2024 Academie Lafayette Costa Rica Program
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Blog 8
Today this morning, we woke up at el tecal, which was our one night hotel after the beach. We got up and went to breakfast at 6:30am, and around 6:50, some of us went to the market to grab some snacks for the bus ride which was around 1 and a half hour to white water rafting. When i arrived there, at first i was very scared because i honestly thought i was going to tip over and hurt myself because i felt as if it was a common thing to happen (it’s not), and i was scared about sitting on the rim of the raft, not inside. but it was very fun. It was about an hour and a half and i enjoyed all of it, especially when it got very wavy. I sat in the back the whole time. We stopped at a waterfall, then continued, and then stopped at a random stop to have lunch, and then continued. When the rafting was done, we all changed on the bus, boys first then girls. and then the ride to villas aracari was 4-5 hours, but we stopped at a souvenir shop on the way which was pretty expensive. And then when we got to the villas, we had a hearty dinner at the boys house and talked for a while. we also ended up writing a “letter to self” to respond to in 3 years from now.
– By Sophia D.
Blog 7
At the begging of our day on a Tuesday morning, we had breakfast and said goodbye to our host families. We then hauled our luggage to the bus to go learn how to surf in Playa Chaman. Before surfing, we bought souvenirs for our family members back home. After our shopping spree, we ate and went to Playa Chaman. And learned how to surf we really enjoyed it and we wish we could have stayed longer and surf more on the beach. We had break in between surfing and ate some very delicious watermelon and pineapple, then went back to the ocean to surf. After surfing we walked to the hotel and took showers and got ready for our dinner, we all dressed nicely since dinner on the beach was a no go. At the restaurant it was a cool vibe and we had a huge table in the middle, we ate a lot of food. After we headed back to our rooms in the hotel and went to sleep. Goodnight.
– By Fabian and Gerardo
Blog 6
Lunes Junio 10 fue el ultimo día de nuestro trabajo de servicio. Como todo los otros días comenzamos a las 8 de la mañana con el jardín. Unos terminaron de pintar llantas para las plantas que sembramos a la par de la iglesias. Otros ayudaron a la doña Lady a organizar tapas de plástico. A las 10 de la mañana todos habían terminado su trabajo así que comenzamos a limpiar la cocina para nuestra fiesta despedida. También escribimos nuestros nombres en el muro que habíamos construido. A las 12, nos dejaron ir a nuestras familias y entre ese tiempo hasta las 4:30 teníamos tiempo libre. Ya lo que quedo del día fue celebrado con las familias, en donde muchos bailaban y conversaban. Esta fue nuestra ultima noche con nuestra familia y en el pueblo.
Blog 5
We started our day at 8am and got to work on completing our wall by finishing up laying down our stones and paving some stairs. Our other group got to work on some yard work including weeding, cutting down trees, and planting some more plants. After that was all completed we sat down for lunch. After lunch our day of work was over a bit early so we all headed to our proper host houses until around 3:30pm. Around 3:30pm we all got up to head back to the pavilion and begin on our dance classes with a local dance instructor. We learned the dance bachata which originated in the Dominican Republic. The other dance we learned was the Salsa which is a dance that was popularized in New York in the 60s but actually originated in Cuba in the early 1900s. At this point in the day it was pouring rain which was very loud from inside the pavilion. The class ended around 4:30pm and we all headed back to our host houses to have dinner with our families and relax before heading to bed.
– Audrey B.
Blog 4
So far, my experience in Costa Rica has been incredible. From waterfalls that don’t exist in the US, to long and tiring yet beautiful hikes, struggling having no wifi yet also loving having the chance to fully experience Costa Rica without being attached to our phones.
Today, June 9th, we finished up our service projects. Friday, my group started building a wall by mixing cement and stacking rocks. Saturday, we moved to digging holes and beginning to weed really big grass plants (everything hurts..), and cutting down trees. Today, the wall was finished aswell as all the flowers and trees planted. We have an hour long lunch break which is super cool. Today, me, Sophia and Gerardo ate at Batsu, a restaurant across the street. The fries are amazing. We got off working early today since the time mostly depended on the status of our project completion. At 1:30, we began a tour at a local cheese farm where we got to pet, milk, feed cows and taste tested their jams, cheese, and yogurt. My favorites were the traditional cheese, and the oregano cheese. I also really liked the blackberry jam. I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity, it is a once in a lifetime experience.
– Gray K.
Blog 3
Day 4 of our adventure started off with a nice home cooked breakfast with our host siblings. Once we finished eating, we received our lunches along side some delicious strawberry juice and set off on our walk to work. The walk lasted about ten minutes and was very scenic and serene. As we had to be at work at 8 am, we were walking at 7:40 am and enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the early morning in the Costa Rican mountains. Once we got to work, we were split into two groups, one that build a wall and the other that painted tires in preparation for plants. The group that built the wall first dug out eroded soil, mixed cement and then finally placed stones and cement to build the wall. The purpose of the wall was to prevent further erosion. The other group spent their morning doing much less demanding work and sat together chatting and painting tires, the activity was very fun and calming. However it wasn’t all fun and games, there were ant hiding all over ready to bite the moment one left their guard down. Once the tires were painted and the wall half way built, we did a little waking around and stumbled upon a type of plant that closed when touched, we were all extremely amused with this plant and had a very great time with it each time we came across it, each time being more mesmerizing than the last.
Around 12 we sat down for lunch and walked to a near by shop that was closed on our first attempt at a visit. After our lunch break we split up into 3 new groups, one focused on cleaning the wall, one on digging holes and planting, and the last on mixing the eroded soils with fertilizer and transporting it to the planting group. The afternoon work concluded around 3 and we all had a little down time before our next activity. During this time we took another trip to the shop and this time it was open so we all got some snacks. Once we returned to the work site, we got to work on keychain and bookmark making. This activity was very enjoyable and it’s nice to have a souvenir from the trip that we made ourselves. After keychain making there was a Zumba class taking place nearby that some of saw and joined into. Even after a long day of work there is always energy for dancing. We all left for home around 5 and when we got there we’re hung out with our host siblings for a little while before eating dinner with the family and retiring for bed. Overall our first day of work was very productive and fun.
– Amina M
Blog 2
We made it!
The group is currently at Pura Suerte Farm without internet. They will be arriving in their host community later today (6/6) and will publish a more detailed update then. Pura vida!