2024 Kent Denver Costa Rica Service Adventure
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Blog 8
Hola y Pura Vida padres! Another great and sunny day in Costa Rica. We woke up to the beautiful sound of birds and the marvelous view of an active Volcano. Our first activity of the day was white water rafting. There were some fun rapids, and a cliff to jump off of. Midway through, we stopped to eat some fresh fruit in the forest near the river. It was pineapple and watermelon, and tasted fantastic. We quickly had lunch, and made our to the prearranged soccer game we had. All of us were under the impression we’d be playing 6 year olds, but we found out upon our arrival that we were severely mistaken. The majority of our opponents were late teens. They were a lot better than us, and beat us by 10+ goals(likely would have been more if they had been trying). After that game, we took a scenic two hour drive back to the hotel. We are currently writing this during that drive, and life is good. We have a goodbye dinner planned tonight, and all anticipate a fantastic time.
Signing off enjoying the life of Pura Vida, your final blog writers.
-Simon H, Eli C, and Riahn S
Blog 7
¡Hola!
Today was the day we left Pueblo Nuevo. After a heartfelt goodbye, we took a three hour drive to Fortuna, a town near the volcano Arenal. We walked down 504 steps to visit a waterfall and swim in the resulting river. After a relaxing couple of hours, it was time for lunch and we had the pleasure of walking back up all of the stairs to reach the souvenir shop and bus. Lunch was held at an ant-themed restaurant, but fortunately we did not see any live ants. After lunch, we drove to our villas and had some downtime before we went shopping for our last time this trip. There were torrential downpours and many of us dashed from shop to shop, trying to avoid the water in the air before traveling to the hot springs, which actually turned out to be a waterpark and spa. We both went on some slides, and our favorite was the “toilet bowl”. We then had a delicious dinner and dessert. Finally, we went to the villas and had a closing circle where we shared our favorite memories of the trip. Tomorrow will be our last full day, and we are looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday!
– Xanthe R. and Alex H.
Blog 6
¡Hola!
Today, day 6, we woke up bright and early for our last day of community service after a long night of karaoke in both English and in Spanish! Which was such a fun experience for both of us! First thing this morning we got to visit the school and play games with all the kids. During our visit, we had the opportunity to chat with our host sister and all of her friends. After leaving the school, we finished up painting Pueblo Nuevo (the name of the community) near the soccer field. While painting, a few of the kids kindly gifted us bouquets of flowers and bracelets! Now, while we are writing this, our group is playing a competitive game of soccer with some of local kids. Later today we are going to finish up the fence we started on our first day of community service and will have a goodbye party later where we will hopefully get to sing some more karaoke and dance after eating some cake! Estamos muy emocionados en contar nuestras historias de este viaje!!!!
-Naiyma O. and Amelie B.
Blog 5
¡Hola!
Yesterday, we woke up between 6 and 7 and had a tasty homemade breakfast with our host families. We arrived at the work site at 8, and we immediately started with our various projects. We dug holes and mixed concrete to build a fence for the soccer field and we got ready to paint the Sunday school. Our host families brought us lunch around noon. After lunch, we played soccer, touched up the fence, and spent some time chatting together. Finally, we returned to our host families. In Spanish, we played card games with the families, teaching each other new games and how to shuffle before eating with our families. We slept well and are so excited to spend more time with our host families tomorrow!
-Anna P. and Grace N.
Blog 4
Hola!
Yesterday, day 4, we woke up around 8 and after a delicious breakfast we set out on our (long) journey to the home stays. The drive was around 5 hours and we stopped for some souvenir shopping, a satisfying lunch, and quick supply run at the supermarket. We arrived at the homestays around 4 pm and after an exciting introduction we all parted ways and headed to our new homes in Costa Rica. At our home stay we played cards, watched some Spanish television and ate some traditional Costa Rican foods. We got a great night of sleep and are ready to tackle our first day of community service!
-Raea G. and Nora R.
Blog 3
¡Hola!
Yesterday, day 3, we embarked on a hike through Manuel Antonio National Park, where we found refuge in their secluded white beaches. In our 2 hours at the beach we played with coconuts, made sandcastles, and ran in the sand. After lunch we were able to relax back in our rooms where many of us in the pool, talking and cooling off from the heat. We stayed in the hotel for about 3 hours before we left to the beach again. We were able to go shopping and walk around for a while. Around 6pm we went to a restaurant across from the beach and ate some amazing food! Then, we were back at the hotel and were able to relax before the next day! :)) We can’t wait to continue telling you guys our experiences, and we are so excited to meet our host families tomorrow.
-Gwen F. and Alexa Q.
Blog 2
Hello everyone! On day 2 of our adventure, we set out for Manuel Antonio. On our way, we stopped at a supermarket to pick up anything we needed (and got a couple Costa Rican snacks as well)! When we arrived, we took a break at our hotels and then spent the afternoon at the beach. We had a yummy dinner and played in the pool, got to know each other better, and then went off to our rooms for a great night of sleep. We miss you all and can’t wait to tell you the stories! :)
¡Hola todos! El segundo día de nuestra aventura, salimos por Manuel Antonio. En camino, paramos en un supermercado para comprar todo lo que todavía necesitábamos (y compramos meriendas costarricenses). Cuando llegamos, tomamos un descanso en el hotel. En la tarde, pasamos un rato en la playa. Después, cenamos y jugamos en la piscina del hotel. Nos conocimos mejor, y después fuimos a nuestros cuartos para tener una buena noche de dormir. ¡Los extrañamos y no podemos esperar a contarles nuestros cuentos! :)
-Rachel P.
Blog 1
Hola todos!
Ms. McMurtry and I thank you all for sharing your amazing kids with us in Costa Rica. It’s been such a pleasure having them on this trip. The rest of the posts are going to be written by the students so please stay tuned. ¡Pura vida!
– Mr. Zepeda and Ms. McMurtry
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Hello everyone! Day 1 was the start to our awesome trip. When we got to the airport, you could tell everyone was really excited. We got to our gate with no issues, and had plenty of time to buy snacks, get lunch, and prepare for the long flight. We did have a tiny round of musical chairs when we got on the plane, but thanks to Ms. Mcmurtry we got it all figured out. The flight was about 5 hours, so when we landed in Costa Rica, everyone was pretty tired. We soon all felt the harsh humidity of Costa Rica, but nonetheless were ready to get going. We met Carola, our guide, and Junior, our bus driver. They were super nice and welcoming. When we got to the hotel it was already so dark. We had a late night pizza party around midnight and everyone had a great night sleep! We miss you all!
– Tilly V.
Llegamos! We have arrived!
More updates and pics to come. Pura vida!