Days Four/Five – Costa Rica
For the last two days we have worked at Linda Vista, painting walls and kitchens, etc., and doing an art program with the kids. One half of the team painted while the other did a series of projects with the kids. Today we switched that around. We got about 3/4 of the kitchen painted yesterday and the remainder today. The head cook, Marianna made us home made tortillas and coffee for a break and they were to die for. A cross between a pancake and tortilla.
I (Diane) worked with the kids today playing a bingo game designed to teach them English, specifically to read and write their colors. Chelsea did face painting. Spiders were the hit for the boys and stars for the girls. Molly and Syd made hemp bracelets while Barb made Sombrerros…we would call them paper hats.. They were a big hit. Hannah , Spencer and Catey and our main man Alvero finished the painintg. Over the last two days we worked amazingly hard. When not painting or working with these adorable kids we were helping the kitchen staff serve over 130 meals at lunch. Now “there” is a system!
We sit around over dinner and talk about the kids and our impressions and observations from the day. There is a lot to process when you see the depth of poverty and witness the violence that these kids live with. All of us fall into bed each night completely exhausted but happy. Life will not seem normal after we return.
Pura Vida, Your Costa Rica Team,
Diane
Day Three – Costa Rica
Wednesday, June 30th. What a team! Everyone is working hard, has a great attitude and absolutely loves this type of travel. Several have expressed that they can never just go sit on a beach with a beer again . . . .
We have worked very hard and it is really showing. We went to 25th de Julio again yesterday, and delivered all of the supplies we brought and the teachers and director cried and said it was like Christmas. They were thrilled with everything. We finished our painting of the outside and Alvaro took us for a tour of the city and up into the mountains. It was gently raining but all in all a wonderful tour. We ended up at a market late in the day. Apparently we had worked so efficiently we finsihed the project early. After the market we had a coffee in a crazy restaurant, so busy it makes anywhere I go in Seattle pale by comparison.
We have been very lucky with the weather: hot but not overwhelming, which is good since we do not have air-conditioning at our hostel. Speaking of hostel, ours is proving to be quite interesting. There are about 11 or12 of us staying here and currently we are down to one communal toilet and two showers.
We spent the day at another center, Linda Vista, and half of us painted while the other half did art projects with the kids. It was really fun to see many of the kids from last year as well as the warm welcome we got from the cooks, which we had gotten to know quite well. Everyone is amazing, no complaints, hard workers and having a great time. We are really enjoying it and are always aware of the poverty that surrounds us. What an experience for all.
In his adventures,
Diane
Day Two – Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Spencer Jermulowske points out that all is good down there: that the weather has been sun and rain; that the food is good; and they’ve been doing alot of painting, such that their buz word for the day was: “mas pentura” = more paint! Way to go, Spencer. Thanks for the update.
Day One – Costa Rica
Just finished our first meeting after working today. What a great group. Alvero, our main contact is just great! He has been terrific at facilitating our work, explaining the impact of what we do for the community. We received an overview of Funda Vida. Everyone really appreciated it and has a great grasp of what they are doing to change the lives of these kids. We gave out all our supplies today and they were so appreciative. Eladio’s wife made a fantastic lunch for us and we ate at the community center. Alvero insisted that we were the best group that had ever come through. Very dedicated workers. yahoo!
We painted, sanded and scraped all day to help the center really look good in the midst of chaos. We are apparently in one of the poorest sections of San Jose and I can believe it; classic shacks, lots of garage and course the requisite number of stray dogs spreading the garbage everywhere.
The center is a light in the midst of darkness!
Diane and the team.
Trip start
Team Costa Rica is safely in San Jose, the capital. They’ll get up bright and early and head to the community centers to begin their week of projects and interaction with the kids and families at Pura Vida Centers.
