Hola from Costa Rica, this is Hamzah, Rosa, and Angel! We are the leaders of the day. We had an amazing adventure we can’t wait to share with you!

We started off waking up early in the morning and after getting ready, we had an early wake up call at around 7:00am to ensure that the students are well prepared for the activities ahead. We had a great breakfast consisted of fried eggs, rice and beans, a variety of fruits, and tropical juices made by the lovely couple and cooks Diego and Marielena.
After breakfast, we got ready and packed our daily essentials for the trip ahead in our backpacks. We then went upstairs and got together for the mental warmup which consisted of the agenda, quote/question of the day, and important local greetings in Spanish.

We soon departed our way on a steep hill, taking occasional breaks to rehydrate and sticking together with the group. As we arrived in downtown Santa Rosa, we went over some rules and admired the culture surrounding us while exploring at local markets. Me (Hamzah) & Angel saw a cute kitty by one of the fruit vendors while Rosa saw new types of food and snacks that she has never seen before.

A little later, the groups got together to split into two smaller groups. One group was with Jessica’s family while the other was with Adriana’s family.
We (Hamzah, Angel, Rosa) were with Jessica’s family and we met her lovely kids Owen and Allison. They had a cute black dog named Nala.
First we talked and then they offered delicious traditional Costa Rican food. Some of the dishes that they offered was arroz con pollo, frijol, frijol blanco con cerdo, ensalada, fideos con verduras, arroz blanco, jugo
de piña y durazno.

After finishing our meals, a couple of students went to check out the local barber across the street while some other students were doing a potato sack race and playing freeze tag with Owen and his cousin.
Following the fun games, the students huddled up and began learning to make tortilla de maiz, empanadas de queso, y cafesito de Costa Rica.

As we were leaving Jessica’s house, we thanked her and her family for their kindness and took a big group photo.
During our depart, we met up with the other group and walked back to Casa Aracari, where most of us jumped into the pool and others talked.
Then we had our C.A.P. (Community Action Project) #1 seminar going over what it is and why we do it. Talking about important terms like sustainability and eco-friendliness. Later on we had dinner which was chuletas de cerdo, papas, ensalada, fresco de fresa, jugo de mora, y té helado. Lastly, we had our nightly meeting and eventually passed the torch to our new leaders of the day, Isabel, Rosemary, and Chloe.
Signing out, Hamzah, Rosa and Angel!
Comments (6)
Lucia Acosta
Ok I see you Hamzah as LDD!! Y’all are gonna have to teach how to make those empanadas, tortillas, and cafesito when y’all are back!
Katia
Thank you for sharing. How exciting to see and hear all about your days.
Tanisha
It’s so wonderful to read about the adventures of the day. Thank you for keeping us updated back home. How exciting it must have been for the group who spent time with Jessica’s family eating and learning how to make Costa Rican dishes and beverages. Please share those recipes/techniques with everyone- yum! I look forward to hearing about how the other group’s day went with Adriana’s family and seeing some pictures, too!
April Fields
Emme! It was so great to see you and talk to you today! We miss you so so much but we are glad that you are having fun and experiencing new adventures. We promise we will comment each night. We can’t wait to find out what else you all will get to do in the coming days. Much love, Mommy & Daddy
Halima D
Omg Hamzah miss you!!! Looks like y’all are having a great time 🙂
Heather Schacher
Community day is the best. Angel, I can’t wait to hear more about your experience as LDD with your co-leaders. It sounds like everyone had a great day learning and experiencing lots of new things !