Day 8 - San Jose

 

 

All of us students and chaperones are sad to see the trip come to an end. It has been an amazing trip. Today was one of my favorite days of the trip. We visited a Poás volcano and also got to taste freshly grown strawberries that were grown locally on the side of the volcano. I love strawberries! At home I even have my own little strawberry garden. We had the opportunity to purchase a cup of strawberries with either chocolate or sweetened condensed milk poured on top. At lunch we were treated to strawberry milk shakes! The crater on top of the Poás volcano was amazing too and such a fun place to take pictures. 

 

The afternoon was spent at the Britt Coffee Plantation. Our guides were hilarious and should be on Saturday Night Live. Almost every student took videos of them on their cell phone. Besides being funny they taught us the entire process of making coffee from seed to drink. Students also loved tasting the different coffees.

 

Tonight in San Jose we walked a few blocks from our hotel and witnessed a Good Friday procession. I overheard students saying that it may have been the highlight of the trip.

 

After dinner we had a special time reflecting and bringing our trip to a conclusion. It will be hard to say good bye to this experience, Antonio our guide, Super Mario our bus driver, and the countries of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Students have said that for dinner when they get home they would like to have chicken with rice and beans. :)

 

We look forward to seeing families at DIA

 

Adam Thornton

 

 

As we get ready to head back to the United States, we wanted to give parents and families a list of starter questions to ask your student. We know that middle school students aren't always full of information. It is our hope that these questions can be used at dinner over the next few days to help you learn more about what your child learned and took in on the trip.

 

1. Tell me about the weather in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
2. What were your hotels like? Room size, AC, pools, etc.
3. What is the most important thing you learned about Nicaragua and Costa Rica?
4. Describe how the two countries of Nicaragua and Costa Rica are different.
5. What was the process like crossing the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica?
6. How has traveling to Nicaragua and Costa Rica changed your world view?
7. How did you use your Spanish on the trip? Was there a time when the language barrier was difficult?
8. What food items did you eat the most often for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
9. Describe where you ate your meals.
10. Who is one person from the trip that you got to know on the trip that you didn't really know at the start of the week?
11. How did your perceptions of other students change while we were on the trip?
12. What did you learn about yourself?
13. What challenged or pushed you the most during the trip?
14. Who were Jorge, Antonio, and Mario?
15. What activity in Costa Rica was your favorite? Why this one over all the other actives?
16. What confidence have you gained as a World Traveler from this trip?
17. How will this experience help you in the future?
18. If you could take your family back to one placel region from the trip what would it be?
19. How do landscapes and climate compare to what we have in Colorado?
20. What were the coolest animal (s) that you encountered on the trip?
21. If you lived in Nicaragua or Costa Rica, what would you miss the most about your life in Colorado?
22. Describe one native person that really impressed you.
23. What did you spend your money on each day?
24. How would your life be different if you grew up in Nicaragua or Costa Rica?
25. Did you overcome any fears? If so, how were you able to do this?
26. What was a benefit of not having internet or phone service available to you all of the time?
27. What new foods did you get to try?
28. What foods and drinks did you buy at the supermarket?
29. What surprised you most about Nicaragua and Costa Rica?
30. Was there anything that you didn't want to try or do, but did? How was it?
31. What does Pura Vida mean?
32. What was it like negotiating the small streets in Nicaragua with the tour bus?
33. How was the terrain, plant/animal life different in each of the different areas we visited (Nicaragua, Guanacaste, Arenal, San Jose)?
34. What were the houses like that we saw? What building materials were used most often?
35. Why were so many Costa Ricans out of school on vacation while we were there?
36. How was the souvenir shopping experience different in Costa Rica and Nicaragua?

 

 

Thank you for sending your child with us on this adventure. Check back as we post more photos from our trip and look forward to an invitation to the photo sharing site.