The first few months of 2010

It has been an amazing and busy first three months of 2010 - 7 volunteers, 2 field trips, 1 parade, 1 ice-cream party, a web-site launch and countless art projects. Needless to say, it has been a very successful year so far. We wanted to take a moment to re-cap the past few months and make sure we give many thanks and credit to all of our wonderful volunteers who donated one of the most important resources - time. Alex Strecker, our first volunteer arrived in January and helped us kick off our very first day of classes in 2010. Shortly after Maggie Roberts arrived for 9 weeks followed by Morgen and Callan Burzynski for one month. With their help, we were able to launch our website, raise funds to take the children on their first field trip out of Potrero and set up a whole new system for integrating creative arts into the classroom. We were also thrilled to have Sarah Littlefield travel from Ohio to do a week-long workshop with our adult students called "The Story Literacy Project". Sarah documented the lives of our adult women students through pictures and stories. The end result will be a story book in English about the lives of each student. Muchas Gracias to all!

Next up? A dental hygiene class for all the children. Thanks to Laura Dominy for sending 70 toothbrushes and 40 tubes of toothpaste along with coloring sheets, and instructions for good dental hygiene. We are planning to have a local Dentist come and teach the class for us. We also hope to plan another learning excursion to Rincon de la Vieja National Park for a hike on a volcano and lesson on conservation. Stay tuned!

Angelina's Restaurant Field Trip

Angelina’s Restaurant, in nearby Flamingo, invited us to bring some students for a visit. Chef Joe showed us all how pizzas are made and let us choose toppings for our lunch! He also showed us how the big pizza oven works. We drank Coca Cola from old fashioned glass bottles, and had all the pizza we could eat. Then, we got to take a tour of the kitchen. The kids had such a great time eating and learning the different pizza toppings… Ham was definitely their favorite! Abriendo Mentes is so happy to have such nice friends within the community to allow us to bring the children for this wonderful treat. A big thank you from everyone, the pizza was amazing and we all had a lot of fun!

Memories

Volunteers Morgen and Callan ended their month-long stay on Friday. To celebrate their experience, they decided to make their last day an art project day. Along with another volunteer Maggie, they made cardboard boxes for all the students to decorate and use as memory boxes. The students got really creative with their ideas, and had such a fun time using all the different medias! Some turned their boxes into animals using construction paper, while others used fabric and magazine clippings to make a collage. It was a really nice way to say goodbye. Each student received a US Penny to put in their memory box to symbolize the memory of the project itself. It was wonderful to see the kids so happily creating something special for themselves, and with free reign over all the materials! We are all going to miss Callan and Morgen... It was really great having them here to help, and the students loved the extra care and attention. Making memory boxes was a super fun activity! We all look forward to finding out what the kids come up with to put inside their new boxes.

Playa Potrero Fiestas

The fiestas came to Potrero this past weekend, and it was a blast to be a part of it along with the entire community! There were bull riders, bands, dancing, delicious food, and a traditional-dressed pageant for the young girls to participate in. One of our students Alexa, whom Abriendo Mentes sponsored for the event, was the winner! They were all so adorable.
We volunteered to work the entrance each day, and seeing our students outside of the classroom having a ball gave us great pleasure. It was as if the whole community was in such high spirits. Seeing the children enjoy jumping on blow-up playgrounds and riding the mechanical bull was the highlight of the weekend for all of us teachers. The children of Potrero are always so appreciative of any opportunity to simply enjoy being kids. We asked each of them in English "How are you?" and even the youngest responded in perfect and proud English "I'm fine, thank you!" Their smiling faces could be seen around every corner as they watched the bull riders in sheer wonder and delight. They are so loving and sweet, playing jokes and tickling us as we walked by. The fiestas were such fun... Can't wait to get to class today and hear their stories!

Our First Field Trip Outside of Potrero!

What a fun day! Thanks to a few donations from local businesses, we were able to rent a bus and drive to Las Pumas Rescue Center! We saw pumas, jaguars, toucans, and more! The children had a great time. We learned about the importance of preserving wild life, enjoyed a typical Costa Rican lunch of beans and rice with chicken, and rode 2 hours each way on a bus with all our friends from the community. Forty Three people got to come along, including eight parents who were a huge help! Abriendo Mentes had volunteer teachers Morgen, Callan, and Maggie to help us organize this trip, and we look forward to doing excursions like this again in the future! Thanks to all those who contributed with donations; often in the form of discounted rates, free admission, chaperoning, fruit for the animals at the rescue, as well as time and devotion. It was a memorable experience for all!