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Working Hard? Or Hardly Working: Notes from Costa Rica

Follow along with students as they describe a day delving into work and play on our Service Costa Rica program. 

Hi, it’s Declan and Melanie writing the blog today! This morning, we were woken up at 6:30am with some delightful music to start the day. We then went to breakfast, where we had toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. We were then told that, since the local workers were not coming in today, we would only be working in the morning! We got to work laying cement, but throughout all of this we were playing ‘Assassin,’ a stealthy game of tag. For lunch, we had pasta with a rich white sauce and ham. It was delicious!

Local instructor lets student crank metal machine to process sugarcane

Local instructor lets student crank metal machine to collect sugarcane juice that slides down metal pan

Local instructor show student a machine that crushes a sugarcane stalk

After lunch, we ventured up the road to a  nearby sugarcane  farm (after a stop at Alex’s, the local supermarket, of course). The sugarcane farm was really cool; we got to see how the stalks were cut and processed to make a sweet sugarcane juice. After that, we went back to the community center to play volleyball and a few games of Pictionary with our local friend Nicolas. Dinner, a chicken soup with potatoes and corn and beans and rice on the side, was delicious!

Student reacts excitedly as local instructor cuts sugarcane stalk with a metal blade

Local instructor hold one end of sugarcane stalk, preparing to cut it, while student holds the other

Student wearing a hat bites into a piece of fresh sugarcane

Downward shot of mug holding sugarcane juice

As the evening continued we played cards and continued our game of ‘Assassin.’ There are now seven people left, with our Putney leader Pilar getting out first followed by Eli. After that, everyone went to do activities in groups—some people ended up staying at the parks, while others went to Alex’s,  and few continued playing cards in the community center. As of my writing this, it is now 9:37 p.m., and everyone is getting ready for bed after a chill nightly meeting.

– Declan & Melanie

Student bites dramatically into a piece of fresh sugarcane

Local instructors carry sugarcane stalks

Group photo of students posing outside at sugarcane farm

A note from the Putney Team: ‘Assassin’ is an extended game of secretive tag – each team member is assigned another, and they try to covertly tag this person until there’s only one person remaining. Games can go on for many days!

To learn more about our Service Costa Rica program, click here!

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Eligible for 8th grade*
*These programs are typically for students in grades 9–12, however motivated rising 9th graders will be considered

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