Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: So long, and thanks for all the pork 'n beans!

Saturday, 18 December 2010

So long, and thanks for all the pork 'n beans!

Jingle Bell Rock is looping on the playlist. Fieldbase is abuzz with volunteer managers finishing reports, paper work and the final scrub down. But there is a palpable quiet from the absence of venturers who've left the base.

The motley bunch that were 10L are a lively and spirited lot and will be missed. An exceptional few were recognised at the 10L Golden Mess Tin awards ceremony. Here are the nominees and winners.

Hardcore Trekker - For the venturer who not only trekked with gusto but who looked out for others , offering encouragement and support.
Nominees: Jezreel Belleza, Anna Keen Julia Morongiello, Naz Taner, Will Pawsey, and Michael Michael
Winners: Will Pawsey and Michael Michael

Will Pawsey

Michael Michael

Comedian - For the jester who could make even the most horrible day on trek bearable
Nominees: Graham Smith, Vicky Golding, Garry Pearson, Kenneth Yeung, and Ben Saxby
Winner: Graham Smith

Graham Smith

Most Improved Language - Communicating in a foreign language is hard work. This one is for the chicken who made an effort to quack like a duck.
Nominees: Wiki Perez, Raisa Arroyo, Adam Tickner, Jimmy Arias, Naz Taner
Winner: Raisa Arroyo

Raisa Arroyo

Spirit of Raleigh
Nominees: Eamonn McGuone, Carla Gottlieb, Steve Holmes, Ryan O'Sullivan, Ariana Ubeda, Ema Moreno
Winner: Eamonn McGuone

Eamonn McGuone

Outstanding Female Venturer
Nominees: Raisa Arroyo, Amy Cooper, Corrine Davey, Anna Keen
Winner: Corrine Davey

Corrine Davey

Outstanding Male Venturer
Nominees: Kenneth Yeung, Charlie Gledhill-Flynn, Hiten Mistry, Ollie Grayer, Ben Green
Winner: Hiten Mistry

Hiten Mistry

We often discuss physical and mental challenges at Raleigh but for many of us, the challenge of separation and saying goodbye is just as hard when you've shared, worked, walked, climbed, scrambled, fallen, laugh and cried together. The last 10 weeks have been both intense and incredible. Looking back and thinking about how we mobilised 132 volunteers to complete three treks, three community projects and four environmental projects across two countries seems like a colossal task and I am certainly proud to have been part of this amazing team.

The Last Supper

To our 10L blog readers, thank you for your loyal following, your messages, your patience and your comments. It has been a pleasure.

We leave you with a quote from Dr Seuss:
"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! This is ZERO listening out...

1 comment:

Jen Hammersley22 December 2010 at 08:59
Lou Olverson - Gropu Zulu 6

Hey Lou!!

I hope you're having a fab time and had a wonderfully different birthday!!

I have some very exciting news!...I'M GETTING MARRIED WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Andy asked me when we were in Bruges for our anniversary, very romantic and I cried for about 2 hours!! Wedding likely to be in May 2012 in Italy so save the date!!

Other news...Jen M is having a baby!! due in June timeish, shes very excited too.

Lots of gossip from the xmas pary - Marcus was snogging the new girl Michelle and Keith Richards and Julie Lansdown were at it too in the middle of the dancefloor like teenagers!!

We are getting a new kitten next Wednesday - a little playmate for Gracie so can't wait for that!

Have a fabulous christmas and new year and I'll see you when you get back!

Love Jen Hammersley
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Pura Vida!

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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.

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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?”