Getting To Know Costa Rica.....

 

Hola! Greetings from San Jose! We arrived safely around 3:00 and managed to go through customs without much trouble.

We gathered at Holton this morning at 5:45 and left for the airport soon after; we got through the security line quicker than we would have expected and were soon off to Miami! Some girls saw Holton from the sky as we left D.C. We had our last meal in the States during our two hour layover in Miami (fun fact: the abbreviation for Miami’s airport is MIA). We were filled with anticipation and excitement as we boarded the plane to San Jose. BUT!!!! The TV’s turned off during the instructional video just before takeoff, making us nervous for the flight. However, we landed safely and early. The view was gorgeous – the waters were so clear. Some girls even saw lightning as we encountered turbulence! We could smell the fresh air as soon as we landed.

National Museum

After going through customs, we met our leaders, Alicia and Randall. They are so nice, and we can tell they’ll be great additions to our group! We participated in an icebreaker on the way to our bed and breakfast in San Jose; everyone selected a Rice Krispy treat that had someone else’s name on it, and they had to say an interesting fact about the other person. Randall pointed out some neat buildings such as the National Theater and the National Museum, which was once a fort in Costa Rica’s last war in 1948. Upon arriving, we split ourselves into rooms and got ready to explore Costa Rica’s capital city. After we got a chance to browse the markets, we feasted on casado, the traditional Costa Rican cuisine of rice, beans, and meat. We all ate a lot, and the passion fruit drinks were deliciosas!

National Theatre of Costa Rica

We passed the Congress on our walk home. We just participated in our first ANCHOR  meeting at the bed and breakfast; we will have one each night. It stands for Appreciation, News, Concerns, Hopes, Obscurities, and Readings. It was a nice way to wind down and got us pumped for the next 12 days! We look forward to seeing the turtles tomorrow!

-Polly and Isabel

(Hi, Mom(s)!)

 

Pura Vida!

Costa Rica Group has arrived! Pura Vida!

Pura Vida Mae!

Day 2 : June 10th

Note to Readers: This blog was written by three separate authors as they reflected on their experiences on Sunday, June 10.  As a result, the entries are not sequential, but reflect the thoughts of each individual girl.  You will also see that we encountered heavy rain and thunderstorms during our time at Pacuare.  Please be assured that we followed the station’s safety protocols throughout the storms.

 

Pura vida mae (pure life dude)!  Wake up call was at 6:30 am and we (all 17 of us with 3 bathrooms!) got ready with great speed for the 7:15 breakfast.  Since we got ready early we had more than enough time to load the bus.  Our driver, Miguel, efficiently loaded our bags on top of the bus while balancing himself on its roof.  To pass time on our three hour ride, Alicia and Randall started us off with a name game.  We went around saying our name followed by an animal with the same initial letter.   Then each person repeated the previous person’s animal and name.  Poor Emily had to repeat everyone’s animal and name.  By then we had entered a winding road through mountains which are part of a national forest called Braulio Carrillo.  After an hour or so on the bus, we stopped for a bathroom and snack break where we enjoyed authentic empanadas filled with queso  (cheese), pollo (chicken) or carne (meat).  A little while later we reached a village where we were surprised to see an iguana scampering across the road!  Don’t worry - it made it across safely!  This village held many surprises because soon after we came across a Costa Rican Chinese food restaurant for lunch!  Our lunch break took longer than expected (2 hours!) but it was worth the experience.  We then passed through a large banana plantation where we heard stories about how they originated through the foundation of railroads. 

The heat and humidity accompanied us through the whole three-hour ride, we could not have survived the journey without the fresh air provided by the open windows.   We then arrived at the location of the boat, but since we were late we had to wait a while until it came.  Finally when the boats arrived we loaded the luggage and were on the way to the Pacuare Turtle Reserve.  In the 20 minute journey we saw monkeys and kept an eye out for alligators!  After we docked we used wooden carts to transport the bags to the cabins through the jungle filled with snakes, frogs and BUGS.  We regrouped for a tete-a-tete (shout out to Mrs. G!) to discuss our plans for the evening and signed up for the night-time turtle patrolling, which included shifts from 8-12 pm, 10 pm-2 am, 12-4 m.  Soon after we enjoyed a simple Costa Rican dinner consisting of rice with a bean stew and salad (the only time we can actually eat it)!  With our stomachs full the first group set off on their journey.

 –  Rodina, Polly, Ayesha, Bernadine, Aisha.

 

At precisely 7:45 pm, the first group met outside the dining hall in preparation for whatever awaited us. Five Holton girls, in addition to Dr. Wulff and Randall, headed to the beach with a marine biologist and the director of the southern Pacuare Reserve, Alvaro. Moments after we began our journey into the dark, it began to pour. We were not able to use headlamps because the turtles confuse the light with the light of the moon. For safety reasons, everyone was asked to have a buddy and make sure that no one got left behind; Rodina and I took this assignment very seriously as we held hands until our return to the reserve. At first the lightning and thunder startled us, but we quickly became accustomed to our surroundings. On our way back from the mid-way point, lightning seemed to strike very close to where we were walking. It was quite scary because we couldn’t see well for the next 30 seconds. After about 2 hours without seeing much besides the waves of the ocean and random debris, our leaders asked us to wait as they walked towards a dark spot on the sand; I have no clue how they were able to spot the turtle from so far away! Once the leaders ok’d us to approach, we sat around a female leatherback turtle as she dug a hole for her nest and laid her eggs. I was given the privilege to be the designated egg counter – I crouched down on my hands and knees as the marine biologists held her back fins apart so I could count the tiny infertile eggs (17) as she kept track of the total number (78). As the turtle finished laying her eggs and began refilling her nest with sand, the leaders took measurements and examined her for any injuries. All in all, we spent about an hour observing before we completed the final stretch of the trek. Drenched and tired, we returned in 2 lines, ready for bed!

--- Ayesha

 

Hi everybody at home! What follows is an entry, which I wrote around 8 AM this morning, from my trip journal. “Here I am, showered and finally (somewhat) clean.”  Last night we had quite the adventure – without actually going near the beach. I had signed up to take the “graveyard” shift on turtle patrol, from midnight to 4 AM. However, last night there was a huge thunderstorm  - lightning every three seconds, thunder so loud it shook our cabin like the baseline in a dubstep song.

At around 11:40 PM, we walked over to the dining hall in the pitch-black darkness with only our headlamps (or in my case, a flashlight) to guide us. (I have never more appreciated the role of streetlamps in American society). I, having forgotten to bring a waterproof jacket, got totally and completely soaked as I walked through the buckets of rainwater that kept falling. In fact, it is still raining now – which means it’s been raining for almost 12 straight hours, a miraculous feat had it taken place back in DC.

When we got to the overhang where we were supposed to meet, we waited for a while for the biologist who was supposed to lead us. While we sat, eventually each one of us switched off our lights so that we sat quietly in the storm, watching the brief flashes of the ocean granted us by the lightning. Forgive me for the metaphor, but I thought it was as if God was taking pictures of the ocean with a flash camera. The ocean was really intense, too: tumultuous and boiling, it crashed down on the beach with a sound to rival that of the thunder. After a while it was determined that we could not patrol due to the storm. As I scurried back through the still-pouring rain, I felt bad that I couldn’t take part in the turtle patrols, and that I would get significantly more sleep than the people who had taken the other shifts. But it’s not like there’s much I can do – I can’t tell the storm to stop.”

–Alexandra

 

Isabel, Emily and I were sleeping soundly and there was a rat-a-tat on the door.  Alicia was knocking on the door of our cabin to wake us up for the 2^nd shift of the turtle watch.  I woke up immediately, but it took a little bit to wake Isabel (also on the 2^nd night watch).  When Alicia succeeded in waking Isabel, she got up quickly and forgot where she was.  At that time, it was pitch black and raining steadily.  Isabel and I waited outside our cabin until everyone had gathered.  We all walked together to the dining room where we waited for a couple of minutes for the marine biologist, Rocio, to come.  After Rocio showed us her material for the walk, we all turned off our headlamps and blindly followed Rocio onto the beach. 

A couple of minutes later, we saw a couple of blinks in the distance, signaling that a biologist found a turtle.  We approached the biologist and she was with the first group.  The turtle was massive and it was laying such small eggs!  It was truly a magnificent sight.  Since another group found the turtle, we moved on with our walk.  Isabel and I were holding hands the whole time while we were walking.  It felt like we were on a treadmill, walking and walking, but not knowing where we are going.  The sounds of the ocean were soothing and I closed my eyes for a little bit (it was dark enough that I did not know if my eyes were open or closed).  Then BOOM! – a huge clap of thunder sounded and the lightening was blinding.  We reached the half-way mark and we went under a half-tarp for shelter.  The storm had gotten worse and we needed to seek shelter.  Rosio had cookies and we eagerly ate them.  After we were done eating we sat quietly waiting for something bad to happen.  We watched in the distance the lightning storm and the heard the booming thunder.  The lightening was so blinding that I saw two!  Isabel and I were holding each other waiting for another blinding strike.  Then I suggested that we should play a game.  So we played the name game until we got tired.  I don’t know if I was really scared or I was feeding off of other people’s fear.  Rosio then said that we should leave and not go through the beach trail because the lightening might strike someone on the beach.  So we trudged through the jungle in the heavy rain for 1.5 km to the Pacuare Reserve!  The journey was scary, but helpful in pushing my own limits.  I knew that I was in a precarious situation, but I was surprisingly calm.  If I were to hear such an event, I would be certain that I would have freaked out.  Not being scared, being calm, focusing on the positive and being comfortable with my surroundings definitely opened my eyes to a new me.  I am stronger than I ever thought and when faced with a challenge, I rise up to it and come out tougher and experienced, ready for anything that pops up.   I had a good night sleep after my adventure.

 

Pacuare Turtle Reserve

Monday, June11^th – Pacuare Turtle Reserve

 

         Today was our second day at Pacuare Turtle Reserve. After surviving a night of tumultuous weather, including a leaking roof, we welcomed a break from the rain in the afternoon. After taking a walk through the jungle, we walked along the beach picking up trash and branches that could block the baby turtle’s path to the ocean. Bernadine, Nikky, and I talked with two other volunteers who were excavating old nests looking to see how many of the eggs hatched. I learned that the smallest eggs were those which had not been fertilized, the larger eggs had been fertilized but had not hatched, and the shells that were broken showed how many turtles hatched. We saw three dead baby turtles who hatched but could not make it out of the nest. It was really hard to learn that although turtles lay from 70-120 eggs per nest only a fraction of them hatch and of those who hatched, only a few will make it to adulthood.

          As we walked down the beach we saw four turtles who were making their way to the ocean. Two took an early lead in the race towards the ocean and almost everyone in our group abandoned the two who were moving slowly because they were not as interesting. Nikky and I stayed with the two stragglers, cheering on the directionally-challenged turtles. I was worried that my turtle wouldn’t make it to the ocean, which would have broken my heart because I had named it Julie Junior, or JJ for short. JJ was only halfway to the ocean when the rain started again. I stayed in the rain to make sure that my pride and joy, JJ, made it to the ocean safely. Eventually, after much encouragement JJ made it to the ocean! I became attached to JJ because although small in size I could see his spirit and determination. Even when JJ was stuck in a mound of sand he didn’t give up, and although it took him a couple of minutes to free himself he did it! Although it took him significantly longer than his brothers and sisters, JJ showed me that you should never ignore the underdog.

--Julie Pettis

 

 

           We awoke on the morning of our 2^nd day at Pacuare to the hooting of howler monkeys and Aisha’s shrieks upon discovering the frog sharing her shower. After breakfast, we headed into the jungle. We passed leaf-cutter ants hard at work, several brightly colored butterflies, a spider monkey, and an abundance of plant life. On our way back, we took the beach route in order to clear off trash and debris that could impede the baby turtles’ journey to the ocean. Several of us spent a long time attempting to dig a large log that we quickly realized was actually a tree out of the sand. Our morale took a slight blow when, after trying multiple removal techniques, including a lever system, we were forced to abandon the project, but after successfully removing several large logs, we felt slightly vindicated.

             As we arrived at the stretch of beach in front of the Pacuare dining hall, we saw four baby turtles attempting to make the arduous journey down to the water. We gathered around and began to cheer them on, working to clear their way. Rapidly becoming emotionally invested in their success, I got down on my hands and knees next to one baby and began to cheer my heart out, guiding the turtle with clicks, whistles, and taps on the sand. Much to my joy, it seemed to work, and as my baby turtle moved increasing rapidly across the sand, I heard murmurs of “Turtle Whisperer” from my surrounding companions. As I focused on my turtle, everyone else’s actions gradually faded out.  When the baby turtle finally reached the water’s edge, I could barely contain my excitement. As corny as it sounds, as the waves washed over the turtle and carried it out to sea, I almost got teary. I proceeded to do the same with two of the other babies, and by 5:30, we were 4 for 4. To me, it was a small thing to cheer on the baby, but to the turtles, our protection could mean the difference between life and death. I thought of a huge loggerhead turtle I had seen on the beach in Hawaii and the green sea turtles I had swum with in Hawaii and in the Galapagos and hoped that one day, even if I did not recognize them, I would see the baby turtles we had so carefully guided happy and healthy in these beautiful places. 

                That night, we anxiously watched the rainy skies as we prepared once again to go on patrol. This time, only 7 of us – Polly, me, Julie, Alexandra, Dara, Grace Ann, and Ms. Quirk – chose to volunteer, and the majority of us had been on the patrol that had been cancelled the night before.  As we walked along the beach, certain flashes of lightning were bright enough to temporarily blind us, sending us stumbling into one another. The pouring rain was interspersed with periods of both relative calm and intense fury. On our way out, we had several false alarms, but saw no turtles. As we arrived at the halfway point, the storm intensified, but upon seeing the tattered remains of the tarp, we realized it would offer little shelter. Still, our guide Jessica and I held pieces together as best we could and we camped out for 20 minutes.

               When it became clear that the rain had no intention of ceasing, we began to head back. At one point, raindrops pelted with hail-like force, making it nearly impossible to see. The lightning became brighter, louder, and closer. We were nearly back and still had not seen a turtle. Suddenly, a flash of lightning revealed water shining on an enormous rounded shape ahead of us. We had seen our first turtle, a massive loggerhead. As she scooted into the tumultuous waves, we scouted out the patch of sand she had occupied. It appeared that the loggerhead had been a “full circle” – she had come ashore, inspected the area and decided it was an unsatisfactory nesting site, then returned to the ocean. The wet conditions couldn’t dampen our excitement – we had finally seen a turtle, and we were to discover that our good luck hadn’t ended quite yet. We were less than half a mile from the reserve base when an enormous flash of lightning forked across the sky directly in our sightline. Although I wished there was some way I could capture the scene that was illuminated in front of me, I knew that no picture or description could do justice to the image of a second loggerhead climbing into the storm-tossed waves, lightning bolt overhead.

--Emily Lucas

Meeting Our Host Families

Day 4: Tuesday, June 12, 2012

           Today did not go according to plan. That’s definitely my first reflection. But despite its many mishaps, the day was a wonderful experience. First there was the realization that, despite our putting on our only dry clothes for our assumed bus ride from Pacuare, the river we had to travel to get to the bus had risen some 4 meters out past the dock, so after dragging the bags on a cart through the rainy jungle, we had to wade out knee-deep to get on the boats. I had to get my driest shoes wet again, but I realized that that’s a fact of life on this trip: you’re going to get dirty. And then, on the boat ride, we got soaked from rain. It wasn’t pleasant, but it helped me to face the reality of being uncomfortable for a good reason.

           Another unexpected aspect of the day was the strike in San Jose that delayed our bus by several hours. Despite the disappointing idea of spending several hours soaked outdoors under a tin roof, we powered through. We ended up sharing candy, playing games, making friendship bracelets, and generally having a fantastic time. We joked that, when the bus finally came, we would wave it away since we were already so comfortable. Another great thing that came out of the rain and delays was my first luxury: we stopped at a restaurant for lunch (I felt guilty for dirtying it up with my muddy self, but oh well), and not only was the food fantastic, but they had Mentos, an amenity I had been craving since the rain had washed my stash of it to mush. I bought some and stashed it carefully in a plastic bag in my soaked backpack. It was incredible to me that something I took absolutely for granted back home, like a working fan or dry clothes, could make me so incredibly happy. That was how the whole day felt for me, that despite the issues and many mishaps we faced, there were little bright spots that made me so content that any discomfort washed away with the rain.

– Julia

 

            From lunch onwards we spent a lot of time on the bus. Thankfully our time on the bus wasn’t lengthened by the strike, which dissipated thanks to a soccer game between Costa Rica and Uruguay, but being on the bus was better than standing in the rain! My spirits were dampened by the bugs and wet weather, but having time to dry off and bond with the girls lifted my spirits. The bus ride gave me time to think about what I was thankful for and how things could’ve been worse, but weren’t. I also realized that I take a lot of the things I have back home for granted and it put things in perspective for me. Americans are seen as lazy, mean, and spoiled because we think we deserve the best, know the best, and shouldn’t have to work hard for what we have. I resent that view on America because I try so hard not to be like that, but let’s face the facts. If you had to live in a cabin surrounded by the jungle and extremely annoying bugs, and trek through the rain, most Americans would complain their heads off and be ready to go back home as soon as they could. I’m changing my outlook on things because these things are common place for people of this area, and if they can deal with it, so can I.

           Everyone on the bus was looking forward to the homestays. We were excited and nervous, but mostly excited. I was nervous mostly because I feel my Spanish should be better than it is, and it’s very hard for me to speak Spanish. Being in a house with native Spanish speakers and a friend who relies on me for all the Spanish, is a pretty scary scenario. We dropped off the girls staying with Julio first and I was excited for them! Their family made a heart with stones in their yard just for the girls. We all thought that was so sweet and that showed me that all of our families were really looking forward to us spending a week with them.  Stop by stop, our numbers were dwindling and Lia and I were getting closer and closer to being dropped off. When the bus pulled up to the road that led to my house for the next week, I got extremely nervous. I wondered how the family would react to us, what I would say, if they would like me, etc. I was running through Spanish phrases in my head and telling myself things would be great! Our host-grandfather met us and the family was smiling and greeting us. I felt very welcomed, but as the Spanish started flowing, mine stopped. I froze on most of my Spanish and my family resorted to writing things down. Lia and I presented our gifts: dominoes and a puzzle, and the little kids were excited to have them. We built buildings out of the dominoes and started working on the puzzle.

         As the evening started winding down, I began to think about terrible my Spanish was and how I could’ve done better. I came down really hard on myself, which is pushing me to work harder on my Spanish. I’m hoping my Spanish will improve and connections will form between me and the people in my family. I have really high hopes for this week with my family and I can’t wait for our adventure to continue!

Danielle Jones

Making Connections: Service Work, Organic Farm Visit, Night With Host Families

Day 5- June 13, 2012

Today after working at the school we visited Daniel Vega Gutierrez’s organic farm - La Finca el Paraíso. Daniel showed us how to milk goats, a task I did not partake in (I had a bad experience milking a cow when I was younger and since then have steered clear of milking farm animals).  He also let us hold some of the baby pigs, which squealed until Danielle was able to calm one down (Alicia dubbed her the “pig whisperer”). Daniel taught us a lot about how his organic farm runs by showing us how his farm uses biogas (gas made from dead organic matter) instead of gasoline, teaching us how to create organic fertilizer, and letting us feed his pigs their organic diet.  We each got to complete one of the steps in making the organic fertilizer – Emily and I poured molasses into a bucket of water and stirred it with our hands – I was a little reluctant to do so at first but it was actually really fun. During the tour of his farm, Daniel taught us about the many uses of his plants ranging from citronella which is used to clean houses to corn pepper used as a spice. After the tour we drank some delicious Costa Rican coffee with Daniel as he told us about the history of his farm and the struggles he has faced trying to establish his business.

 After taking AP Environmental Science this past year, I found it really interesting to see firsthand all of the organic farming methods I have read about.  When I was learning about these methods in school, it was hard to see the different levels of environmental issues that visiting Daniel’s farm brought to light. For example, in the classroom when you hear about non-environmental agricultural practices you think that the solution is simple -  change the agricultural practices, however Daniel’s story taught me that there is a lot more to solving these issues. Daniel used to work at a pineapple plantation, but after seeing the awful methods they used to increase their profit he decided to create his own organic farm. Although his food is delicious and organically made, he is having problems establishing his business because the Costa Rican government does not advertise organic food the same way the United States government does. Daniel also faces opposition from his neighbors, who do not know about the benefits of organic farming as much as he does. Daniel is already working to solve this issue by educated children about organic farming.

Daniel’s farm serves as a great example as to how different groups of people need to work together to make change possible, but also how one person can make a difference.  In APES we learned about the different people involved in solving environment issues – the scientists (to discover methods), the doers (to implement those methods), the government (to support those methods), and the educators (to advertise those methods to the public). Daniel’s story helped bring to life the role of these different groups of people in solving environmental issues. 

 - Grace Ann Brew

 

After visiting Daniel’s farm, we all went to our host families for our second night.  Initially, my experience with my family was difficult with the language barrier, but we managed to communicate nonverbally.  When Nikky and I first arrived, our family welcomed us warmly.  The house that we live in is much different than our houses back in America and served as a challenge for the two of us, specifically the bathroom.  We stepped out of our comfort zone when we used the shower last night.  Instead of a faucet shower or bath, our family had a bucket full of water that we needed to pour on ourselves to bathe.  We dreaded the experience, but after finishing my shower, I realized that it was not as bad as I had expected.  Instead of an ice-cold splash, the water was refreshing in this humid and hot climate.  The single bathroom without running water, made me realize how privileged I am and how much I take for granted. 

 Even though the house was not as I had expected, I got over my fear of showering and appreciated the kind family that generously took in two American girls.  We bonding through games and lessons of Costa Rican culture.  My host mother and sister taught us how to do laundry by hand last night and this morning we made tortillas for breakfast.  We grew closer as a family playing Uno the past two nights and Nikky even complained that her face was tired from laughing and smiling the whole night.  Despite the language barrier, we have connected and communicated and the loving family has been a highlight of the trip so far. 

 - Kelly Krawczyk

Contributing To The Community

Day 7 – June 15, 2012 (Friday)

Friday morning I awoke to the chorus of the roosters and ventured into the dining room, where the usual plate of rice and beans awaited me. That morning I finally got the chance to teach the children English. Before we started, we brainstormed and finally agreed that we would teach them greetings, emotions, colors, animals, and idiomatic phrases. We began the lesson and soon realized just how small the attention span of six year olds truly is. The kids did not really pay attention until Emily whipped out her bag of prizes which included hair accessories, pens, bouncy balls, and magnets. With these toys, we grabbed their attentions and successfully taught them the topics. Teaching the children English was one of the highlights of my trip. It made me appreciate how good my Holton education is and how many opportunities I’ve received from it. Seeing the kids excited to learn and participate made me extremely happy because I had the chance to give back to a community that has given so much to me.

-Gabriella Chen

                   On Friday, we went back to the school to continue painting the playground and teaching the children.  The entire morning, I mostly helped to paint primer on the pillars. During the kids’ break/recess, they ran outside to see what we were doing on the playground. It made me happy to see how excited and interested in how we were designing their playground. Although I never thought much about how such a tedious task like painting pillars would interest the kids, their excitement made me realize how even the little things that we do make such a big difference to them. Later that day after lunch, we went with an biologist from the La Selva Research Center named Jenny and took water samples in a nearby river and a stream. Jenny talked to us about how pesticide run-offs affect the wildlife in the river and how families have to balance between providing enough food for their families and farming in such a way in order to protect the wildlife. The results demonstrated that the water closest to the pineapple farms were less healthy for wildlife and other insects.  Some of the local families wanted us to distribute the results to other families in the community in order to discourage the use of pesticides. Although I never thought much about how environmental problems affect families, our afternoon with Jenny taught me how much environmental problems are intertwined in the lives of Costa Rican families.

-Cheyenne Coote