Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Last call for 10G blog messages

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Last call for 10G blog messages

Sadly there are only a few days left for Expedition 10G. Tomorrow our Zulu groups will complete the final day of their trek before beginning their survival challenge!

Most of Team Zero (Fieldbase staff) will be heading out to the secret location to join them for the final days of the expedition so this is your last opportunity to post blog messages and have them delivered to your friends and family before they depart. All messages must be posted before midday on Thursday, 5 August (UK time).

Thanks for all your messages throughout the expedition so far - our Venturers and PMs have really looked forward to receiving them and appreciated all your love and support.

16 comments:

Kim Nelson4 August 2010 at 02:29
Hi Daisy (Zulu 2 group)

I wish I was in your place doing all that you have been doing. It looks as if you have had a great time (albeit hard work) and I am soooooo proud of you. I cannot wait to see you and hear all about it and all the stories you have to tell. (dont say I cant remember like you normally do). What do you fancy for your return home dinner....how about a nice big portion of rice & beans? I'll give Keith a massive big hug & kiss from you on Friday for his birthday. We are all missing you and love you loads & loads & loads. C U soon Mum xXxXxXxX
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Anonymous4 August 2010 at 02:49
Hola Lucile (Zulu 3) & Alice (Zulu 2)

Can't wait to see you XXXX M & D
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Murray4 August 2010 at 04:20
Vicky P, Delta 1, Zulu 2
Hi Vicky. Thanks for your postcard which arrived today. It was also great to see the photos from Nimari on the blog. The school building looks really impressive. You must have all been working really hard. Also liked the photo, which we think is you, chasing the cows from your clothes line! It certainly looks extremely wet and muddy, I think that pale blue waterproof is likely to stay a delicate shade of brown! The 6 hour trek through the jungle also looked pretty hard from the photos. Hope you've enjoyed the 4 day trek and the forthcoming survival challenge. We look forward to hearing all about them when we pick you up next week.
Lots of love , Mum, Dad and Matt.
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Eileen,Bill and Chip Murphy4 August 2010 at 04:29
Hi Sue-Lyn Zulu 2
Hope you are having the time of your life. Weather here is cool. Everyone if fine.
Good look withthe survival challenge. Looking forward to seeing you in 2 weeks. We will have fillet steak and lots os chocolate and fruit ready for you. I am clearing the dekcs for your washing! Aunty Joan says well done and is looking forward to seeing your pictures later.
We are looking to go to Mallow the 20/21 August to finalise Pats estate. Would you look after Chip for a few days.
All our love Mum,Dad and Chip Murphy
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Jo Round4 August 2010 at 04:58
Bethany Round Zulu 1

Hi Bethy. Got your second letter this morning and everything sounds amazing! Not sure about the boa constrictor or crocs though. The kitchen will be totally finished by the time you get home. I am taking some time off to paint. Bathroom floors will be down too!

Apart from that, all is ok here. I am expecting George to turn up sooner or later - he has been off with friends.

Looking forward to speaking to you on the 8th Aug before you go to Canada. It all seems to have gone much faster than last year and I am glad you have enjoyed it so much. Hope the adventure phase went ok, as you say shame about the lack of hotel. Lots of love M xxx (and G)p.s Jasmin has her tonsils out tomorrow (5th Aug)
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Anonymous4 August 2010 at 10:29
Seona (Zulu 1) Can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Hope you've had a great time and made lots of new friends. Have a safe journey home and give me a call from Heathrow if you get a chance. See you on Monday (chicken lasagne for tea!)
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Anonymous4 August 2010 at 11:12
Delta 3, 10 G

Hallo Martine,
Jullie hebben een mooie school gebouwd dankzij jouw hamer! Nog veel plezier de laatste dagen en een goede thuisreis. Hester
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Anonymous4 August 2010 at 13:41
Hannah Bishop Zulu 1 / Delta 1.
Hi HB, so so impressed with what you have achieved and so very proud. Well done to you and all the team! Can't wait so see you at Heathrow on Monday, will have the Fanta and Milkshake ready!!! Love you loads, see you soon. Love Mum (& Dad!) xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Anonymous4 August 2010 at 16:13
To Andy Martin Zulu 1

Got your e-mail and replied but it was 3/4 hour after you sent it so probably missed you. Spotted all your posts and pics, all good stuff. Looks like your having fun, all OK here. Weather in IOM cold, wet and windy. Hope the final stage is going/gone well. Regards to Ffinlo. Take care on the way back and in London. See you soon.
Love Mum, Dad & Co
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Mary Gillingham4 August 2010 at 16:23
Grace Abel Zulu 4
Responding to the last call for messages. I know you'd want to know we're 7th lapwingers in the world (out of 11!) Can't wait to hear about the mysteries of the final week. Have loved the blog, photos, write-ups, great video of the skit and the news, all of which have helped us to feel in touch and get a little taste of an amazing experience. Longing to see you on Monday. All our love M,D,A and J xxx
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Jo Round5 August 2010 at 01:13
Beth Zulu 1

Hi Bethy, incase I forget when I speak to you. You must give yourself at least 2 hours to check in for your trip to Canada as I doubt you will be checking in on line? Can't believe you only have 3 days left. Lots of love M xx
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Anonymous5 August 2010 at 01:16
Hi Nicola, it was lovely to see all the pictures of the new classrooms and smiling as you worked. We have all been busy decorating Richards room and he will be back in by Monday. We are all looking forward to you coming home and hearing all about the trip. Miss you. Love from Mum, Dad and Richard.
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Fiona Sconce5 August 2010 at 01:28
Susannah Sconce 10G Zulu 2

Hope the last phase of Raleigh has been a challenge and loads of fun. So proud of all your adventures this year. Take great care of yourself in your final few days in Costa Rica. Really looking forward to hearing all about all your travels. Lots and lots of love from home. Mum xxx
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Anonymous5 August 2010 at 03:42
Tim Cook Zulu 2,
Hey bro, hope the last stage is exhausting and punishing as I do plan to continue using your gym pass for the foreseeable future! look forward to seeing you home soon as at least then the parents wont be rushing about like excited kids with pics posted up of you! mum appreciated the bday message and had a great day as we went to see Wicked, but you cant really complain given you're in Costa Rica... anyways enjoy the last stage x
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Anonymous5 August 2010 at 04:12
Tim Cook / Zulu 2

Hi Tim
We were so pleased to get your email, which certainly made Mum's day! The blog photos have been fantastic, and it is great to see you all having such fun out there and to read about the project that you were working on. Hope the trek went well, and we all look forward to seeing you on Monday.
Love from us all at Pattens.
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Anonymous5 August 2010 at 14:48
Graham (Zulu 1 / Delta 2)
Great photos - what a lot you've all achieved. Hope the trek & challenge went/go well. Looking forward to seeing you Monday -I WILL be at the airport to meet you :-) Love & hugs Mum xx
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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?”