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Sunday, August 9, 2016
On the first day of the team's trip, we met bright and early at BWI Airport for a direct flight to San Jose. Excitement levels were high as the girls met up for the first time in months. After the flight and clearing customs, we met with our guides for the week and were taken on a bus to our hotel for the next two nights. After settling into our rooms we went to a nearby field for team training. After training, we were taken to a surprise dinner, which turned out to be a restaurant on the mountain with an outlook over the city. It was a breathtaking view and made for a spectacular first night of the trip.
Monday, August 10, 2016
On Monday the team came together for breakfast and then headed out to a daycare center for underprivileged children. While there, the team dropped off donations for the children and their school, including cleats and other soccer gear, toys, coloring supplies and money. It was a fun morning spent playing with and getting to know the kids. They were so excited to have us there and it was an amazing experience for both the team and the kids. After lunch, we had our first game at 2:00 against UCEM Alajuela. The game was played in their professional stadium, which was a new and thrilling experience for the team. It was also interesting to learn that here in Costa Rica they will play through anything. Not only did it pour rain for a good portion of the game, but also there was thunder and lightning all around us for the duration of the game. The final score of the game was 2-1 to Alajuela. It was the first game we had played as a team since the spring season, and during the first half we came out a bit slow. During the second half though, we found our rhythm and dominated the second half. After the game we took a group picture and had the opportunity to hear the opponent coach's opinion on the game, and they also selected a team MVP. Coach Benne gave his thoughts to Alajuera, and chose an MVP for them as well. After that we headed back to the hotel for a good nights rest before a day of white water rafting.
Tuesday morning came early with breakfast at 6:00. As it turns out there was a planned protest by the taxi drivers in the city against bringing in Uber, so we wanted to leave early to beat the traffic. It was a two-hour drive to the place we would be rafting and once we got there we were out of the bus and jumping into the rafts. It was an exciting morning, seeing as almost half of the team fell out of their rafts at least once, with a couple of us landing in the river upwards of five times. Although we were all focused on surviving the rapids in tact, there were moments of still water where we were able to enjoy the beauty of the rainforest around us. About halfway through the ride, the rafts were parked and our guides provided us with fresh pineapple and watermelon, and then we were back in the rapids! Only a few paddles were lost, and everyone made it down the river safely. The team ate lunch with the other people rafting and the guides, where we took pictures and thanked them for an incredible, once in a lifetime experience! After that it was back on the bus on the way to the second city of the trip, La Fortuna at the foot of the Arenal Volcano. We hung out by the pool and had dinner at the hotel, ready for a full day tomorrow and our second game of the trip!
