Thursday, March 24, 2011

Chilamate Day 5, Morning Service Wrap Up, Afternoon Cooking, Swimming & Packing


Blog - March 23, 2011 St. Johns

Hi from our last night in Chilamate, this is JT and Ms. Hytken reporting in. This morning we had eggs, pinto, fried potatoes and sausage for breakfast with fresh fruit, pastries and juices. The food here is amazing and even though we are excited to go to La Fortuna and have hot water we are really going to miss the food here!
            After breakfast we headed over for our last day at the school. Our chore for today was a lot more painting. We had a circular area of cement under a big tree that we divided like a pizza and painted each section different colors. On this cement were several tables and benches which we also painted. The whole thing looked amazing when we were done, kind of Alice in Wonderland-y. The kids performed some native dances (including our hosts’ daughter Lluvia) and a few of them did a mime/dance to a popular Costa Rican song. Another little boy sang an awesome solo. We also played more soccer and taught the kids Four Square. It’s AMAZING what a difference a little paint can make! Me (JT) and Ms. Hytken worked with Brigid and a young lady from the school named Dayana to learn some more Spanish and to teach her some English. She had her mom come back to get her an hour late so that she could hang out with us. The kids at the school are already familiar faces and we are really going to miss them. They are so excited to have us and have been so kind and friendly.
            After the service work we came back to Chilamate for lunch, which was empanadas and salads. We are totally in love with the food here, the empanadas were amazing. We headed back to the school for a cooking class with the head cook named Maria. All the kids eat a homemade lunch at the school everyday but we got to learn how to make tortillas and empanadas. The tortillas are made from corn flour and water. For the empanadas we added salt. We each rolled out the dough and then Maria helped us add cheese and she fried the empanadas up to a golden brown. Then we got to eat them! For sure the best part! The cheese here is incredible and I (JT) am addicted to it! The pineapple juice Maria made us was pretty awesome too! We said our last goodbye’s at the school and headed back to the Eco Lodge.
            Like we have every afternoon, we all went for a swim in the Sarapiqui. I (Ms. Hytken) didn’t go in but I sat on the rocks and watched as all the STJES kids had a HUGE sand fight with Chris and Ben. I was REALLY glad I didn’t get any on me!
            Now, we are hanging out in the Eco Lodge restaurant just relaxing and playing cards (or reading in Ms. Hytken’s case). We’ll update the rest of the blog after dinner. Today at lunch Meghan asked us what we wanted as our farewell dinner and offered pizza and pasta but we REALLY want one more “traditional” Costa Rican meal!
            Hi Mom and Dad (this is JT)! I’m having a great trip and you don’t have to worry about me.

1 comments:

Donna said...

Alexa Sounds like you all are having an amazing experience. We loved the pictures and can't wait to see more. Enjoy! Love, Dad, Mom & the boys