Meet Julia!

Turtle Paradise

After a 20 minute boat ride through the Canales de Tortuga, we arrived at the Pacuare Turtle Reserve, a scientific station situated right on an amazing beach. Staffed by mostly volunteers, it featured rustic cabins, mainly vegetarian food, and no electricity. Right out back was pure Costa Rican jungla, where we would later see the likes of eyelash pit vipers, blue herons, a array of frogs, and howler monkeys.

As one of the most important nesting sites for the endangered Leatherback Sea Turtles, the residential staff is vigilant and dedicated. We were excited to learn what exactly was involved in turtle salvation. Though nest excavation and miles-long treks along the beach at ungodly hours, we got to know these incredible creatures in a way most people will never experience. There is no footage of the adults (they come onto the beach in the dark and you may not shine any white light in their direction), but here is look at one of the babies making his way out into the world:



Now just imagine that cute little tortugita blown up to a length of 4 feet and you'd have mama leatherback, whom we met later on that night. These creatures are amazing and have been around for millions of years - it really was like seeing a dinosaur. There are many at sea dangers for babies and adults alike, but the turtle station is doing a lot to make sure poachers and wild animals don't eat the eggs or hatchlings before they have a chance to make it into the ocean.

When we weren't saving turtles, we played in the water and dozed on the beach. It was quite relaxing and a terrific end to a really intense, really diverse, really fantastic Costa Rican adventure.

On the Caribbean Coast

Hello parents,

As a reminder, the group is returning on Friday evening to Newark International Airport. Below you will find the return flight information for your convenience.

Continental Airlines 26 Jun 2009
Depart San Jose (SJO) Airport at 1:45 PM on Flight 1761.
Arrive Newark (EWR) Airport at 9:00 PM.

Parents are asked to meet their sons and daughters at the airport. No transportation back to Dalton will be provided. Let either Michael Malloy or Ross Wehner of World Leadership School (303-679-3412) know if you have any questions.

I also wanted to add that the group is now on its way this morning to the Pacuare Nature Reserve on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. After a 3-hour bus ride and a 20-minute boat ride across a mangrove lagoon, the students will arrive at the science station. The station is right on a white sand beach that is lined with palm trees. This beach receives thousands of Leatherback and Green turtles each year, who come here to lay their eggs in the middle of the night before resuming their year-round migrations around the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans. The volunteers' job is to help scientific researchers assemble data about nesting events and also protect the eggs so that as many hatch as possible.

Ross

Off to Pacuare!

Tonight is our last night in Santa Maria de Dota. We have finished a pila, painted an aula and los pasamanos, visited the coffee plant, and are almost ready to say goodbye to our Costa Rican family and friends. We sat in a circulo this afternoon with Marilyn, a director at the Colegio, and many students, sharing our mutual appreciation for this experience. It was nice to think about all we have learned here, as well as what we have given back. Now its off to Save the Turtles at the Pacuare Turtle Reserve. We won't have internet, nor a whole lot of electricity, so the next time you see or hear from us will be at the airport! Please come pick us up as Dalton is NOT providing return transportation. Wish us buen viaje - we'll be having a blast on la playa!

Fresh Roasted Coffee Smells SOOOOO Good!

A lot of popular US cafes (including Starbucks and Peete's Coffee) sell coffee that comes from right here in the Dota-Tarrazu region of Costa Rica. The majority of people in Santa Maria de Dota have some sort of stake in the coffee business. The Coopedota is a coffee cooperative and the plant where they sort, dry, roast, and ship the beans is right here in town. We took a tour today and learned about the process of making a great high quality coffee. Here it's all done with an eye toward growing organic and recycling as much of the materials and waste as possible. We even got to try our hand at making espressos and capuccinos. Check out this fresh roast:



If you're lucky, we might be bringing you some back! For more information visit www.coopedota.com

Monday into Tuesday

Hola! This is Rosie and Krista. After a week in Santa Maria, we've become accustomed to the traditional Costa Rican way of life. Yesterday morning we worked hard to finish painting the handrails and benches so they would be finished today. After we went home for lunch, Pablo held a class discussing leadership styles and communication skills. After that, we had the afternoon off. The boys went to play ultimate frisbee on the field and the girls split up. Some went to play with puppes at Phoebe and Talia's house, and others spent the afternoon with new Tico friends. After that Maya and Eva came over to our house. The "cousins" (our homestay mothers are sisters) watched Bajo La Misma Luna and ate homemade empanadas. We're up early this morning eating fresh fruit and cereal, ready for our final day of work.

Conozcan a La Familia de Sasha y Alexa

Saturday

Yesterday we went on a hike - a very steep, pretty long hike - to the Reserva Forestal Los Santos, where we heard Don Fernando explain the importance of preserving the rain and cloud forests of Costa Rica. He is part of a group of Campesinos, who live and work on the land and educate local people about the forest. With literally thousands of different trees, flowers, insects, birds, and other animals to protect, their small, everyday efforts are making a huge difference! Go to www.nubotropica.org for more info.






After a few horas libres, all of our families got together for a BBQ at the house where Krista and Rosie are staying. There was yummy food, lots of music, a little dancing, and some great shots on the pool table. We were treated to a performance by a local band and then Ryan offered a few notes of his own. All in all, it was great to gather and celebrate all of our cultures coming together for this intercambio experience.

Get Down!

We threw a baile at the school Friday night - over 70 people came! We called in the Discomovil, and Ticos and Daltonians shared their best moves as we grooved to a variety of electronic, reggae, and pop music:

Friday

Today was a day for celebration. Thursday turned out to be a difficult day. We did a good job on our projects, but had to have a big discussion about how we could work more safely, more effectively, and more efficiently. We talked a lot about the need to communicate and work as a team, as well as ask lots of questions and really use everyone's knowledge. Today we put those ideas into effect and saw lots of progress - everything got done the right way and clean up was easy. YEAH!

We also found ourselves sharing a lot of music, games, and dancing with our Costa Rican peers and tonight we are hosting a dance at the school with a DJ and everything!

Check out some of the highlights:

Conozcan a La Familia de Talia y Phoebe!

Wednesday (by Maya and Eva)

We awoke early for our second day of work at the technical high school. After a lovely breakfast of gallo pinto (rice, beans, eggs, and sour cream), we continued our service projects. Today the group of was separated because some of the kids were on a field trip to the Parque de Quetzales. Whether sanding bences, building sinks or painting rooms , we welcomed a break provided by a traditional dance performance put on by the students. We then returned to our houses for lunch. When we returned to the school, we went to classes with the students at the school. After attending a cooking, mathematics, or science class, we all watched a game of volleyball between the team from our Costa Rican school and a team from New Jersey. Four people from our group were even able to join in. We then met as a group to discuss our "highlights" and "lowlights" of the day as well as improvements in the technique of our service projects.

Here are some photos from the group that worked at the National Park. They loved using the machetes!

Baile!

There are a couple of Costa Rican students who have become really good friends of ours. Two of them, Luigi and Tomas dance in a folk group. Check out this video of a "Baile Folklorico" they did for visiting Costa Rican school directors.

Tuesday (by Matt)

The workday began at the late hour of 7 am after a hectic night of meeting families and exchanging gifts. As we arrived we were immediately whisked away on a walking tour of the school. The tour began with looking into classrooms and meeting students, but as we moved further away from the entrance we encountered a chicken coup, a mother pig and her adorable piglets, and even a cow milking. After the tour finished we jumped right into the business of general painting or the construction depending on which group we were in. However, all 19 of us had to participate in the moving of sandbags, concrete blocks, etc. from a warehouse to the site of construction. Those who didn't bring their gloves (like me) paid the price in blistery hands. At around 11, we all broke for lunch to return for more work at 1pm. Most went home for a family lunch while me and my homestay partner, Andrew, were treated to a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo. All returned at 1 only to be confronted by rain and an empty school, yet we found jobs moving sand and rocks, painting steps, and sanding handrails. Exhausted we returned to the multi-purpose rooms and at the prompt of WLS leader Pablo, we shared the techniques we had learned during the day, like where to properly hold a paint brush or not to splash paint around because it could end up on you. Then Pablo took us on an intense trip down memory lane. We all recited our most memorable “snapshots” of the trip so far. An emotional time was had by all. With the unrelenting downpour creating a medley of natural music, we had a spiritual moment of togetherness. We were not 19, we were ONE.

Working Hard!

Our Homestay (by Andrew)

I am writing this at the close of day 2 of our homestay. It began yesterday with all of the Costa Rican families and the Dalton students sitting opposite each other in a large multi-purpose room waiting for the students and families to be called out and introduced. Matt and I found we had a coordinator of the school for our host mother. Every pair of students went home with their families and so it began. I know every student has had a very different expereince so far but it seems thta all have been good. As for Matt and I, I believe we are extremely lucky.

Our family has a mother, a father, and three sons. They are 27, 21, and 6. The mother's name is Marilyn and is extrememly friendly and cheerful. She is more than gracious and is attentive to our every need. We have not seen much of the father though and he seems to spend most of his time out. I do not know if it because of our presence here. The oldest son lives in San Jose and we have yet to meet him but we spoke to him on the phone in English because he can speak it pretty well. The youngest son Daniel is very shy and tends to avoid us. The 21 year old though whose name is Luis is so extremely friendly. So far we have watched a movie, a soccer game, and the Simpsons with him and talked about everything from sports to music to girlfriends. He is our go-to guy in this house. So far I feel fairly certain I can speak for everyone when I say "Todo Esta Bien!"

P.S. The meals are great.

El Colegio Tecnico

This is the school where we will perform our service learning which includes painting, building two wash stations, and helping out with English classes. It has a working farm on it too so students can study agriculture.

Excited about our homestays? You bet! (By James and Ben)

This morning after breakfast we had our first official meeting about meeting and dealing with our host families. We talked for a long time about what to expect and the responsibility of sharing a space with someone else. But after the meeting we were able to head out for the first really exciting event of the day - RIVER RAFTING! Let's just say the rapids of Costa Rica were nothing in the face of well-trained and inspired Daltonians. After the rapids we headed back to town, had lunch, and then packed the bus for our trip to Santa Maria de Dota.



The two and a half hour drive to Santa Maria from the hostel in Orosi was another trek through the scenic and winding mountains of Costa Rica. We were all anxious about meeting our host families at the high school of Santa Maria, where we will also be doing our community service.



We finally met our families and we were introduced to the people in charge of the high schools. All of the students separated into their respective families and introduced themselves. We were driven to our homes and off to officially start our homestays.

Rafting El Rio Orosi

Yeah, we got soaked. Check out the rest of our photos here!

Mas Photos del Valle Orosi

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

(By Krista, Eva, Jesse, and More!)
Lo siento that we have not been able to post our first reports until now, but we'll make up for it with a few good stories and lots of great photos! We landed safely in San Jose, exhausted but excited, and met our World Leadership School leaders, Pablo y Javier. Greeted by rain, we drove for an hour and a half to the Orosi Valley where we spent two days at the Montana Linda Hostel.

The hostel is bright and open and guarded by two delightful dogs. Sunday morning, our leaders had planned to wake us up at 6am, but we were afraid they would not remember. Conveniently, we were awoken half an hour early by a rooster without a snooze button. After a breakfast of French Toast and rice and beans, we took a strenuous hike in the midst of 100% humidity for 3 hours.

Finally we arrived at the rustic mountain lodge, Monte Sky, with its quaint architecture and amazing gardens.



We played a few teamwork games, and by using a little Dalton logic, managed to fit all of us into the string circle.



We were rewarded for all of that hardwork with a refreshing siesta beneath a beautiful waterfall or we say in Spanish, cascada.

Stay tuned for news from Santa Maria de Dota. We heart our homestays and Costa Rican families. Pura Vida!

Doing Well in Orosi

Hello Parents,

I spoke with Maria Nebres this morning. The students are doing great and are gearing up to head into the community later today. The group has had limited email access so I had Maria read me an update, which I have typed up below:

"We are excited to be in Costa Rica! We arrived on time on Saturday and headed straight to the town of Orosi, where we are staying at Montana Linda. We had a nice hike on Sunday to Monte Sky, a lodge high in the rain forest. We had lunch and then went up to a waterfall, where we saw a beautiful rainbow. Last night, after we had returned to Orosi, the students had a chance to reflect in a circle before going to bed.

This morning we are doing a homestay orientation before we head out rafting and then head to Santa Maria, where we will meet our host families. The students have many questions: do I use "tu" or "Usted"? They are nervous, but in a good way. They are studying their host family sheets and trying to understand what their family will be like. In just a few hours, they will know.

We have blog updates but have not been able to post them as we have limited internet access. We will do that tonight from Santa Maria!

-- Maria Nebres

The Group Has Arrived in Costa Rica

Hello everyone,
I just spoke with Javier Cano, our ground coordinator in Costa Rica, and he is with the Dalton students and faculty as they head to the colonial town of Orosi, where they will do their orientation. The students had a good journey and are excited to finally be in Costa Rica at the start of a great adventure.
Ross Wehner