Dear family and friends,
Today had an interesting sequence of events. We woke up around 5:30 a.m. and attended mass
around 6. After mass, Teresa and her daughter, the two costa Rican women who have been preparing
our food, served us eggs, rice and beans, and fresh papaya. The food in Costa Rica tastes so much better than the food back home. Once breakfast was served and eaten, we went to our rooms, gathered our stuff, and left San Isidro around 8:00. When we were loading the bus, we were introduced to our new bus driver, Esteban, and began our journey to our worksite, San Louis. On our way up the mountain, the view was so beautiful. We saw aloe trees, sugar cane stalks, the Pacific Ocean, banana trees and many other beautiful things. After the first 15 minutes traveling up the mountain, Esteban discovered that our normal route to the site was under construction so we would have to take an alternate route. He was less familiar with the roads and stopped to ask a couple of locals for directions. At the worksite Orlando, the main man who is working with us at the worksite, explained to us what he wanted us to do and we went at it right away. We finished taking off the plaster on the walls and began plastering it. At 12:00 we were called to eat lunch and the ladies prepared for us rice, beans and potatoes. After lunch we played with the kids. All of the little girls asked me to braid their hair. They all looked so cute. They also told me my Spanish was getting better. I’m now able to communicate with the kids and parents better. We then left the worksite because it began to rain and about 10 minutes into the ride down the mountain our but stalled and wouldn’t start back up. We got out of the bus and played ninja while Mrs. Donnelly was calling Deacon Charlie to come and help us. Deacon Charlie then came to the rescue and took all the girls back to the campsite. The hour-long ride felt like 10 minutes with Deacon Charlie because he is the
funniest man I have ever met. I have never laughed so hard. When we got back to the campsite we took freezing showers and began to catch up with our friends. Mr. Bouchard asked Maggie and I to help organize all of our donations and donation bags. Being away from my mom and Dani is really hard especially since this is by first time away from y’all , but I’m enjoying my time in Costa Rica and will be so sad when I have to leave. Especially because this is most likely the last time I will see Mr. Bouchard and the friends we made on this trip
Hugs and Kisses,
Siboneni Halstied
