Students are at the airport in Costa Rica

Hello family and friends of the Crane School!

The students are at the airport and checking in for their flight back to LA. Right now the flight is on time and we anticipate an on time arrival into LA late this evening. Please call the office with any questions 303-679-3412. Thank you for your support of the program!

LR	640	San Jose - Guatemala City	17:35	17:35	19:12	19:12	On time
LR	640	Guatemala City - Los Angeles	20:00	20:00	00:01	00:01	On time

Erin Lasky
Director of Operations

Into the Wild!

Hi! Lizzie here.

Today we started out a little before 8 am for our walk of one mile to Escuela Cristo Rey. Because this was our last visit, we jumped into our classes: PE, Art, and Library. In PE, the fifth graders today were fast learners. As we dived into playing a game against each other, they were pretty good! In Art, we did our interviews with the children to learn more about their lives and customs. In Library, we started to make a blog between Crane and Cristo Rey, so we can keep in touch with each other. After we finished, we enjoyed a delightful performance. We sang Costa Rica’s national anthem and flag anthem and watched their choral poetry group. Interestingly enough, they actually sang our national anthem, too. A high-school dance group called “Breaking Streets” also performed some hip-hop, as the name suggests. Some of us also performed. Camila, Shelagh, Arin, Anna, Leah, Sienna, and Isabel did a song, with cups as instruments. Gabby did some gymnastic moves, and Mia did some flamenco, with the help of Shelagh. When the fun and festivities were over, we ate a meal at the school of rice with chicken, beans and salad. The drink that was served was, as Anna said, like “drinking liquid bubble gum,” only it was a mixture of fruits. Then we headed back in the 1:00 sun, back for river rafting.

Laura led a fascinating conversation with Cristo Rey fifth graders

Hello, Merith here!

            Where did we leave off? Ah, yes, river rafting! We had so much fun! So, after we arrived at the lodge, we immediately went to change into our bathing suits and set off to Hacienda La Linda. There we put on all of our equipment: life jackets, helmets, and paddles. We had a brief lesson on how to river raft properly and how to “save your life” when you were in trouble…like me (no comment). Anyway, to begin we could jump off a small cliff (10-feet-ish). Almost everyone wanted to go. It was a very fun experience! Everyone has a photo of them jumping off, so we can see that later. At last, we got onto the multi-colored rafts that were pretty comfortable, if I do say so myself. There were six people on the raft, seven if you count the guide. So, there were 6 groups with 5 kids, 1 teacher, and a guide who would tell you to paddle forward, backward, etc. We got wet from head to toe, mostly because we were doing something called “Raft Wars,” which is when we tried to splash people with water. Some people fell into the water on accident…or on purpose (mainly Jonathan!). Some of the rapids were fast, and some were slow. Some of them even had names. For example, one was called “Ay, Caramba!” while another one was named “Air Force.” There was also one that was named “Surprise!” because you bump into a wall (don’t fret, no one was hurt at all). It even rained in the middle of our ride. After some awesome pineapple and watermelon on a little break, it was time to head back. Every single person said that they enjoyed and loved it. Since it was my first time, I really did love it! This was a very nice conclusion to our visit. So sad to leave tomorrow, but see you very soon (Lizzie says so, too)!

Elizabeth one last time:

Tomorrow we head back to San Jose for some city adventures before we catch our evening flight, so this could be our last post. We are all agreed that this has been a special trip, and the kids are eager to tell you all about it in person. See you in the parking lot!

¿Qué me dice, mai? ¡Pura Vida!

Tonight's dinner: arroz, frijoles, papas, carne, ensalada

            The food here in Costa Rica is amazing! Imagine flavor, variety, and greatness in one cuisine, and then you have all of "la comida de Costa Rica"! Costa Rican food is its own style, which is influenced by the food of myriad other countries. The style can spread from tasty “platanos” (plantains) to common “panqueques” (pancakes) to the original Costa Rican “gallo pinto” (white rice and beans). The drinks are amazing, too. We have never experienced such a wide spectrum of juices, ranging from star fruit to blackberry to passion fruit to ­guanabana. The pure awesomeness of these exotic nectars overwhelms the taste buds. This is a little wordy so just assume that the food and drink are great.

Harmony, Emma, and Jamel: interns at the ecolodge who have been feeding us

After the long rant of our attempt at food critique, let’s take a step back and recount the day. The morning started with our second trip to Escuela Cristo Rey. We came back and had a good lunch of spaghetti and garlic bread. By the way, yes, even this had a special Costa Rican influence to it.  The afternoon was a fun contest where five groups of kids (and one of teachers) had to compete in six different challenges. One challenge was to milk a cow, which was one of the most, shall we say, interesting to our fellow classmates.   

Mr. Bixler milks a cow

Another was to make tortillas. We also interviewed a Costa Rican family, learned to dance merengue, and learned some river rafting skills. The competition was for the most rubber bands, which were awarded after completion of an activity. The teachers, assuming victory, of course received the contrary.  [Editor's note: Actually, our team, Las Cucarachas, tied for first with Los Perros, captained by Adam!] The activities were fun, and we had a great time. Most of the events were based in local people’s houses, which was very interesting because it provided an insight into Costa Rican life. We met many people, and we had many conversations with them. Our very descriptive conclusion about today is that everything was amazing.

Thank you, thank you, and goodnight.

Charlie y Ian 

¡Pura Vida, Mai!

Students have found some surprising ways to spend free time...

 

Learning, Educating, and Volunteering

Shelagh and Olivia here:

Today was a day focused on learning, educating, and volunteering. This morning we walked for about 30 minutes under the baking hot sun to the school in Cristo Rey. It was an exhausting walk, but it was worth it in the end. When we arrived at the school, the kids were overcome with joy just to see us walking towards them. As soon as we got there, we split up into three groups and went to our first classes with the third graders. The classes were art, P.E. and library. In P.E. we taught the kids how to play football. They loved it. Then in art we made papier-mâché lanterns. Finally, in library, we read the books that we brought with the kids. It was fun to read to them, and it was good practice for us. After we were done with all of our classes, we had quick snack and headed back to the ecolodge. Because it was so hot, the instructors let us swim in the river. It was really refreshing. Then we went back to our rooms, got dressed, and had lunch. After lunch we went on a short hike through the forest to get a glimpse of what we would be hiking through tonight and what this land should look like. We got to hear howler monkeys. We then walked up the road to a pineapple plantation and learned about how pineapple farming can help and hurt the land and the people. When we were done at the plantation we walked to a woman’s house to play pineapple games, have cookies and lemonade, and learn about sustainable farming in Costa Rica. We headed back to the ecolodge and had a little break before dinner and the night hike.

Olivia:

My favorite part about today was when we went to the school and helped/played with the third graders. I especially enjoyed reading to this one girl named Cristal. She wanted to read to me the book that I brought from home. I let her read it to me, and then I read a book that she picked out. I also enjoyed when we were teaching them a project in art class. Cristal and the other little girl I helped were perfectionists about how to make the lantern (just like me). Then at the end when we were heading out Cristal ran out to me and gave me a marble that she got for me. Overall, today was a really fun day for me.

Shelagh:

My favorite part of today was going to the woman’s house and playing games. We played games that helped us understand the cons of pesticides. We also talked a lot about how bad pesticides are at plantations. The games were really fun and included a lot of teamwork. At the house, there was a really cute dog that loved people and wanted lots of attention. He was very playful and everyone loved him. There was also a cute little boy named Jefferson who was only four. All the girls thought he was super cute. The family that lived at the house and gave us snacks were very generous. I had a really great time, and I appreciated the kindness of the family.

P.S. Hi, Moms and Dads! Don't worry--we're all fine!

Adventures with Plants

Hi, it's Sean and Soren. Today we had adventures with plants and trees. We woke up really early, ate breakfast, and immediately set off to go our separate ways. Sean went to the zip-line tour, while Soren went on a nature hike.  The groups switched activities in the afternoon. Here goes Sean.

So when we set off to go zip lining, we walked to the guidehouse across the river, and we waited for about ten minutes until a bus came to pick us up. After that we drove for about 15 minutes, and we arrived at the site of the zip line. Then we got all of our gear on for zip lining and we started to zip line. So the first one was pretty short, and the second one was very high and long. After those two we went on 12 more, all through the jungle canopy, and it was very fun. It took us about two hours, and the last one, back across the river, was very long. Then we finished up and we had a snack, then we headed back. After that we walked back to the ecolodge, and we had lunch and headed off on the nature hike.

All right, it’s Soren again. So, my group walked through the ecolodge land, stopping every now and then to learn about interesting plants and birds. We found plants that were edible and sugary and big multicolored birds. We walked along the street for a little while and found leaves that stick to you like Velcro. We then went along a farmland trail and found a plant that hung down. If you stood in it, you would think you were standing in the middle of a rainstorm. Finally, we sat down in this alcove area on the farm of Jaime, our guide. We sampled many plants. One of my favorites was coconut, which I ate three of. We also had star fruit and sugarcane and many other fruits and plants that are important in Costa Rican “ethnobotany.” Finally, Jaime pulled out some chili peppers and asked jokingly if any of us wanted to take some. I volunteered. Miles also wanted some, so I broke it in half and gave some to Miles. On three, we both popped the peppers in our mouth. Well, Miles took a bite, but I ate the whole thing. Two seconds later my mouth was on fire. Five more seconds and I was crying. Bix handed me a coconut to suck on, which greatly helped. I sat in the corner shivering for the rest of the experience. My tongue had gone numb. I have not been able to taste anything all day. It was amazing, and I’d do it again almost instantly.

Teamwork and Theobromine

Camila here:

Today our class focused on teamwork.  The day began with breakfast.  Then the entire group split up into teams: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  I was in Superman.  The leaders at the lodge had three activities, or should I say challenges, set up for us.  All of the groups went off in different directions.  Our first activity was building a “bridge.”  The objective was to cross all team members and all materials across from one point of a field to the other, without touching the ground.   The materials that we had were 3 tires, 2 long wooden planks, and 2 ropes.  This challenge was difficult, but the teams really came together and worked as a group.  The second challenge was building a raft.  The objective of the challenge was to build a sturdy raft for five people with inner tubes, bamboo, and rope and to get across part of the river and back.  This challenge was really fun, and I really enjoyed it.  It was also quite funny because the inner tubes were too big for some people, and we kept falling inside of them, so we ended up soaking wet.  The third and final challenge was the “minefield.”  The objective was to pair up with a partner and lead each other along a path.  One of the partners was blindfolded, and the other was on the outside of the path, telling the other where to go by speaking.  The path was filled with cones, or “explosives,” and if you stepped on one, you “exploded” and had to restart.  This activity really focused on teamwork but also taught the group about communication and trust.  All of these challenges that we did today taught me and everyone else that teamwork is a major part of being a class.

Leah here:

My highlight of the day was the chocolate tour at Tirimbina Park. Some people just called it the “chocolate factory” for short, and being from the U.S., you would think just that. Something industrial, right? I always thought that chocolate (every candy in general) was something machine processed, and that was what I was expecting. Actually, I was off. Way off.

Most of the class packed into a bus, and then the rest of us went in a van. We drove for a little while, parked, and then we took a long rainforest walk. The rainforest was spectacular. It started sprinkling, raining (as rainforests do), and then pouring. No big deal… just flooding. We stopped at a nearby shelter and relaxed for a little while, and to be honest it wasn’t boring at all. Eventually, the raining ceased and we hiked to another shelter where we sat down, and two nice men came and started talking about and making chocolate.

Jose started from the very beginning of chocolate: the cocoa fruit. I enjoyed learning about chocolate, not to mention that it was also like a history lesson. They asked for a volunteer, I raised my hand, and I eventually realized that what I was volunteering for was splitting open a cocoa fruit. I sort-of opened it abruptly, and cocoa beans inside it went flying everywhere. They were covered in this strange layer of white goo, and the way that the Mayans took off the goo was to suck on the beans. Later they learned to ferment the beans, and the next step is to dry them. Once dry, the beans are hand-peeled and then crushed up. And yes, the beans are very bitter. That’s why the crushed-up beans are also mixed with cinnamon and sugar. The crushed-up powder can be made into different things. The first thing that we made was hot chocolate. I had three cups. Next, we had chocolate liquor (no alcohol!), which is a thick, chocolaty syrup that can be used for making candy. I had four spoonfuls. Next we had some finished chocolates, milk and dark. We were all very happy and a little hyper. When we were leaving they gave us a bag of 15 cocoa beans that were roasted so we can make chocolate for you at home.

Elizabeth here:

It was a great day!

We're here!

Elizabeth here:

After completely smooth travel on bus and plane and bus, we arrived safe and tired at Chilamate Rainforest Eco Retreat  just in time for a delicious lunch. This afternoon we played leadership and cooperation games (some in a gentle rain), and now we're resting and unpacking before a delicious dinner. All is well! We'll start the kids blogging tomorrow . . .