Week , almost over...

By Tayler Clemm
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Well it is day four and we are approaching the end of the week. We have experienced all of the rice and beans that Ticos can offer, we have been in some of the strongest storms, and we have built roads in some of the highest temperatures. But we have yet to see so many other things that Costa Rica has to offer.

So far, one of the biggest impacts that will change me when I return to the U.S is the visit to La Carpio. The people in La Carpio were so deep with their words, and in a way with their actions that it inspired you to want to help any way that you could. The way one of the community's members, named Rosario, spoke about the importance of her family and community and what little work that we did complete helped them in so many ways made me feel really important. As I walked away from the work site I felt that we didn't complete as much work as we should have for how many people that was there. I underestimated our contribution since they appreciated our work so much.

One event that really touched me was one the little girls of La Carpio. She was less than 10 and she chose to help mix concrete with us both days. She didn't have to be there but she chose to get dirty and build these roads. It was on overall life changing experience and hopefully I could go back to America with a different outlook on life.

There is so much more to experience in these next couple of days and I hope that it only gets better and more inspiring.

Being a vegetarian in Costa Rica, service learning in La Carpio

By Seth Diggs

Edited by Mr. Moreland

I wanted to first talk about how well the city high group has accommodated to my vegetarian diet. I was worried about what I would eat in Costa Rica, and so far I have been very well fed.

I have done so many different activities and learned so much. For example, we volunteered in a very poor community of San Jose called La Carpio. I really like how everyone here seems to appreciate even the smallest gestures. An example of great appreciation is when the La Carpio community leader, Chicho, thanked our 2011 group many times for helping him build roads in his community. I also like the emphasis that La Carpio put on cooperation in the community.

One recurring distinct cultural process I keep encountering is how people in Costa Rica come off to me as not being polite. I say this because every time I run into someone or vice versa they never say a word. Also when squeezing through a tight space a word is never spoken on the Costa Rican side. I think that this is a definite difference between Latin America and North American cultures.

Day 5, Poas Volcano, Masks, and Salsa Party

Written by Julia Rippel
Edited by Mr. Moreland

I haven´t had much time to post, but I´ve been having a lot of fun so far. Today we went to the Poas volcano and talked with a geologist named Rodolfo Van der Laat.

It was a long drive up to the volcano, but I kept myself busy by taking pictures and filming the scenery. We drove through a ton of coffee plantations which later gave way to milk farms (many of which were associated with Dos Pinos).

When we finally arrived, we hiked uphill through the cloud forest. It was really amazing, because we saw so many plants and trees that were totally different from the ones in the forests of Pennsylvania. One example was the poor man´s umbrella (the layman´s term for the plant), which had enormous leaves.

We saw two craters, which had both filled with water and become lakes. There was steam coming off of the first one, and there wasn´t any greenery on the rocky slopes all around it. You could also smell the sulfur. The second one was larger, and there was a lot of greenery on the surrounding slopes.

Talking with Rodolfo Van der Laat was really interesting, because you could tell he really enjoyed his job. He showed us where the ground on the overlook physically bulges when there´s an eruption coming. Also, while we were sitting and interviewing him, several small, green and black birds came right up to our feet. (I guess they were really used to people).

Later we talked to a man who makes traditional masks. He showed us his workshop and told us the process behind making the masks. He talked about his life in general as well and how he began to make masks. Some of the masks had full bodies to go with them, and he explained how these are used in parades during local festivals. He showed us how they dance during the parades, and let some of the students and teachers try them on and dance too. He also let three students sculpt some clay into the base for the masks.

That night, we had a dance party with our pen pals at the high school here in Costa Rica. Although conversation was kind of halting, it did occur. We dragged some of the Costa Rican boys onto the dance floor, and some of them helped us with our salsa moves. I was happy to practice the salsa, and I kind of learned the meringue from Matt, our guide. All in all, I had a lot of fun today.

Day 4 Costa Rica

Written by Austin Murphy
Edited by Julia Rippel

Today we went to La Carpio, where we finished working on the road we started on Day 3. We split into three groups. Each group had a different task. One group worked on mixing and pouring cement. The second group worked on leveling and smoothing out the ground. Finally the third group worked on digging out the draining ditch. With us, City Charter High School, working to create roads in La Carpio, we are helping the people to get titles for their land.

The community is made of squatters. The population ranges from poor Costa Ricans to immigrants from surrounding countries. The people are very friendly. While we were working they came up to us, talked to us and even helped us work. In our class we studied Latin American cultural patterns, such as expressiveness of emotions. After we completed the work we had been doing in La Carpio, the President of La Libertad, ChiCho, was very emotional and said that we are great workers and thanked us for helping the community. He said he was honored to have us doing this work and will continue to welcome City High Students in La Carpio for future trips.

In the afternoon we went to the Legislative Assembly building to meet with the President of the Legislative Assembly, Juan Carlos Mendoza. Mr. Mendoza is the youngest person ever to be made president of the Legislative Assembly. While meeting with Mr. Mendoza, we learned about some political issues in Costa Rica, such as the need for people who have different ideas to come together in order to change what Costa Rica is, low communication within communities, and racism. We toured the Legislative Assembly building and found that there was a session of congress being held. We went to the public viewing area and saw some people who were watching the session of congress. We learned that they were there to support free trade with the United States as this would create jobs for the people. Also the protesters said that the state department is giving jobs, drugs, and other things to people to get their votes.

After doing four interviews, we have learned a lot about Costa Rica's culture. Some things that we have learned so far are that the people value family more than material possessions. In one interview in La Carpio, they said that: When we work together like a community, we are family. I personally found this to be an amazing way of summing up our entire trip so far. We go to school with each other but that can only bring us so close to each other. Actually being in Costa Rica we are growing closer together. We are learning each other's strengths and weaknesses through many things that we do such as: learning to salsa dance, paving roads, digging a ditch for a pipe, speaking Spanish and much more. As said in an interview with the Minister of Culture, Manuel Obregon, on day 3, for us to forget our own problems and to help others solve their problems generates happiness for everyone.

Days 1 & 2 & 3 !

written by Antoinette Davis, Student
edited by Mr. Moreland

Day 1:

Waking up at 2:30 in the morning was a hard thing for me to do. When I arrived the airport I thought I was going to cry but surprisingly me nor my mother did not cry. As I got ready to get on the plane, I was very nervous because I have never been on a plane before I only heard stories about them. When I got on the plane I was still nervous but as I looked out the window I started to become less nervous until I experienced turbulence. Now that I have experienced that I HATE planes.

Anyways, as we arrived in Cost Rica I noticed that it was totally different from what I was used to. I noticed so many differences between America and Costa Rica. The biggest difference was the food. I though I wouldn't like it at all but with my side of Red Hot Sauce it was okay. When bed time came round I was exhausted and I slept like a baby this night!

Day 2:

Getting up wasn't too hard because I got such a good rest, but when breakfast came round my attitude changed. I didn't really like the breakfast so I didn't eat anything but the toast. As we left the hotel we went to visit the Dos Pinos company. The tour was very interesting. At the end they gave us ice cream which was nice. After that tour we made it back to our hotel for lunch which was OKAY and then headed out to meet our pen pals. As we were leaving it started to pour down rain so since we walked there we were soaked. That was the hardest thing for me to deal with. I really don't like being wet, so having to sit in wet clothes and talk to people gave me a little attitude. That quickly changed when I meet the students. They were so nice and funny. Even though I don't speak much Spanish and they don't speak much English we manged to make conversation. So after that was dinner then salsa dancing which was very fun. I learned that I am very good salsa dancer. I wish we could of stayed there a little bit longer but it was too late.

Day 3:

I'm still getting used to everything but today the breakfast was good. After breakfast it was our first day to start work. After going out to La Carpio all of my thoughts about how I live and what I do changed. Seeing their community in the shape it was in and learning that the people of the community have to fix it themselves made me what to help out much more. Helping them felt good and even though we couldn't fix every thing I think our little bit of helped worked. So since we have two days to work at La Carpio I think that everything we do between the two days will help the community out in big way.

Day 3 of Costa Rica

written by Robert Murphy, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland


I am recovering from our salsa dance lessons at "Peppers" night club last night. At Peppers I learned how to dance the salsa. This dance to me at first was a challenge since I didn't know how to dance at all before this experience. I am looking forward to future events where I can show off my salsa dance moves.


The breakfast today really wasn't what I was expecting because we received pineapple and watermelon slices on a plate and then a piece of ham and cheese and a croissant. I was hoping for more of a breakfast that included rice, beans and fruit. This meal shows me that the Ticos have all sizes of meals and that they are not generally the same portions everyday.


Today we went to La Carpio where we interviewed the president of the local community association. I found out that La Carpio is a squatter town which was created 18 years ago.

Five years ago the people of La Carpio held a protest because they wanted running water brought to their area, so that they didn't have to walk two miles to go get drinking water. The people of this community protested by blocking the road that was the only entrance to the city dump. San Jose was unable to get rid of its garbage and the city provided La Carpio with running water. Since the people live in a squatter community, the people of La Carpio don't own the land that their shacks (houses) are on. That means that the government can come in at any time and kick them out.

The service project that we worked on today was to help the community become an official community of San Jose. In order for the community to do this they must build their own sidewalks, roads and drainage control for the run off water when it rains. The roads must be paved and must be a certain length across.

While I worked on this project in the community I noticed that there were stray dogs and these dogs were eating anything they could get from dirty diapers to small amounts of food the community gave to them if they could spare food scraps.

Also I noticed that when we took a water break as a group the members of the community that were working with us kept on working and when they worked they weren't in a rush to finish the project. This is different than America. Usually, American contractors rush to get jobs done so that they get paid.

This service learning project isn't done and we will be going back tomorrow to finish paving a section of the road and finish removing and replacing an old drainage pipe that runs through the road.

Im looking forward to going back out and working in the community

This is Day 3 I think?

Written By DJ DAUGHTRY
All the days are melting together. It feels like we just got here, but it also feels like we´ve been here forever. Wow this is amazing I´m so glad I came. Some struggles I thought I would have I didn´t like:

• The food (just kidding I knew i would be good with the food)
• The people...That was serious. The first day I was really tired and really annoyed with the other participants. It was awkward but after that first night I felt alot better
• The Fresco´s (Natural Fruit Drinks) I´m am not too parcital too but they are still good

Today we are going to La Carpio. It´s our first work work day. Yesterday we met with our Pen Pals and just other kids. I met two guys Arthur and Jared and they were just like twins of Me and Toor. I´m loving everything so far. I love the beans and rice. All in all I love the trip thank you too all who helped me come here. Stay updated with my Blog and you too can follow my adventure!

But I have to go it´s breakfast.

Edited by Mr. Moreland

Day Two First Impressions

Posted by Bethany Daffern Student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

So its our second day here and we have done so many things already. We went to the Dos Pinos today, and then we went to lunch, and my oh my was it yummy! We also got to meet the high school students of Liceo Vargas Calvo. Oscar and Jose, two very sweet young men one of which is my pen pal. Tonight from 8 until about 10 we are going to go Salsa dancing and we will use this skill on Friday during our social. Tomorrow is our service day, and it is just another journey that we all are going to go on together. I miss my famliy, but I am not looking forward to leaving this place. I mean last night I looked at the stars, something you really cannot do back home in Pittsburgh. But this is something I will never forget thanks to the journal we were given. But there will be more on the rest of our trip later on.

Adios :)

Our second day here!

By: Alec Cepek, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today was pretty awesome. The food is great and so are the people. We met our friends from the high school. They are just like us. (The reason I am typing so weird is because the keyboard here is laid out differently.) Nacho and Adrian are both my new best friends! I am excited for tomorrow and also for the rain forest!

Day 2 in Costa Rica

Written by Robert Murphy, student
Edited by Mr.Moreland

Today was day 2 in Costa Rica. We woke up early around 6:30, and for breakfast we had rice, beans, 3 balls of skinned potatoes and eggs and toast. It was all quite good.

Then we headed off to Dos Pinos, which is a dairy cooperative (owned by 1400 owners like stockholders in the U.S. but they actually get a say in what the company does). We went on a tour of one of the buildings where they make some of their products such as butter, milk, yogurt and ice cream to name a few. We interviewed a Dos Pinos representative who is trying to expand their business outside of the Costa Rica. Then after the interview they gave us free ice cream in a cone that they make at their plant. They also let us try a new product that they are trying to get sold in stores in Costa Rica. It was like Dibs ice cream but with more ice cream in them and more of a dark chocolate on the outside (they were a bit frozen so had to let them melt a little before being able to eat them all the way).

After Dos Pinos we went to exchange money and the rate for exchanging money is $1 u.s. dollar equals 498 colones (named after Columbus). Then we went to lunch where I had a casado de pollo(chicken platter) consisting of a small salad, breaded chicken, white rice, black beans and a dried cole slaw. Very good food for lunch, good portion too. For a drink I had a watermelon fruit drink that was really good and tasted like watermelon and was fresh.(I would definitely get another one if I have the chance).

After lunch we went to the Costa Rican high school where we met foreign students that were taking english classes in the last year of high school. This was one of more difficult things for me so far in my trip experience because their was a language barrier separating me from talking to the other students fluently. The Tico students and I had some things in common like playing soccer, hanging out with friends and working in the community. The one thing that I think the foreign students liked was receiving the american candy (Pop Rocks) I handed out to them.

After visiting the school we headed back to our hotel via the public bus system where we had a brief group meeting and then had dinner that consisted of noodles and ground meat and a small salad. This dinner was interesting as I thought all of the meals were going to come with rice but this meal didn't.

Tonight we are going out to learn to Salsa dance to prepare for our party friday night with our new student friends from Costa Rica.

Lost in Translation, Dos Pinos, and Distracting Ticos

By Jocelyn Mclaughlin, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Wake up time. I actually woke up before the alarm went off. I guess we had what you would call an early start. For breakfast we had eggs, bread, rice & beans (no me gusta el beans).

Any way, after we had our meal we headed off to the Dos Pinos company, which in Spanish means two pines. Dos pinos is a dary cooperative, a group of farmers that all own a company. We had a brief tour of the plant, and we got to meet the Dos Pinos mascot, Lula, who was very entertaining. After that we conducted a free trade interview with representatives of Dos Pinos.

One highlight of the trip was waving to Costa Ricans.  Once a man was so distracted by our group that ran into a stop sign while he was waving back.

Well it is our group meeting time!  Talk to you soon.

A Trip In the Rain

By Rob Matchett (Student)
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today was our first real outting as a group. We started things off with breakfast, then headed out to Dos Pinos Dairy Plant. We met officials there and talked about the production of their dairy products. When we actually got into the plant we met Lula, the Dos Pinos mascot.  She was entertaining both children and our group. During the visit, she started breakdancing and she challenged one of the students, Seth, to a dance off. It was really cool to hear about the different production processes. The tour ended by getting stuffed Lula Dolls and free ice cream. After that we transfered our US dollars to the currency down here which is so cool because it has hammerhead sharks on it.

Unfortunately when we were leaving for our pen pals school it poured down rain.  While we were walking, getting soaked, I began wish that a tour bus would come and pick us up. Anyhow, the experience of meeting the High School Students was great. They gave us food and drinks and we interviewed one of their teachers Ms. Mellisa Gonzalez. When we came back to the hotel it stopped raining which is good. We are heading to salsa dancing lessons so we can dance at a Friday social event with the high school students.

First impressions

By: Rob Matchett (student)

Despite the plane rides that took up almost half the day yesterday turned out to be pretty cool. We arrived here in San Jose and got to our hotel. So far it does not seem too different. It just seems like someone put a blindfold on me and then switched the signs to Spanish. We went to a grocery store and it was really cool. I was shocked at how cold it gets at night.

The food is really great here though so I guess I could learn to like it here.

Buenas dias

By: Julia Rippel, student

After quite a bit of waiting in airports yesterday, we're finally here! So far I like the food here, and I'm having fun. (Luckily, I'm using Mr. Moreland's laptop right now, because it's been quite an adventure trying to use symbols on Spanish keyboards.) Today we're going to meet a representative from Dos Pinos, and later we're going to meet our high school student pen pals! (There was a slight change in the itinerary because of the politicians' schedules.) It's almost time for breakfast now, adios!

What time is it?

By: Danyelle Washington, Student.

I have lost all track of time. There is no daylight savings here. So, when I woke up at what I thought was 7,it was really 5. It was light out. I woke up three different times. I guess I will get used to it in the coming days.

Ps.I cant stand these keyboards. I can not use the symbols.

We´re Here!! And Impressions on the Food

By Danyelle Washington, Student

It took around 6 hours and two planes but we made it safely. Um I don´t know what else to say excep that I am look ing forward to a wonderful time with the other students. Our dinner went extremely well, (tasted a little bland though). I am all out of things to say so ,

Hasta Manana

Arrival at Costa Rica

By: Robert Murphy, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today we left Pittsburgh International Airport and arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina. After a brief layover, we took the plane to Costa Rica where we met our tour guide, Matt Cook. On arriving in Costa Rica I noticed all the bars and gates on the houses as we went to our hotel. Then we got settled in and had a brief meeting and a snack. Then we went to a local grocery store where we went around looking for Dos Pinos products as we are going to go visit the Dos Pinos dairy plant tomorrow. The grocery store was like an American grocery store. Fresh produce, fresh meat and bread. A 20oz coke cost $2 in American money.

I look forward to day two in Costa Rica.