Hello! This is Angela Chung and Juliessa Chavez, and today we shared the Leader of the Day responsibility.
Today the theme was living like a local and to kick the day off, we started with a bucket shower, where students weren’t allowed to use running water, and had to shower using only a bucket and water. We had to get up at 6 o’clock and had only 20 minutes to do this, which many people were not happy about. Our breakfast consisted of only rice, beans, and bread to reenact the life of a local. After breakfast, we took a bus to the village of Estanzuela, where we were matched with families and spent our mornings learning their daily routine and regular lifestyle. We were able to see that many of the families had crops and livestock so that they could survive. We were also able to learn that they do not have many of the things that we had, an example would be the washing machine. Some of their many tasks of manual labor were washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, making tortillas, and for some, feeding the chickens! Many of us also hiked to a gorgeous creek, saw lots of beautiful butterflies and natural scenery. Some dipped their feet in the water, and many of us just relaxed along the big boulders. We also saw lots of the locals jumping cannonballs and swimming! It really demonstrated the strong sense of community within the local families. After a long morning, we then had lunch. At 12 o’clock everyone got together at one of the local’s house to break open a piñata with the children that lived there. Once the piñata was broken, all the children in the village rushed to pick up the candy. We then said our goodbyes to the families and left to go back to the hostel.
Once we got back, we had a majority of the rest of the day for free time. Some crashed at the hostel, and others went to the Central Park of city to go visit the community church and watch a dance performance. While watching the performance, there was sudden strong rain that got everyone drenched! Many of us had to walk through flooded streets in wet clothing with no rain gear whatsoever. Sometimes, we slipped on the uneven paved sidewalk tiles! After was dinner, and as always we had our nightly meeting. This time, we discussed our takeaways from the day and other plus and minuses.
Overall, all of us had a great time with the locals. As we saw how time-consuming and tedious their regular lives were, we learned to appreciate lots of the privileges we have today. It was truly an insightful experience that really open all of our eyes to a new world.
Gina are you regretting not bringing the rainboots now
Anyways we all miss you so much hope you are having fun
Arden came home from camp today btw
It’s great to see a group of students being able to identify how communities can support eachother! And yooo David!! Don’t get sick and don’t forget water! Miss you and see you soon (:
borrmmaaaaaaaa. Hope u had fun showering with a bucket! i havent been to ur house to check on your dog but im sure he’s fine. May the minion gods be with you amen. Miss u and love u
Sounds like a busy and crazy day. David, what happened to your poncho and/or umbrella? LOL…
Anyway…hope everyone is having fun. Miss ya David!
Another fun day. I’m so jealous. Have fun Monster. Love ya!
Ooo.. And Kendall, don’t forget to take A LOT of pictures.. You promised.
David! I’m excited that you were able to experience something so powerful and beautiful as living like a local. It definitely puts you in perspective. I hope your trip is going well and I hope you’re making the most of it. Immerse yourself en la cultura as much as you can, man!
Hey David…so sorry we missed your phone call…we got your message though…you sound good…we miss you so much…Dad, Savannah, GPeg & Gizmo all send their love. Hope your able to try and call again soon…
So happy you are having an awesome time…can’t wait to hear all about it. Love you lots…MSue
KENDALLLLLLL!!! i miss youuuu☠️ so much? my phone is boring without you❤️
Tiffany!! I’m glad you are having a good time and being treated well in my country ??????
i’m cryin in da club rn bc i wanna go back N be a real Nicoya
❣️❣️
Hey Isabel, Living like a local sounded fun and must’ve been hard. Especially with getting up so early and those bucket showers. Also, that performance sounded fun to see, probably was even more exciting when the rain hit. Anyways, be careful with those uneven sidewalks and I hope you are having a great experience so far.
Sounds like you all had a great, eye-opening experience living like a local. Keep the photos coming! -Ayla’s mom