Costa Rica: Intro to Pre-Med & Public Health, Session 1 2025
June 24, 2025
This morning we woke up around 7am in our beautiful hotel, we opened the curtains and then got ready for the day. Once water bottles were in hand, we went into the main house and did some exploring. We walked around the patio and looked at the view. The vegetation here is IN.SANE. We settled in our seats and had our traditional Costa Rican breakfast – containing Gallo Pinto, eggs, watermelon and pineapple. We had fresh squeezed orange juice.
After breakfast we did some bonding ice breakers — we did speed friendships with would you rather. We reflected on what we are most excited about on our trip and met new people! After getting closer, we got on the bus and headed into town. Everything was very colorful with narrow roads and motorcycles. Our first destination Juan Santamaría Park and started we phase 1 of our scavenger hunt along with pigeons. We learned about the history of Costa Rica’s independence and stopped at a Cafe. We moved onto phase 2 and went Parque los Mangos and somehow got roped onto a television show that was filming there, and learned some new dance moves. After the scavenger hunt, we went to lunch at Rosti and had some really good food, including traditional Costa Rican food: Arroz con Pollo and Patacones. Then we stopped at a supermarket to get some snacks, and it started pouring rain with crazy lighting and thunder. After arriving home, we had critical nap time and reading time. We did another icebreaker in the main house and went over ground rules in our orientation and created our group agreement. We had a delicious dinner with salad, pasta, and pineapple juice. Some of us went swimming in the pool at the hotel and then we packed up our stuff for rafting tomorrow!
By: Quinlyn P. and Charlotte S.
June 25, 2025
This morning we woke up to the sound of birds singing. We packed our bags and headed to the main building for a delicious breakfast of pancakes, toast, and yummy fresh fruit, with delicious Costa Rican coffee and pineapple juice.
We spent time on the bus talking and listening to music with some catching up on sleep. When we arrived the Río Sarapiquí, we got a quick tutorial and went over safety guidelines on rafting and then headed out on the river.
The rapids were fast and thrilling and everyone was thoroughly soaked. At the midpoint, where the water was super deep and smooth, we got out of the rafts and jumped off a small cliff and floated downstream where we were caught by our guides and tugged to shore. We had friendly splash fights and people were chanting “Gira” (push), and Pura Vida. On the river we passed sunbathing iguanas and snake- birds and lots of cormorants.
When we arrived to our destination, we were greeted with fresh pineapple and watermelon to snack on before we changed into dry clothes.
We then headed to lunch on the buses while looking at the beautiful Costa Rican mountainside and we saw waterfalls and wildlife.
At the restaurant, we had another traditional meal called a “Casado.” It was pouring rain with lots of lighting streaking through the sky, and Chalo had to shuttle us to the bus one by one with an umbrella.
We came to Casa Crisley and our cozy compound, and settled into our five person rooms. Some of us made friendship bracelets and some braved the rain and ran around and explored.
For dinner we had homemade arroz con pollo, and then celebrated Mary’s birthday with a huge cake and ice cream.
We played cards and a few games, then went in for the night, excited for the day to come.
By: Kayla and Kate
June 26, 2025
Today we woke up and ate a yummy breakfast of eggs, gallo pinto, and cheese and yogurt made on the property. Afterward, we hung out and played games. Then we went to the cheese farm and Chrisley explained how he got into cheese making. We went in groups and got to see where the cheese was made, make it ourselves, and then try it! Then we took a walking tour of the farm and saw all the fruits they grow. We got to try guyaba, starfruit, and wild cilantro. They were super delicious. We saw all the animals on the farm and got to hold the rooster and some piglets. They were only 6 days old! It was very hot today so we swam in the pool and then ate nachos for lunch. After that we started our wilderness first aid and CPR class. We practiced with partners how to roll people over and carry them to safety. We learned CPR on dummies and practiced patient care aka learned the steps to helping someone. After our class, we had some free time to swim, play fútbol, and nap. Dinner was tilapia, mashed potatoes, and veggies. It’s been a great day in Costa Rica, we love the farm!
By: Mary & Tessa
June 27, 2025
Today we started off the day with pancakes and bananas around 8. We jumped right in to Wilderness First Aid training. We learned how to use a defibrillator, as well as lots of other topics like tissue damage, fractures, splints, and how to use backboards or improvise and make our own backboards. At lunch we had gallo pinto and then continued our lessons with learning about how to stay safe in a storm and how to protect ourselves from lightning. We also learned how to put splits on our partners as if their limbs were actually broken. Also we patched up a fake wound on our partners and it was really interesting. Personally, Caiden and I have really enjoyed playing spit which is a fun card game. Anyways we ended the day with a delicious dinner of homemade mozzarella sticks (enyucados) and some fresh salad. We played lots of card games such as Go Fish, BS, Spoons, and Spit. Sadly our plans for a late night swim had to be canceled due to lightning. 😔
By: Olivia C. & Caiden
June 28, 2025
This morning was nice and sunny, we had empanadas for breakfast before getting ready to become CPR and WFA certified. Soon after we spent our last session with Carlos and Bailey (our WFA trainers) learning about poison, allergies, and strokes. Then, we were put into a real world scenario where we stumbled upon an explosion outside the Casa Crisley Cheese Factory where there were multiple injuries. We had to use our new skills and knowledge that we had obtained to access the victims and decide the best course of action for their injuries. We ended up passing the test with flying colors so much so that we were excused from the written exam! We got certification cards, papers, and stickers. Then we had chicken, rice and veggies for lunch.
After, we loaded up into the wonderful buses to go zip lining! Zip lining was loads of fun, we did about 7 runs from multiple different heights and lengths. Everyone had a great time, even those afraid of heights. Next, we drove to La Fortuna for souvenir shopping. We bought many gifts for our families.. And some for ourselves. Following that, we went to dinner where we were allowed to choose from a variety of foods to explore. Including sushi, tacos, hamburgers, pasta, and ice cream. Dinner was delectable. After that, we hopped back in the busses and drove back to casa crisley where we watched a beautiful performance of a traditional Costa Rican dance. At the end of the show the dancers pulled some of us up to dance with them in their outfits and taught us dances. Last but certainly not least.. We went on a night time nature walk. We saw poison dart frogs, leaf cutter ants, centipedes, cockroaches, sloths, and bioluminescent fungus. We embraced nature and turned off all our lights, listening to the wilderness like our ancestors did. As we trudged through the absorbing mud, some of us lost our boots, got stuck, and fell in and had to be saved. It was quite the experience…! A little bit treacherous but we wouldn’t be able to experience this anywhere else! Lastly, we rinsed off and went to sleep.
By: Ruby & Patrick
June 29, 2025
For breakfast we had beans and rice, and we got lucky and got some extra plátanos from Doña Lily. We said our final goodbyes to the staff and their kids, who were really sweet and fun to bond with. After that, we loaded ourselves on the bus and set off for our previous villa, which in total was about a three hour ride, but we stopped at a buffet place to eat in between and go souvenir shopping. The line was a bit long, but the food was great. Me and a few friends got shrimp fried rice, plátanos, and a salad. Afterwards we went to a giant souvenir shop that surprisingly wasn’t crazy expensive. Afterwards, some of us went to a butterfly garden and saw butterflies with cool patterned wings with a variety of colors. We also saw pigs, chickens, peacocks, horses, cows, and sheep. After getting back on the bus, we stopped at the supermarket to buy snacks, drinks and necessities. By then we were 15 minutes away from the hotel, and had some free time until dinner, which was roasted chicken. After dinner we had some pool time, then a movie night, where we watched Rango all together in our trip leaders’ living room, who made us popcorn and snacks, then went to sleep!
By: Mina and Ethan
June 30, 2025
We woke up today and had eggs and sausages for breakfast. They were really good! Then we had a medical workshop where a doctor came in and taught us many interesting things. The highlight of that workshop though was practicing doing stitches on bananas and practicing injections on oranges. After that we had lunch and another doctor came in taught us about the psychological part of first aid. She told us what to say to people who are facing a crisis and it was really interesting! After she left we had dinner and played a game similar to charades but with celebrities and famous characters. It was really loud and chaotic but super fun!
By: Maria
July 1, 2025
Today started bright and early⏰ with a 6:00am ☀️wake up call. We had a fulfilling breakfast of eggs, 🥚 toast, fruit and various cereals. We loaded into the bus and participated in our usual traditions of hair braiding and sing-alongs🎶. We arrived at the clinic eager to start helping the community🤝. We split into three groups: one staying at the clinic, the other two set up mobile clinics within the community. From there, we divided ourselves into four roles: check in and vitals🩺, physical examinations, prescription management, and health education. This was a great way to practice our Spanish skills!🎉 We had a hardy lunch of empanadas, before returning to our positions for the second half of the day. After we wrapped up our patient work, we settled in for the ride home🚌.
Upon arrival we had some down time in the pool and our rooms to collect ourselves and debrief the day😎. After the typical afternoon rain, a gorgeous orange-pink-purple sunset 🌅 featuring a faint rainbow blessed our sky. Before we knew it it was time for dinner 🍽️ ! We had another typical😉 Costa Rican dish, that was very popular amongst the students and staff. ICE CREAM FOR DESSERT!!!!🍦🍦🍦Next, an informative 🤔presentation on the differences between American 🇺🇸and Costa Rican🇨🇷 healthcare systems.
Now we are cuddled up in bed🛌🛌 excited for another clinic day tomorrow!!!
By Zoe and Cecil
July 2, 2025
We started the morning at 6:30am and had sandwiches and cereal for breakfast. We also had the option for yummy Nutella bread. Midway through breakfast, Chalo called our name to tell us there was a toucan outside! My main dream was to see a toucan on the trip and that came true. Then on the ride to the clinic we listened to music and saw Chalo dancing on the bus. During the clinic, it was very calm even though we had a lot of new patients. Brittany and her group checked in 25 patients in less than 6 hours. Valerie counted more than 200 pills in that time too. Golda made a new friend and gave her a bracelet. Mina played tag with a little boy at the clinic and may have almost fallen down…To reward ourselves after a bit of an intense day we got some delicious ice cream. We both got crepes con helado. After a great day of helping out the community, we stopped at the grocery store to load up on snacks. Then we came back to the villas and had chalupas for dinner. Most of us watched Jumanji for movie night, and some of us hung out talking on the porch. Chalo shared some of his wisdom with us, he is the best! Goodnight from Costa Rica!
By Brittany, Golda, and Valerie
July 3, 2025
For breakfast, we had pancakes and fruit. We went to the clinic bright and early, and Chalo gave his a talk about the geography and history of Costa Rica’s land formation and species migration. We returned to the clinics, and today we were in the exam room. It was really fun, and the doctor explained everything to us in English after each patient left. We saw two fungal infections on the foot. There was this family of five who had a viral infection which made their throats sore and ears hurt, and he explained it’s because the throat is connected to the ear system. We got to use all his medical equipment to practice using the stethoscope and looking at eyes and ears. All the patients left and we ate lunch, chalupas, which were so yummy. After lunch, we had a presentation for the Mujeres Valientes, a women’s support group. It was about female empowerment, and we presented a bunch of scenario skits in Spanish about responsible reactions and the women shared some of their experiences and were very nice.
Then we headed back to our hotel, and had a dance party with Just Dance videos and we got super sweaty and hot and had to rehydrate. Our leaders surprised us with a pizza dinner afterwards close to our hotel which was so good. The Brazilian pizza was amazing. We walked back to our hotel and then did a group reflection about our time volunteering at the clinic. Then we played a few games at the end of the night!
By Olivia L & Sophia
July 4, 2025
Today was another early morning with breakfast at 6:30 where we had sandwiches and fruit and juice. We then got a line to rush onto the bus to get the best seats. For the hour long drive to the main clinic. There we picked up our awesome doctors and staff and headed to our separate clinics. At the soup kitchen, it was a busy morning with ten patients. We took blood pressure and vitals and watched with interest as the doctor examined them. The people in the pharmacy were as frantic as ever, counting pills, writing labels, and packaging it all up to give to patients. Patients were educated on how to use their medications before they left the clinic. I think we made a difference today in the lives of the people who came to the clinic. We ended at lunch and headed back to a yummy lunch with the community we’ve built at the clinic over the last couple days. After saying a sad goodbye to the clinic staff, we went for some celebratory ice cream and then were educated in local culture at the Museum of Costa Rican Art. We saw the Gold Room, with the history of Costa Rica from precolombina times to modern day represented in murals on the walls, along with art of many different mediums.
Back at the hotel, Villas Aracari, we had some time to relax where we played cards and had fun in the pool. We gathered again for a special barbecue dinner to celebrate our final clinic day. We finished the night with an exciting dance class with Randall, where he taught us merengue, bachata, and salsa. We all had lots of fun and were thoroughly exhausted afterwards!
By Kate
July 5, 2025
Today we got to sleep in because breakfast was at 9am. Breakfast was toast, scrambled eggs and ham, beans, and fruits. We left villa aracari at 1030 with a big nice bus which was a pleasant surprise from Chalo. The bus ride was not as long as we expected and we also stopped for lunch at el Jardín which was a buffet style restaurant. Some people played a game called wavelength on the bus along with other games. We arrived at Playa Luna at around 5pm. Our eyes were immediately attracted to the central pool and we begged Virginia to let us swim. At the pool, we played keep-away and breath holding competitions. We also met a cat named Flaco and a puppy named Luna. After a reminder of the rules of the program, we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner which was very tasty. Suddenly, a downpour of rainy began to our horror. The journey back to the hotel was wet and treacherous with us all being soaked by the time we returned to the hotel. Despite the rain tonight, we’re excited to go to the beach tomorrow!
By Tai & Patrick
July 6, 2025
We woke up late after a good night slumber. We got ready for our first day at the beach, and after breakfast we had our long awaited walk to the beach. And so to the beach we went where we started out jumping the waves and swimming. We relaxed, played soccer and overall had a great time.
Around 11 we went back to the hotel with a stop at the grocery store on the way. We changed our bathing suits when we got back, had lunch, and chillaxed for a bit before our surf lessons! 🏄🏄♀️🏄♂️🌊
We started the lessons by getting a tutorial on the sand before we practiced with the boards. Next we were split into 5 groups and all went into the water to test out our skills. We had some great waves and some great surfers, and by the end of the lesson, we were all able to stand up on the board. Some of us even started carving!!!!
After surfing we hung out around the beach a little more until we were ready to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner. We all stuffed ourselves to the brim with food 🥘, and headed back to the hotel to play games and hang around before we got into bed to catch some 💤😴.
By Lukas & Zoe
