La Despedida

Hello family and friends,

After a lot of laughter followed by happy tears, our group left our village, Fatima, yesterday morning. Our last week in Fatima flew by. The group finished up several projects, including painting the wall, replacing a garden, and hosting a soccer tournament. Boy, did our students work hard! And it payed off, too. The town looks great. And we had our share of fun, too!

On Thursday night, the community center was transformed into a roller skating rink with lights and music. We were able to hang out with a lot of Tico (Costa Rican) friends. Then the fun continued Friday night at our going away (despedida) party. We invited everyone we had interacted with throughout the trip for dinner and a dance. The night was amazing! So may community members came and spoke about how much they appreciated our time with them and how impressed they were with the great attitudes and hard work of our students. There wasn´t a dry eye in the house! We had thank you cards and gifts ready and were touched when they presented us with individual cards and gifts and a beautiful framed picture of the region for the Putney office. We all danced and hugged and cried together.

The morning crept up too soon and we boarded the bus bound for San Jose. Now we are anticipating a great last day together on a rafting trip. Then on Sunday we will say our goodbyes and find our separate ways home. Fatima, we will miss you dearly!

Saludos,
Zac and Natalie

Corcovado National Park and hard work on projects

Three weeks into the program, our students couldn`t be doing better! Our time so far has been a good balance of work and play. Last weekend, we stayed at Corcovado Tent Camp outside or Corcovado National Park. We spent most of the weekend playing on the beach as we also ventured our snorkeling and dolphin watching. Although our students loved the beach, they were excited to get back to Fatima!

This week, back in Fatima, our students continued running the daycamp that they organized for the local children who are on summer break. The group also finished painting the wall around the school, cleaned up the local soccer field and basketball court, and helped around with various other projects.

We are currently en route to another beach, Playa Uvita, for our final weekend excursion in this part of the country. Then we have only one week left before saying adios to the great friends we`ve made in Fatima. Time is flying by!

Best, Natalie and Zac

Fence Posts, Painting, and a Day Camp

Hello family and friends!

Wow, our group has worked so hard in the last week and a half that we have already finished one of our two major projects. On Tuesday we cemented the last post into the ground around the church. Eventually, this will become a fence, but our group´s goal was just to finish cementing the posts. Now we have moved on painting the wall around the school. This project is also advancing quickly and soon students will start their independent projects. We´ve heard some really great proposals. . .

Tomorrow, is the first day of a week long day camp for local children, including arts and crafts, English lessons, sports, and water games. Next week, we will organize a soccer tournament, a basketball clinic, and afternoon Disney movie showings for the kids.

We have all begun to think of Fatima as our home and while we are sad leave for the weekend, we are also excited to head into the jungle on Saturday. We are spending two nights at the Corcovado Tent Camp. Corcovado National Park is located on the Osa Peninsula and is almost entirely primary rain forest. We are all looking forward to experiencing a weekend of unspoiled nature.

Lastly, our students are overjoyed because our neighbors went on vacation and left their puppy behind so the group has adopted him and now he accompanies us everywhere. He even helps paint.

Well, that´s all for now.

Cheers and Pura Vida,
Zac and Natalie

Walls, Foundations, and lots of Soccer

Saludos from Fatima!

We have had a great first week here in Costa Rica. Students have already completed more work than expected! We have installed posts for a wall along one side of the church, built the foundations and bases of the walls for a classroom, cleared out a soccer field, and worked the whole while with the students at the school. Everyone is working hard and having a great time!

This weekend we took a break and spent Friday night and Saturday morning at a lodge in the mountains hiking, rapelling down waterfalls, and playing in the river. We are now on our way to the BEACH! Beach plans include hiking along the shore, ziplining, and playing in the sun.

While the work thus far has been impressive, the most incredible thing our students have done is establish meaningful relationships with the locals. The group already knows most of the school children by name and our students have played soccer with the locals in the afternoons for 3 days in a row. The first week flew by. . . we are all looking forward to the adventures to come!

Bye for now,
Natalie and Zac

Saludos from San Jose

Hello all!

We are currently in San Jose, boarding the bus, ready to leave for our village, Fatima. The group had a great time in San Jose. In the morning, we stopped by the bank to exchange money, then had a fun orientation meeting in the park. Lunch was our first typical Costa Rican meal at a restaurant (delicious!), and then we strolled through a local craft market.

In the evening, we ventured out again for dance lessons! The group learned the basics of merengue, salsa, and cumbia to build on as the trip continues. We ate an excellent dinner and then headed to bed early. This morning we are off on a long bus ride (4 hours) to our village for the next four weeks. . .Fatima, here we come!

Saludos,
Natalie and Zac

The group has arrived

We've received word from the leaders that the group has arrived in San Jose. They will travel to their village, Fatima, on Sunday.

Meet the trip leaders

2009 Costa Rica B leaders: Zac Strode and Natalie Wagner

NATALIE WAGNER: University of Oklahoma, B.A., French and International and Area Studies, minor in Spanish; University of Pennsylvania, M. Ed., Urban Education. After high school, Natalie spent a year living in France through a Rotary Student Exchange program. She lived with a French family, attended a French Lycée, and traveled to Rotary Club meetings throughout the region to speak about cultural differences. At the University of Oklahoma, Natalie was very involved in the international community. She was an active member of the French Club and the Pan-American Students Association, worked in the Education Abroad office, and taught English at the Center for English as a Second Language. She spent a semester studying European history at the Université Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux, France. After graduation, Natalie joined Teach for America and moved to Philadelphia where she now teaches high school English and Drama. She also teaches French to adults at the Alliance Française de Philadelphie. In her free time, Natalie enjoys traveling and dancing. She has traveled extensively in Western Europe and Mexico, and has studied ballroom dance for five years. This will be Natalie’s second summer with Putney. In 2008 she led a Language Learning program in France. Natalie is fluent in French and is proficient in Spanish.

ZAC STRODE: Whitman College, B.A., Spanish and History. While at Whitman, Zac was an active member of the college’s cycling team competing throughout the northwest. He studied abroad for six months in Costa Rica where he focused his studies on local culture, language, and geography while living with a Costa Rican host family. While in Costa Rica, Zac took the opportunity to travel throughout the country as much as possible exploring both coasts and everything in-between. He has experience working with elementary, middle, and high school students as a tutor and camp counselor. Since graduation he has dedicated his time helping out his college cycling team with their winning season. They recently won Nationals in Colorado. He has traveled extensively including time spent in Japan, Spain, Argentina, China, Australia, and South Africa. Zac is proficient in Spanish.