Volcanoes & Nature

Kiera, 16

Today we went with our Tico friends to visit Volcano Paos National Park. I didn´t think it would be such a long ride to get to the park, but it was great! On the way, I viewed many other spectacles of nature. In general, I´m not a nature person, but this trip has actually given me the knowledge of how beautiful nature can be.

This first image that I saw was just a farm on our way to the volcanoes, but it looked really cool to me. Because if you really think about it, this farm shows that it required a lot of time to get to the place that it is at right now. To me, this shows that people actually care about other things, rather than simple-everyday stuff, which inspires me to start looking for and thinking of other things, outside of the ordinary. This trip is also an out-of-the-ordinary experience.

This image of the house, shows to me that other people are doing what I am going to strive to do. Instead of giving up, and living on the street, the people of La Carpio, thought outside of the ordinary and built their own houses out of whatever they could find. I loved being in La Carpio, because the people there were so close. And I love when neighbors are close. They watch out for each other and they keep going, no matter what. La Carpio also inspires me to go out of the unordinary, and to keep going no matter what.

The volcano was the last straw for me. I am actually a person that LOVES nature because of this volcano. It just amazes me, the creation of such a thing, that makes me appreciate what is being made, and inspires me to take advantage and enjoy any type of nature possible. Overall, nature inspires me to be out of the ordinary, and enjoy what is there for me to view.

Poas volcano through the clouds...

Christina Arenth, Social Studies Teacher

Today we woke up early and picked up our pen pals from Liceo Vargas Calvo.  Together we ventured to the  Poas volcano outside of San Jose. Rodolfo Vanderlaat, a vulcanologist from the Costa Rican Volcano Observatory at the National Univeristy, spoke to all the students about the volcanic activity in Costa Rica. 

When we reached the crater, at first we couldn't see much... 

but slowly the clouds began to part... 

and the crater was unveiled!

Amazing!

Assembly interview with Chico

Cherie, 17

Here are some interesting things that we as a group got from our first interview at the Assembly.

One of the first things that "Chicho" said about the political process was pretty interesting. He mentioned that it really wasn't about party vs. party, but it was more about circumstance vs. circumstance. By that, I think he meant that it's really not about a difference of opinions between parties, because each person within the party is likely to have their own ideas, but its really dependent on the cirumstance. This leads into one of his biggest person delemias because sometimes he doesn't always agree with the idea is party is representing, but it's what they have to do, so he has so go along with it. That of course can lead into another personal delemia of his, which is political corruption. Another interesthing he said about the politcal process was in relation to the involvement of religion. He mentioned that it has a major role in the politics in Costa Rica, to the point that it's even mentioned that they're a an almost all Catholic region in their constitution. Despite that, he said that everyone thinks that it should remain absent from it, but everyone is leaves it, just to avoid controversy.
Another idea Chico had was on happiness. Like many people, he believes that wealth isn't the greatest factor when it comes to getting happiness. Instead, it should come from being healthy and having longevity. This is interesting, because Costa Rica has a lot of poor neighborhoods and they have a very high life long expectancy. However, I feel like it is kind of disproved in some parts of this country. When we visited La Carpio in the first few days of our trip, we noticed that even though these people had practically nothing, they seemed to be so happy. This would fit his definition, except that the people of La Crapio have a lower life expectancy and theyre health conditions are slightly poor. This was just interesting to see that his idea fit true in most of Costa Rica, but there are still places where you can achieve happiness without the things that he mentioned.
One of the last things that Chico discussed with us was his opinion on power. I asked, "What is your personal view of power? What makes a person or country powerful," and he gave us a really interesting answer. He said that power is something that is self determined and that a country is powerful when they are independent. However, he says that would only work well with smaller structures because the bigger the structure, the harder it will be for them to change into something that is going to work well. This was interesting because with his definiton, it seemed that he was directly saying that Costa Rica was a powerful country, despite the fact that they don't seem like it at times.

Time to Catch Up on the Fun!

Alyssa, 17

I haven't blogged since Day 2, and today is Day 5! We've been so busy, hustling from place to place, and trying to get caught up on sleep. Here's a recap of Days 3, 4, and 5.

Day 3 - We started off the day by going to the Legislative Assembly for an interview, and also got a tour of the building. After lunch, we went back to La Carpio for the last time. It was one of the best experiences I've had. We (both our group and people from La Carpio) worked together to create a road. The hardest part was mixing cement by hand! Well, with shovels. But it's a lot harder than using a cemement mixer! Once our work was done, we had a small gathering to present our group's donation to the La Carpio community. Nate, Patrick, Shalyce, and I presented a community leader with the donation and each reflected on our experiences working in La Carpio. Then, we had cake and Coke! I don't drink pop, but the cake was really good. It had caramel and fruit in it. A few of us also bought purses made by a few of the women in La Carpio.

After we (FINALLY!) got back to the hotel after a long ride in traffic, we had dinner, which really surprised me. First off, there were no rice and beans! Instead, there was mashed potatoes. And the meat was fish! Which usually, I HATE fish, but I tried it, and it was really good. I even had seconds! I was happy I ended up trying it, despite the fact I thought it would be really gross. Traveling to another country has really surprised me in the sense that I am being a lot more open minded about things like food, which I would have never tried before.

Day 4 - Today started with probably the best breakfast we're going to have. We had cantaloupe, pinapple, and a ham and cheese croissant. I love cantaloupe and pineapple, so I was psyched. The first thing on our itinerary was a trip to Dos Pinos, a local dairy cooperative. We got to see how things like milk and ice cream are made, and get a lot of information about CAFTA and how the tariffs on trade between the US and Costa Rica and going to change over the next 10 years. The end of the tour was spectacular, complete with ice cream and stuffed animal cows!

We had our second interview after lunch, at the U.S. Embassy. I was really looking forward to going there because I heard so much about it and I wanted to see what it was that they did for Americans. We learned a lot about what people do there, how they help Americans, and the process of becoming an officer in international embassies. One of the officers also gave us a few travel tips! This was really helpful to me because I plan to travel more in the future.

Last night, we went to a Jazz Cafe. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't too different than just a restaurant with a live band. I had never really listened to Latin Jazz before, but it was better than I expected it to be. I really liked how the piano was played, it sounded so cool and different. The only downside was that we didn't get back to the hotel until 11:30! Which would have been fine if we didn't have to get up so early for Poas today!

Day 5 - Got to wake up around 6 to leave by 7:30! First we went to the high school to pick up the students. We had about half of us and half of them in each of the two buses. I really liked that we got to talk to them on the (long) ride to the Poas volcano. I talked to Paula the entire ride there. She is very good at English and we found so much to talk about. It wasn't constricted to just, how old are you, and what type of music do you like. It was about everything from our school classes, who are friends are, where we like to go to hang out, and just everything we could think to talk about. The volcano was really clear of fog, so we got lots of great pictures. On the way back, I talked to Larry and Pepe a lot, they were so funny. It is really interesting trying to break a language barrier, even if we know a bit of Spanish and they know a bit of English.

The high school students came to our hotel for a small get together. It was so fun. We listened to music, attempted to dance, and ended up playing hand games. Who knew that other countries played Slide and their own version of Stella Ella Olla! I miss them already and they only left a few minutes ago. I can't wait to get back home and e-mail my new Tico friends.

We are leaving for Yorkin in the morning and we won't be able to blog again for about a week! I'm worried about the food we will have to eat, but I'm doing much better with eating rice and beans and today I even had squash soup. Weird, right?

I miss everyone back home and I can't wait to see you guys when I get home.

Jazz Cafe

Cows to the States...

Larry, 16

Arturo, 17

Today we made the trek to from Dos Pinos, a dairy cooperative to the US Embassy, and it was truly interesting. A lot of the information provided to us in both places couldn't have been looked up, or photographed.

The Dos Pinos plant really gave us an in-depth view of not only of how milk is processed, but WHAT a cooperative is, and HOW it's beneficial in many ways. We really enjoyed it. The way that a cooperative is run, as well as how it's run, is completely different from how a traditional company in America is run. The business is based on all around inclusiveness as oppose to the traditional exclusiveness that we've grown accustomed to in American businesses, especially large corporations.

The cooperative has many different farmers contributing their milk, but the interesting part is that the people contributing into this cooperative can be the little guy that has 20 cows all the way to the big guy with 200 or 2,000 cows. They make it so that everyone is involved and everyone has a say in how the dairy cooperative is run regardless of how many cows you have. To ensure that this process is carried out effectively they set up a system kind of like a field campaign. Each area has field organizers who are farmers themselves. Those farmers report to their regional field director who is the elected leader of that specific area. Then that person reports to the state director which is part of the cooperative council.

As we were walking around with the group and the Dos Pinos PR representative, We were interested to learn how much money business marketers make in Costa Rica. Apparently from $17,000 to to $20,000 a year is typical for what people in this position make, though it depends on how long they have been with the cooperative. Even the highest paid person in the company makes no more than $150,000-$200,000 a year, a big difference from US corporations where CEOs can make $8-$10 Million a year in some of the biggest companies. The representative we spoke with said this was partly due to the cooperative model where members have greater control over leadership actions, and partly a result of Costa Rican values which focus more on egalitarianism. [This was also echoed by "Chico," advisor to the ruling PLN, during our interview at the Legislative Assembly. He stated that Costa Ricans have always been opposed to titles and any other conspicuous signs of putting one's self above others. Jokes meant to bring someone back down to earth are the norm when people, historically and in the present.]

We also learned that people in La Carpio make an estimated $100 a month which is below poverty line in Costa Rica. Another question I asked was, "Can people who graduate from college with an undergraduate degree and earn an MBA work in Costa Rica?" The answer was that it can be possible through different programs that company's have or on different working visas.

Aqui

Danielle, 18

While I was on my water break a little Tica girl, probably about 6-years-old, came up to me and said, "Aqui" and handed me a flower. I thought it was the cutest thing because I wasn't expecting the little girl to give me a flower and she was just adorable. I didn't know what the little girl said to me since I speak very little Spanish and it made me a little sad, but Nate heard what the little girl said and he saw that she gave me a flower. 

Later in the day, I asked Nate what did the little girl said to me and Nate told me that she said, "Here." Everytime when I think about the flower that the little girl gave me, I think of, "Aqui."Yesterday we all were working really hard in La Carpio. Every once in a while someone would take a water break to get a drink of water and to relax for a little bit.

The best day so far

Nathan, 18

The most exciting part of today was in La Carpio.

I really got involved. I'm really proud of myself and the whole group. We made concrete to make a road so that cars can travel the streets of La Carpio. After we finished mixing concrete and placing it, we went back and had a meeting with everyone from the organization that we were working with in La Carpio.

There were a few of us that got in front of the group to say a few things about the experience that we have had over the past few days working with them and I was one of these people.

Basically all I said was that I loved helping them better their condition, and loved working beside the people of La Carpio to get the job done. After the four of us said a few words, I got to present the President of the organization a donation that will go towards the community and help them get things that will help improve their conditions even more.

I'm really sad that today was the last day in La Carpio. I wish we could go back for a few more days because it was fun being there and assisting people in need alongside the people themselves.

Overall, it was a really busy day and tiring, but in the end we succeeded in what we came to do, and I believe we can continue to do so for the remainder of the trip.

Arturo, 17

Our second full day in Costa Rica was spent getting more familar with the community. While in San Jose, some students are tired of eating rice and beans for breakfast lunch, and dinner. However, others are actually feeling good about the pattern.

In the morning we interviewed ¨Chico¨ who is an advisor to many powerful diputados (congresspeople) of the PLN political party in Costa Rica. Hearing him speak and answer our questions, he seemed to feel very comfortable with us being around him and taking photos. In other words, he sounded very truthful when answering our questions. Afterwards, he gave us a brief tour of the congress building with a lot of historical information.

After our long intervew with Chico, our day wasn't over yet. It was just the beginning. We went to La Carpio to finish what we started the day before. However, this time with more intense work. We finished building the road by mixing rocks, sand, and water to make cement. It was a very challenging task with all the students shoveling and carrying heavy equipment, but at the end feeling proud. At the end I felt that everyone worked as a big group and felt proud of what we had done to help the community of La Carpio.

From the Dairy to the Embassy

Cherie, 17

Today was a pretty good day. We originally had two interviews planned, but things changed, and we were only able to do one. It was kind of relieving, but at the same time, it was a little disappointing that we lost the opportunity to meet Epsy Cambell. At first, the interview at the US Embassy seemed to be basic, with them just telling us background information and leaving out the important details that we actually wanted. But after a while, things started to pick up and we were really able to get some interesting questions answered.

Overall, both of the interviews that we completed in the last two days went well and we were able to get out a decent amount of interesting information. I also wanted to add that I think we came up with really intense questions, even if we didn't get to ask all of them or recieve the answers we wanted. I was a part of the first group that stayed up late on Monday night to come up with the first round of new questions, and I was really impressed with what we came up with in the end.

My progress in eating the food kind of dropped today. I had my usual lunch of chicken and water, but I didn't eat anything for dinner. I'm no fan of broth and rice and whatever they had for desert, but I wasn't really hungry anyways, so I wasn't really worried about it. However, I did try the ice cream at the dairy we visited in the morning, despite the fact that I really didn't like the kind they gave us.

Well, we are just about to leave for the jazz cafe event, so my time here is ending.

I'm really hoping to get photos up, because all the ones Ms. Arenth chose of me and for me aren't really flattering.

Hope all is well back in the States! I would say I can't wait to see you all, but I'm really having a great time, so going home doesn't seem like a good option right now! These past few days have really been amazing.

(I still miss you Dom, and I'm going to ask Mr. Oliver if he does too right now, so I'll let you know in my next posting)

Day 4 of Costa Rica

Kiera, 16

Today was one of my favorite days so far. We did a lot of running around today, but it was fun. First thing in the morning, we went to a place called Dos Piños. It is a organic dairy factory located in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It was a gigantic factory, that was really up-to-date on everything. I liked visiting this factory because it gave me the realization of how other companies outside of the U.S. run.

It was interesting how their milk "leche"can be kept out of refrigeration for up to 6 months. The two tour guides explained many things to us, which gave each and everyone of us, a different insight on how their business works. One thing that we though was really funny is that the security gaurds had guns on them, and Matyas made a funny comment saying ¨Wow, they must really serious about their milk." They were really nice to us, they gave us ice cream, and a stuffed animal, in the shape of a cow.

The second great thing we did was visit the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. I was kind of upset that we couldn´t take photos or video tape it, but it was a great experience that gave me a little thought of a future career. We met with two women that both have important jobs. I cannot recall their names, but I do recall most of the information they gave us.

The first lady talked to us more about economic and social affairs that the Embassy is involved with. We had some questions asking about the projects they are doing to benefit Costa Rica, and it seems like one of their main goals for the country is to ensure a safe envirnoment. I believe that is a really important goal, because Costa is a really "outside-the-box" country, but in a good way. They abolished their military, which shows they have a different mindset, and they don´t believe in any type of violence.

We asked both of the speakers about how their personal beliefs and values, influence their political decisions. They both responded by saying that it´s their job to represent the United States, and they may have their personal views, but they have to do their jobs. This statement related a lot to my thoughts of career, because I want to become a district attorney one day, and I have a lot of thoughts about the death penalty. I feel as though sometimes it will be difficult, because of the career choice, and sometimes I think about my future, and I don´t know where to draw the line. The second lady I related to a lot more, because she is actually being relocated into Afghanistan next month. It´s a dangerous thing, just like becoming a district attorney, so right now I think my biggest question of life is "Where do I draw the line?"

Fun Day!

Ashlee, 18

Today was a fun and interesting day. This morning we went to our interview at the Legislative Assembly hall and learned a lot about Costa Rican history.

This afternoon we went to La Carpio to help pave a road and it was hard work. I didn't think that I could ever do work like that. In a way today was easier to work because it wasn't as hot as yesterday. This experience today made me really appreciate where I live and the way I live.

Interviewing and finishing up work in La Carpio

Matyas, 16


Today was a rather long day. We got up early to get ready for our interview with a person from the PLN (one of the major political parties here in Costa Rica) his name was Francisco, but he went by the nickname "Chico". He was a very talkative man, but still an entertaining one. He would answer each of our questions with a story that usually lead to a different topic, but then he would go back and finish what he was saying before. The down fall of the interview experience was that we had to get into dress clothes (button shirt, tie, suit jacket, slacks, dresshoes) and the building wasnt using it's airconditioning! I thought for sure that I was going to get heat exhaustion, which I think I was actually pretty close to getting because my head was killing me by the end of the interview. I'm doing fine now and am quite content because of the work we finished in La Carpio.

Today in La Carpio we mixed up cement by hand and shovel, not by and machine or mixer or anything. It was a pretty back-breaking job, with all the bending down to mix up the gravel, dirt, cement mix and water together with the shovels. Then when we finally got it to its ideal conditions we layed it down to the area where the metal grid was layed down and the people who lived there were gliding a long piece of wood over the cement to level it out. Alyssa and I were asked to level part of the road by this method and I found it to be pretty fun.

The part that moved me the most though was after we had finished the road and given the donation to the people, Rosario (a lady who was a co-owner of the daycare in La Carpio) got us a cake and Coca-Cola to eat and drink as a sign of her, and the rest of the community's gratitude. I just found it moving because these people barely have anything in the first place, yet they had gotten out of their way to get us a treat for a sign of gratitude. I wasn't expecting any kind of material "thank you" and I was fine with that because I just wanted to help them, so when we DID recieve a cake and cola, I just felt really appreciated.

Let me catch you up

Cherie, 17

I have barely blogged this whole time, so theres going to be a lot I have to catch you up on.

Day 2 - Yesterday was a pretty amazing day. We went to La Carpio in the morning, and though I felt really sick from not eating anything, I still had a good time and got work done. I think I spent a good hour or two trying to "beat the rock," as Mr. Oliver would say. It took a lot of work and time, but eventually Alyssa and I got this huge rock out of the dirt. Then we took a bus ride to the high school, where we played games and spoke to our penpals. That whole experience was interesting and exciting too! I didn´t eat dinner but I did have some chicken at lunch!

Today - Today´s experience at La Carpio seemed to be more signifgant than yesterday. I felt a lot better eventually, so I felt good enough to do more work. It was really hard mixing the cement and shoveling the rocks over and over again, but it felt good. I don´t think I´ve ever worked that hard in my life! We did an interview before we went, and though it was kind of awkward, it went great! 

Now it´s time for the really exciting news! At dinner, I thought I wasn´t going to eat again, but I decided that that wasn´t a good idea, so I tried the fish, and it was delicious! I also had a good amount of chicken at lunch and they gave us cake in La Carpio, so today was a really good eating day.
I got a lot of good photos from yesterday and today, that I hope to be posting later on when I have enough time. For now, I need some sleep because apparently building a road is tiresome!

P.S Hello to everyone at home! I miss you dearly! I hope you're not all crying from my absence, I will be home soon. (Ms. Wilds, you owe me a box of teddy grahams! :))

Ah.....

Daontay 18

Today I woke up early again, which is nice. I think it's something about being in a beautiful new place each morning that causes my body to wake up with the Sun. We interviewed a member of the PLN at the Legislative Assembly. We had deep questions, but the answers we received were about the history of Costa Rica as opposed to the personal beliefs and thoughts we were hoping for. We also took a brief tour of the building, and heard more about the history of Costa Rica.

The work in La Carpio has ended, though it remains incomplete. I didn't find it life changing or hard. When something needs to be done, you just do it. I was pretty sweaty though I must admit. My shirts have never been so wet. We worked pretty well together. I wish we could have finished though.

We had our first encounter with the rain, which I find to be very soothing. Standing in the entry way of the small market, trying to keep out of the rain, I watched the people as they walked by. That is also something I find soothing. I like to imagine what their thinking, where they're going, or what there about to do. My imagination now has new stories to feed off of.

And the weather is amazing. All of the people who went last year talked about how hot it was but I don't think it's hot at all.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day. I need to rest. Ah, sleep and showering have never felt this good.