Don Juan's Farm

Don Juan's farm was a great opportunity for students to learn about sustainable farming and gave them a chance to harvest their own lunch!

Don Juan grows his own talapia.

Raff and Victoria pull yams out of the ground for lunch!

Maddi and Jes help pull up the lettuce

Don Juan's son and our guide for the day

BIG leaves capture lots of sun!

Kerry, Emily, and Jes help make sugar cane juice

Preparing for Ziplining!

On Tuesday we took flight lessons in the shadow of the Arenal Volcano at Sky Tram ziplining tours. We have some video of the adventure as well but it is difficult to upload so much action from Costa Rica! Instead check out Jes' response to the journey... by far the student who showed the greatest courage to conquer her fears and ride the wind!

Lake Arenal, the largest lake in Costa Rica. 

Pura Vida!

The Arenal Volcano was easy to see from our first zip point!

Lake Arenal's hydro dam generates 48% of Costa Rica's electricity.

Madison - Visiting the School

On Sunday we visited a school to donate our time to the students and teachers there.  When we first arrived we were all worried that connecting with the students would be difficult since they speak spanish and we speak english.  We walked in and all the students were filled with lots of energy and looked very excited.  After a tour of the school from a ten year old we each sat down with one student and asked questions in spanish.  we all learned a lot about all the students.  Everyone started connecting when we picked up a soccer ball and kicked it around.  When we left to go paint the classrooms the students would keep coming in to watch and play with us.  By that time everyone was friends.  When we gave them the donations for the school all their faces lit up.  We piled onto the bus in tears knowing we would never get to see them again.  It was amazing how we all connected even though we could barely understand eachother.

SARAH´S EPIC POST

Even though we´ve done a lot of amazing things, I thought the best thing so far was going to the school.  We went yesterday and had a LOT of fun.   The kids were so awesome and nice, and everyone fell in love with them immediately.  They were so open with us even though at first, everyone was pretty shy.  But as soon as the teachers started making groups, everyone was open with each other.  Even though the language barrier was pretty hard to overcome (especially because I´m a frenchie), we used body language and the few Spanish words we knew to communicate.  But they conviently forgot to tell us that we would need to have a "cultural"  performance, so we pretty much made fools of ourselves.  While the children from the school did a beautiful traditional dance, we ended up miming a baseball game which pretty much failed.  They just kind of stared at us with confused looks.  But when we had some free time, we tried to play with the kids.  We found a stick of wood for a bat, and a ball and started to play.  The first little boy who wanted to bat hit a home run all the way across the street.  At first he didn´t really understand what he did, but as he saw us cheering for him as he ran around the bases he understood what he did was a good thing.  The look on his face as he jumped on homebase was priceless.

After we played, we started painting the school rooms. It was so much fun to see the teachers excitment as we painted the kindergarten room.  There were a couple little boys who were painting beneath a counter and the made the experience even better.  They would knock on the counter and giggle hysterically when we would knock back.  They started putting paint on their face and got sillier and sillier until finally the teacher had enough and yelled at them.  At one point when I was painting by a doorway some little boys ran through the door and started speaking in rapid spanish.  I must have looked pretty confused because they gave up and just stuck their hands out and yelled "PAINT PAINT PAINT."  I put a little paint on the first boy´s hand and he wiped it on his cheek.  The other boys soon did the same.  Throughout the day the same boys kept coming back.

My favorite thing that I heard somone say yesterday was when Sam said as we were leaving,"So this is what Oprah feels like."  I thought that pretty much summed up the feeling that everyone had.  I miss all my friends from the school and will never forget the amazing experience I had there.  The best part of the day for me was when a little girl who I had barely spoken to came up to me and gave me a big hug when we were leaving.  

I love everyone back home and can´t wait to share my pictures!!!!!
Pura Vida!!
<3, Sarah

Jessica- So many differences.

Hey Guys!
Well for starters here in Costa Rica most things are super different. They have different food. They eat lots of fruits and rice. And unlike us they eat mostly chicken and fish for meat. The tempature here is so different that all week we have been sweating like pigs. It is super sunny and humid. In the rainforests there are many different types of plants, animals, and insects. The creepiest thing is most of the animals and insects you can not see. The people here are very nice and welcoming, last night for example at the hotel we stayed at the owner stayed up an  extra hour or two so we could party for Troy´s birthday.

Maddys Post

Yesterday we went to La Escuela de Tanque. First we were very nervous but then they started to warm up to us, especially the younger ones. I made many friends in kindergarten and first grade and preschool. We played hide and seek, hop scotch, and we played on the playground and I felt like a kindergartener again. I was patient with them. I asked them their names and what grade they were in in Spanish. Even though they didn´t speak any English and I barely spoke any Spanish, we still became friends. We donated many school supplies to them and their faces lit up when they saw that they were theirs. The boys in the group were very good at sports. And even though we had just taught them baseball, one of the boys still hit a homerun on his first try. At first he didn´t know what he had done, but when we all started high fiving him and cheering, he had realized that he did something great.

Tonight we are going to the hot springs again. At the one we went to Saturday, it smelled like rotten eggs because of the sulfur. Tonight it isn´t supposed to be sulfury so I´m looking forward to it even more knowing that.

Today we went to Don Juan´s farm. Don Juan was injured so he could not give us the tour so we had a man with a machete named Christian. He made the tour interesting and let us pick our own foods for lunch today. We picked tomatoes and lettuce and yuca. Then we squeezed sugar cane by cranking in the opposite direction so it was compressed and juice came out. Christian also made us eat a leaf called the jackass leaf. It was so bad and we had bad tastes in our mouth for the rest of the day.

We also went to Down to Earth coffee house where I had my first cup of coffee ever. It was very good. I learned that there are many different kinds of coffee and that filtering it through a cloth filter instead of a paper filter makes it taste even better. Mom. look into this. :)

I am excited to go zip lining tomorrow. Our guide, Roberto surprised us with another adventure. We each chipped in $13 to go on a crocodile tour. We are going to see 18 foot crocodiles and we are going to see them feed. I cannot believe that there are only 4 more days left! I don´t want this adventure to end!

Emily-Rio Celeste and Rainforest

On Saturday we hiked through the rainforest and saw the Rio Celeste.  It was so beautiful!  The water was a turquoise color because of a chemical reaction with sulfur.  It was beautiful, but didn´t smell too great!  We got to swim in hot springs.  It was really fun, even though the current was really strong.  We also saw a waterfall.  The hike down was very long and steep, but it was worth it!  It was amazing because the waterfall was also turquoise.  Unfortunately, the hike back up was even worse than going down and most of us were out of breath by the time we reached the top!  The whole hike was amazing too.  We saw lots of cool trees, flowers, and other plants.  We saw some birds and bugs but not too many other animals.  This may have been because most of the wildlife in rainforests lives in the canopy and not on the ground.  The guides taught us a lot about the nature we saw.  We also learned about primary and secondary forests.  Primary forests are forests that haven´t been affected by humans and secondary forests are ones that have.  We could tell we were in a secondary forest because there was a lot of light, which meant that trees had been cut down.  Primary rainforests are much darker because the trees block out all the light.

I´m having a LOT of fun so far and I´m pretty sure everyone else is too.  I´m going to be sad to go home, but I can´t wait to show everyone all the pictures I´ve taken!
Pura Vida!!!
Emily

Kerry- A blissful day of shopping and visiting an organtic farm

Hi everyone!
Today we were able to visit an organtic farm and go shopping! While at the organtic farm we got to participate in collecting food that was going to be part of our lunch. Durring the tour our guide decided to play a few tricks on us. First, he had us eat this terrible that, believe it or not, was called the "jack ass" plant. Next, he held up a fruit to Jack and told him to hold it in his fingers because he was going to slice it with a machete. In the end the guide just taped the fruit (to tell the truth we were all kind of dissapointed :). Later he did the same thing to Vicky only this time he wacked it with the other end of the machete but it was still pretty scary. When we left the farm we went to La Fortuna (where I am writing from) and we went shopping. All the stores are really cool and have a great selection. That just about wrapes it up because now you are up to date on the current standings of the Eco-Club (well at least the girls all the guys are out shopping).
Chao,
Kerry

Victoria belongs in La Fortuna !!!

Pura Vida !!!!!
The past couple of days we have been hearing all about la fortuna and learning lots about it. But finally today we actually got to come here, and shop. The best way i could explain what la fortuna looks like would be a lest busy version of New York City. With all the resturants and shopping centers. Pesonally to me the best part of La Fortuna are all the little shopping stores with the most gorgeous "bling". But one thing I wont lie about was deffinetly the awsome eduation all about coffee , and yes a 14 year old like me .. I LOVE my coffee. We learned how it was procesed and made, and how stronger coffee actually does taste way better. But the best part of that is we learned a technique to really get the deep taste of the coffee, and WOW .. can I say , everything in costa rica is alot better.

Now the people in Cocsta Rica are even better. Who ever you passed no matter who it was they always waved or said hola!!  I really enjoyed that because it really made me feel at home with all the hellos and warn welcomings.With out all of those people and our wonderful tour guides i dont think Id still be here , missing my family the amount I do! All i can say is that im having the best time here and i really dont want to leave, the weather is amazing and the food .... its , even better!!!! Hope to talk here soon, keep posting! Cya
-victoria <3

Community Service

Sunday was a special day!  We arrrived at the school where we were going to work and were warmly welcomed by a group of 3rd - 6th graders.  This was a big deal for them because it was Palm Sunday, a very special day for them as it starts Holy Week.  The teachers, atudents, and parents made a special sacrifice to be here today because they were so deeply appreciative of us volunteering our time to help them,
  Our students were paired up with one or two Costa Rican students and they began to share, in their own language, questions that they had prepared,  It was awkward at first, but slowly, you could see the kids light up and begin to understand one another through their words, gestures, and body language.  Tes, Justin Bieber is very popular in CR!
  I sat in on a game of King Frog with  Maddie, Ms. Nichols, Emily and their 2 Costa Rican friends.  It was a real pleasure to watch Emily explain and lead the group through the game and see how quickly the new friends picked up on the game.  As I walked around, it was really neat to see all of the kids smiling and communicating!
  Next, we broke up into 2 groups and began painting 2 different classrooms.  There was paint on many surfaces other than the walls, but the smiles and enthusiasm abounded.  Our students worked very hard on this painting project!  Half way through, we took a break and were treated to several dances by the Costa Rican students reflecting various aspects of their culture.  They were great!  We then did an impromptu demonstration of baseball!  We began by singing the national anthem and they played a quick game of baseball, letting our actions explain the game.  We ended by singing ¨Take Me Out to the Ball Game.¨
  We then finished up the painting and clean up and we took a break where we had a great spread of fresh fruits.  Watermelon, Pineapple, and Papaya were scoffed down like there was no tomorrow.  The kids were playing pick-up soccer and baseball as well during this time.
  Just before we left, we presented then with a very generous amount of school supplies that our kids brought with them.  The Costa Rican teachers concluded the day with a warm and generous thank to all of us.  Parents, you would have been very proud of your children today!
Mr. Williams

LANCE- A Cultural Dance

Yesterday was a very exciting day. We helped lots of children in need. It was very surprising to us that they were extremely happy with what they had and what we take for granted. they were all very excited about us coming to their school to help out. After the many greetings and fun activities to get us communicating they shared with us a cultural dance. the girls wore traditional dresses that had many colors and the boys wore white dress shirts and black dress pants and had a hat. they held little flags of different colors. throughout the dances there were patterns and movements that repeated a lot. the boys twirled the little flags and the girls twirled there dresses making a beautiful scene. it was really a sight to remember.

Bram´s - Our Guides

Hi Everyone
our tour guides have been very informational and nice these four days. They have learned from us we have learned from them and we both  have many things in comon . We like to play sports like Futbol (not American football). They are also good like today They helped the worker at the farm translate many things for we to understand .  When we were at The School They answer our questions if We needed help . That is all I have to say about our Tour guides

Troys Club

Yesterday was my birthday, my 14th birthday. After dinner I thought we were just going to go back to our rooms to sleep but I got a huge suprise. The people that worked at the place that we had dinner turned on the disco ball, strob lights, and blasted the music. But first I got to swing at the pinata, I missed on the second swing and I broke the bat in half. Than Connor, Jack, and I just partied at ´Club Troy´ for two hours. We had cake, it was really good cake to. So it was the best birthday so far and for a while.

Coññor - Hotel Cribs

It is Connor. I am having the best time I could ever had. The hotels are much better then what I expected. The first hotel was ok. It had bunk beds and 2 regular twins. The food was amazing though. The banana bread was so good. The second hotel was luxury. I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars. If you want there is a video that Jack, Ryan J, Ryan F and I made called Eco Club Cribs. It is awesome. There was also two hot tubs that we got to go in. The hotel we are staying at right now is amazing. We are in groups of 5 for each room. It has three twins and a queen bed. There is a pool that we got to go in. Finally, I would like to say Troys Birthday Party was awesome. We were clubing. We were fist pumping better then Jersey Shore. Me, Troy and Jack were going all out!
See everyone soon!

Ryan F.- A Little Bit Goes Along Way

Going to the school was an amazing experience.  To be honest, at first I was not very excited about working.  But when we started working I realized how wrong I was.  It was so cool how easily a small little thing like painting a classroom could light up a kids day.  The kids really wanted to help and to befriend us right away.  In a day´s work, the classroom looked 10 times better.  It was also amazing because so many kids gave up their week-end time to help us.  It was really inspiring talking with the kids and how much fun I had helping them.

Jack's post about service project. We are the new Oprahs :)

Today is day five in Costa Rica. Yesterday was, in my opinion the best day yet. We went to the el Tanque school. We helped so many young boys and girls. The greatest part was we all became great friends just mostly through body language because they were talking so fast we would just pretend to laugh or nod our  heads. We are so fortunate to have as much as we do. They were all so open and happy even though they have so much less. We played soccer, painted classrooms, played off the wall and so much more. They were all so open to making new friends I will never forget those kids and hopefully they wont forget us. I wish I could see them again someday and I know my classmates agree.

Having fun Mom and Dad cant wait to see you. 

Adios,
Jack

Sam- Our Own Postcard

So we have been in Costa Rica for four days and honestly the most amazing thing has been the waterfall. We went down stairs thgat made your knees feel like jell-o they were so steep. But the reward reatly surpassed the hard work. The water was almost sky blue, and the waterfall was tumbleing down into a carved out a hole in the ground with all of the bright green tree literaly hanging on the cliff walls. The water was amazing judgeing the fact that we had been hikeing for three hours before, all of the rocks and trees with the colors an the atmosphere of the place really made you feel like you were in your own private postcard. The sky was perfect, the water was blue and that trees were that almost shade of green that makes you want to jump in the trees and act like a monkey. We sat there and we were in awe for almost 30 minuets. We took some pretty epic pictures of ourselves too, we were all dramatic and stuff. So mom and dad, jack and emily I miss you so much I hope you guys could have came, it is the most fun I have ever had. ( and emily Roberto is hilarious!) Ah well that was day three.

Raffi: The Food

Simply the food here is delicious. There is not nearly as many choises but each time we eat I feel as if the food gets better and better.The people that are making the food are also very kind and are very good cooks. None of the food we have eatin here was prepackaged unless we brought it from the States. The fruit here makes what we get at home seem like garbage. Every single day we have had atleast one meal with rice and beans. I love it. I don´t think I have met people who were tis nice and the language really isn´t a problem.

Chris P

Today we visted Duan Juan´s farm wich is a organic farm! This means that instead of pile up cow manure and letting the methan gas flow into the air he used it to power his kichen.We also were tricked into eating a plant called the Jack Ass plant which tased horrible. Our tour guide also had a machete. We had tons of fun and later all the stuff that our grouped helped picked we ate for lunch. This was a great time.

Ryan J - Natural Hotsprings

Water!!! On Saturday, we went to a natural hotspring. The hotspring itself, was a part of a long, sulfur-filled river. In some areas, the river water was a light blue, and in other areas the river water was orange. The river flow was quite fast, and pulled many people down into a deeper area of the river. I was very surprised to see how many people there were besides us because there were probably over 50 people in the river. Also, later on today (Monday) we are going to another, larger, Comercial hotspring. I CAN´T WAIT!!!!!