Our Final Days in Costa Rica
Bloggers: Cam and James
Here is a summary of our morning: Woke up, had breakfast, said our goodbyes to Cecelia, got in the van, and started driving for 3 hours up and over the mountains eventually arriving at Dominical! The first thing we did was surf; the water was warm and the waves were active, we had surf coaches to help us though. We learned how to pop up, and maintain balance; it was incredible fun! After we had surfed, we went to a pizza place for lunch and shortly after went to buy souvenirs at street shops. Then we came to the new hotel, Hacienda Baru, and had a short swim in the pool. After that, Javier took a bunch of us on a nature hike, and we ate termites and saw lots of ants. When we came back, we went straight to dinner at a local restaurant and came back to go to bed.
The following day we took a hike through the rain forest which ended with us on several zip lines. Our final activity was to bring along a lazy river.
Day 5.1: Our Final Day in Santa Maria
Bloggers: Aiden and Cam
If today had to be described in one word, it would be bittersweet. First, we came to the school and we were very confused because no kids were in the classrooms, and only about 4 kids outside. However, in a matter of minutes many kids had arrived to have a fiesta with us. Costa Rica locals came out on top in a close friendly match of futbol. In the end it was 8-7 Coata Rica. Next, we had our fiesta, complete with soda, soccer, a water slide, ice cream, and pinatas. Mr. Hunt made ballon animals and machete’s for the kids, Finally, we said our goodbyes to our friends, staff, and host families. We were presented gifts and the students showed us their skills with their drums.
Despite rain later in the day we had lots of fun at the waterfall near a Costa Rican restaurant, where we jumped on rocks, viewed the waterfall, skipped plantains of the water, and played team-building games. Fernando also taught us how to walk on the slack line, which is much harder than it appears, and the record was about halfway across. We also learned three new games; Pterodactyl, Tigers & Rifles & Men, and The Hand Slap Game.
Then, we came back to Cabinas Cecelia, where we enjoyed a Costa Rican take on cheeseburgers, finished with a birthday cake for James. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Then we opened our letters from home, which made everyone happy but a little more homesick. Today we learned a lot about Costa Rican soccer, teamwork, and the slack line. It s our last night in Santa Maria. We are looking forward to beaches and warm weather.
Day 5.0: Santa Maria Mornings
This is just to give you an idea of what we wake up to every morning.
Day 4: Kids, Coffee and Cooking
Bloggers, Andrew Atkins and Nate Rosner
Today, we went back to the school. We woke up the same time as yesterday and had breakfast at the school. After breakfast the kids came out and we all played soccer. When recess was over we went to our art class and finished up the Costa Rican art. Next, we painted the planters in four different colors. After we finished we played with the kids again and joined in on P.E. class. Later, we went to our home stay mother and played with her five year old son. We cooked amazing pancakes and made coffee. Later in the day we got a tour of a coffee plantation and how it is made. During the tour, we got to test coffee and got a lot of coffee. Next, we went to Rafa Para’s house and had a cooking class with his family. Finally we went back to Cecelia’s bed and breakfast and had dinner and went to bed.
As a group, we learned how to paint on cinderblocks correctly and we discovered how hard it was to harvest the coffee and bring it to the factory where it is broken down from a cherry to coffee. Also we learned how to properly cook Costa Rica food. We learned from this experience and will hopefully cook for our family and have amazing coffee with them.
Personally, we learned that what the difference is between Costa Rica and the U.S.A and that we should not waste food and recycle more. Also we experience how real life was like in Costa Rica rather than staying at a resort and shying away from real Costa Rican life. Today was a good day.
More pictures from Day 3
Day 3: Going Back to School
Bloggers: Finn and Taylor
We woke up at 6:30 this morning and soon afterwards we left for the school. After a short commute we reached the school and were treated to a breakfast of pancakes and jelly. After the meal, we were introduced to the staff by the principle. Later, a red truck arrived with tons of flowers and a few little trees. We planted a ton of flowers which made the school look much nicer. After that we had a quick break and played soccer with the school children which was very fun. We then got to sit down in the classrooms and listen to the class. We then made art work with a very skilled artist. We went on a long scavenger hunt around the city and found many interesting things. We completed the hunt and went to a nice coffee shop and got some milkshakes. We returned to the bed and breakfast and had a great dinner of smoked chicken, rice and veggies. After that we talked about personality and leadership skills.
Day 2: Getting Settled
Bloggers: Vincent and James
We all thought this trip would be another vacation where we would enjoy ourselves and just relax, but we were wrong. This morning we were treated to a surprisingly delicious breakfast made by a talented chef. It consisted of rice and beans, toast, fruit, and juice. After breakfast we began our expedition to the Quetzal Paradise, a small, mountainside restaurant . Just outside the shop was a deck overlooking the town of Santa Maria de Dota, with several humming birds whizzing past our faces! It was surprising how comfortable they were around us humans! Then we met with our tour guide Jorge, who led us through the Cloud Forest, where we saw views of the valley, tropical birds, rare trees, a waterfall, and even a plane crash! Then we returned to the restaurant to eat a wonderful lunch. Some people ordered pork or chicken, but our personal favorite was the trout, which they caught fresh and cooked with a side of rice, beans, an assortment of vegetables, and a sweet juice made from passion fruit! Though we did not see any quetzals the trip was still fantastic! Then we returned to our cabins where we were allowed to relax for 30 minutes before getting back in the van and driving to a new destination. When we arrived (after only about 5 minutes), we were treated by a massive hill that was equivalent to 25 flights of stairs (according to Mr. Hunts phone). As we strained our last steps and reached the top of the hill, we met up with Rafa and his son who’s job was to reverse the effects of deforestation. We learned how to clear the vegetation of the forest floor and dig a hole that was just deep enough so that the tree wouldn’t drown from the countless amounts of rain that it would get each day. After about an hour of work, we planted 40 trees! All muddy and sweaty, we hiked down the steep mountain, admiring the view of Santa Maria de Dota along the way. We walked about a mile to get to a soccer field, but we ended up playing 4 square instead. When we were ready to leave, Javier announced that we would be taking a short cut to get back to our cabins. We should have known better than to think that we would be going back the way we came, after all this is an adventure! We crossed a small creek (leaving some of us in wet shoes) , crawled through a hole in a barbed wire fence, and then discovered a massive tree, that actually was hallow on the inside. Knowing we’re all curious children, we of course had to explore and actually crawl inside the tree, which was said to hold 5 people maximum. After taking several pictures we returned to our cabins where we were given a delicious dinner! It was spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread, and a wonderful salad. The chef made caramelized bananas with some cinnamon sprinkled on top. Next thing we knew, we were in Mr. Hunt’s cabin writing this blog about the amazing day we had!
P.S. Shout out to Finn and Cam for being amazing leaders of the day!
And so our trip begins
Our trip to Costa Rica began with eight members of the class of 2022 assembling in the early morning hours in front of the gym. Mr France had one of the school’s vans prepped and ready for our trip to Baltimore Washington international airport. With Ms. Krein’s assistance we checked our bags, made it through security and eventually boarded Southwest 602 to San Jose, Costa Rica. In the hours that preceded our departure, a few of the boys who had read the WLS website shared some of the highlights we can look forward to this week. After about a five hour trip though. The air, we landed in San Jose. We managed to get though immigration and customs and were greeted by Mr. Golfi who drove us through downtown San Jose to our final destination of the day, Santa Maria. The boys were struck by what was familiar (McDonalds, Subway and Starbucks) and the unfamiliar, company names we had never seen before. As we left San Jose and started to head into the mountains the boys were busy chattingabout a myriad of things and did an outstanding job of asking respectful questions of our driver. The mountain trip took about 90 minutes. There was heavy cloud cover in the mountains and it was a single lane road winding up and then down the mountain. As we began the decent into Santa Maria we were all impressed by the sprawling town nestled in banana and coffee plantations.
Once we pulled into the compound where we will be staying for the first part of this trip, we were greeted by Mr. Cano who gave us a lay of the land and some things to think about in the upcoming days. We were treated to a fantastic meal and spent time after dinner Setting goals for the group and for each of us as individuals. It is been a long day but everyone is excited for tomorrow.
A few steps closer to Pura Vida
By Sarah DeCamps
In late March I first gathered with 9 sixth grade boys in room 101 to begin our Costa Rica MiniMester journey together. For many of these boys, Costa Rica will be the first time away from home for this long and certainly this far away.
I have been leading and managing global journeys at Landon, and outside school, for many years. Each year that a new crop of boys embarks on this adventure is a moment of pride for me. I truly believe global education has the power to transform students from passengers to engaged young citizens. I have watched it happen again and again. I am eager to see how the experience will impact this new group of boys. Their desire to go to Costa Rica as 11 year olds indicates a level of courage in each one of them that makes me very proud, as one of their teachers.
Throughout the 2 days, we prepared for their journey in multiple ways. In each activity, their bravery, curiosity, enthusiasm, and sixth grade humor was ever so evident.
MiniMester is a program at Landon to allow boys to learn and experience things outside the traditions of the classroom curriculum. For the Costa Rica MiniMester, the 2 days allows the group to get to know each other and prepare themselves for the exciting 8 day journey on which they will embark in June.
The goals of the 2 days were:
- To expose the boys to the country of Costa Rica and its cultural traditions.
- To talk about the purpose of global education at Landon, which is to teach global issues through experiential education.
- To learn about the importance of having an open mind.
- To get to know each other.
- To examine some of the global issues that Costa Rica faces.
- To build trust and teamwork in the group.
In our 2 short days together, we accomplished these things and many more. Throughout all of the activities, we talked a lot about comfort zones and stretch zones. Our comfort zone is where we often reside. The Costa Rica programs aims to push the boys just little into their stretch zones (deemed courage zones) because that is where real learning happens.
The boys tested this with some team-building activities and learned they really do trust each other. It was encouraging to see such camaraderie and teamwork right out of the gate.
On our first day together, they learned a lot about the “Pura Vida” culture of Costa Rica, including its resources, its climate, its terrain, and, most importantly, its people. The boys made maps and investigated information about the people and the country that would prepare them to be intelligent audience members when they met the Ambassador.
I have never been more impressed with a group of boys than when we went to the Embassy. They were gracious, interested, curious, engaged. Their questions were nearly endless. One boy even stumped the Ambassador with a question about why certain buildings all face one direction.
Their enthusiasm could be felt by everyone there. They had met one of their goals – to learn about Costa Rica and the global issues that impact this beautiful country. They left with a healthy taste for the plants, animals, food, landscapes, and people they will see in June. The boys seemed most excited about all of the biodiversity they will see.
They even wrote really nice thank you notes to the Ambassador expressing their gratitude for the time he spent with them.
On day two, we worked on some team building. They willingly stepped right from their comfort zone into that stretch zone. Their open-mindedness and curiosity continued to be evident when they traveled to Savage Mills, Maryland to participate in some experiential education at Terrapin Adventures. The activities included a small ropes course and even a chance to fly through the air on a giant swing.
At the end of the day, they came upon a large pile of wood chips being stored in the parking lot of the property for a wedding that would take place later that week. They inquired with their instructor about the wood chips and learned that Terrapin Adventures was responsible for moving the pile. The boys eagerly offered to help and soon found themselves working together to help their instructors. Little did they know, this is just the kind of thing they will have the chance to do in Costa Rica to contribute to the community they will visit. Mr. Hunt and I stood to side, observing. As we boarded the bus, tired from the day, I could tell the boys felt good about their spontaneous act of goodness. They will get this feeling of accomplishment again when they take on their service project at Santa Maria in June.
Back at Landon, the group discussed ways in which they could support each other. They left that afternoon, psyched for Spring Break, and also feeling just a little more “ready” for their June journey.
Their enthusiasm to dive in and really experience Pura Vida is palpable.
Costa Rica 2017 