Day 4, First day of work at La Carpio

Written by Rob Matchett, student
Edited by Mr. Moreland

Today was our first service day in La Carpio which was a real eye opener for me.  When we first arrived on the tour bus I started looking at the places in which they live. La Carpio is basically this town of houses that are made of sheet metal, built very close together, with many of the roads unpaved. Garbage lines the street; it is community that at first glance seems to be dilapidated. However, the residents really trying to make improvements to gain title to the land. You are reminded of how lucky you really are to have the things that you do, because these people have very little.  However, they never let that get them down and they really value family.

When we got to La Carpio we met some really cool people that we interviewed. One of the things that I keep seeing down here is the value of family. Chicho (a community leader who is a legal immigrant from Nicaragua) said though that none of his family is here but he is close to his neighbors.

When we were done with the interview we paved a part of a street. This was so crazy to me because I don't do such strenuous work at home, but here I don't know what got into me (maybe it was the rice and beans). But I was hand mixing cement with shovels and transporting materials in wheel barrels. It was a demanding process and the people there helped us. It was super cool to just help these people because they really needed it, due to the fact that they are trying to get the rights to this land so they can permanently reside there.

The second cool thing we did was interviewed the Costa Rican Minister of Culture who was really cool. He was the first person that really shook all of our hands and initially instead of separating from our group he sat next to one of us. One of the things that I really liked was when he talked about environmental science and humanity's impact on the environment. He said that the problems with the environment are a result of a lot of people and that it would take more than just a day to address these problems because they are so extensive.

He is a very inspirational figure and his views were so interesting. I mean the guy even gave us free access to a guided tour in a Costa Rican art museum. I loved seeing the contemporary art. I liked the the exibit on death. The artist used a lot of symbolism in their artwork and it was amazing. For example in the one picture there was a person laying dead in the tub with a mirror and the woman giving the tour said it was symbolic of vanity and that the clock next to that symbolized time.

Its only been three days but I can already see changes in myself and the group.I was reading a book that talked about a eureka moment, but i cant help but thinking that maybe this whole trip is my eureka moment.

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: La Carpio and the Costa Rican Government

written by Robert Murphy, Student
edited by Mr. Moreland
photo: plaque from the Costa Rican legislature building

Looking back on Day 4

In the afternoon we interviewed the leader of the Costa Rican congress, Juan Carlos Mendoza, who is the youngest person in Costa Rica to hold this position. Through this interview I have learned that Costa Rica Congress is different than the U.S. congress because the Costa Rican congress consits of 57 members that repersent several different parties throughout the country. In the US there are only two major political parties; Costa Rica has many more.

Also the Costa Rican Congress has a viewing area for the public to listen to meetings and where they could put posters up to show what they support. Bullet proof glass separates the pubic viewing area from the congress meeting room and on the glass there are dents and scratches. It seems that some Ticos can become pretty angry during these meetings. The public viewing is open from 3 to 6 p.m. everday. Also in order for the congress to meet in a meeting they must have two-thirds of the representatives in the room (quorum) or they will call for another 5 minutes. After 5 minutes if two thirds of the representatives aren't in the room they will lock the door and dock the representatives pay if they are not in the room. I think that the U.S. goverment should representatives pay if they are not performing their duties. Hopefully this would make them actually get something done.