Our ride back to Miami.
The view from above (San José -The Capital) not only of what we left behind,
but of what we are taking with us.
We went back out to say our final goodbyes and headed for customs. It was very tough. Everyone (except me of course) including Gabe was crying. Gabe said that he really didn´t want to go home. Verónica, with whom Johanna stayed, told Johanna that they "were sisters and that sisters were supposed to be together."
Our trip home was smooth and non-eventful. Mrs. Goss, Beth and Mimi´s parents were waiting for us. Mrs Goss drove us home and we got to PRHS 2:20. Beth and I then returned the van to Auburn and got home about 3:30. We were very tired but got to sleep late. A special thanks to Mrs. Goss and Mr. Carmichael for helping to get our students back home.
Just a word about our Costa Rican friends. Our group was very touched and impressed by the kindness they showed us. Everyone went above and beyond to make sure our students had a great time in Costa Rica.
I want to give special thanks to two people. First Luis. Luis not only hosted me, for about half the time he hosted Gabe as well. Luis treated me like family. Thanks to him I got a chance to see a lot of Costa Rica. Luis sacrificed a lot in terms of time, money and energy. I am very grateful for his commitment to our students and the program and to me (and Gabe).
Second, Yerlin`s dad. Thanks to him Lucas and I got to go to the Nicaraguan boarder, ride horses and visit a very cool farm. Thanks to him we got a very good price on the zip line and the hot tubs. On Tuesday he spent the whole day taking our students shopping. We are so grateful for his generosity, sense of humor and caring. We will never forget ALL he did for us.
Overall the trip was a huge success. On the plane from Boston to Miami on the Second a man sitting with Cody asked him why he was doing the program. Cody said "to get out of a few weeks of school.¨ The ironic thing is that Cody´s answer to that question would be MUCH different now. I think he had no idea how much he would learn or how touched he would be the country and people of Costa Rica. Each has their story. All are a little (or a lot) different . My purpose for doing the trip is to give students greater motivation for learning a language than to get credit or because it´s required. Each of the participants in the story now has a greater reason for learning Spanish. Each knows a person with whom they would like to communicate with more and get to know better. That, of course, is the whole point of learning another language.
We will do the trip again in two years. Five of the eleven Costa Rican students have younger siblings that will be eligible to participate in two years. I look forward to meeting the same families then.
Finally, I am thankful to Cari Medd, Principal of PRHS, Dennis Duquette, Superintendent, and the School Committee for not only allowing, but supporting me in this exchange. I realize that there are plenty of potential reasons not to allow it; from cost and missing classes, to potential dangers. I appreciate the trust put in me and the vision for what the program represents.
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope it has been interesting and informative. I would welcome any comments you might have.
Until 2012
Skip
Gabe, Luis and me. 
Yerlin;s dad uses this space for his business. 
In the mall Lucas, Yerlin´s dad and Cody.