La Carpio

5/23/14

On Thursday 5/22.14, we visited La Carpio.  La Carpio is a rundown area full of poverty and struggle.  The majority of people living in La Carpio are from Nicaragua.  We visited a preschool in La Carpio that is free to the children living there.  Those children were very smart and were learning English.  The day we were there, they were counting to 13 in English, and this is at ages 4 and 5.  Although the families have little money, and little resources, each child was clean, and in a clean school uniform, ready for learning.

In the middle of La Carpio is 125 stairs that over 400 families live around.  This was the subject of our service project.  Some of us painted a railing that was placed on the stairs and some of us (including me) carried buckets of concrete mix up and down the stairs, over and over again.  They will be making a wall so that when people walk on the stairs they will not fall off the side. 

Seeing La Carpio, definitely made me feel very thankful for what I have, and the overabundance of what I have been blessed with.  People are here, some living in houses made of tine and cardboard, to make a better life for themselves.  They have emigrated here from Nicaragua for a better life, and to them this is better.

The children here, barely have their basic needs met.  They may not be getting fed at home, and the only meals they receive are at school.  They may not have a proper bed to sleep in, our very many clothes to wear.  We learn in all of our education classes, that if a child’s basic need are not met, then they have difficulties learning.  I have seen this first hand, but I also feel that this pre-school we visited is giving these children tools for a better life through education.  They are giving these children a fun and safe environment, where they can learn and grow, and gain the tools they need to make a better life for themselves.

This experience showed me that children who are living in poverty do not have a choice in how their family lives.  But it also showed me that parents often don’t have that choice either.  These parents are striving to give their children the best life they can, and sometimes, this is all they can achieve.  The families that have come to La Carpio, have done so, to have a better life.  It is so important for teachers to be present in every day, and make every effort to teach every child, because you never know what great things that these children might do in the future, and that is in your hands at this moment, to give them what they need, and keep them going, so that they make it to that future.

La Carpio is looked at as a bad, run down place, but for the people who live there, they are trying to make a better life for themselves and for their families, the best that they know how.  I am glad that we took the time to visit La Carpio and to see all aspects of Costa Rica and the different lives here.

Come Josephine in your flying maching...

6/5/14

On Thursday, three days before we return back to the states, we went zip-lining through the cloud forest of Monteverde.  This was an interesting experience to me, and one I was dreading for the entire trip.  Mostly because I am terrified of heights, and plummeting down from very high places, but also because I am afraid of taking chances (this is a big ahah moment for me).  I am comfortable and content in my calm and normal and predictable life.  I have known from the beginning of this journey, that on this day, we would be zip-lining.  I have taken the emotional journey of being terrified, to being content with the idea of it, while still being terrified.  My personal beliefs tell me that I will die, when it is my time to go, and there is nothing I can do about it.  Therefore, if I am supposed to die while zip-lining, it's going to happen (I know it's a little morbid, sorry).

So, here we are, and it is time to zip-line, and I am wearing my quick drying pants, just in case I pee myself, and I am terrified.  But in the end, I push myself to do it, because I will never in my life, be in this very moment again, in the middle of a Costa Rican cloud forest, with the opportunity to do a zip-lining canopy tour. 

In the end, it was a step by step process, just like everything else.  There were 8 zips plus one practice zip.  Practice zip: I made it through the practice, and I am still alive, but not sure I want to continue.  Zip 1:  I go, but only after the guide agreed to go with me, attached to me the entire way.  I survived.  Zip 2:  I go alone and am the first one to go, which ensures nobody can see my terrified face when I get to the end.  Zip 3: Still by myself, first one to to, and a little more comfortable, I open my eyes.  Zip 4:  First one to go, eyes open and I actually look around, but we are in a cloud so the fog is so thick I can barely see, which makes me feel a little claustrophobic.  Skip to Zip 8:  Last zip.  I actually really enjoyed this, and the adrenaline rush, but I am also content in this being my only zip lining experience ever.

Through this experience, I learned that I push my limits and do things that I would not normally do.  I learned that I can push my limits, and not die.  I also learned that it is not natural to sail through the air over the clouds, and maybe fate should not always be tested, and it's okay to be boring and content with my boring, on the ground, life.

I graduated from Spanish Class!

Today was our last Spanish class in Costa Rica.  We were surprised with a small "graduation" and diplomas.  60 hours of Spanish class done!

A different world

6/3/14

Today we visited the Cloud Forest School.  It is a private school in Costa Rica.  The school accommodates grades preschool to eleventh grade.  After eleventh grade, the students receive their High School degree.

The school is a bilingual school.  Students receive 80% instruction in English and 20% instruction in Spanish.  We were told that next year, they hope to offer dual language instruction which would consist of ½ day of English and ½ day of Spanish.  Although it is a private school, 85% of the students are there on scholarships.  The student body is made up of 93% Costa Rican and 7% international students. 

The school is located on 106 acres.  It has an open layout and the campus surrounded by outdoors allows for many outdoor learning opportunities.  The library contains 90% books in Enlgish and 10% books in Spanish.  The school offers music, physical education, and art as special classes. 

There is a lower student to teacher ratio.  Each class has an average of 15 students and any class greater than 18 students gets an aide to help in that classroom.  Bus transportation is offered to all students which is what sets it apart from other private and or public schools. 

The Cloud Forest School offers real world activities and encourages students to embrace the environment and learn from their outdoor surroundings.  The school also instils sustainability by having recycling, composting, and a green house where they \grow vegetation to reforest it into the rainforest.

School’s NOT out for ever Alice Cooper!

6/4/14

Today, a usually somber and quiet household in the mornings as I eat my breakfast alone, turned into a hectic scramble for everyone to get ready.  Today is the first day of school for my tica sisters, and all other public school students, after a five week teacher strike here in Costa Rica.  My 8 year old tica sister is so excited to return to school as I can see most children here in CR are.  My 14 year old tica sister was worried about how she looked for school (typical teen girl).

 I do not know all of the details as to why the teachers ended the strike.  Two weeks ago, the government tried to offer them some of the owed money and the teachers would not take a partial amount.  That being said, I do not know the specific details, just simply that today, schools are back in session across Costa Rica.

A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall

5/31/14

Our weekend excursion this week was to Arenal Volcano.  After a four hour bus ride, we arrived, ate lunch, and went to go on a guided hike at the volcano.  I am pretty sure all of us were expecting to be able to hike up the volcano and look into it, however, in reality, our hike was simply in the rain forest at the base of the volcano.  We were informed by our guide that because it is an active volcano, it is not safe to walk close to the volcano, not just because of risk of eruption, but also the gasses that an active volcano sometimes gives off can be deadly.  

Just after we arrived for our hike, it started raining, very hard.  Since we were already wet, we decided to continue on the hike.  Because of the rain, we did not see any wildlife, but we heard howler monkeys, which apparently howl a lot when it storms.  We finished our wet hike, without anyone sliding down a mud hill, or falling (all bets were on me!).

We made our way to the resort, and although it continued to rain without any signs of ceasing, we checked into our rooms and enjoyed our view of the storm and the disappearing volcano from our   front porches.  It amazed me how the volcano could be present one minute, and then look like it was gone in another.  This of course was from the clouds.

 We enjoyed a good dinner and then went back to our rooms.  Most of us decided not to go enjoy the natural hot springs during the storm.  Our rooms were amazing.  The showers had an open roof, where the rain would trickle in down a rock wall.  

After a great night’s sleep, we awoke to the most amazing view of “our” volcano.  We went to breakfast, then enjoyed the hot springs, the pools, and the sun.  After I had enough sun, I returned to our room, took a hot shower (haven’t ha a hot shower in over a week due to a broken shower heater), and then I relaxed and read my book, while enjoying a magnificent view of the volcano.  This was just what I needed to recharge for another week of classes.