08 de Julio 2012- Aurora

Today, I realized two things from my experience thus far in Costa Rica.

First, there in much more biodiversity here in Costa Rica than I experience on the average day in North Carolina. When we got back from church, before everyone else returned, Maddie and I ended up going on a hike with our housemama's husband, Roberto, an older man and a teenage boy named Andre. We hiked up the mountain that Sitio de Mata is on. There, we recieved a personal tour from the three men with us. We saw so many plants and animals: many butterflies; little fern things that close when touched; two sloths; colorful flowers; anthills with probably thousands of ants in them; at least three different types of ants; squirrels; beetles; birds that make noises like a robot while swinging upside down in trees; sugar cane; rainbow trees; strange, edible fruits; and much, much more. Everything had a name in Spanish that we were told by Roberto or the older man. But  back home, I often only see a lot of trees; some bugs and birds; a few small mammals; and few flowers and butterflies in times other than spring.

Maybe in North Carolina there are many more flora and fauna, but I just don't pay much attention to them. I travel in cars and stay indoors most of the time. In Sitio de Mata, I haven't set foot in a car or bus since we arrived two days ago. I've walked up a mountain and back, walked to the other buildings and back, walked everywhere. It forces me to take notice of the outside surroundings. My camera card is full of the wonders that nature has to offer in Costa Rica. I don't remember the exact statistic, but I know that Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, with thousands of endemic species only found here. It's completely different from where I've lived all my life.

Second, this was the dirtiest that I've gotten in almost six years. The last time I was this covered in mud was when my grade went to the Barrier Islands of South Carolina and walked through the mud up to our necks. My group today worked on digging one of three trenches for the compost center. It involved getting on our hands and knees breaking apart the clumps of dirt and removing weeds, sticks and rocks. My hands still have dirt on them even though I've scrubbed my hands twice already.

There is something about digging in dirt with several other people that is just...fun. I know that I did my best to jump in and make the best of it. We didn't have tools other than the hoe and shovel to dig up the doirt in the first place. Everyone just used their hands to dig. The best part was that I was covered in mud because I was doing it for someone else. As well as being fun, digging in the dirt made me feel good because I was doing something for the people of Sitio de Mata, who have opened their hearts and homes to me and the rest of the group.

We're not even half way through our trip, and already I've experienced so much more than I ever expected, in both the natural part of Costa Rica that everyone can see and the part that not many tourists get to see in living with the people and helping them in return. I can't wait to see what Costa Rica has to offer in the days to come.