Camino Claro Blog

…and to my pleasant surprise, I found that a manila envelope had arrived from Pavones, Costa Rica. Inside was a handmade We Miss You card, addressed to me and Raphel and signed by dozens of little hands. The signatures and messages in all colors and sizes, some charmingly illegible, brought tears to my eyes and gave me a feeling of Pavones-sickness (one need only to go there once to know what I’m taking about). It has been over a year since Raphel and I left Pavones to resume our US-bound lives. In that time I know we have both thought about ECC and the community constantly, as well as felt an overwhelming amount of pride and gratitude toward Lisa for carrying on the dream. The card was a touching and thoughtful gesture- thank you Lisa and all the ECC students- Raphel and I miss you too! A visit to our tropical home is in the works for next year…

My tissues are out of reach, so enough with the sap and let’s get on with the updates!

Thanks Volunteers

A big Thank You is in order for several volunteers who have been working with Escuela Camino Claro recently. ECC has flourished over the past five years because of community support, donations, and the hard work of its volunteers:

Jillian, Shooting Star’s substitute yoga instructor, is leaving and will sorely be missed. Her acro yoga and stretching classes were a great addition to ECC’s repertoire.

Thank you also to Laura Guitar and her daughters for your volunteered time and donations of play-dough, books, and coloring books!

Anne, our volunteer from France, has been helping out with Center Time and introducing new, fun activities, such as homemade natural play-dough.

The most recent arrival from Oregon, Listen (and her daughter Rose), will be volunteering at Center Time, Farmers Markets, and hopefully by sharing her computer skills. What an exciting prospect, since computers don’t bode well with humidity and dust… perhaps a revival of ECC’s computer literacy classes?

Multicultural Fair Highlights

This year’s Annual Feria Multicultural was the biggest one yet! The Fair started in 2009 (see blog post here) and aims to bring all parts of the community together while highlighting the multiculturalism that exists in Costa Rica. This year it turned out to be beautifully organized, with 18 schools participating and many countries being represented. ECC represented The United States and Mexico (Lisa’s homelands!) with a theme of “humankind as one big family.” There were performances of multicultural dances, from hula to karate, music, food, speeches, and even a marching band. Thanks to Gayle, Bobby, Cabinas Carols, Kayla, and Gail for their help in raising funds for ECC.

Well done, Pavones!

Otras Noticias

• Farmer’s markets continue to prosper. July’s market incorporated a garage sale to split profits with Punta Banco’s Community Library.
• The long-awaited ECC school store is up and running. Lisa has created a space for students, parents, and the rest of the community to buy and sell books, art supplies, toys, quality used clothes and shoes, handmade crafts, and Guaymi artesania.
• The core classes continue to grow and change: children’s English classes, adult Spanish classes, and all-ages Center time.

Keep in touch for the next post,

Signing off for now

-Jeili (Haley spelled in Costa Rican)