Day 3: Exploring Turrialba and Hearing Voices from Home

!Hola todos! !Buenas noches! It is Nicole and Josiah here, coming at you live as today’s Líderes del Día (Leaders of the Day).

Stepping into leadership roles today completely forced us out of our comfort zones. Being far away from our families is a massive adjustment, but it is pushing us to grow independently.

We started our morning bright and early at base camp with a banger of a breakfast made by our private chef, Diego. After fueling up, we headed out to navigate the local public transit system. We waited at the stop to catch the public bus into Turrialba Centro to see the town and do some shopping.

The squad waiting for the public bus to Turrialba Centro, practicing patience and soaking in the mountain views.

Exploring Turrialba Centro.

Walking through the streets, we immediately noticed how lively the town is. There were tons of friendly dogs, cats, and even a few chickens roaming around freely!

Making some new furry friends while exploring the local streets of Turrialba.

We spent the afternoon checking out a local second-hand thrift store, browsing a traditional gift shop, and hitting up a delicious local pastelería. Trying to practice our Spanish while ordering pastries was definitely a challenge, but the locals were incredibly kind.

Satisfying our sweet tooth with some amazing local treats at the pastelería.

After shopping, we took the bus back to Santa Rosa base camp, where the bus went around and around through the narrow roads. Then came one of our most anticipated moments: calls home. We each got ten minutes to talk to our families. Honestly, it brought up a lot of emotions for a lot of us. Being thousands of miles away from home for the first time is no joke. Hearing our parents’ voices made us realize how much we miss them. and it was so rewarding to tell them about how we are successfully navigating a completely new culture on our own.

During our nightly meeting, we also planned for what is ahead! We are so hyped to collaborate with the locals on our Community Action Project, where we will be building a concrete ramp and painting the fence for a community park. We wrapped up the evening with a much-needed movie night watching White Chicks to unwind.

EXTRA INFO! Wyatt showed his surprising flexibility during the trip. Adrian continued to be a very good friend of mine and of course, everyone as well. August continued to hone his skills in photography. Antonio further inspired us to be greater in the game of billiards. Liliana beat Wyatt in a different game of billiards. Natalie is halfway to being a pro ping pong player. Liliana beat Wyatt in the game of billiards. Layla got two new pairs of jeans, which she loves. Abi kept calling Josiah “el dictador.” Abi, Katelyn, and Lexi drew beautiful portraits of Nino, and Nino says that Abi’s drawings was the best because it has “Red Sox” in it. Lizbeth is the nicest person ever, and Sofia has a quiet and subtle sense of humor that is hilarious. Isabel, Shani, and Lucia took pictures of a cool centipede while we waited for the bus this morning. Shani added a new moth to her collection, which was on the kitchen floor. Nino ate a bug off the floor (jk). We’re passing the torch to Lexi and Zi as the new Líderes del Día for tomorrow!

Nicole and Josiah, Students & Leaders of the Day