Costa Rica 2014 Señora Huff Señora Brooks Ms. Carothers

Travel Chaperones  Sra. Huff  Sra. Brooks  Ms. Carothers

Travel Chaperone  Sra. Huff  Ilsley, Anne  Ko, Ji Hoon  Laman, Russell  Lewis, Vanessa  Liu, Jonathan  McClave, Fiona  McKinley, Emily  McKinley, Katherine  Newton-Chen, Nicholas

Travel Chaperone  Sra. Brooks  Andersen, Victoria  Bruce, Benjamin  Garbis, Shira  Geva, Adi  Goddard, Gabrielle  Harris, Niki  Houston, Nathaniel  Huang, Daniel

Travel Chaperone  Ms. Carothers  Ollendorf, Matthew  Parizek, Lara  Parus, Mitchell  Prough, Gavin  Tavangar, Mona  Tuomi, Markus  Winter, Adam  Xie, Kristin  Yi, Jeongwook

Reminders  Slight change in cost due to ticketing fee. Total cost is $1756 (-$1,000 deposit = 756 balance)  Notary Letter  T-shirt suggestions/drawstring bags  School/orphanage suggestions

Departing Logan January 29,2014  Arrive at American Airlines Desk at 5:30 AM w/passports!!!!  Meet your Travel Chaperone to check in.  Flight 1441 Boston to Miami 7:50 AM arrives 11:25 AM.  Flight 337 Miami to San Jose 12:40PM arrives 2:25 PM.

Transfer in Miami  Short layover (1 hr 15 min.)  Pack Snacks/Small meal in your backpack  Pack a change of clothes and toiletries in your backpack (just in case suitcase doesn’t make the transfer)  Travel with chaperone in airports and customs

Airport and Airline Expectations  Representing your family, Diamond, and the town of Lexington  Recommend using the flights to San Jose to complete Team homework

Arrival into San José  Travel Chaperone (luggage, customs)  We will secure all passports for the week  Meet Rancho Español’s staff for transfer to the school  Rancho de Español is located in La Guácima de Alajuela, a small village 18 miles northwest of San José and about ten minutes away from the international airport.

Arrival at Rancho Español  Orientation  Transfer to host families  Night check from Chaperones :)  Importance of sleep and hydration

Safety in Costa Rica  NEVER travel alone…travel in groups  Travel Chaperone is your contact  Know your ability (swimming, canopy tour)  Make sure you use plenty of sunscreen (remember, we're just 10 degrees above the equator!) and drink plenty of liquids

Spending Money  $ in $1, $5, $10, or $20 dollar bills. Do not bring traveler’s checks or any other forms of money.  Current Exchange Rate (as of 12/12/13) 1.00 USD = CRC

One Suitcase and Backpack  Suitcase can not weigh more than 50lbs. With American Airline, 1 st check-in is free (along with one carry on and one personal item)  Your host family will do laundry as needed (1-2 times)  Appropriate tops, shorts, skirts  A pair of khakis pants  Cargo shorts  Sundress  Capri's  Appropriate bathing suits  A warm jacket/wind breaker for the Poás volcano.  Refer to the Packing List (student meeting) for a more complete list of things to pack.

Communication  Chaperones will all parents once we have settled into the school that first night…please be patient.  Chaperones will update daily blog on Shutterfly.  Free Wi-Fi at school. Students will be able to send and receive s during school hours.  Students will NOT use the house phone to make calls to the U.S, but they may receive calls from anywhere. If they NEED to call one of the chaperones, they must ASK the Señora for permission.  If you need to contact any of the chaperones for non-emergency matters, please us.  In case of an emergency, you may call us at or

Family Gift?  Go in with your roommate  School recommends kitchen items (hand towels, potholders etc.)  Candy/Chocolates Spanish Classes?  Open-air classrooms  No more than 6 students in a class  Classes are run in Spanish only  Classes run 8 AM to Noon

Volcano Poás and La Paz Waterfall Garden

Tortuga Island

Arenal +Baldí Hot Springs

InBio Park

School Visit / Orphanage

Café Britt

Oxcart Factories

Costa Rica Blog  We will post pictures/stories on our blog each day   by January 6 th if you want to be added to the

Arrival Home  Depart San Jose on February 7, 2014  American flight 353 San José to Miami 1:50 PM arrives 5:40 PM.  American flight 971 Miami to Boston 7:25 PM arrives 10:30 PM  PLEASE BE ON TIME FOR PICK UP….

GRACIAS TO THE PARENTS FOR YOUR SUPPORT Sra. Huff, Sra. Brooks, and Ms. Carothers