More pics!

The boys created their own band tonight and paraded around the lodge.

 

This sign is posted in our lodge. 

Winston and Mrs. C are masters of slap!

Walter would like his parents to take note that he is working!  This was a specific request!

The boys are improving their fooseball skills!

Day 4 Adventures!

This post was written by Hays, Nelson, Jeb, and Kristian.

This morning at the school we had a rock, scissors, paper tournament. The championship included Nelson and Elena, a student from Chilamate Elementary. Elena won!

Afterwards we mixed all the students up with us and played soccer together. One of the students at the school looked exactly like Neymar Jr., a pro soccer player.

We continued our work at the school, but we switched jobs from yesterday. 

The kids at the school gave us some help when it was time to clean up. The best part of being at the school today was meeting new friends. A man brought his snowcone stand down the street and started making snowcones right by the school. We bought some for a few children who live across from the school.

Lunch was great because we had spaghetti and garlic bread. It was a reward for our hard work! After lunch we swam in the river for the first time. It felt so good because the water was so cold. It has been extremely hot today. 

We built sand ramps so that we could run from the beach and face plant into the water. Randall, our leader, was in a kayak watching us. Some of us held on while he pulled us around the river.  We tried to touch the bottom, but it was very deep.  We had a couple of inner tubes and we enjoyed flipping each other.

This afternoon we went to the chocolate plantation. To get to the plantation, we had to cross the longest suspension bridge in Costa Rica. It is 250 meters long.  

It was cool because you looked down on the rushing waters of the Rio Sarapiqui. We hiked about 20 minutes to the chocolate plantation and learned about cacao beans and how the indigenous people processed chocolate. We got to taste chocolate throughout the process.

While we were hiking, we saw leaf cutter ants, an agouti, a monkey, a Costa Rican chicken, a wild boat, and a millipede. The tour ended at the gift shop. We bought cold cokes and souvenirs.

Dinner tonight continued with an American theme...fried chicken wings! Yum!

Day 3: Working at Chilamate Elementary

This post was written by Duncan and Kyler.

Today at the Chilamate school we worked on the final tasks for building a pavilion for the school and community. We split up into three different groups, each with different jobs to do. One group worked on putting cement on the supports of the pavilion. 

Another group picked up rocks in one area and transported them to behind a wall. 

Also, a group cleaned and painted beams. 

We learned that if we work together as a team we will always have success and get the job done.

 Also at Chilamate today, we got a tour of the school classrooms, and got to meet some of the kids in the school. The classrooms were surprisingly large, and were different from what we had seen before. There were a lot more kids than I thought there would be. We also got the chance to play fútbol with the 5^thgraders. Some of those kids were amazing at soccer!  Most of us couldn’t even compete with them in the game. Immediately after the kids left to go back to their class, we played a quick game of soccer. That game was the last thing we did at the school.

A few pictures...

The "Pig Whisperer"

Kristian was so thankful that friends were helping him during the no luggage situation. Thankfully, his luggage has now arrived!

Thumbs up for zip lining!

"Eye" see you!

The boys are listening to the principal of the elementary school as he explains the importance of their work for the community.

We joined in a game with this 4th grade English class as they learned the parts of a house.

Aidan has been beating the socks off our guys in checkers. He's in first grade!

Every night two boys lead the team through "ANCHOR". During this time, they discuss appreciations, news, concerns, hopes for the trip, obscurities of the trip, and then readings (inspirational quotes or verses). Last night Nelson and Brooks led.

More to come...

More Day 2 Adventures in Costa Rica

The following information has been written by Mrs. Creasman's Group of Boys - Collin Craft, Harrison Sampietro, Walter Mink, and Webb Daniel.
Day 2 - Classroom Talk  by Collin Craft
This morning our classroom talk was about learning how to work together to accomplish a goal.  Jorge separated us into two groups.  Half of us were the United States and the rest were Costa Rica.  The objective was to get through a hidden maze (a set of tiles) without stepping on the wrong ones.  Naturally Costa Rica and America tried to be the first to solve the maze.  We didn't win until both countries worked together.  We finally figured out to place markers on the correct tiles to make the path so we could cross into each countries.  Working together is the key to success.

Tonight we discussed concerns, norms, and expectations in help us have a satisfying trip.  We made lists for all three topics.  Our concerns were things that we were fearful of about the trip - staying healthy, stay safe, harmful bugs, etc.  The norms we discussed were about rules to follow - Always stay in pairs, get enough sleep, always be aware of your surroundings, listen to the teachers, etc.  The topic of expectations was about things we expect to do on the trip or to complete on the trip.

Day 2:  Costa Rican Food by Walter Mink
We woke up to great food.  Breakfast was great.  We had many choices like scrambled eggs, cereal, sausage, rice and beans, pineapple, mango, etc.  My personal favorite was the fruit.  At lunch time there were many veggies, potato salad, and empanadas!  Empanadas are fried pies with different fillings like beef, chicken, cheese, steak and potato, or rice and beans.  At dinnertime we had choices of salad, rice and beans, pineapple, mango, and beef stew.  Costa Ricans eat rice and beans at every meal.  All in all, Costa Rican food is great!

Day 2: Rain Forest Hike
Today we did a very interesting hike in the rain forest.  We saw tons of poisonous frogs, geckos, bats, and bugs.  I spotted a baby venomous viper snake coiled up in between two tree roots.  The plants were very interesting too!  We saw the walking tree and a flowering plant called hot lips. 

We also saw a HUGE termite nest hanging from a branch.  

We saw bullet ants that could end your day!  They are about an inch long and have a powerful bite.  If you get bitten by one, the pain could last for six hours.  We also saw leaf cutter ants carrying the leaves back to their colony.  (We saw an army of leaf cutter ants at one of the zipline stations.  One group was going to the nest with leaves; the other was going back to cut more leaves.)  Overall the hike helped us understand more about the wild life in the rain forest.

Day 2:  Ziplining by Webb Daniel
Today we went ziplining in the canopy of the rain forest.  There were twelve stations on our adventure.  On some stations we had to brake.  The brake was a glove we wore on our hand.  To brake you had to pull down on the cable close to the end of the line.The last station had a zipline that was 700 meters
long!  Right before we made it to the last station it began to rain. All of us zipped with a partner. We
were zipping fast with rain pelting our faces.  It was fun zipping in the rain.  Everyone in our group did the zipline adventure, even our teachers - Coach Fruitt, Ms. Glenn, and Mrs. Creasman!

Note:  Parents and all visitors to our blog: We are so glad that you are reading our blog.  We would so appreciate you making comments on our daily entries.  We want to hear your thoughts and comments
on everything we are doing.

Note:  We are having internet issues, so please be patient with us.  We are trying to upload pictures and write our blogs each day. We will post each item as soon as the internet will cooperate!  Thanks so much!

Day 3: Visiting an Organic Farm

This blog post was written by Wesley, Winston, and Brooks.

For our afternoon activity today, we toured and worked at an organic farm. When we first got there we had lunch comprised of only organic foods such as organic pork, rice, beans, and squash. The main export of the farm was pepper, which we got the chance to see and eat while it was growing on the vine.

Winston decided to eat a peppercorn! A few others gave it a try too!

The pepper vine grows on small trees on the farm.

After lunch, we went to a shed where animal droppings were being converted to bio fuel. Personally, this amazed me and probably everyone else because of the fact that even waste products weren’t going to waste. 

Next, we went to the pig pens and fed them three different types of organic plants.

After this, we shoveled and mixed organic compost and were taught the process and benefits of this kind of compost. We then trekked up a hill and put the organic compost to work when we fertilized the pepper vines. 

Then we walked down the hill and saw the vanilla plants. We thought it was very interesting because the plant did not attach to the ground, but it latched onto the host tree.

 One of the strangest things that we did today was the milking of a goat. Almost everyone tried, but not all were successful. 

We then headed back to the place where we ate lunch and and some snacks while we listened to Randal translate a story that Mr. Daniel, the owner of the farm, told us. It was very inspiring and eye-opening. At this activity, we learned the importance of preserving the Earth and keeping your diet natural and organic.  We also learned the negative impact that large farming corporations have on Costa Rica.