Costa Rica: Middle School Service Adventure 2026
June 23, 2026
Today was really fun! We woke up at around 6:30 to head out to white water rafting! The ride was beautiful, especially when we were driving up the mountains into the clouds. And it was most of the kids’ first time in Costa Rica! White water rafting was really fun. The rapids were crazy, and the river guides would make it even scarier by having people lay down or guiding us into the rapids backwards. He also taught us games that you could play while you were white water rafting like bull riding and boogie boarding. They also let us swim and gave us fruit. Lunch was really good. We had rice and beans with a choice of protein. Then the van broke down, and so we visited a petting zoo, where there was a cow, goats, chickens, and bunnies. The goats were super friendly, and the cow would lick you whenever possible. The chickens were chickens, and not so slightly friendly, and the bunnies were timid. We had a couple hours to relax when we reached our destination for the next couple days. Most of the kids went in the pool, and some talked to each other about what they are most excited for on the trip. Then we all played games to remember each other’s name and something about them, and we also made our community contract. A community contract is an agreement inside of a community that often serves a purpose, such as safety, inclusiveness, etc. We then had dinner, which guess what, was rice and beans, which is really good. And then we chilled in our rooms for a few hours and went to sleep. Until tomorrow!
-Neela and Marco
