BLOG 2: Homestay & Community Project
The students are now in their second week of the Costa Rica program. They arrived to their host community on July 3rd and have spent the last two days getting settled into the new routines of their homestay families and working on the site of the service project.
Homestay Community: The homestay is located in the village of La Angostura, located on the outskirts of the Valle del General, near the Pacific Coast. It is a community of about 70 families. The closest major city is San Isidro del General, which is about 3.5 hours south of San Jose on the Inter-Americana Highway. This is a beautiful area of rolling hills, fruit and coffee farms, and tropical scenery. Most homes have electricity and running water. It has a small elementary school with roughly 100 students, a town salon (community center/building), and various pulperias (small convenience stores).
Service Project: Upon the request of the host community, the students are building a new kitchen in their salon. The salon is the town’s community building, where they have meetings, host dances and parties, and play indoor soccer games.
This is the first time a Global Routes group has been hosted by this community, and the community is very excited to play soccer, practice their English, and interact with the students!
The students are having an incredible time connecting with the locals while learning how to construct a kitchen in the tropics.