We had an early wake-up at 7 AM with breakfast at 7:30 AM, consisting of French toast, fresh fruit, and yogurt with granola. After breakfast, we walked to the elementary school and met a class of 4th and 5th-grade students. We said our names and where we were from in Spanish, to which the students replied with their names in English.
After the introduction, we listened to a presentation about the Turrialba volcano, which we saw erupt, from rangers, Reyna and Diego. Both Reyna and Diego are park rangers from SINAC who work at the Turrialba Volcano National Park. Reyna has been working for SINAC for 17 years and has just been promoted to the head of the rangers within the last year. We thought she was an inspiration for all of the young girls and boys because she showed how you can be a mother, a student, and a successful park ranger all at the same time. After the presentation, we were split in two large groups of students. Once in our groups, we played Memoria, a matching game, that had animals and footprints. We had fun with the kids, despite the language barrier. When the game was finished, and each group had a winner, Valentina and Elizabeth, we walked back to Casa Aquiares with guest speakers Karla, Reyna, and Diego. Back at la Casa, we listened to a presentation about conservation directed by local business owner Karla.
We then ended the day with a quiet afternoon, a trip to the Mini-Mart, a delicious dinner, and an eventful nightly meeting. At the nightly meeting, we passed the torch to Juliana and Nathally.