Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Alpha 1 - Digging a trench and so much more

Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Alpha 1 - Digging a trench and so much more

Alpha 1 have arrived back at fieldbase after a fantastic phase! We managed to break our target of supplying water to one house in the community and in the end installed taps in not only two houses but also the local school. After 15 days of digging, we had an 1800m long trench and were called ‘record breakers’ by Brigado Sosa, President of the local farmer’s cooperative and link between us and the community. He praised our ‘brigade’ for achieving more on a phase than any other water project in Achuapa. Rhys and Pedro eventually won the rock competition with a rock that took four people to move - unfortunately none of Roly’s rocks quite met the mark. The community gave us a huge send off, with singing and a piñata and many of the local men grabbed the opportunity to ask the girls to dance. We were all very sad to have left the community behind after being welcomed with such kindness by all the families, and there were a few tears, but I think we are all glad to see the back of the rice and beans!

Emily - Alpha 1

8 comments:

Anonymous25 November 2008 at 10:06
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
F A N T A S T I C
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous25 November 2008 at 11:20
Hi Rhys

Well done on the trench .... i'm planning so much for when you get back . Building walls,digging the garden over,painting the fence !! lol. Good luck on your next phase luv Dad,Angela,Cerri,Gran & Grampa xxxxxx
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Anonymous25 November 2008 at 13:51
Hey Noud (and Alpha 1),

Great to see some pictures on the Raleigh-blog. It illustrates your own personal report on www.noudgoesworldwide.waarbenjij.nu. Gives us a better picture, especially the food looks delicious... Michelin star?

Okay, Rambo, ready steady go for the final phase!
Papa is following Spanish lessons in the car to and from work to be able to communicate with you when you get home ;-)
Here are the first results:

¡Hasta pronto!
muchos besos,
tu padre, madre, hermanito y hermana menor
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Anonymous26 November 2008 at 13:01
Well done guys!!! the photos look amazing !! so glad you all had a good time :)
Lots of love liddy x
P.s Ginny mind the bicers and i hope the burger was goooooood xx
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Anonymous27 November 2008 at 12:48
Hi Joanne and Members of Alpha 1,

You have all achieved a huge, huge, huge amount for your local community in Nicaragua. That must have been some special feeling for you all when the taps were turned on, and clean water started to emerge. All of your hard work has had and will continue to have, for a long time to come, a very real and extremely positive impact on all of the people you met. When you drop a pebble in a pond, it sends out small ripples in circle shapes. I think that all of your work amounts to a huge boulder being dropped by a crane into a lake, sending out positive shock-waves in every direction. I loved reading your email, Joanne. Have a well-deserved rest, and roll on your next adventures!!!!!!!!! Missing you lots, and can't wait to listen to your stories when you return. However, there's no need for you to rush. Enjoy every minute of the next 3 weeks, and take your time to take it all in!!!!!!!!!!! You've definitely grabbed this Raleigh experience with all hands and feet...

Lots and lots and lots of love from Sandy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous27 November 2008 at 15:17
Good Work emily and everyone else! Jo x x x
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Anonymous27 November 2008 at 15:33
Wow - the blog has changed!, just a message to all to wish them luck wherever they are, and hope Jungle Jen is well off the ground in her basha and there arent any large creatures crawling around!
Please tell Jen Liz has gone to London for a few days for her Ski Val training. Good Luck, we are thinking of you
xx
dada
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Anonymous27 November 2008 at 17:09
Hi Jen (alpha 1)
So pleased you arrived safely at base and now you are away in the jungle clearing the paths. What an experience. The photos were excellent, the phones were ringing like mad "have you seen Jenny" I thought the one sitting on the rocks with the children - that was really good.
Take care now and continue enjoying the time there.
It is so cold here Jen and frost in the mornings.
I am decorating the xmas tree tomorrow and I have enjoyed myself at Waitrose and M & S.
Looking forward to seeing you soon
lots of love Jen. Thinking of you
Eileen xxxxx
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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?”