Basketball and soccer in Costa Rica

Today Ellie, Justin, Maggie, and I continued to provide our services to the students and teachers of Colegio. Our day started around 6:45 this morning when we had breakfast prepared by the Mar Inn. Coffee was drunk and fresh fruit consisting of pineapple, banana, and watermelon, coupled with granola and raisin cereal were consumed. After breakfast, the message of the day and the journal entry for the previous day were read. Then we departed the hotel with Colegio as our destination. Upon reaching the school, we were informed that we would once again be working with Jorge (the agriculture instructor who we have determined to have a strong resemblance to John Lennon). However, once we received news that we would be partnering with him, we knew that it was going to be a physically demanding work day. Our main project consisted of digging up the soil on the side of a hill near the school. The purpose of this digging was to uproot all of the grass and create a foundation for a garden to be constructed.

After working for a few hours, our group took a mid-day break from our workday to eat lunch. After lunch was eaten, we were surprised by Dulce that we would be joining her classroom in the gymnasium for a game of basketball! Dulce informed us that sadly enough, for over a year and a half, the school has not had permission from the board of education to utilize the gymnasium for basketball-related purposes. Hearing this news made Ellie, Justin, and I very excited to play with the students and demonstrate the rules of the game to them. We were then divided up, girls against boys. The students’ respective soccer backgrounds allowed them to have quick foot movement and quick hands. After playing for around twenty minutes or so, a student on the boys’ team hit the game-winning shot! It was fun to share this experience with the students and I’m sure it is one that they will remember for a long time.

After we finished at the gymnasium, we returned to our previous labor area for the remainder of the work day. Our day came to a close when we ate dinner at a local restaurant, where movie trivia was discussed and horchata was thoroughly enjoyed.

Entry submitted by: Matt

Message of the Day – Matt: “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington