Hey guys! My name is Arlo June and today I had the experience of being the Líder del Dia. Today was a fairly low-key day. We started off with a wake up call at 7:30 am, followed by breakfast, which consisted of eggs, sausages, french toast, and fruit (bananas, mango etc.). Then we had some down time which was full of games and good conversation. Some people were able to make their family calls at this time.  After that, we headed down to the store to get snacks for our lunch picnic. The picnic was a very nice change as we usually eat lunch made by the kitchen staff (shout out to them!) at the Casa Aquiares Lodge. After we got our food we walked up to the Ceiba Pentandra tree and sat up there playing games and talking.

We headed home after about 2 hours and took the bus to downtown Turrialba. There we went to the central park and met Memo’s friend, Greivin, who sold us crystal necklaces and told us the different properties of each crystal, while Memo told us some history of the park. After this, we took a trip to the Pasteleria, where we got to try some delicious treats.

Then we went to the market where we were able to compare the different types of coconuts and talked how different markets look like in different parts of the country. Before going back home, we stopped by the local ice cream shop to try some different ice cream flavors. Once we got back, we had more free time while the rest of the group was able to make their phone calls. During this time, many people were playing card games and basketball. We all got together to have dinner (chicken rice, beans, salad and either papaya or apple juice). The rice was scrumdiddlyumptious. After that we watched Black Panther together in the dining room.

For me, the experience of being Líder del Dia was very important because I learned a lot about leadership and made sure everyone was on the same page and together. This can be hard in a different country with a language barrier, but overall I did my best to make sure everyone felt included and was okay at all times. Before this experience, I never thought I would be able to lead a group this big, but this experience made me much more confident in my abilities as a leader.

Until next time,
Arlo June<3

PS: Here’s the public google photos folder so you can see all of the pictures we’ve taken so far!