Day 4: In Turrialba Town by Gabi, Dayana, Luis

Hi families!

So about yesterday. We know our blog is a little late, but we had to finish our movie.

We started our day with breakfast, and we prepared for our cultural exchange with a local school. We split into three groups to think of activities focused on language, mobility, and art. Everyone was super creative and thoughtful. More to come on that because we don’t want to spoil the surprise.

After that, we spent the day in the central part of town in Turrialba, and it was really, really fun! We got lucky and didn’t have to climb the huge hill. Instead, we got picked up by a bus. We visited the thrift shop, the bakery, the ice cream store, the church, and we bought accessories from street vendors. It was very interesting to see how different shopping is in Costa Rica vs the United States. We learned to improve our Spanish speaking when ordering food, and how to interact with the local and the street vendors. After lunch, we had our CAP 2 seminar. During this, we thought through all the different resources, steps, and tasks it would take us to make sure we could have a good and successful CAP experience. We realized that you can’t just show up to a project. You have to have a plan, and you have to make sure that everyone knows and agrees with the plan. Our group was detailed, so we know we got this! At the end of the day, we watched the movie Split, and it was creepy but entertaining. It was a good way to end the night for sure. Overall, yesterday was a very fun day.

Gabi: Hi! I was one of the LDDs on Day 4. My takeaways from being an LDD were to not be afraid to be assertive when trying to speak to a crowd, and to stick together in groups under any circumstances. I also realized that reflecting on our strengths and weaknesses help to make our trip better as a whole.

Dayana: Hii, families I was one of the LDDs on Day 4. My overall takeaway from the day is that I was honestly trying to slowly gain some confidence to speak in front of the group but it wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be. The walk around town made me see a new perspective on life and how differently people live their life in Costa Rica. Although managing a group of 20 something students can be a little challenging, at least we had the support of the adults to also helps us keep an eye on all the students.

Luis: Helloo, I am Luis, one of the LDDs of day 4. My overall takeaway from the experience as LDD is mainly, to be more reliant on not only my own skills but those of the people im working with, because even for certain things I may not be able to do, I can rely on my partners who can do those things. And well, managing a big group can be pretty difficult at times and is simply not a one person job so I’d say I’ve also learned just how important teamwork can be in many situations.

While we might only post a few photos in each blog post, you can see wayyyyy more in this Google Folder. https://photos.app.goo.gl/mQKy5UQVSdVjCkgeA

Nos vemos!