COSTA RICA – Spanish Service Adventure – June 15

6/15/2015

Ready to leave San Jose and head to Santa Maria!

6/16/2015

After a very long day yesterday, we all had an early start. After our last typical American meal (breakfast of pancakes) we headed off to the Home Base. We stopped at a coffee farm where we got to tour their machines and get an idea of how the coffee was processed into what we drink. We were able to taste test roasted coffee beans which was interesting to see how the different amount of roasting time affects the taste. After finishing the tour we were off to Cedrela Lodge which is absolutely beautiful! Basically a tree house! We had orientation and room assignments. We played a few games to get us going after the long bus ride. THen we had some free time to get settled. We designed a poster as a group with all our handprints on it and “Pura Vida” which is a Costa Rican saying. All the staff were super welcoming and it was a great end to our day!

Pics: Our group becoming coffee experts!

6/17/2015

After being woken up by some music at full volume, we had breakfast and headed to where we were doing our service work. We were lucky enough to see a performance from the local students of San Bernardo school. They showed us 3 traditional dances and taught a few of us the steps. We were then split into two groups for our service work. One was making organic fertilizer for the community’s first day of organic farming. It’s the first community to be organic of all the nearby coffee farms. The other half helped dig canals/ditches to channel the rain water through the coffee field and prevent erosion. After lunch that we were lucky enough to have prepared for us by a few local women we took our spanish placement exams to decide how advanced we all were. We then split into two groups determined by our skills and had class full of games and developing new skills. It was then back on the bus to home base where we had free time before dinner and met up with our mentors. We did a personality game after dinner, which ended day 3 of our trip!

-Olivia Larder

6/18/2015

We woke up at 6:30 this morning and packed our bags for a long day ahead of us. Our wonderful chef, Memo, provided us with a delicious traditional Costa Rican breakfast in order to prepare us for a day of service. When we arrived, group 1 dug ditches to collect rain water on the coffee farm, while group 2 mixed together fertilizer. The community cooked us lunch and then we left for Spanish class. Spanish class was held in Santa Maria where we practices with the locals. Afterwards, David from Green Communities gave us a talk about being a tourist vs being a traveller and to finish the night, we talked about our day with our mentor groups.

(drops mic) – Hailey and Amy

6/19/2015

Today was a very packed day with lots to do. We had to wake up earlier than usual and everyone was packed and ready to go to Turrialba. We traveled 3 hours through the foggy mountains to the National Monument Guayabo, which is near the most active volcano in Costa Rica. There, we walked through the tropical rain forest and occasionally stopped to learn about the surrounding area and it’s history. Afterwards, we had a typical Costa Rican meal consisting of gallo pinto and meat. Then we went into town and hung out in the park and got ice cream. We finished our day by going to the Turrialtico Lodge, having an amazing group meal, and then a connective group activity. Peace out y’all. Yo kids be off to sleep.

-Sam and Emina

6/20/2015

After a well earned rest from yesterday’s early morning, we awoke to the pouring rain. Despite the gloomy weather, everyone piled onto the bus for the journey to the rafting location. As we arrived we discovered that we would not be able to raft as planned because the river was flooding. The rain would not stop us though, and as team leaders we had to make a decision between two other rafting locations. After discussing with the mentors we headed off to the new starting point. We had a beautiful, but tiring downhill hike to the river, where we put on our life vests, helmets, and got our paddles. We split into our rafting groups and after a brief tutorial from our guides we were on our way down the Pacuare River. After a rapid or two we got out of the river and walked to a waterfall. We climbed up the rocks and stood under the rushing water. We encountered frogs, spiders, and various species of plants. Further down the river we stopped for a lunch of burritos and fruit which were laid out on the bottom of a raft. To conclude our rafting experience, we jumped into the water and floated downstream. After a quick change of clothes, we headed back to the hotel to switch to Mario’s (our GLA bus driver) bus and start our long drive to home base for dinner, mentor groups, and our highly anticipated sleep.

6/21/2015

Today we went back to service at San Bernardo where Eduardo and Nacho explained thier reasoning for switching to organic farming. We worked for about an hour. Then we toured Eduardo’s land. On our tour we got to try loquat, a small, yellow sour fruit. After the tour, we got our game faces on and played a soccer game with the community. The field was all muddy from the rain and it was a challenge to remain standing. Then we ate lunch with the community. We headed back to homebase and changed out of our muddy clothes for spanish class. After our class Manuel taught us a song he wrote and we all sang along. Then exhausted, we all went to bed. Happy Father’s Day!

– Sarah and Sandra

6/22/2015Today we woke up at 6:30 for breakfast at 7am. We got off to a bit of a late start but we were all ready to work when we arrived in San Bernardo. Instead of Eduardo’s farm, we worked on Nacho’s farm today. We had to walk about 20 minutes to his farm and it was mostly uphill but we mad it through. At Nacho’s farm we continued with the trench and ditch digging. About an hour into working, we took a break to eat fruit and refresh ourselves. After finishing our service we headed back to the place in teh community where we eat lunch and had a delicious lunch prepared by the women in the community. After lunch we headed back to home base for spanish class. Our classes were centered around music and dance. A dance teacher came to the home base and tought us Zumba and other latin american dances. We had an hour of free time/shower time before we had a wonderful dinner prepared by Memo. After dinner we had mentor groups and went over our days. Lastly, we had free time for the rest of the night and could make bracelets with Mnuel, play cards, or even go to sleep early.

6/23/2015Rise and shine my friends! The sun is up, the birds are singing and the bugs are a flying,” sang the group leaders as they woke up each student. Slowly but surely all the students got ready and made their way down the hill and into breakfast where we enjoyed only the best pancakes thanks to our chef, Memo. Then it was time for us to head off to work. We patiently waited for our bus to arrive, but were surprised by a new (temporary) bus driver. All the students piled on and we were off to the races! We zoomed past beautiful scenery and quaint little towns until we made it to our favorite community, San Bernardo. There we were met by our Costa Rican friends and a new challenge. Today were were not mixing poo or digging on farms. Today, we were to do some construction work. We spend a long, but fun hour digging, mixing, pouring, and flattening concrete until snack time. At snack time, we enjoyed nice conversations as we munched on our typical mangos, bananas, and manzana de aguas. Then it was back to work. Once we finished making the concrete into a side walk we were able to leave our mark by pressing our hands into the cement. This way San Bernardo will always remember us. Then it was lunch time and we enjoyed a typical Costa Rican meal of rice, black beans, salad, and beef. Then it was spanish class. We all had a great time learning and playing games about food. Then as a special surprise, the beautiful women of San Bernardo taught us how to make olla de carne (pot meat) which is a delicious soup. We prepared all the meat and veggies and learned more about Costa Rica in the process. After everything was in the pot, we had to let it cook for an hour or so, so it was back to Spanish. After Spanish, the food still wasn’t ready, so we got to play a mini game of soccer. Then it was time to eat our master piece. It was so delicious i had to have a second bowl. Sadly, after our second lunch, it was time to go home. After such a long day everyone got on the bus and completely passed out. Once we arrived at home base we all immediately went to take showers and dinner was served at 7pm. Dinner was a light salad and chicken because we had already eaten so much. Then it was time to split into mentor groups and talk about our ups and downs of the day. After that we all enjoyed about an hour of free time before we headed up the hill to our nice warm beds to dream about tomorrow’s adventures.–Lauren6/24/2015Today was an amazing day because it was our last day at San Bernardo and we all woked so hard to make every moment special. We split into 3 groups of 5 to start and each group had a different task. Group 1 painted the tires, group 2 made cement for the side walk, and group 3 made cement for the tire fence. We switched each hour and that was really nice because we weren’t doint the same thing for four hours straight. After we finished working we had lunch and the girls had a great time getting to know Nacho and Javier. After lunch it was time to say thank you and good bye to everybody. Later, we went shopping in Santa Maria and we also got free coffee at Coopelota. We gothome early and had a lot of free time, which was really nice.

After dinner we had evening activities and had to watch a TED talk. The TED talk taught me a lot and the rest of the group too, I would think. We had a discussion afterwards and it was amazing to hear about other people’s thoughts because they were all so different. Today was overall an amazing day.–Jen E

6/25/2015

Today we woke everyone up to I’m on top of the World. Then after breakfast we started our journey to Zapotal. We had to drive up a beautiful mountainside where we saw some of the most incredible views we’ve encountered. As we arrived, we discovered a breathtaking valley with a river snaking through. We were greeted by the locals with a traditional dance from the adorable school children. We were invited to dance with them and we all clapped to the beat and laughed as we danced along. We worked with Eco bricks for the first time, which are water bottles stuffed with plastic. The community uses eco bricks as an alternative to using a lot of cement. We used recycled plastic so we could save money and the environment. The bricks may not seem like a lot but it really helps out the community and serves an important role. After we ate lunch in the community, we headed back to Cedrela. We had some free time. Then we had a talk from Carlos and David about what we can do when we get home. We watched the Story of Stuff then discussed our thoughts on that. We ended our day with a group activity. They were all trust exercises. We had partners and took turns leading each other while one partner closed their eyes. Then we all went on the floor on all fours with our eyes closed. We had to find a partner and rub heads together. The activities really brought us closer and made us trust each other.

Tomorrow we are off to the beach!

Pura Vida!

– Sarah and Jamie

6/26 – 6/29/2015

Last night everyone pitched in to decorate the dinning hall for a breakfast celebration of Dennis’s birthday. In the morning everyone gathered in front of Dennis’s door to wake him up and sing happy birthday! After a delicious breakfast cooked by our amazing chef memo we hit the road towards the beach. About halfway through the 3ish hour drive we met up with two truck drives that took us on a scenic route of the coast with breath taking views. After our exciting 3 hour drive we reached the Costa Rica national park where we were able to have a tour. Despite the almost unbearable humidity we got to see multiple sloths and monkeys! After walking through the beautiful park for about an hour we reached the pristine national park beach and were able to go for a swim. The water was very warm and the weather was perfect… Up until it began to pour rain on us and we had leave …. But that’s Costa Rican weather for ya- unpredictable. After we all cleaned up we headed out to dinner and to further celebrate Dennis’s birthday with singing and cake. At the end of dinner we did a surprise attack on Dennis by chucking eggs at him. For those of you who think this sounds mean it is merely Costa Rican tradition to throw the same number of eggs at a person as the age they are turning. Dennis took it like a champ. All in all I would say it was a solid day.

*drops mic*

-Hailey and Amy

6/27/2015

Today was a pretty relaxed, played by ear day. We spent the morning in Dominical. We were allowed to roam in groups in the town and on the beach. Everyone enjoyed swimming in the warm Pacific Ocean and shopping at the toursity shops. Around noon we had some amazing pizza at the hotel and packed our bags. After lunch we waited around in the awesome humidity, bonding over beating the heat and talking about our bug bites. When the bus arrived, we hopped on and made the trek back to our abode, Cedrela. There, we had an very American dinner of cheeseburgers and french fries made by Memo. Finally the day was over and we all have free time
to relax before bed. And that’s all folks.

-Sam

6/28/2015

Today we woke up early as usual, 6:30 am. We ate a delicious breakfast as always and headed down for our bus to Zapotal. As we got there we had a bit of low energy because the days before we had been traveling. We split up into groups of 5 and started doing Eco-bricks which consists of bottles and stuffing them with plastic and other people dug trenches around the soccer field for drainage that was desperately needed. We ended service earlier and played a soccer game with the locals. It was a great way to bond and gather the community together.

After the game we headed up for lunch and ate a typical Costa Rican dish. We then headed to the nearby city of San Marcos to explore and have Spanish class there. Our Spanish teachers showed us around the city and we got to try and see new things. Then we got back to home base and had a whopping 2 hours of free time. After free time we gathered for a group activity consisting of fun games and an informative Ted talk. We ate dinner and all knocked out from being so tired! Peace out America! Pura Vida!

– Emina

6/29/2015Today was an AMAZING day in Zapotal. After a delicious breakfast we were on the bus at the same time as usual, 7:47. We arrived at Zapotal all ready to work after a bus ride of pump up songs! We were able to get a brief history of Zapotal from Jonathan which we all were really interested with. Then we were off to the soccer field to dig trenches or to make Eco bricks in the community center. After four hours of hard work we had lunch which we enjoyed mingling with the other members of the community. After lunch the dancing started! We grabbed a partner from the community and tried to show them our latest Costa Rican dance moves. After we left Zapotal, we visited San Marcos where we got 45 minutes to explore the new town and to pick up any souvenirs we may want. We then drove back to home base for Spanish class which was full of us singing and dancing to “Vivir mi Vida” and “Carnival”. We got an hour of free time to use the wifi if we were in Manuel’s mentor group and to shower then we had mentor groups. After we had a group activity where we had to complete an obstacle course in groups of five while our feet were all constantly touching. It was harder than it sounds! Dinner was delicious as usual! After dinner we were able to split into our talent show groups. We all got an hour or so to decide exactly what we all wanted to do and get a bit of practice time in. Overall, today went great and we couldn’t be more excited for the many more adventures we will encounter in the near future!- Olivia Larder & Jen Eban

Blog 6/30

“Rise and shine the day can only be as good as you make it” we woke up happy and Ready for the day. We were greeted by the women of the community with a traditional Costa Rican dance. The women wore beautiful dresses and danced around with brooms. Everyone took turns dancing with the brooms and it was really fun. After the dance we got to work on the eco bricks we’ve been working on for the entirety of the time at Zapotal. We also worked with cement and making a walkway. Cement is really tiring to work with especially if you have to wheelbarrow it up a hill. During lunch we said our last goodbyes to some of the women of Zapotal who wouldn’t be returning the next day. Everyone shared hugs and we all said goodbye. After a long day we headed back to the homebase for mentor groups and dinner. It was a very memorable day.–lauren and jamie

Blog 7/1

Today was our last day at Zapotal. While there we finished making eco bricks and made a bench for the soccer field. After saying a bitter sweet good bye we went to San Marcos to pick up any last minute items we wanted to buy, then we stopped in Santa Maria at the Co-Op to have some delicious coffee. When we returned to Cedrela, we spent our time practicing and preparing for the talent show. At 7pm our guests arrived and at 7:30 we began our show. Every GLA member participated including the mentors. We also had special guests, such as the folks from Green Communities, Nacho & Javier from San Bernardo, Karina and Oscar from Cedrela, and Jonathan from Zapotal. It was beautiful to see all of the friends/family we have made during our stay in Costa Rica. At the end of the talent show we enjoyed food that was prepared by Jen, a GLA student. Finally, we finished the night with dancing and saying our final good-byes to our friends.

7/2

Wakey wakey plantains are baking! After a 7 o’clock start we were all down, dressed in long sleeved clothing, ready for our day of adventure. After a breakfast of plantains, ham, eggs and rice we were off in the Mario Kart in search for Quetzals! Quetzals are a rare breed of birds which are the national birds of Guatemala (our Guatemalan mentor, Manuel, was very excited). We stopped at a local farm who had recorded a spotting of the rare Quetzals nearby. In search for them at 8,000 ft we climbed up multiple hills then back down some others until we decided they weren’t there. But all hope was not lost because a second sighting was recorded a few miles away. So off we went again in the Mario Kart to find our Quetzals! We arrived at the second location, Quetzal Lodge. After only hiking a few minutes we were lucky enough to spot two Quetzals, a female and a male. We were extremely lucky to see both a male and a female since it is not mating season.

We were told that seeing at least one Quetzal in your lifetime means you are #blessedforlife. We then headed back to the Quetzal Lodge for lunch with the most amazing view of the mountains. After lunch we were able to visit the Lodge’s Hummingbird garden. A few of us were lucky enough to have a hummingbird sit on us. Then it was time to head back to home base to shower before our surprise project for the people who have helped make this trip so special for us. For the project we all wrote little notes and special moments for the staff at Cedrela and at Green Communities to thank them for all they have done for us during our time here in Costa Rica. We then got free time and Manuel’s mentor group got to use the wifi and before we knew it, it was dinner time! Dinner was yuca, fish and vegetables made by our wonderful chef Memo. After dinner we had a group activity which involved the unwanted subject of going home. I admit there were some tears while we had to accept the fact we’re leaving in a few days and won’t be able to see all the people we now consider family on a 24/7 basis. Beside the subject, the group activity was great fun especially when we all had 20 seconds to create an image that we think represents our time in Costa Rica. All we could use were other students to help recreate our image and get the remaining students to guess what we were trying to portray. The mentors then had to force us to go start packing since our time here at Cedrela is coming to an end soon. Although we are leaving soon, we are all super excited for the remaining adventures to come and the many memories that are still waiting to be made.

PURA VIDA!

By Olivia Larder and Lauren Simpler

7/3

And the day begins! We started the day on a strong note waking people up for breakfast, but before we would be off on our adventure we had the pleasure of honoring our beloved Cedrela host, Leo, by presenting him with a jar of appreciative and humorous notes. After the touching”See you soon,” we departed off on 2 separate buses to go on our adventure– and what an adventure it was! Although we had over an hour ride to Providencia to visit the Extreme Forest Adventure Park, the anticipated wait was quickly satiated as we all had a blast zip lining, swinging, and climbing throughout the trees (even inside) to fill our day with joy mixed with a little fright. It was a crazy adrenaline rush and after the fun we were off to the other GLA group’s Home Base to have lunch. While we were there, we got the opportunity to meet the other group! We mingled and even hinted to them of the invaluable experiences that were to come (it was only their third day!).

Eventually we had to part but their program director led us to an incredible river waterfall; a little down stream there was a natural pool with a miniature cliff that we were able to jump off of. The water was so cold! But of course we had a blast and time definitely flew by. Finally it was our time to leave and we packed and dried off for the trip back. Thereafter at home we had our final mentor groups and our final dinner at Cedrela. Although thinking that way is heart-touching, nobody could have been emotionally prepared for our conclusive group activity of speaking about what we appreciated about all the group members and mentors. Surely it was a night of heartfelt words, gratitude, and warm tears– a night well suited to conclude our day filled with joy, laughter, and love.

By Connor and Dennis

COSTA RICA – Spanish Service Adventure – June 15 – July 5, 2015

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