Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Bienvenida to our Tico contingent!

Tuesday, 2 February 2010

Bienvenida to our Tico contingent!

Yesterday we welcomed eight more people to the 10B family - our HCV gang hail from all over Costa Rica from the metropolis of San Jose to the rural idyll of Limon. It's a great opportunity for us to gain an insight into the real Costa Rica, and make some brilliant new chums. Introducing...

Sebas, Fabian, Diego, Aida, Julian & PM Roberto

Roxs, Dani and Su

To kick off proceedings, we got stuck in to a cookery competition. Armed with only a few meagre provisions from the Bodega (our dry store for expedition grub) and a trangia stove, we split into teams of five and had to produce a tastebud-tantalizing three-course extravaganza to whet the appetit of our judges...

Roberto and Oscar hosted the night with a wonderful cookery demonstration

Team One get creative

Team Three opt for five-a-day and flowers

Team Five wowed us with their romantico candle-lit supper

Whatever Team Two lacked in culinary expertise they made up for in ingenuity, using some interesting 'props'

The proof is in the pudding - our hard-to-please judges begin the tasting...

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Team Four! Congratulation guys - your entree of Costa Rica flag terrine, followed by Volcan Turrialba vegetable medley and an trifle exotica was rated top notch by the tasting team.

Next time: A very special announcement...

11 comments:

Anonymous2 February 2010 at 11:57
Emma Phillips
Lovely to see you in the team photo and know that you got there safely! Hope the journey was OK. Looks like a fun first night - did you have to eat your creations?!? Have a fab time,
Big hugs, Mum Dad Thomas Katie and Tilly x
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Unknown3 February 2010 at 21:36
Hey! I´m so happy you are having a great time XD
Keep it up! I´ll be checking this blog to see all these new adventures!
I send u a huge hug...! and take care
See you soon Fabián
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Anonymous4 February 2010 at 16:26
PARA DANIELA FLORES; HOLA MA, ESPERO TE LA ESTES PASANDO PURA VIDA, DESDE YA TE EXTRAÑO, PERO ME CONSUELA QUE ESTAS DISFRUTANDO MUCHO, GOZALA MUCHO PERO CUIDATE TAMBIEN!! TE QUIERO MUCHISIMO Y ME HACES FALTA. UN BESOTOTE. TU MAMA.
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Anonymous4 February 2010 at 16:29
DANI FLORES; SE ME OLVIDO DECIRTE QUE SALISTE BELLA EN LAS FOTOS. MCS.
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Anonymous5 February 2010 at 13:19
For Caroline Bixner, Alpha 2
Hé Muisje, bedankt voor jouw leuke e-mail. Wij hebben erg gelachen. Alles heel positief. Morgen begint dan het echte werk en wij zullen aan jou denken, heeeel vaak. Probeer van de natuur te genieten. Dikke kus van ons drietjes. Liefs, mama
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Becky Jones6 February 2010 at 10:33
Message for Sam Malvern, Alpha 6
Glad you are enjoying yourself lovely! I'm very proud of you....travelling will be a walk in the park after this!! Missing you lots....but looking forward to amazing times ahead. Keep going....have fun, love ya lots n lots, Jones xxxx
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Anonymous6 February 2010 at 21:16
Para Fabián Ramirez fab7rayo@gmail.com
Espero que puedas disfrutar de esta experiencia. Eres un ejemplo para mí. Dios te guarde, Silvia Aguilar
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Paula6 February 2010 at 22:05
Fabian te mando un abrazo gigante, disfruta mucho esta experiencia, y espero que nos veamos muy pronto.
Besos,
Pau
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Francesca Smith9 February 2010 at 08:58
Message for Isabella Vyvyan, Alpha 3. Hello Izzy! How are you? How is your trip so far? Hope you packed your bag well and are loving it! I'm back in Manchester now, have recovered from tonsillitis and am getting back on it! Hope your'e having a fantastic time and taking lots of photographs :) Miss you lots. Lots of love, Frankie xxx
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Sarah Birkenhead10 February 2010 at 10:00
Message to Becca Hulbert

Bet the trek is amazing, how was the jungle section? Really miss you and cant wait till changeover to hear all your news. Thinking of you. Keep strong lots and lots of love Dr Sarah (09L) xxxx
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Anonymous20 February 2010 at 20:00
Dani Flores Alpha seven.
mae yo otra vez! jeje mae q guapa sale en esa foto!!! jaja le está haciendo bn el raleigh vdd? jajaja nena me hacés deeeema falta!!!! :( pero bno yo sé q la estás pasando bn y bueno espero que siga así.. yo mientras estoy aguevada porq hoy había fiesta dnd rolo y no puedo ir porq no sé cm ir :( jeje... Ah mae! dice julito q él ha intentado escribirte y que no ha podido, pero que tmbn le hacés dema falta!!... bueno feilla ahí te voy a estar escribiendo más y si pasa un chisme bn bueno obvio te lo cuento! jajaja varas... Bendiciones! chaop
Tuk
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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?”