The day started like any normal
day… wake up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise over the mountains of Costa Rica
while enjoying a nice cup of tea in the rocking chairs of the Soltis Center,
then for breakfast devouring 4 slices of watermelon (which I learned is
“Sandia” en español), cantaloupe, pineapple and avocado. Just kidding, that’s not a normal day for
most people, but for the next week, it is!
The start of the morning was
definitely a little nerve racking.
Today we had our first experience working and interacting with the kids
at la escuela in Costa Rica. The
language barrier was definitely a challenge, but we soon learned that the most
powerful form of communication was simply a smile and a laugh. We started off
working with a younger group of kids, ranging in age from 4 to 12. Ryan and Todd started the program off with a
BUZZ by entertaining the kids with a skit about the effects of getting Dengue
Fever from mosquitos. Then Tess, our
lovely translator, separated them into groups and from there the adventure
began. We had four stations that the
kids rotated through, each either explaining the risk of Dengue Fever or how to
avoid getting it in different and fun ways.
One group played hide and seek: Todd put on mosquito get-up and the kids
looked for him in places that are prone to mosquito infestation. The kids obviously had fun with that, but we
have a feeling that Todd may have had the most fun with it. Afterwards, that group taught them how to
play Duck, Duck, Mosquito and the kiddos had a blast chasing us around and
trying on pieces of Todd’s costume. Another group taught the kids how to make
mosquitos out of pipe cleaners… that was interesting. The kids came out with pink, purple and blue
mosquitos. After the mosquitos were made the kids had a marvelous time
pretending to bite each other with them and then creating other things like
“coronas” (crowns) and swords out of the pipe cleaners. The next group worked on the kids coloring
skills while discussing where the mosquitos could be found and how to prevent
them there. The fourth group played a
matching game with the kids. They
emphasized prevention methods and just had a good time. Once we had rotated all four times, we moved
out to the field to play a nice little game of Red Light Green Light… although
it took a good twenty minutes to get organized and have it actually resemble
the game as we know it. The kids had a
blast running around and playing with us, and we had a blast being able to be
kids again. They had their pipe cleaner
mosquitos (zancudos) and were running around stinging each other and playing
tag. It was really awesome to see that
they understood and retained what we were telling them about the dangers of
Dengue Fever. The field was filled with
laughter and smiles the whole time, and although we couldn’t always talk about
much, other than our names and favorite colors, it was obvious that everyone
was having a great time. You could see
the little boys running after the guys in our group playing tag, Ryan off to
the side doing cartwheels with some of the girls, and another group of kids
with our cameras taking pictures of everyone around them. I (Leah) had a great time getting to know one
little girl named Nicole. She didn’t seem to want to play the game, so I headed
over her way and plopped down next to her.
From there she decided to start rattling off Spanish to me… not the most
ideal situation for me to be in seeing as how I have a difficult time
understanding anything other than English.
We got through the basics, but from there it became obvious to her that
I had no clue what I was saying. But
rather than leaving, she decided to help me learn Spanish. She told me the few English words she knew,
mostly colors, and taught me how to say them in Spanish. It showed me just how truly pure and sweet
the children here are.
Eventually
we had to part ways with the little ones and head over to the secondary
education school at which we encountered kids ranging from 14 to even older
than most of us. This part of our adventure was significantly more challenging
since the older kids were less receptive to our patchy Spanish babblings and
basic questions than the younger group. Nevertheless we had a good time and we
feel like we were successful in our mission to raise awareness about Dengue
Fever.
Our next excursion
brought us to the Arenal Volcano where our amazing guide, Alberth, taught us
numerous life lessons while showing us a lot of amazing animals and teaching us
a lot about the area we were exploring. Because of his skilled eye we saw a
sloth, a snake, some intriguing birds and a cool creature that resembles a
large raccoon. Our destination had a breathtaking view the Volcano on one side
and a pristine lake on the other. It was a life changing moment for all of us
as we realized the beauty that Costa Rica, and the world as a whole, has to
offer. Then on the way back I (Carrigan) had an in depth conversation with
Alberth about life and happiness in both ourselves and others and it really
opened my eyes to the meaning of “Pura Vida.” I realized how, this man who
doesn’t have much of anything is so happy in his job and in life and it really
made me realize how much we take for granted. Alex put it into words well with his
comment “I hope that one day I can love something as much as Albert loves his
rainforest.” It is so true.
As two first time world travelers I
think we can agree that this trip has really opened up our eyes to this world
and its people. So far Costa Rica has showed us so much happiness and peace,
and we can’t wait to see what the rest of this week has in store for us.
Pura Vida,
Leah Bauer & Carrigan Miller
Ryan doing cartwheels with the school kids.
Group at the Soltis Center.
Our ninja tour guide, Alberth.
Group at Arenal Volcano.
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