Environmental Justice + Fun day!

Today was our relaxing, fun day. We woke up at 7AM and had breakfast at 8AM, which was banana pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fresh cut watermelon, mango, and papaya, all made by our amazing chefs, Diego and Marianela.

After breakfast, we did our mental warm-up along with watching a documentary about Environmental Justice in Costa Rica to prepare us for our guest speaker, ‘Andres ‘Fofo’ Zuniga’, later in the day.

We then departed to the Costa Rican waterfall, Las Trillizas, at 9:30AM. We hiked down the trail for about 25 minutes until reaching the waterfall. Us glimpsers then had 45 minutes to take in the view, swim, and take pictures.

After swimming at the waterfall, we hiked back up the trail to a local restaurant. Glimpsers were given the freedom to choose between 4 meals, Casado (a traditional Costa Rican meal), Rice + Chicken, Fajita Chicken w/ veggies and mashed potatoes, and a Caribbean meal along with a blackberry-pomegranate juice. After we finished eating, we saw horses and cows on our way back to Casa Aracari.

Once arrived at Casa Aracari, some of the glimpsers decided to jump into the pool for an extra swim, a cannon-ball contest, and other pool games.

After swimming, we got ready for our guest speaker, Andres ‘Fofo’ Zuniga, at 3PM. He covered the topic of sustainable development which is a 3 part system based on social equity, ecological sustainability, and economic efficiency, all entailing to Environmental Justice.

We then had an activity where we were divided into different groups to make a mock debate. The groups were hotel developers, the local community, and the government. The hotel developers and the local community had to argue their sides on the topic of if they should develop a 5-star hotel in their “local community”.

The government group had the job of hearing both sides and came to a final verdict. Some propositions of the 5-star hotel group were free public transportation for travelers, being sustainable by use of solar panels for energy, and recycling rain water. Some propositions of the local community group was that the build of the hotel would contribute to the kill-off of biodiversity, and that the wetlands help with flooding from ocean tides / provide a cleaner water source for wildlife and the community. Even though the government was in favor of the local community, everybody had fun and was able to voice their concerns / thoughts of the team they were arguing for with passion.

After the inspiring educational debate, the families we visited before on ‘Family Day’ came over to Casa Aracari to give a farewell before the end of our trip, wishing us safe travels. Right before they left, Adrianna, Yessica and her kids, Naomi, Allison, and Owen (who’s a great singer by the way), tried the Tres Leches cake that the glimpsers made.

Ultimately, what made all of our day was seeing Owen sing “Alla En El Rancho Grande” by Cancíon de Jorge Negrete. You can see how he sings with such passion and pride, holding a bright future ahead of him.

Dinner was next and Diego and Marianela whipped us up some bomb Alfredo Spaghetti w/ Chicken (and veggies for the vegetarians), along with ensalada and garlic bread.

Lastly, we ended our night off with our usual nightly meeting, with a collective rose (big happy moment) of having an amazing day at the waterfall, Environmental Justice activity, and Owen’s beautiful singing (and compliments on that Tres Leches cake us glimpsers made). At 8PM, we did a little karaoke and vibed with one another before going to bed.

Nonetheless, today was a day full of adventure and inclusion. We can’t wait to tell you all about it tomorrow during our phone call home, after 4PM Costa Rican time (3PM PST). Pura Vida, mis amigos!

Written by Josiah Moody, Mahalet Yonas, and Jose Gutierrez.