Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: We have the power!

Tuesday 15 February 2011

We have the power!

Q: What do belief in ghosts, power, happy places and rain all have in common?

A: They have all been the subject of expedition 11C’s “Frase de la dias” (phrase of the day).

In an attempt to improve our Spanish, some of the volunteer managers have established Phrase of the Day where we take it in turns to teach each other random phrases in Spanish.

So far we have learnt:

“?Crees en los fantasmas?” – Do you believe in ghosts?

“Tenemos el poder!” – We have the power!

“Vamos al lugar feliz” – Let’s go to a happy place

“Nuestros nuevos amigos nos acompañan en el lugar feliz” – Our new friends have joined us in the happy place

“No va lluvia” – It won’t rain

“Soy cansado” – I’m tired

"Mi siento como millón colones … – I feel like a million colones

In the spirit of cultural exchange, we intend to challenge each project group to come up with a phrase of the day throughout the expedition - in English for the Host Country Venturers, in Spanish for the other venturers.

At the end of each phase, all project groups will be set a further related challenge, but we’re keeping that quiet for now......

13 comments:

Pili15 February 2011 at 09:05
For Dawn Tennant - Delta 4
Hi Dawn, I hope you are having a brill time and not getting too wet. At least the rain there will be warm! Hope to hear all your news when you get to camp. Lots of lovel. Mum xxx
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Anonymous15 February 2011 at 18:23
For Jessica Bridge-Dunk

Hope all is going well - here it is gloomy, wet and miserable. Really tired as been to see Abdull and Ed tonight and just got back ! Had lovely Valentines meal with Mum last night. Off on our long weekend .. which should be relaxing ! Will write you a nice long letter at weekend full of mundanities .. hope your Project is going well.

Love you lots little one Dad xxx
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Anonymous15 February 2011 at 20:26
For Jessy boon cowler, delta 2 -

Sabali! Sabali! Sabali yonkonte!
Sabali! Sabali! Sabali kayi!
Cherie, je m'adress a toi,
Avec toi cherie, la vie a belle.
I hope you're having fun and not aching too much, I love and miss you so much. All my love, your alex xxxxx
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Anonymous15 February 2011 at 20:27
For Jessy boon cowler, delta 2 -

Sabali! Sabali! Sabali yonkonte!
Sabali! Sabali! Sabali kayi!
Cherie, je m'adress a toi,
Avec toi cherie, la vie a belle.
I hope you're having fun and not aching too much, I love and miss you so much. All my love, your alex xxxxx
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Unknown16 February 2011 at 01:59
Mrs Lauren, Delta 5,
Looking good Lauren. Keep up the hard work and hope you're not getting soggy
Lots of love
Jonny Five-O
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Unknown16 February 2011 at 02:02
Jade - Delta 6, hope you're doing good. Hope your travels all went smoothly. See once you've finished building that community centre gonnae build one in Muirhouse, lots of love Jonny Five-o fae Escocia x
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Marwa16 February 2011 at 08:42
For Duaa Al-Auzairy Alpha 4

Hope you are having a great time! missing you lots and lots! I hope you're getting our msgs from here! we love you and miss you and hope the sun is shining and you're looking after yoursefl and your team! lots of hugs and kisses from the three musketeers!
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Anonymous17 February 2011 at 03:01
For Freddy Soames Delta 5

Hi darling,

Hope you enjoyed the trek up to your destination, I'm sure it must be the most beautiful place, can't wait to hear your news. All fine here, grey and horrible outside as usual. Charlie breaks up for half term tomorrow so it will be good to have him home, we are going to see Vernon God Little at the Young Vic on Wednesday - he seems to be interested in Theatre these days. Will write you a letter over the weekend,
Love you darling, have fun and take care, Mum xxxxxx
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SugaldeB17 February 2011 at 11:43
To: Eliana Leon, Lucia Arias, Mauricio Otarola

Heyys los extraño mucho!!! vivan LA experiencia!!! uds son demasiado pro jaja! los quiero mucho!! y ya me imagino todo lo que estan disfrutando!...

nana: ojala encuentre algun amigo mono o algo asi jaja =) te quiero maaa!

Tuti: dice lan... q la extraña mucho jaja!

Mau: ud mandese!! jaja ya sabe rambo... ud nada mas se manda valiente ;) jajaja

Miss u guys!!!!
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Unknown17 February 2011 at 18:17
To: Eliana Leon, Lucia Arias, Mauricio Otarola

Heeeyy ojala lo esten pasando demasiado bieen! de vdd! fijo esta demasiado chiva xq ya he visto fotos y comments y lo q hacen y toodoo q envidia!! pero disfruten y acuerdense de sus humildes familias y amigos de vez en cuando :) jaja siempre pensamos en uds! ojala llamen prontoo!! Nanaa: esperoo de todo corazon q Mechas este vivo y disfrutando tambn del viaje! cuidelo demasiadoo!! es su Pipo de este tiempo!! espero q su periodo pase y no le afecte en su trabajo como premochilera! la extraño mucho! Maauuu: ud sabe como es! ;) se le extraña tenerlo aqui en la casa como mi cuñado anhelado! jajaj pero de vdd disfrute mucho yo se q si lo esta haciendoo! y la tuuuuts: di beibi disfrute a lo muuucho xq ud tiene menos tiempo!! y fijo aun asi va a estar demasiado boombaa!! espero verla pronto para q me cuente sus experiencias como premochilera tambn!! :) se cuida beib! la extrañoo!
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DAAN VAN APELDOORN GROUP ALPHA 118 February 2011 at 04:56
HI DAAN (VAN APELDOORN) ALPHA GROUP 1
HOOP YOU OKEE
HIER ALLES WEL HAD JE EEN MAIL GESTUURD MAAR DIE SCHIJNT PAS LATER JE TE BEREIKEN
VEEL PLEZIER EN HOUD JE TAAI
V.LIEFS
SABINE RENÉ XX
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Peter Leach18 February 2011 at 23:09
Hannah Leach - Alpha 5
Roo - sold the Land Cruiser for three camels but would probably have got four if you had been bargaining for me and turned on the water works ad the sob stories. sad to see the old "girl" go, I was quite attached.
Don't know how much outside news you get, but the Arab unrest has now spread to Bahrein and Libya, so much is changing - I think for the better, at least Egypt is quieter for the time being.
Spoke to Thomas who is off to Amsterdam in two weeks with Tony at last.
Dig deep! Pura vida chica bonita.
Besos Dad
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Anonymous19 February 2011 at 06:44
Stephan Moehrke Delta 4
hi stevie, hoop julle het baie fun. als goed tuis. clauds leer hard vir eksamen, pap id tuin en ek probeer die huis ad kant hou. alweer muise id kombuis, so pap al die kaste en goed weer uitgegooi!!
baie liefde
mamxxx
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Hi,

Thank you for visiting our blog. Comments are monitored daily and we will ensure messages are promptly delivered to your loved ones. Please ensure you state the name of the person to whom your message is addressed. This is so we don't miss any out. Muchas gracias!

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Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”