Halfway point

We´ve been in Costa Rica for only 14 days but it seems like forever. This weekend we are in Torteguerro National Park. It is great. Alonso, our guide for the night walk on the beach actually owns the Internet Cafe where I am writing this from as well. The beach walk was great. We saw one HUGE green turtle walk her way back to the ocean. Then we saw one that was just coming in at the shore line. After that we were able to see one laying eggs and covering them up afterward. It was awesome. There aren´t any pictures though, because light/cameras aren`t allowed on the beach at night because it might frighten the turtles. In fact there was a little lightening last night, an the first turtle we saw going back to the ocean did not actully lay any eggs because of the lightening. This morning, Louise, one of the GVI staff members with us saw 10 little hatchling turtles make their way to the ocean. The pictures she has are breathtaking. It´s been a very exciting week, and a great way to mark our halfway point.

La Fortuna

It does seem a little odd for me to be off on the weekends...but here we are in La Fortuna relaxing a little before our work week starts again. We arrived Saturday afternoon and went walking around town. It is definitely a tourist town, but it's been great. We have had several opportunities to see the Arenal Volcano erupting, which is pretty amazing since it is normally covered with clouds. It first erupted in 1968 and is still active. There's a great little central park area which is a great place to meet people and practice speaking in Spanish with the locals. I met Isodoro who had actually lived in Atlanta for 2 years. Parts of the conversation were probably missed, but overall it was a great moment.

Saturday we went and swam in the waterfall. The water was SUPER cold, but very refreshing. Then we ate dinner and went to the hot springs, and really were able to relax. The water is heated by the erupting volcano, and is just amazing. There were a few falls there, too, which felt wonderful on my shoulders. I was really ready to sleep when we got back to the hotel.

Sunday we got up early for breakfast, and saw part of the closing ceremonies, which was pretty neat. Then 5 of us went Ziplining through the canopy. That was wonderful. There were colorful butterflies all around, and the views were amazing. I was very nervous, but I am REALLY glad I did it.

Pura vida!

EARTH University

WOW!!!

EARTH University is a great place to end our first week in Costa Rica. It is hard to believe that we have only been here for seven days. We have done some amazing things, and continue to do more and more amazing things.

• Visitng Nueva Luna
• Meeting the Borrowers, and getting to go see some of their businesses.
• Teaching English
• Touring the Macadamia Nut Farm where we are staying.
• A few 3 hour bus rides.
• Saw a car accident in front of the restaurant we stopped at.
• Continue to have wonderful weather. (It rains here and there, but nothing like what I expected.)
• Sunrises and Sunsets that are extremely picturesque and colorful.

There is always something happening, and I haven`t had a chance to visit the Internet cafe in La Alegria, where we are during the week. (Hence the lack of posts.) We wake up around 5am, and go to bed around 11pm. (Waking up is pretty easy, since out our window is a beautiful sunrise every morning over the Caribbean Sea, and the machine that cuts the macadamian nuts in half on the farm is acutally attached to our house. So at 6am we start hearing a nice popcorn popping sound.)

So I should probably stick to EARTH in the post today, or else I will be here all night, and I still have a few things to do. (I`ll touch on all the other topics, at some point or another.) We had an opportunity to tour EARTH with Victor and one of the professors, Richard Taylor. He really loves his animals and enjoyed showing us how the cycle of livestock sustainablity works. We also visited the banana packing plant, and the banana paper making facility. Unfortunately, they had already packed up the bananas for the day, by the time we got there at 8:30 am, but it was still very interesting. There were also two Amigos of Earth taking the tour with us. They will be possibly investing in EARTH, so they were really excited to see WPF TM volunteers here as well. Joy Peterson and Genie B. from the Whole Planet Foundation also joined us today to talk about our adventures. They even came to our 2nd Spanish lesson. Zoila, our teacher, lives in EARTH University and is kind of like our Costa Rican mother. We went to her house for our lesson today and she had baked muffins for us, and let us all enjoy the big bowl of Mangosteen she had on the counter. We went around her house identifying items in Spanish. It was great, and we really are learning some Spanish! Pura Vida! I also met Helen from Belize and Robert from Kenya, who are both students here at EARTH. Helen is in her first year, and Robert is in his 2nd. All the students are going on break in the next few days, so there are a lot of good-byes being said. Helen hopes to go back to Belize to open a farm to be a model for other farmers in Belize on how to establish or transition into sustainable farming practices. Robert is going to work on producing biofuels. I am going to try and keep in contact with Helen to have ongoing updates about EARTH University and what projects are going on. If you would like to visit EARTH University`s website it is: http://www.earth.ac.cr/ing/index.php . We are staying at EARTH`s hotel friday night. Everyone down here is amazing, they are like one big family, and they are all working hard to develop sustainable practices and methods for farmers to us in the hemitropics. There are students from 24 countries, and classes are taught in Spanish, even though everyone is required to take English, whatever level they are at, because it is the language of business, and if the students are really going to make an impact it helps to have that skill available to them. Saturday, 23 August, 2008 we will leaving to La Fortuna, but we have to leave pretty early, since the main bridge we would normally go on is out. (The infrastructure is nothing like that of Atlanta!)

We are all taking lots of pictures, and I will post the best once I am back in the United States.

This is also a last minute request for anyone who`s in the Alpharetta area on Saturday to visit Harry`s Farmers Market`s giving grill.

-Ciao-

We are HERE!

I am in Costa Rica at Hotel CACTS. It's a great place. 70 degrees and overcast, definitely not the weather I was expecting. I am SUPER excited. Here's Rebecca on more about it, she's from the Mid Atlantic Region.

HI! I'm form the North Wales Store in the Philly area. THE HOTEL IS DECIDEDLY LOCAL WITH OPEN AIR COURTYARDS and they are covered with beautiful tropical plants and roosters keeping us company. \this is not Westin or Sheraton but it is wonderfully local. \\\\\\\\\we are getting acquainted with the keyboard and each other, the keyboard is tricky / the TM are fantastic and diverse. More later.

MY STORE ROCKS!!!!

Today was my last day at work before I fly off to Costa Rica.   Here's me heading out! :)  (Only 11 hrs and 28 minutes!!!)  It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, because they will definitely be missed.  My plan is to come back, though.  I received a bunch of last minute advice and lots of hugs which made me happy and a little less nervous.  Anyone in the Atlanta-area who is around next Saturday, August 23rd, should stop by Harry's Farmers Market at 1180 Upper Hembree Road-Roswell, GA 30076, for lunch at the Giving Grill.  There will be hamburgers, hot dogs, soda, and other picnic fare.  All money collected will be given to the Whole Planet Foundation.

Thank-you to all who have supported me on taking this adventure!  I will keep you all posted as best I can.

All Set

Thank goodness for a day to get everything done.  I've been all over the place today packing, and printing out extra copies of information, and organizing.  I am a little nervous, but overall REALLY excited.  Can I leave tomorrow?

There's just a few little things that need to be packed, and I am all set to go!  I also can't believe these are the two bags I'll be taking for a month long journey.  (And it all weighs 36 pounds.)  

Contact Information

EMAIL: julie.kretzmer@gmail.com

PHONE: I'll be using a banana phone, if you can reach me, more power to you. :) 

MAILING ADDRESS: 

Julie Kretzmer

c/o Louise Murgatroyd

Apartado 8

Siquirres, Limon

Costa Rica. 70301

Costa Rica in the Olympics

There is a bit of controversy over the Olympic Officials in Costa Rica, however there are still 8 athletes from Costa Rica competing in the 2008 Games in Beijing. The athletes and their events are: 

• Nery Brenes - 400 meter sprint
  
• Allan Segur - 20 kilometer walk
• Gabriele Trana- marathon
• Fredrico Ramirez- Cross country mountain biking
• Henry Raabe- Road Race
• Mario Montoya- 200m freestyle swimming
• Marianela Quesada- 50m freestyle swimming
• Kristopher Moitland- Taekwondo

I watched little bits and pieces of the Opening Ceremonies on Thursday, but didn't see the Costa Ricans.  I wish I knew what the order of the countries were, so I could zoom through the recording I have and find them.

Overall, the visual display during the Opening Ceremonies was tremendous and breath-taking.  The shear volume of people performing together with such harmony was truly amazing.  (Right, Bill?) 

Only one week left until I am in Costa Rica.  At this point, I am not sure if I am excited, anxious, in denial, or in shock.  I really can't believe I am going to be there in 7 days.  Packing is just about done, although there's a few things that will have be added Friday night.  

It sounds like the volunteer projects I will be working on are:

1. English Lessons- Tuesday and Thursday
   
2. Reforestation Project
   
3. Building an Assembly Hall for a nearby community
   

We'll be eating lots of rice and beans, and I probably won't be able to post any pictures until

I return to the United States.

A busy preparing day.

Today has been a HUGE day in getting ready for my trip.  I read a lot more of Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus.  I am so excited to be able to be a part of this process.  I've been playing with the camera from 

work, and I think I will be able to take lots of pictures and share them with everyone, while I am in Costa Rica.  :)  So STAY TUNED!  (For all you Starbucks fans, go ahead and try to identify the the drink and location.)

I also met up with some friends who recently took a trip to Nicaragua. 

 They helped women there make beads out of paper.  The women can then sell the beads to missionaries in the area or some of my friends are making jewelry from the beads and selling them to raise money for the women back in Nicaragua.  The organization they have been working with is Amigos for Christ.  Some of the beads they made are also for sale on etsy.com.  (A really AWESOME website for finding handmade items.)    They shared pictures and lots of fun beads and jewelry they had made.  It was also inspirational to hear how much the experience had changed their lives or more so their outlook on life.  They did recommend bringing some "comforts", like pillowcases, or a small bottle of your favorite scented lotion.  (I'll work on that.)  Overall it was great hearing their story, and gets me even more excited about my trip.  There was also a really cool sunset, but this pictures doesn't do it justice.

So I am off to pack some more.

Ten days and counting...

Hello Everyone!

I am creating this blog in hopes to keep everyone informed about my adventures in Costa Rica. I am participating in the Whole Planet Foundation Team Member Volunteer Program. Each year a few team members from each region of Whole Foods Market are selected to participate based on essays they write. My essay was in the form of a recipe and was super creative. (If you'd like to read it, let me know.) There are programs set up for volunteers in Guatemala and Costa Rica, and I was selected to go to Costa Rica. On my journey I will get to meet some wonderful people, to learn first hand how Whole Planet Foundation is helping eliminate poverty, and to experience a culture I've not know before. Some highlights of our trip with be:

• New Chapter's Luna Nueva farm
• Earth University
• Tortuguerro National Park
• Arenal Volcano
• Grameen Costa Rica Community Meeting with the Microcredit Borrowers

I am really excited to meet the microcredit borrowers. The Whole Planet Foundation (WPF) raises money through Whole Foods Market customers and team members, Supplier Alliance Group (companies who have agreed to donate money to to the foundation and support the WPF in any way they can), and Whole Trade products donate 1% of their sales to the WPF. The money generated is then given as grants to the Grameen Bank which in turn provides microloans, generally $70-$200, to women leaving in areas of the World where Whole Foods Market sources their products. Then women go through a series of challenges and educational sessions before obtaining loans as a borrowing group made up of 5 women. These women are expected to make weekly payments on their loans at these community meetings, as well as, put some money away for savings. The whole concept is to break the cycle of poverty and help these women build a better life for themselves, their family, and their community. If you are interested in learning more about the Whole Planet Foundation please go to http://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/.

Here's some of the gritty details:

I leave Atlanta at 10:01AM on Saturday, August 16th and will return on Saturday, September 13th. Our base camp is going to be in La Alegria, Costa Rica (meaning=joy). I will try to update this blog once a week with pictures if possible.

If you have any questions, let me know. Only 10 days to go...I better get packing!