Try Something New Sundays: Source Cafe

The blog series is back.For those of you who have read my other "Try Something New" posts, I have decided to get back to them. Although I don't know if they will be every Sunday but I will strive for that. With Southern California's Summer in October bringing us 90 degree weather I was in search for a cafe close to the beach and that's when I found The Source Cafe. I am sort of a cafe junkie, so when I walk into a cafe I have to feel welcomed by the atmosphere and the decor. The place was small but still roomy. They have a patio area with outdoor tables and chairs. When you first walk in you'll see multiple places for sitting including a long wooden table and against the wall there are pillows and seats next to chairs and tables. The prices were a little bit higher than most of the cafe's I've been to but, you are paying for quality food, healthy food, and uniqueness. This is definitely the place for anyone that is vegan, vegetarian, health conscious, and gluten free. I purchased a juice called the Revival which contains red apple, fennel, ginger( which I opt out of) and lemon. It had a very strong taste of fennel, which was a new flavor my taste buds had to become accustomed to. This drink cost $9, which is the price range of most of their juices. I also purchased a Smoked Trout Toast which is served on toasted baguettes and came with tomato and vegan garlic ailoi. Very tasty but very salty. This place was definitely a new experience for my taste buds but at least I was consuming nutrition along with an array of different flavors.

Costa Rica: Fish bowl

The day started off like any other. My alarm went off I pushed the snooze button. My alarm went off again and pushed snooze again. My alarm went off a third time and I finally had the strength to wake up. As I woke I felt the cool Costa Rican breeze against my cheek and my ears vibrated from the sound of birds, dogs and a rooster. Not too pleasant but I was still happy to be awake. When I got myself together and walked down stairs, breakfast was waiting for us as well as a pot of coffee. I am not a coffee drinker so I can not contest to it's flavor but everyone who tried it said that it was really good. Our day started off with a school visit. I remember first walking up to the school and having that fish bowl experience. Children looking at us with wonder and excitement and we stared back with just as much amazement. When we got started with things it was kind of like organized chaos, but that's how the start of things are. You can't work out all the kinks until you try everything out. Shoes were flying from getting passed around and sorted through, and children were lining up to get sized and receive a brand new pair of shoes. We were able to pass out about 300 shoes to children in need. It was exciting and busy sorting through the hundreds of shoes, trying to find the right pair to fit each child and of course the language barrier was another fun challenge. I can finally say my three years of high school Spanish benefited me some what. Luckily I remembered the words for big and small to help figure out the right shoe size. But my Spanish was limited so when I didn't know the translation I had to rely on body language such as facial expression and hand signals. Most physical expressions are pretty universal. At the end of the experience I was quite proud of myself but more proud of my team. There was 9 of us all together , and all 9 of us had never worked all together before and were able to pull off a project and manage to do a darn good job. Reflection: One of the many things I took away from this experience was connection. Language is one of the strongest and most used ways to communicate but what is not to be forgot is that there are always ways to communicate to. Non verbal communication can sometimes say more then words ever could. Also that you never know what is hidden behind someone's smile. The children we met were happy , well dressed in their uniforms and didn't seem to have a care in the world. It was easy to forget that they were all children in need. It's easy to look at the surface and think things are fine, but don't forget dig a little deeper to see how things really are.

Cost Rica:You have arrived.

I hope to say the phrase" it was a dream come true" many more times in my life because arriving in Costa Rica was a dream come true. I was simply amazed that I was actually able to save the money, break away from my normal life, travel with people I've never met before and end up in a different country. Blessed is a feeling that I never stopped feeling because I honestly felt so blessed from the support of everyone who helped me make it to my destination. When we arrived it was night time. Our flight was delayed so we got there a little later then expected. I remember listening to the quiet of the night, few cars on the road. As our bus drove us to our location I remember looking out the window and trying to make out the city as I gazed at it under street lights. The ride was bumpy but pretty short, and we made it to C.E.D.C.A.S, the medical facility in which we stayed. There can be a bit of worry when you travel to a different country, one reason being that cleanliness standards vary from place to place but I was more then pleased with the C.E.D.C.A.S facility. We were greeted with a warm meal of spaghetti. Lilian who runs the facility greeted us with the warmest smile and with one shoe on her foot. She was trying to balance herself out after having hip surgery, so the wearing of one shoe wasn't from any type forgetfulness. We had short introductions then we were off to bed for we had an adventure planned for the next day. To find out more about C.E.D.C.A.S and the great work they do visit http://cedcas.org/ ( the website is all in Spanish). C.E.D.C.A.S is a medical facility that offers free and low cost medical care for those that are desperately in need for care. If you'd like to find out how to support C.E.D.C.A.S. feel free to contact me for information.