Ben-After an eventful time zip lining, our group headed towards Doña Mara to have an amazing lunch. Immediately upon arrival, we were greeted with warmth from Doña Mara. While we were there we made our own tortillas. Using just corn flour, salt, some fresh cheese, and water; we were able to knead together the tortilla dough, then everyone was able to portion their tortilla. There was a contest to see who made the best tortilla in shape and size, and Emily Polega succeed! Doña Mara then grilled our tortillas, and we were able to enjoy them with some homemade fresh sour cream; which melted in your mouth, or a spicy salsa that really added a flare to the tortillas. Doña Mara also prepared a buffet style lunch for us, with chicken, rice, squash, plantain, and an amazing salad! We then were able to enjoy some freshly brewed coffee, where she grounded her own coffee beans. The coffee was accompanied with a moist cake that was to die for. Overall, Doña Mara welcomed us into her amazing home, and was able to teach us a little about her recipes, and also provided an extravagant feast. This helped open up our eyes, to the life and meals that many Costa Rican’s eat on a day to day basis!
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Meghan- Imagine this: you are standing 650 feet into the air. You are standing on a see through panel above the tropical rainforest, in Costa Rica, right next to an active volcano. And THEN, you’re free falling, gliding overtop of these massive trees that seem to go on forever, and looking over a massive lake that powers 40% of the entire country. That is exactly what we did today. Understandably, a few of us did NOT quickly take to the idea of this, but by the end of the experience, and all seven lines, everyone agreed that it was a memorable experience, and a beautiful way to see the Costa Rican scenery. The zip line trail had some lines that took over a minute to get from the launch to the finish, lines that granted us amazing views of an active volcano, and even took us through a tunnel of trees. The staff there helped us overcome our fears of this experience, and we were all left with a bucket list experience checked off of our list! Hercules beetle spotted in the rainforest after zip lining.
Liz: Yesterday our journey began as soon as we stepped off the airplane. We were greeted by our friendly, adventurous tour guide Edgar. He was accompanied by our bus driver Ernesto who does not speak much English but greeted us with open arms and smiles. We hopped on our bus and headed to a local restaurant where we ate a traditional Costa Rican plate called a Casado. After our first delicious Costa Rican meal we waddled back to the bus and drove for a few hours to our hotel while passing towns, shops, and stunning foliage. We arrived at our hotel, unpacked, then walked through town visiting a few shops including a chocolate shop. After walking through the busy town we met back together for dinner at another local restaurant. Here we ate delicious quesadillas and nachos and walked to a shop afterwards for creamy gelato. Once we arrived back at the hotel some of us went to the pool to cool off from the humidity and then headed to bed for our journey in the morning.
A casado (Spanish, "married man") is a Costa Rican meal using rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla, and an optional entrée that may include chicken, beef, pork, fish and so on.
The term may have originated when restaurant customers asked to be treated as casados, since married men ate such meals at home. Another theory is that the rice and beans and/or the grouping of dishes are married, since they are always together. (Wikipedia) Our local community is our biggest supporter and local individuals and businesses have made our study abroad trip possible. Thank you to our Gold Level Sponsor: Yoder Financial Services. Silver Level Sponsors: North Huron FFA Alumni and Supporters and Co-Operative Elevator (Pigeon). Bronze Level Sponsors: Great Lakes Medical Training (Caseville), Agri-Valley Communication Services, & Northstar Bank. Additional businesses and individual sponsors: Bay Port State Bank, Thumb Educational Services, Team One Credit Union, Maurer Electric, Barb Polega, & Darla Wynn. Thank you for supporting this amazing educational experience for our students at North Huron. We will still be accepting donations up until our trip May 5-12. If you would like to donate send a check to North Huron Schools for Costa Rica or please contact Mr. Ankley at (810) 247-3680 or [email protected]
In a couple short weeks North Huron is providing a unique experience for 10 students by coordinating a study abroad to Costa Rica. Participating students will learn about Costa Rica’s culture, sustainability in agriculture, natural resources, school life in Costa Rica, and will also be able to explore the country. The trip is planned for May 5-12, 2019. From learning a few phrases in Spanish in order to speak with locals to learning what to pack for weather on the equator everyone is getting very excited. After an early morning flight we will make the drive towards the Arenal Area where students will enjoy a once in a lifetime experience visiting the Arenal Volcano. Then we will drive through the cloud-forest where dairy farming is the main industry in Costa Rica. We will then make our way down to the northern plains where yucca, pineapple, and papaya are the main crop. So many different styles of Agriculture. There is so much to talk about from mono-culture, permaculture, biodynamics, carbon-farming, and organic farming. To learn more about our daily adventures while we are traveling we will be posting on our blog! You can help students attend this educational trip with financial help. The estimated total cost of the trip is $3,000 per student. North Huron Schools are still seeking donations to help lower the cost for the students these last couple weeks leading up to the event. We welcome all donations even in smaller amounts. Checks may be made out to North Huron Schools. If you have any questions or are interested in donating please feel free to contact the North Huron Agriscience Teacher, Joe Ankley, at [email protected], or 810-247-3680, or visit http://northhuronag.weebly.com/costa-rica-2019.html.Liz Trudeau: It has been a year since my favorite, biggest, and most life changing trip. People still constantly ask me, ‘Would you go back?’. Before they can even get the last of their words out I cut them of with a loud ‘Yes!’ with a smile of my face remembering every moment and feeling I had while over there. The first thing that comes back to mind was the very first moment I stepped out of the airport in Uganda. I remember being greeted with smiles, hugs, laughs, and handshakes from strangers and faces slightly familiar from photos. I remember seeing Father Daniel open his arms wide and exclaiming, ‘Welcome to Africa.’ At this point all of my fears had vanished. All my fears were pushed aside and all my thoughts were focused on these amazing people and their unique culture. Even though it has been a year since this trip, I still see the effects and new traits it has brought me. Visiting Uganda made me more passionate to help others, more grateful for what I have and what opportunities I am granted with, more compassionate to take into consideration what others have, and with an entirely new perspective on agriculture, other peoples lives, and my own. I will never forget this amazing, life-changing trip. Ashley Gibbs:
I constantly think back to my time in Africa and think has it been a year already. It feels like it was just last week that I waking up to the new experiences of the day. Arriving back home I constantly use the skills I learned there and share it with anyone willing to listen. Having this life changing experience has definitely changed me and how I view things today. It has made me more passionate in helping others and and grateful for the things I have here. I will always remember the things that I experienced and will use them to influence me in the future. This trip will continue to impact me and I will truly never forget it! Today we went on a backstage four hour walking tour at Animal Kingdom. First we got to hand feed birds in the Aviary. Then we got to watch Mac get a bath. Mac is the oldest African Elephant at the age of thirty. It was very rare to see this on these tours, so we were very lucky. Then we moved on to visit the White Rhinos and Cheetahs. After that we visited the thirteen year old Komodo Dragon with arthritis. We got to go inside the insect building and see tarantulas being feed, scorpions, grasshoppers, praying mantises, and walking sticks. That’s only a few of the 150. We listened to a presentation about Gorillas and how one of the four species are endangered. There’s a program in Congo, Africa called GRACE. Which is a reserve to help protect them and it’s also a place for the orphans gorillas to go when they get saved from being poached. The tour was full of various animals, many behind the scene exhibits, and walks through the veterinarian hospitals and research facilities.
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The UpdatesEach week there will be a new post to the blog, that will highlight our students and there projects. It will also give weekly announcements. Archives
May 2019
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