Piña y bananos.

Heya!

Well, we´re officially one week into the second session, which means I have a month under my belt in Costa Rica! I haven´t updated in a while, so here´s a quick recap of what I´ve been up to:

Now that we´re on round 2 of the students, I feel like a pro as we zipline through the rainforest, go horseback riding near the volcano, and white water raft on the Pacuare River. It has definitely proven to be some rough days in the office!

I´m really enjoying the Leadership program. It´s very unique in the fact that our kiddos leave an everlasting impression on the Tico children they work with. They create an 8 day camp for the Ticos - and the really cool part is that as a guide, I not only see the effects this camp has on the Tico children who may not have ever had the opportunity to leave their village let alone go to a swimming pool, but also the 16 American teenagers whose lives are normally filled with fancy electronics and and a never ending supply of clean clothes. :) AND to top it all, we get it all - language, adventure, community service and exploration!

It´s been really neat to see how environmentally friendly Costa Rica is. Recycling is HUGE here - and there are signs by sinks that encourage turning off the water while using soap or brushing teeth. But at the same time, I´m purplexed at all the garbage that is left on the streets...

Just for the record, flies the size of golfballs and spiders the size of my fist really do exist. We saw a tyra (jungle cat of sorts) while swimming under a waterfall on the Pacuare. And a 4-foot long lizard ran through camp the other day.

I was finally able to climb Cerro Chato after a couple rainy morning attempts! Sammy, Justin (a photographer for RP) and I awoke at 4:45 and set off to climb the previously active volcano. Sammy set the pace and was practically running up the mountain. Justin dropped out before we even hit the treeline (nevermind that Sammy took a wrong turn and we ended up back at the car 20 minutes later). Slow and steady, I arrived at the top to find the most amazing view of the sun rising over La Fortuna. We took a quick swim in the lake (the rain water filled crater) before heading back down to find Justin. However, Justin, who had regrouped and started climbing up, heard us talking and decided to hide and scare us while taking a video on his fancy phone. SO, he popped out roaring like a bear (apparently bears exist in the rainforest?!). I was startled, but took about two more steps. However, I then decided to lean against a tree, which turned out to be a vine and I completely toppled over. Needless to say, many laughs were had by ALL and I´m sure it will soon make it´s appearance on Facebook, lol.

It´s been super neat to be in Costa Rica during the World Cup. We listen to games when we´re on the bus and at our base camp and we´ve even brought our students in to watch a couple games with the locals. Athough I´m working on improving my soccer skills with the Ticos, I´m beginning to think I may be a lost cause!

Well, I suppose I better head out, but just wanted to touch base and wish you all an early Happy 4th of July! Light a sparkler for me!

GB

jb

Fotografias.

I´ve tried uploading some pics, but they´re too big. I´ll try uploading some to Facebook for those of you who have me on there! Sorry!

Campamento Chiquiticos.

That´s the name of the camp that our campers created for the local Costa Rican children - literally translated as ´Camp Little Costa Ricans.´ It´s been awesome to watch how the kiddos have completely come together to create an experience that these local children will never forget!

I took a group ziplining last night - it´s definitley going to be rough having to do that several times this summer! At one point we were 600 feet up in the air and reached 80 kilometers per hour and the views of Volcan Arenal and the largest manmade lake in Costa Rica were indescribable.

I have the morning off today, so I walked into town (about 30 minutes) to find a random parade going on. They´ve now crowded around the park in the center of town, so I´ll have to go check it out in a bit. I love the random Central American lifestyle!

Well, I suppose I better head out. I´m in search of a libreria - a books store to find some books in Spanish.

Hope all is well back home!

Miss ya!

me

And so it begins...!

Well, Tuesday morning brought an awesome run on the beach as well as some rediculously huge waves for surfing! I have some awesome battle wound bruises, but they were definitely worth it!

We caught the bus back to San Jose and the kiddos arrived in the afternoon! I guess the summer has officially begun!

We took the kiddos to a small school to let them ´dive in´ with working with local children. I think they realized how little the language barrier affects relationships when working with a children. A smile is worth a thousand words, and they had a blast playing and eating and laughing with the Ticos.

We then spent the night at a hotel that overlooks a coffee valley. The views were absolutely breathtaking and the idea of being in a remote location away from technology were a great ´hello to Costa Rica´ for the Facebook loving, fancy phone owning teenagers. :)

We spent Thursday and Friday on the river white water rafting. It was absolutely amazing to raft the class III and IV rapids on one of the top ten rivers in the world! Apparently our 19 mile journey was some of what was used for the world cup of white water rafting a few years ago. Sweet.

I definitely took advantage of exploring the jungle in the early am before we started day 2 of the journey. We found a 30 foot waterfall that I´ll be sure to take my camera to next time. :) It´s crazy that people pay 15 dollars for a cd that sounds like what we woke up to that morning!

Well, camp starts tomorrow! I´ll be in touch.

me

Surfing in Jaco.

Heya!

We caught an early bus this am with Jaco as our destination. It's this super cute surfing town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. AND, with that, I learned how to surf this afternoon! Put another check on the bucket list! We're staying at a neat little hostel right near the beach. LOVE it. I think I could manage the hostel life for a while, haha.

We're hoping to surf a bit in the am tomorrow before we head back to San Jose. Our first group of kiddos arrive tomorrow - yay!

Pura Vida.

jb

Machete and other fun things.

SO, it's my weekend off and I've located an amazing hostel in San Jose. It rained this am, so no mountain hike, but hopefully I'll get it in next week. :)

It's crazy to think staff training has wrapped up and I'm officially a Rustic Pathways Guide. I'm even RP certified to inject epinephrine. As they were explaining the rules to the 'game,' I started freaking out as it was against everything my father ever taught me about CPR/ First Aid training, haha. We had to run across the field, run back, pass off the needle and inject it into an orange. I was fine with the injection, but the thought of people racing back to a line of needles was less than entertaining. But, I survived, and my campers should be rest assured I feel confident giving it. YES, I love Central America. :)

Before returning back to camp, we bought some goodies and I bought a pineapple not knowing the knives we all locked up. However, the machete was still out, so we managed to cut up the entire pineapple with a machete. Awesome.

I'm oober excited for campers to get here on Tuesday and begin the craziness of what I will call life for the next 8 weeks! I think we're off to surf tomorrow, so I'm sure ridiculous stories are to follow!

Casi Cielo.

Heya!

...Almost Heaven - that´s the name of the location we will be running our day camp after our week of adventures with our students. And the name definitely fits!

Well, the hot springs were absolutely amazing! I´m pretty sure the Pina Colada was the best I´ve ever had. Not to mention staring at the stars under the 4 separate pools warmed by the volcano. While we were there, we could hear little erruptions from the volcano. SO, we drove around the other side of the mountain and watched it spit lava into the air and roll down the side. (We were a safe distance away, I promise!) It was absolutely incredible to see such an awesome natural wonder in person. I have since discovered that this is one of the most active volcanos in the world (which is a good thing because then it doesn´t have one large erruption).

Staff training wrapped up yesterday with a huge fiesta - Chef Eric is also DJ Eric so we had a huge dance party. To top the evening off, a local Costa Rican drumline of sorts showed up and played for us. It was incredible to watch them perform and share a huge part of their culture with us!

Today we have broken up into our individual programs, so we have been checking out the various locations and sites we will have both our students and the Tico campers. I think I´m in for an incredible adventure! One of the sites is the home of a former Costa Rican president. Although our intent was to stop by, we were greeted with fresh pineapple juice, coffee, and a small meal as we stared at the river below and the volcano in the distance. And to top it off, the guy picked up a guitar and started to sing for us. I don´t know what was more exciting - watching him play or realizing that I understood his jokes in Spanish. :)

Well, I´m off until Tuesday. I´m hoping to hike a mountain in the am and head the beach for Sunday and Monday. I´ll be in touch with the random adventures I encounter!

Miss ya!

Pura Vida.

jc

Pura Vida.

Greetings!

I´ve quickly discovered the reason why Costa Ricans are considered the happiest people in the world! The local saying is 'pura vida' meaning no worries, all is great - and it quickly translates into the response for any question.

We're currently staying at the base of a volcano in the middle of the rain forest, near the town of La Fortuna. Although our days are filled with several sessions on expectations, procedures, and preparations for the students; I've managed to take in several aspects of this laid back and easy-going lifestyle. I am awed by even the most amazing simple details of the Costa Rican life. This afternoon, while we were playing soccer, one of the Ticos (locals) busted out a machete and starting chopping at one of the nearby plants. Needless to say, sugarcane is much better before it's been processed!

There are leaves the size of my body and frogs as big as a melon. Although I have yet to take pictures, the views are absolutely amazing - and I'm discovering that my morning run is the best time to see it all!

We play a lot of soccer(even when it's pouring rain)and we're heading to the hot springs tomorrow. I think I'm in for a swell summer. :)

Hope all is well back home - and I'll be in touch when I can!

gb

jbc