Day 5

Today we visited Obras del Espiritu Santo which is a catholic organization that helps people who are less fortunate including people of all ages. Many of these people happen to be children who need a place to stay while their parents are working but many are also orphans that live at the facility. It was an eye opening experience for our entire group. We have been working toward this day for many months by hosting fundraisers to raise money for these impoverished individuals, and it was everything we had expected and much more. Hearing the kindergarten children cheering when we arrived made us feel very welcome and we were very excited to start being hands on involved with the organization. It was an incredible experience and everyone has their fair share of stories from the day. We all definitely came out of this experience with a new appreciation for the simple things we take for granted everyday.

Some stories from our day:
Hola!! The first thing I did was spend time with some of the orphans that lived there at the organization. I was happy to practice my Spanish with the children and spent most of my time with a 14 year old girl named Tania. She was so happy to show me her diploma from her recent graduation as well as many of her pictures in her room. Like me she enjoys dancing and showed me pictures of a dance she performed in. Also, she loved to paint and do artistic things which she was very good at. She shared with all of us her many interests and she even practiced the little English she new with us and was very eager to learn from us. I enjoyed spending time with this talented young girl and I'm so glad that she continues to do the things she loves despite of her current situation. (Christina Piccolino)

Hola! One of the most moving aspects of my day was helping fold and give out the used clothing to the mothers and elderly woman. I was amazed to see how happy they were just to receive old worn out clothing and how they appreciated simple necessities such as these. It was obvious many of the people were struggling yet they constantly kept a smile on their face. This was very inspiring to me because it taught me not to take things for granted. Even though we are aware poverty such as this exists, seeing it first hand truly changed me. The children were so happy just to have people to play and talk with. Although it was hard at times to communicate with many of the people I believe both parties understood how important La Obras del Espiritu Santo is to the people of Costa Rica and the help they provide to all they can. I can truly say this was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life and if I had the choice I would love to spend the rest of my time in Central America helping this unbelievably devoted organization. This experience is something I will never forget and I would really like to thank Professora Gomez for granting us this opportunity. Gracias Professora Gomez! :0) (Shannon Caldarola)

Hola! An interesting and unexpected experience that I will always remember was helping with the construction of the new educational facility. We helped shovel dirt and rocks into a wheelbarrow and wheeled them through the construction site into the room that the dirt/rock was being used for as a foundation. When we got to the site the pile of dirt was enormous and we managed to transport the entire pile into the area where it will be used. Although it seems that using a tractor to move materials is more efficient, the process of shoveling and transporting the pile creates more jobs for the people of Costa Rica. The manual labor was intense, but it felt good to help with such a tedious process. We all truly enjoyed taking turns shoveling and wheeling the dirt to the construction area. Helping with every aspect at the foundation was an amazing experience. (Lauren Clare)