Time Capsule Letter

Ay Yo Bruh (Hey Lovebugs),

We hope you are all happily settling in to your new/old lives at home! We miss you and wanted to send you an update from Las Canas. We completed the bottle house and Alejandro’s family has moved in. Slow but sure, we finished up the walls and taught newcomer students to tackle problems. The work you did truly helped us in finishing the house.

We often reminisce on your humor, language, and ridiculousness. You all surprised us with the way you tackled new and uncomfortable situations. Your thoughtful queries and work ethic at project sites showed us the power you have to analyze your situation and respond in an  impactful way. Whether we were figuring out work strategies or enjoying a coconut at the beach, you all managed to convey true personality and caring. 

Our little family turned out to be quite unique. Remember the soda competition and getting your hair braided?  How about the sunrise on the beach? We hope you can remember the moments you felt happy, uncomfortable, inspired, determined, and straight up silly. We hope you carry those memories with you and use them to empower you to stay globally engaged. 

Reach out if you need anything!! (no balls)

With love,

Leslie, Marie, and Junior

P.S. Redbull has been banned from the lodge (thanks to you haha)

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Saturday March 16, 2019

We have arrived in the Dominican Republic! We are excited to start new projects, meet new friends, and take in some sun. Stay tuned for updates!

Sunday March 17, 2019

Today was our first full day of our GLA program. We woke up had an amazing traditional Dominican breakfast, and then set out to go and support the community. On our drive to La Grua, we were able to see a good deal of the Dominican countryside. Once in La Grua, we painted an entire house of a family of 3, whose old house had burned down. Afterward, we had a traditional lunch and then returned to the Ecolodge for a relaxing afternoon at the pool and beach.

Leader of the Day,
Jack

Monday March 18, 2019

Today, we hiked up Brison. It was about 3.5 miles uphill. We met many kids/families along the way. It was hot and difficult, but we made it to the top! We had a delicious lunch and some ice cream while we enjoyed the beautiful view.

Leaders of the Day,
K & Segan

Tuesday March 19, 2019

Blog from Masimo and John:

(Read with the ’12 days of Christmas’ tune)

On the 4th day of GLA, we woke at 5:30,
Had pancakes for breakfast, went on a bus ride,
Stopped at a lagoon, in ways that were interesting.

At the beach that we visited, some locals we did meet,
We bought some bracelets, broke them shortly after,
Buried a guy named Segan, drank (virgin) Pina Coladas,
And had sand in every crevice.

When we got back to base camp, we had a bit of fun,
Learned about the climate, had a large discussion,
Had a drinking contest (soda), and held back a lot of burps.
p.s John won

Wednesday March 20, 2019

Today our group started working on the bottle house project. The house we are building is for a family of five. Each person helped to sort bottles, put on wires and concrete. Everyone was exhausted, but continued to put out their best efforts on the house. We will resume our work on the house tomorrow.

Leader of the Day,
Kylie

Thursday March 21, 2019

Today we slept in and woke up at 9:30. We then ate breakfast and made our way to the bottle house construction. We worked at the sight for 3 hours before coming back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we continued to work at the bottle house for another 3 hours. Lastly, we finished the day off with a reflection on global citizens.

Leaders of the Day,
Jason and Alex

Saturday March 23, 2019

Today on our last day of this amazing experience. We woke up and began our day by watching the sunrise on the beach. We went snorkeling in Sosua and many of the guys got braids. Now, as the night burns, I think it’s good to reflect over the last week. From when somebody started a soda drinking contest, to building a house of bottles, this experience has been nothing but a blast. I will never forget the memories and friends I have made here.

Leaders of the Day,
Kieran and Clayton

Time Capsule Letter

Hey Global Citizens,

We hope you are all happily settling in to your new/old lives at home! We miss you and wanted to send you an update from Las Canas.  We completed the bottle houses and Alejandro’s family has moved in. Slow but sure, we finished up the walls and taught newcomer students to tackle problems. The base you set for us truly helped us in continuing this work. It was a great start to the spring!

We often reminisce on your sarcasm and maturity.  You all surprised us with the way you tackled new and uncomfortable situations. Your thoughtful queries during discussions and work days show us the power you have to analyze your situation and respond in an appropriate and impactful way. Whether we were figuring out work strategies or enjoying a piña colada at the beach you all managed to convey true personality and caring. 

Our little family turned out to be quite functional. Remember the night we went out to the starry beach? Or all the laughs we had with Junior and Loubens? We hope you can remember the moments you felt happy, uncomfortable, inspired, and determined. We hope you carry those memories with you and use them to empower you to stay globally engaged. 

Reach out if you need anything!

With love,

Leslie, Marie, and Junior

P.S. Scooby is not so little anymore! 

P.S.S. Don’t just put a bandaid on it… Get Stitches ! 

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Saturday March 9, 2019

We have arrived in the Dominican Republic! We are excited to start new projects, meet new friends, and take in some sun. Stay tuned for updates!

Sunday March 10, 2018

Hey Parents,

Monday March 11, 2019

Sup people/parents!

Today was an awesome day filled with all sorts of adventures. Today we climbed to the top of Brison, a nice little 3 mile hike. Although it started raining half-way through, we all toughed it out and finished the day strong…with sleepy eyes. TOTALLY WORTH IT!

-By Natasha and Isha

Tuesday March 12, 2019

Students from the Community Impact and Global Health tracks combined for a day of fun and sun! Today we went to Dudu Lagoon. Unfortunately the zipline was broken. But we still had fun swimming in the fresh water and playing volleyball. Later in the afternoon we went to Playa Preciosa. It was super beautiful and warm. Some students got pina coladas and bought souvenirs from vendors. – – – Happy 17th Birthday to Allison!

Leaders of the Day,
Julianna & Ameya

Wednesday March 13, 2018

Today we worked on a bottle house for a family of 5. We hammered up new wiring, sawed 2×4 woods, and organized some bottles. Tomorrow we are heading back to the same home to start putting down some cement.

Leader of the day,
Santiago

Thursday March 14, 2019

The Community Impact group went to help Alejandro today. Everyone was very involved and worked well as a team. We got to know Alejandro, his sister Diana, and his two best friends Marcos and Louise even more than we did yesterday. We connected with them even more than before.

After dinner we had an inspiring reflection lead by Hilary and Leslie. We talked about our purpose here in the Dominican Republic and how we can influence and inspire our own community to help and improve our lives, as well as the lives of other citizens.

Leaders of the Day,

Jolie y Yasmin

Time Capsule Letter

Hey Session 4 Sea Turtle Initiative Squad! 

Seems like just yesterday we were hanging around in the hammocks at Jason’s place, trudging through the sand at night to protect nesting turtles from poachers, swimming in the waves and waking up to the sounds of birds and rain drops. The Sea Turtle Initiative staff (Allie, Jason, Juliana, Michael and Jose) all miss you so much! We were inspired by the way you appreciated each other and everyone you came in contact with. It was amazing to see such strong bonds form so quickly in such a large group. We hope that your spring break in Costa Rica had a lasting impact on the ways you think about the world and your role in it. We also hope you have shared some of the things you learned with others, specifically about conservation, and the impact humans have on our beautiful planet.

Let’s take this time to remember some moments from our time together.

• All your inside jokes we didn’t get… HELLO? DAD? Hudson!!
• Ziplining through the trees on our first day
• Middle-of-the-night turtle crew and the night after, everyone
• together to see two turtles!
• Awkward Shark
• Casado competitions– Plantain’s early lead but Salad ultimately
• coming in with the win
• The dang whistle stopping you from going deeper in the ocean
• Nurdle search
• Riding in the back of the pick-up truck in the rain
• Empanada competition
• Jason’s animal spotting skills
• Chilling in the hammocks
• Playing Chicken in the lagoon
• Rylee’s polaroids
• Making lasting friendships
• Dance class, dance off & dance party
• Jose’s dancing skills
• Two sloths, a cayman, and so many monkeys
• Playing soccer at the cooking class
• The climate change talk and trivia
• Pizza party with bamboo straw surprise
• Unexpected Easter parade
• Canela/Cinnamon/Junior the dog
• So many shout outs
• Thanks for all the incredible memories! Keep exploring and asking questions – we are excited to see all the things you do in the future!

Much love,

Allie, Jason, Juliana, Michael and Jose

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Here’s to an incredible sea turtle initiative adventure! 

Zipline photos from yesterday: 

Tuesday April 16, 2019

Day four:

Today breakfast was arepas which are basically fried dough that you put syrup on. We also had eggs, fruit and pear juice. It was really yummy. After breakfast everyone scraped off their leftovers into a bowl for the amazing kitchen staff to dispose of and got ready for the day. We were in a hurry because we had to get to a boat to go to the local village, Parismina.

After breakfast we hopped onto a boat and headed towards the village. The guide’s dog from the night before had stayed with us the whole night and came into the boat with us. The river we were on was surrounded by brush and pirates-of-the-Caribbean-like plants which was really cool. We unloaded ourselves and the dog from the boat once we landed at the port to the city and met up with our tour guide for the tour of the city.

Today the stakes were high, five groups fighting for dominance… The empanada competition. 2 competitions five teams who will win out of them all. Meat versus Salad the fight was rough. Salad attempted to please the Costa Rican children with a sweet pineapple empanada. Although team Salad ended up victorious, team Meat put in an honorable effort with their homemade sweet and spicy sauce. In the other competition was between three teams, team rice, team beans, and team plantain. The battle was extremely heated. Literally. All teams, sweating, made empanadas.

All had different ingredients. We then threw them in boiling oil. When they were cooking, we drew different designs with sauce and ingredients like tomato, lime, and pepper (we then ate the empanadas we made earlier) after they were done cooking, it was a race. We threw them on the plate sauce and ingredients everywhere. We all were in disarray, trying to please the Costa Rican women. Which in the end, turned out to be an impossible thing to do. One was too salty, one was too sweet, then one was just right. There was a score: plantines had come in last and a tie between the rice and beans. Out of 100 the highest score was 32. Oh well, better luck next time.

After the lovely experience in the heart of Parismina, the squad returned to the home base. The cooking staff made yet another delectable meal for the famished children (but not really that famished because of the empanadas from cooking class) who happily gorged themselves with beans, rice, yuca, and chicken. The excellent lunch made for a well needed siesta were everybody parked their bloated stomachs and food babies in the hammocks and surrounding tables and chilled out.

After a couple hours the squad got ready for the beach visit. Something about the beach resonated with the entire GLA community. Everyone was relaxed by the soothing waves and crazy fun activities in the water. The beach clean up activity was by far the most enriching opportunity we’ve had all trip. Everyone was engaged and eager to explore the depths of the forest to uncover all of the nearby trash.

Today, after beach cleanup, we went back to the base and we all hung out for a few minutes and then shortly after that, we had a hour long talk about climate change and how it is impacting our planet and we also talked about some solutions of what we could do to help fix up our planet. Next, we all played trivia and the questions were all about our presentation of climate change and each question was probably about 2 minutes long.

** Updates from the night walk (some students saw turtles and were able to save a turtle nest!!!) will be posted with the next blog. 🙂

Wednesday April 17, 2019

Day 5:

Today we started off the day with the boat tour of the swamp. We saw a lot of really cool animals! We saw types of monkeys: howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and white faced monkeys. We also saw lots of birds, lizards, bats and a poison dart frog which was really neat. Today for lunch there was Mac and cheese which was nice change because it was a familiar food from home.

The weather was perfect for the beach because it was warm but not too hot and there were no clouds. We were able to swim in the ocean, sunbathe, and go in the lagoon and do chicken fights. After that we did a beach clean up and we specifically looked for these things called nurdles, which are very tiny pieces of plastic. Team salad won for the most amount of garbage collected, and plantains won for most amount of nurdles collected.

Right after that we had a dance lesson from a couple of the locals and we learned how to do the soca, salsa, meringue, and bachata. After we had a dance party. After dinner we went outside to see a sloth that Jason found, and he also found a cayman (small crocodile like animal) in the pond and we fed it chicken. We all decided to go to bed early and do a late night patrol to hopefully see a turtle. It was worth it because we saw a turtle!

We found it right when it finished digging its hole and we got to see it lay eggs. We collected the eggs and there were a little over 100. Then the turtle camouflaged her nest and we watched her go into the ocean. While we were walking back we also saw a second turtle come out of the water, but it was trying to make its nest too close to the water and the waves kept going over the nest so it gave up.

Thursday April 18, 2019

Day 6:

his morning we had fried dough and eggs for breakfast. We also had some awesome pineapple too. After the breakfast we learned that when we taking a photo or when we want to post anything, we should think before we post and how to ask kids for consent when taking a picture. Because of el semana Santa, the schools are all in holidays, so we went to the town for an Easter egg hunt with the local kids. We sort of let the kids know what Easter is. Each kid can get 3 candies per egg. All the kids found at least 5 eggs. The kids were really cute. We had a lot of fun.

During the day, we played soccer. What the experience! We separated into two groups, and a bunch of unpredictable soccer players show up! Some of the local kids came out to play with us. But before any of that happened we got smoothies. They were absolutely delicious.

After lunch, we began to shop through the local markets filled with homemade Costa Rican art and jewelry. 10% of the profits went to ASTOP, the local sea turtle rescue of Parismina, while the rest of the proceeds supported local Costa Ricans. Also, some students chose to have their hair done in island-vibe braids and wraps.

Since this is the last day we stay in Parismina, group meat( blog writer for today) would like to appreciate to all the staff we met in this trip. Muchas gracias a todos! Les queremos mucho. A lot of thanks to our host Jason and his wife. And their dog Lazy. Thanks to our mentors to keep this tour amazing. Thank you.

Time Capsule Letter

Hey Session 3 Sea Turtle Initiative Squad! 

Seems like just yesterday we were hanging around in the hammocks at Jason’s place, trudging through the sand at night to protect nesting turtles from poachers, swimming in the waves and waking up to the sounds of birds and rain drops. The Sea Turtle Initiative staff (Allie, Jason, Juliana and Michael) all miss you so much!

We were inspired by each of your over-the-top positivity, hard work, and dedication to learning and service. We hope that your spring break in Costa Rica had a lasting impact on the ways you think about the world and your role in it. We also hope you have shared some of the things you learned with others, specifically about conservation, and the impact humans have on our beautiful planet!

Let’s take this time to remember some moments from our time together.

• Zipping through the trees on our first day, with Menelik arriving just in time
• Seeing seven white-faced monkeys on the farm tour and binging on coconuts
• Team Beans vs Team Rice in Survivor Challenge and Cooking Face-Off
• When we slept in tents with holes and gave sponge baths to a geriatric tour group
• Retrieving the bucket of dreams
• Hammock snuggles
• Menelik as Sand Monster, Dance Superstar and our constant comedian
• Learning about nurdles
• Juli’s flavor
• Riding in the back of a pickup truck
• Teaching the kids the Calma dance… and never learning the lyrics.
• Sharing stories of self
• Best anti-itch cream, courtesy of Sammie and Will
• The fight for bamboo straws
• Seeing Macko’s workshop
• Deep life talks on the night walks
• Stopping at the waterfall on the way back home
• The dramatic telenovela at the pizza place

 Thanks for all the incredible memories! Keep exploring and asking questions – we are excited to see all the things you do in the future! And remember– it’s not good-bi, it’s see you later!

Much love,

Allie, Jason, Juliana, and Michael

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Saturday March 30, 2019

Hola Amigos y Familia!!

We’re so excited to have six of our nine students here with us in Alajuela, Costa Rica. We had a very chill day exploring the town, getting ice cream and smoothies, and stopping by the central park to watch the famous Alajuela dancers! We just wrapped up our first night with a small orientation and a very fun game of 2 Truths and a Lie!

We’re looking forward to meeting the last third of our Spring Break family tomorrow morning and head out to the zipline!! Followed by a long day of travel in bus, boat and finally, by foot, to arrive at our beautiful and rustic jungle lodge!!

Look out for more updates soon! Pura Vida!!

– GLA Costa Rica Spring Break Staff: Michael, Juli and Allie

Sunday March 30, 2019

It was our first day of traveling and we spent most of the day on the bus bonding, having added three more members. Sammie and Will arrived first thing in the morning and Melenik luckily made it in time to zip line with the group. Zip lining was a lot of fun and filled most of the afternoon.

Following that, there was about an hour and a half drive to home base, where we stopped at a grocery store to load up on snacks. There was a small boat ride on the river to get to Parismina, in which we settled in, ate dinner, and got to know eachother better. So far, the group is getting along very well and we all vibe.

– Hiyasmin and Elinor

Monday April 1, 2019

Yesterday, when we got up we did some optional yoga, and after breakfast we did a team building activity where some people could see and talk but couldn’t touch anything, some people could touch people but not things and they couldn’t speak to other people, some could not see but they could touch anything and so we had to figure out a way to get a box of dreams from a circle without touching the inside of the circle.

Each group of people were a metaphor for different types of leaders. Direct leaders, relational leaders and supportive leaders. Then we took a tour of Jason’s farm.  It was really cool because he has lots of plants and he also said that with the majority of the plants he leaves most of the fruit for the animals so that the ecosystem stays the same. While on the farm tour we saw iguanas, birds, monkeys, and we even saw a sloth.

The monkeys came up close to us and in the end there were seven monkeys that ended up super close to us in trees nearby.  Next we had a representative from the turtle Association come to the Eco Lodge to talk about turtles and about the night watch we would do later on that night. It was really interesting to hear all of the facts and how they are working to try to conserve the turtle population.

Yesterday we also had the swim test and it was super easy and everyone passed if they wanted to. After we did the swim test we had time to swim in the ocean and it was really warm and then we did a survivor challenge that Michael had set up. There were teams rice and beans and team beans won. After hanging out at the beach for a while we went back to the lodge and hung out for a little bit and had some dinner. This was the first night we were going to do the turtle watch.

We had to put on dark clothing, close toed shoes, and we weren’t allowed to have any lights with us. Our guides didn’t speak any English so it was a perfect time for Spanish students to practice or Spanish. We walked along the beach at night looking for turtle tracks and to see if we could find a sea turtle with a nest of eggs and relocate the eggs to hatchery where they could be monitored and have a better chance of survival from natural predators and poachers.

Then our watch started at 10 and went till 12. Once it was over we were all super tired and went straight to bed. Sadly one of our friends, Bree, had to go home due to some health related issues. We are going to miss her so much but it was for her best personal interest.

– Sammie & Will

Tuesday April 2, 2019 

Day 4 of our Costa Rica journey!!! We’re halfway done with the trip now! Everyone is having a blast and enjoying the beautiful nature and wild animals. Today we went to the village in Parismina to walk around and see the schools, restaurants (sodas), and the homes people live in. We took our first stop in the village at a wonderful woman’s house named Yolanda. She taught us how to make delicious empanadas; after learning the basics, two different groups had a contest to see which group could make the best empanadas with the weirdest ingredients.

The group with Samantha, William, Sydney, and Menalick won the contest by adding cheese, crushed chips, spices, hot sauce, onion, garlic, and tomato. After the contest we went and walked around the village looking at all the cool different places. It was a very fun experience for the group and we’re so excited to go back on Thursday. After getting back we went to the beach and picked up lots of trash. Everyone did a wonderful job helping clean. Later that night we went to look for turtles but didn’t find any, hopefully we will see one on our last patrol!

– Sydney Lohse

Wednesday April 3, 2019

As the sun rose on day 5, the day began. The first thing we always do is eat breakfast, usually eggs, toast and fresh fruit. Sometimes a delicious Costa Rica dish called Gallo Pinto! When we were done, Jason (the local director and owner of the Eco-Lodge) took us on a boat tour of the river. With superpower-like vision, Jason spotted and pointed out Spider Monkeys, Howler monkeys, Yellow Hawks, Basilisks, and many other amazing jungle creatures.

He explained that the river runs into the oceans. Maybe that’s why we saw 2 dolphins swimming in the lagoon next to us!!! When we were heading back, we spotted a Cayman. The boat got really close so that we were an arms-length away. As we moved around in the boat to get a better look, it ran away and we all screamed!!

In the afternoon, we went to the beach to clean and have fun. Allie explained how dangerous micro-plastics are and showed us Nurdles, these tiny little plastic balls that are used for plastic production. Somehow, billions got dumped in the ocean, but no one knows exactly where they all came from. They are all over and look kind of like sand.

When we got back, we were challenged to re-use our trash to either make a piece of art with a statement or a new product that’s not yet on the market. It was enlightening and really funny.

Then we had a dance class. We warmed up with Zumba, then learned Soca, Salsa, Bachata and Merengue steps. Michael was the best at Zumba and Menalik was the best.

After dinner, we got dressed for our last service. We didn’t find any turtles, but it was a nice night-walk and we did an activity called the “Wonder Circle”. We still have one night left in Parismina so even though we won’t be patrolling, we hope that the other volunteers will call us if they find a turtle!

– Menalik and Eli

Thursday April 4, 2019

During the last day of being in Parismina, everybody was soaking up every moment 🙂 The day started off with morning yoga as usual, for those who wanted to stretch, and that lead into breakfast. The girls slept through yoga and woke up crusty and hungry. We planned for the school visit by organizing which games and songs the group would share with the children to better their English skills. The activities that we came up with were focused on body parts both in Spanish with an English translation.

On our last trip to the Lagoon, the group calmed down and really lived in the moment by doing a mindfulness walk to our transport into the community. The school visit went smoothly and was full of energy both from us and the kids. We parted ways for Lunch, as we ate at the A-Stop home base. Following that, the locals set up a Féria where we all bought souvenirs :).  The day ended in the community with volleyball accompanied by the locals. Back at home base, we ate our last dinner :(. Lastly, the last activity was inner critic in which everybody reflected on their insecurities (inner critics) and uplifted one another 🙂

– Lees & Hiyasmin

Friday April 5, 2019

On our drive back from Parismina, we took a new route and were treated to a gorgeous waterfall on the way. We had a pizza dinner in Alajuela, and spent our evening reflecting on our trip and saying our final goodbyes. We closed it out with an activity where we anonymously showed our appreciation for each other and for the unforgettable experience we’ve shared here in Costa Rica.

Saturday April 6, 2019

All students from the Costa Rica Sea Turtle Initiative have officially departed and are on their way home to their families! Thanks to each program participant for a week full of learning, service and adventure. We will miss you and hope you take the lessons you learned in Costa Rica with you back to the USA. What a crazy, memorable week!

Lots of love,
GLA staff: Allie, Juli, Michael and Jason