Having spent the past two weeks at ITEC and the Cloud Forest in Cerro Punta, where most 
of our time was spent with each other as a group and removed from the outside world, living with our brand new host families has come as a welcome change as well as a great shock.
The Cloud Forest was refreshingly cool, brisk enough that we were all regularly wearing sweaters. Our cabins, high in the mountains, took quite a hike, or bumpy truck ride to reach, but were well worth the struggle. All of the cabins were remote and beautiful,
Cerro Punta
and each was unique in its attributes. While there, we did some journaling for science and Spanish. We also ventured on a few hikes in the cloud forest, and invented some adventurous new dishes for our unending appetites. On the first day we even saw five Quetzals; a beautiful bird that many visit Cerro Punta to see, though few are lucky enough to encounter.
Learning how to weave baskets traditionally used to harvest corn. This man is the only one left in town that makes them. (Pedasí)
Not to say that we have been in complete seclusion from the rest of the world! We spent some time in the town of Guadalupe, where we interviewed locals for our agriculture projects and explored the local stores and cafes. We also befriended the two granddaughters of our incredible cook, Señora Ramira, seven-year old Natali and ten-year old Laura.
At the end of our stay in Cerro Punta, we loaded up a (air conditioned!) bus and began our nine-hour ride to Pedasí. We left before nine in the morning and got here around six in the evening. Once we had reached Pedasí, we met our host families and walked, bags in hand, to our home for the next ten days. The extreme heat was a great shock compared to the cool cloud forest (The sweater I (Liver) bought will not be touched until we return to Boston).
Walking in Pedasí
It is hard for any of us to say much about our host families yet because it has only been one night, but no one has any horror stories beyond a bat, some geckos, and an early wake-up call from some mouthy roosters. Our first day at the Buena Vista Language School passed rapidly, and tomorrow, we reconvene at school at 6:30 in the morning to clean up a nearby beach with the local scout troop.
Until next time J,
Roshni, y Liver