2023 Costa Rica: Day 4

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Welcome back attentive 8th grade followers,

It's Tuesday, March 21! This was our fourth day traveling together to Costa Rica, (halfway through!) and students are settling in nicely to our travel routine.

It’s been two glorious days, and our student volunteers were eager to paint a picture for you. Read below to see the summaries and photos of our experiences:

Sebby wrote: "After waking up bright and early and having breakfast, we set off for the Asis Wildlife Refuge center. On our way, we stopped at a small fruit stand that had many tropical fruits like bananas, mango, and pineapple. We got to try a few that our guides bought for us. After the fruit stand, we continued on to the wildlife center; we met our guides who showed us around each enclosure. We saw many animals like Toucans, monkeys, raccoons (Coatis), and even Scarlet, Green, and Golden Macaws. We learned about their habitats, if they were nocturnal or non-nocturnal, and also who they prey upon and who they are prey to. Overall, the wildlife center was so much fun and an amazing experience!”

On our itinerary, we were supposed to hike through Arenal Volcano National Park and learn about the unique volcanoes and wildlife there. Due to the heat and timing of the day, we made the difficult decision to forgo the hike, even though it’s the reason we’re staying in Arenal.

The students, exhausted by the heat, were more than happy to spend the afternoon back at Los Logos Hot Springs instead—now in the daytime! They had a blast making memories and enjoying each other’s company. We will include the photos from Los Logos in our Google Drive Folder at the end of the trip for you to peruse and download at your leisure.

We also have a bit of exciting news to share today! Bus 1 had a wonderful impromptu surprise; Bullis 8th grade teachers, led by Señora Velikovsky, have been working towards planning a visit to a local school in Costa Rica since before the Pandemic. The Bullis 8th grade raised money to buy school supplies for Escuela Zeta 13, and we held out hope to get together, thinking we wouldn’t have time. Between activities, Bus 1 was able to make the visit a reality—-they bought the school supplies (in Spanish) at a local store and delivered the supplies to the school in person.

Here is Meyer’s recounting of his experience: "Today I went to a school named “Escuela Zeta 13” with my group. The school had 450 kids from grades kindergarten through sixth. We walked around in three different classrooms and met some of the sixth and first graders in Math class. I enjoyed meeting the kids and having conversations about our favorite sports (they were studying English; we asked them questions in Spanish and they answered in English). I took some pictures with the kids and, just as I was leaving, they gave me marbles as a gift. Below is a picture with the kids."

Musa shared: “I thought visiting the kids was really cool. The kids were really happy to see us. One sixth grader, Santiago, seemed really interested in what we had to say. He was also excited to share about his crush!”

We are so thrilled that our students got to perform community service, take part in a cultural exchange, and use a second language in real-life situations.

Tomorrow, we’re headed for Punta Leona - the beach on the Pacific Coast. It’s a long drive, but we’ll send an update about our new surroundings!

Wish us safe travels,

The 8th Grade Discovery Days Trip