Saturday, December 03, 2005

Costa Rica Day 3

Our first day of volunteering, we woke up and drove to the nursing home. We were introduced to many of the residents and workers. We spent all morning there, talking with residents, participating in a birthday party, and helping feed some of them. It was a little hard to communicate due to the language barrier, but it seemed like our smiles and nods were enough to cheer them up. It was in very nice, breezy, sunny location surrounded by mountains. The staff was very friendly and seemed to care alot about the patients. This particular nursing home is for elderly who have been abandoned, but the government pays for their care. Since Costa Rica has no army, they spend the extra money on education and healthcare.

That afternoon we went to the Irazu volcano, which was full of beautiful hills, farmlands, and a crater with a lake which changes colors depending on the core of the volcano. Today it was a sunny day, and the water was greenish. After spending some time looking around the volcano, we came back to Cartago and walked around a bit, grabbing some sweet pastries at a bakery. Then we relaxed the rest of the evening.

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