Today we did our first service learning project. We were educated on carbon off-set, what it does and why it is important. This was all new information to me but was pretty interesting. Costa Rica is centered on the saying Pura Vida (which means Pure Life in English). With trying to keep carbon out of the atmosphere in order to stay pure and clean, some measures need to be taken in order to off-set the carbon that we bring in by flying here and traveling around while being here. They showed us an equation that they use in order to determine how many trees need to be planted in order to off-set the carbon of each individual. Just flying here from the U.S. requires 4 trees planted per person in order to off-set the common that we brought in. So today we each planted 4 trees with some of the locals in order to give back to the community for allowing us to come to their country and enjoy their ways of life. We got very dirty and got to know each other really well while out in the middle of a field planting trees. Many of my group members were not pleased with the idea of us having to plant trees but once we were educated on why we were doing it and after the experience, we realized that it was a really cool opportunity to work with the community and give back to them. We also had a pretty fun time doing it. Some “that’s what she said” jokes started getting said and I may or may not have been the one that started the first one but it was great to all be laughing and making jokes together.
After an exhausting morning we all went back to our bungalows. My roommates and I were planning on taking naps but ended up getting in a pretty in-depth conversation instead. We all talked about our first impression of each other and compared our lifestyles and families. It was great getting to know my roommates on a whole new level and all being able to open up with each other in a way where we were able to see the deeper sides of ourselves and each other. I was personally able to understand a lot about the African-American culture that I had not understood before and they were able to have a glimpse of what my life is like. Being able to share about my family made me miss them a little bit but it was cool to see how a lot of our family lives were pretty similar. Watching my friendships form and grow deeper with my group is a very satisfying feeling because I have truly enjoyed becoming friends with people that are very different from me. I am slowly seeing what not only Costa Rican culture is like but also African-American culture.
Our long day has brought us to a very fun night. Although we are up high in the mountains right now, there is a city with a bar called Los Amigos about 20 miles away. We were informed that there is a huge soccer game on tonight, Costa Rica verse Mexico. Our group has decided to go check out the bar and watch the game with another group that is up here. The local men have told us that the soccer games get pretty wild and it is quite the site to observe the local ticos watching the major games. Our group is planning on getting a few drinks at the bar and just enjoying relaxing while watching the game because these past few days have been exhausting with all the hiking and activities.
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