Costa Rica Day 5 (June 1, 2016)

Hello family and friends! Tonight's blog is brought to you by Olivia Bassetti and Sarah Simon-Patches.  Today began as usual with a great breakfast of eggs, rice and beans, fresh fruit, and grilled cheese (that was actually placed on a grill by itself!) bright and early at 7:30 AM. Our day of work also began early with a trip into the village at 8:30. There, we worked with an inspirational group of women who started a community garden and work space where they hand-make gorgeous jewelry. We helped them by weeding the garden and painting their fence. It was here that we encountered the terror of fire ants. These things are no joke. But the experience and the results were SO worth it. There's nothing like seeing how much your work can improve others' lives.
After our morning of service, we came back for a lunch of salad, fish, and rice and beans. Our break after lunch was short, because we had to go straight into science. A meeting with Mrs. Formisano and Mr. Dorsett inspired us to continue to work hard on our experiments and presentations. We worked on these projects until 4:45, when we walked 15 minutes back into the village for a cooking class. Here, we split into groups to divide and conquer making dinner. Some of us made corn tortillas, some made chicken, and others made cheese and salad. We're pretty sure we weren't much help, but we had so much fun and learned a lot about Costa Rican cuisine. After solving a near-impossible riddle, we headed back to Finca La Anita to start gathering the materials we need for our experiments. For most of us, this included a trip into a rainy rain forest to find frogs, and others stayed in the lab to prepare colonies for their ants.
Finally, after a long day, we are signing off and heading to bed. We look forward to the adventures of tomorrow.