Friday, April 5, 2013

Volunteer Voice - Leaving A Mark



Written by Tuuli Haara - GVI Quepos Arts Volunteer



These first three weeks in Costa Rica have been extremely eventful and time has flown by so fast. My first two weeks passed by first with Spanish lessons for four hours every day as well as with general adjusting to a completely new culture and environment. The weather also took getting used to as March was apparently the hottest month and hotter than it has been for years.

At first being at the community center and school was slightly intimidating as my Spanish was very basic and the kids sometimes difficult to handle. However, I realize now that my Spanish improves more and more every day especially when spending time with the kids. Most are very eager to help out with Spanish. In my second week the kids had vacation for Easter and I was able to work really hard, with other volunteers as well, on my first big art project. The kids have apparently been always very interested in looking at the small world map in the community center, so we created a big map on the outside school wall. It was a lot of hard work but in the end it turned out exactly how I wanted it to be and I feel really proud. It also feels good that the kids seem to really appreciate it and are constantly asking questions and wanting to know more about the different countries.

Every day passes by very quickly and there’s always so much to do that I think before I know it I’ll be flying back home. However it feels good to leave behind something permanent, which I helped create and which I hope stays in the school for a long time still. I look forward to my next three weeks in Costa Rica as I feel they will continue to be just as amazing and eventful.

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