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Saturday June 23, 2018

Hey families!

¡Pura Vida!

Today your students successfully flew to Costa Rica from all over the United States and one drove in from Costa Rica. In total, we are a team of 15 students plus Jen and I (Patrick). Today every student landed at slightly different times. The early morning crew struggled to open their red eyes and the late night arrivals showed up starving. As the students trickled in we had an orientation to GLA, some ice breakers and name games, and ate traditional Costa Rican food, which tonight was “casados”, a rice and bean based meal. The group that landed in the afternoon went on a walk and passed a park where people were dancing and playing instruments. In the end everyone started dancing!

After dinner the group went back to the hostel and did a game where they set goals for themselves and then worked to create a plan for how much they want to use or not use their phones.

Tonight we are staying in San Jose, but tomorrow we are driving to Uvita, where we will meet with the rest of the Bodhi team. Bodhi is our partner organization that will facilitate the majority of the program, such as surf, yoga, service, and room and board.

Starting tomorrow students will be writing the daily blog.

As for now, buenas noches!

-Jen and Patrick

Sunday June 24, 2018

Hola!

We learned more about each other on our four hour bus ride from our hostel in Alajuela to Bodhi Surf and Yoga. When we arrived we met more Costa Rican’s with interesting back stories. After settling in to our new rooms for the week we got to tour the Bodhi base and local Uvita. As we made our way from central to coastal Costa Rica we drank from coconuts and met some sloths and crocodiles, as upclose and personal we could get without putting our lives in danger. Overall it was a pretty successful day diving into the culture (but not the pool) however we have a 6 am wakeup tomorrow so… Buenas noches and ciao ciao for now.

-Maddy and Christiana

Monday June 25, 2018

Today was our first full day at Bahia Ballena. This morning we woke up at 6:00 and went to breakfast. We had gallo pinto, eggs, oatmeal, and lots of fruit. Next, we made the 20 minute walk to the beach. After that we took our first surf lesson, it was definitely fun but SUPER tiring. I’d say the class definitely enjoyed it. Our surf instructors were very helpful and patient with us. Next we went back to Bodhi and ate some lunch. Then Jen and Patrick told us their Stories of Self, they were very interesting and insightful!

So then, we went to the yoga studio. It was a nice and peaceful place. We discussed the definition of service, we discussed a specific Indian custom called the circle of courage, and watched a Ted Talk about leadership and how one small act can impact a person’s life for a very long time.

Finally, we went to Forjando Alas and did an activity with children called “All About Me”. Everyone told a little about themselves in their second language, Spanish for us and English for the kids, it was quite challenging. All of us were very excited to be with the kids and the kids were excited to have us. An inspiring person today was Yerleni. She is the executive director of Forjando Alas. She was very kind and wants to make a difference in the children’s lives in the Uvita/Bahia Ballena community.

After that we went back to Bodhi and and ate pasghetti (Spanish for spaghetti). After that we went to the yoga studio and everyone told their life stories. It was amazing to hear about how different everyone’s lives were and what everyone had been through. It was a great way to get to know each other a little better.

We are very excited to do more service and more surfing tomorrow. So far our experience has been amazing and we can’t wait to see what more GLA and Costa Rica has to offer.

-Logan and Luke

Tuesday June 26, 2018

Today we started the day with service at the local parquecito. We painted and refurbished sidewalks, tables and benches by adding bright colors. Unfortunately the unexpected tropical rain washed away some of the colors however we still had fun with the locals. We ended by reflecting on an impactful video and discussion about defining service.

After service we went surfing at Bahia Ballena. We came at high tide and the waves were a little choppy-but we managed to make it work and have fun. Today we practiced more and learned to turn left and right into waves.

When we got back from surfing we had a wonderful dinner of hamburgers and french fries. Following dinner we all participated in a group activity which simulated the impact of the World Cup in Brazil on the Brazilian culture and their economy.

Today we learned about the different types of service we can provide: temporary and unsustainable. Providing sustainable service is the most beneficial to communities because it leaves a lasting impact. Something that surprised us the most was that 22,000 people were displaced from their homes in result of the FIFA World Cup. We are learning a lot here… and growing.

Off to brush our teeth,

Josh, Grace, and Sage

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Hey families,

Today was, I cannot describe it in any other way, amazing. Started off the day as a leader today and had a super good breakfast. Surfing was so good today. I caught the best wave. I went about as far as I could out and then rode it all the way to shore. After surfing we headed to this marketplace and I bought some things for my siblings back at home. After that we came back and got clean and ready for service work. For our service today we hung out with the kids from Forjando Alas. At first we only had the younger kids and it was so surprising how crazy these kids athletic skills were. They were running up a rocky road with no shoes on and then playing soccer barefoot. Their energy was so cool it see and it was such an amazing experience seeing and knowing that I helped out their mood.

We all learned how good it feels to know that we helped make someones day better. Something we learned was how tough these little kids are. They were running on rocks with bare feet and playing soccer through minor injuries. We are proud of how well we all did surfing and also we are proud of helping the community out. The surf instructors were a huge help and inspiration today. They were calm, cool, and collected while teaching us and even when a sting ray was very close to one of us. We all learned how much of an emotional and mental impact helping out can make on yourself and the people you are helping. Sometimes there are more emotional improvements than physical improvements.

-Sarah and Jake 🙂

  

Thursday June 28, 2018

Yesterday we went white water rafting. We learned all of the motions and strokes needed to be successful. We were surprised how good the meal they prepared for us was and how generous the proportions were. We were also surprised for how massive the rapids were. All throughout the trip the instructors land the drivers that got us there were extremely nice and provided a comfortable atmosphere in which we could properly and comfortably respect one another and experience a different culture. We were proud that our tribe was respectful and also how only 6 out of 15 fell out! We are very proud of everyone who fell out because they maintained a super positive attitude.

Today everyone is a person of inspiration because everyone stayed positive and respectful during the whole trip. We the leaders of the day (Ben and Lilly) learned new things about ourselves today. I, Ben learned that my ability to raise my voice ,in a culturally appropriate way, is a good way of getting everyone’s attention and bringing the group together quicker and more efficiently. I, Lilly learned to always be ready for a new adventure even if it’s terrifying. I also learned that to lead you need mutual respect and to try and get to now everyone and connect with them each individually.

Sincerely,
Ben and Lilly

Friday June 29, 2018

Well hello parents,

Today was a big day for us with our development in surfing along with leading service at forjando alas. We started the day with early morning surfing and there we learned how to ride green waves. While many of us got some good waves I personally are the water a few times. After five exhausting hours of surfing we made the walk back to bodhi for a great lunch of quesadillas. The main event of the day was yet to come as us students would lead service at forjando alas. While many of the activities planned didn’t work out, we still managed to have a great time with the kids and teach them some English.

We made them food, did arts and crafts, taught them how to dance “step”, and beatboxed with them. It was very difficult to say our goodbyes to the children but the experiences we made with them will last in our memories. Personally joe and I learned that’s despite our short time in Costa Rica we could have a positive impact on the community. We learned that we can be great leaders and guide our group to bring out our best potential.

With compassion, humility, and grace….

Joe and Noah

Saturday June 30, 2018

Hola familias,

Today we learned how to surf the green waves and about different animals on the hiking trail, such as monkeys, sloths, hawks, and different colored birds. What surprised us the most was that we all made it to the top of the trail, which was a 5k up and a 5k down, to see the view of the whale tail. We are all proud of being able to reach the top of the trail and make it to the green waves. Luis, an surf instructor, was really inspirational because he pushed a lot of people through hard times and told them they were doing great. He was there to help and give us advise on the water. At the end of the day we did a game, called the lollipop game, where we would give out a lollipop to someone that you appreciated or who did something nice.

From Maddy and Peterlee

 

Monday June 11, 2018

Hello families!

The first night has come to an end, and what an exhausting and exciting first day it was! Your children just traveled the world by themselves and made it safely to Costa Rica. As we settled into the hostel, we played a game to learn each other’s names. We had lunch, which was delicious! It had rice, veggies, and chicken. The juice was pineapple, star fruit, and orange juice all mixed together.

Before dinner we played a game where we set goals for ourselves and tried to guess each other’s goals. We are excited to see how students work towards their goals of making friends, learning to surf, and service work. Then we grabbed some take out and had dinner in front of an old cathedral just up the street.

We are a small group of 9, but we have students from Colorado, California, Wisconsin, Kansas City, Texas, Boston, Oregon, Florida, and North Carolina. It’s quite diverse! The students are now getting into their rooms, and will soon be asleep. We are excited for the full day ahead! We will be leaving bright and early for the beach and the Bodhi camp.

Til next time,

Jen and Patrick

Here are some pictures from dinner.

Tuesday June 12, 2018

¡Pura vida!

After a nice and early breakfast at the hostel, we left San José for Bodhi with some stops along the way. We got out at the crocodile bridge and admired some crocodiles (from a comfortable distance) while some of us sipped on coconut water. Our driver, Wali, managed to spot a sloth along the way and pulled over to show us!

After we arrived to Bodhi and settled in a bit. We had lunch and a quick orientation while meeting the rest of the Bodhi team. One highlight of the day was the walk we took around the community. Through intermittent downpours, we learned how to spot different types of citrus trees, tried mangos and mangas (very different!), and checked out some important spots around town.

When we got back to Bodhi we had a discussion about service and what it means to us and talked about the upcoming projects in the community. After dinner, our surf instructor, Gibran, talked about the philosophy of surfing and got us all excited for the week of surfing ahead! We can’t wait to get to the beach and our first afternoon of service-learning at Forjando Alas tomorrow!

Moving forward, students will be writing the blog. We have started the “leaders of the day” part of the program, and one of their responsibilities will be to take pictures and write the daily blog. The leaders will write about what happened during the day and what they learned.

 

Thursday June 14, 2018 (Part 1)

*Blog is about yesterday (Wednesday June 13)

Hello parents and families of GLA kids,

Yesterday we started our day off at 6:30 with breakfast and started to get ready for surfing. We had a 20 minute walk down to the beach, learned how to surf some gnarly waves, and had some fresh pineapple during our break. All of us were pretty proud of catching some good waves. As the day went on we walked to the local market in which we bought some souvenirs and authentic Costa Rican food. Around 2:00 we went to Forjando Alas in which we did after school activities with the children. This included playing soccer, duck duck goose, and the telephone game. The kids were so friendly and energetic this really surprised us all. We started to create a bond with the children as the hours went on. At 6:00 we came back to the home base and had some dinner. Finally, we ended the night off with sharing all of our life stories. We learned about how much it means to feel apart of the community. Travis (one of the owners of Bodhi) had been very influential through out the service hours and was encouraging everyone to come together as a group. I learned about how important it is to create relationships with our peers as well as the community members. ¡Buenas noches!!

-Kya and Averey 🙂

 

Surfing and service made up the schedule for the Costa Rica GLA Kids. Learning to turn and slow down engrossed us in activity till noon. An energetic game of soccer was played on the hot beach while we took a break from the waves. Around 11, The crew then walked back from the beach and was happily surprised by hamburgers for lunch. After a period of resting time we began to plan a service outline for the children Forjando Alas, the organization we have been working with to help. We played fun games with the kids like duck duck goose and sharks and fishes, and also made slime. We then came back and ate dinner with a post-meal yoga session.

Missing American food,
Your children

Written by: Jena Leighton and Elias Blank

Thursday June 14, 2018 (Part 2)

Surfing and service made up the schedule for the Costa Rica GLA Kids. Learning to turn and slow down engrossed us in activity till noon. An energetic game of soccer was played on the hot beach while we took a break from the waves. Around 11, The crew then walked back from the beach and was happily surprised by hamburgers for lunch. After a period of resting time we began to plan a service outline for the children Forjando Alas, the organization we have been working with to help. We played fun games with the kids like duck duck goose and sharks and fishes, and also made slime. We then came back and ate dinner with a post-meal yoga session.

Written by: Jena Leighton and Elias Blank

 

Friday June 15, 2018

Hey parents!

Today is Friday, June 15. This morning we woke up at 630, had breakfast, and then quickly headed to surfing. Today in surfing we learned how to do turtle rolls and paddling out, while still practicing surfing waves. A turtle roll is when you are paddling out and flip your board and roll under a wave as to not get pushed back. After surfing, we came back to Bodhi to eat lunch and go swimming in the pool.

After a quick rest, we gathered our things, put on sunscreen, and headed to community service. During community service, we partnered with a Costa Rican youth group of students our age. With them, we made activities for the younger children and taught lessons for the younger children. During this, we were challenged to only speak Spanish, while they could only speak English.

It was very interesting to see people using creative ways to get around the language barrier. After the community service, we came back home for dinner and a late night game of celebrity. Overall in our opinion it was a very fun day. The most surprising thing was how kids as young as six who didn’t know any English found ways to speak to us through friends and body language.

We are very proud of our leadership and how people stepped up and led us to work well with the kids our age in Costa Rica to get work done. An inspirational person today was Yerleni. She is a mom of one of the kids at her after school program and finds a way as the only employee to deal with limited resources and still provide education, fun, and life skills for all these kids while keeping kids safe. She works very hard and was an inspiration to all of us. Finally, we all learned some more Spanish vocabulary and how to paddle out in big waves! Attached below are some pictures.

-Jake and Dietrich

  

Saturday June 16, 2018

Today we woke up to go white water rafting in a local river with us and some other fun people. We learned about local plant life and weather impacts near the river. While on the river we were thrown around like a rag doll in the boat. The river was strong and powerful enough to topple a boat. Everyone enjoyed the snacks and lunch we received from a local organization. Some of us learned how to white water raft for the first time today and we all had very much fun and look forward to the next day.

-Vido and Melissa

Sunday June 17, 2018

Today we woke up, had a quick breakfast and then headed out to catch some waves. Surfing today was full of “getting trucked”, according to Kya. A few people had some quick encounters with a jellyfish, but all is good now. After surfing we came back to Bodhi and enjoyed a nice lunch that consisted of chicken, vegetables, and of course rice and beans.

Our service today was all about understanding our relationship to the ocean and giving back to the environment. We helped pick up trash off of the local beaches with the assistance of some local Costa Rican teenagers. Afterwards we helped teach them how to surf, but also helped hype them up when they caught a wave. It was an overall fun time helping the community while also making a friend or two.

After service we came back and had some down time before our final yoga session. During this time many students called or FaceTimed their dads to wish them happy Father’s Day. Our yoga session was relaxing and much needed for our sore bodies. We did something called “partner yoga”, which is a fun way to gain a deeper stretch while also assisting someone else. It’s also good for a laugh or two. At the end we had a relaxing 10 minute cool down where we open our minds to the beautiful sounds of nature around us. A few people were so relaxed they actually fell asleep. We were all a little sad that this was our last yoga session in Costa Rica. We have all had an amazing time here and we will definitely be cherishing our final days here.

-Written by Allison and Avery

Monday June 18, 2018

¡Buenas Noches los padres!

Today we started our day off at 6:30 in which we had our regular eggs, beans, toast, and coffee for breakfast. We then got ready to go on our morning hike called “La Union”. We all struggled to walk up, but it was worth it as we had finished off seeing some great scenery of the town and beach. We were surprised by how long the hike was – It was 8 miles!! After coming back exhausted we all rested up before lunch. We were all excited to see that beef was on the menu along with rice and vegetable soup. Next we got ready for our last surf lesson at the beach. Today we paddled out to the green waves even thought it was pouring rain and most of us caught at least one or more waves.

We learned not to be in the water while it was raining and thundering. As we were walking, I realized that we had been inspiration for one another in different aspects. We walked back to the home base in the pouring rain and started to get dressed up for the dinner at Carlitos. Carlitos is a local restaurant that is just right across the street from us. At Carlitos we had some yummy food including spaghetti, meatballs, salad, bread, and fries. Throughout dinner we did a lollipop activity and gave a lollipop to a person who has impacted you in a positive way during the trip. I’m proud of all the compliments we gave to one another. We ended the night off with a dance party and watching a movie!! I learned that we need to live in the moment. That concludes our final night at Bodhi 🙁

-Kya and Elise

 

 

Wednesday June 20, 2018

We all just had a tough goodbye at the airport after an awesome week of surfing, service, and adventure. Yesterday was our last day of service at the Parquecito, where we painted benches and beautified the park alongside some local volunteers. We got to meet a retired professional soccer player who was helping organize the project and then enjoyed some popsicles at the end. Afterward we went back to Bodhi and packed up. Then we got in the shuttle to head back to San José. We had a nice pizza dinner and then did a final appreciation circle where we were able to anonymously share the positive impacts we had on one another. We’re so grateful to have gotten to know you all and hope that you reflect back on all of the leaders, learning, and good times together. Don’t forget to keep journaling! We already miss y’all.

¡Pura vida!

Patrick and Jen

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Monday July 16, 2018

Hello friends and family!

Our first day here in San José has come to an end with everyone settling in for a much needed rest. Flights arrived quite smoothly throughout the morning and afternoon and some even got the chance to try a local lunch called “casado” which translates as “married” – here the marriage is rice and beans with a meat, plantain and salad on the side. We did our swim tests in the hotel pool as well as some free swim / jacuzzi time once the whole group arrived. Before dinner we got together to do some quick get-to-know-you activities and headed to a buffet right across the street.

Tomorrow we will have a short city tour here in San José before heading along the windy roads to our host community of Providencia. Stay tuned for another post in the next few days – our GLA students will be writing them from now on!

By: Nico Couto
International Director

Wednesday July 18, 2018

Hello, Parents and Others!

Today is the 18th of July! We had breakfast at 7 and started work at 8. We took turns getting rocks from the river and shoveling to make a bio-garden, which is basically a natural filter that will be used to clean the soapy and greasy water from the house we are working. The river near our homebase is one of the cleanest in the world so Green Communities wants to keep it that way. We worked on it until 12:30, when we had lunch. There was rice, beans, salad, and plantains. We then had a small break and then started our Spanish lessons. We took placement tests to determine which level we were in and then listened to a song and filled out a worksheet. We then had a break and had dinner, and after journaling and then free time and then bedtime.

Thank you for reading his post and I hope you come back to read more!

By Hannah Li

Saturday July 21, 2018

Yesterday, we completed our third day of service, taking huge steps in completing the first two biogardens in the history of Providencia, the town in which we are staying. Then, we had our first Spanish class in our different levels. The authors of this, Jacob and Preston, are both learning typical Costa Rican terms that the Ticos use, such as “Mae“ and “Pura Vida!!! “ After a delicious dinner made by chef Juan, our gracious host at Tami Lodge, fajitas de carne, we had a group discussion about sustainable tourism and the benefits of locally run lodges over huge beachside hotels run by people who aren´t from Costa Rica. Luis Diego, our fearless Costa Rican leader told us the 6 rules to smart tourism. Make sure to ask your kid about it when they get back!!

Today, Saturday, we finished two biogardens after four days of work. Javier, the owner of the house where we built the second biogarden from scratch gave us an emotional thank you, and his family gave us all bracelets and ice cream that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Later, we went to the plaza and played soccer with a bunch of kids from Providencia, including Juan´s son, Gustavo. We unfortunately lost, 5-7, but it was very fun, highlighted by goals from Preston, Myles and Jacob, and outstanding goalkeeping by Diego and Max. Then, the advanced Spanish class helped Juan cook casado, a traditional Costa Rican dish that newly-wed spouses often cook for each other, while the other two Spanish classes played some Costa Rican games.

Thanks for reading our blog post and be sure to check soon for updates about our waterfall hike and ziplining adventures. We also do laundry tomorrow!

Hope the U.S. is ok,

-Preston Helfand and Jacob Cowan

Wednesday July 25, 2018

Today is day 10, and it´s Wednesday my dudes! Day 7 was adventure day 1, which was a 4 hour hike! Although the hike was difficult, and had many spiky trees along the way, the destination was a beautiful waterfall! Check it out on our instagrams @emilygr4 and @s.oficav #selfpromo. In my opinion, the best part of the hike was the delicious butter and jelly sandwich we each received half way through! It was the perfect kick to get us through the rest of the hike #welovebutter. Later that day we did “adopt a gringo”, where we spent two hours in the home of a Costa Rican family with two other members of our group. It was a super fun an immersive experience which really helped us gain a better understanding of how locals live. We finished that night with a movie called “Tambien la Lluvia”, which sadly half of us slept through #hotpockets.

Day 8 was our second adventure day, and we visited the Extreme Forest Park. We did a short zipline which was probably 100 feet, and by far the easiest thing we had to do. That led to a Tarzan swing, which forced us to jump off a ledge and swing high into the air. Next we had to the jungle fly, which was the most terrifying experience of my life. We were pulled high into the air, and then released by our dear friends when we were least expecting it. We then swung 100 feet into the air, back and forth, screaming all the way. We then moved on to climb the inside of a 90 foot 500 year old tree, which was very difficult and then we jumped out the top and were lowered to the ground. It was quite the experience, and took #bigenergy. We ended the day with Spanish class and cafecito, which is the highlight of the day every day.

Day 9 was service day 5! We started mixing and laying cement for an amphitheater for the community of Providencia, where they will be able to hold town meetings, play basketball, and have concerts. When we got back we did a dance class, dinner, and discussion with the Young Dreamers. We got to dance with them, which was a blast, and we got to see our own directors bust a move #sofiandjonathon4life.

Today we did more service, where we continued to mix cement with the Young Dreamers #cementfight. Then we came back and had Spanish class, and level 1 had a cooking class with Juan. We are about to have the dinner they prepared, and then watch a movie, so we´re droppin to dinner boys.

Goodnight and Pura Vida mae,

Xoxo

Sofi Cavenaile & Emily Greeley

Sunday July 29, 2018

Hello everyone! The Spanish Service Adventure group visited the beach the last three days and I`m going to tell you about it!

The journey to the beach was quite exhausting, yet when we arrived, El Parque de Manuel Antonio welcomed us with is beautiful nature and many types of animals. We came in contact with white faced monkeys that followed some members of the group for a while. Our guide, Leo, was generous enough to show us the sloths that were hanging high in the trees and questionably poisonous spiders along with frogs unable to mate because they are deaf. We followed the long hiking trail to the beach where we all sprinted into the waves and were greeted by the extreme saltiness of the Pacific Ocean. We bonded with group activities like human knot in the water, which did not last very long. However, it started to rain so we left for our hotel. The place where we were staying was very nice and each room was a separate building. The hotel also had a very nice swimming pool, which was the main hangout spot for our group. The buffet food was excellent and we finally received a dessert, which we were craving for a long time.

The next morning, we journeyed to the surf beach! We were all super excited and it was way more fun than we expected. Two hours of surfing was not enough time to fully experience the joy of surfing. Afterward, we ate pineapple and mango and we went shopping on a street market and bargained with local vendors. A few hours later, we went to dinner at a Thai place called Phat Noodle, which is still an ongoing joke within our group. The food was absolutely delicious and some of us also bought brownies and ice cream, which we all inhaled.

The next morning, we drove back to Providencia, which now feels like just home. We went the Plaza to meet the young dreamers, or the local teens and played soccer. However, it was pouring rain and new game emerged which was who could go the farthest in homemade slip n slide, which Max was crowned the winner.

Thanks for reading this blog and keeping up with our trip.

More to come later!

Zoë Peters :))

By Olivia Shaw

Monday July 30 through Wednesday August 1, 2018

Hey everyone! I’m going to tell you about days 15-17 of our Spanish Service Adventure.

Starting on day 15, we began our last service cycle, which was working on an organic coffee farm. The farm belongs to Juan, one of the owners of Tami Lodge and the man who prepares our amazing food every day. We began by working at the biofabrica (bio factory), making fertilizer and shoveling it into bags. While it was fun and educational, this was also the first day we all began smelling like poop (pardon my French)! We learned about all of the different things that go into making organic fertilizer (it’s a lot!) and worked tirelessly to fill what seemed like hundreds of bags.

Day 2 was on Juan’s farm, where we began with a discussion about agricultural production with Arturo. We then got to walk through a conventional coffee farm and an ecological coffee farm to see the differences. The most prevalent thing we all noticed was that the ecological farm had flowers and trees, not just coffee plants. We then began filling small buckets with the fertilizer and passing it down a long chain of people to put a bucket on each coffee plant. It was quite exhausting, but still managed to be fun. Day 3 began with a discussion about water, followed by walking to Savegre River to talk more and see water pouring from the earth. The discussion was quite touching and I think everyone took something away from it. After this, we went back to Juan’s farm and continued filling and passing buckets. Despite major back pain, we finished fertilizing every plant! Overall, the last service day was a major success.

Day 15 consisted also of our final Spanish presentations, which involved expositions about different themes from the advanced level, presentations and dances about different regions in Costa Rica from the intermediate level, and short but hilarious skits from the beginner level. We followed that with game night, which was moving Pictionary. Both teams fought hard, but ultimately, Rachael’s mentor group (my group!) won.

Day 16 was the day we had a coffee tour, where we saw the process that coffee beans go through to become the coffee we drink every day, as well as tasting 3 types of coffee and guessing which was organic, conventional, and “horrible” coffee. We then watched “Cowspiracy”, which lead to quite a few people changing their meal plans to vegetarian for the rest of the trip. To end the night, we watched a TED talk about the dangers of a single story, and then talked about how our lives have been affected by single stories. It was a very touching and emotional way to end the night.

Thanks for reading!

Liv 🙂

Friday August 3, 2018

Day 19 Is the day that we returned from white water rafting on the Pacuare river. The white water was really intense due to the recent flood a couple weeks ago, but the trip was so much fun. Being able to see the mountains and canyons from the water was an amazing experience, because everything was so beautiful. My favorite moment was seeing a huge bird fly really close to where we were eating lunch, watching the huge wings move so elegantly absolutely took my breath away. While in the area, we also got a tour of Cartago. We learned about some of the history of the city and had the privilege to see part of a cultural tradition that occurs every year at this time. Cartago is a very Catholic area, and we saw the hundreds of people that had walked from their home to be at the basilica (which is kind of a large cathedral like religious building) for a special mass. It was a very moving experience to be so immersed in another culture during such an important time.

Sadly, tomorrow is our final day in Providencia. We will return for one last jump in the waterfall nearby, eat with the Young Dreamers for our last dinner here, and have our talent show. Saying our goodbyes will be bittersweet, but hopefully more sweet than bitter as I am so glad to have met everyone here and shared this experience together.

~Aria

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Friday June 22, 2018

Hello family and friends! Our first day is coming to an end and has felt both long and short at the same time. Students were arriving most of the morning and afternoon and settled well into our hotel in San José. Some had the chance to swim in the pool / jacuzzi before a thunder storm passed over and we headed to a buffet dinner of typical Costa Rican fare. After dinner we played a quick name game before going to our rooms to get some much needed rest. Tomorrow we will be doing a city tour in the morning and getting to know our local home base before lunch! We’ll post again in the new few days to keep you updated on the experience.

We are still waiting for two friends to join us – Nickolas and Parker Johnson. We all look forward to meeting you on Sunday!

-by Nico Couto, International Director

Sunday June 24, 2018

Hola amigos! Today was the first full day in Providencia, and we immersed ourselves in the local culture through dance, Spanish, and soccer. After a delicious breakfast of eggs, French toast and fruit, we commenced our journey through the process of learning the local language, Spanish. In the midst of practicing basic conversational skills and being introduced to the local slang, students from Providencia taught us typical Costa Rican dance while helping us improve our Spanish.

Following the eventful morning, we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by the local women. We then spent our afternoon playing soccer with locals at the communal soccer field, the Plaza. Our night concluded with a lively debate regarding small whaling communities. It was a fabulous day!

P.S. Happy birthday to Sophie Whitney! We had some yummy cake after dinner and hope it was a memorable sweet 16.

-By Jamie Malasek and Jordan Davidson

Thursday June 28, 2018

Hello! We just finished day 7 of our trip; hard to believe it´s been a week! Since last update, we´ve accomplished a lot.

The first thing we did before we even started service was have a talk about sustainable development. The leader of the organization Green Communities, Jonathan, talked to us about the modern world of consumerism and exploitation of the resources on Earth, and the impacts that our current culture will have on the world. He explained to us how to counteract this trend with ecologically friendly bio-farms. These bio-farms reduce environmental impacts without depriving the humans who depend on them for survival. We will be working on one of these bio-farms as our community service project in the coming weeks.

We had 3 days of community service this week. We worked in the Plaza, which is an area for the locals to gather in Providencia. Currently, there´s only a soccer field. We were working on building a basketball court/amphitheater right next to the field. The main jobs during the 3 days were making and mixing concrete, and digging the outline of the field. By the end of the 3 days, we had crossed the halfway point in creating the new area, and learned the arts of using a pickaxe and making cement. It was hard work, but it was rewarding to see real progress being made to help the town.

At 4:00 this morning, we all woke up for our first excursion of the program: our whitewater rafting trip in Turrialba. After a 3 hour drive, we got into groups of 5 and learned the intricacies of paddling. We started down the river on our 28 kilometer (or 17.3 miles) journey down the Pacuare River, starting with easy, Class 1 and 2 rapids. After a few warm up rapids, we got to the real action, the bunch of class 3 and 4 rapids. They threw us around, and some people out of the raft (sometimes even twice). We stopped on the side of the river and had some iguana tail burritos (tastes like chicken) and some fruit juice. We resumed the 2 hours after lunch encountering more class 3 and 4 rapids. We got to get out and swim while we were in between 2 mountains, one of the most beautiful sights we´ve ever seen; there were waterfalls, trees, and the mountains and cliffs towering above us. When we finally finished, we got back to our hotel in Turrialba. We waited in the lobby as our rooms were figured out, and they actually got changed up from our home base tents: good chance to make new friends!

We also celebrated another sweet 16 today; happy birthday to Malia Old!

That´s all for now, tomorrow we head to Cartago for a city tour by Luis Diego, our Cartago-native mentor. Adios!

-By Jared Kupersmith and Parker Johnson

Sunday July 1, 2018

Hello parents!

I hope you guys are enjoying the blog because we GLA students are putting a lot of effort and time into keeping you posted on what we are doing!

First of all we would like to introduce ourselves, today talking here is Courtney and Henrique and we are glad to write for you!

Today we started our day at 6 in the morning, I don´t know if you are aware but some of us have been exercising before breakfast. The run took about 30 minutes for us to have time to change and pack the needed items for the day before eating. Breakfast started at 7 am where we ate Gallo Pinto (typical Costa Rican food), eggs and fruit. Right after that we went to a coffee farm to work as we did the past day. There we helped the farmer Gerardo to spread fertilizer in to the ORGANIC coffee plants, don’t be fooled, we did had a lot of music and water breaks!

Service finished at 11:30 where we had half an hour to chill (most of us showered) before lunch that started at noon. At lunch we were served chicken, vegetables, guacamole, and plantain chips by local women! Delicious! Believe me we had another break after that, GLA believes in a balance between work and time for people to reflect and relax (play cards).

If you are asking yourself yes us (Henrique and Courtney) are the best card players ever, no one cheats like us. At 2pm our Spanish class started. Henrique is in advanced where they studied about neutrino carbon emission in the world and about Franklin Chang Díaz, the first non American to go to space with NASA. Courtney is in the intermediate class where they watched part of a documentary about environmental issues and talked about it in Spanish. The lower group cooked, we think. One more free time later, we had food at 6:30. At dinner we had some amazing MEAT! Yeah we some other stuff like Pico de Gallo but is not as important. After dinner we had some group activities to get closer and have fun. And now we have a last free time before bed that we are spending here writing for you!

Friday July 6, 2018

Hi! Our names are Sophie and Henrique, and we´re writing the blog for you today to keep you guys posted on what the GLA students are up to.

So, since we haven´t been updated in days, we´ll summarize the past
few days:

Tuesday morning, we left Providencia to head towards Dominical for a
beach excursion. Once we reached Dominical, everyone
had lunch at a restaurant with a spectacular ocean view, followed by
everyone chilling around the beach, buying souvenirs from pop-up
booths. However, the highlight of the trip was the surf lesson we
took. Everyone seemed to get the hang of surfing, and several people
were able to stand up and ride the waves to the shore. The second
highlight of the excursion was visiting Manuel Antonio National Park,
where we saw lots of cool animals and bugs, including monkeys and
sloths. Also, at the park, there was a nice beach with some crazy
waves and, unfortunately, some sharp rocks (we all survived!)
Finally, we ended our excursion with watching the sunset on the
Dominical beach.

We started yesterday morning by waking up bright and early (7 am) for
a 3 hour drive back to Providencia, but an unexpected landslide closed
a crucial highway we needed to return. So, to pass the time, we
embarked on a scavenger hunt in a nearby town named Perez Zeledon.
When the landslide was cleared 2 hours later, we continued our trip
back to Providencia. With about an hour left of our ride, we stopped
for a quick meal. After getting back to Providencia, most of us went meet
different families and keep practicing our Spanish.

Today, we started 2 new service projects (our main project was delayed
due to rain): eco-bricks and biogardens. Eco-bricks are plastic
bottles filled with other “trash” that would normally accumulate in
the ocean. These “bricks” are used in Providencia to build bleachers
and walls, so we spent around an hour stuffing bottles to make
eco-bricks. After the rain cleared up, we started our biogarden
project, where we dug a meter-deep hole and collected a large amount
of rocks. Biogardens are used to filter the “gray water” to make the
river in Providencia cleaner. Recently, higher levels of soap and
sludge were detected in the river, and Green Communities plans to
reduce these levels.

We hope you enjoy reading what´s been happening here in Costa Rica, and we´ll keep you guys posted!

Monday July 9, 2018

Hello everyone! We´ve reached the end of Day 18 already and it´s crazy to think that only two more full days lay ahead of us. Today was our last service day, with great effort and teamwork we managed to fill our giant hole with all of the rocks that we collected, put in the first pipes and collect the type of plant we need to finish the bio-garden.

We also had our last Spanish class today, with everyone participating in many different final presentations that took place in the presence of the creator of the Green Communities Spanish course. Before breakfast and after lunch we had the chance to see the beginning and end of the process of creating sweets and sugar from raw sugarcane – grinding the sugarcane, boiling it with a special tree bark, taking the solid product and putting it into mold with different herbs and spices. We also went to an adventure park where we did zip-linning, tarzan swing and even climbed inside the middle of a tree!

On a more academic note, we have had a couple more discussions: one on consumption and another on water usage. We walked down to a natural spring for the water talk which was very interesting, and we were pushed in both of them to think about alarming angles of over-consumption and water use, how this affects us at home and what we can do about it.

Tomorrow we will be hiking to a waterfall as our last outing; after that just another leadership activity and then packing, evaluations and a talent show on July 11.

-by Nico Couto (International Staff)

Click here to jump down to the new posts!

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Hola!!!!

After a long day of flying we have all made it to Costa Rica! When we got here most of us took a nap right away in the hotel after meeting our mentors. Then we all did a walking tour through the capital city, saw the most import Monuments and even saw some street performers!

We came back to the hotel for dinner and then got some sleep for our three hour drive to home base!! We won’t have WiFi there so please don’t worry if we don’t get back to you. We’ll be having too much fun to look at our phones.

Adios!

Friday July 27, 2018

Hola amigos! Today was an awesome day. We woke up at around 6:35 to eat breakfast at 6:45.
It was delicious! Then we got on the bus and headed over to San Pedro where we meet up with
the group. Then we broke a sweat working hard on the long-term project of a sidewalk for the
kids and public to walk on. We then hopped on over to lunch, where we had an authentic Costa
Rican meal cooked by wonderful and generous ladies. We then played a quick match of soccer
and headed back to home base. After our daily Spanish classes, we had a scrumdiddlyumptious
meal and then bounced back to our cabins for a peaceful night sleep. We had an incredible day
today and we can’t wait for tomorrow!

P u r a vi d a m a e !

Saturday July 28, 2018

Hola amigos! Today we had another amazing day in Costa Rica. We got to sleep in until 6:50 to
have another delicious breakfast at 7. Then we went down to the bus and made our way to San
Pedro to begin our third day of service. Today we primarily worked with cement with some of
us transporting compost to participating eco farms. Due to an event in the main hall we ate our
lunch in a different place today, but the food was just as good! After that we headed back to
home base to begin another Spanish lesson that lasted 2 and a half hours. Then we ate a
delectable dinner and had free time for the rest of the night. Tune in tomorrow for another
picante post from your blog baristas. Goodnight folks!

P u r a vi d a m a e !

Tuesday July 31, 2018

Hola!!!

For the first half of the trip, we’ve been working on a sidewalk in the small town of San Pedro.
After fully cementing the drainage ditch on a large portion of concrete, we started the second
half of our community service, which involves working on local coffee farms and using compost
to fertilize coffee plants. We formed assembly lines with buckets, and through group effort, we
fertilized hundreds of coffee plants.

After four days of hard work, we decided to take a break and head to the beach! For our first
day in Playa Dominical, we all took a surf lesson for two hours. The conditions were great, and
everyone was able to surf multiple waves. After a delicious lunch, we drove to our hotel for
some much needed wifi and rest. It was a chill afternoon by the pool leading up to another
group meal in the hotel dining room.

For our second day in Dominical, we got up early and shuttled to the Manuel Antonio National
Park. We made our way through the park and were lucky enough to spot a three-toed friendly
sloth, and several other amazing animals including a rainbow grasshopper, and squirrel
monkeys. We arrived at a beautiful beach with crystal clear waters and white sands where we
spent two hours swimming and meeting other American teenagers. We left the beach right
before a rainstorm hit, and headed to town where we ate lunch and shopped to our heart’s
content. We then went back to the beach to watch the sunset.

Today after driving an hour to the beginning of a dirt road, we boarded four by fours trucks and
ascended 10,000 feet of mountain road to make it back to the cloud forest and Cedrela. The
ride was bumpy and fun and everyone had a great time. This afternoon we continued our
Spanish class, as the rain once again kept us inside. We’ll continue community service at the
coffee farms for the rest of this week. Pura Vida!

-Blake and Olivia

Saturday August 4, 2018

Hola!!!

We had an amazing time fertilizing organic coffee farms the last few days! The compost
smells…absolutely amazing 😉

Unfortunately, today was our very last day of service. It was a little hard to say goodbye to
Arturo and Alvaro, our service leaders. They are amazing people and are super passionate
about what they do. The mothers that cook lunch for us every day celebrated all our hard work
by performing some traditional Costa Rican dances for us in their traditional dresses. It was so
fun to dance with them!

When we got back to Cedrela we also had our last Spanish class today! Each level of Spanish
had to present their final projects. Level 1 taught us about Costa Rican legends, level 2 hosted a
game show to teach us about different regions of Costa Rica and level 3 presented a summary
of everything we have done here the past two weeks. Nothing can beat the new GLA Costa Rica
theme song: “La playa” written and produced by Rex and Eli!

We had a delicious chicken dinner and then spent the night doing our last Leadership Activity.
We got the chance to think about our future selves and what/who we want to be twenty years
down the road. After that, we had some free time before bed and Tona and Esteban took us
animal hunting in the woods. Didn’t see much though, and the animals we thought we saw
turned out to be Esteban playing jokes on us!

Tomorrow is our last full day in CR and we are heading to the Extreme Forest Park. We cannot
wait!!!!