Costa Rica Team Leapers Diary

Tessa Coddrington

Hi,

Everything is going really well, the 1st couple of days were a bit weird but I´m really enjoying myself now. The work is good but we haven’t done anything with the children yet, the dance and drama- hopefully will soon. Not speaking any Spanish has been a slight problem but hopefully I will be able to pick it up.

Jess and I are in Quepos at the moment for the weekend which will be nice, eating food other than just rice and beans and not having to get up at 5.30!

Hiya!

Sorry I haven’t been in contact at all, there’s so much going on here it’s hard to find spare time to do anything! Me and Tessa are having an absolutely amazing time here and really don’t want to go home. Teaching at the Kinder is so fun…they sang me Happy Birthday on my birthday! They’re so cute and always say hello to us in the street and just love learning English!

The chicken farm was really good…Tessa was a bit more excited about killing the chickens than I was but we have some ‘lovely’ pictures for you! Unfortunately I think the camera you gave me has run out of battery and I don’t know how to charge it but me and Tessa will definitely send you our photos when we get back. The dairy farm this week has been great…although a very early start!
Thanks

My time in Costa Rica was the best 5 weeks of my life and the happiest I’ve ever been!”

Jess & Tess

Stephanie Stagnetto

Morning Alice,

Thanks for giving us an update on Stephanie.  We received a long email from her this weekend and she seems to be having a ball.  Loves working with the animals, especially the cheeky monkeys and she cannot believe she is up at 5am and in bed by 9pm!!

Her family are super and spoil her rotten.  They are feeding her meat, spaghetti, chips, etc, anything to make her feel at home, she has her own bedroom with a double bed so perhaps when you next speak to Vesa you would kindly convey our thanks to the family for looking after her so well.With best wishes Suzi Stagnetto

Dear Guy and all at The Leap,

Just wanted to let you know that Stephanie and Nana have arrived back home safe and sound.  They seem to have thoroughly enjoyed Costa Rica and Mexico, which they travelled around on their own.  No doubt Stephanie will be in touch with you once she has caught up on her sleep!

Thank you all very much for looking after her.Best wishesSuzi

Hi Guy,

Everything here is amazing, the family I am staying with is lovely and I have been told that Nana and David are very happy too! The food is ok I am getting used to it but as time goes by I have grown to like it.

The work we have been doing so far has been based on cleaning the animal cages and feeding them, at first we were slightly scared entering the monkey cages but we have grown to really like them. Last week I worked at the milk farm where i attempted to milk cows...unfortunately i wasn't very good at it! The man whom i worked with kindly took Nana and i on horseback up the mountain to see the beautiful view, it was incredible.

We have been to different places on the weekends but always longing to get back to El Silencio on the Sunday. We have made lots of friends who have taken us to the local waterfalls and the river. Last week we went water rafting which was very good fun, we successfully finished without falling out of the raft and instead we were pushed! This week David is working in the Huerta, where they grow all the fruit, I am working in with the animals and Nana is milking cows.

We will start teaching in February as the school are on holiday now, sorry I have taken so long to reply I haven't really had time to contact anyone on the internet. I will try to keep in contact as much as I can!

Hello!

Costa Rica was amazing and in the local’s word, ‘PURA VIDA’! The people there are warm and full of life. Thanks for everything I had the most amazing time and I hope one day to return to El Silencio!
Steph xx

Rosy Edey

Rosy Edey, Anna Sharp and Rachel Sinclair

Hey Guys!

Its Anna, Rachel and Rosy in Costa Rica!!!

How are you guys? we are doing good, absolutely amazing country trying to travel it as much as poss at weekends! sorry we have replied its impossible for us to get to a computer. were a lot happier now, feeling settled, the community are giving us a lot more things to do. like this week we are working in the garden, teaching English in the afternoons to the ladies and men of the village.

Also going to go to the farm for our second visit of milking cows, their taking us horse riding to the waterfalls also. but best of all we have got involved as of last week within the female co-op building an organic chicken farm, amazing just the sort of thing we imaged to be doing. Really kind of making a difference. Me and Rach are going to put our money into that, Rosy into the school.

Rosy leaves on Monday as her trip finishes, were very sad. Don’t think we could be any more lucky in terms of how well we get on! few things we will point out when we return, just to give you feedback, and perhaps to revise a few areas within the Costa Rican trip, but we will tell you at a later point. but everythings really good now.

Speak to you soon lots of love xxxxx pura vida!

Stef Beaver

Hi Alice,

Sorry I haven't written yet I’ve just been wicked busy, but things here are great and I like it a lot.  The family I’m staying with is really nice, and I really like all the group members we all get along really well.

So far I have worked at the dairy farm, at the Albergue, and at the vegetable garden one day.  Everything’s been going well.  Hope everything’s well in the UK!

Sincerely, Stefanie Beaver

Hamish Buchanan

Hi Guy,

I’m really sorry that you haven’t heard from me yet, I got an email from my mum yesterday telling me that Alice had spoken to her and said that I hadn’t contacted you.  I did in fact write an email but I’m not sure what happened. I checked my sent messages folder and it wasn’t in there either, rather confusing!

However, on the bright side, I think we all feel a lot more settled now than when I first sat down to write to you, so maybe my accounts will be a little different now!  When we arrived in Silencio it was in the midst of one of the fantastic thunderstorms that we’ve all grown to know and love.  It’s become almost a daily routine now to sit outside on the porch at 3 o’clock with the sound of crashing rain on the tin roofs and massive thunderclaps and sheet lightning igniting the sky.  It really feels like a tropical country!

Getting along with our families has been fairly easy I think for us all.  Bridging that language barrier is still a work in progress of course, and will no doubt be up until we say adios for the last time!  Phrasebooks have been an absolute God-send, the lonely planet version is fantastic.  I didn’t buy one until about 2 weeks into the placement, but I would recommend to all future leapers to buy one and have a little read before they start.  I´ve managed to get a few phrases out of it "estuvo delicioso" "that was delicious", "suave tigre" "easy tiger", etc.

Our families seem to wake up at any time between 3 and 6, my mother seems to get up do something go back to bed and repeat this a couple of times before she gets up permanently, its very confusing!  So far I´ve particularly enjoyed working in the animal rescue centre, being able to go into the cage with the white-faced monkeys was definitely a highlight.  They crawl all over you scratching you back, sifting through your hair!  Adam and I worked at the vegetable patch last week, which was really hard work, particularly in the mid morning heat and a few interesting smells!  The weekends have been really good so far, chance to relax, lie on the beaches, not eat rice!

In answer to your questions, the living conditions are actually far better than I´d expected.  My family has an X-box, which I was very surprised about!  And a fairly expensive looking sound system, I hope these weren’t presents from past Volunteers as mine was just a scented candle! It’s great that we now might have the chance to work more in the school.  Ellie and Olivia did so last week, with another volunteer in the village, an American girl.

So we only have two weeks remaining.  Whilst I was very apprehensive on the plane over here, the prospect of it all ending is somewhat sad.  We´ve all got on really well I feel, and integrated into the village (I hope)!  I´m definitely not relishing the prospect of coming back to the weather I´ve been hearing about.  Any sign of it clearing up?  I’ve been in contact with friends since being out here and hear that their pool is now brown with mud after the muddy rainwater flooded into it!  Thanks for all your help Guy in getting in contact with Juan Carlos and everything else.  I will email you again when I next get to a computer!  And sorry again with the mix up with the last email! Best Wishes
Hamish