Today was a bit of a transition day for our group; a day to tie up loose ends. We enjoyed a late breakfast and some down time, then we went into Turrialba to watch the soccer match between Costa Rica and England.
The restaurant we went to was called Avenida 6, named after its location off of the town square. It was very nice inside- described as a "gastropub & cafe," it was the closest thing that we'd seen to anything back home. Ricardo, the Costa Rica country director for Rustic Pathways, owns the restaurant, so a large portion of it was set aside for our group and another Rustic group. The other group is a 2 week home-stay/Spanish immersion program in Turrialba. It was a pleasant surprise to see that their group had another Chagrin student in it! Everyone enjoyed catching up.
The game started at 10 and the rest of the restaurant began to fill up with locals, all wearing the Costa Rica soccer jersey and toting flags or noisemakers. It was an intense crowd that made an already exciting game even better. The game ended as a draw, but it secured Costa Rica's place as the top finisher in its group, allowing the country to advance in the World Cup for the first time. People spilled out into the streets from where they were watching the game, singing and chanting, and cars drove by honking horns and waving the flag out their window. The entire country was celebrating- and we had a chance to be part of it!
We had a delicious lunch after the game, then had some time to shop in Turrialba. I took advantage of the restaurant's wifi and quickly copied and pasted the blog posts, then caught up with the group at Pops. Pops is a small ice cream parlor located just off the opposite corner of the square. Walking there, people were shouting "hello" and "goodbye," eager to point out how obviously American our group is. Most students purchased large Brownie ice cream milkshakes- I can't get over how much they can eat! The next two things we had to take care of: souvenirs and soccer jerseys. We went to a small souvenir shop by bus, since the afternoon storms had arrived. There were lots of different items to look at, hammocks to purchase, but there weren't any jerseys there. We drove all over town, trying to find stores that had the jerseys in stock- no such luck. The team was popular before, but now that they are doing so well in the World Cup, anything associated with the team is in high demand. We had to give up looking and the students are hopeful that maybe they can find them in the airport...
Around 4 we had to say our goodbyes to Carolyn. She had to head into San Jose tonight because her next Rustic group starts first thing tomorrow morning. This is her first summer with Rustic and we were her first group- you wouldn't know it because she did such a great job. Everyone really enjoyed talking to her and she had the best laugh! She was so welcoming to our group and we hope that she has just as much fun the rest of this summer.
Jorge brought us back to the house for a little down time, but it felt like nap time with the rain and cooler weather. It was pretty quiet in the house until Garrett, Rem, Matt, Patrick, Daniel, and Alex decided to get another competitive game of water polo going. Mrs. Wooden, Edguardo, Jorge and I enjoyed coffee and conversation while we watched the boys play. Rem took an elbow to the eye, which looks like it has the potential to be an awesome black eye. Maybe this is payback for the shovel incident from our first full day here....
We enjoyed a low-key dinner at the house after a day out in Turrialba. Yendrey and Edguardo led the group in "Rustic Ties" afterward. They had bracelets for each of us and we shared something about the person sitting next to us before giving them a bracelet. I was lucky enough to sit between Matt and Anne, two wonderful students of mine that I had the chance to get to know better on this trip. It was a nice activity to wrap things up. The packing started- not without some prodding from the adults, but it started- and everyone had to figure out how to fit all their new/worn/wet/dirty stuff into their bags. There will be some damp, smelly bags arriving in the US tomorrow!!
Breakfast will be at 7:30 tomorrow and we will make the 2+ hour drive to San Jose right after. We want to allow plenty of time to drive there, get bags checked, turn in departure taxes, go through security, etc. Our flight is scheduled to depart from San Jose at 2:30 our time, 4:30 EST. We are still expected to arrive in Cleveland close to midnight, but I will update everyone from Charlotte on our arrival time.
It has been a great trip and one that I hope the students won't forget. From community service to adventure, we accomplished a lot. I hope that it was an eye-opening experience on all levels and that the students have a greater appreciation for travel and culture, as well as their lifestyle back home.
Pura vida!
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