Immersion B: First Week in La Legua

July 19th, 2008 | Costa Rica Immersion Programs 2008

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Sunday – Goodbye Beach, Hello La Legua!
Sunday morning was dedicated to bargaining with beach vendors and getting the best possible deals on souvenirs, dresses, and other Costa Rican “recuerdos.” After a last dip in the ocean, we packed our bags and hit the road. The trip was a long afternoon haul and into the evening, but we made the most of it by practicing important Spanish words and phrases and role-playing the first conversation with host families. We were all very excited at first, but as the road became dimmer and the surroundings grew humbler, the nervousness set in. At least two participants anxiously blurted out “I have never been this nervous before in my life!” The emotional rollercoaster continued as we pulled into La Legua and dozens of children of all ages ran into the street to welcome us and the nervousness turned to utter delight. We got off the bus, said see ya later to Hugo our driver, and entered the La Legua Community Center where we were greeted with applause and welcome signs. Participants were introduced to their host families and shortly after everyone headed “home” for dinner, conversation, and rest.

Monday – First Day at Work
We began our first day of work with scraping down the rusted fence around the village schoolhouse and painting it a cheerful shade of green. At noon, each of our host families brought lunch to the schoolhouse and we compared the colorful and sometimes unidentifiable vegetables, fruits, and meat. As we were eating, the afternoon rain settled in and brought our work day to an early end, so we all headed over to the gymnasium to play soccer, volleyball, and cards with our new siblings and other local kids. We had some fun and then everyone headed home around dinner time to eat and spend time with their families. The relationships between participants and their host family siblings is absolutely heartwarming. The kids really love the participants and follow them around wherever they go. They truly view them as new brothers and sisters, even after the first day.

Tuesday – Painting and Digging
Tuesday morning we met again at 8am to resume painting the fence around the school. As is typical this time of year (Winter in Costa Rica), the rain came and we paused the painting again. By this time, our construction manager, Orlando, was ready to show us how and where to dig for the sidewalk project. Last year, another Walking Tree group built a 1.5mile long sidewalk in La Legua that leads up to the school from the houses up the hill. This year, we are continuing the construction of the sidewalk from the school down to the homes on the other side of the village. This project is particularly special because this portion of the sidewalk leads up to the house of a handicapped child, Sebastian, who uses a wheelchair to get around. All of the participants have grown very fond of Sebastian and they are thrilled to be working on a project that will have such a positive impact on his life. This project is a joint effort between La Legua, the municipal government, and Walking Tree. The government donated many of the materials, La Legua designed the project, and the Walking Tree participants are doing the construction work. We will post a video of this soon.

Wednesday – Power Hosing, Bug Eating, and Teaching English
Today the group took great initiative and divided into various groups to take on the work at hand, despite the consistent foggy and rainy conditions. Many participants worked on digging out and leveling the ground where the sidewalk will be built. Another group worked at the school, cleaning out layers of garbage, scraps, and dirt behind the kindergarten and using a “power hose” (rubber tube with thumb in end) to wash and uncover the pavement that probably hasn’t been seen in years. There were also a few helpful participants that were on call to paint as soon as the sun would shine through. It was a good day for hard work and perseverance. A couple of students provided comic relief to all of the hard work by eating authentic Costa Rican insects. For Adam, this was the second or third bug (we are beginning to lose track) that he has consumed so far. As for Grace and Diana, this was a first for them. All were amused, or grossed out, but laughing nonetheless! Today was also the first day of English classes for the local children. Our group has created lesson plans and games to spend an hour each day teaching English to the village kids. Today they taught them body parts and ended with the song “Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Feet” (Oops- we forgot to teach them toes!).

Thursday – Feeling Better and Making Pizza
Our time in Costa Rica has been a healthy one so far. Up until this point, only a handful of participants have felt ill or injured, which is actually much less then normal. The few that have come across the typical stomach upset or minor injury are already feeling better and back on track. The first few days in the village were tough for some. Each of the families is unique in the food they prepare as well as their communication and clarity in the Spanish language. All of the participants are also unique in regards to their eating habits and level of Spanish comprehension. The combination of these factors made some of us more homesick and under the weather than others. In order to address these situations and concerns, we got together again as a group for a meeting and made pizza at Sebastian’s house. The pizza was phenomenal and the group discussion was even better. Everyone wrote down one concern and one suggestion on separate pieces of paper and put them in the middle. The participants then read and discussed them one by one. It was great to observe them helping each other with their concerns and difficulties. Akash asked the group how many of them are actually thinking in Spanish now and nearly everyone raised their hand. Many of them also admitted to having to translate back to English at times! This group truly continues to impress us and grow closer and tighter with each passing day.

But enough from us, let us here from the students:

“Lots of the kids in the group, including myself, had doubts going into the homestay. Now, after five days in La Legua, I think it is safe to say that all of these doubts are gone. So far, all that I have experienced has been incredible, to say the least. The kids are awesome, the work, although very difficult, is quite satisfying, and the general atmosphere in the village is awesome.”
-Adam Schreiber

“Unfortunately, the queasiness that I felt when I first arrived in the village wasn’t just nervousness. It wasn’t nervousness the second day either…or the third. If it wasn’t hard enough trying not to freeze and shake uncontrollably in my “mother’s” house (as to not offend her of course), I had to explain to her why I didn’t eat any of my lunch. To quote her, “Mi comida es fea”. For the first two or three days I was completely convinced that my “mother” hated me. Luckily, my sickness peaked and I was cured by the town mother Yorleni and my own “mother”. Once I felt 100%, La Legua became the most incredible experience of my life; and even though I still have the occasional upset stomach, I have bonded with my family, I am having fun paving sidewalk, and I am having the best time that I have had on this trip so far.”
-Madeline Davies

Until next time,

Alissa Hoffenberg and Paul Laurie