9
Location: Golfito
Today we woke up at 8:00 and arrived at the school at around 9:30. Waiting for us was a group of native Costa Rican children ranging in age from four to eleven years old. Our group of 18 was divided into two; one group would play with the children in the morning while the other group worked. I (Bella) played with a group of three eleven-year-olds named Rosabel, Emily, and Hilary. Even though the language barrier was very much apparent and forced us to resort to miming actions and drawing pictures, we spent the morning laughing, sharing details about our respective lives and playing lively games of tic-tac-toe.
Meanwhile, I (Colombe) spent my morning sweating in the sun, sifting dirt so that it was smooth and fine. I also spent my morning carrying buckets of dirt from one end of the school to the other and shoveling dirt into wheelbarrows for use. After all the iced tea had been drunk and the cookies are eaten, we said goodbye to our new friends and began working at the school. The walls had been constructed but the floor was rocky and uneven and made of dirt. As a result, we spent the greater part of the afternoon stooping to pick large rocks from the soil and sifting dirt. Additionally, we worked in shifts to act as our own cement mixer, using shovels and our hands to turn the dirt and cement until it was a single, consistent brown-grey color. After lunch, we began to pour the cement and dirt mixture onto the floor of the soon to be a schoolhouse. We worked until past sunset to create and cover the rocky and uneven dirt with a smooth cement floor. After arriving home at close to 7:30 pm, we ate dinner and were allowed our phones for an hour. At 9:30, each of us fell into our beds, exhausted at this hard day of work and proud of what we did.