Blog post from Carina and Layla from Wednesday June 13.
Our first full day in the community was an eventful one. We started the day at the school by digging trenches, which would eventually be filled with hibiscus plants in order to create a natural “barrier” around the field. This was the first step to making an ecological difference in Dos Brazos de Río Tigre. At lunchtime, we met our host families for the first time. We shared a meal with them, and even though it was nerve-wracking at first, the experience was an enjoyable one that we will remember. Later on in the day, we met Carlos, who took us on the community trail through Corcovado National Park. On the way, he demonstrated his uncanny ability to spot birds from a mile away. This surprised many people in the group as they saw more local animals than they had expected. The hike ended at a “waterfall,” which was more similar to a big natural pool. We swam in this “pool” and had a blast being swept away by the current. We enjoyed every second of it and bonded as a group by embracing the current as well as each other.
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Blog post from Sammy and Valeska from Tuesday June 12th
On Tuesday we left Piro Research Center to go on a chocolate tour. In case you can’t guess, everyone was extremely excited for the tour, especially the foodies (cough cough Olivia). Juan Luis led the tour and showed many different types of fruits as well as cacao, but it took him a while to catch on to the fact that he didn’t have to ask if we wanted to taste the food because the answer was always an obvious guess. The cacao was bitter but delicious and we enjoyed grinding it into little pieces. At lunch we ate a large meal containing beans, rice, a stew, and fresh juice. For dessert we had watermelon, pineapple and dark chocolate cake drizzled with dark chocolate sauce from the farm. After wiping the chocolate from our faces, we said goodbye and got back in the bus 🚌. On the way to Dos Brazos Del Rio Tigre, we stopped at a large supermarket and stacked up on food. Kaia bought socks, many of us bought deodorant, Sammy bought more lime plantain chips that were gone within five minutes, and Olivia bought enough food to fill herself up, which is saying something. We continued along the road, snacks in hand, laughing and singing our favorite songs (not in tune). Everyone looked around as we drove through the community and our home for the next few days. We settled into our rooms and set out to see the community’s school. At the school we met Ermer, but the children were out of school so we didn’t get a chance to meet them. We toured the town and learned about our next few days in the community. Ermer has many great ideas and we listened as he told us about how he stood up to the government to do what is best for his community. Night filled the sky and we ate a large dinner filled with delicious empanadas. By the end of dinner we were so full we did ANCHOR and rushed to our rooms with full bellies and braided hair. Everyone slept sweet and sound after a long and fun-filled day. Blog post from Olivia and Kathryn from Monday June 11.
On Monday Olivia and Kathryn were leaders, and we had a very eventful day. We started off the day by taking a tour of the Osa Conservation sustainable farm. We saw where the rice we had been eating the whole time we were at the research station was made and lots of the other foods we ate too. We were all extremely hot because pants are not a suggestion so then after lunch we went to the river. At the river we found clay within the rocks and gave each other temporary tattoos with the clay. On several backs we spelled out our favorite phrase, “Lewis, you’re not a citizen!” We then went back to our “rooms” (the air quotes because there were no walls) to change for something very exciting. We walked down to the beach with some of our favorite researchers to release baby sea turtles. Everyone was allowed to pick up three each and then let them go and walk to the ocean. Unfortunately, one was taken away by a hawk (despite one of our favorite researcher’s great attempt at shooing the annoying thing away)... some tears were shed. Meanwhile, Ms. Ribaudo was very worried about protecting the other turtles as shown by her cleaning of her camera lens. Ms. Ribaudo is very attached to her technology and we all enjoyed her impersonation of Maya taking a selfie. On the bright side, we were able to save the other 40 babies who are now hopefully off swimming. Ms. Brodhun made some constructive comments about the turtles thriving in the ocean. Later, when we got back to our “rooms,” we found a nice surprise by the table. A scorpion! What fun! We then packed up and enjoyed our last night of feeling safe with our bed buddies. We had so much fun and so many adventures at the research center, but we were all very excited/ready to go into the town! It has not disappointed! Good morning family and friends, Yesterday was an amazing day for the girls and the community. After eating a lovely spread of breads, freshly cut pineapple and watermelon, eggs and cereal for breakfast, we were hoping to arrive to the worksite at 8:00am but we have gotten used to the “pura vida” way and actually got there at 8:20am. (Mr. Feiner....the girls are hoping GA will adopt this way of life and can be twenty minutes late to class with no penalty. Thoughts?) Ermer, the community leader, showed us the area by the soccer field where we would be digging trenches to plant hibiscus plants in the coming days. The girls were given shovels and began digging the trench. You read that correct....your daughter used a shovel to dig a trench and then, wait for it.....they used a wheelbarrow to transport potting soil into the trench all while wearing their t-shirt’s with my bitmoji on their backs!! Pictures are coming!! With the high temperatures and humidity, the group took frequent breaks for water and soccer with the local kids. Then we met our host families for lunch. The girls were split into pairs and ventured off into the families’ homes for an hour and a half. Everyone came back quite full, happy and excited to tell stories. After lunch, Carlos (owner of the place we are staying) brought us on a hike into the rain forest. During the hike, he showed us birds along the way as we walked through rivers. One of the highlights of the day was swimming in a lagoon with a small waterfall. It was so refreshing to be in cold water after all the hard work they did in the morning. Once we cooled off, we trekked back through the town and towards our “home,” but we had to stop for some soft drinks and plantain chips at a local shop! When we returned, everyone showered and relaxed before Carlos’s wife, Rosie, cooked us an awesome meal which included chicken and rice, corn tortilla with hearts of palm, and salad with homemade dressing. Needless to say, the girls are eating well! They were all in bed by 9pm and excited to continue the work today!! WiFi/cell service is at a minimum here, but I can assure you that everything is wonderful and there are plenty of pictures coming! Stay tuned for more. Adios! Liz Hello Greenwich Academy family and friends!
WLS staff here again. We just heard from the group, they are still out of wifi range but they are healthy and having a blast! They sent the photo below of their chocolate tour yesterday. They should have a better connection by tomorrow and will update as soon as they are able. Thank you for your patience! The WLS Team Hello family and friends of the Greenwich Academy program in Costa Rica,
WLS staff here! The group asked us to post an update because they don't have a great wifi connection. They had a great chocolate tour today and are now settling into their host community of Dos Brazos del Rio Tigre. Everyone is happy, healthy, and in good spirits! We apologize our posts aren't as witty and entertaining as the girls'. We promise they'll be back to updating as soon as they have a better wifi connection! As always, feel free to call our office at 303-679-3412 with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued trust and support, The WLS Team Today we (Kaia and Annabel) were leaders of the day. We proposed a toast to our trees that we planted to keep the group hydrated and kept the group positive throughout the day.
To start the day, each of the bio buds woke up with a pounding headache from the huge thunder and lightning storm from the night before and some very annoying and loud howler monkeys and birds surrounding us. However, we did get to sleep in to 6:30 which we were thankful for since we had to wake up at 5:00 yesterday. Everyone was thankful for the extra sleep, even though some people woke up with spiders in their hair or sweat dripping down their faces after having to sleep two people to a bunk bed in order to avoid the baby tarantula in the PSTD room where the beds have remained untouched. After waking up, having a nutrient rich breakfast, and drinking lots of water (hydrate don’t didrate!!!!!), we started our morning with learning about reforestation. After an intriguing presentation, we set out for the day and took a hike to the tree farm. The hike was longer than expected - we were told it was going to be 20 minutes, even though in reality it took 45 minutes - and there was a slow group lagging behind (you know who you are). When we arrived, it was pouring rain and the 18 of us had to stand under a very small covered hut filled with soil that was made from luscious monkey droppings and birds’ uric acid - it was quite the smell. After the raining finally stopped, we each picked different species of trees to plant in their plot of land that was dedicated to reforestation. A lot of people got down and dirty using our heavy duty shovels to dig deep into the crevice of the earth and plant our treasured saplings. Although they promised to tell us, everyone was quite unsure of which unknown species of plant they were holding. By the time we had gotten back to the center, we had already hit 10,000 steps on our fit bits. A while later, we set out for another hike - also said to be 15 minutes but ended up being 30 - to the beach where we were promised to set free baby sea turtles. But, when we arrived at the beach, there were no sea turtles to be found; the one baby turtle we found yesterday had decided to crawl back into the hole with its nonliving friends. After wasting our limited adenosine triphosphate on that strenuous exercise where lots of lactic acid was produced, we decided to enjoy the beach with some epic selfies and a rad boomerang. On our way back, there was also another group lagging behind so when we finally got back to the conservation center, the rest of the bio bus had already made it back to the showers. We decided that Sammy’s songs about black lambos and red wagons, plus her Hellen Keller jokes were worth the extra time it took to walk. After hitting up the showers, some extensive problems arose: Ashley got rumpy - or so we think. R is for rumpy. U is for you don’t want it. M is for my butt. P is for put powder on it. Y is for why me. Dr. Doniger along with her assistants were able to come up with a solid cure to solve Ashley’s case of this disastrous effect. It was a group effort but we think we have cured the case. After a long but fun-filled day, lewis is still not a citizen and we are still having a fabulous time. Stay tuned for more!!!! Annabel and Kaia :) This morning we learned all about reforestation of the Osa Peninsula. After a short lecture, we walked in the rain to the research station's sustainable farm. Each of us picked a sapling and planted it in the ground. For some of us, it was the first time we had ever used a shovel! We all named our trees and Ms. Ribaudo said there will be a 25-year reunion trip to Costa Rica to visit our trees in the rainforest. It is pretty cool when we think about saving turtles yesterday and building a rainforest today. We hope everyone back home has been as productive as us!
As we said yesterday, the wifi is slow and more photos will be coming. In the meantime, Kaia was generous enough to be our hand model with mother Earth and her little tree. |
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