VAIL MOUNTAIN SCHOOL IN COSTA RICA 2019
The adventure began once they landed in Costa Rica. A warm and humid weather was waiting for the group to come and feel the tropic temperatures leaving behind the cold and the snow from Colorado.
All these kids are here to learn Spanish and to have a full experience in how we costaricans live our life. Learn about our culture and traditions in different ways is also part of the plan of this amazing journey.
The first day in Costa Rica after leaving the airport we went to CPI School in Heredia to have an orientation for the group. It was about some important aspects to have in mind during all the days that they are going to be here.
One by one the host families were arriving to the campus looking forward to meet their new "hijo/hija". Some kids were nervous about meeting their "familia tica" but after all everything went well. Later one by one every host family leaved the school to go home and have dinner with the new member of the family.
Day 2: Beach day in Manuel Antonio. We visited the National Park which is one of the most visited NP in Costa Rica. After a long trip on the bus. The group enjoyed watching animals that probably most of them didn´t know before. For example sloths, huge iguana, monkeys, "Jesus Christ lizard" and some others. It was a sunny and beautiful day. The kids loved the beach and the water. They got a great time in the paradise and one they got tired we started our way back to the central valley.
Day 3: On Sunday we did something very "costarican". We went to a stadium to watch a local soccer game (Alajuela against Perez Zeledon). They ate the typical snacks that you can find in any local game. They were happy supporting and making some cheers for our team but it wasn´t enough cheering because Alajuela lost the match (final score 1-2). Later on we went to San Jose which is the capital of Costa Rica. We walked around the main streets where almost all the museums and theaters are located. A mini tour inside of the National Theater guided by Catalina was good for the kids to learn part of the costarican history. And then we finished the weekend with some shopping at the "Mercado Artesanal" where they bought souvenirs for their families.
Day 4: On Monday the teachers pick the kids up from their houses to show them San Joaquin and walk around the town before taking them to the Spanish classes at the CPI Heredia Campus. During the week they are going to be learning the language in the afternoons (4 hours per day). After classes they always have time to play soccer or basketball or volleyball in the fields located in the patio of the campus. Then once the sun starts going down the students get ready to come back to their houses and have a nice dinner with their "familia tica".
Day 5: Today is a unique and special day. Do you know why? Well because today we are going to visit a Herpetological Refuge located in Santa Ana. There they have reptiles and amphibians but not just that. They have other wild animals that were damaged by an accident or by bad people who was trying to hunt them. Some others are in the refuge because their old owners didn´t want them anymore so they leave them behind. They kids were excited to see all those animals. They also had the chance to feed some animals like monkeys, a baby deer, birds, sloths, badgers and turtles.
After an amazing morning with the animals we had lunch in a very yummy restaurant to recharge energy and keep learning Spanish at the CPI School.
This VMS story in Costa Rica will be continued as the days pass by.
Pura Vida!
-Diego Quesada