Wednesday, July 23

Blog 23 July 2014

We woke up to the amazing sound of howler monkeys and then the thundering of pouring  rain on our tin roof.   We had another delicious breakfast with gallo pinto, the classic Costa Rican dish, eggs, homemade cheese, homemade tortillas, and fresh mango and pineapple.  The juice has been ridiculously yummy and everyday is a different kind.  So far we have had passion fruit, pineapple, chia, cantaloupe, blackberry, limon, and watermelon. Delicioso!! 

Today was exciting because we got to meet our host families for the first time as we dropped off our bags at our new Costa Rican homes.  We then went to Linda Vista school which is the school in the community of our home stays.  As soon as we arrived and exchanged introductions, six of the kids performed a traditional dance from the northern region of the country for us which was wonderful.  There are 16 students in this school that consists of only one teacher for grades 1st through 6th.  We were impressed that the teacher is able to meet such a variety of needs all in one classroom. 

For lunch it was a treat to eat with Digna, an amazing matriarch in the community, and her granddaughter, who we met first as the lone sixth grader at Linda Vista. We enjoyed the soup and conversation as it gave us our last chance to practice our Spanish speaking before our first night in our homes.  It was also really fun to help Morelia, Digna's granddaughter, learn her abcs in English. She was very proud when she got all of them as well as the song, all in English.  

Today there has been lots of rain, but our new floral umbrellas have saved us from both the rain and the sun (see the photo of Meagan making a raincoat on Tuesday, as she forgot her rain jacket--the umbrella is working much better for her!). We were lucky enough to see a howler monkey defending its territory right next to the Eco lodge. Every now and then we jump because of the alarming sound of avocados landing on the tin roof or a huge branch getting knocked off a nearby tree. The rain is truly impressive and we appreciate it as it cools everything down nicely!  

We won't have access to wifi at our home stays so stay tuned to hear how we all fare with our minimal Spanish speaking skills. 

Pura vida!