Saludos a todos!
We have arrived in Las Mesas! After a morning´s drive from San José on Wednesday, we reached Las Mesas and were greeted by Reína and Lydia, our wonderful cooks, who had prepared arroz con pollo for our lunch. Our house was full of warmth and welcome, and we set up our things for most of the afternoon. The town welcomed us with a fiesta de bienvenida that evening in the local school (where we are also doing one of our community service projects), and we danced, played with the children, and got to know some of our new friends in the town.
Since our arrival, we have begun work on our two major community service projects: helping to build a bodega (a small storage room) at the school and sanding and painting the local Catholic church. We can tell you one thing: these kids are learning how to sand. Walls, pillars, fence posts, you name it! It´s good work, and we take breaks often to play with the local school children, eat lunch, and play soccer or basketball outside.
Yesterday, we took a hike to beautiful local waterfalls, where we lay in the sun, swam, and played in the water. The hike was hilly and hot, but the cool water was so wonderful at the end of it! It was a great opportunity to see the coffee fields, learn about the area, and get some good exercise. Today is our first day exploring San Isidro, the biggest town in our vicinity (about 35 minutes' drive from Las Mesas), where we can purchase supplies, access the internet, and eat at restaurants! Tonight, we´ll have meetings about the students' individual projects, so they can get started on those this week. And tomorrow, back to work!
We´re so happy to be here and settled and working on our projects with the local people, and we only had to take about a moment or two of silence to mourn the death of Michael Jackson.
We hope all is well at home in the States or wherever you may be. Enjoy the rest of June!
Abrazos,
Hannah and Jesús
