In spite of the daily downpours that mark the true beginning of the rainy season (and might discourage certain outdoor activities), September has been an eventful month to say the least. Costa Rica celebrated its 194^th anniversary of national independence on the the 15^th and the preparations at Xandari and around the country leading up to the date were very visible and audible. At the beginning of the month a few of us decorated the lobby and restaurant areas with red, white and blue streamers and ribbons, national flags, and historic photographs. Given the variety of colorful paintings and ornaments that already adorn the lobby and restaurant areas, we were cautious not to be unnecessarily generous with the patriotic decorations – so as not to over-excite the sensibility of the guests of course!

There was another element to the patriotic ambiance at the hotel that was beyond our doing but proved a harmonious addition nonetheless. Two days prior to the celebration one could hear the muffled echo of the beating drums and blaring trumpets from the marching bands in the valley practicing for the holiday parade. The sounds added to the patriotic spirit and energy around the property and awakened the curiosity of some guests to know where they could go see the festivities. In the local town of Tacacorí there was a lantern procession the night before the holiday that included the school children and their families walking a loop around town with their colorful, handmade (for the most part) lanterns and a truck full of high school band players playing music. Ironically, on the 15^th itself, no band music was audible from the hotel, but that’s not to say that the beat of the marching band did not resonate through the city streets that day (and in our heads later on).

The Association of Terra Nostra (ATN) in Costa Rica organizes a “National Clean-up Week” during the third week of September every year, and Xandari always supports ATN’s efforts by organizing its own local street clean-up in the town. After hand-delivering personalized invitation letters to local community groups, making repeated follow-up calls to potential participants, and gathering all the materials needed for the event  (gloves, plastic bags, sunscreen, and more), I can proudly say that I have led my first successful community street clean-up. A total of 30 volunteers (12 of them being Xandari workers) helped pick up more than 450kg of garbage and more than 200kg of recyclables this past Sunday. The participants were divided into two groups and together covered an area of 4-km total.

Organizing a community service event of this scale was much more demanding than I expected. The amount of cooperation and teamwork required is vastly intricate and making sure all the different groups understand their role in the procedure of the event is key to its execution. I believe the event was a reminder, not only the volunteers, but to the citizens who saw us picking up the materials as well, of the importance of doing our part to mitigate the amount of waste that we produce and how to properly dispose of the different materials. It is tremendously rewarding doing a charitable service that positively impacts the world, and most of all, when it motivates others join the cause as well.