Day 8: Cultural exchange and cheese farm

Hi everyone! It’s Molly, Ravi, and Juliet!

Today was an exciting day filled with many adventures. We started the day by walking to a local school called “Escuela San Rafael De Santa Cruz.” There we played lots of different games with the children such as soccer, Simon says, telephone, Pictionary, and making friendship bracelets and paper airplanes. We practiced our Spanish speaking and understanding while also helping them practice learn English. The soccer game consisted of the kids versus all of us glimpsers, which to our dismay lead to an overwhelming loss.

After our visit to the school we stopped to get homemade ice cream from a local woman, which was much needed after being destroyed in soccer by a group of children. With ice cream in tow we set back to our accommodations where we ate lunch and then gathered again to leave for the cheese farm. At the cheese farm: Finca la Florita, we met Karla who runs everything on the farm. We learned about the entire cheese making process from the milking of cows to the formation of Turrialba Queso. She taught us how to milk cows and we even got to make our own cheese; all the while learning about how our choices as consumers impact the environment we live in.

Once we returned from the farm we all got dressed up together to head to dinner at Fratelli’s in Turrialba center. After a lovely dinner of pizza and fresh juice we came back, making a quick pitstop at the pulperia for even more snacks!

After our nightly meeting and passing the torch, here we sit, way past our bedtime, writing this blog! All in all today was a great and productive day and we can’t wait to shower.

Hi! This is Juliet. Shoutout to my parents, grandparents, my brother, and Kyle. I miss you all so much and I am so excited to see you. I am looking forward to sharing all my pictures and souvenirs with you. I am having a great time and although I want to come home, I also don’t want to leave. To Brighton, yes I have seen some pretty cool animals and don’t worry because I have taken pictures for you. Love you all 🙂

Hey everyone, it’s Ravi! I wanted to give a shoutout to my family for supporting me and encouraging me to go on this trip, I hope that you are all doing well and I’ll see you on the 11th! Please give Paco and Mars lots of pets for me!

Hi! This is Molly! Shoutout to my mom, dad, brother, Cedar, and Athena and Zeus. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to see you soon. I have tons of pictures and souvenirs to share with you when I get back! Thank you so much for supporting me on this trip and helping me with all the packing, even if I still didn’t pack enough socks. Lots of love, Molly 🙂