City Neighbors Costa Rica 2025
May 12, 2025
We started of the morning very early with everyone half asleep. For some kids it was a little
awkward meeting new people. When we reached the airport and got through security we split up into groups of 3 or more in search of food. We boarded our plane at 5:45. The sun look lovely from the horizon as the plain took off. The plane ride was bumpy which made it a little scary but the clouds and open blue sky was stunning. Today for lunch we ate Casado, a well known Costa Rican dish made up of rice, beans, vegetables, some sort of meat, and a tortilla. It also came with a sweet yet very spicy sauce that was almost fermented, it was delicious. After lunch we took bus to our hotel. During the bus ride everyone got to know one another. When we reached we are in awe by the beauty of the hotel which is honey bee themed. It has lots of astonishing plants and animals. One of which was Tico, the hotels owners pet. We played a few games to get to know each other and talk about our goals for this trip. To make a contract, we each took our goals for the group and turned them in to one word and put them on a soccer ball.Though Tico was very quick to pop the ball and ended up breaking the contract. Afterwards we had a pizza party and got to know each other more. To finish off the day we had a check in to go over the itinerary for tomorrow. Today was an amazing start to a trip that will hopefully stay in our memories the rest of our lives.
By Ketaki and Joseph
May 13, 2025
The morning started at 7:00, everyone woke up and got ready for the day. We ate breakfast at 8:00 and the food was delicious. It was full of breakfast food most of us were familiar with. After we ate at 8:45 we left our hotel for the us for a long drive to Crisley’s farm. The ride was long but for most people it felt short because majority of us were asleep. When we arrived we got into groups of 3 who would room together and settled in. After that we all ate nachos for lunch. The lunch was delicious and was very filling and kept me full for a while. After we ate we learned about the history of Chrisley’s farm and how his family started their cheese business. Then, we split into 2 groups and one played games while the others learned the process of actually creating the cheese. It took about 30 minutes and then we switched groups. After the groups were finished, we all got together and went on a small hike around Chrisley’s farm, on which he gave us a small tour and we got to learn about the plants, animals, and how they are important to his farm and the environment. When the tour was over, we all got back and the majority of us got changed and went swimming in the pool. Then we went to go learn how to salsa dance. That was very fun and an experience. After we finished learning the dance we washed our hands and had dinner. The dinner was amazing and so delicious. After we finished with dinner we cleaned up and played a game of heads up 7 up then we circled up and did different activities then after we finished that we went to go hang out and chill. We finished our day off by going over what to expect tomorrow and some nighttime protocols.
By Ariana, Stella & Gavin
May 14, 2025
Today was extremely tiring and energetic. Firstly, we woke up early, got ready, and had a delicious breakfast with lots of good protein. After that, we headed out to the community we would be working at for the rest of the week, and the weather was so interchanging, which was very annoying. One highlight for me today was the work I got in when we were shoveling the gutters. Later on, during the night, we also got to watch a lovely traditional dance, and were also able to participate. The clothes of the women in the dance were very vibrant while the clothes of the men were like greens and browns like park rangers. (Noah)
Like Noah said I also liked shoveling the gutters and the cleaning part in general. Also, I liked going to the pool with my friends, and I like the food here. (Louis)
By Noah S. & Louis
May 15, 2025
Today we picked up from where we left off, yesterday during community hours. Group 1 sanded tables then painted them, and Group 2 finished off digging up mud from the drain that led houses to flood previously during storms. These hours were delightful! We got to speak to Spanish speakers in the school we cleaned up, while they were practicing their English skills. After the service, we headed to the residence of Angie and Nacho to have fun by the river and learn about the crops and fruits grown there. While exploring we saw a sloth in its natural habitat. We all were soggy from playing in the river, which led us to be miserable on the car ride. After driving back to Casa Crisley, we enjoyed some down time and a beautiful dinner prepared by Crisley’s family. We then planned to take a hike into the nature around the farm, but that was unfortunately canceled by the stormy weather. We then got some rest and prepared for the exciting events to take place tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Fiona, and Spencer
May 16, 2025
Today we started the day with milking a cow, and seeing a couple baby cows. Then we moved onto breakfast and made our way back to the school where we had to finish our community work. The whole group was there and we had to fix desk legs by sanding them down, then painting in black. It was a long couple hours and all of us were exhausted and wanted to go home. We had lunch at the school and some of us in our free time got to play uno with a couple of the kids. Finally finished with the work and we had 1 hour bus drive to a volcano called Arenal. The view was stunning, we were high up and you could see a lagoon below— The group learned that people built that lagoon because of the volcano and how it killed 100 people and 3 towns.
The volcano Arenal was not only a tourist eating spot but also it was also a very popular zip lining spot but also a hiking spot if you don’t want to do zip lining. The time we spent there at Arenal was all about zip lining and when we all got strapped up ready to zip line we went up the trolley. By the time the trolley reached the top we were all excited out of our minds waiting, but before we did the real thing we had to do a practice zip line to know if we know how to slow down when on the zip line, but when we were all done the practice zip line we were all prepared to do the real zip line. The first line was so exciting, we were all so high up and the view was spectacular. I think a few of us saw monkeys in the trees. The rest of the zip line journey was awesome and by the time we got to the sixth one everyone wanted to go again but sadly we couldn’t and we had to leave. After the fun was over we headed back on the bus with a bunch of snacks and started our ride back to HoneyBee Hotel. It was a long journey and we were all tired, but we made a dinner stop and played trivia while eating. There were 3 winners and they got prizes, the questions were all about Costa Rica and some of the things we learned. Finally home and all of us exhausted, we jumped in bed and got shut eye. The whole group definitely had fun and after a long day deserved rest— The long 6 days came to an end and our Costa Rica fun was over.
By Olivia & Owen
