This was the 8th year that City High has taken students to Costa Rica. We do two service learning projects; one in La Carpio, an impoverished Nicaraguan neighborhood on the outskirts of the capital city San Jose, and the other in Quebrada Arroyo, a tiny 15-family village with a small eco-tourist business in the rainforest.
Here are my top five memories of the trip.
5. The Beach of Manuel Antonio
After 11 days of hard work, getting to spend the morning at the beach to relax was a big treat. It was also a nice way to celebrate the 4th of July. My favorite part was floating in the water.
4. Going to the Opera
I’d only gone to the opera in the United States once about 5 years ago, we were in the balcony so it was difficult to read the translations, and I was tired. The tickets to the Opera in Costa Rica were a gift from the National Music Center director Guillermo Madríz, who met with us earlier in the trip. We were in the third row from the orchestra, extremely close to the stage. As I followed along with the Spanish translations, I got really involved in all the drama. Also, the building was beautiful, one of the most elaborately decorated buildings in all of Costa Rica.
3. Tour of La Carpio
When we first arrived to our first day of work in Costa Rica we were given a tour of La Carpio, the neighborhood we would be working in for the first part of the trip. City High students have been working with the community in La Carpio for seven years, so much of the tour was a showcase of work that has been done by our group in the past. One of the reasons this was so important to me is that it showed that our trip is part of an ongoing relationship and commitment to help improve conditions and learn about other communities. While we may only be there for a few days, the work we do alongside the community builds upon itself.
2. The Hike in the Rainforest
While we were in the rainforest we took a hike up to the top of the mountains, where we could see the Pacific Ocean. Along the way Don Miguel pointed out various plants that were edible that we tried, plants that smelled good, and also parts of the old coca plantations before the fungus destroyed them. We even got to go in this little side elevator contraption, pictured above. As someone who enjoys hiking, I enjoyed this part of the trip immensely.
1. The Soccer Game with the people in Quebrada Arroyo.
Most of our work in Quebrada Arroyo, the small community in the rainforest, was to help complete a fence around the soccer field to help animals stay out of the field while also keeping the ball from being lost down the hill. What that meant in terms of work for us though was that we had to hike up about a quater mile of rock road to get dirt and materials to make cement, and then hike down to the field and make the cement to finish off the bottom on the fence. It was hard tedious work, that made me appreciate 4 wheel vehicles, navigable roads, and cement mixing machines on a whole new level. So when we played soccer on the field and saw how effective the fence was is helping to keep the ball in play, it gave us a strong sense of purpose and accomplishment. (Which helped balance out the embarrassment I felt about the two goals I accidentally scored for the other team.) It rained the whole time and the field became a huge mud-pit, but we didn’t care. We ended up playing two games, and I’m told we did better than any other City High group before us.
Hot Tamale Activities - email bordner@cityhigh.org your repliles
- What do you think would be your favorite part?
- What makes you want to go on this trip? What makes you not want to go?
