Yesterday was
the craziest day. We met at 3:30am, left the school at 4:00am and headed for Newark
International Airport. Once we got there we checked our bags and went through
security. Everyone was so excited that we didn’t even notice that it was still
dark out! We felt like it was 9:00 in the morning, partly because everybody had
a sugar-high. We boarded the plane at 7:20am and settled in. During the
five-hour plane ride we: read magazines, flipped through Sky Mall, talked
loudly (a few of us!), drew, and sang. Surprisingly, some of us even slept! As
the plane descended into Costa Rica we could vividly see the large expanse of
green, beautiful land. Once we landed in Costa Rica we took a three-hour bus
ride to Chilamate. There was a crash in the road that prevented us from getting
to the lodge earlier. Once in the Eco-Lodge, we ate a large and well-deserved
lunch of beans and rice, and then unpacked and played games until we met in the
outdoor “classroom” for a meeting. The Eco-Lodge is a family owned and run
business. It is constructed in the middle of the rain forest, right next to the
river. Everything in the lodge is open to the outside and hand-built.
The next morning, after a very
blissful sleep, we woke up around 6:30am and got ready for the day. We ate a delicious
breakfast of pancakes, eggs, beans, and fruit, and were off to explore the Chilamate
Jungle with our guides. In the jungle we saw poisonous dart frogs, many
different species of flowers, birds, and banana trees (plants). Everywhere we
looked there was green: trees and vines that stretched to the clouds. After exploring,
we walked to our work sight, the Chilamate School, where we met the young
students (including the kindergarteners who taught us to dance to a Spanish
version of ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’! ). Then we took a forty-minute
hike, along a red dirt road in the blistering sun. But it was all worth it
because we were able to enjoy a homemade lunch prepared by a friendly woman
named Yamileth. Some of us ate in the house while the rest sat in her front
yard on tree stumps while we ate. Chickens and a dog roamed the yard. This
house was very close to the home-stay families that we will be living with for
the next three days. After a very long, hot day, we came back to the lodge to
discuss environmental issues, such as climate change, education, and daily life
in Chilamate and how it relates to our community at Berkeley Carroll. It was so
hot that some of us had fantasies of lying in the snow. However, we were told
we could go swimming! After a safety talk, we sprinted to change into our suits
and headed to a large, swimming hole off a bend in the Rio Sarapiqui. Some of
us enjoyed the cool sand and a good book. Soon we will be having dinner and an
evening meeting— a perfect way to end our first two days in Costa Rica!!
By Judith Welch, Elena Brion,
Maddie Eve, and Matthew Justh
