventually, we headed to a restaurant that was a few minutes away on foot. For lunch, we had burgers, pasta, and fruit smoothies. Once everyone was stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite, we went back to the hotel to relax and spent the rest of the day getting settled in our rooms. For the next few hours, people were reading, swimming in the hotel pool, sleeping, and putting on many layers of aloe. For dinner at around 7:30, we went to a pizza restaurant while we reflected on the day. We went back to our beds with full stomachs and bittersweet thoughts, knowing that our time in Costa Rica is almost over.

Yesterday was our last day in Canaán with our host families. Starting off the day with a nutritious breakfast, we headed down to the church to complete our work project. Some of the jobs yesterday included: stuffing a piñata (for the party later), mixing concrete, moving organic material to an organized pile, and spreading concrete onto the sidewalk. Midway, we headed across the street to the bakery to take a break from the strenuous work. Later, we all put our handprints on the sidewalk, marking the end of our project. Afterwards, we headed back to our respective houses for lunch and got ready for the party. At the party, we all played games and ate delicious food. Finally, exhausted from the exciting day, we went back home and rested.

Monday was an example of a typical day for us in our host community. Zoe and I woke up around 7am, got ready, ate a wonderful breakfast, and headed off to the work site. The whole group worked hard by mixing concrete for the sidewalk project, sorting in the recycling center, weeding out the church garden, and other small tasks until we went back home for lunch. Most of us just chilled out at our homes for a while because we were very tired after our service work. When it was about a quarter to 3, we started walking down to the covered soccer area. A bunch of us from Oregon and a few local kids from here all played soccer together and we had so much fun. I asked around the group and people said they enjoy the tranquil environment and the host families here, being a part of a community here and all the sights.

Yesterday marked the first full day of being with our host families. After we woke up and got dressed, a common theme for breakfast was fried plantains, rice with beans, and scrambled eggs. With our stomachs full, we all headed down to a neighborhood church to start our service work. Some tasks people did today included mixing cement, chipping away old paint, carrying bricks, removing weeds, and shoveling away dirt. Following a grueling work session, everyone returned to their homes to eat lunch with their host families. The lunches varied but they were all delicious! Later in the afternoon, we met up at a store and then walked to a soccer field. While we were enjoying soccer, it suddenly started to pour! Soaking wet, we returned to our host families and settled in for the day.

The day was full of fun adventures, starting out with breakfast in the main house; not too far from the jungalows where we stayed the previous night. After breakfast, we finished packing and got ready to head to Nauyaca falls! Little did we know that the hill we hiked down when we arrived at our jungalows was going to just about kill us!!! So when we arrived, we were all very excited to jump into cool waters of Nauyaca falls!!! Upon arrival, we were greeted with freshly made pineapple juice, which was delicious! Afterwards, we met up with Roy, our guide yesterday, and he found us the perfect place to swim! The water was a little bit chilly but felt refreshing. We also found the perfect rock to jump off of and boy did we jump off it a lot!!! We rode a farm tractor trailer the way down and up, which was very nice on our jelly legs from hiking up the last hill!!!  Exhausted from spending practically the whole day swimming, we went back up to the bus and got dressed and then had our team meeting about what to expect during our home stay. Following that we got ice cream and we were back on the bus heading to our host families!

We started off this morning getting a delicious breakfast and then immediately packing our bags and leaving for a 4 hour road trip. After we saw tucans, crocodiles, and kittens, we made it to our bungalows on the farm. After settling in quickly, Roy, Graciela, and Alejandro gave us a wonderful tour of their farm they have had in their family for over 70 years. On the tour we saw chicks & chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, bunnies, and pigs. We also got to taste their bananas, cocoa beans, peppers, sugar cane, and star fruit. Emmi’s favorite part of the tour was holding the guinea pigs & Lauren’s favorite part was hanging out with Alejandro & playing uno. Helena’s favorite part was when Roy sliced us some sugar cane. After the tour we went to the kitchen and Graciela taught us how to make empanadas. After that we had chicken tacos for dinner, had a group meeting and went to bed.