Costa Rica: Intro to Pre-Med & Public Health, Session 2 2025
July 15, 2025
Day 2 in Costa Rica and we started our day with a nice, late wake up time and a breakfast of eggs, rice, toast and fresh fruit. After breakfast we played a volleyball name game to help us learn each other’s names. Then we headed over to Alajuela for our two part scavenger hunt where we had to ask questions and speak to locals in Spanish. Afterwards we headed to eat authentic Costa Rican food for lunch. Coming back to the hotel we went over group agreements before spending our free time in the pool. After the pool we immersed ourselves in intense games such as Pass the Pig, Uno, BS & Egyptian Rat Slap. Then we had dinner of BBQ chicken, broccoli and carrots, salad and fries and geared up for more games before bed.
By: Meadow and Katie
July 16, 2025
Today was a fire 🔥 day! We woke up early and hit the road, we had an ecstatic 2.5 hour drive packed with songs and fun. Our first destination today was white water rafting at La Fortuna on the Balsa River. We were cruising down the river like no one’s cruised before. We came across a few discoveries like a sloth 🦥 and a pondering iguana 🦎. We made a few stops along the way for fresh fruit which was insanely flavorful. We ended rafting with an authentic lunch with yours truly – rice and beans! Then we set off for our next destination and got new rooms for the night. We had a pre dinner medical discussion and after dinner played an amazing game! We dozed off for a lovely sleep afterwards.
Yours truly, Ava & Morgan
July 17, 2025
Today was PACKED with an eventful schedule. Our first activity was learning about the history of Crisley’s farm. Crisley, the owner, told us about the triumphs and hardships while starting his farm and growing his cheese business. They’re known for their mozzarella! Afterward we had a tour of the plants located on the farm. We saw avocados, bananas, and tried others such as Oregono, mint, and guava. There was even fruits we couldn’t get in the US!
After the farm tour some of us went to find a sloth. While it was hidden behind a branch, we DID see leaf cutter ants, toads, and a blue Jean frog. After this we made cheese. We also learned how the cheese was portioned. The balls of mozzarella that we made are going to be sold!
After lunch we started our wilderness first aid and CPR training. Today was the first day of 3 days. We learned different ways to carry a patient, and how to treat someone in the wilderness. We also learned the Heimlich maneuver, and how to use an AED. Later at dinner, Mario tried a spicy chilly pepper (ouch), but yay for trying new things! Then we prepared a welcome dance for our new friend Nola! That’s all for today. Love you guys. Bye!
-Abby (w support from Mario)
July 19, 2025
Hey guys welcome back to the channel. This morning we woke up bright and early to have an amazing breakfast of some empanadas. Then we all passed our wilderness first aid + CPR certification with flying colors!
We treated hypothetical patients after a cheese factory exploded and learned how to triage despite challenges like language barriers, bloody screaming patients, severed arms, and limited materials.
We had some scrumptious chicken and then we hopped in the vans and headed to our epic zip line adventure. We took a pondering gondola ride to reach the top of the mountain and had some aesthetic photos and picturesque views. Woohoo!
We soared HUNDREDS of feet above the jungle, facing the Costa Rican elements against all odds. We unwinded with some retail therapy in La Fortuna and made our way to restaurant for La cena (dinner).
We got to choose between sushi, pasta, and burgers and we sat at a big ol’ table for a big ol’ family dinner. We colored in some pusheen coloring books with dolorama markers. What a day!
By: Group effort!
July 20, 2025
Today began with us waking up later than usual. We ate a delicious breakfast of rice, beans, eggs, and cereal. After that we hopped on the bus back to Alajuela. On the way we stopped at a beautiful view point and a souvenir store to grab gifts, and met our new friend Jade at a restaurant for lunch!
We all got whatever we wanted. Smoothies, yummy chicken, rice, beans (of course), and sandwiches. After lunch we returned to the villa and settled into our rooms! We revisited our community contract and set goals for what we want to get out of our days in the clinic. We’re just sitting down for movie night with lots of Costa Rican snacks. Goodnight from the gang and pura vida! 🇨🇷
By Ava + Serena
July 21, 2025
‘‘twas a gloomy morning in the Villas Acari. As we ate breakfast, Marcela announces a new counselor to replace Amanda. Her name was Karen. However, when Karen arrived… Amanda surprised us and she’s here to stay!!
Noon: we’ve been learning some very stressful Doctor stuff. Doctors do not get enough credit! The stressful stuff includes stitches and injections. Meadow locked in on her orange stitches and successfully did it. Abby was struggling with her stitches but Dr. Whitney came through to help. Practicing with injections was easier than I thought. For lunch we walked down the street and enjoyed fajitas, salad, rice and beans. After lunch we had free time and many of us worked on crossroad puzzles, word search, and read books. Before dinner Marcela talked to us about the Costa Rican healthcare system which was super interesting and their system is like 100x better than many countries in the world. We are looking forward to starting clinical rotations tomorrow!!
By Bryce and Meadow
July 22, 2025
This morning, our group woke up bright and early to enjoy a special breakfast of pancakes, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs. We hopped on the bus and ventured over to FIRMC clinic for clinical rotations.
We tried to variety of tasks, including pharmaceutical work, doctor shadowing and inpatient intake. We practiced our Spanish, met new people and laughed together. We put our WFA certifications to the test by taking vitals and distributing medication as well.
For lunch we enjoyed some authentic empanadas and began to prepare group presentations for Casa Club, a day center for adults with learning disabilities. We changed out of our scrubs into our cozy.
We spent the afternoon relaxing reading and coloring with our friends. We took pictures of the beautiful sunset and had a comforting American dinner of hamburgers. We’re heading to bed nice and early with excited anticipation for our next clinic day, and an afternoon at Casa Club. Good night!
By Emma + Chloe
July 23, 2025
Hi everyone! Today we woke up at the crack of dawn and had a splendid breakfast. Following breakfast, we eagerly boarded our mode transportation (bus). Traffic was horrid but we made it to the clinic. We then split into two groups and we went to the different clinics (one was a mobile clinic and one was the main clinic). We had different jobs at the clinic including shadowing the doctor, pharmacy, the waiting room and health education. Later in the afternoon, we went to Casa Club – which was a day center for adults with mental disabilities. We performed various skits about health topics like road safety, brushing teeth, showering, kindness, exercise, and nutrition. We also played games, like red light, green light. When we got back to the hotel, we had free time for a bit then had a dance lesson. We learned salsa, bachata, and merengue. Then we had dinner and went to bed. We are excited about another clinic day tomorrow, see you in a week!
By Mario and Eva
July 24, 2025
welcome back to the channel everyone ! Thanks for tuning in. We started our day at the crack of dawn (6:30am) and got ready for our third day of clinical rotations. We rotated our positions and continued to test our medical knowledge in a real life setting. We took vitals, practiced our injection skills on real patients, and continued with our pharmaceutical work. We put down our needles and picked up our forks to enjoy some scrumptious chalupas for lunch. We snapped our gloves and masks back on and got to work for another few hours before getting back on the bus. Moral was getting low after sitting in traffic on the bus so we made a pitstop where our amazing leaders treated us to ice cream! With full hearts and full stomachs, we returned to the bus and finished our drive. We spent the rest of the evening sharing stories, making friendship bracelets and playing chess. We had pasta for dinner and said an early hello to our dreams in preparation for our final clinic day tomorrow!
By Lane and Chloe!
July 25, 2025
Hi everyone, it’s Abby and Eva! Today was a very eventful day. First we got up as the rays of sun were just poking above the horizon. After breakfast we set out on the drive for our last day at the clinic. Half of us went to the mobile clinic and the other half stayed at the regular clinic. Some people got to do injections at the clinic and were complimented on how steady their hand was! After getting back we participated in a workshop on mental health and learned how to care for a person going through a crisis. We walked to a restaurant down the street for a delicious dinner of pizza. See you in five days!
By Abby and Emma
July 27, 2025
We woke up with big smiles on our faces after finally being able to see the sun! After a quick breakfast, we piled onto the bus and hauled over to a local farm. After a treacherous and muddy hike, we channeled our inner Lorax and planted some new endangered trees. Then we ventured farther into the jungle until we came upon a magnificent waterfall in which we all delved deep into. Swimming at the waterfall left us wanting more so when we returned to the hotel, we spent a few more hours by/in the pool. Eventually tired from synchronized swimming performances and games of monkey in the middle, we showered and changed into our yoga pants (guys included). There’s nothing better than winding down after a tiring but exciting day by doing yoga on a rooftop patio with the sounds of nature all around us. We wrapped our day with a hearty dinner, puppy and kitten cuddles and a fun group game. Goodnight!
By Serena and Will
July 28, 2025
Good morning! We awoke from our slumbers and took a short stroll to breakfast. We munched and crunched on breaky then pransed on over to the beach. Once we were at the beach we put our towels down and picked our boards up to ride some sick waves ! 🌊 after surfing we all looked up and saw six monkeys swinging above the trees. We galloped to lunch and it was nacho cheese! Half of us stayed at the the hotel to lounge in the pool and the other went back to the beach for more sun and sand. Then we all dolled up for din-din. Afterwards we played games, had chats and wrote letters to our future selves. Goodnight!
By Morgan and Ava
