Costa Rica Immersion A: Gumdrops and Rainbows

July 12th, 2009 | Blog, Costa Rica Immersion A Program 2009

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Hola Padres!

The Immersion A group has been working hard and playing hard since our arrival here in La Legua!  After four days of arduous shoveling, cement hauling, painting and sanding, we ended our first work week on a high note with a full day of Saturday celebrations.  The first was a “fiesta de sorpresa” for our village coordinator, Yorleny, where the group sang two spirited rounds of Happy Birthday — one in Spanish and one in English — and then scampered around on the floor with all of the town´s children to fight for the Costa Rican sweets spilled from the piñata.   The town hall filled with screams and laughter as a huge confetti fight ensued!

After a short afternoon rest, we reconvened in the evening to celebrate the Fourth of July in true red, white, and blue fashion.  Jonathan, Tim and Maggie trekked up and down a dirt road and into cow pastures collecting wood for a long-anticipated bonfire, and Benno braved the thick smoke (with a phone book in hand) to help get the flame going.  Though we had to do without fireworks, everyone enjoyed a bit of US tradition as we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and ate them alongside the Costa Rica favorite pico de gallo. Brent’s love of jalapeños won him special treatment, and he was the sole recipient of a very unique bowl of what was later described as “spicy tuna soup”.  The night ended with an impressive display of impromptu salsa dancing from Hilda and Andrew!

We came back to work on Monday refreshed from a full day of rest and Sunday outings with host families.  (Meredith got a big laugh with her retelling of the trip to what she had been told was a spectacular waterfall — though after several bumpy hours in the car she realized their final destination was actually some sort of power plant!)  The community bleachers started to take shape as different levels were carved out of the dirt embankment, and many students came to appreciate conveniences like bulldozers when enormous mounds of dirt had to be hand-shoveled into pick-up trucks and unloaded off-site.

A morning of back-breaking work on Tuesday was rewarded with a second surprise party, this time for our very own Gracie!  The community gathered for another piñata, and Gracie was presented a bright pink  cake topped with  gumdrops and a carrot (as a salute to her vegetarianism!).  After we dropped our shovels for the day, the group gathered under a florescent sky for a game of water balloon capture the flag.

On Wednesday morning we endured smelly brake fumes and a twisty-turny road on our way to Volcán Arenal, but were rewarded with rainbows upon arrival in La Fortuna.  Students indulged in chocolate-covered strawberries and soaked their weary muscles in the steaming hot springs, then later raced down long waterslides that ranged in intensity from novice to death-defying.  Erica and Cory laughed over a pile-up inside of one of the windy tubes — luckily everyone came out unscathed!  The excitement continued the next morning at a swimming hole at the base of a small waterfall, where everyone took turns swinging off a rope into the crystalline waters below, or diving off the rocks surrounding the pool.  Riley overcame her fear of the rope and let off a memorable scream as she splashed into the water, and Dallas wowed the crowd of students and locals alike with his display of aerial acrobatics.  Everyone agreed it was a trip highlight!

Now, back in La Legua, we’re running far ahead of schedule on our various projects in the village.  Though we still have another week here, all of the students are already saying how hard it will be to leave their families, to whom they’ve grown so close in so little time.  We’re looking forward to a busy few days ahead and will soon be off for more adventures in Monteverde!