Sarapiqui

Hey kids!
SO, sorry sorry sorry that I haven't been posting. I swear I haven't forgotten about you, I just have so much going on. Also, I didn't have too much to report for the week I didn't post. Life has been going well, all is right and good. Lots and lots of work and school. It is refreshing to be back in a place that challenges me, but it is also a surprise to realize that an argumentative essay isn't quite as fun to right at a seven-page narrative about eating apple pie.
NOW, however, I do have something to right about other than the norm, which is school and school and studying and more school. (but interesting school!) Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I went to Sarapiqui with my class. I am still exhausted and overwhelmed by everything that went on there. We started out with a guided nature walk through the rain forest. It was very interesting and we saw all kinds of birds, an iguana, spiders, and insects. We saw the bullet ant, which injects poison into its victim, and if it bites a human there can be sever pain for up to 24 hours. Uh yeahh... not getting near that one. But I still think it is pretty neat they can do that. Oh, and we saw a sloth! The area we visited wasn't a park, per say, but more of a protected area. Our guide told us the reason why we didn't see many big animals was because there was not enough room for them to live. This is a recurring issue in the preserved areas of Costa Rica, they are small pockets surrounded by fincas and urban sprawl, so many big animals still lack places to live. Anyways... it was very educational and fun!
From there we all piled into our cramped little microbus and hit the dirt roads to go visit Alex Martinez. This was an unexplainable experience. Alex is an activist who owns a small part of land in Sarapiqui and in his spare time (when he is not out catching illegal hunters in the parks) he rehabilitates animals. Usually they have ether been captured and were going to be sold as pets or they have injuries that were human-inflicted. He talked to us about his experiences and his thoughts on the declining environment. I left with a ton of new ideas blending and mixing with mine. He has a volunteer program there if people what to come help the animals with rehabilitation and give tours of the area. Future plans? I think yes.
The next day we were bombarded with information. Seriously, it was a full on attack that left me exhausted and convulsing on the cold ground with no hope of survival. Okay, maybe not THAT extreme, but it was a lot. In the morning we went to a Dole banana plantation, which was fascinating. Since my semester in Central America Junior year I have had a strong, invested hatred towards Dole and so this was a good practice of mindful speech for me. Carlos, our guide was actually very nice and took us around the plantation showing us how the bananas are grown, cut, washed, and packed. Usually he gives this tour to cruse ship groups, so we were a little more educated than his usual audience. Of course he worked his way around some of our questions but we actually got a good amount of information from him. For example, did you know that the man who owns fox news also owns over half of the Dole's stalks?
After lunch we learned more about bananas. We had a meeting with another Carlos, but he had a very different viewpoint. He was the leader of the workers' union for Dole (which Dole is strongly apposed to) and talked to us about Dole's dirty deeds over the years. We learned all about how pesticides with known side effects had been used on plantations, making workers sterile, and how the land has been used and misused. He also talked a lot about pineapples, which usually have about 18 pesticides sprayed on them and are a crop taking over Costa Rica. They pollute the water and destroy the soil and are a huge environmental threat to the area. This is something for us to keep in mind as consumers when we pick up a pineapple at the store. There is tons of information on it, let me know if you want more.
Moving on... the next day we went to a small organic farm with the best bananas I have ever eaten. Ever. It was amazing to see where our food really comes from. I saw all sorts of different trees and plants and tried all of their fruits. I never knew there were so many kinds of limes! It was inspirational to see that someone is out there making a living and food for his family with environmentally sound means. It gives you hope that you can do it too, ya know? We ate more food than I thought was possible there, but it was so good! It felt like every fruit imaginable was fair game! After the farm we went back to the hotel for one more spectacular meal there (are you getting how good the food was on this trip??) and than has a exhausting processing meeting to try to understand the condensed information from the last three days. After than a ridiculous bus ride home and sleep.
Today I have successfully done very little; homework, hanging out with a few friends, all that jazz, and tomorrow (or today when I post this) I will be back in school. Oh my, so much going on! I can't believe how quickly my life goes and how much I care about it all. I want to have more time to breath, but at the same time I love this fast paced way of life. I feel so alive and passionate and I am trying to stay present. After this week I will be away for a week at an organic farm for my service-learning project. Wahoo! Yep, I get to farm for a week as part of my classes. Yes my life is spectacular. Oh, one last thing, I stupidly forgot my camera for the Sarapiqui trip. If it is any consolation there wouldn't have been many pictures anyways due to how much was going on. So sorry kids, no pictures! But I will take lots and put up a new batch after the service learning. Until than hope you are well! You are all in my thoughts!
xo
Greta