Costa Rica What resources does a community mobilize within itself to address its vulnerability and thrive?

Travel to Costa Rica to fine tune your conversational Spanish and learn leadership skills and self-reliance as you explore Costa Rica. Working with Global Works in community development service initiatives, students will determine their own sense of purpose, cultivate curiosity about the world, develop confidence and resilience, learn how to make a difference in the community, gain a broader perspective on life, develop a greater sense of self-awareness and problem-solving skills, and learn the values of inclusion, compromise, and constructive criticism. Additionally, students will learn about a local farm’s sustainable practices and practice making cheese, play games in the community and interact with the youth, participate in a salsa dance class, explore the Arenal Volcano National Park and go on a zipline canopy tour.

Travel Day

Day 1

Day one kicked off with us departing New Hampton around 2 am. We spent most of the day traveling as we had a layover in Houston. Two four hour flights would eventually get us to our destination. We were met by our group leader for the week Fabricio at the airport. We spent dinner getting to know more about each other and the projects we would be doing for the week. A long travel day led most to go to bed early. Excited to get things started in the morning!

Day 2

Day two in Costa Rica the group ventured two hours north west from San Jose to San Carlos. There we visited a local family run cheese farm. Upon arrival we ate lunch and learned about the history of agriculture in Costa Rica. Crisley told us about his farm's history and his plans for the future. We then split into two groups, some of us tried fresh coconut while the other group learned how to make traditional Costa Rican cheese called "queso Oaxaca" from scratch. After each group completed the cheese making process Crisley took us on a tour of his farm. He showed us all the native plants and explained their medicinal uses. He introduced us to his farm animals and then before we knew it our time at the farm was over and it was time to go to the hotel.

A 2 1/2 hour bus ride to San Carlos allowed us to see some volcanos, historic birds and do a little shopping at a local store before arriving at the farm.
enjoyed a nice lunch prepared by Chrisley's family.

Cheesemaking: We learned how to make our own cheese. Chrisley taught us the process of making cheese. We got to roll and package the cheese they sell. At the end we were able to taste the cheese we made.

coconut tasting
meeting new friends
Chrisley took us around his farm. We got to try many new fruits and the star fruit was everyone's favorite. We also learned about the sleeping plant and poisonous tadpole.

Day 3: Santa Ana

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We started the third day with a hearty breakfast in the morning. Then we went straight onto the bus that took us to our service program. Once there, we got to know all the people we would be working with over the next few days and shortly afterwards we got to work. Our task was to build a sidewalk, the foundation for a future park for the local community. After some initial difficulties, the whole process gained momentum and everyone knew what needed to be done.

Despite the extreme weather, everyone pitched in and we made progress relatively quickly. Around 12:30pm we finally had lunch, which everyone found delicious. After a long break, it was time for the second round of the day. Everyone reapplied sun screen and off we went again. After a short time, however, our machine would stop working so we had to do everything the machine had done for us by hand. We didn't let it get us down and carried on working diligently. We worked manually for about an hour and then we stopped. We left our hand prints in the pavement while it was not dry. That was a wholesome moment after a really long day. After we finished our work we gathered our stuff and it was time for the final reward - the river. It was a short five minute walk until we reached a cooling fast but shallow river. There we met a boy with his pet turtle which was fascinating. Soon the bus came and we went back to hotel. After quick rest and dinner we went to explore the small town where the hotel is. We went to traditional and familiar to everyone supermarket and classical Costa Rican supermarket. We bought some Costa Rican snacks which we all later tried together.

We spent the morning, mixing and transporting cement to create a sidewalk for the community. We worked with 3 gentleman Giovanni, Jose and Oscar.
we enjoyed lunch which was prepared by locals from the community
during lunch we were able to learn more about the community and one another
a few minutes into our second shift we were informed that the machine used to mix the cement had broken. This provided us the opportunity to learn how to mix cement by hand. We formed an assembly line where we had some people shoveling the gravel into buckets, while others transported them. Although this process was really tiring it was great to learn a new skill.
One cool thing that we were able to do, was to leave our handprint on the sidewalk we created.
After a long day of work we enjoyed some chill time at a local river. We met Christopher and his pet turtle!
to wrap up the night we visited local markets in town.
Upon arriving back to the hotel we held a food tasting gathering for all the new snacks we bought. The pizzerolas and caramelized poropoz were the groups favorite!

Day 4 : Santa Ana Community

Day 4

We started off our morning with breakfast. We had a sugar cane tour scheduled for 8:30 am which was connected to the hotel. There we worked with two gentleman who taught us about the sugar cane process and how they let it harvest for 8 months before they pull it. They also showed us how to use the machine that squeezes the sugar out of the canes. After they demonstrated how to do it they allowed us to try it ourselves. The process required two people at a time. One who put the sugar cane in the machine and the other who stood on the opposite side to pull it out. After the tour we headed back to the Santa Ana community to finish the sidewalk we started yesterday.

sugar cane tour

A 30 minute bus ride of good vibes and tunes would lead us back to Santa Ana. There we met up with the workers from the previous day. They built an extension of the sidewalk so we needed to now fill that and finish the rest of the sidewalk we started yesterday. Everyone quickly got to work. From 9:45-1:00pm the group would work diligently and complete the sidewalk!!!! This was such a wholesome moment for the group. They allowed Tahlia to help smooth out the final section of the sidewalk. The gentleman shared this project would have taken them an entire month and we were able to finish it in a day 1/2.

before and after of what we accomplished today!

After we finished the sidewalk we ate lunch which made by locals in the community. We then walk to a nearby river and hung there for about an hour before we met up with kids from the local community. This was the highlight of the day. About 20 kids from the local community showed up and we played a game of soccer with them for a little over a hour. Around 4:15 we headed back to the hotel. On the way home we were treated to homemade Costa Rican ice cream. It was so good! Dinner was at 6pm and we reflected on our two days of service. To wrap the day up we took a salsa class which was a hit!

We did it !!! Brand new sidewalk for the community :)

enjoyed a wonderful lunch prepared by locals from the community
we spent the afternoon playing with children from the community! This was such an awesome experience. A group of about 20 kids joined us for a game of soccer.
on the way home we were treated to homemade Costa Rican ice cream.
To wrap up the day we took a salsa class which was directed by Randall. This was so fun!!!! We learned merengue, bachata and salsa.

Day 5: Zip-lining and Travel day

Day 5

sky adventure zip lining

After a long four days of community service we rewarded ourselves with a group bonding activity zip lining. We all had exciting energy going into the experience. Mixed emotions passed throughout the group going up to the lines. When we reached the first line of 750 meters going down was a satisfactory experience. Seeing the landscapes of trees, waters, and volcanoes is something that was well worth the memory of a just a short day in Costa Rica. After finishing all of the seven lines, we went to a plaza that had all types of different foods that accompanied our tastes. After we ate pizza, tacos, and churros we went to the local market with many souvenirs. We picked up gifts for our loved ones and friends back at home. We then traveled 3 hours back to San Juan so that we would be closer to the airport. One the way to the hotel we stopped to look at a beautiful water fall. We finally arrived at a nice restaurant where we ate dinner, and recapped the trip where we discussed what we took away from the experience. We had a celebratory cheers for the trip. After the restaurant we finished off with going back to the hotel. We had an amazing last day in Costa Rica it was a never forget experience.

zip lining was so fun!!!!!!
we had lunch at a local plaza and then went shopping at a nearby souvenir shop
water fall we saw on our commute to the hotel
to end the night we had dinner at a nice restaurant

Day 6: Travel Day

Our driver Hector was awesome!

We are so sad to be leaving Costa Rica! This week was AMAZING. Our tour guide Fabricio was unbelievable. All the people we met were so nice. From cheesemaking, salsa dancing, building the sidewalk, zip lining, and playing with the local children from the community there are so many highlights to share. Until next time PURA VIDA Costa Rica !