Day 3 Community day

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!