Dear Students,

What an electrifying trip! It’s been a while but it feels like it was only yesterday we were catching loose dogs on clinic days, snuggling puppies at home visits, and helping Antonio and his family with their shelter.

VIDA was extremely impressed with your group, and so were we. From the first moments of the trip, your passion and dedication to helping animals was crystal clear. You threw yourselves into daily tasks, whether that meant helping a cat feel a little safer before surgery, or separating over zealous puppies from their less social bunkmates. The vets had so many praises for you—it’s clear that many of you will go on to change the way the world treats animals.

When it came to adventure, you took a lot of risks and had a lot of fun! Some of my favorite memories from this trip:

-Axe/banana pranks
-Drew saving a frog from a wall of wet paint
-Discussions about veganism and animal cruelty
-Our surprise baby sloth friend after clinic day one
-Finding random dogs and horses near our hotel to pet
-Making friendship bracelets together
-Dancing on the last night
-Casey giving his horse a pep-talk in the mountains
-Dying Lindsay’s hair
-The rip tide we left behind at Manuel Antonio National Park
-Passing those on the highway walking to La Basilica for Dia de la Virgen in Cartago
-Oreo s’mores
-The market after ZooAve

Best,
-Kira, Rebekah and Lindsay

 

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Dear Students,

It’s been a while but I hope you’re still embracing the pura vida we learned together in Costa Rica. From the views of the valley to the steaming hot springs to the adrenaline of zip lining, I’ll never forget your group.

Working with a new group of students is always amazing, but your group went above and beyond expectations. You worked hard, stayed vulnerable, and overcame fears despite immense self-doubt. I’m so, so proud of you. Whether it was your enduring love of scraping paint, running after dogs during walks, or helping each other finish each and every zipline, you all found ways to make Costa Rica your own, to leave your mark on the memory of GLA and the communities around you.

The work that you did in communities will persevere for years—decades, even. Those puppers in Orosi will live in more comfortable conditions thanks to you. The dogs and cats you worked with vets to spay/neuter in Parrita and Liberia will no longer contribute to the stray population—more pets will stay in loving homes. And of course, the beach will be cleaner and prettier thanks to you—not to mention plentiful in almonds and shade, eventually.

Costa Rica is something special, but it doesn’t feel quite as special now that you’ve left it. Hope to see you soon.

A few highlights:
-The surprising delight of the cow hotel
-The equally surprising, but perhaps less delightful hike to Marvin’s house
-Learning Salsa with Luis
-Devouring ice cream at ZooAve
-Melanie becoming a true tree hugger
-Blessing trees
-The moody waves from beach cleanup
-S’mores with Chikys

Much love,
-Kira, Rebekah, and Lindsay

 

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It already seems a lifetime ago that the pioneering first session of the fourteen-day Animal Rescue Project in Costa Rica ended. You were part of the first ever group to go through this program, performing service with Vida Voluntarios and with Asociación Voz Animal. I want to thank you for your service, and also to relay the same “gracias” from Vida, and from Voz Animal. You actually did something to help the animals in Costa Rica, and you can take pride in this fact for the rest of your life.

Do you remember seeing the sloth and all the monkeys in Miguel Antonio National Park? Thousands of visitors have already benefited from the trail we repaired and the bathrooms we prepped for painting in the Park, and the park staff have thanked us over and over for the work you and the other participants performed there, but I remember the beach time more than anything else in the park. It sure felt good to relax in the warm salt water after being dirty and sweaty from work.

Hopefully, now that you are back home, sleeping in soft beds, eating food you are used to, and taking hot showers, you realize that you have not only survived, but thrived without these things. Although it was difficult to take only cold showers in Parrita, I want you to remember instead the dogs and cats which you helped the veterinary staff work on, the children at the elementary school who you helped teach about animals and how to care for their pets, and playing soccer in the park with the local 8-12 year old boys. I know for sure that those boys were very proud to show off their soccer skills for all of you young ladies–especially since the world cup was going on during our time in Costa Rica.

We had hot showers in Liberia, and a small pool in the hotel, but the hard work continued. Keep in mind how poor the people were in Canas Dulces (the small town where we did home visits), but also I hope you keep in your mind how kind those people were to us, and how well they cared for their dogs, cats, and other animals–especially considering the few resources and little money they had to work with. Close your eyes and picture in your mind making the human pyramids in the plaza central of Liberia, dancing with the locals, and the smiles of all the people there. The saying in Costa Rica is “pura vida,” which is used more or less the same way we in the United States use the phrase “it’s all good.” Smiles are universal, and don’t depend on material comforts like many of us have back home.

The temperature in Orosi was certainly cooler than it had been in Parrita or Liberia, and the Hotel Tapanti Orosi was a welcome change for many of us. Remember how good the pizza in Orosi was, and how excited we were to get to eat it? Antonio and his family that run the animal rescue shelter “Asociacion Voz Animal” are still benefiting from the work you did for them. The walls you scraped are now painted, the whole building looks much better, and the dogs outside can stand on dry ground when it rains instead of in the water–thanks to the drainage system we built together. All of these things should make you proud for the rest of your life. Antonio sends his sincere thank you to each and every one of you, and so do we.

-Your GLA Summer Staff

 

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Ni hao!

Time flies, doesn’t it? It seems like yesterday we were all in Shaxi together. I can still see in my head line upon line of the beautiful roses we picked and the vibrant, luminous green of the rice fields on the walk to the farm. All the the laughter we shared learning Bai dancing, making mud bricks and eating weird food together still rings in my head. You’re probably back at school but we wanted you to know that here in Yunnan we are still thinking of you and the impact we made together this summer.

Your time here really did make an impact. The temple restoration is much further forward thanks to you and the 482 mud bricks you made whilst in Shaxi, motivated by our enthusiastic Leader of the Day that day, Laura and her assistant Izzy. On completion it will be enjoyed by local people, young and old alike; a place where they can meet and connect with one another. The roses and rosemary you picked at ShaSha organic farm will now have been transformed into fragrant sprays or essential oils ready for sale, to help further the important work at the farm. The enzymes you created together from plums will be breaking down, smelling glorious, ready to be used as natural fertiliser and the compost will already have been strewn, helping the produce to grow naturally and in a sustainable way. Cody proved to be such a worthy worker that day as Leader of the Day, wheeling barrows of dried leaves and labouring to get the compost made.

Something none of us will forget in a hurry either is those ‘numb’ berries! Oscar kept us all entertained by daring to lick so many of them, and Brezlan proved to be the absolute champion at picking them. And while we’re on the subject of food, I’m sure we can all remember Brayden’s meal worm ‘burrito’ and Natasha and Tristen taking on the chicken feet at the food challenge. The duck neck proved to be a difficult one to guess, but Alexis got it in the end! A final food memory worth sharing is the day of the dumplings and how we all overcame the challenging task of making them, before Jonathan and Daniel conquered the eating of them (37.5 each) with Ryan and Jonah tying in second place with 37 each. Food was such a huge part of the China trip and always a hot topic of conversation.

We couldn’t write a letter to you guys without mentioning the Great Wall of China! What a bonding experience that was. The rain did not dampen our spirits, and in fact, it probably made the whole experience more spectacular due to the fact we were the last ones on the wall before they closed it for the afternoon. I was very proud of CJ and Jordan that day for overcoming their fears of steep steps and courageously making the journey with us, both up and down. What legends!

Now, this letter wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t talk about Uncle Lu, fount of all knowledge, our generous host in Shaxi and Connect 5 Grandmaster! Hats off to Beck who won the Connect 5 tournament, winning the ‘Pig of Destiny’ and going on to face Uncle Lu in the Grandmaster challenge. Speaking of Uncle Lu, do you recall how he threw us a fabulous farewell party before leaving Shaxi? We were treated to several traditional Bai dances by the dance troupe, and we had a beautiful flowing feminine dance by our very own Gaia, which impressed the entire audience. What a way to round off our stay!

As this is a letter from the GLA China Staff, we personally can’t forget the sentiment that was put into making our thank you cards. Ellie proved her leadership skills by carefully organising ,well in advance, cards for all GLA and support staff. Nandini was her partner in crime, sketching beautiful images to compliment the written words. We were so impressed and felt so appreciated!

I think you will all agree there was never a dull moment on this program! Filled with mud, somewhat scary bugs, strange things to eat, giggles, shared life stories, dreams, and of course friendship. We want to thank you wholeheartedly for making the effort to be open to new things, for showing leadership in accepting the people around you for who they are, for giving service to the community and for bringing so much of your personalities into the trip to give it a most unique flavour. GLA China Session 2 2018 – we won’t forget our time shared here together and the imprint it left on us all.

Zai Jain! Very best wishes,

GLA China Team 2018

 

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Hello everyone,

The time has gone by so fast and it was like yesterday. As busy you probably are with school and life, this is a good time to remind all the good work and fun time you spent in the summer in China.

The temple and museum complex in Shaxi is still under construction and it looks different every time we visit. Your group record of 315 bricks has yet to be broken.

Do you remember the kindergarten kids? You planted a seed of a larger world beyond the village in their young age.

The push up competition you had with the locals in Beijing was fascinating and hilarious.

Maybe now is the time to see if you still remember those Bai dance moves?

What were the most memorable activities when you think back?

Finally we would like you to know that you did not only made an impact the local community in Shaxi, but in us as well. All the great questions you asked, your unique perspectives and initiative spirits really inspired us.

Thank you for the meaningful summer

Yi, Xiao

 

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