Day 3 in Chilamate!

Today we began our service project at the Chilamate school.  It was such an incredible experience!  We split into three groups once at the school so that we could teach English and play games with the children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.  My group played with the children in second grade; after a few games, the children started playing in the playground, which is about halfway complete already.  There are monkey bars and some tables and large cylinders that the children can jump on and play around.  Everything is painted in bright, vivid colors!  For our part of the playground project, we will be working on a see-saw, a slide, cleaning the tables of old paint and then repainting them, and a few other projects.  We worked for a little while outside before it started raining heavily; however, we managed to finish a gravel path from the main part of the school to the playground!  For me, it was absolutely amazing to be there.  I loved talking to the students in Spanish, even though the language barrier made things a little bit difficult to communicate.  They seem to love talking to us and were only shy for a little while before they started talking more.  It's almost impossible to describe how incredible it was to meet these children.  I was so touched that they completely opened their school to us with such a warm welcome.  It wasn't long before I felt comfortable around the students and was speaking Spanish without worrying so much that I'd make a mistake.  The students don't seem bothered that mistakes are made; I think it just means a lot to them that we are here doing something to make them happy.  I felt so proud when the pathway was completed and cannot wait until we can finish the playground itself.  I love that we are creating something that the students will be able to have for years.  It's wonderful to be here with World Leadership School; we are not just being tourists and only seeing the surface of Costa Rica, we are truly becoming part of the community and working to make a difference.  We talked a little bit about this last night.

In the afternoon, we went to Finca Sura, a place a few minutes away from the Eco-Lodge that raises fish and grows fruit.  We ate lunch (fresh tilapia as well as vegetarian options) and then took a tour of the property.  During the tour, we had a chance to taste sugarcane, coconut water fresh from a tree, and pieces of a pineapple that our guide had just picked from the field.  Most of the girls found them delicious!  We returned to fish for tilapia in a small pond using recycled water bottles and fishing line; several girls managed to catch some fish, which was really fun to watch. 

It has been another fantastic day in Costa Rica, with another sure to follow!

Pura vida,
Madeline K.