DÍA 10 – Justicia Ambiental (Environmental Justice)

Hola Chicos,

Welcome to Ashley and Chelsea’s radio talk!

Coming to you straight from Turrialba, Costa Rica! Starting bright and early, we woke up at 5:00 am and got prepared to wake everyone up by 6:30 am. Firstly, we woke our roommates up with “Las Mañanitas” by Vicente Fernández in celebration of Lizzy’s birthday. Then we woke the boys up with the air honk sounds of the remix, and the rest of the girls with “Da Birds are Chirping” by Lava Gang, A Town.

After everyone was awake, we all headed over to breakfast at 7:30 am, where we ate French toast, scrambled eggs, and a variety of fruits. We sang Happy Birthday to Lizzy all together to start the morning. Afterward, we started the Mental Warm-Up to remind everyone of the agenda and get their brains working with our Quote & Question of the Day. We then had a seminar by Susana and Nicole about the Introduction of Environmental Justice in order to prepare us for our Guest Speaker.

It was very interesting to watch “The Goose with the Golden Eggs: Tourism on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast Educational Edition” and learn about how foreign industries hurt small communities and refuse to take responsibility for the environmental and social damage they cause. Besides this, it was eye-opening to learn about the problems that Costa Ricans face in their lives due to tourism. In the second half of the morning during our seminar, we also took time to write thank you letters to the supporters of the Global Glimpse program.

Then we headed for lunch at 12:00 pm and ate Nachos with beans, meat, lettuce, pico de gallo, cheese, and mayonnaise. During the afternoon we prepare for the environmental manager whose name is Andrés Zuniga, nicknamed “Fofo.” He explained Environmental Justice to us in more detail, then wanted to show us an example of how business affects the environment. We liked how he put us in groups, and each group had a role in the debate. The groups were divided into three groups: the first was a company that wanted to build a hotel, the second represented the local community, and the third group was the government, in which Chelsea and I participated. Each group shared their point of view in which they thought whether or not it was right to build the hotel in an ecosystem on the Osa Peninsula that consisted of 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity. And the government group decided that it was better not to build the hotel in that specific place but to help the company in a different way.

Luego nos dirigimos a comer almuerzo a las 12:00 pm y comimos Nachos con frijoles, carne, lechuga, pico de gallo, queso, y mayonesa. Durante la tarde nos preparamos para el gestor ambiental cuyo nombre es Andres Zuñiga y se apoda “Fofo”. Y él nos presentó en más detalle sobre la Justicia Ambiental. Después nos quiso enseñar un ejemplo de cómo los negocios afectan al medio ambiente. Nos gustó como nos puso en grupos y cada grupo tuvo un papel en el debate. Los grupos eran divididos entre una compañía que quería construir un hotel, el segundo era la comunidad local, y el tercer grupo era el gobierno. En el cual Chelsea y yo participamos. Y cada grupo compartió su punto de vista en el que pensaban si estaba bien o no construir el hotel en un ecosistema en la Península de Osa que consistía del 2.5% de la biodiversidad del mundo. Y el grupo del gobierno decidió que era mejor no construir el hotel en ese lugar específico sino ayudar a la compañía de un modo different.

Later in the day, we had free time and everyone did fun activities including playing with cards, watching the landscape, and reading books; some wrote in their journals and some also took naps. Then at 6 in the afternoon, we had rice, cabbage salad, and white bean soup. We also drank apple juice, orange juice, and mixed blackberries.

Más tarde en el día tuvimos tiempo libre y cada quien hizo divertidas actividades por ejemplo, jugar con las cartas, ver el paisaje, leer libros, algunos escribieron en sus diarios y además unos tomaron siestas. Después a las 6 de la tarde, cenamos arroz, ensalada de repollo, y sopa de frijoles blancos. También bebimos jugos de manzana, naranja, y moras mixtas.

For the evening meeting, we talk about the day and share the good and the bad. Then, we passed the torch to Anjali and Lynne.

Para la reunión de la noche, hablamos del día y compartimos lo bueno y lo malo. Luego, pasamos la antorcha a Anjali y Lynne.

Then when the meeting was over, we surprised Lizzy with a cake and ice cream with cones. We also made a video call with his parents and sang las mañanitas in English. We enjoyed her birthday.

Después cuando se acabó la reunión, sorprendimos a Lizzy con un bizcocho y helado con conos. También hicimos un videollamada con sus padres y le cantamos las mañanitas en inglés. Nosotros disfrutamos con ella su cumpleaños.

Thank you all for listening! BYE.
¡Gracias por escucharnos! Adios.

Ashley Saucedo & Chelsea Barham