The following is an excerpt from Sarah’s blog that she kept while volunteering with United Planet in Costa Rica:
Sunday morning was an early one! The family took me over to the bus stop at about 5:30am. I met Luis, who works for Ixacava and we got on the bus and went to Limon, where the reservation is. We got there at about 8:30 and waited for the rest of the group who was coming by car. We waited almost 2 hours! (For me, this felt like a long time, but it didn’t seem to matter to Luis). We spent the time talking to locals and I learned a little bit about the area where I would be staying. At about 10:30, Laura and the rest of the group (her two kids, her husband, the President of Ixacava and her son) arrived. We all loaded up into the back of a pickup truck and we drove about 30 minutes to the “Ixacava Farm.” It really wasn’t a farm, but really a little place with a hut, and some logs to sit on. They then had their monthly meeting, which consisted of them sharing stories and coming up with ways to better their society. It was a great experience for me and I enjoyed everything (that I could understand). After the meeting, we all went back to the bus stop and Laura’s group headed back to the city and I stayed with my new host father. We went to a little shop to buy some food, and then we both got back into the pickup and headed toward his house. When we got to a large river I was thinking, okay, how is this pickup truck going to get across a river like this? Well, the answer was simple… it wasn’t going to. We unloaded, and I was surprised to find out that we needed to ride horses up the mountain to get to his house. Wow. It was an absolutely gorgeous and amazing horse ride that lasted about an hour and a half. I have no idea how he navigated the mountains like he did, I was lost after the first turn!
When we reached the house, I was greeted by his two kids, his wife, his sister-in-law and her son. His wife, Jenny, had dinner all ready when we got there, and it was some of the best food I have ever eaten! After dinner, it was almost dark and I found out that they go to bed when it gets dark, about 7 or 7:30, because there is no electricity. So I followed suit and got ready for bed. We went to sleep and everyone slept on the ground, except for me; they gave me the only bed in the house. We all woke up at 4:00am to start the day! My host father and I headed out to go to work! We spent the day building a new chicken house for an Ixacava project. It was a lot of hard work, but in the end it all paid off. I did have some encounters with insects while I was there. I sat down to take a break and accidentally sat in an ant hill. The result was 27 ant bites. After work I continued my luck with bugs and accidentally stepped in an African Bee Hive (on the ground) on my way back to the house. This resulted in 3 or 4 bee stings! We finally made it back to the house after about a 30 minute hike up the mountain and we had dinner and hung out with the family. I also saw my first “very large” spider! It was about the size of my hand and it was crawling toward me! I jumped up in a hammock and Jenny got a broom and calmly brushed it outside.
The next day we mostly worked around the house, but that afternoon, I got to go and play soccer! It was really, really fun! It was me, my host father, and two of his friends! The field was the worst I have ever seen, but it was one of the most fun games I have ever played. I finished the game with only one injury; I think I might have sprained my toe, because the field was full of rocks, and we played without shoes!
Wednesday was my last morning in the mountains. It was sad to say good-bye, but I was looking forward to showers and bathrooms. We loaded up all of my stuff, saddled the horse and began the trek down the hill. I got on the bus to San Jose feeling like I had been there for the perfect amount of time. I think it was a wonderful experience for me.
Volunteer Abroad with United Planet
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