Saying Goodbye to La Carpio

Written by: Joshua Brown

These past 2 days have been an amazing time in La Carpio. The time spent with all of the locals working on building the roads, moving around gravel, and flattening the dirt has been led to a very sad day to say goodbye. Don't worry though, City High students never say goodbye without some great memories to remember it by.

Today we continued our work on the roads. We were working really hard today, and were able to finish off the block that we were working on for the most part. Today there were many more locals out and about working with us. I saw kids jumping over fences and walls to play in the streets, and families coming outside with tools for us to use.

Unfortunately, however, the power went out as we took a break for lunch. This meant that the concrete machine was no longer useable. This left us with a few hours of working time left, but not much work to fill it with. Instead, we sat around and watched the locals play soccer. The games were the most legit street games I have ever seen. They had exact measurements for goals, they had rules, and they were civil. There was no crying over penalties, they either agreed or disagreed, in fact I even saw them play rock, paper, scissors for who would take/defend a penalty shot. They even had a rule that to start the game instead of taking turns kicking off, they would throw the ball in the air and count to 3. If you touched the ball before 3 was said, the other team got the ball. If both teams waited, however, it was fair game.

Later on in the day I was invited to join in the game with Mike Pittek. The game was fun, but I ended up making a mistake that I probably will never forget. The ball went out of play and a child went to throw it in. He went to throw it so I jumped. He ended up faking me, but it was too late. I continued with my leg to kick it and I ended up falling on my butt. This wasn't even the worst part. As I was in the air I stretched my pants to far, and soon enough a giant hole in my pants appeared located from the bottom of my zipper, to the seam connecting the front and back of the pants. It was truly amazing how I managed to do it, and that it was in the perfect moment for all the kids, and Mr. Z to see it happen. As the day went on several kids would come up to me and laugh, immitate my fall, and mock me. I was the highlight of the day.

At the end before we said goodbye they had a little ceremony for us. The leaders of La Carpio said their thanks, and in return we said our thanks, how we felt about the experience, and donated money to them for more concrete to finish the roads. In additon, they gave us cake and a piñata. The cake was divine, and the idea of us trying to hit this piñata should be entertaining enough for you all. We all failed at hitting it, and of course, me as the story of the day, was forced to finish it off. They made me rip it in half because I was known for ripping things.

Overall, these have been an amazing past few days. My time in La Carpio has provided me with a much better understanding of how other people live outside of America. Despite the poverty of La Carpio, I have never seen a happier group of people. Everyone was friendly, they accepted us into their community, and honestly I can say I have had the experience of a lifetime. If anyone ever gets the chance to visit Costa Rica I highly recommend visiting La Carpio as well. You will never meet a better group of people.