Hey everybody!👋🏻
Initially, our day started with a loud morning wake-up and fun music to help get the group excited for the full day ahead of us. Some of these songs included: Treasure by Bruno Mars, Dynamite by Tao Cruz, and Baby by Justin Bieber. We all sang and danced together as we began to get ready for a delicious breakfast made by Diego. 🎵🎶
However, our breakfast had a quick turnaround as our guest speakers from SINAC came to the house and helped us learn more about the volcano in Turrialba. Through this, we were able to further our knowledge about the biodiversity and environmental factors that influence the volcano and the community around us. Of the 29 national parks located in Costa Rica alone, we are so lucky to have been able to experience one in such close proximity. 🌋🌋🌋
After the amazing guest speakers, we ate a super yummy lunch and had some downtime. With this downtime, we were able to play a card game as a group and Treyvon absolutely crushed it! He and Lynasiah now hold a new record for the number of wins within a single game of Spades. Everyone was sitting on the couches and going nuts after seeing so many consecutive wins! ♠️♣️♥️♦️
Afterward, Memo was able to give us a presentation on the wide variety of ants in the world. He helped showcase this knowledge through his amazing drawing abilities. We learned that there are 600 species of ants in Costa Rica alone and learned about the different ways that ants interact with the world around them. Specifically, we learned about bullet ants and their very intense bites. The memo even shared his personal experience with getting bit by a bullet ant (ouch!)🐜🐜🐜
Not only did we learn about nature, but we also learned about the folk tales that help create morals within Costa Rican culture. We got in 4 groups and each got to reenact the tales we were given through a skit. All of the groups did a phenomenal job acting and the skits always ended with lots of laughter throughout the group. It was truly a highlight of the day and got everybody thinking about how stories help shape our perceptions. 🎭🎬
Next, we had everybody’s favorite dinner- chicken alfredo. We all sat around the table and could not even talk because we were so excited to eat the delicious dinner! However, nothing was more fun than finishing up dinner to play a huge round of hide-and-seek. Jimmy and Kaanchi ended up winning both of the rounds but Mia came a close second when she hid behind the refrigerator! We all had a lot of fun scaring each other in our hiding spots and running around the grounds of the house seeking each other out! 🫣🫣🫣
Our day ended with both of us leading the Cha Cha Slide. We danced all together and everybody was really showing off their moves! It was a great way to end off the day and will be one of our favorite memories of this trip. 💃🏻🕺🏻
We are so sad that this trip is coming to a close but are so grateful for the connections and opportunities this trip has given us! Our time with the group has truly been something special and we would not trade it for the world. 💚💙💛
Hey Mom and Dad- I am so excited to tell you about how amazing this trip has been once I get home! – Mia
Mom, I shall come back to you happy and healthy. – Treyvon
