Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: 10G Adventure Challenge: It's Zulu time

Saturday, 31 July 2010

10G Adventure Challenge: It's Zulu time

Our 5 weekers had an amazing 24 hours back at Fieldbase and are now out in the wild on the first night of their Adventure Challenge: a four day trek phase followed by a competitive survival challenge in a secret location!

That means our mighty Delta groups have now been consigned to history - 10G has gone tribal with all new Zulu teams:

Zulu 1: Andy Martin, Bethany Round, Graham Snyder, Emily Marley, Hannah Bishop, Ranald Stewart, Issy Kelpie, Laura Dickinson, Polly Roberts, Randall Vargas Barrantes, Seona Stalker, Valentina Toledo. PMs: Karol Ostaszewski, Oscar Saborio, Natalie Smith.

Zulu 2: Alice Whittle, Daisy Bareham, Ffinlo Moore, Henry Lonsdale, Kara Forsyth, Luke Sparrow, María Gorethy Morales Valverde, Max Kiralyfi, Nicky Gale, Shehlina Karimi, Susannah Sconce, Tim Cook, Vicky Palmer. PMs: Emi Uzar, Sue-Lyn Cashman-Pugsley.

Zulu 3: Alexandra Corrales, Daniel Alpizar Peréz, Glyn Worthington, Hannah Love, Jessica Rivas-Furlong, Johnny Rowles, Laura Buss, Lucile Smith, Samuel Harris, Sophie Hammill, Stephanie Davis, Tim Carden. PMs: Lizzie Phillips, Owen Nicholson, Sarah Neale.

Zulu 4: Alice Mathews, Ariadna Venegas Li, Dan Cowell, Emily Rigby, Esteban Aguilar Güendel, Gaby Cichonska, Grace Abel, Martine Kruseman, Rachel Allen, Rahul Ghelani, Robert Pritchard, William Handy. PMs: Amy Roberton, Eleanor Williamson, Matt Lyes-Wilsdon.

There was a fantastic atmosphere around Fieldbase as the Venturers and PMs caught up with the other groups and exchanged stories from their project sites.

The highlight came with the group skits which were truly amazing. All the Deltas put in an incredible amount of time and effort which really showed in their performance. And in a fiercely competitive contest, Delta 1 emerged victorious. Congratulations to them!

And we've got heaps of photos of our new Zulus preparing to deploy, courtesy of Photographer James:

11 comments:

Anonymous1 August 2010 at 00:49
Luke - Delta 3 - Zulu 2
One more week to go and you've a lovely soft bed to look forward to!!
lots of love Mxxxxxx
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Pauline and Sandy1 August 2010 at 07:27
Zulu 1 Graham Snyder
Hi boy - you look really happy in the photos so I guess the project went well, or you're ecstatic to be back at base. Hope you had a great 21st. Sandy sends her love & we look forward to seeing you in a week. Will said Hi. Just a warning I may not be able to pick you up at the airport, can't drive cos of the wrist. Will try to send you a message via the blog or HQ before you leave. Love & hugs, Mum & Sandy
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Anonymous1 August 2010 at 10:53
Daisy Bareham - Zulu 2

Now I am impressed! I really didnt expect to hear from you but I'm glad I did, it sounds like you've had masses of fun. That is a hell of an achievement, well done. I hope you're proud of everything you've done. Sounds like you're going to have lots of stories to tell, so dont go forgetting any. Enjoy your last week and I'll see you when you get back

Eli
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Jo Round1 August 2010 at 11:06
Bethany Round Zulu 1

Forgot you change to a different letter of the alphabet! Posted a comment under Delta 4 but forgot to say - we shaved Georges head yesterday!! Not bald but only about 1.5 inches all over. Still curly but short. George sends lots of love as do I. M xxxxxx
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Anonymous1 August 2010 at 15:29
Rachel Allen - Zulu 4

RAY!!! Firstly, Happy Belated Birthday! =] You´re 18, WOOP! I´ve really missed our nightly chats, MASSIVE Raleigh catch up needed when we´re both back! Hope you´re having a really amazing time and I´ll keep my fingers crossed for you when you get your results! I want that sheep scarf therefor you have to do well :P Have a great time in Tenerife and we´ll catch up on everything when I get back! Take care smiley =]

Miss you,

Ant XxX
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alexucr1 August 2010 at 16:43
Para: Randall Vargas
De: Angie, Bryan, Stuart y tía Po

Randall, esperamos que estés muy bien y que la estés pasando bien porque eso es una experiencia muy bonita.
Nos haces mucha falta y esperamos que llegues pronto.
Ayer nos pusimos muy contentos cuando te vimos en la buseta.
Randall nosotros te queremos mucho y esperamos que tengas muchos éxitos en la vida, qué Dios y la Virgen lo bendigan y te protejan siempre(1).
Recuerda que lo que tú estás haciendo es algo muy bueno y esperamos que sigas así, de buen hijo, buen hermano y buen primo.
Te queremos mucho y nos hacemos mucha falta.

Atte: tía Po, Bryan, Angie y Stuart

PD: (1) Yo solamente transcribí los documentos... Jajaj... Álex...
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alexucr1 August 2010 at 16:49
Para: Randall Vargas

Hola!!!

Ran, no sabes lo mucho que te extraño, me haces mucha falta que vengas a comer pinto y que me pidas que te peine; bueno sé que te cortaron el pelo, pero no importa eso no significa que vas a cambiar, también quiero expresarte lo orgullosa que estoy de ti, y soy muy creída porque cuando me preguntan ¿y Randall? yo les digo, anda cumpliendo uno de sus sueños.
Bueno Ran, te dejo y no olvides que TE QUIERO DEMASIADO!!!
Ah, y por cierto todos los días me pongo el sombrero y canto SKA en honor tuyo...
Chao...

Te quiere, Mónika...

Negro te quiero mucho mucho muchísimo y te felicito por ser tan valiente y responsable... Te amamos mucho...
Abuena Nena y Abuelo...

Negro déjame decirte que sos mi héroe y estoy muy orgullosa de tí...

Te quiere mucho, Títa.
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alexucr1 August 2010 at 16:53
Para: Randall Vargas (JUANO)

Ran, ya quiero que llegue para darte un abrazote muy grande...

TE AMO... MMMMMMMMM

Atte: Geisel... :-)
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alexucr1 August 2010 at 16:58
Para: Randall Vargas

Eres el mejor hermano del mundo, te amo mucho...

Atte: Judith
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alexucr1 August 2010 at 17:04
Para: Randall Vargas

¡Hola negrito!

Espero que la estés pasando "sólo bueno", me alegro que poco a poco estás logrando todo que te propones, y es la chispa que enciende ese grupo con sus canciones y su alegría...
Aquí nos hace mucha falta ... snif... pero yo sé que se está divirtiendo y eso nos alegra mucho...

Siga poniéndole mucho gana y que disfrute bastante.

Aquí lo espero con chocolate y panecillos...

Te quiero mucho, tu madrina, Emi...

Posdata: Nos hemos soñado con usted ¡¡¡uy!!!, qué bonito!!!! Ja ja ja
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Angela2 August 2010 at 02:54
Emily Rigby Zulu 4
Martha's birthday today, she loved your card, especially the teddy button, and is now off to space school. Looking forward to seeing you my darling girl, just a week to go now. love mum
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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?”