2024 Grant Costa Rica Service Adventure
Program Blog
Latest Updates
Blog 7
¡Manos a la obra! Today, we started our work at the local cemetery here in San Salvador, where we’ll be making several improvements until Thursday. Our main jobs are removing plants and dirt from the entrance, as well as prepping and sanding the fence so we can paint it tomorrow. We worked from 9 to 2, with breaks to drink water and eat lunch. At noon our host families came down to bring us arroz, frijoles, pollo, naranjas, y verduras. Afterwards, most of us went home to take a break before playing fútbol and voleibol with a few local kids. Tomorrow, we’ll keep working at the cemetery and painting the fence, and if the weather allows, we might cool down at a local swimming hole afterwards.
Pura vida,
Nate
Blog 6
Today, we got up at 6am to go kayaking and paddle boarding through a mangrove forest. Halfway through, we took a break at a small beach to pick up trash and entertained ourselves even more by racing hermit crabs (my crab, Kermit, won). We also learned about the different types of mangroves and how they spread their seeds. We saw a couple monkeys on the way back, then after demolishing a fruit spread, spotted a sloth and the we went to Dominical which is a beach town that has a lot of souvenirs. While there we saw a few other Grant students. Que coincidencia!!
Blog 5
After an emotional goodbye to our host family’s in San Salvador we drove down to the beach for the taste of the pacific to surf the gentle waves of Uvita’s parque national. The instructors were amazing and just a slight toe injury for Eliyot (10 toes with 9 1/4 nails). Everyone got up on the feet in the warm water while embracing the beautiful sunshine and yummy fruit. For dinner we had our first pizza meal in over 10 days. While everyone shared the pizza Eric decided to try to take one on all by himself and did it.
Blog 4
Prior to the final night, we all enjoyed ourselves at the fiesta de despedida (farewell party). Everyone sat with and served dinner to their host family, which set the tone for the discursos de agradacimentos (speeches of thanks) given once everyone had a plate. Despite the fear of speaking Spanish in front of the entire town, everyone did fantastically. Con barrigas llenas y corazones contentos (full bellies and happy hearts) the piñata (piñata) fell filled with distinctively Central American candy. To cap things off, we played a tico vs gringo soccer match under the lights. The gringos started strong with a 3-1 lead thanks to inspired play by our porter Tate “el muro” Allen. Our lead slowly crumbled to a disappointing loss of 3-7, continuing the tico’s streak of now seven years. Overall a fantastic end to a fantastic stay with everyone’s amazing families.
Blog 3
After our first day of service work, we made our way back down to the homestays to shower and change before heading to the pulperia (corner store) and plaza (soccer field). At the plaza, we played soccer with the locals for a while before dragging the goals to form a makeshift net to start a spirited game of volleyball. The Grant kids held their own and made a bunch of new amigos in the process. Although the sunny skies turned to drizzel, the rain could not douse our positive spirit. Teams consisted of Grant students, kids (some from our host families), and other adults from San Salvador. As the sun went down, we walked home, tired but with smiles on our faces.
Blog 2
Today we went to Nauyaca, a waterfall near our host community. After we woke up, we ate breakfast at the “restaurante comunal” in Pura Suerte which consisted of huevos, panqueques, frito, and semillas de chia con leche de coco. To get to Nauyaca, we hiked, drove in a bus, trailer, and then hiked even more. Once we got to Nauyaca we swam and played frisbee. We packed our lunch, which was a chicken burrito, an apple, and galletas chiky (la galleta nacional de costa rica y la mejor galleta del mundo). Before getting back on the bus to head back to Pura Suerte we played ping pong, corn hole, pool, and jenga at the visitor’s center at Nauyaca. By the time we were on our way back to Pura Suerte it was pouring. After getting off the bus, we made a pitstop at Roy’s farm, or finca, for coffee and cookies. By the time we got back the power at pura suerte had gone out due to the rainstorm. To pass the time we played cards, sardines (reverse hide and seek),dinner party, and mafia.