Hola!

We had a Costa Rica Night few days ago to promote our Humanitarian Trip to potential students who are interested in traveling and working with the Costa Rica Humanitarian Foundation in 2011. Each of us shared our experience during the trip, and I couldn’t believe it had been a month since we got back from this beautiful place!

I still remember the very first day when we arrived, refreshed by the warm breeze and the sunshine. As we went up to the mountains, heading to the small town of Turrialba (our project area), we got a chance to see the beautiful landscape of Costa Rica. The green grassy fields, colourful flowers and farm animals like cows, sheep, horses.

We stopped by a restuarant for our first Costa Rican lunch. As expected, they were mostly beans and rice, but the fish taste delicious! We also got to try a juice that we didn't even know the name of, but it's alright, it tasted good:) The first day was mostly travelling. We spent most of our time on the coach bus, catching up with some sleep.

We spent the next four days at the special needs school, working on our project and interacting with the students. It was incredibly hot under the blazing sun, we were exhausted as we worked through the day doing labour work like carrying rocks, cemet, planting and digging.

In the afternoon, we got a chance to go into classroom and play with the kids. They were all so friendly! And it was nice talking to the teacher while they explained how their school system works. We also gave out the school supplies that we collected back home and distributed to the teachers. They were all so grateful and were giving us hugs and kisses as we handed each of them the packages.

Talking about the food in Turrialba, I personally really enjoyed everything that the school provided for us, as well as the dinners we had in the small town. Of course, it was still beans and rice but in great variety! I somehow got used to the feeling of not caring what I was eating as long as it tasted good, and it always did. Water had become my best friend. I didn't even remember how many litres of water I drank per day at the work site.

The four day project day went by swiftly, and I couldn't believe the amount of work our group had done! We actually built a garden with plants and rocks and a concrete pathway:) We were really proud of ourselves.

We ended our visit with a festival with the teacher and students at the school. Everyone had a great time dancing along with the music. We received gifts from the kids showing their appreciation for our time helping and visiting them. Some of us cried at the closing ceremony;(



All I could say was....it was definitely an rewarding experience. Even though there were hard labour work, it was worth it when I saw the heart warming smiles on the childrens' faces.