finish strong!

Its a chilly Monday here in the Central Valley...This is my last week in Heredia, and I have very much fallen in love with the people at this campus. I can understand why it was so hard for Diana to leave.
Yesterday was a long day...I made three different trips to the airport, dropping off my group from last week and later (MUCH later...11:20pm) picking up my group for this week. They are all medical students from a school in California, and so far my first impressions are good (and for me, first impressions are the most important). I went to bed around 1:30am. Woot!
This morning has been go-go-GO! We got the group through orientation and testing, and I documented their cooking class before seeing them off at 1pm as they began their Spanish classes. Now to begin making student IDs...In the next week this group will be doing a combination of service work and activities. Tomorrow we will be going to La Carpio, a shanty town with a majority population of Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans of Nicaraguan heritage. The group will be working at clinics throughout the neighborhood, directed and established by Gail Nystrom- at truly inspiring woman.
It has been more than a year since I've been to La Carpio, and it is a powerful experience. The poverty and the spirit of the people and community are amazing and inspiring. I always leave with a piece of my heart being changed, and a desire to do service burning in me...Hopefully visiting this week will leave this group feeling the same way.
This is my last week, and my last group...thus the title of this post, finish strong!

Pura Vida