Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Who's heading to Nicaragua?

Sunday, 30 January 2011

Who's heading to Nicaragua?

The air was still and the tension high in fieldbase last night. Why? Well, after hot showers and a gorgeous BBQ (courtesy of our lovely cook Sandra) to pep us up after jungle camp, the project managers found out what projects they'll be working on for what's known as phase 1 - the first of three sets of projects lasting 19 days.

So, drum roll, and in no particular order, give it up for:

Community projects

Quebrada Honda is a small community near to Achuapa in Northern Nicaragua. The Raleigh team will build a gravity feed water system for the various families in this area. The people have small sesame seed harvests which they sell to a cooperative in Achuapa.

Alpha 5 Quebrada Honda: Mo (medic), Amy and Chris

Who: Mo
From: London
Job before Raleigh: Anaesthetist
How did you hear about Raleigh? Through friends
Special skill: Lunging and high fives

Who: Amy
From: London
Job before Raleigh: Digital marketing consultant
How did you hear about Raleigh? Family friend
Special skill: I'm very bendy

Who: Chris
From: London
Job before Raleigh: Corporate lawyer
How did you hear about Raleigh? I knew a past venturer
Special skill: Hugs

La Colmena is in the Miraflor wildlife reserve which is 206sqkm of beautiful mountainous terrain with various different ecosystems such as tropical savannah, dry tropical forest and mountain cloud forest. During this expedition we will be building a multi-use community centre.

Alpha 6 La Colmena: Ben (medic) and Vicky

Who: Ben
From: Shropshire
Job before Raleigh: Paediatrician
How did you hear about Raleigh? A friend mentioned it when I was saying how I wanted to do something fun and a real challenge
Special skill: Instigating phrase of the day on Raleigh (he's a trendsetter is Dr Ben, look out for a future blog about phrase of the day)

Who:Vicky
From: Oxford
Job before Raleigh: Sales
How did you hear about Raleigh? Through a friend of a friend
Special skill: Coffee-maker extraordinaire

Potosi is a community at the base of the spectacular Cosiguina Volcano with its beautiful surrounding scenery. The community currently has problems with water and the people have to carry water for great distances so a Raleigh team will build a water system.

Delta 5 Potosi: Sheila (medic), Lara and Catherine

Who: Lara
From: London
Job before Raleigh: Marketing and singing
How did you hear about Raleigh? Forum 3 which is a charity exhibition for volunteering opportunities
Special skill: I make a mean energy bomb (having done jungle camp with Lara I can personally vouch for that)

Who: Sheila
From: Dublin
Job before Raleigh: Doctor
How did you hear about Raleigh? Medical conference road show
Special skill: I put up hammocks that stayed up and were waterproof!

Who: Catherine
From: Ambleside
Job before Raleigh: Finance
How did you hear about Raleigh? Careers fair
Special skill: Highly-skilled hummer

El Cebollal: in 2010 the Miraflor area was hit by some heavy rain during a series of tropical storms. Many people were left without access to the outside world and their homes destroyed. On this expedition we aim to work in the communities hit by the devastation to help families rebuild their homes.

Delta 6 El Cebollal: Ali, Natasha and Bernardo

Who: Ali
From: Stratford-upon-Avon
Job before Raleigh: HR manager
How did you hear about Raleigh? We came here on holiday and fell in love with Costa Rica so looked for charity work here
Special skill: I've learnt to live with Ivan (our deputy programme manager) without killing him (Ivan vouches this is a very special skill)

Who: Bernardo
From: Belen, Costa Rica
Job before Raleigh: Tech support
How did you hear about Raleigh?Volunteer mailing list at the University of Costa Rica
Special skill: Slacklining (a way cool type of 'slack' tight-rope walking between trees)

Who: Natasha
From: Malawi then Maidenhead
Job before Raleigh: Pharmaceuticals
How did you hear about Raleigh? I found Raleigh on the internet when I was researching charities who were involved in sustainable projects
Special skill: I'm a real water baby

Adventure projects

Momotombo trek: this is a brand new trek which starts in the Miraflor reserve before heading to the Estanzuela waterfall and wildlife reserve. It passes through remote rural communities.

Alpha 2 Momotombo trek: Sarah (medic) and Ivan

Who:Ivan
From:Basingstoke
Job before Raleigh:IT security specialist
How did you hear about Raleigh? Travel show
Special skill:Acrobatic rock n' roll

Who: Sarah
From:Worcester
Job before Raleigh:Doctor
How did you hear about Raleigh?Friends and family
Special skill: I can curl my tongue into a flowery shape (picture below)

And that's it for Nicaragua folks! Find out who's working where in Costa Rica next time.

6 comments:

Nacho1 February 2011 at 06:15
Bernie!!!!!!!!!! Mae guevon yo pense que vos ibas pa la miniexpedicion!!!! mae que solido que ande ahi!!! ud no sabe la contentera q me da!! q envidia!!! disfrute montones ser Pm es mejor q venturer!! va a hacer toda la vara??? escribame apenas pueda banano!!!
toa!
Nacho
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Andres1 February 2011 at 09:04
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! It's cool. I'm very happy of know who are working in this expedition!!...

THOSE IN THE 11-C ARE ALL PURA VIDAAAAA!!! =D....
GO!!!
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Fiona1 February 2011 at 12:12
Loads of good luck to everyone on 11C as you start this exciting adventure! Enjoy!

To Natasha: Special wishes to you and everyone involved with Delta 6! The project sounds really worthwhile - tons of good luck. Thinking of you, xx
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Anonymous1 February 2011 at 13:32
NICE!!! awesome team!! ...se escucha como vienen los de la 11C, los de la 11C son todos pura vida! za za za za Zaaaaaaaaa !!!

Yendry
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Cathy1 February 2011 at 15:22
Jess: hope you have a brilliant 30th birthday tomorrow! I'm sure everyone will help make it rather memorable... even if there aren't any meringues! Lots of love Ma XXXX
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Anonymous3 February 2011 at 14:08
Ivan !
Awesome pics. Acrobatic rock and roll huh!
Luv ya Sam

Have a great trip to everyone
ReplyDelete
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Hi,

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Pura Vida!

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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?”