Jan 01 2017
January 1 – Two days to departure
The New Year is here and that means we are 2 days away from departure on the 2017 Costa Rica Jungle Service study abroad course. I’ve been gradually collecting my belongings. This year is different in many ways, for example I’ve got an extra bag for supplies:
The blue bag is mostly supplies and is filled with clamps, measuring tapes, levels, and carpenter squares. This year we planned significant service projects in two communities. It should be interesting to lug that bag through customs, but it will be worth it because I am super excited about the projects! The team learned about a need, planned and thought about what might respond to that need, and developed plans. I ordered some stainless steel hardware for one of the projects. But we have also been keeping another perspective in mind, “what we will learn from the people we serve.”
This service project and the blog you are reading have also changed my preparations. In the picture you can see that I am bringing a camera with me. I have not previously brought a DSLR, but we are really thinking about how we document our work. This blog is one way we are documenting, but I want to think hard about the outcomes of what we do in the end of the course.
The whole course has not changed, we will still read, discuss, and think about conservation, sustainability, permaculture, culture, communities, and service. As a frame for this, we read the UN Sustainable Development Goals and will refer to the during the course. I hope this will offer a grounding framework for considering our experiences and observations.
The next post will come as we travel to Costa Rica!
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