Bravo three, Bravo three, the Tico-Nica roar off at wash up resulted in very low craic - please issue energy bombs from the bodega.
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 groups (Grupos Alfa)
The official name for project groups in Phase One. CR&N10B has ten alpha groups who will be out on project from 6th to 26th February
-Basher
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basher 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 three vehicles are officially named Bravo One to Four
-Catie
The agricultural and development research institute on who’s campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at 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&N10B
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expedition 10B, which runs from January to April 2010
-Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Alpha 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 two permanent staff members - the Country Director and Country Project Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the Deputy Program Manager, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer
-Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game
-Long drop (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 Bodega, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost
-MTFU (AHHP!)
An acronym used to encourage people to toughen up, dig deep and rise to the challenge. For example, you might need a large cup of MTFU on a particularly steep bit of a trek
-Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua
-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 ten Alpha 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
-Roar off (Griten!!!!!!)
An energizer which involves two teams (or individuals) positioned back-to-back. ON a count of three they turn to face each other and turns and rrrrrrroars at the opposition, as loud as possible, for as long as possible. Marks are awarded for volume, endurance and accompanying scary faces
-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
-Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase
-Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Ventueres (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
-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?”
