Thursday, February 24, 2011

My last post (probably)

Hi all,

It has been a treat providing this blog to parents. Four years ago, my son went on the Italy trip. I remember how much better I felt hearing about the trip in real time. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our travels.

It has also been a treat for me and the other chaperones to meet and spend time with your children. You have no idea how many times we've talked about how great your kids are. It's been a delight to get to know them.

We started the day early today (5:30 am wake-up). The kids performed at a San Jose private Methodist high school. First, their select choir sang for us in a small hall. Then, our kids sang for hundreds of their kids in a large, open gymnasium. All of the choirs sang beautifully, and there was time for the kids from both schools to mingle. We were made to feel VERY welcome.

Then, we took a short bus tour through the center of the city, landing at the Institute of Biodiversity. After lunch, we broke up into groups of 19 (yeah, 19), each with its own guide. We saw short films and then walked through various outdoor "exhibits." Some of the wildlife we saw included: deer, butterflies, iguanas, snakes, turtles, sloths, frogs, ducks, spiders, caymens (look that one up). The girls I'm sitting with in the hotel lobby asked me to tell you that we smelled leaves that smelled like garlic and licorice, and felt trees with spikes.

Tonight, is our last night here. So, we are going out to a well-known Brazilian restaurant to celebrate.

Those of us leaving on the big American flight are getting a 3:30 am wake-up call. So those of you picking us up should expect some sleepy, possibly grumpy, people.

I think the kids are actually starting to miss you all. We're tired and looking forward to seeing you (and our own beds).

Thanks for all of your comments. It's been fun for us to hear back form you as well. We haven't always been able to get every message to every kid, but we did our best.

See ya tomorrow!

7 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the updates ... it has been a treat to follow along on your adventures.

    Safe travels tomorrow ... we can't wait to have you home!

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  2. Thank you so much for your hard work setting up the blog and then updating it every day, David. It has meant a lot to Marisa and me to have this connection to the kids and their trip. I guarantee that we have all gotten more information from this blog than we will from our teenagers...

    And thank you to all the chaperones that gave their time to accompany our kids.

    Chris & Marisa (Oliver's parents)

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  3. Thanks again, David. Wishing you all a safe trip home!

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  4. I'll pile on - David your vivid descriptions and heart warming accounts of interacting with the Costa Rican students are wonderful. What a great experience and it is a treat to be able to share it. Big hugs to Sarah Johnson from her dad.

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  5. David: Thank you your all your hard work with the constant updates on this blog. This really means a lot to all of us-- as (like one of the other parents said) we got more information about the trip thru the blog than what we will from our teenagers.

    Thanks again and have a safe trip back home.

    Jyothi (Meghana's mom)

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  6. Thank you so very much for all of the wonderful notes! It was exciting hearing about your adventures!
    Safe trip home!!!

    Sue LaForest

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