Costa Rica reports a smooth settling into life in San Antonio.
When they arrived on Sunday, the community was waiting with a fiesta de llegada (arrival party) for the group, complete with food, music, and a big Costa Rican flag with everyone’s names written on it. After the party, the group split into homestay pairs and traveled home with their host families to settle in. Though the group as a whole was a bit saddened to split up after nearly a week together in adventure, they were quickly reunited, as each family gave the whole group a tour through their homes. Max and Chelsea report that the community has been wholly warm and welcoming. Monday in the community brought a tremendous soccer game, in which everyone participated, forging early relationships with the younger members of San Antonio.
Other group activities during the first 48 hours in San Antonio have included creating maps and family trees of the community, practicing Kung Fu, creative journaling activities, and more soccer. Abby and Zoe have really enjoyed cooking with their host family, and Makayla and Caroline have found their host mother to be very sweet. Carly and Emma have enjoyed practicing English, Spanish, and French simultaneously with the younger children of their household. Mike and Efren love learning about their family’s history and interacting with the household pets. Jolene and Melissa have many host siblings and puppies to play with. Juan and Soren watched their family kill a chicken and reported that it was the best they ever tasted. Carmen and Samantha have been milking cows in the morning, and their host mother has plans to teach the girls to make fresh cheese.
Lastly, a sweet quote from Max on the overall group condition: “Everyone is completely enveloped in the ball of group love.” Awwwww..! We hope to hear more soon as students begin construction and continue to settle into life in San Antonio. We will post pictures as soon as we receive them.
