Greetings Readers,
I hope all is well back at home in every aspect of life. The day was kicked off by an unpleasant wake-up greeting of hard banging on the door. Everyone woke up and prepared for the huge day ahead! I was very excited about today’s lineup of activities, consisting of a seminar and a guest speaker- each revolved around the ideology of Environmental Justice. We kicked off our day with a masterpiece of breakfast by Diego! As the duty of being Leader of the Day, I made sure everyone else was content before I enjoyed my breakfast whether it was helping everyone else get situated with breakfast, washing dishes, or various other things just to name a few. Diego served us French toast, eggs, and pineapple if only you guys knew how delightful that breakfast was. Nobody was disappointed with today‘s breakfast.
After breakfast, we Immediately began the first of our two seminars or gatherings about absorbing knowledge about environmental justice which seems like a very underrated and ignored topic. The videos shown, the discussion, and the PowerPoint presentation helped emphasize the significance of environmental justice and what we can do to contribute along the lines of this issue. The seminar served as a prelude to how the guest interaction went. What made me most proud of myself and my peers is how we all shared similar thoughts towards the state of environmental justice for tourists or even in our respective native areas; how mindful we have to be of our surroundings whether that affects animals, plants, or any other naturalistic habitats. After the conclusion of our seminar presentation, we went for a walk not very far from where we reside. The group and I had an amazing view of Rio Aquiares which is a river within walking distance from Finca Aracari where we have resided for the last 11 days. We built rock towers with Guillermo, took photos with Maggie, and just enjoy the beautiful presentation of the water flow. We eventually walked back and settled down to watch another documentary in regards to the state of environmental justice specifically in Costa Rica which better prepared us for the activities that would later emerge today until Diego arrived with Lunch. As soon as Diego arrive everyone felt relieved to be able to replenish. Diego served us pasta with chicken nachos and salad. It was very delicious and one of my favorite meals Diego has put together for us. Then, We took about 10 minutes to recuperate before we resumed our planned itinerary. After those 10 minutes, we began to adjourn for the guest speaker.
We received a very intriguing presentation from Andre Rufolfo a well-established NGO official in Costa Rica. He started off the presentation by telling us about his upbringing then we merged into a group activity debating perspectives. It was very fun and so engaging trying to advocate for different perspectives. We had 3 different points of advocacy depending on the 3 groups we were in. Those being the construction of a resort regardless of the natural habitat harmed, the community with the responsibility of protecting nature collective as one entity, and lastly the government who had the final say in what should be the future of the scenario proposed. It was very intense and everyone voiced their perceptions is what I loved most about today. We asked a few questions that helped Fofo further enlighten us and that concluded the meeting on a strong note. Now, that brought us to downtime where we once again got in the pool. It was fun, we taught Glimpser Jimmy how to swim, held races, and danced to stepping music in the pool. Before we knew it, dinner time had arrived. We quickly prepared and ate dinner meanwhile holding a humorous and meaningful conversation. Then, we called for the nightly meeting where I recapped the day and did our nightly discussion rituals as well as a talent. That talent was freestyle emotional writing where I shared out loud a heartfelt letter to all of the glimpsers I’ve shared this atmosphere with during the time being after that I swore in the next leaders of the day with the responsibility I had today with hopes they supersede my performance of this role and raise the standard.
To my family, I love you all and thank you for helping me prepare for diverse atmospheres of this magnitude.
