Day 3 Family Day!

Hello family and friends, this is today’s leaders; Maikendaly, Nate, Christian, and Levi!

This morning we started our day with a healthy breakfast of eggs, gallo pinto (rice with beans), plantains and cheese. We then walked off our food by walking to a river nearby.

Today we visited local families here in Turriabla. We split up into 4 groups having lunch and connecting with different families. In Maikendaly’s group our host was Dona Rosario, and we had such a great time. We began by talking over some fruits like watermelon, pinapple, and guyabana along with some costa rican candy. A little after that, I cooked rice, beans, deviled eggs, salad, and meat with 3 other friends and Dona Rosario. I’m so grateful for experiencina pure costa ican food, and learning how to cook it. While eating, we complemented her knowledge on cooking and her comforting actions towards us. After that Dona Rosario showed us her garden, which was absolutely beautiful and full of rare aesthetic flowers, and truly showed how naure is respected and adored in Costa Rica. She also gave us some strawberry ice cream filled with sweet milk, out of this world type of good. We then began cooking tortillas and empanadas (from scratch) together, and the bonding time was so amazing I got to know more about my peers and had a good time learning how to cook something new. They came out amazing and we had enough to savor ourselves for the next 2 days. We spoke about life in our countries and how we grew up, what we liked, what we didnt, and it was also very useful in urderstanding how our differences truly are strengths. Lastly, she gifted us keychains and magnets or memories. I honestly had a awesome which Dona Gloria, our GG Coordinator, and my 3 other peers, Nick, Adriana and Jack. I can’t wait for what ever else we have planned, and I cant wait to be more immersive in the culture. I love my family so much and I miss you guys.

In Nate’s group our host was Dona Carmen with Ana, Amaree, and Emma. First we toured around her local community, she showed us the church, school, and football pitch. We then went back the house and had some delicious food including pork, rice, and potatoes. We learned about her family. She has 5 children and 7 grandchildren some of whom lived right across the street. We were also joined by her neices cat who was very friendly and tried to sit on everyones lap. After eating we played a few rounds of Bingo with prizes for the winners. Once we got tired of playing, we made cheese tortillas and empanadas from scratch. We sat on her porch drinking coffee and eating our creations which were very good. She then gave us strawberry shaved ice with condensed milk and sugar which was amazing. We had great time! Hi Mom, Dad, and Reese I miss and love you.

In Christian’s group, we met with Joanna’s family, a stay-at-home mom with a husband and single son. As soon as we arrived on their patio, Joanna’s husband came out and served us a platter of fruit. Later, we entered her home to help smash plantains for the meal we would eat. The actual meal would be pork and potatoes, salad, fried plantains, rice and beans, and massive avocados that tasted nothing like what we’ve had before. Afterwards, we had shaved ice with powdered and condensed milk for dessert. Later we walked into their huge backyard where they grew all of their fruit and vegetables and where we could overlook the rest of the property and a volcano in the distance. Later we met with the family across the street and Levi’s group, where we had a sac and barrel race and musical chairs game, which ended in a tie. We also played a gift wrapping game where we had to unwrap with mittens which was very hard but fun. Afterwards we went inside to make tortillas and empanadas and drink homemade coffee. She gifted us Costa-Rican buttons and we later took a picture with the family and walked home after an amazing day.

In Levis group we meat a nice family We speant alot of time makinga nd trying new foods. We also played alot of fun collbortive games with Christian’s group. In the end of the day we pased the tourch which as a very sad feeling because I enjoyed being in power. After we had great dinner and played games togther.