If you ever feel like life is passing you by and that there are  times that you do not  have enough umph to keep going, take a trip to Central America. The atmosphere, the people and the climate will shape you up in no time.  Going out of the country for the first time can be a very frightening experience. The constant rush and anticipation eats at you until you think you might go crazy. But then it stops, and an overwhelming sense of peace surrounds your being, both physically and emotionally. From the beginning I did not know what to expect, was I going to be lost in a language barrier maze or would I be able to scrape by on the mere basics that I knew?  Was there danger after every turn, or would my eagerness to immerse myself detract unwanted attention? What I did not expect was to feel like I had been introduced to a whole new aspect of myself.  There were times that I felt that this is what I was here to do. this study trip fit in perfectly for me at the end of my senior year.  I think that by coming to these parts of Central American, to places that are not focused on the materialistic aspects of life but instead the sheer simplicity of living, is the perfect way to set up the future of who I will become.  I was completely caught off guard when I found myself being not just very interested in the people we were meeting but also very interesting to them.  Especially in El Salvador there were many times that our group was on display for the people to see, but there was no awkwardness. "Miles of smiles" is an appropriate phrase for our reaction to being gawked and waved at throughout the city of Suchitoto. One of the most memorable things for me was being driven though the city in the back of a truck, basically an open truck normally only used for livestock in the US but that in El Salvador is like an open taxi.  Local kids would yell "hello!" So eager to practice their English.  I think that one of the most important lessons I learned was to acknowledge that we really are privileged, but to not feel guilty or disgusted with yourself, but thankful. I know that in my life I take advantage of things like a hot shower, but now I will try and discipline my mind to be more grateful. We live in a society today where things are made so easily accessible to us and now I know better what an impact that has. Now it is your turn to try and figure it out. So jump in with eyes wide open and hearts a poundin'.  - Sierra Connolly

Final days...

As the final days of this amazing trip is coming to a close, I have a few things to say that really stood out to me.  I will talk about them in cronological order as not to confuse you.  Firstly, I would like to begin with a minute quote from a rather profound and interesting person that we stayed with in our first days in El Salvador.  "God is a mystery." I found that to be extremely profound to me, as it put me in a new light.  As with the many other things that Sister Peggy said to us.  I don't want to sound like a hippy in any way shape or form, but I really digged all of the stuff that she said.  Another thing that I say throughout these days and through some of Sister Peggy's stories, was the strong sense of community that the people had for each other.  In the small town of Suchitoto, El Salvador, everyone seemed to know each other.  Considering all that they have been through together (El Salvadorian Civil War) It must have given those involved some sense of togetherness.  I can see now, how hardships can rip people apart, in more ways than one, but it can also bring people together. These people practically had nothing compared to us with our i-pods and tvs.  And to tell you the truth, I really don't think that we are as happy and cheerful as them.  The people here relish at the opportunity to commune with outsiders.  Afer seeing all that I have seen in this country and all of the things that I have seen in other countries, I thought for a long time.  I mean a really long time.  When we left Suchitoto to the beach of Costa del Sol, I practically spent 4 to 6 hours just staring out at the ocean, thinking.  Yes, I have no life, but it seriously was a relly good time to think about things.  I had about 100 too many thoughts to put into this blog, but I will just say something that I though about.  High society is what I believe is the reason of unrest.  If I go further into this, it would make this blog really, really long, and I think that this blog is long enough already.  Also, the fact that I don't really want to sound more and more like a hippy.        Now moving on to less profound and more fun things that have happened to us during this trip. Well, to start it off, I will begin by saying that you should never, ever, ever eat some of the natural Costa Rican peppers whole.  I don't have any experience in that, you can ask Ben about that, but I had a nibble, and it hurt.  It hurt like a word I would rather not say.  I had that pepper in a farm and hotel/resort that was called Finca Luna Nueva.  It was the most amazing and large garden farm I had ever seen.  Everything in that farm had a use other than food.  Well, okay, maybe not everything, but most things.  I tried things that I never would have had anywhere else.  Now that I think about it, I didn't know in the past what Miracle Fruit looked like.  Oh, and if you don't know, Miracle Fruit makes things that are supposed to taste sour taste sweet.  It works! It is a miracle!  I know that this seems like it is kind of jumping straight from the plant kingdom into the animal kingdom, but I saw a sloth!  It looked like a pile of cloth before I saw it move, but it was a sloth!  I even saw a Poison Dart Frog!  Interesting fact, the frog only gets its poison from the food it eats. So if you feed it food that isn't poisonous, then it won't be poisonous. That place was full of surprises, including spiders.  I hate spiders.      Something that was actually rather recent, fun, and interesting was the host stays.  I did some cool things with my host, who happens to be called Olger, pronounced Olher, not Olger.  We kind of bonded in a way, over the four days  I stayed with him.  It was an odd bond, but a bond none the less.  Now, I definetely did not live in the laps of luxury, but I lived in simple comfort.  But,  all good things come to an end, as we had to leave them today.  I wasn't overly emotional about, but I was a little sad that I was leaving.  I tried to think about how he might come here next year and I will see him then and show him how ugly and amazing America can be, but eh.  When you leave someone who you think of as a friend, you always feel some kind of sadness.  But, life moves on.      If you actually read all of that, then thank you.  If you skipped to the end (probably most of you) and read the ending, then shame on you!  I will leave off with what I say will be some short words that will actually end up being rather long.  See, that sentence alone was really long! Moving on, I will end saying this.  Goodbye, live long and prosper, and may the end of this blog lead you to some other new beginning. - Jay Marshall

    So here we are in the airport. It is currently 2 in the morning and our flight is at 6:15 am, and after almost three weeks of traveling in Central America, we're heading home!! Since i've got so much time, i figured i would write my portion of the blog.      After almost three weeks in El Salvador and Costa Rica. i have learned a lot and experienced many things that i have always wanted to do. I have had many different highlights during this trip. Getting sick, scraping up my foot, zip lining, soccer, etc.      The first week, we were at the Centro de Arte Para La Paz in Suchitoto, learning about the history of Suchitoto and the past civil war that they experienced. During our stay at the center, i learned a lot about what we were studying, but the highlight, for me was bonding with my classmates and getting to know them better. Just being more open with them, weather it's a squirt gun fight, or scaring them in the dark. It was just really nice to know the people i haven't quite hung out with yet.     The second week, we left Suchitoto and were on our way to Costa Rica. We stayed at the Finca Luna Nueva lodge and took many tours of the environment around us. That was my highlight for that week because i've always wanted to go to a rainforest and see all of the exotic plants and animals that don't live in Arizona. I love animals and to say the least, I took a ton of pictures.     This week, my highlights have definitely been the last two days. Previous to these two days, we stayed 4 nights with a host family, and mine was pretty awesome. The stay was great and the people were very nice but it was very relieving to just have these last two days to go on adventures like zip lining and white water rafting. In my opinion, those two events were perfect for wrapping up the trip.       Needless to say, it was amazing and I am extremely glad that I took the time and hard work to go to Central America. Still waiting for my flight, it's now 3am and i am ready to go home!!! - Tyrel Wilder

So the three things that I will be highlighting are going to go in backwards chronological order. While in Costa Rica we had the opportunity to stay with host families, and luckily my host spoke almost fluent English. That doesn't mean I wasn't still challenged with the language barrier, but it did allow for some more in depth conversations. I enjoyed sharing similarities and differences in our lives, prompted by questions I asked in Spanish. One specific thing that struck me, was when my host told me how Nicaraguans in Costa Rica are the equivalent to Mexicans in the U.S. However, Costa Rica doesn't put up a border to keep them out, they acknowledge that they won't do the work and the Nicaraguans could use the jobs. Overall, I really enjoyed my home stay and I really appreciate the patience my host family had when I would try and speak Spanish.  About half way through our Central American trip, we took a "break" and stayed at Costa Del Sol, a beach on the coast of El Salvador. We laid around in hammocks and went swimming in the ocean, as well as enjoyed some relaxed and delicious meals. One of the days we were there a group of students (including myself) and an adult, walked up the beach and past some fisherman's homes to a local restaurant. We ate chicken, fish, rice, and tortillas. This was probably my favorite meal out of the entire trip, because it was delicious and so authentic (at least in my mind). Our time at Costa Del Sol was really the perfect midway break. Towards the end of our time in Suchitoto we met with a guide and hiked up and around Guazapa,(a mountain range and sleeing volcano); an area that holds many stories and artifacts from the Civil War. Just a few days before, we had met with some survivors and heard their personal stories and only began to understand the war. I feel like our hike on Guazapa helped answer any questions I had and brought forth new facts and curiosities. A fact/curiosity that I found interesting was the role of the damn in the war. It was essentially the catalyst of the Civil War. The government blocked the Lampa river with a damn, so they could sell electricity to other countries. By doing so, the government was kicking indigenous and Spanish out from their homes and farms, leaving them to restart their lives completely. I found it interesting that there is talk of the government building another damn, which will most likely have the same effect.  I have thoroughly enjoyed all the history I have soaked up, the new vocabulary, and of course the self growth I will be taking away from this trip. I look forward to sharing my stories with anyone who asks; it's hard to write a limited and concise amount when you have so much to tell.  - Serene Bray

Host family reflection

Four days ago in a galaxy far, far away...okay it was in Costa Rica... The students of planet NELA embarked on a journey to meet the people who would be sheltering them from the disastrous elements of the environment. They were forced to board strange crafts these "Ticos" called carros, they are similar to what we know as "cars" only they had a strange type of music coming from the speakers that these people liked to call "Musica Latina". The music wasn't the thing that was the most foreign, though the way they drove these strange "carros" was fast and at speeds they said were 60-90 "km/h". Once they brought us to their habitats, we began noticing strange dog-like creatures known as "chihuahuas". The people were friendly and inviting, and the food was simple and very good compared to some over things the students have eaten on their adventures such as the notorious thing their leaders like to call "spaghetti". One particular incident did occur on this voyage, however. One student whose name will not be unveiled at this point in time for his or her safety. This said student was taken to la famila where activists in a strange local religion whose name will also not be unveiled at this time for the safety of we, the writers. The particular details of this event are not to be disclosed at this time but we can say they were strange. After all these events the students spent a day at the Costa Rican education system which was long incredibly hot and chaotic, the students were known to get excitable when the teacher was gone, not surprising though where we are from it is the same way. After this day the student returned to the place of shelter to stay another night.  The loding and such habitations of our new families are very hospitable and the food is quite deliciosa. - Luke Sharp

Feliz Cumpleanos!

It's my Birthday! We started our day off with a bitter sweet goodbye to our host families, and departed LEBLA and began on a new adventure to our hostel and a day full of unknown surprises. We were told to wear close-toed shoes and long pants and headed into the jungle. We swiftly began our ziplining training a little wide-eyed and then headed out on a bit of a hike up to some of the longest, highest, and fastest ziplines in the world and completed one of the eleven. The fastest zipline was 40kph, the longest 980 meters long, and the highest was a little more than 400 meters high. The views were some of the most amazing I've ever seen, including seeing a waterfall from above and barely sliding through spaces in between the trees to get to the other side.  Although some of the group was afraid at the beginning, the fears quickly faded after the first line and we quickly began to go down the lines with guides following swiftly behind, encouraging us to go upside down, spin, and backwards. By the time we had all reached the final line we all felt fulfilled but wished that there were a series of at least eleven more.  We unhooked our gear and headed towards what looked kind of like a straw hut. Inside were lots of wooden masks and multiple people dressed in indigenous clothing, or lack thereof, saying "Kapi Kapi" to us as we entered. One of the women spoke to us in her native tongue about their culture and their belief that there is an animal spirit within us all. We spent some time with these people and then continued our journey on horseback. The change of scenery was nice and the ride was relatively peaceful despite the bumps and the horse occasionally having a mind of its own.  We viewed some pictures and then headed back to our 5-star hostel to spend the rest of the day relaxing in the pool while it gently rained and enjoyed some good oldfashioned american pizza. A birthday well spent. - Ben Nord

When you arrive into a new country, the first thing you can't help to do is compare it to the one you've just come from and the places you've already been. Even though El Salvador and Costa Rica are only a mere few hours away from one another, they couldn't be more significantly different. Suchitoto, El Salvador, is surrounded delicately by mountains that give it a humid, quiet calm, while where we're staying right now, the Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, is thrust into the middle of the noise-bombarded, hazardous wild jungle. Since we've been here in Costa Rica, I've learned that the jungle doesn't give you any warning before it rains-- it just lets loose large, cold sheets of water. The Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is quite an amazing place-- a farm and lodging based on the ideals of sustainable agriculture laid down by Rudolph Steiner (the man who established Waldorf schools), also called "biodynamics". Biodynamics consist of the process of creating your own compost out of the scraps from the plants you grow, and using that compost to then fertilize more plants, while incorporating the movements of the moon and planets as you go. Seems simple, right? It's a bite more involved than that... Great care is taken with every little thing in biodynamic farming, the compost specifically. To enrich the compost an animal part is taken, such as a deer bladder, cow skull, or cow intestine, and stuffed with some specific beneficial plant to invigorate to composts properties, such as yarrow or dandelion. These plant-stuffed parts are then barried underground for anywhere between 3-6 months before being unearthed and added to the regular compost. Apparently the inclusion of parts from animals is to add a component of living things and motion into the compost's mixture. Another method used in biodynamic gardening, at least here at La Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, is the use of either powdered quartz crystals or eggshells. They grind either of the two up on a sheet of glass until it's extremely fine, and mix it into a specific amount of water that is then sprayed, very minutely, over a large expanse of crops. One thing is for sure: biodynamic gardening is a very thoughtful and intricate way of growing food. I do admit that, after eating it for a few days, the food grown here at the lodge tastes much better that the food we normally eat. This afternoon we meet our host families and begin our 4-day lives with them.  - Brenna Sullivan

Fotos from our last days in El Salvador and 1st days in Costa Rica

Pura Vida!!!

The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Costa Rica is: GREEN. The second and third are perhaps : COFFEE and RAIN, but that is besides the point. When actually experiencing the country, many other words that I did not associate with the rainforest came to mind, such as: BOB MARLEY, NON-EXISTENT STOP SIGNS, PIZZA HUT and POSH HOSTELS. However, after navigating the streets of San Jose in a small bus, crowded with 21 other beings, as our senses were bombarded with foreign smells, sights, and languages through the tiny windows, we made our way to the countryside, escaping the fast pace of the foreign city, and entered the clichéd beauty of the Costa Rican rainforest. As it turns out, even the most talked about and clichéd things still hold their own secrets.   After wandering the jungle, the knowledge of the plethora of medicinal plants that are produced by the rainforest got me to thinking..."why do we even use drugs to treat disease if there are plants that the indigenous people swear cures cancer, malaria, upset stomachs, diarrhea, arthritis..."the list goes on and on. It felt so satisfying to walk among the jungle, seeing how everything used to be produced before companies such as Dole, and Monsanto began to comercialize and mass produce the same products using chemicals, GMO seeds and mono-cultured planting techniques.  Seeing farmers so passionate and happy at what they do, while enlivening the forrest and producing wonderful food and medicine, was so wonderful to experience. They seemed so satisfied with everything they produced, and in many ways it made it taste so much more delicious; perhaps it was the love and care they poured into every seed they planted. Their moto was, "If we make the plants happy, in turn they make us happy and our stomachs smile". These people most definitely live by it and it shows.  Pura Vida! - Feliz Manzanedo

Sam Reid-McKee’s taco blog (btw the title should totally be imma just keep banging on my coconuts)

Hiya! It’s me, Sam, just taking a break from banging on the coconut I made into a makeshift drum to write the blog today… tonight…. Right now… Anyways, this is our second and last full day at the beach and our last full day in El Salvador. Now, I have a bunch of super duper things to say about los guanacos (el salvadoreans), but first I’m just going to cover our day. First, we all woke up relatively late, which for us apparently, is around eight. After slugging across the hundreds of tired miles (about thirty feet normal distance) to the breakfast tables, we nommed on some delicious food, then got ready to take a great boat tour of the estuary. It was very interesting, and it was just a beautiful place. Then, we got back to the hostel and leapt into some rad waves man! We spent most of the day in both the ocean and the pool. After taking some group photos at the beach (where me and Luke got completely soaked by a surprisingly gigantic wave, our shoes are very wet) we sat down to another delicious meal cooked by the staff at this fine establishment. Now at about ten o’clock, I can safely saying that my mind is very exhausted and full to burst with many thoughts, but I do have a lot more to say, so after I walk on the beach with my buddies I may write more.  To be continued with more photos of our amazing adventures...


2 days later:  Hey it’s Sam again, and I’m back from my  walk on the beach! Whew, it was tiring! Anyways, yeah, multiple things got in the way of finishing it, and this is really the first chance I’ve had.

It is now our second day in Costa Rica after getting in at about three to five, and staying a great little hostel in San Jose. We then got up around six, ate breakfast, and at around eight thirtyish we hopped in the bus and drove down to a beautiful little farm in the middle of this dense rain forest called the Finca Luna Nueva lodge. After settling in in some great little rooms, we had a local and organic lunch that looked quite delicious. At the moment it’s is Luke and I here as everybody went on a hike of the rain forest and we’re both a little bit sick. The views here are just fantastic, they have this giant tree house that just looks over the entire landscape and it’s all just really beautiful.

 

Tuesday, May 8th

Ignorance is not bliss, sometimes it can just make the truth hurt that much more when it hits you.  Today, after saying our goodbyes to Centro Arte Para la Paz, our new friend Sister Peggy and all the wonderful people of our beautiful Sister City Suchitoto we visited the Memorial of Monsignor Romero and several other martyrs of the El Salvadoran civil war while in the capital,  San Salvador. We were guided through a long room explaining the assassinations of several priests and American nuns with the Catholic church in El Salvador during the war.  While the exhibit was shocking knowledge, nothing could prepare for the imagery that followed. In another room we were invited to examine police photographs of the assassinations.  We were certainly warned about the extremely graphic nature of photographs and were given the option not to view them.  Having visited the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia this past January,  I thought that I would be prepared for what I would see.  I was not. This hit home for me, Hard.  The initial shock for me was mere disgust at the gore of these photos, but it soon turned to disgust for the people who committed such crimes and the human capacity for such immense, pure hatred.  We were told several times about the US involvement in the suppression of communism in El Salvador during the Reagan era.  Even the suggestion that the US might have had some influence, directly or indirectly, on these killings made viewing these pictures even more disturbing for me.  Maybe I thought that the experience would prepare me for new realizations of cruelty, but the truth is that nothing can ever prepare you for so much senseless destruction of innocence. Numb with feeling, kneeling in the memorial’s chapel , we were left to reflect on the injustices of war, to ponder what might be happening in our world  right now without our knowledge, and ask the big, lingering question of why.

But as the waves continue to pound out a beautiful rhythm on this beautiful Salvadorian beach where we are as I write, I remember that these waves will always keep this rhythm, they always have and they always will. And injustices will continue to be committed, while the waves continue to pound. The world will continue to spin, and sometimes all we can do is understand and remember the past and do our utmost to make sure tragedies like the Salvadorian Civil War will never happen again.

-Kessie Fleischner

            Everyday in this spectacular city has been so completely and totally mind-blowing; it’s nearly impossible to put into words. However, I am going to do my utmost to describe our time in this gorgeous country. No blogs have been put up in awhile due to exhaustion and basically no desire to do anything technology related whatsoever. So here’s a brief summary of yesterday:

            We woke up bright and early with the sun and got ready for a day of work. After a lovely breakfast, prepared by amazing cooks, we loaded up into the truck and set off for a school in dire need of painting. When we arrived we were greeted by smiling faces and curious students. We immediately set to work, scraping off old paint and sweeping up the areas around our site, at the same time practicing our Spanish with them. While sweat dripped from our faces and we painted vigorously, a travesty occurred. It just so happened that one of the crews for a different wall was painting with oil-based paint and it caused quite a bit of commotion. By that time it was near lunch so we decided to take a break and reconvene later.

            After yet another delicious lunch of stuffed squash and rice, we set out once again, but this time we split up. One half of the group returned to the school with the oil paint travesty, and the other half that I was in, traveled to an alternate school out in the country side. From what I hear, the oil-based paint disaster wasn’t actually all that much of a disaster at all and that group managed to finish the job most satisfactorily.

            Meanwhile, in my group, we had been painting the entranceway to the school a brilliant blue, pure as the lapis lazuli stone blue was originally made from. That’s a true fact right there. You learn something new every day, huh? Anyways, while we were painting, we befriended a small child aged around six, named Jason. He was most eager to help out with the painting process and painted a good portion of the trees around us. He, Aubreigh, and I had a small tussle with the paint and all came away grinning and bright blue. Despite the minor distractions we managed to get the job done well and came away from the experience feeling as we though we had helped out this community. When we got home we were utterly exhausted and many of us simply went to bed, though there were a few rambunctious students who stayed up to play some cards.

            The day after service was a R&R day and we spent the day sleeping, reading, and basically lazing around. It was a good day. At the end of that day though we had the nice experience of meeting with the ex-Mayor of Suchitoto,  now Governor, Javier Martinez, and having a wonderful dinner with him. After dinner he told a few of us stories about his days in the war. The stories really hit a chord within him, and us and we triggered an hour-long discussion about the politics and reasons behind the war with one simple question. He said that his views on America were less than good for a while there, but from meeting the people who came to help with the war, such as Sister Peggy; he came to an important realization. “The American government is not the same as the American people”. This really made me think. For a man to be able to understand this even after all of the things that he had been through, was an amazing accomplishment and I am happy and honored to have been granted the privilege of meeting this amazing man.

            Today we went on a lovely hike on a loop up Guazapa Mountain range and Volcano and learned the history of the incampments, including a hospital, trenches, homes and schools scattering the side of the mountain. That was an overly good experience and we are all very tired and ready to go to bed. So this is Colin Levy, signing off, ready to start yet another adventure tomorrow.   We are heading off to the capital city, San Salvador to here more about the civil war, then to La Costa del Sol!  (Coast of the Sun) 

Adios! Hasta luego!

-Colin Levy

"If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough"

 Una Vaca

 Almuerzo

 Tour of Guazapa

 El Grupo

 Suchitoto's new Mayor

Stewart y Kati painting at a local elementary school

Amigas por siempre!

 Una puerta grande

La Mision

Luna llena

            Tonight the moon is full and that is when I am my happiest. Today I have been more at peace with myself than any other day in the almost a week that we have been here.  I have found a new love for Futbol even through an injury. I have also realized that things that make most people sad actually touch my heart in ways that are hard to put into words.  We listened to two people tell stories of the El Salvadorian Civil War and at the end everyone was crying and I felt happy inside. Not because it happened but because from something so sad these people grew and became the amazing people they are today. This taught me that no matter what hardships I go through I can still come out on top and be the best person I can be.

            Today I felt really good because we painted a local high school and elementary school and made it look even better than it already did. We also had the opportunity to practice our Spanish even more because some of the kids who went to the school helped us paint.  Right now there is a Quincinera happening at a neighbors house nearby and we all want so badly to go and dance and fiesta with the locals here.... So we are having our on little dance party in the patio of the mission here.  I am really looking forward to the next few days because we are going to be relaxing after a long busy week; going on a hike in the beautiful mountains of Guazapa and then to the beach. I hope and look forward to the rest of the trip and know that it will be as amazing as the first week has been.

Adios!

Hannah Kelly

          As I walk down the hard cobble stone street I see the kids looking for something to play futbol with.  I am more than happy to play with them.  Futbol is more than just a sport here, it’s a passion it’s a lifestyle like they live to play Futbol.   The El Salvadorian people are still happy, they are very passionate and warm hearted people, even after the tragedies they have lived through.  The locals are the very best, waving to them and seeing their smiles radiate from their face and hearts. It fills your soul and mind with passion for creating change and positive energy. I have seen the hurt and suffering in the eyes of these people, and at the same time I feel the positive and best intentions following up,  and relinquishing their suffering and pain. I love these people. Knowing that this is the first country I have traveled to, I will always keep them close to my heart.

            I know when entering this country we got looks but the locals warmed up to us as we warmed up to them and they let us in, in their hearts and minds. Everything here has a very precise message. I need to indulge in and completely take in the El Salvadorian sprit. The people have a fire and the fire in their soul that is enlightening mine. This has shown me even more and explained to me the natural mind set the Americans have been set or dialed into;  your career is  not always your life,  look more beyond everything in life for that hidden meaning , take control of that and it will openly exceed your own personal expectations and life will naturally bring greater things, greater advances in life – I’m not talking about more power or money or more stuff, merely more sense of family, of community.  See past the first image and see the second and multiple side that everything has.   You can look at one thing hundred times and still see it with new eyes.  I see my life a little differently now and plan on living it that way as well. 

              Adios! Hasta Luego! 

              Kyle Johnson

 En transporte

 En clase

 Gardin escolar

 Escuela primaria en las afueras






A learning target!





 Art from the war at the elementary school

 Feliz y Benjamin

 Testimonials of the massacre at Copopayo.  The man on the right survived two executions when he was 9 years old. Watched much of his family murdered in the jungle for protesting a damn (reservoir) behind him.  Part of the civil war just 20 years ago.

 Northpoint and a local highschool playing futbol!  Mrs. Zych scored a gol.  She wants everyone to know.

A little group bonding?

 Feliz showing off some of her art skilz.

 Jay playing a ? in band class.

 Y las rubias....

 Amistad

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