NOT SOS BUT SSS

Group of students aren't calling SOS but they are calling themselves SSS and still need support. SSS, acronym for Students Sponsoring Students is a student managed group which plans events and activities to raise money for the La Paz scholarship program. The events range from school dances, to Halloween events, to beach get-togethers, to camps, to any other activity that is feasible in the warm, beautiful area of North-Western Costa Rica's Guanacaste. 

All students interested are allowed to join and participate in SSS. The current group is all girls and ranges from ages 11 to 17. Together they collaborate to plan events in which the community can enjoy while raising funds, sometimes up to thousands of dollars. 100% of the proceeds go to the scholarship program, all these girls are volunteering their time and energy to this good cause. 

So far this school year of 2013-2014, in the first trimester only SSS has hosted a Homecoming Under The Sea themed dance, a huge Halloween Party which invites the whole community, and a BBQ. Having raised already almost up to $2,000 in the first trimester, SSS looks forward to planning other activities in the coming trimesters. Coming up will be events such as a movie marathon, a neon dance, Valentine's candy grams and other activities to look forward to. 

Make sure that when you have the opportunity you contribute to the event, either by simply showing up and showing support or getting involved in the organization or donations. 

Halloween Reflection (TMI)

So the Halloween party overall was a success, we raised $1,300 in 2 hours and lots of people showed up.
Working with the rest of SSS went super well, I did a good job delegating, I had nothing to do with the Haunted House and was mostly taking care of the food sale and a little bit of the gym. But I didn't have to do everyone's job and I super happy for that. There's a really reliable, committed crew in SSS now and it makes being able to plan bigger event more possibly and easier. And the cleaning up, too, although many people left as usual we had a strong group of 15 maybe, that stayed and helped clean the whole campus up. So clean to the point where we got e-mails saying the campus was cleaner than before.

During our SSS meetings we were super diligent, we got everything done to the point where we didn't have much to talk about near the end and we were just waiting for the night of. We had divided the work and created the spreadsheet for the adults to sign up on, which was super practical. I'd definitely use Google Docs again. 

To improve the event I'd say we could have made a Facebook event to see how many people were supposed to come to measure the amount of food needed, but again this is something that you never really know to till the event. We had lots of left overs for food, but re-used it at an event the following week so nothing went to waste.  

As for leadership skills, it comes naturally. But I've noticed I'm making an effort to have others stand up and be leaders-- leading the meetings, making decisions. I'm doing this because I know I have to pass the project on eventually. Also, I realized I'm very self-conscious of being too bossy, I think this is because of my personality. I'm a natural leader but I'm also naturally very caring for others and so I get worried that I bother another, or make them do too much work, which is probably why I used to do all the work. (UGH, that's a lot of talking about me, definitely stepping outside my comfort zone right now, Miss Amy…This is making me self-conscious too…)

As usual, I don't give myself much credit, so at the beginning I wasn't completely satisfied, because in my head I could've done this and this and this better, but then I realized that was dumb and it was successful. I received lots of compliments on the event and SSS, and even two personal thank you e-mails which were very sweet but I didn't think I deserved them. 

So, there's my super, extra personal reflection. Took a while to get it out of me…I still feel weird about it. Okay...

Halloween

sooooooooooooo.
Halloween is approaching and La Paz hosts their annual Halloween Party. These pasts years it's been organized by a mother from the community but she left so SSS is taking the event over. For me the planning comes naturally- it's all logical, simple, I made a very practical spreadsheet, it updates and everyone cant edit. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoFl8XHgZUJMdGlFQVQwSjZraUpGVXlySFVTN3JOQ1E&usp=sharing#gid=0
The difficult part is finding parent participation. Everyone is so busy, so I'm not blaming anyone, but if there aren't more volunteers the party can't happen. There are only so many SSS volunteers who already are setting up, baking and some would like to enjoy the even, too. I think it all happens last minute as usual.

Basically, nothing can move on till there are more volunteers and then it's just setting up the night of. I love organizing these things. I've been very happy with SSS lately, we've been distributing tasks and others are stepping up. For example we split the Halloween organization amongst SSS members, so a Haunted House group, a food group, a game group, coordinators etc.

I think this week I'll release another flyer more directed for advertisement. Here was the last one:

I just feel so annoying always asking parents for donations and help but not much can happen without it. We've decided we would buy whatever food is not contributed but we still need parents to sell and cook.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll post the new flyer soon.

Reflection

This year I plan on continuing with SSS. It's already an established program and we already have set projects and contacts. There are many members showing interest and taking initiatives which is great. This year amongst other projects I plan on starting to pass the project on. I want other members to take leadership role so when I graduate the project remains. This is going to be a challenge because I naturally take this role and others expect me to. 

Some activities we plan on having this year are- Halloween, "Winter Formal" dance, something for Valentine's day (dance & candy grams?), and Talent show. I'd like to at least have to events a trimester, we already have three for this one, but for the other two we need more ideas. I'm sure the other members will have ideas. 

Also, we had to reestablish positions. We changed treasures because the other was not attending meetings, and we now have a secretary and a Facebook page.

These goals will be achieved like all the others- we will all work together to plan the event. We'll organize the details and advertise! It would also me a goal to expand more to other schools. 

Oveja Negra Event

Just got back from the SSS Oveja Negra event...
The event itself was a success, but the La Paz community members showing up was not.
Barely anyone from the La Paz community showed up and less than 10 kids needed to be babysat. My mom keeps telling me how great it was but I feel really discouraged. Only 2 teachers attended...even the administration didn't go, and after all it is to raise money for the school.
Although there was money raised, I didn't succeed in uniting our community members.

Some people told me I didn't advertise enough. I sent posters, e-mails, personally reached out to people. OFFERED BABYSITTING...

Maybe next time...

Anyway, I'll elaborate tomorrow.
Night. 

So, NEW EVENT! YAY!
Planning this event was so fun, reminded me of how much I enjoyed doing this. The owner was so willing to apply anything we proposed. He, also, generously gave ideas and said he'd participate in finding raffles. Honestly, it was so great. The fulfilling feeling after planning something is so great. I know this is going to be a success!
I'm excited to reach out to the adult community. Hopefully they all show up! I think it would be great fun. As for the babysitting, I already spoke to sitters and it's going to work out perfectly.
Wrote this for the newsletter:

Saturday, June 15th, SSS and the Oveja Negra in Tamarindo are collaborating to host an exciting event for the adults of the community. Come to the Oveja Negra bar from 6pm to midnight to dance and enjoy a child-free night while raising money for La Paz's scholarship program. There will be a live band and DJ. Tickets at the door will cost 2000 colones and go towards a raffle for a special prize. In addition, Oveja Negra is kindly donating 10% of proceeds from the bar raised during the evening.

The best part is that SSS will also offer babysitting! In Tamarindo, the location will be Carolyn Herman's house, and the Flamingo locating will be announced soon. The price per child is $20 or 10,000 colones, and all proceeds will also go towards the scholarship fund. Please reserve your child's spot ASAP tobjavogue@gmail.com with the preferred location.

More Analysis

Planning the poetry night was fairly simple. I had to ask the owner if the restaurant if she was willing to host the event as well as give a percentage of the profit. Once that was covered, I discussed with the rest of SSS and agreed on a date and time. We proceeded by advertising the event. And there's all the before planning. The only thing left was to set up the night of the event. 

The night of the event there was a good crew, we had lights, sound system, music, microphone, tables etc., etc. The night of we changed our set up but it worked out perfectly! I learned that with a good group of people everything will work out.

At the beginning, planning this event was risky in the sense that open speech was the key. We knew there were going to be controversial topics and we weren't sure how the authority would react. It concluded that everyone was in agreement that speaking one's mind was great, even without filter. The topics were justified by applauds and respectful reactions. 

The actions did respect the moral rights of everyone, because even within the edgy topics it was clear from the beginning that they had to be communicated in a respectful manner. This went both audience to speaker and speaker to audience, it was essential to remain respectful whether agreeing or disagreeing. 

Some may say topics of speech were discriminating or favoring but the objective of the event was to speak about whatever one desired. The objective was to responsibly and respectfully criticize or share about events/feelings/ways.

This project could most definitely stir ethical debates. People with different opinions could easily contradict each other. For example if there were machistas, they would have not been in agreement with the more feminist poems. Or if one thought sharing deep feelings was to be kept private that would stir debates. Basically, this was the main concern of the event.

The skill set of organizing events will help me in the future. For one I know I'm not scared to put myself out there. And although I know I consistently embarrass myself in front of my peers I don't really care. This is beneficial towards developing a more independent attitude. 

After this event, my perception of myself did not change…Sorry to break the news. (haha!) It was just another event, but one that will become regular.

Poetry Slam Night

Last Friday night, SSS hosted a Poetry Slam Night for the La Paz colegio. The event was a success! Many highschoolers performed and around 60 people showed up. 

At first, all performers were worried about the audience's reactions to their controversial, edgy poems, but every poem ended in a loud applaud. I felt relieved when no one complained about the content, one of the themes of the event was freedom of speech, being able to speak your mind openly.

Of course last minute set up changed occurred, but I've realized with SSS nothing looks good till 30 minutes before the event. With this event we didn't make much money, but the objective of the event was to share poetry, not make bank.

There was very positive feedback and we will definitely host many more of these! 

PART 1- Analyzing Self

More to come!

Whenever there are obstacles, I just figure it out. I already have the goal in mind and no obstacle will affect that. I find a way to solve the problem or just find an alternative. The worst thing to do when there's an obstacle is give up, because if you know that's you're reaction more obstacles will arise, but if you are calm and solve them, it's not intimidating.

Overcoming these obstacles is normal, that's what I expect to happen. If I didn't overcome then I would feel very disappointed. I think I'm just naturally an overachiever for these kinds of things so my expectations are high.

I procrastinate for many things, but not for planning SSS events because I love it! It's so easy for me and I like it so there's no space or need for procrastination.

When I feel overwhelmed I write everything I have to do on paper, every single step. The I analyze whether it truly is a lot or if I'm making it up. Usually it's not a lot but if it is I get to work right away to start crossing things off on my to-do list. 

Camila has really helped me because I can trust her with a big project and I know I can focus on something else. This makes it so we can work on several projects at a time.

I think something I did last trimester was work on two big events and then nothing else. I should have managed my time to do things throughout the whole trimester. This trimester we're planning lots of good things.

Right now I really need to work on the Oveja Negra night. The thing with me is when I have something to do, I can't stop thinking about it till I do it. So I got to get this done ASAP.

I like CAS so much better than other classes. It's so much more productive and meaningful. I don't know how much SSS actually helps people but I know that it is a lot of organizing which is a good skill. And for the future could be useful to help others. I learn a lot. But now I wonder if I stay in my comfort zone, to be honest I don't know what my comfit zone is in this realm. Physically, of course, but I mean mentally. That's not necessarily bad because in the future I can do lots. I'm not scared to do things or ask, which makes me think maybe I don't go to my full potential. 

Okay, why am I good at this…? Because I like it? I mean I definitely procrastinate in other things, but I believe this is my passion. I'm good at it because it's for others, if it's for me it would be completely different. I mean honestly, even without CAS I'd being doing this. If I didn't I'd be disappointed in myself. I expect more from myself.

SORRY!

Okay, VERY sorry for the blog delay, but I didn't have access to my computer.

Anyway, I have still been working! Tomorrow night, Friday, there will be an open mic night. The secondary school will be participating and we are trying to incorporate both educational aspects as well as fun/pop activities. 

Also, for Abriendo Mentes I've been in contact with the new coordinator. We will meet next Wednesday.

Honestly, I've been really busy. I have been busy but between the chaos of not having a computer and continuing to write posts it's been difficult. I wrote a very long reflection last CAS class, I will post it as soon as I type it.

For now, thanks!

Promise to post more often!

Must Watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L_cGjQSR80

Everything You Were Wondering

To my dear followers:

I would like to apologize for the chaos. But as you may have already noticed from my past posts, my life in general is rather hectic, in a positive way, of course.

But now, the moment you've all been waiting for-- in this post I will actually explain to you the projects I assist in and their objectives.

Students Sponsoring Students (SSS):

(Need to make a website!)

La Paz Community School, located in Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, is a community based school, with a very wide diversity. The surrounding area in general is very diverse and the population consists of many expats. The problem with too many expats in an area is their ignorance towards the local culture. The school focuses very much on the integration of different cultures. 

SSS is a group primarily run my students in the secondary school that either plan fundraisers for the scholarship program or organize events to unify different cultures. The scholarship program at La Paz is very emphasized and distinguishes La Paz from other expat schools permitting people from all over to attend the school. 

The projects is timeless therefore has no specific goal, but the overall objective is to integrate different cultures in the school and all be able to contribute our differences for the bettering of our lifestyles.

Abriendo Mentes

http://abriendomentes.org/

Abriendo Mentes is an organization helping the development of local Costa Rican communities providing necessities, whether tangible or abstract, to those in need.

I volunteer specifically in the Women Empowerment group which is a teaching experience to women from the local community. With the collaborated efforts of the women and other expat volunteers innovative ideas are put into work in order to better everyone's situation.

Again, this project is timeless and the objective would be to empower and educate.

Blue Revolution  

http://blueazul-revolution.blogspot.com/

Blue Revolution is a group of people working towards a sustainable ocean by promoting responsible fishing. This is achieved by a series of presentations, encouraging buying locally, and discouraging any sort of economical support towards big corporation fishery industries.

The link above is the blog of a friend of mine who has taken over the Blue Revolution project. I work with her to achieve our goal.

Thank you. Let's continue working for a better world and we will succeed! 

Update for Thurs Feb 21

Alright. Here's a brief update on last week's happenings. (Again, sorry for no background info. I will write it as soon as I have time.)

Last week was filled with Valentine's Day events. I now understand why this commercial, Capitalist holiday is so emphasized-- because it brings in good mula.

SO, there was Candy Grams. A few people stayed at school on our half day (the things we do for the community...) and chaotically packaged all the candy grams. We stapled all the letters to lollipops, distributed them into different categories and made sure everyone received one.
We quickly broke even, selling each lollipop at $1. Success!

The dance- after all the fretting it turned out really nicely. Mostly La Paz students attended but there were a few kids from other schools (hooray!). Everyone was dancing and having a blast. There were no major issues and it all went rather well. But we didn't take that many pictures, too busy dancing...

The revenue of both events was good and most importantly everyone enjoyed...So much actually, that we're planning a dance for next month!

As for Abriendo Mentes there was a moment where I was very focused on SSS and Natalie with another thing that it actually worked out pretty well, giving us both time. Now, we're back. Gina, this other volunteer collected more recipes and I'm supposed to translate them in English.

"What is time" you ask?
I have no idea.

All I know is that I've been really, really tired and although I would love to focus so much more on these actually productive activities I'm stuck in school from 8-3. Yay!

I'll manage. I'm learning time management, I guess. Very valuable I hear. Let's see if I actually learn it.

Something also very important to recognize about my specific projects are that they never end. There will always be new ideas and things to pursue. The "goal" I guess would just to create sustainability and enforce service in general, there will always be a need. I think this aspect really adds to the non-stop-ness of these projects.

Questions or Comments? BELOW, Amigos.

I will soon post more. more. more. more. That's all it ever is anyway. MORE.

Good night before I explode in my writing.
Sleep well, Earthlings.

Pretty funny...and sadly realistic. But at least there are people out there with intentions to create a change! 

Be part of the movement. 

Be the movement.

Be the change.

First Update

Alright...
So, I haven't officially explained with this blog consists of; nor will I on this very first post. Since I don't know where to start, I'm just simply going to start.
This week for Abriendo Mentes' Women's Empowerment group I fixed up a list of recipes, figured out what needed to be done and edited in order to create the Cookbook.
It was difficult to find time to do it-- I had to translate most recipes, find spanish errors, decide how many recipes were missing, how many were necessary etc., etc.

For SSS-
This week has been a little challenging due to the consistent stream of outside commentaries and critiques. At Monday's meeting two adults showed up to assist us in the organization of our general program, they will be helping out.
The dance is coming along well other than the worries that outside people seem to have, honestly it's not my concern. I think it will be a success.
The candy gram is also going well, a large bag of candy has been ordered and next week we will start selling.
I think both events will bring a nice revenue and benefit the scholarship program.

Marine Conservation is slowly coming back in action. I'll update when I get more info.

Otherwise the other activities are still going on and I think that's all for now, but I'm probably missing something.

I'll make sure to keep my many followers (haha!) updated and mostly try my best to do my best at all times.

peace, love, and unity to the world xx