Final days

Today was a nice "last day" in Linda Vista. The group worked very hard on the project digging a ditch for the septic tank. Despite the heat, they persevered. Around lunchtime, we headed over to the school to celebrate our work with the community. Our home stay moms prepared a delicious lunch then we danced and played games with the kids. There was a piñata that Jennifer did a great job ripping open! Rafael and Jessica battled each other in a cake eating contest and the afternoon was became complete with a soccer game. The rest of the evening will be spent with our home stay families. Tomorrow we will take a boat tour down the river to relax and see wildlife. The afternoon brings adventure with zip lining through the canopy of the rainforest! We will then have one last night with our home stay families and take off Monday morning for San Jose to catch our flight back home. It has been an absolutely amazing trip. This group and all of the fun and loving community members have made this experience. We can't wait to share all of our stories with you!

a little bit of salsa...

Happy Birthday Reina!

With a little help from my friends...

On our favorite bridge after working on the project. Pura Vida!

Last few days of service

Our service project is a classroom for the community that provides access to internet, computers, technology…etc. The classroom can be used for research and studying. Our service consists of painting the wire fence that will support the walls and help from future rust. We painted the wire fence black to help blend in with the rainforest. Today we will start mixing the cement to begin pouring and creating the walls. The weather while working on this project determines what exactly we will be doing with the project. Yesterday was nice and hot so we all painted. The sun helped the paint dry faster. A couple days ago it rained so we did some wiring instead of painting. Today in the morning we woke up to pouring rain so we delayed service for an hour.  Since the rain stopped this morning we are able to start mixing cement and start building the walls up of the classroom. We have two more days of service left. We are hoping that the weather helps us complete as much as possible in the service project. On Saturday afternoon the entire community will gather at a local school to help us celebrate our service.  We may even have a soccer game.

Daisy

Working hard in the rain!

Having experienced homestays before in Guatemala, I was a little nervous to just be left on the front step, instead of meeting the families as a group, and getting to know them a little before we separated. But the second I heard how fast my host mother started filling in the silence as we got off the bus, I knew that coming up with something to talk about was not going to be a problem.  The family was extremely excited to get to know us, us being Luis, Damian, and me, Rafael.  The sleeping quarters were extremely comfortable, bugs aside, and the food was delicious. There were also plenty of neighbors and family friends that we got to meet! Massiel and Jennifer joined us for some card games later in the evening, after we woke up from our 2 hour nap, which was amazing and peaceful. I’ve started to fall in love with this family quickly, and just the thought leaving them, and how much harder it is going to be now, I get nervous, and scared.  The weather has been as kind as one can expect in Costa Rica, it is rainy, humid, and hot, but being surrounded by friends, and doing plenty of fun activities keeps our mind off the weather. This trip has been amazing so far, and we do miss our families, but at the same time, the longer we stay here, the harder it is going to be to leave this beautiful land, and these beautiful people. See you all soon!

Con experencia pasada, quedandome con una familia en Guatemala, estaba un poco nervioso cuando nadamas me dejaron en la puerta de la familia, y se fueron, en vez de conociendo a todas las familias juntos como un grupo, y despues separandonos. Pero el Segundo que oi la voz de mi mama Costa Ricense llenar el silencio, supe que no iva a ser un problema hablar con ellos.  La familia estaba muy emocionada a conocernos, nosotros siendo: Luis, Damian, y yo, Rafael.  Donde dormiamos esta muy agusto, sin ponerle attencion a la cantidad ridicula de insectos, y la comida era deliciosa.  Siempre habia sufficientes vecinos, y amigos de familia que conocer. Massiel y Jennifer vinieron a nuestra casa mas tarde despues de que tomamos una siesta de dos horas, la siesta siendo muy relaxante y calmada.  Me he estado enamorando de esta familia rapidamente, y nadamas la idea de dejandolos me asusta.  El ambiente y la temperature es tan gentil como uno puede expectar de Costa Rica. Caliento, humedo, y lluviendo todos los dias.  Pero siendo rodados de amigos y hacienda actividades divertidas nos quita la mente de la temperature dificil.  Este viaje ha sido hermoso, y extranamos a nuestras familias, pero al mismo tiempo, lo mas que nos quedamos aque, lo mas dificil que va a ser irnos de este pais tan hermoso, y estas personas tan hermosas.  Los vemos pronto!!

After a beautiful hike through the rainforest!

Today the Challenge Foundation group began their service project in Chilamate. They are helping to build a community classroom. After a hot morning of work the group enjoyed a hike through the rainforest. After a much needed lunch at the Chilamate eco retreat, where the group has stayed the last couple of days, the students will meet their home stay families for the first time and stay with them for the remainder of the trip!  We are having a great time!!

Enjoying the Rain

Hello Parents,
I just had a long conversation with Meghan and Davis, our coordinators in Costa Rica who are with the Challenge Group. The group this morning is going through orientation and will do a botanical tour, as ongoing heavy rains will prevent the group from rafting today or tomorrow. We'll reschedule rafting once the rains ease up. The community is ready to work with the students!The group is having a lot of fun in their new environment, and will post a blog update at some point soon. Do not hesitate to call us on (303) 679-3412 if you have any questions,
Thanks, Ross Wehner, World Leadership School

Student are in Costa Rica!

The group is about 20 minutes from the Chilamate Eco-Retreat lodge. They will have dinner and get settled. They will start updating the blog tomorrow. Please call the office with any questions 303-679-3412.

Erin