Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Messages from Alpha 1

Monday, 8 December 2008

Messages from Alpha 1

ROSS - thanks for all support that everyone has shown, cant wait till I
Step off that plane a real man lol oh and hey to my little essex
Man missing you more.

VINCENT - Lieve mama gefeliciteerd met se versaardag sammer dat ix
Er niet bij ben, maar het duort neit lang meer. Tot gauw! Groetses
Vincent.

Abbie - loving the island, swimming every day. And tans coming along. Hope the Christmas shopping’s going well, hehe
Love you all xx.

GEORGIE, hi dad have a fantastic birthday make sure you chill and have a yummy
Meal. Will be thinking of you all day, as with everyday. Give everyone a
Big hug from me, happy birthday pie xxx.

HOLLY, hi dad and everyone just letting you know im still alive. Having a great time.
Hope all is well with you. I miss you, and will call you as soon as I can lots of love hol xxx. `

CAM - Loads of love to Tim as usual - hope the writing is going well, not long till I see you, lots of love xxxx

13 comments:

Anonymous8 December 2008 at 17:15
hey fers!!
how good is your life, a wee island in a lovely warm ocean, while we freeze in the snow. Kim from Raleigh phoned today, wants you to do a couple of presentations when you come home.
Missing you more and more as time goes on fers, cant wait til you come home and take charlie's smelly socks out of your room (there stinking!!!).
Going to put the tree up at the weekend without your usual help, i'm sure i'll manage fine tho.
Can't wait to hear all your stories, you will be like bear grylls, jeez oh.
Only a week n 2 days to go til i meet the MAN of the plane, hope i recognise you and your 4 pack.
Luv u loads, miss u more
mum and charlie.

Hiya Anna, hope u are doing good, fab to have u back x
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Anonymous9 December 2008 at 09:14
Lieve Vincent,

Thank you for your Happy Birthday wishes to me.
Enjoy the last days in the sun/warmth! See you next week!

Mamma
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Anonymous9 December 2008 at 09:23
Ok I have no clue how this blog works and if this messeage actualy will reach Valerie!:) just tell her to come HOME and that i miss her..
Hope shes doin good
Greets from Munich
Marco
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Anonymous9 December 2008 at 09:35
VAAAALERIE COME HOME!!! I VERMISS U RICHTIIIIEEG DOLL!
HOPE THIS COMMENT REACHES U....
xMARCO
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Anonymous9 December 2008 at 12:42
Thankyou Rose for the details of Alpha l's life on San Lucas Island. It's nice to know they have enjoyed some "culture" reading about the island as well as the 5 star crab cuisine!
Good luck with the work, all of you. Make the most of the last few days!
Looking forward to seeing you at Christmas, Vincent.
Happy Christmas to everyone.
Vincent's Grandma
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Bear9 December 2008 at 13:16
Hey Abbs,

Glad to hear the tan's going well, can't say we're getting much of that here, it's freezing GL! Heading home on Thursday, funny how quickly this term's gone but got a few things to look forward to over the hols i suppose. Are you back at base camp this weekend? We'll be able to watch the final of strictly together on the sat when ur back you'll be happy to hear.

Miss you hun, enjoy the rest of ur time on San Lucas and look forward to hearing from you soon. EJ xxx
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Anonymous10 December 2008 at 09:38
Hiya Ross
Its your evil step mom here sorry its been so long have been busy at work and santa shopping!!!
The tree is up with lights on but no decs yet will put those up with lewis this week.
went to your cousin lindsay's 21st party last friday didn't get too drunk like at your disco!!
we are all missing you loads and loads and everyone sends their love only one week to go
it was great seeing you on the webcam a couple of weeks ago you look just the same.
can't wait to see you soon.
lots of love kim xxx
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Anonymous10 December 2008 at 17:18
Hey Ross

Aunti Alli again

Bit concerned mum is going to do the decorations herself! Hope she does it before she goes to Dawsons, otherwise they could be well.....interesting!!

Cant believe your coming home soon. Its flown in. So pleased you've had a fab time. We're all really proud of you.

Lots of love

Alli, Daz and Jess xxxxxxx
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Anonymous11 December 2008 at 02:07
Hi Abbbie
glad that the island is so good - it looks such fun and you all look so relaxed. Dad is looking forward to you using those muscles to help him build walls in St Mawes! Sunny and cold here and -7 c in courcheval so that will be a contrast! The house here has never been so tidy - and xmas tree up too - sad doing it alone!
enjoy the last fews days
We all enjoy reading the blog!
Much Love
Mum - Brandy(the airing cupboard lodger) and Ajax! xx
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Anonymous11 December 2008 at 17:31
hey ross,
a week the noo u will be tucked up in your own bed, how good is that!!!
Can't believe you will be home, dead excited. Stopping for my hols on Wednesday so we can go shopping for prezzies and there are loads of sales on already. Was speaking to bobby "family by the way" heron today, he asked me to tell you that him and helen are so proud of you, that was me greetin again.
Was at haldane school tonight at the panto and there is a picture up of you in primary 1, your'e dead cute in it.
Everyone (list too long to name everybody) sends there love and can't wait to see you.
Hope you are all having a fab time on the island, it looks magical.
Speak soon honey
Luv u 2 bits.
Mum n Charlie.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AT RALEIGH, U R ALL SHINY STARS X X X X
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Anonymous12 December 2008 at 15:54
Hol, glad your still alive babycakes.miss you so much,hopefully will speak to you on your birthday - if not happy birthday and merry crimbo!
i love youuu xxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous12 December 2008 at 18:43
Para Natalia y su crew,saludos!
Ya la quiero de vuelta presiosa,ese viaje a San Lucas se ve genial,te quiero mucho enana
nos vemos pronto, mucha suerte!
Moritz
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Anonymous13 December 2008 at 12:37
Holly

We all really really miss you - looking forward to speaking to you when you can. Hope you have picked up details of your changed flight to BA with Hats.

Love you

Dad Orlando and Ems
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Add comment

Hi,

Thank you for visiting our blog. Comments are monitored daily and we will ensure messages are promptly delivered to your loved ones. Please ensure you state the name of the person to whom your message is addressed. This is so we don't miss any out. Muchas gracias!

Pura Vida!

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How to send your loved ones a message

It's easy. Scroll down to the bottom of the most recent entry and click the comments link. A box will then appear where you can write your comment - please don't forget to tell us who the message is for including the full name and project group of the recipient. You can select name/URL from the dropdown menu to tell us who it's from (you can leave the URL blank if you wish). Finally, click on 'Post Comment' and you're done.

As you can imagine there are 180 volunteers so hundreds of messages for loved ones, no comments go live immediately and have to be moderated for appropriateness, so please do bare with us.

All comments that are pertinent to the post will be publshed and all personal messages will be delivered (even if they don't appear published). Messages mean a lot to all the volunteers; thank you for your continued support.

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?”