Semester begins for students with armed robbery

oh dear. What a surprising end to the day. On the way home, five of the students were held up and lots of good stuff was stolen. These students ended up at our house, rather shaken up as one can well imagine, and we garnered sheets, blankets, pillows all together, and had a slumber party of sorts, while processing as fast as we all could about the robbery, whether one could feel safe enough to stay in costa rica, etc. etc. It was a long night, and last one to bed was actually Anna Ruth who was at a party till almost 2 am. Ticans party late into the night apparently.

Sunday we went to the Farmer's Market with these students who were amazing in their abilities to voice their fears, process what it would mean to stay here, what it would mean to go home, implications for themselves, for the program, for Elon, and for each other. All the students went home to their Tican families for the afternoon, three returned to us for one more night, and now all of them are home with their Tican families and feeling way more settled now that school has begun. Everyone is still a bit jumpy and preferring more escort and company, but they are all great troopers and ready to explore costa rica. For our part, we are very excited to be working with such an upbeat and mature group of individuals, and also we are more aware of what we want in a college. Elon administration showed very much the ideal response to a challenging situation. Our kids did too, sharing their home with enthusiasm and energy, and working hard to help these students feel comfortable and welcome.