Running Around Los Cerritos

Our morning began at 7:00 am as we prepared to visit Los Cerritos. Before that, we had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, chorizo, and pineapple juice. On the bus ride to school, half the bus was asleep while the other half sang along to Olivia Rodrigo and Bad Bunny. 40 minutes later, we arrived at the school and watched the children peek out of their classroom windows in curiosity.

As we stepped off the bus, excitement and anticipation filled the air. Lauren, the Peace Corps volunteer at the Los Cerritos school, welcomed us. We started with a tour of the school before heading into the classrooms to meet the children. During the tour, we witnessed the beauty of Los Cerritos. The school was surrounded by beautiful hills, and the school itself was full of color and lots of nature. Once we stepped into the classrooms, the children introduced themselves to us, and we followed by doing the same. We learned about their favorite holidays, food, and parts of their town. Suddenly, it was recess, and half of the group was incarcerated by 6 and 7-year-olds while playing a game of Cops and Robbers, while the others enjoyed a fun game of volleyball. After the adorable little tricksters hunted and captured us, we were exhausted and drenched in sweat, so we decided to play a calmer game of Simon Says and another game of tag before leaving.

We traveled back to Chitre, and once again, half of the bus was dead asleep while the other half sang along to Disney songs. As we arrived at the hotel, a delicious lunch of burgers and fries awaited us. We took a little break before heading into our CAP seminar, in which we split into two groups, one designing the mural, and the other creating a plan for the eco-benches that we will be creating at Los Cerritos.

We went to the Do-It Center to gather the supplies needed for the CAP project. While waiting to check out, everyone stood around one TV in the store watching the World Cup match of Norway vs Iraq. After dinner, we had our nightly meeting and passed the torch to the next LDDs. They presented their talents: Jaden solved a Rubik’s Cube, Enzo juggled a soccer ball, and Lucian taught a Russian lesson. The boys ended the night with some much-deserved self-care time, while the rest of the group played some board games. As we are writing this, we can hear the group laughing it up on the terrace.

P.S. Hi mom! It’s Hope and I miss you so much and am having a great time with my friends and hanging out with the kids, say hi to Pumpkin, Sofia, and Faith. I can’t wait to see you again soon, but I’m trying not to miss home too much. Love you!

P.S: Hi Vinnie, Kaylee, and anyone else reading. I’m having a fun time hanging out and getting to know everyone. Kaylee, pls say hi to mami and update me on Love Island ASAP. And Vane I hope you are having a fun time in Costa Rica! – Amy

P.S.: Hi Amma, Appa, and Yaapu, it’s Yazhisai. I am really tired as I’m writing this, but I am also having a lot of fun! Can’t wait to do this action project for the school, and hopefully I’ll get to mix some cement, super excited for that !! Can’t wait to have one last fun day with everyone before coming back home, miss me a lot, love you!

From Hope, Amy, and Yazhisai