Costa Rica 2012

HOLA AMIGOS
Going to Costa Rica was unreal. The people I travelled with, the things i saw, the things we did are all aspects that made it unforgettable. I feel like I got a lot closer with each and every person in Geo and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to do it all in Costa Rica. One of the high lights I thought was the river float, even though both simms and I lost our buffs....

It was exciting and so much fun. The La Trocha day was a lot of fun because we just did spontaneous things, like eat in a tree restaurant, went to a snake zoo and played ultimate frisbee in a bull ring which was not a surprise considering we were in Simms' group.

 The Hydrological Coastal Studies was by far my favourite part though, because it was such an amazing feeling finally standing up after falling and falling over and over again and ive wanted to surf ever since i was a young one trying to surf in lake Couchiching with a foam kick board.

 I think im still in denial about being back home, and if i could I would go back right now and experience more adventures with you all.

ADIOS
-Christy :)

The People We Met During Our Amazing Adventure!

Dinner with locals!

Costa Rica was an amazing journey, we had many new experiences and saw many different things. Along the way we also met alot of great people. I found that everyone is very polite in Costa Rica, they are always saying Gracias and i can't even recall how many times people said mucho gusto to me for the simplest things They always had a smile on their faces and were so happy, which would put me in a great mood! 

When i went to have a dinner with my local family the mom had everything prepared for us and was so welcoming, i felt completely comfortable being in her house and had a great time.

When we first got to Liberia we met Jorge, he ended up staying with us for 6 of the 9 days as our driver. He was a super nice guy and got us to all of our destinations safely, we wouldn't have been able to do everything we did without him.

On our first full day in Costa Rica we went River Rafting and had an amazing time! My guide was Paola and she made the trip down the river even more fun! She taught me alot that day, i learned how to slap my paddle on the water to scare the monkeys and she informed us on many of the different species around. Paola was a good time and her main saying was PURA VIDA...similar to almost every other Costa Rican around! Our group would always put our paddles in the air together and chant out pura vida. She enjoyed making us laugh and at one point even jumped out of our raft and left us alone to float down the river for a bit, thinking it was a funny joke until we started going to fast out of her reach! I'm happy i had the pleasure of having Paola as my guide!

PAOLA!

During my family dinner in La Fortuna we went to a little restaurant and had the pleasure of meeting Joshua. He let our entire family have a good laugh because he kept flirting with Laura! He always complimented her smile and said she was like a barbie doll... he was quite the character and made me laugh!

In Monteverde we went for the hike up La Trocha to town and i was in Simms group, on the way we set goals out to do along the way! One of the goals was to find a guy named Carlos. We were on our way back from town back to the Ecolodge and had almost went into all the little stores along the way so our chances of finding a Carlos were slimming. As we were walking into the Art Gallery me and Kramer were going over the goals and saying how hard it was gonna be to find a Carlos, two minutes later our group asked the workers name in the shop and he said CARLOS. Our entire group dropped anything we were looking at and ran over to the guy screaming Carlos...he must have thought we were nuts! But it was such a great feeling.

CARLOS!

As i was walking along the beach in Samara with Lauren and Christy a Australian guy asked to take a picture with us! All 3 of us were pretty excited about this and still talk about it sometimes haha! Me and Christy both agreed we can now cross; take a picture with a hot Australian boy off our bucket lists!

Out of all the people i met in Costa Rica, the little children i met at the school were deffinately my favorite. It was a great emotional experience. I loved seeing their faces light up over the simplest things, that most of us would just take for granted. I had a blast playing soccer with them, some of the 8 year old girls were kicking my butt, which i thought was awesome! Watching them take all the clothes and school supplies was one of my highlights of the entire trip because it just made me feel so good and warmed my heart! I'm so grateful i had this experience!

Costa Rica was an unforgettable adventure, i will never forget it!

Courtney

Costa Rica Trip, From the Eco Lodge!

Its hard to sum up such a life changing and influential trip, i thank Simmers for making this trip possible and also my parents and sponsors that made it affordable for me.

Out of a list of 22 different things written on a list i chose to write my blog entry about the Eco Lodge!
Although it wasn't as warm as Samara, and didn't have a nice pool like La Fortuna, it was an amazing place to just chill out for a few days and think about all the stuff we accomplished in such a small amount of time. Even the second day i was there i heard people saying "wow it feels like I've been here for about a week!" And that was so true, our trip was packed with fun tours and activities every day... back to the Eco Lodge! Well just before we got there we got the opportunity to Zip Line, and for anyone reading this from Ontario that's been on like a 100ft zip line and thought it was crazy, we went on a total of 9, and all of them were over 1500ft. Although it looked to be a rainy fogy, and cloudy day, the wind picked up and the sun came out and all of a sudden i could see hundreds of kilometers away, it was truly amazing! The guides that worked there were super energetic and loved making everyone feel comfortable (for those that were afraid of heights). After an amazing day of zipping down at super fast speeds we headed to the Lodge. The roads were super bumpy and it was sweet gettin flung around the van haha! once we got to our destination, everyone unloaded the vans and brang their bags to the main room to hear a few facts about how the lodge started and of course the rules we had to fallow while we stayed there. Due to the fact that it was centered in the rain forest we had to stay quiet, for it was a place of peace and study. :) Once everyone got the hang of lowering their voices we headed off to our rooms, which i thought were spectacular, no bed bugs crawling in my sheets, no weird green bugs gallivanting across my ceiling, and no ants trying to eat the garbage cans!

The weird green bug ! 

 I was in a room with a good bunch of kids, like all the other nights i got along well with my roomies. After we figured out our bed arrangement we all headed up to the main building which was about 5 mins away, to start our night hike. Rain forests are among the most diverse places on earth, however not everything likes to come out during the day. On our night hike we saw so many bugs, crawling, hopping, and flying. But my favorite part of the trip is when we spotted something in the trees! We never really found out what it was but it got everyone excited and we kept our eyes peeled till the walk was over. Just as we were finishing our walk we saw a tarantula!

 Anyway we all headed back to our cabins for a good night sleep. When we woke up the teachers told us all about our day and that we would self guide ourselves up La Trucha, which was a massive paved road that winded up a hill that peaked through the clouds! When we finally reached the top we could see everything. It was a heart stopping view, and one that i personally will never forget! When we all caught our breath we decided to walk into town and meet some locals and buy some souvenirs, it went great! That night we played a game called minuet to win it, held by miss A, it was sweet :) everyone got into it and there was positive energy all around! The next day we were guided by Paul, one of the students studying at the Eco lodge to the waterfall. It wasn't as mighty as the Niagra Falls, but i thought it was equally as beautiful, it fell in 3 separate sections, eventually leading to one that we could jump around and swim in. The water was nice and refreshing, actually freezing! it was defiantly worth the 1 hour walk! After we played around in it for a little me and a few other buddies decided to fallow it down stream a little and re direct the water! it was tuns of fun, we dammed one portion and made the water flow a new direction.

When we got back to the lodge we packed up and made sure we had everything ready for the morning! i wrote my journal before dosing off and when i woke up there was an amazing breakfast prepared and we even got to make a lunch for our travel to Samara, the last place on our list to hit up! Throughout the trip i learnt many new things, and i also realized how valuable time is, and when you use it right you can accomplish anything you set your mind to!

William Lerch

The Glass Fam!!!

SUNS OUT GUNS OUT

Hey everyone, so for my blog I have gladly accepted the responsibility of recounting the adventures we had in the Glass Family!

Our family consisted of Courtney, Emily, Laura, Allyson, Jonny, Mauricio, myself (Tyler) and of course the Glassman!  Our first gathering together in Costa Rica was during the first night when we held the potluck.  It was a mixture of some Canadian and Costa Rican cousine that was either brought over with us or purchased at the super market in La Fortuna. I personally enjoyed a meal of coldcut sandwiches, nutella, some Mr. Noodles and nachos which was absolutely delicious!  Most of the family gatherings we had occured over the dinner table or briefly when we needed a headcount.   

We were actually lucky enough to have a birthday in our family while we were in La Fortuna.  Emily was celebrating her 17th and so on our last night in La Fortuna we had a family dinner at Luigi's Pizza, where Glass presented her with a family gift of a brand new headband which I think she enjoyed very much.  Emily also recieved a beautiful, freshly picked flower from our very charismatic waiter.

I think I can speak for my family when I say that another highlight for us was definately the Minute To Win It put on by Ms. A.  Everyone had a blast participating in their event and in the end our family came out on top after a close battle with the Simms family!  My favourite event was the headcounter one where Glass, Carlos, and Lauren faced off to see who could shake their head the fastest for one full minute.  We got some great videos from that event that I know we'll watch again in 20 years and laugh as hard then as we do now!

Over the short span of nine days, the eight of us became so much closer and I think we really learned the true meaning of what it is to be a family.  We learned a ton about each others interests and pet peevs and we always had a great time together!  Finally, I would also like to say a big thank you to Mr. Glass, because without you it would have never been the same!

 

And remember,

If the Sun Is Out, Get The Guns Out!

Life-Changing visit to a Costa Rican Escuela

Many of our new experiences in Costa Rica were filled with breathtaking views of the volcano or challenging 4km hikes up the steep road known as La Trocha. These were mainly either physical or mental accomplishments and were solely for personal gain. However, if I were to pick a  highlight of the trip that was unique to all the other experiences, it would have to be visiting the kids at the elementary school near La Fortuna. It was unique because it was more of an emotional experience and we had the opportunity to help others.

The school happened on the third day in La Fortuna which was our last day there. I and many others were having a hard time deciding on whether to go to the caves or to the school because, even though they were completely different trips, they were equally as cool! I decided to go to the school and I can definitely say I don't regret it!

SO ANYWAYS...
The look on the kids faces when we arrived at the school was priceless. They were actually all SMILES! When we all saw them we were like 10x more excited then we thought we would be! To start off our visit, we played a few warm up games to get them familiar with us. This included a name game which was hilarious because we all had trouble remembering and pronouncing each others names, but after a few tries we managed to get to know most of the kids. Some of them were so shy at the beginning, but by the end of the games they were STOKED. Another cool thing we did was we had them read a spanish book to them. I was partnered with Juan. He was actually the CUTEST kid. We hung out for the a lot of the visit which was too much fun!

Juan and I playing some soccer :)

AFTER the classroom games, we headed outside to play soccer and a bit of ultimate!! They enjoyed it sooo much and were really good a soccer! After the big soccer game of ninos vs ninas, it was finally time to give them the school supplies, clothes and other cool gifts. They felt so much gratitude when they heard they could grab 10-15 items. They even sang the Costa Rican national anthem to us after which was awesome! You could tell they were really happy we came. One girl was like in love with Lauren and after the visit she came back with a flower and a card. kind of romantic. We had a long walk ahead of us so we decided to say goodbye after a couple of pictures. During the walk it was pouring rain and long but we didn't care that much!

It was definitely a new experience for us to get to know some kids who lived in maybe less fortunate conditions and help them out a bit! Here's a picture of the two groups that we hung out with..

I definitely want to do something like this in the future. Something about getting to know kids and putting smiles on their faces is an unreal feeling. Oh ya and I met a kid named Carlos which was sweeet.

PURA VIDA AMIGOS,

Carlos :)

 Highlights & Lowlights to Costa Rica                             GEOSTUDIES 2012


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvCMLzuqLrs&feature=youtube_gdata),



This past week we experienced many highlights and very little lowlights, while on our trip to Costa Rica.  I think we can all say that we will never forget the trip to Costa Rica and all of new things we had the opportunity to try for the first time.  For me, many of my highlights on the trip were having so many different chances to learn new things by experiencing them first hand. Things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life about this trip are the things like zip lining over the rain forest coastal studies in Samara, and swimming in the hot springs with the view of the Arenal volcano.  Some more things that are strong highlights of my trip were also the little experiences that we went through on the way. Things like playing soccer in the pouring rain in La Fortuna or playing minute to win at the eco-lodge and winning with Glass’s Family.  There were so many little highlights on this trip that could not be done again based on the people and the opportunities that we got to try.  Like every experience you have in life there are always negative situations as well. On our trip for me the lowlights were the things like not being able to go to the school. Hearing how close our class got to the kids in such a short period of time made me wish I could have done both. Playing soccer in La Fortuna with the kids in the street was a lot of fun and I think the school would have been the same.  Another lowlight for me was not spending enough time in Samara. Personally I would have rather spent another day in Samara than in Monteverde.  As much as I miss being on the beach in Costa Rica, I can’t wait to what the rest of Geo 2012 has in store.

(please see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URiB40HAg9c&feature=youtube_gdata)

J.Crew

Oh The Air Travel

On April 17 the Geostudies class of 2012 left for Costa Rica and what better way to travel there than by plane. For one of the students in our class it was their first time flying, Emily, and for others is was their second or third; which is rather exciting. We left the Toronto airport at around 6:30 that morning after leaving our school at 3am and were headed towards Atlanta, our lay over stop, on the smallest airplane I have ever been on. It had 20 rows, 4 chairs in each row and 3 chairs in the first class rows. Needless to say our group took up over half the seats on the plane. Personally, I had not been on a plane in almost 3 years and had forgotten the odd occurance of your ears popping as the plane is taking off or the slight rush you get at the realization that you are no longer on the ground. I would have to say that at this point everyone was incredibly excited to be leaving, smiles galore. We had the fortune of taking off just as the sun was rising which made for some incredible sights once we were above the clouds. During the 2-3 hour flight everyone played cards, talked, or got what sleep they could possible manage. Everyone's hopes were high with the anticipation of the next 9 days ahead of them.  Once landed in Georgia we all went through the motions of the airport, surprisingly there wasn't many on this layover, and then we found the food court. Many took the time to indulge on the cheap American food there was to offer, others took use of the facilities but eventually we all ended up at the same place, the gate, where we waited with even more eager anticipation for our next flight that would bring us to our destination. During our wait most of the class was transfixed by the garbage cans there that would grumble and moan after objects were dispensed in it, but after a quick look most moans the trash in the can seemed unchanged. Most of us were perplexed by what the noise was, and we never did end up finding out what it was doing. At the gate a few ladies took noticed of two incredibly attractive young men also waiting at our gate, who I later managed to get a picture with. After some time waiting it was finally time to board our next plane. Fortunately this plane was comparably larger than the last plane we took and it was much comfier. With my good fortune and being at the bottom of the class list I got a whole row of 3 seats to myself, Simms later joined me and we, along with Abby and Phillips, played a dice game Simms taught us. Many on the plane enjoyed Sherlock Holmes II and before we knew it we were landed, through customs and on a bus with the newly acquainted Horge, bound for Eco Arenal and the beginning of our adventure. After a jam packed 9 days the class returned to the Liberia airport to board our second last flight home. We made it through customs okay and waited patiently for our flight. Again, some of the ladies spotted a very attractive young man and his brother. We all boarded the plane and after a minute or two I became acquainted with the boy, who I would apparently be sitting beside for the whole flight; the ladies were quite envious. His name was Devon and beside him sat a very nice woman named Jamie and I had the pleasure of conversing with them the whole flight. We talked about Canada and the States, comparing the two when it came to school and weather, politics and money, and everything else under the sun. In all honesty I could not really tell you how the flight went since I was far to caught up in my conversations with my seat buddies. Although I could tell you they played the new mission impossible movie and everyone seemed quite content enjoying the ride or filling out our little green pieces of paper with something to say for everyone who went on the trip. I also learned just how incredible the American passports our, I was so intrigued with the different pictures on each page and a meaningful quote, It almost puts ours to shame. With some slight turbulence, as we had on each of our flights, we were landed in Atlanta once again going through customs and waiting our turn in lines. Ironically after getting through customs we ran into Dylan and his mother Charlette Pratt, 2 intriguing people we befriended on our trip. After a final good-bye to them we went our separate ways. The class once again took advantage of the cheap American food and indulged to their hearts desire, let me be the first to say just how different the food is in comparison to Costa Rica and I'm not sure which I prefer. After that many did their last minute shopping, some taking advantage of the duty free and others checking out the souvenir shops. For the last time we waited at our gate to get home. Everyone had their envelopes lined up for the little green pieces of paper. After each was filled they were sealed for us to open after our flight. Finally, it was time to board our final flight home. It was almost a bitter sweet feeling, another chapter of our Geo lives coming to an end and yet still much to look forward to. On the last flight many played cards and just remissnessed  about the trip. We had a very social-able flight attendant who kept things interesting and before we knew it we had landed in Toronto. For the final time we made our way through customs and had our final Spanish countdown. We all went out to Terminal 3 to meet up with our parents and go our separate ways home. Upon leaving we were handed our little envelopes full of those little green pieces of paper and everyone headed home. It was an amazing trip with travels of all sorts and I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

-  Ann-Marie Traynor

Costa Rica 2012

Costa Rica 2012 was the trip of a lifetime. Everything we did was such an adventure and so different from what we did yesterday so it was always a new experience! As a class we were exposed to a lot of new species of plants, animals, and insects, as well as a different culture and way of life. We got to see first-hand the biodiversity we learned about in class leading up to the trip and the differences of a more tropical climate. 

Overall it was an awesome learning experience, but it was also a lot of fun! Personally, I am now able to check off several experiences off my "100 new experiences" list for Geo Studies, as well as a few on my bucket list! For instance, zip lining above the rain forest? That was an awesome activity! As well as hydro-logical coastal studies in the Pacific ocean - that was a major highlight of the trip

Some other really cool things we did that showed us a bit more of the Costa Rican culture was visiting the kids' school and having dinner with a local family. We got to spend time with them and learn more about what they eat, what sports they play, their language, and how they live. For instance, my extended family visited a family that lived in a small house with a little kitchen connected to their living room which had only two couches and a small tv. These two rooms together was about the size of my bedroom at home - which shows you the difference between Canadian and Costa Rican standard of living. They also fed us a very different dinner than what we are used to which consisted of squash, corn, rice, chicken, and small tortillas. I thought it was good but some of us had trouble eating it...and Simms helped out with that. Overall the family visit was a lot of fun and we all learned a lot!

All of the activities we did in Costa Rica were so much fun and I loved every single one. However, my favourites would have to be the river float, the caving tour, and Baldi hot springs. 

We had some awesome guides for the river float which made it a lot of fun, as well as the trees and all the nature surrounding us was just so beautiful and breath-taking. It was cool to float down the river and look through the foliage looking for monkeys and lizards and other animals while learning about all the different species in the area from our guide. 

In the caves I saw so many interesting insects I had never seen before, as well as a good amount of bats! Crawling through the small tunnels and through the birth canal was also a new experience that I thought was really fun.

The hot springs were really cool because they are heated by the volcano and are actually very hot! I thought it was pretty impressive that the volcano was capable of heating that much water to temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius. 

Another thing I really liked about the trip was the different families. I was in the Glass family with Laura, Emily, Courtney, Mauricio, Jonny, Tyler, and Mr. Glass of course. Being in a family together helped me toe become closer with these people because we spent time together away from the other families during the potluck dinner, the Minute to Win it activity, our dinner out in La Fortuna, and a couple other occasions. The families also made it easier to splint into groups quickly as needed such as when travelling in small groups. I thought the families was a great idea and helped the trip run more smoothly.

If I had the chance I would do it again in a second, as I'm sure the rest of Geo would too! This trip was such an awesome experience and I will never forget everything I saw and learned. Thank you Mr. Simms for EVERYTHING and making me very happy for deciding to take Geo Studies! Pura Vida

- Ally 

The Never Ending Highlights


Costa Rica 2012 was full of highs. I bet you thought I was going to say highs and lows didnt you? BUT NO. The smallest moments held the most beauty while the largest moments held just as much meaning.

The moments that should of discouraged us only made us want more. Having towels swept into the oceans, ipod's destroyed and bags soaked by the tide only made us more curious of the ocean. Losing sunglasses seemed like a small price to pay to enjoy a full on frontal attack on other rafts.

There were moments you could literlay freeze and just soak up the beauty. The nautral beauty of the waterfall had the ability to mesmarize us all the sun gleamed off of it.

 

There were moments were we used every emotion possible. But whether it be Cailean having a full on heart attack over a bug, 4 people throwing up throughout the night, Ann shedding a few tears at an abnormal cricket, or Bailee football tackling the football coach. We were always there for each other to bask in the moment and than of course offer a helping hand.

  

 There were moments that seemed to go in slow motion and can be played in our heads over and over again. Seeing fists being thrown into the air at completion of hiking La Trosha or seeing heads glance back and flash the worlds largest grin as they zipped away.

 

There were moments were sheer joy was so obviously written on people’s faces. The look Mauricio has at being reunited with the ocean, the look Will hadwalking on the back at sunrise or the look the school children had had receiving new supplies.

 

But there were also moments that tested al our courage and agility. Whether it be squezzing through the birth canal or zip lining we all stood tall and proud at completion.

 

These experiences may only be once in a life time. 100 new experiences.

Second day in Costa Rica

Our first day waking up in the Arenal Villa was very exciting because we couldn't wait for the day to begin.  We got on the bus and drove to a river where we were split into groups which would be the groups you would "float" down the river with. My group was Megan Stev, Stubbs, Natasha, Cailean, and Simms; we called ourselves "the imagination station" because Natasha and I always thought we spotted different animals but really it was just our overly excited imagination. I'm pretty sure that it was our group who started the splashing, pushing and throwing people into the water.  Natasha still holds hitting an unsuspecting log responsible for her graceful exit from our raft! That was my rose for the night. Not surprising that our group won because Simms would pounce on the other boats and throw them into the river.  Our group also found a rope swing that we attempted to swing off of, except me, who was busy getting swept down the river by the current.  HELP! Towards the end of the river all the groups met up on the side of the river where we enjoyed some nice juice, watermelon and pineapple.  Here we all jumped into the river which was hilarious because it was so hard to swim back against the current to get to the shore.   We were so disappointed and exhausted when the river came to an end.  It was time to get back on the bus and look forward to our next amazing experience.  It was always hard to think something could ever top our last adventure...but somehow the next day would.  

Lauren

Swimmin' Day

Well today was a pretty great day (=
Started off the morning with Simms. We had a work period on our seminars, which was very worth it... Got educated about Keith Urban or something by Christy... and was shamed that I didn't know who he was by Megan.
Was very cool learning about volcanos and how AWESOME it's going to be when one errupts while we're in Costa Rica.

Charles showed a really cool video this morning of these teenagers who sent Darth Vader into space... (seems a little ironic)


But was really funny when he totally spun out of control on his way back to the ground! Then he ate the ground...
Thouroughly enjoyed that (=

Later that day we ventured to East Bayfield Rec Centre where we partook in a swimming test. Was sooooooper fun! Very exhausting but... totally worth it! (=
We practiced swimming in clothes, treadin in water, putting on lifer jackets and falling into the water.
I wish we could have gone over what to do in a situation such as this...

But i'm sure we'll be just fine in Costa Rica...
(Lauren- no offence intended) (=

Was awesome of Ms.A to let us go home right after the swimming test. Wouldn't say no to that! So, we had a shorter day than usual and after those EXHAUSTING swim excercises; who was going to argue with that.

Today I felt the group bonding as a family- from dealing with Courtney peeing in the pool to helping eachother out doing whatever activites. I feel as though we are ready to go to Costa Rica!


Geo 4 Life <3