Author: Amber Robbin

At last, it was excursion day! We had a fun-filled, ambitious itinerary ahead of us which included zip-lining, lunch in La Fortuna, and hot springs. We had to rise early and leave by 7am to make our 8am start time. Our driver Adolfo was friendly and helpful, pointing out stunning river views and the symbol of La Fortuna, the Arenal Volcano, as we drove along. At one point, confusing signage caused him to take a wrong turn. He expertly backed up and turned around on the steep side road, nevertheless, the students squealed nervously and comically as we went in reverse, entertaining the chaperones.

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Friday morning, Alvaro and Adriana, the owners of our Costa Rican animal rescue project, gifted us with a special break – a visit to a local elementary school. We arrived and gathered in an outdoor play area to wait for the students. Grade by grade, they came out from their classrooms in their blue and white uniforms and lined up in front of our group, looking around excitedly and chattering amongst themselves. Once the first, third and fifth grades were introduced by their teachers, they were free to come join us, and they did so eagerly!

The volunteers took to the young students with initiative. Busayo led a group out to the field to kick around a soccer ball, while Jenaro showed off his hoop skills with several younger boys in tow hysterically trying to steal the ball. Tyra led the little ones to the grass for sack races, and everyone else facilitated jump rope for the energetic students. All over the school, elementary-age kids and high schoolers played together. It was very natural, and gazing around the modest facilities, appeared highly rewarding for everyone involved. Later that day when we circled up, many said the activity was one of their favorite parts of the whole trip.

After giving snack breaks to the children, we returned to the rescue center for lunch. We ate our home cooked meals, and then Adriana, intent on helping us understand the greater purpose of their sanctuary, gave us an interesting workshop on wild animal trafficking. We learned that it is a 20 billion dollar industry and watched videos demonstrating how the animals are captured, sold, and then most often suffer either because their owners don’t know how to care for them or give them up once they mature. Jenaro shared stories about the expensive, exotic animal products sold in Mexico, such as $5,000 crocodile shoes!

After the presentation, we took baskets of fruits and vegetables around to each enclosure to say goodbye to the animals. A kinkajou had just been shown her new home and climbed curiously around every inch of her habitat. The spider monkeys gave us their hands one last, sentimental time. Finally, we thanked our kind and knowledgeable hosts at the center and went home to hot meals with our families.

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On our fourth day in San Carlos, Costa Rica, a handful of students motivated themselves to rise and shine early enough for a morning walk to take photos of the lush vistas with volcanoes off in the distance. Others sat with their host families eating their desayuno and taking in new Spanish phrases specific to Costa Rica. One was “mae,” similar to “dude,” which is how most young Costa Ricans casually address each other. Another was a Costa Rican expression which advises that you “eat breakfast like the wealthy, lunch like a king, and dinner like a pauper.”

At the animal rescue center, we once again divided into groups to conquer the work ahead. Half a dozen volunteers went to clean enclosures on hand and knee, scrubbing away with metal brushes. With harmless animals like the agouti and parrots, we got to interact up close and personal. The agouti, which looks like a capybara or a wild guinea pig, was very friendly, letting us pet her while she sneakily took visible nibbles of our shoes and the garden hose. More territorial creatures including the white-headed capuchin and spider monkeys had to be relocated to a smaller, attached enclosure while we cleaned. Nonetheless, they kept a close watch as they gracefully swung around their habitats. At one point, a capuchin monkey grabbed a hand full of Amber’s hair and got away with several strands.

The second and larger group of students stayed under the central shelter, some painting wire fences green for enclosures to blend in with the natural surroundings, others making hanging toys for the animals out of bamboo and rope. The latter group sawed wood planks into pieces, drilled holes in bamboo cut the day before, then fed rope through the holes and tied knots to hold each part of the ladder in place. Finally, the students stuffed fruit inside the bamboo for the monkeys and parrots to find. Cheyenne and Fajr were brave souls, venturing into the raucous parrot habitat to hang the new playthings. Cheyenne even gained a reputation as the parrot whisperer of the group!

After lunch, host mom Rosy gave us a Costa Rican cooking class! We split into three groups, the first cutting potatoes and other vegetables to make a flavorful picadillo, the second mixing and flattening dough for tortillas, and the third preparing a fried pastry with honey drizzled on top. The food turned out delicious, devoured in minutes by the entire group, and made for a pleasant break from the challenging volunteer work.

We cleaned our dishes and packed up to go home. About an hour later, most of the group came by Rosy’s to finish the scary movie they’d started a couple days before. Once they left, Rosy’s house played 2 competitive rounds of Mexican Train, a dominoes game. Meanwhile, our gracious host and cooking teacher regaled us with stories of past volunteers. Over her 8 years hosting volunteers for the animal rescue center, Rosy has had more than 350 in her home from all over the world. Although she’s never left Costa Rica, she explained that hosting has allowed the world to come to her.

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Breakfast was on point this morning, which was especially fortunate considering the group rolled out of bed a little extra tired and sore from their first day of volunteering. At Rosy’s house, we ate rice and beans, eggs, and homemade sweet bread, while others devoured Costa Rican pancakes with plantains and fresh fruit juice. It was a lively ride to the animal rescue center as the volunteers teased one another about not getting up for the morning walk they’d planned the night before. The majority of the group slept in, while overachievers like Darrion and Malik Jones got up for a scenic run, taking in the surrounding mountains and tropical panoramas.

We arrived to the center and set to work on some very challenging expansion projects, continuing to shovel and move rocks for the new peccary enclosure as well as cutting wire to extend the parrot habitat. Eventually, lunch arrived, and with it came a fallen tree, which interrupted our electricity, followed by a hefty rainstorm. In the spirit of Pura Vida, we adapted to our new circumstances. Fajr, Malik and Cheyenne, sweaty from a hard day’s work, stepped out into the refreshingly cool rain. The rest grabbed their ponchos, and soon everyone was following a staff member with a machete down to the nearby river to fetch supplies for our next project.

Ms. Hampton and Mrs. Wong suddenly heard shrieks of laughter and chaos coming from the forest and rushed over to find the students excitedly crossing the river. Their guide led them down the bank to hack away at long stalks of bamboo at least 15 ft in length! The students carried the bamboo on their shoulders, 2-3 volunteers per stalk, back across the river, up the ravine, and over to one of the center’s shelters. Without electricity, the staff taught the students how to cut the bamboo in pieces using hand saws. Those on the sidelines helped by holding the bamboo in place. The volunteers sawed more than half a dozen of the large stalks into 2-3 ft long pieces, which they would use in the next couple days to construct hanging ladders and toys for the animals.

The students handled the trials and tribulations of the day well, especially with Ms. Hampton and Mrs. Wong’s guidance. Before heading home, they circled up to give shout outs to their fellow classmates for all they had accomplished and to recognize those who had taken initiative in leading the group. They cracked each other up as they shared amusing anecdotes from their hard day’s work.

Finally, we loaded into the van to enjoy our evening relaxing with one another and our hosts. Busayo took advantage of Spanish lessons from his new host brother, while Santrell and Malik Jones’ little siblings tried scaring them by planting fake insects in their room and other goofy pranks. A bunch of students ventured out to discover more of the town and buy snacks from a nearby tienda, taking pleasure in the freedom to be together outdoors in their calm, new environment.

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Tuesday morning, we rose around 7 am to eat breakfast with our host families and get ready for volunteering. Pick up was supposed to be at 8 am, but as we waited in the front rooms of our Costa Rican homes, it became obvious that there was a delay. Sure enough, a protest against Uber by local taxi drivers had slowed down our chauffeur. As we would learn more and more each day, this is one of the many reasons for the Costa Rican expression synonymous with their way of life: “Pura Vida.” It translates to “pure life,” but also signifies a need to go with the flow and enjoy the moment.

We made it to the animal rescue center around 9:30 am and started our tour with Adriana, one of the owners. She introduced us to every animal on the property, including peccaries (wild pigs), parrots, macaws, spider monkeys, a porcupine, an agouti (pictured below), and more. The center’s trails go in a giant circle with a new enclosure of animals every several feet and small bridges connecting the land over pools of the lagoon. Roaming free on land and water, we also took in sights of caimans, a snapping turtle, iguanas, herons, butterflies, hummingbirds, and of course, dogs and cats of various shapes and colors.

As we went along, Adriana told us the stories of each animal, where they came from, how they got to the center, and whether or not they might one day be released. Their histories varied, from Perla the peccary who was abandoned as a baby and has become a people’s pig, rolling on her side for all to pet her bristle-y belly, to the rainbow-colored macaws who live for 80 years and once were pets, but no longer. Adriana explained that it is not enough to care for the animals if the Costa Rican people continue to bring more and more to the center every year. For this reason, they must branch out into educating their communities so less people will take in wild animals as pets as well as understand the tragic effects of the animal trafficking industry in their country.

Once the tour was over, the students got their hands dirty, suiting up with work boots and gloves and grabbing tools such as shovels and wheelbarrows. Some students began working in the bird enclosures, painting them, removing debris, hosing and scrubbing the floors. Others helped prep for the new peccary enclosure by moving cinder blocks, shoveling sand and rocks, and mixing cement. It rained on and off in the morning, as we took a break to drink lemonade and snack on watermelon, but the afternoon was a cool and steady 80 degrees.

Toward the end of the day, we learned about a neighborhood Zumba class! Half of the group was adventurous enough to sign on for that, while the other half decided to take advantage of downtime with friends. The latter part of the group met up as they walked from one host home to the next, meeting one another’s new families and exploring the neighborhood. Rumor has it, ten kids tried to watch a scary movie, but the furniture they sat on didn’t exactly hold their weight…

Meanwhile, Ms. Hampton accompanied half a dozen ladies to Zumba. Upon arrival, it was clear that this was a true community event, with people from all over el pueblo coming together under the bare bones, outdoor shelter to shake what their mamas gave them. We even saw our chauffeur and the cook from the rescue center there, and everyone who came seemed to bring 5 of their closest friends and family. There was also an entire middle school group there, dancing along in uniform, and in formation! Many mothers held weights while juggling the complex dance moves AND watching their small children wandering nearby. Everyone seemed to know each other, and when it was over, the Zumba teacher thanked her “Chicago friends” for coming. It was difficult to catch on at times, but all of the Comer Catamounts gave it their best go, laughing and sweating equally hard along the way.

After that, it was time to return to our respective homes, eat dinner, and get ready for bed. Some students caught up with family and friends, telling them of all the different animals they encountered and showing them the pets and rooms in their houses over video chat. We slept hard and long, knowing that the next day would be full of volunteering, rain or shine.

Stay tuned for more stories from our adventures in Costa Rica and follow along on Snapchat and Instagram!

After months upon months of fundraising and preparation, Gary Comer students left their school on the South Side of Chicago at 2 a.m. yesterday for O’Hare International Airport to start their week-long adventure volunteering at an animal rescue center in the rainforest of Costa Rica!

It was a long and somewhat arduous journey with the 19 sleepy students and their 2 devoted teachers, Aiyeshia Wong and Ife Hampton. Nevertheless, not a complaint was heard throughout the 6-hour flight followed by a 3-hour bus ride to the northern part of the country.

We arrived to the animal rescue center and were immediately greeted with a thunderous downpour, followed by a warm welcome and exclamations of “Pura vida!” from our hosts Alvaro and Adriana. We had just a brief introduction to the center, as it was time to get home to our host families where dinner was waiting for us. We watched as bold students like Jenaro helped lower our luggage from the roof of the van, one of the first Costa Rican customs we had the chance to marvel at.

We piled in to one van, our suitcases filling another, and everyone was dropped off in groups of 2 or 3 with our 10 different host families. The evening was spent settling in and practicing Spanish as we got to know our hosts, many of which lived with their children, extended family, dogs, cats, and even chickens! Several houses finished their night playing a heated game of Uno, and finally, it was time to descansar (rest).

The students hit the pillow hard, tired from traveling and their many new experiences. Surrounded by the rainforest on all sides, they fell asleep to the sounds of intermittent rain, wild birds, and chirping geckos.

Stay tuned for more stories from our adventures in Costa Rica and follow along on Snapchat and Instagram!