2024 North High School Costa Rica Program
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Blog 7
This morning, we said our goodbyes to our host families after breakfast, as we were getting back on a bus to travel from Sarapiquí to La Fortuna. We had a fairly flexible day ahead of us, a welcome change after working on our service project for 4 days.
After an hour-long ride, we arrived in the small, touristy town, our first stop being a zipline tour through the rainforest. We witnessed beautiful views and an adrenaline filled adventure while weaving through the trees.
Once we were done, we piled into the bus again to head to lunch. We then checked into our hotel for the night, where we slipped into our swimwear for an afternoon at one of the many hot springs in the area. We immediately went for the water slides, which were quite delightful, save for a couple of bumps and bruises from flying through them. We relaxed for a little while, both wading in the warm water and cutting over to the cold pool every now and then.
After 3 hours, we showered, changed, and went to the dining hall and the buffet for dinner. They offered multiple options for main courses, sides, and even dessert. With most of our stomachs full, we returned to our hotel, where we settled into our rooms for the evening before going to bed.
– Sean
Blog 6
Wednesday was one of the funnest days we experienced on our trip. We woke up early and spent a bit of time with host families over breakfast before heading to the school. Today was another day of working, one where we not only painted, built desks, and cleaned, but also the one we started to make genuine connections with the Costa Rican students. What you have to understand is that in the entirety of the school, there was only one air conditioned room. And so, on our breaks, we would all gather in this room, along with a handful of Costa Rican students, and play games together. But Wednesday was the first day where we really began to talk and connect with the other students. It was on this day where we built the foundation for the bittersweet goodbyes which took place the next afternoon. Anywho, after community service that day, we had dance classes. We were immersed even more in the Costa Rican culture through dance where we learned Merengue, Bachata, Salsa, and more. However, this dance class not only brought us closer to the culture, but also brought us closer to each other as a whole. After dance, we went back to our host families and had many more unique experiences before crashing into bed.
– Isabel S.
Blog 5
Today was pretty fun!! We started the day by having breakfast where we had sandwiches with eggs, beans, and butter with plátanos. It was very delicious. Then, we went to work at the school where we painted the cafeteria, and the stairs. Also, we had to carve wood and drill them to create various desks. During lunch, we had beans, chicken stew, rice, snd salad! After that, we went to finish our work and rested for a bit. At around 3, we went to do Zumba and we danced salsa, bachata, merengue, a typical dance from Costa Rica. and various other types of music. At 5, we went back to our host’s house and ate. It was an enjoyable and amusing day!
Thomas R.
Blog 4
Today was much different from what we’ve done before on this trip. It was the first full day with the host families after meeting them yesterday, and we had to wake up early to get to the school at seven. A lot of us went on the school bus, with all of the Costa Rican students.
The school is pretty cool, all of the hallways are outside. The school system is way different than what we were used to, it was an exam day today so most kids were out in the hallways and in the field with each other. This also meant we got to talk to a lot of people, which was actually really cool!
When everyone eventually got there, we started to split off into groups to do different activities, such as cleaning, building desks, playing in the field, painting posts and trees (no idea why), stuff like that. It was very spread out, so we were all across the campus, very much mixed in with the other kids there. We took a lot of breaks as well, the humidity made it feel way more hotter than it actually was- so lots of stops for water and bug spray because everyone was being eaten alive. We did about two different stations before noon, and then we had lunch.
After that, and we actually got a break from the stations- instead we got to play games with the students and just hang out at the school. There was a game of soccer, and then a few rounds of volleyball. After that we were basically free to go when the kids got dismissed.
-Stella T and Lina.
Blog 3
Hoy fue uno de los mejores dias. No necesite el hotel mas hermoso o el restaurante mas “fancy”, sino simplemente estar con mis compañeros. Aunque probar el chocolate fue increible, el rafting hizo que trabajaramos en equipo y fortalecio nuestra relacion el uno al otro. Dependiendo de los demas para asegurar tu seguridad crea una confianza que es muy dificil establecer en los Estados Unidos, ya que la mayoria de las veces no se sale de la casa. Con solamente tres dias de conocer an mis compañeros siento que esa actividad nos acerco rapidamente. No puedo esperar a ver que mas aprendemos aqui en Costa Rica!
-Daniel M.
Blog 2
Soy Esperanza y ayer aprendí que los primeros pintalabios se hacían con plantas con lo mismo que hacen los Doritos. Probé sabores agrios, dulces y asquerosos de las hojas y frutas. Cuando vi el perezoso durmiendo me enamoré de él. Ahora mis animales favoritos son los perezosos pero vi mariposas gigantes y mosquitos, ranas de todos los colores y una iguana. En los restaurantes lo mejor son los batidos de frutas, mi favorito es el de frutas del bosque (Esperanza, 7 años).
Today was amazing, we started by having breakfeast out side. Then we started driving to our Etnobotanics tour, but on the way we stopped to see the Starbucks coffee farm. It was so cool, and smelled amazing, the views were unmatched. Then we stopped at a waterfall that was BEAUTIFUL, it was so cool. Then we got to the Entobotanics tour which was so fascinating; the guide, Jaime, showed us a bunch of different plants and fruits and described each of the properties. Everyone of them were different. We tried this “magic cherry” that you eat and then it makes sour things taste sweet, AND IT WORKED! It was so cool. Then we headed to this beautiful, outdoor hotel which is just sooooo relaxing and amazing. Today was great!
-Sofía L.
Blog 1
Today our group landed in San Jose Costa Rica. After traveling throughout the night, we stopped at a traditional costarican restraunt. where we were able to explore the natural environment like plants and animals, while also immersing ourselves in a new culture through different types of food. After breakfast, we went to the central market where we got to shop around on our own and observe how the people of Costa Rica go about their daily lives as well as how they interact with each other. Then we traveled to our first hotel of the trip, where we had some down time to relax by the pool and admire the flora and fauna. Then we headed off to dinner at another local restraunt, that had very old trees and a fun history!