Today was our 4th
day in Costa Rica. In the morning we all went to the local school and got to
play with the little kids who were kindergarten through 6th grade. I
got to play games with the kindergarteners and they were honestly the cutest
kids ever. I haven’t ever seen a group of kids so happy before even in the heat
and not having the greatest conditions for school. We all integrated and ended
up playing a giant game of soccer. The local kids laughed at how bad some of us
were but it was okay because we all had fun. I was surprised at how much
Spanish I actually knew and how much I was able to speak and translate for
other people. I was able to speak to my homestay mom during lunch a lot. She
was one of the kindest and welcoming people I have ever met. She made a delicious
traditional soup and homemade coconut ice cream for lunch. After lunch we had a
cooking class where we learned how to make traditional Costa Rican foods like
corn tortillas, empanadas, and papayadillo. My favorite was the empanada. Three oft he moms showed us how to make each
dish and we all got to be apart of the process of cooking everything. The heat
was so intense all day. I’ve never been so hot and sweaty in my entire life.
Surprisingly the locals didn’t even think it was hot.
Today gave me good
insight into what other people have to endure everyday and how they are still
happy welcoming people. Throughout this entire experience I’ve been reminded to
appreciate what I have everyday and even inspired me to want to travel to
somewhere in Africa to do the same type of project. Learning how to cook today
was so great I definitely want to make some of the local dishes when I get
home. I also learned that I could have too much rice and beans. It seems that
they eat rice and beans at every meal; even breakfast!
One of my favorite
experiences this trip was the chocolate farm called Finca Kobo. The farm was
gigantic and split up between chocolate trees and other various fruits. We had
a tour guide that cut down some fruit and let us try them. My two favorite
fruits were the star fruit and the chocolate bean. I ended up eating almost the
entire pod of chocolate beans with Paul. I wanted to stay on the farm the whole
trip and eat all the delicious fresh fruits. Another great experience was
swimming in the river while it rained yesterday. We spent about an hour hiking
through the rainforest in the rain and once we arrived at a waterfall we all
got to go swim under the fall. The water wasn’t that warm but it was really
refreshing because the humidity. While we were all swimming it started raining
again and the whole rainforest and waterfall became 10x more beautiful. The
whole experience truly an amazing one and I’m so glad I got to go on the hike.
I’ve gotten eaten
up by a bunch of bugs, which has been the only drag to this trip. It makes me
feel like I’ve been enduring the jungle and more tough so I’m okay with it. I’m
excited for the snorkeling and dolphin viewing tomorrow. About 10 kids are
coming along with the group so it will be fun to mix the cultures. On Saturday
we have a 5am fruit and juice session which I am also looking forward to; just
the juice… not the early morning wakeup.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I miss you both so much. I can’t wait to see you when I come home in a
few days. But don’t worry about me too much. I’m having a lot of fun and
learning a lot. We should come down here before I go to college because it’s
similar to the Amazon trip with Amber. I’m so grateful that you allowed me to
have this experience. I definitely miss my comfy bed and all the amazing paleo
meals. I can't wait for lots of acai
bowls and sweet potato fries when I return. Please text Cridtalll that I love
and miss her when you get a chance. It’ll mean a lot to me and her, I miss her
bunches.
Pops- this trip
makes me want to go on more adventures with you, even if they aren’t the most
glamorous living conditions. I think I could handle Kili with you one summer. I
miss you a lot and if this is what being at college is like…. I want funny
texts everyday.
Mommy- ich liebe dich ganz fiel. I can't wait to see
you when you pick me up at the airport. I have so much to tell you about this
trip. It's been way more fun than I expected it to be. You’d be proud of how
much Spanish I’ve been speaking.
Liebe,
Frances
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