Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Radio Raleigh

Monday, 27 October 2008

Radio Raleigh

Every Sunday at 4pm we at field base host our very own radio programme, the infamous Radio Raleigh. This is a chance for us would be DJs to have a go at entertaining our captured audience of VMs and Venturers desperate for news from the outside world. Sports updates, breaking headlines and of course Hollywood

gossip are all popular parts of the programme as are messages from the Blog!. Radio Raleigh is also a chance for the Alpha groups to swap stories on their progress to date and fill us and each other in with what they have been up to.

ALPHA 1
Alpha 1 is making good progress on the school and after putting in the foundations, they are currently laying the floor and will soon begin erecting the frame for the walls. They were most proud of their new long drop and claim “it is the long drop to beat all long drops” - quite the claim, I shall post photos when they come in so you can decide for yourself.

Mags is now looking forward to celebrating what must surely be a pretty unique birthday tomorrow - while Rosie has been impressing us all with her Spanish, she completed a radio sitrep in Spanish yesterday!

Happy Birthday Mags!!!

ALPHA 2
Alpha 2 – radioed in from the top of a hill where they were wild camping close to some electricity pylons and not much else. Today they had some jungle to tackle – there is a lot of up! Before coasting down to the beautiful town of Copey. Here they will stay in a community centre before heading across to Providencia, then into the jungle for one last bit of up before the descend into what I believe to be one of the most beautiful valleys in the world. Spirits are high at Alpha 2 as the Pacific Coast, their final destination is now within range!

ALPHA 3
Alpha 3 reports that they are making slow but steady progress on their path project. Path making as the group is finding is no easy task, but all are fast becoming experts on machete use. The weather has been much kinder and the group even reported some sun sightings in recent days. Alpha 3 is currently being visited by Ross and Rachel and so I will post more news and photos as soon as they return.

5 comments:

Anonymous27 October 2008 at 14:34
Hello my dearest sister Joanne and Alpha 3. We might be having some snow fall here tonight! Thinking of you all living in the jungle and hoping it's not too frosty where you are...We're really looking forward to seeing some more photos. Did you get the card I made Jo? Hope you liked it. Loads and loads and loads of love, Felicity xxx
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Anonymous27 October 2008 at 18:29
Hey Noud,
How are you doing out there?!
Good to hear you are seeing more sunny spells in stead of heavy rains. It was really great to suddenly hear your voice over the phone last Friday. If I were you I would next time figure out how to make a collect call... ;-)
I just read the newest blog on the website and I am looking forward to the further reports and pictures which were announced by Raleigh.
Okay, Noud (and friends at Alpha 3) keep up the good spirits and enjoy your unforgettable experience.
Love, Ernst-Jan, Maj-Britt, Gijs and Paulette
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Anonymous30 October 2008 at 12:13
A tremendously huge hello to Joanne and Alpha 3 at the Crab's Claw. What an impressive jungle camp you've made. Keep on persevering with the path. It is great to see you with such a happy and relaxed smile. You're absolutely in your element. It's definitely been turning wintry here in Aberdeen. The pupils at the schools come into the class all frozen. So, so proud of you, and we avidly read the news from your group each time it appears. Lots and lots and lots of love from Sandy xxx xxx xxx
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Anonymous31 October 2008 at 16:45
Hey mis respetos en serio para este proyecto RALEIGH.
He estado siguiendo el blog, es genial seguir las aventuras qu estan teniendo aca en nuestro pais,espero la fase de nicaragua.
Natalia Alpha 3, desde aca un abrazo presiosa le deseo mucha suerte, usted ha sido un exito siempre, hace mucha falta aca.
siempre leo como le va al grupo y que han hecho,ahi la sigo.
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Anonymous10 November 2008 at 05:45
Hi Steve, Happy Anniversary!! Every1 is missing you, keep asking me when your home... Thankfully not too much longer now! Love you with all my heart!! Brad said OLIVE JUICE ha The girls send their love aswell.. U have got a hell of alot to catch up on! Keep up the good work babe, I am trying to sort out a nice welcome home for you, make sure everyone is there! Love you babe. Cassie xxx
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Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”