It is an amazing thing to think about just how much can happen in a matter of five short days. Thursday afternoon, exactly one week ago, was the last time I had a chance to write. (The kids were hogging the computer.) So here is the trip summary from start to finish.
Thursday, May 24th
Thursday afternoon, the kids returned from lunch with the Roteracts just in time to get on the bus to the the first book delivery we would do on our trip. The roads in costa Rica are rough and narrow, and there were moment when I feared our bus might tilt that one extra degree to plunge us into a ravine. Thankfully, the drivers are phenomenal and we arrived at the school to be greeted by a long line of children each ready to lead us one by one into the auditorium of the school.
The auditorium was a large warehouse-type structure with corrugated metal sheets for a roof. The kids inside were already sitting orderly in rows of chairs they had toted in from their own classrooms. The kids were all waving to us and smiling, and for the first time, I was really wishing I’d learned Spanish rather than French in high school. Almost immediately, my eyes were drawn to a young girl with a glowing smile, only matched by the manhole-cover-sized smiley face she had in hand. Matthew’s dad Efrain was invaluable in translating for me as these wonderful third graders introduced themselves to us. With Cate and Noel nearby, I told the kids about the books we’d brought for them and then showed them the pictures of Noel and Cate in the back of How to Cook with a Pencil, so that they would understand that the authors were kids just like themselves. I absolutely love that expression of joy and surprise when they make the connection. I was equally tickled that they looked in the back of Watute and recognized me as well (not so much because I like the recognition but because I’m pleased to know I bear some resemblance to a photo-shopped picture from three years ago – ahhh vanity)
We settled ourselves down for the performance the children had prepared for us. They kids were adorable, and it was a riot to see that the one girl I had really felt so drawn to was the leader of the pack of smiley faces on stage. She’s quite a kid. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure all her classmates were keeping in step with her – bossy, but effective. After the show, there was a small presentation of the books that the Rotary had brought for the school. Felicia asked why the books we had brought weren’t among those at the front, and I guess I just wanted to remain low key for a while. Besides, I really wanted the experience of handing books to kids individually. One of the neatest parts of the YouthInkwell kids is that they have the ability to inspire other kids when they have the time to interact with the reader.
When the “ceremony” was disbanded, I was rushed by a hoard of smilely faces. The kids insisted that I autograph every single smilely face they had. Meanwhile, Noel and Cate and Shaina and Ivy and Matthew headed into the adjacent classrooms to see what the school was like. I knew they were exhausted after the day’s travel and felt a bit bad about dragging them out right away… I ventured with Matthew’s dad into the library to give several books to the librarian. I watched Efrain tell the librarian about our project, and it was so exciting to see her reaction. Educators seem to speak with an enthusiasm that seems to transcend language barriers – nevertheless, I was immensely grateful to have Matt’s dad there. Engrossed in a conversation about getting the kids of the school to perhaps begin a letter-writing campaign with the YouthInkwell kids, we were the last to get on the bus.
After an even more nerve-wracking bus ride, we arrived at school number two, called, strangely enough, the California School. Because the hour was late, the students had all left for the day and instead, we were greeted by teachers and several parents. Three students did return to thank the Rotary for the donation of books. Looking about the room, I could see that the energy level was fading fast. People were slumping in the few chairs that could be found in this very small space. One detail worth mentioning about the library though was the great painting on the wall. The kids gravitated toward it.
With the rain showers soaking the ground, we then dashed to the “cafeteria” (a small room not much bigger than a guest bedroom) and sat down for a snack. There we spoke to a beautiful blond woman who taught the second graders. Once again, Efrain was great to translate for us and explain about the books that the kids had written. We left her with two sets, one for her class, and one for the library. She had a fantastic smile and gave us all hugs as we left.
That night, there was a welcome dinner for all Rotary travelers. We walked into the hotel banquet room and saw huge round tables, only half occupied. We took possession of a table at the edge of the dance floor and one by one, I watch the YouthInkwell kids begin to nod off. I suppose it didn’t help that the dinner began with about forty-five minutes of speeches – and this was before the waiters would even pour drinks! Thankfully, the proverbial dinner bell rang and the kids could finally get some sustenance. (Heck! I think it was the adults who were more hungry – we hadn’t been invited to go out to lunch that afternoon – smile). Just as I thought our first full day was winding down and I would have to carry five sizable loads back to bed, they strangest thing happened…
The band began to play some music. Now, I don’t know about most of you readers, but I spent the majority of my teen years surrounded by kids who scoffed at the notion of occupying a dance floor. Not these kids! Matthew, it turns out, is a phenomenal dancer, and he spun Ivy, Cate, and even me around the floor. It was an absolute blast.
I went to bed that night absolutely certain of two things… 1.) I was traveling with five of the coolest kids around and 2.) I desperately need to take some dance classes.
Friday, May 25th
To my great sadness, we did not connect with Nature Kids in time to formulate a plan for our visit to them. Not wanting to deviate from our tour group without knowing exactly where it was we were going, I resolved to connect the organization over the weekend and try to set up something for Monday morning before we left. And then… we went ziplining!
I know the kids wrote a whole lot about this experience, so I’ll just say in summary that it was an incredible bonding experience. Everyone cheered for each other and laughed and had an all-around fantastic time. It is simply impossible to stand amidst that kind of beauty and not feel compelled to become some kind of environmentalist.
For what it’s worth, the last zip line went an entire half-mile… just you, an extraordinary drop, and a finish point which can only be seen once you have disappeared into the darkness of the trees. Terrifying! Invigorating! Definitely, something to remember.
We arrived back to the hotel late and had to rush to get ready for dinner. We headed by bus to another hotel where we had the opportunity to sit with Peter, a fellow Rotarian. Over dinner, he gave the kids some very sound advice. He told them quite bluntly that many people on the trip didn’t even know they were there, had no idea about the books the kids had brought and the work the kids were doing. He challenged them all to start sitting separately at meals – something the kids looked a bit intimidated to do. Shaina spoke up first. “Then I’m sitting with you,” she told Peter. The others reluctantly agreed that it would be a great idea to branch out and meet some new people.
Saturday, May 26th
I made everyone get up really early. The night before Catarina, the trip coordinator, had announced that there would be limited space on the busses going to the Indian reservation and it would be first-come, first-served. I knew how much Ivy had wanted to visit the reserve, so I told everyone to be waiting 45-minutes early. The kids used this opportunity to get some journal writing done, while Cate sat in the lobby typing her blog. We headed to the reservation and parked the buses. Immediately, I realized that I had worn the wrong shoes. We descended down a path of mud to an open space where several local people had gathered to sell some crafts. Next to them was a large hut with bones and ornaments hanging from the ceiling. We gathered inside and heard a bit about the community, learning that many of the native people live a three-day walk from the hills to get to the heart of the reservation. In the trees next to the hut was a large cistern for gathering water.
The kids had the chance to see how sugar cane could be crushed into a syrup, which we all got to try. It was interesting to here the tribe’s leader describe the process of operating the machine as a system, a system that could not work with out everyone working as one. He was right. It took six people to make the machine work, and they all had to be in sync. A tremendous example of teamwork. I liked it that Ivy and Cate offered to help.
Throughout the morning, Shaina began drawing different people and things she saw. It was neat to see people gather around and watch her work. When the tribe’s leader gathered us all back in the hut to do a tribal blessing, he said that no photography or videos would be allowed. But he did let Shaina draw him as he gathered around a steaming stone and sprinkled it with sparkling dust.
We gathered back on the bus and headed to the reservation’s school. We were greeted by children dressed in colorful traditional attire ready to perform for us. As soon as we sat down, a man handed me a paper with a translation of two speeches that children would be making during the presentation.
I was shocked to read the words of the 5-year-old Manuel. While so much of what the YouthInkwell kids are doing has been about water, I had not thought of this trip as a vehicle for great discussion of water rights. I had really looked upon this trip as a way mostly to get our kids to connect with the world outside of the one we know in southern California. I thought that they would be able to inspire some of the kids they might meet in Costa Rica to see how writing can make a difference in their own communities. I never really thought that the issue of water would be forefront on the minds of the Costa Rican children. (Granted, I heartily disagreed with the Rotarian woman who rather rudely told the YouthInkwell kids that Costa Rican children would not “understand” the mission of our books.) But I did think that the need for clean water was not as pressing as it is in say, Ethiopia.
This was little Manuel’s speech.
Good morning dear children, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Manuel Enrique Hernández Pérez, I go to Kindergarten and I am pleased to talk to you about a very valuable natural resource: WATER.
Water is an important source of life, it constitutes over 80% of the body of most organisms and it represents the basis of all life forms.
Nowadays, we realize that there is a water shortage problem approaching our country and our community, due to the misuse that humans make of it. For example: deforestation, pollution of rivers, oceans and groundwater. People also waste water at homes, in schools, industries, etc. It is worrying to know that, according to some specialized studies, we could run out of this resource in no more than 10 years if we continue misusing it.
This is why it is our duty to protect the water and avoid all harmful influences on the sources of this liquid. It is everybody’s obligation to take care of our hydrological resources and raise awareness that water is one of nature’s most precious resources, due to the role it performs for all living beings.
Remember that there is no life without water. It is the means in which millions of organisms grow, so let us not destroy it. I invite you to make a change on all the bad attitudes and act towards everybody’s wellness.
Thank you very much.
While, we had not wanted to make any great announcements about our presence prior to that, I felt compelled to tell the kids of the school just how much we all had in common. The Roteracts who were in charge of the ceremony were kind enough to give us a few minutes to talk to the audience about the books we were bringing. Ivy gave a book to Manuel for him to keep, and Noel gave a book to the young girl Maria, who had also given an impressive speech about the computer lab that was being donated to her school by the Roteracts.
This was her speech:
Good morning, dear children, teaching and administrative staff, and special guests.
My name is María Fernanda Arce Pérez, I am a fifth-grader in this school and today I would like to talk to you about “Technological Development”.
The level of technological development humans have reached, the advances provided by the information era, and the need to face the coming century, compromise educators as well as administrators to take an active position in order to face this irreversible process, which will be dealt with mostly by today’s student population. Within this frame of technological inventions, the computer comes in as yet another educational tool available to schools in this country.
It is important to analyze that our world is changing rapidly and technology plays a most relevant role in such process. Computing science is the revolution of the new millennium, a revolution that is becoming apparent in the national education system. That is why it is important to understand the importance of the integration of teachers into the specific learning environments of computer labs available for children in schools, in order to make the best use of their creativity, logical thinking, and problem-solving skills, among others.
Such computer labs favor all the individuals around them: students, teachers, administrative staff, and the community. However, this benefit can only be real if these individuals have the right attitude and are actually interested in making the most out of the resources they have.
For years, it has been observed that students’ performance depends on how efficiently they use the different educational tools. Nowadays, in elementary schools, it is fundamental to develop the learning-teaching process based on the use of computer science.
These are the reasons why it is so important that this computer lab becomes a reality. I and the rest of the students in this school will be happy to know that we can fulfill our expectations and hope to be better prepared for the future.
Thank you very much.
While we all concurred that the kids had probably been given some help in writing their speeches, the delivery was impeccable and there was no doubt that the kids knew, understood, and believed what they were saying. Young Maria became a favorite of Ivy’s after the little girl embraced her with the mother of all bear-hugs.
We had the chance to eat lunch at the school and enjoy conversation with teachers and children alike. We were so engrossed in our conversations that we were, unfortunately, once again, the last ones on the bus. The trip organizers politely requested that we be more cognizant of the time, but I am inclined to agree with the comments of the Youthinkwellers later that evening… while resting the hotel room back in San Jose the kids were a bit frustrated that there wasn’t as much time to actually talk to the kids who attended the schools. I can’t recall if it was Cate or Shaina who pointed out how crazy it was to be more attentive to the clock than to the people we were hoping to help. More later…
