Jan 29
The Klong Kheaw Waterfall was nothing like I had expected. Although I’m not too sure what I really had expected, it was so much more. Walking along the trail at first everything appeared the same as any park or hiking trail in America, but when you took a closer look you could see it was much different. The vegetation was so lush as well as beautiful and interesting to see. I think my favorite thing in the woods were the intertwining tree roots all over the ground. Some of them stretched as far as the eye could see. It was so beautiful walking through the paths and looking at all the bamboo trees and exotic plants.
I really loved the part in the vegetation when the path was full of tree limbs and plants over your head like a covered bridge. It looked like something you would see in a romantic movie. The actual waterfalls were amazing. The water felt so refreshing and cooling. At first we walked down into the water and tried to navigate our way through the rocks and water.It was not such a good idea!!
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Dec 09
On Monday the 11th of November, our Sports and Physical Education volunteer Joanna and the Ghana uVolunteer coordinators went to the Kingsby Girls’ Senior High School in Koforidua. The girls at the school are between the ages of 15 and 19 years, which is the “senior high level” in Ghana. The Headmistress, the administration staff and the students welcomed us upon arrival.
The volleyball team and sports teachers of the school need training on how to play volleyball properly. So the headmistress told the students during her welcome speech that Joanna was there to help the team to improve their Sports skills.
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Dec 09
During the last weekend a lot happened in mere 2 days; Joanna always wanted to travel to the South-Western coast of Ghana since the beginning of her volunteering. She was very interested to see elephants, monkeys and crocodiles.
So Annette, Joanna, and I decided that it would be a rewarding expedition if we go and travel to Cape Coast together. Friday 18th of November we ventured off early in the morning and left Koforidua at around 4:30 am to catch the first “tro-tro” to Cape coast.
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Dec 05
This week was fun. Ligia (The new coordinator for Costa Rica), Hannah Thompson (a volunteer from New Zealand), and I visited San Rafael school on Thursday. The school is located in a very nice rural district of San Ramón.
We were invited by Nelson Abarca who is a music teacher at the school, and also one of the advanced students from the community English class.
The purpose of the visit was to get to know the school and give the sixth grade class a new intercultural experience. We started off by introducing ourselves, then Hannah talked about her country and explained fun facts like most people in New Zealand know how to swim, and it doesn’t matter where you live, you will always be about 10 minutes by car from the beach. The students asked her questions about the kiwi bird and the already extinct Haast eagle. She commented on the Maori war ritual presented to the adversaries before every sporting event when a national New Zealander team is competing.
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Nov 28
Marshall Owen ended his English teaching program yesterday. He worked there for 6 weeks and had a great time sharing time with the kids. Marshall worked at La Sabana kindergarten, which is just a couple of blocks from the volunteer dorm. La Sabana kindergarten is embellished with colorful painted murals, which make you remember your own childhood.
English teaching in Costa Rica is fundamental; Costa Rican students start getting English lessons as soon as they enter the public education system. The Costa Rican government understands the relevance of tourism and business for the economy, and for that reason tries to make sure its people are well educated and prepared for the future.
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Jul 06
Today was Kathleen Stanford`s first day at Simón Bolívar kindergarten. We arrived at the project at 7 am and we were welcomed by a small crowd of six years olds. In Costa Rica public education is quite good and children start receiving it when they are 5 years old when they enter the educational system in “Pre-kinder”. Kathleen’s volunteer work was taking place with the kids at kindergarten, or as the Costa Ricans call it “kinder”.
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