Visiting Boruca - Day 4 and 5

Stephen:

The Boruca are some of the most welcoming people ever. Upon arrival, we were met by the host of the place we would stay for the next two days. He greeted us with a warm welcome in Spanish, which we understood little of. Luckily, David, another person from the village was able to translate for us.

After setting up our bags and beds, we met the Boruca scouts troop. The scout leader, Diego, and the Boruca scout members were able to welcome and communicate with us with the help of David. They then offered us a delicious lunch made only with ingredients farmed in Boruca. Diego was very kind, and taught us the Boruca scout traditions, which in a way was similar to ours - the oath being spoken and repeated by everyone, and the left hand shake. 

Something I noticed about the Boruca scouts is that a lot of their activities could be accessed by just walking a few minutes. They had everything in the village - a museum, a place to make traditional food and collect fruits, and a waterfall. In Anmore, where we are, it would require a lot of driving and changing towns just to get to places, while in Boruca, they had everything walking distance away. 

A lady from the village taught our scout troop how to make traditional Tamales. We wrapped some raw, salted rice and some pork in large leaves. The end result looked like a small rectangular present, and although we never got to try them, the pork smelled delicious.

I also saw how well the traditions were preserved and how good the conditions were. The village had special jobs for mask carvers and people who make textiles. The museum was also full of information on the history of Boruca. The taps also had clean drinking water and the sewage system with the toilets was great. I did some research and compared this to the Canadian reserves. The reserves here in Canada also have some tradition preserved, but a lot of it was lost. The conditions can also be difficult, with bad sewage systems, and unclean drinking water. I was surprised about how good the conditions were in Boruca.

The people were very happy. Everyone seemed to be busy doing something. I saw some performers singing songs, people cooking food, and some families taking walks by the river. The hospitality coming from the Boruca scouts and our airbnb host was great. David was muy fantastico!. We were able to learn a lot about the village and Costa Rica. Our host, despite knowing little english, was willing to ask us questions and talk to us. The Boruca scouts also joined us to wish Rika a happy birthday and cracked an egg on her head. Overall, these are some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have met. 

Huy:

When met with the people from Boruca, they seemed a lot more grateful about what they had. Everyone seemed to be super happy and were super friendly to us and waited patiently when we didn't understand something that they were saying. When comparing this to people back at home, there are a lot of times where people aren't the nicest about things and probably has more things than the people over here at boruca.

Devon:

There were a LOT of dogs there. Each person had 12 dogs and were responsible for taking care of each others' dogs.

The community was very healthy and have a good lifestyle. Hospitals, schools, and other community services are mostly free for civilians who have a job and support the community. 

 One of the things that Diego said that stuck with me was that although there was the language barrier, the language of a scout is universal.

It was truly a great experience for both parties.

¡Muchas gracias!

Written by: Stephen Jiang, Gia Huy Pham, Devon Mitten