For Amigocarlos the days always start early and this day was no different as he was out for his 100 minute run while others snoozed on, most option out of bird watching, 6.0 a.m. although Suntan and Jamz could be seen coming back from early morning yoga. The sessions offered yesterday were repeated most opting for the banana plantation or outside farm. This writer chose the banana plantation which was an excellent tour ending with a tour of the eco farm; cattle, pigs and all. Panama Don took a liking to the buffalo and Kitty could not even find anything nasty to say about the stinky pigs wallowing in their water holes. Sara took off to the airport and the main session saw a few doze off while others thought it informative while all agreed lunch was great. Shifty stole the show, (I think he thought it was his ANCHOR), when he offered the thank you from the AC group during our after lunch appreciation session. Loaded on to a luxury coach we headed for the mountains, San Jose on the other side and enjoyed some spectacular views despite the rain. B & B was somewhat cramped but it didn’t matter and we had a great meal, my naivety thinking we were going Chinese which was the restaurant next door to the very nice Costa Rica restaurant we dined.
And so the trip ends as Day 11 is a travelling day. Quick shopping trips are planned as we move to the airport and I doubt if any of us are excited about sitting in two airports, San Jose and Salvador. We leave at 8.20 a.m. and our expected arrival at Pearson is 9.50 p.m. Bummer! Nonetheless, a GREAT trip which was well worth time! This writer is so grateful to work and play with such a diverse, caring, fun, intelligent group. Pura Vida,Mae.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Day 9
The day started early with bird watching for those that chose. With a sloth, millipedes, monkeys and a variety of birds to view it was an informative hour. After brekky everyone chose their own sessions; visiting the banana plantation, farm or the many classroom work sessions then meeting up for coffee and lunch. The sessions were in small group apart from the General Session where Leonardo Garnier the Minister of Education and Mario Pedra Director of the Education Program at Earth University, spoke. At the workshop sessions many of the group offered their input to the discussions. Dinner was a bus ride to another area of the campus due to the campus being a “dry” campus (no alcohol) but not so with this dinner and its open bar. After dinner we were entertained with some exceptional singing and dancing from members of the student body of the University and then another highlight as Papazuke and GAL led the way on to the dance floor, the Americans and Costa Rican’s have never seen moves like these before. Great night and it was only 11.00 p.m. when we hit the sack!
Day 8
Packed and ready to move on it was almost time to say our goodbyes to our host families. Before then we had a cooking session at Randal and Dave’s host house, Olga’s, a very successful gathering as we got to eat the food we made; a palada (folded pastry shell) with either chicken or cheese in the center and deep fried. Yummy! It is no wonder everyone moved as if in slow motion that morning while others found the hammocks first and were reluctant to surrender ownership. Point of interest were the toe paintings (on the girls) which were phenomenal in their detail, Yeller, Suntan, Sara and Jamz all flaunting their decorations. The bus was loaded final photos and tearful goodbyes made (Girly you must stop that as it was contagious) and on to Earth University for our Global Education Conference. We said our goodbyes to Randal who left part way through the bus ride for his home in San Jose. Earth University is MASSIVE in area if not in size. A gorgeous, safe oasis in the middle of Costa Rica! I say oasis as the University was fenced and guarded, like the DMZ in Korea, from the drug gangs who I learned dominate the area. The rooms were great everyone sharing with one other and there were hot, yes hot showers. Ahhhh, said PanamaDon! The Conference started with a tour for those who wanted and then welcoming and opening speeches. Afterwards, 9.00 p.m. we met as a group so that David could distribute the Global Mindset Inventory; a very in-depth self-study produced from the questionnaire we completed prior to the trip. Some enjoyed the comprehensive colourful summary offered, others were not so excited. Hmmmm! Good one to sleep on!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Day 7
A Day at Chilamate
The torrential rains began at 4:30 am and finished just after lunch – total accumulation was approximately 55 millimeters – and this is a regular occurrence here during the rainy season. Today was our Teacher’s Summit where we met with local teachers to discuss the various issues facing Sarapiqui families. We soon realized that administrative structures were often a hindrance to teachers as they attempted to meet the needs of core curriculum. It was refreshing to hear that a new curriculum has been developed with an emphasis on civic education, arts, culture and drama. The main challenge of Costa Rican teachers was three-fold: lack of resources, lack of family commitment to education and levels of administration which are slow to adapt to the changing educational landscape. The discussion followed through lunch before we were introduced to the RAFT exercise – an activity that uses recyclable material learning kits to further support learning in the classroom. Tosh’s musical serenade with an instrument he invented from his learning kit produced sounds that had migrating wild boars turning back to greet him. Jamie had Christmas lights dancing with her conductivity kit as everyone enjoyed their moment of creative ingenuity. We finished the day with the Business Challenge – 4 highly competitive groups pitted against each other to develop the best business model for an enduring relationship with our local community. In the end, the local community coffee collective won out. Beginning this fall a group of students will be invited to join this initiative to sell local grown Costa Rican coffee here in Canada. Through this relationship Appleby students will then have the opportunity to send our profits back to the community for local projects. The hope is that local leaders will be able to come to Appleby and experience what we do at school and then perhaps have some of our students visit Sarapiqui – we hope that this will be a truly enduring relationship. Our day finished with a community fiesta with all of our home stay families at Olga’s. The feast was interspersed with spontaneous dance offs - Panama Don was “Dancing with the Stars,” Sara was busting a few dance hall moves and Pedro (Shifty) put on moves never seen in the millennia of dance - his back stayed strong to the test. An incredible send off from our home stay families! Today’s quote of the day comes from the Don: “I cry at Hallmark commercials.” Next up, our trip to Earth University tomorrow.
The torrential rains began at 4:30 am and finished just after lunch – total accumulation was approximately 55 millimeters – and this is a regular occurrence here during the rainy season. Today was our Teacher’s Summit where we met with local teachers to discuss the various issues facing Sarapiqui families. We soon realized that administrative structures were often a hindrance to teachers as they attempted to meet the needs of core curriculum. It was refreshing to hear that a new curriculum has been developed with an emphasis on civic education, arts, culture and drama. The main challenge of Costa Rican teachers was three-fold: lack of resources, lack of family commitment to education and levels of administration which are slow to adapt to the changing educational landscape. The discussion followed through lunch before we were introduced to the RAFT exercise – an activity that uses recyclable material learning kits to further support learning in the classroom. Tosh’s musical serenade with an instrument he invented from his learning kit produced sounds that had migrating wild boars turning back to greet him. Jamie had Christmas lights dancing with her conductivity kit as everyone enjoyed their moment of creative ingenuity. We finished the day with the Business Challenge – 4 highly competitive groups pitted against each other to develop the best business model for an enduring relationship with our local community. In the end, the local community coffee collective won out. Beginning this fall a group of students will be invited to join this initiative to sell local grown Costa Rican coffee here in Canada. Through this relationship Appleby students will then have the opportunity to send our profits back to the community for local projects. The hope is that local leaders will be able to come to Appleby and experience what we do at school and then perhaps have some of our students visit Sarapiqui – we hope that this will be a truly enduring relationship. Our day finished with a community fiesta with all of our home stay families at Olga’s. The feast was interspersed with spontaneous dance offs - Panama Don was “Dancing with the Stars,” Sara was busting a few dance hall moves and Pedro (Shifty) put on moves never seen in the millennia of dance - his back stayed strong to the test. An incredible send off from our home stay families! Today’s quote of the day comes from the Don: “I cry at Hallmark commercials.” Next up, our trip to Earth University tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Day 5
Blog Day 5 - Monday
Gorgeous morning! The group met at Esquelada Linda Vista School for day 2 of our morning work projects. The groups separated; the bridge painting group walked to the bridge to finish the decorating part of their project, having painted the main posts yesterday; today the group decorated the posts with murals and design – the little fishing person, soccer balls and turtles, sayings and rainbows. The school group was surprised to be told that a new flower bed would be a vast improvement to the school and with the kind donation of plants from members of the community and from Rodolfo & Rosa’s plantation they had much to do in their three hours of work. Pictures tell 1000 stories and hopefully you have a chance to see the photos of the bridge and cleaned and the new gardens plus the school clean up. Quote of the day from Girly, “as long as I only have to paint these soccer goal posts and not have to pole dance with them, I am just fine”. You had to see her face as she said this, with paint brush in hand dripping with blue paint (Appleby blue), sun beating down and a cheeky smile on her perspiring face. A visit to Rodolfo & Rosa’s plantation was the treat for the afternoon and many went to task to catch their own tilapia fish from the fish ponds (two ponds with 4000 and 6000 fish – slightly less fish now) for lunch. Yummy! The tour that followed had a food connection as we; tasted the juice from crushed sugar cane then sucked on sugar cane, fed the cows, devoured pieces of pineapple freshly cut by Rodolfo, played with “touch me not’s” plants that shriveled to the touch, picked cilantro – a weed from the pineapple fields, rubbed cinnamon leaves into our hands, took the sap from the rubber tree and were amazed to see the white sap solidify into black rubber in our hands, plus many more stories. Back to the plantation Bodega where we had coffee and tea, followed by Yeller and Suntan offering another great ANCHOR. A group activity followed, the Maze which Tatiann (a local lady) showed us the final way through the maze. We took our leave from the plantation, weeeeelllll all left except McT, AmigoCarlos & PapaZuke whose homestay was the plantation, most of the group getting home before the rain started. (This is the rain forest region after all). GREAT day! Tomorrow it is zip lining over the jungle canopy and river rafting but only after we complete the school clean-up project.
Gorgeous morning! The group met at Esquelada Linda Vista School for day 2 of our morning work projects. The groups separated; the bridge painting group walked to the bridge to finish the decorating part of their project, having painted the main posts yesterday; today the group decorated the posts with murals and design – the little fishing person, soccer balls and turtles, sayings and rainbows. The school group was surprised to be told that a new flower bed would be a vast improvement to the school and with the kind donation of plants from members of the community and from Rodolfo & Rosa’s plantation they had much to do in their three hours of work. Pictures tell 1000 stories and hopefully you have a chance to see the photos of the bridge and cleaned and the new gardens plus the school clean up. Quote of the day from Girly, “as long as I only have to paint these soccer goal posts and not have to pole dance with them, I am just fine”. You had to see her face as she said this, with paint brush in hand dripping with blue paint (Appleby blue), sun beating down and a cheeky smile on her perspiring face. A visit to Rodolfo & Rosa’s plantation was the treat for the afternoon and many went to task to catch their own tilapia fish from the fish ponds (two ponds with 4000 and 6000 fish – slightly less fish now) for lunch. Yummy! The tour that followed had a food connection as we; tasted the juice from crushed sugar cane then sucked on sugar cane, fed the cows, devoured pieces of pineapple freshly cut by Rodolfo, played with “touch me not’s” plants that shriveled to the touch, picked cilantro – a weed from the pineapple fields, rubbed cinnamon leaves into our hands, took the sap from the rubber tree and were amazed to see the white sap solidify into black rubber in our hands, plus many more stories. Back to the plantation Bodega where we had coffee and tea, followed by Yeller and Suntan offering another great ANCHOR. A group activity followed, the Maze which Tatiann (a local lady) showed us the final way through the maze. We took our leave from the plantation, weeeeelllll all left except McT, AmigoCarlos & PapaZuke whose homestay was the plantation, most of the group getting home before the rain started. (This is the rain forest region after all). GREAT day! Tomorrow it is zip lining over the jungle canopy and river rafting but only after we complete the school clean-up project.
Day 6
Blog Day 6
Wow an action packed day. The group met after their homestay breakfast at Linda Vista School for a last quick clean up all 15 with rakes and brushes in hand to clear the newly cut grass from the fields or sweep the paths after we had rebuilt and built the flower beds. On to Chilamate Eco Lodge our base for the day where we dumped our gear and headed to the Zip Lines. Wow was this fun! Papa Zuke as he is apt to do, lead the way by testing that the line would be safe for all who followed. Girly showed no fear of heights and Kitty was helped up a high standing pylon only once so we zipped and holler the morning away, AmigoCarlos and Jazm proving to be the true monkeys of our tribe with their familiarity on the zip line. A quick lunch at Chilamate Lodge where Sarah and Jazm entertained with their ANCHOR the lunch break interrupted by an earthquake, it seems they get 30 to 40 ground shakers per year and this one had us all looking at each other, Runner stating the “the earth moved under my feet” not the Carly Simon song number, then it was up river by bus where we met our guides for rafting. Yes we were going rafting on the level 1, 2, 3 white water part of the river and after last night’s rains the river was flowing, and tumbling nicely, or so said our "driver". The group separated quickly as instructed, we are getting good at following instructions even for teachers, into three groups for the 6 person rafts. What a blast as we first were soaked by our raft leaders; they did inform us we would all get wet, even though Paul thought otherwise. The next two hours we travelled the 15 km over some nasty rollers and choppy areas, swimming voluntary at our break and getting dumped at other times – eh Paul, as we made our way back to the Chilamate area. Lesley and Sarah were true voyageurs down the Rio Sarapiqui and experienced the true effervescence of the river’s cascading walls of water filling their boat at every turn. . Quote of the day from Jazm as she was using her waterproof camera in the raft, “I tried to shoot the birds but I shot your nose”. The words directed at Amigo Carlos . Great trip both challenging, fun and if you wanted physically tiring. We finished the day at Chilamate lodge for a rundown of the day’s events and meeting with Ross the director of WLS. Then back to our Homestays, tired but elated after a long but exciting day.
Wow an action packed day. The group met after their homestay breakfast at Linda Vista School for a last quick clean up all 15 with rakes and brushes in hand to clear the newly cut grass from the fields or sweep the paths after we had rebuilt and built the flower beds. On to Chilamate Eco Lodge our base for the day where we dumped our gear and headed to the Zip Lines. Wow was this fun! Papa Zuke as he is apt to do, lead the way by testing that the line would be safe for all who followed. Girly showed no fear of heights and Kitty was helped up a high standing pylon only once so we zipped and holler the morning away, AmigoCarlos and Jazm proving to be the true monkeys of our tribe with their familiarity on the zip line. A quick lunch at Chilamate Lodge where Sarah and Jazm entertained with their ANCHOR the lunch break interrupted by an earthquake, it seems they get 30 to 40 ground shakers per year and this one had us all looking at each other, Runner stating the “the earth moved under my feet” not the Carly Simon song number, then it was up river by bus where we met our guides for rafting. Yes we were going rafting on the level 1, 2, 3 white water part of the river and after last night’s rains the river was flowing, and tumbling nicely, or so said our "driver". The group separated quickly as instructed, we are getting good at following instructions even for teachers, into three groups for the 6 person rafts. What a blast as we first were soaked by our raft leaders; they did inform us we would all get wet, even though Paul thought otherwise. The next two hours we travelled the 15 km over some nasty rollers and choppy areas, swimming voluntary at our break and getting dumped at other times – eh Paul, as we made our way back to the Chilamate area. Lesley and Sarah were true voyageurs down the Rio Sarapiqui and experienced the true effervescence of the river’s cascading walls of water filling their boat at every turn. . Quote of the day from Jazm as she was using her waterproof camera in the raft, “I tried to shoot the birds but I shot your nose”. The words directed at Amigo Carlos . Great trip both challenging, fun and if you wanted physically tiring. We finished the day at Chilamate lodge for a rundown of the day’s events and meeting with Ross the director of WLS. Then back to our Homestays, tired but elated after a long but exciting day.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Blog Day 3
Blog Day 3
Wow, the humidity is high and we are all “leaking” badly not being acclimatized. Early rise and first we hit the showers, that is most of us asAmigoCarlos and Runner had already hit the trails but the rest of the squad sparkling clean made their way to the Chilamate Eco Lodge for a great breakfast. William our forest guide then led us into the jungle, on a path, for a tour. We saw mating millipedes, small red poisonous frogs as well as green spotted poisonous squads. The highlight was seeing the howler monkeys with PapaZuke offering the best quote I can offer, “I’m coming back tomorrow to howl at you at 4.30 a.m. – see you then”. As foretold by Megan our Chilamate host, the howlers woke us at 4.45 a.m. that morning. No snakes on our trip which was disappointing as several of the group wanted to see the reaction of Sara (snake phobia), only a few spiders a phobia of Jamz but several chats on a variety of vines and tree’s with symbiotic and parasiticrelationships’, Hanoi excited by the Bromeliad – photos taken just for you Hanoi! We hadlunch at Chilamate, Girly and PapZuke were 1st to offer their ANCHOR, which was well received, then it was by bus to view three schools, all which were closed which was disappointing, although we all recognized the many difficulties the teachers and students had to overcome, very different from our own situations. After the third school we gathered our gear and it was off to our “homestays” with the faculty in pairs being dropped off and introduced by Megan, Randal and David to their hosts for the next five days. Some good stories of Karaokesurfaced from that first night, alsofishing in the tilapia ponds for others or feeding chickens and cows but all were settled with their new families in their homes!
Day 4
Guess what! AmigoCarlos was out at 6.30 running and boy was it humid after the torrential rain and thunderstorms during the night. McT and PapaZuke were treated to a tour of their plantation hosts (Alfrodo), Suntan fed and milked the cow, Sara woke up next to a cow, Yeller, Suntan, Sara, Jamie survived their Karaoke, Don and Peter just survived, Hanoi & Kitty + Mother & Girly up and smiling as always and GAL had the newcomer – Paul (Pierre) having finally arrived to join the squad. We all descended on the community school and planned the morning work project with an even split; 50% staying to clean up the school and 50% of to paint the entry bridge over the river which is the access road for the community. I can only say the clear up of the school was hard work made much more difficult with the humidity as everyone was dripping wet with sweat – yes ladies do sweat but the school ground looked so much better after the 4 hour task. The bridge squad painted all four major stations white ready for decorating tomorrow and being a Sunday had many onlookers. Mostly fatigued we retired to Chilamate lodge for lunch; Girly & McT the ANCHOR for the day. This followed with two terrific group “games” which all appreciated – well done David, Randal and Megan! Off to the Eco forest to learn about cacao growing and treatment, caught in the rain forest downpour. The excitement especially for Girly was going over the 100 m long very high and swinging suspension bridge. She managed still smiling – another phobia removed! The other highlight was seeing, up close, a sloth which was being returned to the reserve just as we were leaving, the sloth having been caught nearby. The day ended for the group as we were dropped off at our homestay’s.
Wow, the humidity is high and we are all “leaking” badly not being acclimatized. Early rise and first we hit the showers, that is most of us asAmigoCarlos and Runner had already hit the trails but the rest of the squad sparkling clean made their way to the Chilamate Eco Lodge for a great breakfast. William our forest guide then led us into the jungle, on a path, for a tour. We saw mating millipedes, small red poisonous frogs as well as green spotted poisonous squads. The highlight was seeing the howler monkeys with PapaZuke offering the best quote I can offer, “I’m coming back tomorrow to howl at you at 4.30 a.m. – see you then”. As foretold by Megan our Chilamate host, the howlers woke us at 4.45 a.m. that morning. No snakes on our trip which was disappointing as several of the group wanted to see the reaction of Sara (snake phobia), only a few spiders a phobia of Jamz but several chats on a variety of vines and tree’s with symbiotic and parasiticrelationships’, Hanoi excited by the Bromeliad – photos taken just for you Hanoi! We hadlunch at Chilamate, Girly and PapZuke were 1st to offer their ANCHOR, which was well received, then it was by bus to view three schools, all which were closed which was disappointing, although we all recognized the many difficulties the teachers and students had to overcome, very different from our own situations. After the third school we gathered our gear and it was off to our “homestays” with the faculty in pairs being dropped off and introduced by Megan, Randal and David to their hosts for the next five days. Some good stories of Karaokesurfaced from that first night, alsofishing in the tilapia ponds for others or feeding chickens and cows but all were settled with their new families in their homes!
Day 4
Guess what! AmigoCarlos was out at 6.30 running and boy was it humid after the torrential rain and thunderstorms during the night. McT and PapaZuke were treated to a tour of their plantation hosts (Alfrodo), Suntan fed and milked the cow, Sara woke up next to a cow, Yeller, Suntan, Sara, Jamie survived their Karaoke, Don and Peter just survived, Hanoi & Kitty + Mother & Girly up and smiling as always and GAL had the newcomer – Paul (Pierre) having finally arrived to join the squad. We all descended on the community school and planned the morning work project with an even split; 50% staying to clean up the school and 50% of to paint the entry bridge over the river which is the access road for the community. I can only say the clear up of the school was hard work made much more difficult with the humidity as everyone was dripping wet with sweat – yes ladies do sweat but the school ground looked so much better after the 4 hour task. The bridge squad painted all four major stations white ready for decorating tomorrow and being a Sunday had many onlookers. Mostly fatigued we retired to Chilamate lodge for lunch; Girly & McT the ANCHOR for the day. This followed with two terrific group “games” which all appreciated – well done David, Randal and Megan! Off to the Eco forest to learn about cacao growing and treatment, caught in the rain forest downpour. The excitement especially for Girly was going over the 100 m long very high and swinging suspension bridge. She managed still smiling – another phobia removed! The other highlight was seeing, up close, a sloth which was being returned to the reserve just as we were leaving, the sloth having been caught nearby. The day ended for the group as we were dropped off at our homestay’s.
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