Volunteer Voice - Pura Vida

Written by Pauline Fardow - GVI Manuel Antonio Community Volunteer

I don’t know anyone my age back home who hasn’t finished high school. Here in Quepos, Costa Rica it’s almost the exact opposite. In Costa Rica they live by the expression, Pura vida which kind of means, just relax and enjoy the day. This expression not only affects the culture in general it also affects the children and their attitude when it comes to school. School here is optional and you’re free to leave whenever you like. Many children have difficulties with concentrating, focusing and behaving. One of the reasons might be that people live by this expression.  Just like every child, these children needs someone who can encourage them and rewards them for going to school, otherwise it’s just hard work with no pay off. At the same time living in poor conditions, like many of these children do, it’s unsure if their parents will have enough money to pay for the next school next term. Because of that it’s easier just not to care; you never know when someone will take it away from you. 

We run a community center where we help out with homework, play games with the kids and give classes in English. We are trying to give these children courage and confirmation about doing well in school and in life. When I first got here I wasn’t really prepared for the negative attitude against school. Because of this I didn’t really feel appreciated. During my 4 weeks here I’ve learnt that many of these children do care and also that there are many ways of showing gratitude. When a smiling child runs to you with their arms open you know you made a little difference. It’s a fantastic feeling helping one of the boys or girls and later hear them saying thank you and knowing that they really mean it. 

Actually you don’t need to know many words of another language to laugh or make these children gain some confident. They have so much capacity and they are so intelligent, but they need someone to tell them.  Every smiling face makes it worth being here and hopefully one day they start smiling and helping each other and then it’s time for us to leave. I hope these children are encouraged to believe in themselves and in their future, be successful in life without losing the Pura Vida lifestyle.

Volunteer Voice - Pura Vida

Intern Voice - Interns On Tour

Written by Miranda Jones - GVI Quepos Community Intern

So me and the other intern had been in Costa Rica for three months and it was time to go to Esteli in Nicaragua for Spanish school. After a twelve hour bus ride from San Jose we finally arrived. We met our host families and then settled into our new home. The first week consisted of us going to Spanish school in the morning then in the afternoon going to the cigar factory and the local museums. Esteli was a small sleepy town, however we did find an amazaing cafe that sold bagels with cream cheese and chocolate milk shakes. On the Friday we got to experience some local live music. My host family was lovely. At first I thought it would be awkward living in such a small house but it turned out great. We had lovely food and hot water!

Miranda with her host family

The second week was similar to the first apart from on the second to last day instead of staying in school the teachers took us to  a cafe that was all natural; they had natural juices and food, it was such a lovely tranquil setting and we played lots if games that really helped our Spanish. On the last day we cooked traditional food with the teachers and had a small leaving party. My teacher in particular was lovely. She was slightly crazy and taught me every body part-even the arm pit, but she was so nice.  I'm grateful to her for helping me so much. On our last night we went out for our last night out and we went to a bar out of town and then to a club.  It was such a surprise how nice this place was. We were escorted in, brought to a very comfy sofa and served drinks all night, it was great. So the next day it was time to get in the bus and go home, and although I loved experiencing a different country and culture, I couldn't wait to get back to my friends and the children of El Cocal!

Intern Voice - Interns On Tour

Staff Voice - My Friend Andy

Written by Nick Herrick - GVI Manuel Antonio Programs Manager

 
It's amazing what odd things you find yourself doing in a drop in community centre for kids. Although each day has a theoretical structure the likelihood is that each day in El Casa Del Sol will be quite different from the last. Some of the consistency for us comes in the children themselves. We have built up a group of regulars who will most likely be in the casa at some point during the day for a game of uno, help with homework or just a chance to kick a football around.

One of these children is Andy. Andy is 4 years old and the grandson of a lady who cooks lunch for us every day. He sometimes arrives at the casa with his younger cousin but more often we get a message from his mum saying that he is coming along on his little bike and could we let her know that he got there safely. Andy loves his bike and I have spent many happy times racing him making loud and unnecessary motorbike noises and trying to avoid him swerving into me as I run alongside and slightly behind him.

Andy is equally happy playing games inside, though he doesn't always have the same objective as others. During a game of "Guess Who" he routinely picks up his board and turns it around to show the opponent who he is with a look of puzzlement on his face that they would even think to ask whether "William" is a girl or has brown hair. Last week I spent a few minutes making the tower for Jenga while Andy knocked it down before we both decided it would be far more fun to try and pile blocks on each others’ heads. Perhaps him dropping handfuls of bricks on my head whilst giggling was less constructive but certainly no less enjoyable.

It is children like Andy that make our time here so worthwhile. Seeing them enjoy the opportunity to spend time with people who are able to focus on them and show them new games and activities is wonderful, and the knowledge that we are providing a safe place for them to play and learn makes even the hectic days worth everything.

Staff Voice - My Friend Andy

Volunteer and Intern Voice: Learning to Lead

Written by various volunteers and interns at GVI Jalova

As part of the Leadership Course offered at Jalova base, activities and talks are lead by short-term interns and thoroughly enjoyed by all! Here are just a few of the latest events that have been planned, organised and lead by our Leadership Course participants:

Over the past month other volunteers and I have been lucky enough to learn from staff members about different animals in the tropical area I am now comfortable calling home.  This past Friday we were lucky enough to hear from a fellow volunteer some interesting facts about chameleons I never knew about.  Enthusiastic would be an understatement when it comes to describing how Elco, our wonderful speaker and breeder of chameleons, feels about the reptile that is known for their ability to change the pigment of their skin based mainly on their mood.  However, that is not the only interesting fact we were able to discover.  For instance I never knew their tongue is usually about two times the size of their body and without it they would likely not survive much longer than a week.  I also did not know the top of their head is shaped in a slanted way so they can drink water from leaflets since they actually do not drink standing water.  On top of that chameleons can add the shortest living reptile to their repertoire as well!  These are only a few facts our speaker touched on considering the discussion went for a little over an hour.  I did not know much about chameleons beforehand, and it is always nice to learn more about the animals that roam our jungles, especially from someone with mountains of knowledge on the subject.

-Peter, 3 month Volunteer

Elco imparting expert knowledge on chameleons to interested staff, interns and volunteers.

On Friday afternoon we all gathered in anticipation for the scavenger hunt that the short-term intern Suzy had prepared for her leadership project.  In two teams we set off in search of clues placed in and around camp, ending up with a re-triangulation on the beach to rescue our team coconuts! Sateesh made this quite a challenge by digging almost too deep for us to be able to use our bare hands. Clues found, it was back to base to complete tasks we had been set, including creating a basket from natural materials, protecting an egg for a great fall and taking snapshots of a primate (our fellow team member) and a turtle on the beach (not necessarily a real one). Ultimately the event culminated in a tiebreaker task; a team egg toss won by Team 2! All in all a very fun afternoon, Suzy is awesome!

-Amy and Katie, 6 month Interns

Staff and interns digging for the final "treasure" during the scavenger hunt.

For the latest leadership activity, Elco had arranged a fishing competition. We prepared our own hand lines with bamboo and hooks and then we were ready to head down to the river mouth, which connects the ocean and the canals and where we normally can see crocodiles splashing around in the water or laying in the sand ready to hunt. We went out of the national park area and down to the water’s edge looking for the perfect spot to catch all the big fish. Everyone get totally wet and we had so much fun!

Unfortunately we didn’t catch any fish, but thank you Elco for this activity, it was really appreciated.

-Jenny, 1 month Volunteer

Volunteer and Intern Voice: Learning to Lead

Volunteer and Intern Voice: My favourite animal sighting at Jalova was....

Written by several volunteers and interns at Jalova

Another month has ended and we have sadly said goodbye to another group of volunteers. As they were leaving we asked them, and those staying on with us, to complete the sentence “My favourite animal sighting at Jalova was….”. Here are their responses:

Kathy, the most perfect Leatherback Turtle. We met on a moonlit night when the air was right, looked into each other’s eyes and we bonded tight. We will meet again one night.

-Max, 6 month Intern

The Grey Four-Eyed Opossum found hiding in a bag in the kitchen, looking dazed and confused until we released it outside.

-Jan, 6 month Intern

Towards the end of a Biological Assessment Survey on the Juana Lopez Trail we thought we might be hearing Macaws. We waited and waited, and finally four Great Green Macaws flew over us. There were no photos but an amazing and rare sighting.

-Annie, 2 month Volunteer

A Leatherback Turtle, I forget her name, but she was working her prehistoric fins as hard as she could to sweep herself back to sea after a successful laying of her eggs in the moonlight.

-Pete, 3 month Volunteer

18 Mississipi Kites on migration taking a break in a tree early one morning on canal bird survey. A surprising find and a beautiful sighting of these graceful birds!

-Julia, 1 month Volunteer

Seeing four Great Green Macaws fly over after not being sure whether we were hearing Macaws or Spider Monkeys. It was amazing to see these marvellous birds fly overhead.

-Katie, 6 month Intern

When I found my first Red-Eyed Treefrog sleeping on a big leaf. It was the cutest frog ever! Finally she woke up and showed her beautiful red amazing eyes

-Jenny, 1 month Intern

The iconic Red-Eyed Treefrog spotted on an evening forest walk near our base.

Seeing all the three monkey species: White-Throated Capuchins, Central American Spider Monkeys and Mantled Howler Monkeys. Since I have a background in primates, this was pretty amazing for me.

-Amy, 6 month Intern

Spotting a flock of Great Green Macaws on my last survey. It was amazing! Seeing them fly over just blew my mind. However, I can’t leave out the fifty-eight Eyelash Palm Pitvipers I’ve seen, including every different colour morph. Jalova is just so beautiful, it’s like my second home!

-Elco, 2 month Volunteer
 

Too difficult to pick! Trying to think of just one favourite sighting at Jalova is so hard. There are so many new animals I have seen here from snakes on base to turtles on the beach. Yet one of the most unexpected was on our way to the Juana Lopez Trail when a Northern Tamandua ran across the path in front of us and up a nearby tree. We had such a great sighting of it as it sped up the tree and I actually managed to get a good picture! One thing I’ve definitely noticed about the animals her at Jalova is that they always appear when you’re least expecting it….

-Suzy, 2 month Volunteer

A Northern Tamandua after it's mad dash back up into the treetops.

Volunteer and Intern Voice: My favourite animal sighting at Jalova was....