Costa Rica
April of 2003 marked a first for the Davidson College Alumni Association as it introduced what I hope will be the first of many volunteer service trips. A group of eight Davidson alumni and family headed to Costa Rica for a week of work and play at an orphanage in the town of Fortuna, located at the foot of the Arenal volcano. Organized through Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), a not-for-profit international volunteer organization, the trip combined physical labor with cultural exchange and quality time with the twelve children, ages 1 1/2 to 11, who lived at the orphanage.
The group stayed at the CCS house in Ciudad Quesada and commuted to the orphanage, or "Hogarcito," in Fortuna each day.
Our group got along wonderfully, and we had a blast working with the kids. When the week was over, I felt like I was leaving summer camp: I had known these people for only a week, but at the same time I felt like I had known them for years.
I was the only one of us who had decided to stay on after the week of volunteer work. Watching the rest of the gang head off in the shuttle for the airport was a real shock. Suddenly, everything was so quiet, and I didn't have our usual minute-by-minute itinerary to guide me. I was at a loss for about an hour, wondering if the intended week of solo travel was going to be a hellish exercise in boredom and loneliness. What does one do in paradise for a week? The sun was shining, I had no responsibilities, and I was carrying enough foreign currency to buy an Olympic hockey team. What to do indeed? In short, I spent the week bumbling around Costa Rica like all the other tourists. I visited Monteverde and Manuel Antonio, touring the rain forests, chatting with folks, and writing.
More pictures from Costa Rica:
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