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!