Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Meet the crew continues

Monday, 1 December 2008

Meet the crew continues

Name: Stu
Highlight so far: Volcano trek, on top for sunrise and beach for sunset
Missed the most: My daughters
Do differently on return: Eat more rice and beans

Name: Stevo
Highlight so far: Completing jungle section and enjoying views above the clouds
Missed the most: How can one miss anything when one is having such an awesome time
Do differently on return: Do more experiences like Raleigh, want less and expect more from that

Name: Lyan Suárez
Age: 23
Highlight so far: Sharing with families and communities in Miraflor
Missed the most: Family
Do differently on return: Appreciate friends and share more time with family

Name: Nicole Brooks
Age: 32
Highlight so far: Sunrise on top of Volcan Cosiguina, making it through trek
Miss the most: Heat at the moment!
Do differently on return: Appreciation of everything of a whole

Name: Scarlett Storr
Age: 18
Highlight so far: Stepping into a whole new world
Missed the most: Family and friends
Do differently on return: Appreciate own lifestyle more, less selfish and more motivated

Name: Noud Louwers
Age: 18
Highlight so far: Happy faces on people's faces when water came out of the tap and children drinking from tap
Missed the most: Friends, food, family and St Nicolas
Do differently on return: Be more active in social life and appreciate things more at home

Name: Asher Murphy
Age: 20
Highlight so far: Surviving trek!!
Missed the most: Family and TV
Do differently on return: More appreciative of small things - be more independent

Name: Joanne Miller
Age: 20
Highlight so far: Meeting new people, camping in the jungle and learning new skills
Missed most: Family and food
Do differently on return: Appreciate things, and use what I have before buying more

Name: Christophe Thomas
Age: 21
Highlight so far: Views on trek have been amazing
Missed most: Friends, food, technology, LS
Do differently on return: More motivated to get on and do things that need to be done

6 comments:

Anonymous2 December 2008 at 11:57
hi emily, just received 3 letters together which was lovely, camelot were delighted with their card.
Its freezing here but getting into christmas spirit made mince pies for you to eat on your return. Girls are getting ready for talent show. Went riding with Alice Flakey stood on my toe which is now black! Looking forward to hearing about phase 3 and some more photo's. Love M xxx
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Anonymous2 December 2008 at 11:57
Hi Al

Happy Birthday! Not sure when /if you will get this so played safe, card etc should be witing for you on 17th . Enjoy the rest of the time you are there. Got your PC Many thanks

love

Nanna and Grandad
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Anonymous2 December 2008 at 13:00
Emily, Delighted to receive your super letter (Posted 24 Nov; eight days transit). We assume it's too late for a letter so are sending this instead. We thought of you tonight as we enjoyed a most delicious Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup - a meal in itself(don't drool too much!).It is turning very wintry so my ramble today was a pot of tea at Brooks' Garden Centre. All your labouring doesn't seem to have done a "Schwarzenegger" for you - luckily.Will tell Auntie Oz the good news which will please her greatly. Enjoy the rest of your trip and we'll see you soon.
Lots of hugs and love G & P
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Anonymous2 December 2008 at 14:08
Hey ali HAPPY BIRTHDAY hope u are having/had a nice day. Well have fun building your trail and i will see you soon and by the way mummy made apple crumble on sunday was tasty :)
love

EMILY
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Anonymous3 December 2008 at 15:56
Hey Niall

I've finally got around to writing a message to you! I hope your enjoying yourself and the weathers treating you well. It's absolutely baltic here at the moment, as i type this it is snowing. Christmas time is definitely coming. I of course expect some ridiculous tales from you about your trip, I'm sure you've got some to tell, you can also hand me the keys to my tree hut which you have built me with your "Niall Mullan" skills! I've been learning about your neck of the woods recently actually, you best not be destroying too many trees or ill go all eco-friendly on you.

Well i hope your enjoying the last few weeks and i will talk to you when you get back. You will most likely see me in your house since i have replaced you as the Mullans new son, haha.

See ya soon.

Josh

P.s. I have got The Mask we are so watching it when you get back as well as Ferris Buellers day off. After the pub of course :P
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Anonymous4 December 2008 at 13:58
Hey para Natalia Guzman! Diganle que bartolillo esta como loco! y que nos vemos el 17 en la entrada, que hace falta poco para vernos y que estoy orgulloso de ella, te amo linda! Saludos a Raleigh! BUEN TRABAJO Y SIGAN ADELANTE!
+
MORITZ
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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?”