5/30/2023

 ¡Hola todos!

Today we woke up to the smell of coffee being brewed by our host families. We split up into three groups to start our service learning part of the trip. 

Everyone at the school worked on cleaning up the surrounding fence so that tomorrow´s group can begin painting it. Of course, we played soccer with the kids and then played a lot of Spanish—English memorization games; the students loved competing against one another.

The students that went to Daniel's organic farm planted native almond trees to help support the endangered green macaws. We also helped him pick out colors to paint his house which also serves as the cafeteria for tourists who visit.

Meanwhile, the group at the women´s co-op helped create multiple garden beds that will produce the food necessary to support all of the animals on one of the farms. 

Overall, our work today really helped us realize how fortunate we are to have so many resources and opportunities at our fingertips, and how much fun it can be to share and work with local communities.

Nos vemos mañana,

Savannah, Sandro, and Chase

Digging garden beds at the Women's Co-op

Planting Trees at Daniel's farm

Painting the fence at the school

5/29/2023

¡Pura vida mae!

For our seventh day in Linda Vista, we woke up bright and early to a vivid sunrise in our homestays. A group of students went for a run in the hills and enjoyed the diverse nature and cool morning air before the heat kicked in. We then split into two groups to finish the final rotation of our project sites. One group met with Daniel, the organic farmer, while the other visited the women´s co-op.

Before settling in with our families for the night, we met with Jaime, an ethnobotanist. He taught us about the over 12,000 plant species in the jungle and how they can be used as medicine. Tomorrow we are excited to split into our three work groups and begin working on the projects at Daniel´s farm, the women´s co-op, and the elementary school.

Tuanis,

Makenna and Lucia

Monday's Running Group!

Learning about mono-crops

Teaching us about the hand-pollinating process 

Learning about vegetable popsicles used to raise awareness about healthy eating

Exploring a butterfly conservatory intended to pollinate crops at the Women's Co-op

Beautiful toucans at Daniel's farm

Tasting delicious fruits, vegetables, and leaves of the jungle

05/28/2023

 ¡Pura Vida! 

Since we last updated, we've fiesta'd till we couldn't fiesta no more at the house with 19 dogs (it might be 20 today, more kept spawning). We also played American Football with some of our homestay brothers and sisters (we're not totally sure they understood the pass-back rule) and danced salsa with our homestay moms. In exchange, we taught them the cupid shuffle. Some of us have also figured out how to wash our clothes at our homestay houses and love watching the dirty water swirl away in the open top of the washing machines. 

This morning we woke up early to the sounds of our alarms (roosters) and got up for our morning run. Some of our homestay brothers came running with us which was really fun. This afternoon, we had a tour learning about how chocolate is made as well as how it can be made sustainably. During the tour we got to try the chocolate all the way from the fresh cacao to delicious chocolate pieces. We then all went home to see our homestay families which already feel like real family. All in all, everyone truly feels at home with their homestay families which is comforting being so far from home. 

Lovin' all the latin love! 

Kylie & Josh 

05/27/2023

¡Pura Vida!

We woke up after our first night in our homestay to have breakfast with our families. All in all, everybody had a great experience. Some students sang karaoke, others had a bonfire, and some played games. The families were welcoming and wanted us to feel comfortable in their homes. We can tell that they are just as excited as we are to be in their homes for the next 10 days. 

This morning, we went to the soccer school in Laguaria, where we played a game of world cup. We mixed up and formed 4 teams: Brasil, Los Ganadores, Las Pumas, and KFC. We played two games; however, the tournament will continue with the final games next Saturday. On the bus ride back to the Chilamate Eco Retreat, we stopped for popsicles and bananas. To cool down, we hopped in the river where we swam and hung out for an hour until lunch. We are now relaxing after another delicious lunch at the Eco Retreat and will finish the day with some group activities before returning to our homestays. 

¡Hasta luego! 

Octave and Lizzy

5/26/2023

Hey parents, it is the trip leaders today writing the blog. We wanted to give the students the night off as they have finally been introduced to their homestays after another day of work at the elementary school and the woman’s co-op. Even though a couple of the students were a little nervous to go to the homestays, their nerves were quickly put at ease as soon as they met their host families.

We just went and checked on the kids in the evening time and they were all doing very well. Two families were having bonfires, another was listening to music together with their families and chatting about their lives, and another was playing uno with their host brother. We are excited to see and hear from them in the morning to see how their first night went. 

Below are a couple of candid photos that we took throughout the day.

P.S. We have started a morning running group and a lot of the kids are excited about that!

5/25/2023

¡Pura vida mae!

We woke up to the sound of howler monkeys at 5am and tried to go back to sleep (a futile attempt at best). After breakfast, we split into two groups. One group made its way to the Linda Vista elementary school, while the other made its way to Daniel's Ara Macao farm. The aim of these two visits was to investigate the two places and find out what their needs are, because soon we will be starting projects where we'll be helping the community. 

At Linda Vista we met kids ranging from Pre-K to 6th grade. This elementary school had about 20 kids. In Costa Rica they are incredibly proud of their schooling systems, as they get free education and meals.  Throughout the visit, we played soccer with the kids, got tours of the school by the kids themselves, and played a lively rock paper scissors game. Regarding our project, we chatted during lunch and later interviewed a teacher about the specific needs of the school. 

The group that visited the farm took a tour and looked at all the crops. More specifically, they tried homemade chocolate, peppercorn, bought some vanilla, and learned to make compost. After much thinking and discussing, they came to the conclusion that Daniel mostly needs more staff members to help him out on the farm; he also wants to put his story on the packaging on his products and spread awareness of organic farming. 

When a student came back to their dorm, they found a whipping iguana in the sink! They came out running and screaming and fortunately got a picture of the iguana! 

Later, with Randall and various members of the community, we learned to dance salsa, make tortillas, milk cows, make a delicious yuca dessert, and got to experience what it was like to fall off a white water raft, turning over the boat. All these experience were the perfect way to bond with each other as well as get an idea of the area and community that we'll soon be staying with (homestay families). 

All in all, today was another adventurous day, full of team bonding and learning about the community and Costa Rican culture. We're getting ready for dinner and our daily reflection with Randall.

¡Hasta mañana!

Itzel y Ana :D

5/24/2023

Today marks our second day at the Eco Resort in Chilamate. We began today's adventures with a morning hike, stomachs full of our new favorites: plantains and passion fruit. Led by three amazing naturalists, we explored the vast rainforest we call home, applying our Junior year biology skills on meiosis and natural biomes to frame our new knowledge of the jungle. So far we've seen bats, howler monkeys (who serve as early morning alarm clocks), snakes, millipedes, iguanas, toucans, bats, and more (with lots of unwelcome insects). 

Eager to wash off our sweat from the extreme humidity and heat, we quickly transitioned into a swim in our nearby river, where we enjoyed skipping rocks and attempting to catch fish with our bare hands. At lunchtime, we played games as a whole group while enjoying excellent arroz con pollo (a Costa Rican party dish). Afterward, we enjoyed a long period of downtime where the group engaged in different activities: poker, making friendship bracelets, napping, reading, and storytelling. 

We reconvened as a full group to prepare for our homestays and to be the future winners of our upcoming soccer game against the community-- we are very confident. Right now, we are back to talking and playing games while preparing to have dinner. We expect to be blown away by their amazing food once again. 

We have a newfound appreciation for the hundreds of bats who surround and protect us by eating some of the pests. 

Hope to have another great day tomorrow.

-M&M (Marco and Maddie)

Arrival

Dear All,

Note that the group is now a total of 15 students: Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of our students had to withdraw: We will miss you, Melanie!

Saying goodbye to friends and parents at SFO, Menlo Abroad Costa Rica embarked on the first leg, the flight to MIA, which was delayed by close to two hours. The good news was that this allowed for an all-inclusive game of BS, played in the waiting area by the gate, to continue unabated. Despite the long delay (and the accompanying worry), the group made the connecting flight this morning for the continued journey to SJO, Costa Rica.  There they collected baggage, met Randall Bermudez and Lucia Brown, the in-country complements to our Menlo leadership team, and boarded the ground transport for Chilamaté, the area in which the group will spend the bulk of their time the next three weeks....

The group is pretty tired, as you might expect, but they seem to be rebounding (see below) as they begin their first day in Costa Rica!

PB

At SFO: That handsome guy sitting next to Justin is Kevin Chan, school photographer, who will be documenting the first part of our trip in Costa Rica.

In Transit: After a solid night's sleep...

In Costa Rica

Day 0

Hello!

On our orientation day today, we started with a large group meeting with the rest of the Borderlands groups. We went over basic behavior standards, health guidelines, and then took a picture with our whole Costa Rica Group! From there, we split from the rest of the groups and met specifically to discuss our Costa Rica trip. We had group activities where we chose a song to represent the feelings about the trip and created a handshake with a partner that we then presented to the rest of our group. Kylie and Makenna won with an outstanding performance, though Logan and Maddie were close second and blew us away as well. Split into groups of four, we took “awkward family photos” that we shared with the rest of the group and they turned out great!!

We then journaled for 15 minutes and wrote a letter to ourselves to read when we get back from the trip. We went over the itinerary and behavioral expectations, setting standards for ourselves as a group. We are going to spend 11 days with the host family, 7 days working, and 3 days at the beach. Also, every morning we have a check-in where we rate our physical and emotional well-being on a scale from 1-10 to make sure that everyone on the trip is doing okay. We also discuss any needs we have and answer an icebreaker question. Today, we practiced this by answering a would-you-rather question. We are super excited to finish packing and get on the plane tonight. 

We’ll update you in Costa Rica!

- Bella and Logan

Flight Status -- no changes / all set

 Students and Parents,

We look forward to seeing everyone at Stent Hall at 9:00 am to begin Menlo Abroad: Costa Rica.

I am writing to confirm that as of 7:00 pm this evening the flight status for the initial leg of the trip to Costa Rica is unchanged and all set:  AA#2389 SFO to MIA is scheduled to depart tomorrow evening at 9:30 pm.  

I appreciate you mustering promptly at the SFO / American Airlines (domestic) ticketing counter at 7:30 pm: It can sometimes take considerable time to check in and move a group of eighteen through security. 

It helps a lot if we're all on time.

Thanks,

PB

 

Introducing the Costa Rica Blog

Costa Rica-bound Students and Parents,

Welcome to the Menlo Abroad- Costa Rica blog. Its primary purpose is for students to relay highlights, thoughts, and reflections about the trip in words and photos. Intended as a one-way communication, it will be written on most days by two students selected on a rotating basis. On occasion, I or trip leaders might post entries as well. 

With that in mind:

Students, please accept the "author" invitation that was emailed to you this afternoon.

Parents, please bookmark this page for easy reference.*

We look forward to seeing all students in Stent Ballroom at 9:00 am on Monday, March 22.

Peter Brown

*You can also find this and other Borderlands and Menlo Abroad blogs on the Global Travel Page.