This week was another great week in Outdoor Recreation. Though it was a short week in preparation for a good long weekend, we got a lot of work done and made solid progress in all of our projects. We are really learning how to work with each other and there are constantly people offering to help others with certain projects.
Lee says, “Action packed week full of adventures! From bush whacking, to the peak of Candy Mountain, to hiking through Chagres with the biology team, I learned a lot about the rainforest and the land in which I am surrounded.”
Buddy, Duffy, Hatton, Lee and Carter went on a great hike to the top of Candy Mountain. Each of these hikes teaches us more and more about the area we are living in. Buddy holds an assassin bug we found on the hike. By taking its picture, we were able to go back to camp and have Aaron identify it for us.
DuPre says, “Week went extremely well. Lots of manual labor and tired, happy faces. The honeymoon phase continues in my mind and seeing everyone so positive in the morning always starts me off right. More bamboo is needed and more bamboo will be recovered. Outdoor Rec for life.”
Kristen says, “A torrential downpour on this short week set back construction on the valleyball court. Fortunately, this provided the opportunity to think over and redesign the trench/mote system so that it lasts in the future. Planning, designing and implementing in the rainy season has proved to be challenging but also a great learning experience.”
Forming a congo line for the dance party that we had on the valleyball court. There is no better way to compact sand that to be jumping around with some great friends and wonderful tunes!
Bonnie says, “Lots of projects have been in the works this week. The low ropes course has really taken shape. I was playing around on one of the elements with Sean the other day. It was hard with only two, so I’m excited for when all of us can try. The stage literally broke ground. Posts are in the ground and the foundation should be done this week. The valleyball court is so close to being done. We thought it was finished, but a massive rain storm showed us that is not quite finished. It’s been an exciting week for projects!”
Rachel says, “Our valleyball court is almost complete! Kristin has some final details to complete, but the net is set up and we’re all stoked. On Tuesday, I went with the biology team on a hike to the Chagres National Park, a park that is not what you would see in the states. The hike was amazing – we saw Tucans, a bunch of crazy bugs, had lunch with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.. It was epic! And with the San Blas trip coming this weekend, it’s been an exciting week!”
Calli says, “Visually seeing the progress in the Outdoor Rec Park is completely overwhelming sight. The transformation from Week 1 to Week 5 has manifested from a barren field to an arena filled with community building activities in every corner. The knowledge and ideas behind the implementation of the recreational activities has so far proven successful!”
David says, “This week has been extremely productive! Not only have we been communicating better as a team, but also as a family. One of our members has returned from the states and everyone is ecstatic about it! We would continue this AWESOME week of hard work, but it is time for a small break. Until next time… one love, one heart, one Kalu Yala.”
Sean says, “Yo soy muy feliz porque aprendé mucho espanol en las sietes clases! Yo practicaré mucho mas en el futuro! I’ve been learning so much in Spanish class, which is wonderful. Every morning and afternoon I get to work on the challenge course. We are getting the elements completely fairly quickly and more are to come! San Blas is this weekend, which will be a great mini vacation and relaxation session. Then more work next week! All is going very well.”
Maddie says, “This week was short and sweet. We learning a lot through trial and error and our new park is finally on the map! We had a visit from the architecture interns and are feeling very confident with the changes to our projects! Although I’m excited to be learning Spanish, I’m sad to be missing our on some of the fun and work, but it seems like things are going very smoothly and can’t wait to get back out there full time!”
Adam says, “Even though this week of work only lasted three days I can honestly say that I have accomplished more on designing and planning for the mountain bike trail than any other week. With the map I retrieved from the city, I designed the rough trail loop and hiked to look at the second property where I am proposing construction of the trail. This week is a win in my books as far as work is concerned.”
As you can see, the interns are learning lots and our projects are on the forefront of our minds. Making sure we have lots of fun with all of the hard work – the community we are building is just excellent!
We decided to start our workday earlier (8:30 am) so we could have longer lunch breaks. Now we have time for a card game and a jump in the rio if we want to. Still trying to see if this works better than ending the workday earlier and having that time at the end of the day. Will probably be determined after next week, but regardless, it’s great to know that we are getting up early and ready to start the day off working hard!