Blogs from Arenal, Alajuela, Costa Rica, Central America Caribbean

Well, for this year’s vacation we decided on the complete opposite adventure from Egypt. Lush rainforests, stunning waterfalls and vast active volcanoes – we’re in Costa Rica! We boarded our flight to Liberia, Costa Rica via Atlanta, at 5:45am today. It’s a complete coincidence that we’ll be exploring the jungle on Earth Day – a pretty cool coincidence. When we boarded our flight in Philadelphia the stewardess for Delta Airlines immediately moved Michael and me to the exit row for the journey because of his height. I ended up sleeping most of the time in wondrous relaxation. Then after our very short layover in Atlanta we boarded the 4 hour flight from Atlanta to Liberia and, once again, Michael and I were moved into the emergency exit row so that we could have a more ... read more

One of the many nice things about living in India for 4 years was all the people I met along the way. Like most capital cities, Delhi is home to people from all over the world. Each country sends people from home to staff and provide services at their respective embassies, and you get to meet many of these people along the way. People that are willing and able to take assignments in foreign lands often end up to be some of the most interesting, educated, world-aware, and well-traveled people. Matt and Brina are two such people. I met Mat and Brina while living in Delhi and we have stayed in touch since on Facebook. Since leaving India in 2010, they have been stationed in Washington, DC and now Vancouver, Canada. Matt works for the Foreign ... read more

Helloooo!! We have had an awesome few days here!! Sunday was our last day in Puerto Viejo. Ian and I went on a botanical garden walk in the morning which was pretty cool... saw lots of red poison dart frogs and learned how many different foods are produced. We saw raw cacao, sugarcane, black pepper, pineapple, guava, etc. It was cool seeing what these foods look like before they get to us. Then we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed our last plate of nachos from Banana Azul...seriously the best thing ever. I think we had nachos at least once a day. Everything (chips included) is made fresh at the hotel so the taste is phenomenal. The chips arent like the ones you get in the US... they are super light and crispy and amazing! ... read more

Dear all. So, I have only two days left in San Francisco and six in Costa Rica. It's a shame to leave the school just as I feel more comfortable - the opposite feeling to getting into the swing of things (e.g remembering that few 10 year olds speak Aristotle) in the weeks before. I don't doubt that it deserves its reputation as one of the best schools in the north of Costa Rica - the children have the opportunities, facilities and standard of teaching of a good UK primary school (in fact there seem few differences). I've been taking classes of my own, and games make the children very enthusiastic - it's rewarding to see how much those children who say little in a larger class can be livelier in a smaller group. The most ... read more

I think at least one member of Monty Python was once a frustrated primary school teacher. ´What... is your name. What... is your favourite colour'. Small child continues to prefer nose-picking to intellectual endeavour. 'What... is the capital of Assyria?' Child fired into abyss. There seems to be a serious pencil and biro currency in the school - they are the prizes that Oliver (the english teacher who I spend most of my time assisting) and I hand out to the younger years and always brings rapt excitement. Best keep my fountain pen hidden. I'm starting to see that many people in the area don't live as comfortably as my host family. For example apparently many parents can't afford to give their children breakfast before school. My first proper jungle walk with Victor began by entering ... read more

Our Photos from the rafting!... read more