The following post features student writing.

After a great night’s sleep (after we were so tired from whitewater rafting), we woke up and enjoyed more delicious pancakes prepared by Mary Elsy and Yesenia. Then we started our day by concluding our work at the construction site. At the beginning of our stay in Bonanza Norte, there was a huge pile of dirt and rocks that we needed to shovel into the gym’s structure. But, by the end, the pile was gone. We spent the morning finishing the pile and working with concrete and cinder blocks.

After lunch, we were re-energized and began to paint the community kitchen orange and mint green. Unfortunately, it began to downpour and some of our hard work went down the drain.

Once the work day was over, we went to the store and bought some snacks. We also spent the afternoon working on our independent projects. Jessica photographed people, Christen and Maya interviewed kids, and Ethan held his kendama lesson for the kids. His lesson went very well and many kids went home with their own kendamas. It was a great opportunity to work on independent projects that related to kids.

After the kendama lesson, we played an exciting soccer game with the kids and then enjoyed a delicious dinner of pizza, courtesy of Cailey and Mary Elsy. After dinner, the Coffee House started. It was like a talent show, but focused more on fun than “talent.” It started with Meg, Christen, Lauren, Joey, Jessica, and Gabby performing Harry Potter Puppet Pals. Then, Christen, Callie, and Joey sang the “Cup Song,” with Meg and Emily accompanying them with actual cups. Ethan also performed some kendama tricks and Christen and Maya rapped “Lazy Scranton” outside The Office. Lastly, Cailey sang “Medley: My Man.”

We ended the night with a trivia game made by Cailey and Tim, who kindly bought all of us personalized Costa Rica fútbol jerseys, which say “Bonanza” on the back. Once the night was over, we headed back to our houses for a good night’s sleep.

– Christen & Lauren