So from here is basically where we start our travelling section of the trip. We said 'bye' to the moms and kids at Casa Luz on Saturday night after baking and decorating some sugar cookies (they ate them, the ones for the hotel staff are to be made later). We managed to paint a good portion of the entrance way at Casa Luz last week and it looks much better. The staff moved into their new offices (unfortunately we forgot to take some finished pictures) and the little daughter of our neighbour in the appartment below us couldn't stop crying when we were leaving Saturday night. It's sad for the kids when people are always coming and going from their lives.
Yesterday we went on an amazing tour to a coffee farm, a volcano and waterfall gardens. At Doka, the coffee plantation, we had breakfast and a very informative tour. We also learned the meaning of the hotel name, Grano de Oro. "Grains of Gold" is what they called the unroasted coffee beans that they shipped to Europe in the 1800's. Many of the beans were red and ripe because it is the beginning of the coffee harvesting season.
From there we went to Parque National Volcan Poas and walked up to view the sufuric acid lagoon in the volcano. The second lagoon was not visible due to the clouds. We tasted some coffee liquor then travelled to La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
The drive up was spectacular: cala lilies growing on the side of the road, lush, green pasture land and gigantic hydrangea growing in abundance (different shades of pink, purple, blue, green and white!!). When toured around La Paz, we saw tropical birds, butterflies, monkeys, Costa Rican wild cats, hummingbirds, snakes and frogs, all within a beautiful garden setting. We had a buffet lunch and walked to 2 waterfalls. There was an earthquake in the area last January which ruined some of the paths and one of the waterfalls (there used to be 5 waterfalls to see). It was a very fun day!
Today we are heading south to Manuel Antonio, another national park on the coast. After a few days we will go north to Playa Tamarindo then into Nicaragua! We fully enjoyed our time at Casa Luz and were a little sad to go, but we are also excited to relax a little after working 6 days a week for 4 weeks!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
One More Week at Casa Luz
After surviving our short illness, we were able to finish the offices and install all the new cabinets in the girls' living areas. They were very excited to get the cabinets and were eager to organize all their things. The cabinets make the rooms look a lot cleaner and less crowded. We also had time this week to paint the classroom.
Since we worked from Monday to today (Sunday) we are taking tomorrow off to go into San Jose and hang out. For the rest of the week, we'll clean up the offices and help the staff move in to their new area and we will start (and hopefully finish) renovating the front sitting area of Casa Luz. On Saturday, we will help the girls bake (and maybe decorate) some Chirstmas cookies for the hotel staff party in December. We don't really have a plan after that, we'll see what happens!
Since we worked from Monday to today (Sunday) we are taking tomorrow off to go into San Jose and hang out. For the rest of the week, we'll clean up the offices and help the staff move in to their new area and we will start (and hopefully finish) renovating the front sitting area of Casa Luz. On Saturday, we will help the girls bake (and maybe decorate) some Chirstmas cookies for the hotel staff party in December. We don't really have a plan after that, we'll see what happens!
Friday, November 13, 2009
SICK!
Yes it's true and unfortunate...Grant's 10 hours and Danee's 6 hours of constant bucket&toilet use. The water had been off since Saturday and eventually came back on last night (Thursday). We were getting all our water from a big water truck that came to the community, which probably wasn't the cleanest. Apparently some of the kids were kinda sick too (one girl had a high fever), but we were sick in our appartment from Wednesday until this morning (still have some funky stomach stuff but not as bad as before!!). We probably lost a combined total of 20 pounds in 1/2 a day. Today we are putting together some shelving units for the moms to store some of their clothes and linens in. Just thought we'd update you on the sickness, which hopefully we won't have to endure in every country!!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Rice and Beans
The Cooke`s weren`t kidding when they said "hope you like rice and beans, they have it like every meal." We`ve been eating rice and beans here for almost a week and figure by the time we leave Casa Luz, we will each have eaten about 84 helpings of the lovely stuff (not including the days Grant goes for seconds). The food is actually really good and we don`t see ourselves getting sick of it any time soon. The wonderful cook Fanny also mentioned that she wants a man "exactly" like Grant because he cleared the dishes off the table.
We are starting to understand and remember a few words in Spanish. Mainly the girls just talk to us and we figure out about half of the conversation. They are all very patient with us, which is nice!
We are staying in an appartment across the street from Casa Luz that was built for when the girls no longer need the 24 hour care from Casa Luz. There are 4 appartments at the moment, which can hold 8 families. They are then able to cook their own meals and must have a job because they pay for the utilities. Two days ago, one of the moms still at Casa Luz had a job interview at Taco Bell. Grant said if she gets the job we`ll eat there every day. Then of course, we will have to move here...
At the moment, there are 2 families living in one of the appartment suites, a coule staff members in one suite and the daycare in one suite. There are plans to build a large daycare at the front of the property which will give more space to include more children from the community. There is also enough land to build 2 more appartment buildings. The completed appartment building is a huge motivation for these girls because they see themselves living independently in the future.
An important part of their rehabilitation is working with a psychiatrist all week. They are taught how to be good mothers and how to discipline their kids. This week they started giving smaller portions to the moms and offer a dance/excercise class on Saturdays because the moms were putting on too much weight. There are 2 staff members ("house moms") that are with the families all the time. They work 7 days a week, then get 7 days off. The girls also have their own school where the teacher comes to them. The highest education one mom has is grade nine and some have come without any education. It is obvious that the staff really care about the well being and the future of these moms! It is the best rehabilitation program we have ever seen.
This week we were converting the old daycare inside Casa Luz into offices for the director and psychiatrist. We took out the kitchen cabinets and sinks, touched up the walls with "pasta" (basically dry wall mud for concrete that doesn't sand off) and painted the walls with an irrisistable Salmon Pink. It looks more like a spunky palliative care room for old ladies. Tomorrow we will paint the other office light green. It looks like there will be lots of work for us to do while we are here. The classroom needs to be painted, some cabinets need to be assembled and installed, ceiling fans need to be installed, the soil infront of the daycare needs weeding and flower planting and there is always more patching and painting that could be done.
Many of the moms are outgoing and ask us if we want to go for a walk with them or ask if they can help us paint. They bring salsa l'izano to us for our rice and beans (a tasty cumin-mustard-like sauce). There is one mom that we haven't seen smile yet, but it's probably hard for her, being 15 years old and having 2 kids.
It's time for merienda (an afternoon snack). We will try and take some pictures and upload them soon!
Adios!
We are starting to understand and remember a few words in Spanish. Mainly the girls just talk to us and we figure out about half of the conversation. They are all very patient with us, which is nice!
We are staying in an appartment across the street from Casa Luz that was built for when the girls no longer need the 24 hour care from Casa Luz. There are 4 appartments at the moment, which can hold 8 families. They are then able to cook their own meals and must have a job because they pay for the utilities. Two days ago, one of the moms still at Casa Luz had a job interview at Taco Bell. Grant said if she gets the job we`ll eat there every day. Then of course, we will have to move here...
At the moment, there are 2 families living in one of the appartment suites, a coule staff members in one suite and the daycare in one suite. There are plans to build a large daycare at the front of the property which will give more space to include more children from the community. There is also enough land to build 2 more appartment buildings. The completed appartment building is a huge motivation for these girls because they see themselves living independently in the future.
An important part of their rehabilitation is working with a psychiatrist all week. They are taught how to be good mothers and how to discipline their kids. This week they started giving smaller portions to the moms and offer a dance/excercise class on Saturdays because the moms were putting on too much weight. There are 2 staff members ("house moms") that are with the families all the time. They work 7 days a week, then get 7 days off. The girls also have their own school where the teacher comes to them. The highest education one mom has is grade nine and some have come without any education. It is obvious that the staff really care about the well being and the future of these moms! It is the best rehabilitation program we have ever seen.
This week we were converting the old daycare inside Casa Luz into offices for the director and psychiatrist. We took out the kitchen cabinets and sinks, touched up the walls with "pasta" (basically dry wall mud for concrete that doesn't sand off) and painted the walls with an irrisistable Salmon Pink. It looks more like a spunky palliative care room for old ladies. Tomorrow we will paint the other office light green. It looks like there will be lots of work for us to do while we are here. The classroom needs to be painted, some cabinets need to be assembled and installed, ceiling fans need to be installed, the soil infront of the daycare needs weeding and flower planting and there is always more patching and painting that could be done.
Many of the moms are outgoing and ask us if we want to go for a walk with them or ask if they can help us paint. They bring salsa l'izano to us for our rice and beans (a tasty cumin-mustard-like sauce). There is one mom that we haven't seen smile yet, but it's probably hard for her, being 15 years old and having 2 kids.
It's time for merienda (an afternoon snack). We will try and take some pictures and upload them soon!
Adios!
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