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Sunday July 8, 2018

Pura vida, mae!

We made it to Costa Rica on this beautiful sunny day! Even though we are super tired from our long flights, we managed to make the most of our day in San Jose. We got to do a walking tour through the capital of this amazing country and learned all about the buildings.

While we briefly visited the nation’s most important historical buildings, what really caught our eye was the sunset and parakeets!!! Tomorrow we are heading to our homebase and stopping for a coffee mill tour on the way! We won’t have internet at our homebase, but don’t worry, we will be busy having fun making new friends, practicing our Spanish and serving the San Pedro community!

Hasta luego,
GLA

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Hola!

Yesterday we woke up pretty early so that we could head to home base. It was about a 2.5 hour
drive, but we stopped on the way to do a coffee tour at La Pira de Dota. We learned about how
coffee is produced and the many steps that are involved in that process. We also got to taste
their homemade coffee and fresh lemonade. After we got to home base we ate a delicious
lunch of fish and fruit salad. We did some team building activities in the afternoon along with
some intense card games. Our leadership roles were chosen and then we ended the night with
mentor groups.

Today was an early morning as well. After eating breakfast, we drove to the town of San Pedro
to start our service projects. We shoveled compost into bags so that it can be transported to
the coffee fields that need it. After we worked for a couple of hours, the women from the
community made us lunch which consisted of rice, beans, and chicken. We came back from our
service site and started Spanish. While some of the group was doing interviews in Spanish, the
rest of us played interesting games. We ate dinner and then got our Spanish placement results.
We ended the night with a bonfire which lead us to becoming a closer group.

Pura vida,
Kendall

Wednesday July 11, 2018

¡Hola!

We had another early morning today to begin working on building a sidewalk for the community of San Pedro, so the children can walk safely to school. We divided up into three groups, with two groups mixing cement and the other group leveling the ground and laying down the cement. Unfortunetly we had to stop construction about half an hour early due to rain. After service we had lunch made by the local mothers of pasta with vegetables and meat. Following lunch we returned back to home base.

Back at home base, we had some free time that we could use to shower, as we were very dirty from building the sidewalk. Then we began our first day of Spanish classes in our groups. We worked on lessons in our different level groups, as well as activities all together. After Spanish lessons, we had some more free time. Then we had dinner at home base of pasta, cream sauce, and bread.

After dinner, we had an evening activity where we watched a video about all the processes the things we buy go through from when they are made to after we throw them away. It made us all more aware about the impact the products we consume have on ourselves and the environment. After the video we finished the day with a movie night.

Hasta luego,
Autumn

Saturday July 14, 2018

Yesterday we worked on the sidewalk that runs from the school to the town. We were covered in cement when we left, but it was all worth it. For lunch we had rice and salad that was made by the local women. After lunch, we took Spanish class and then had a discussion about smart tourism before going to the beach.

Today we woke up around five to leave for the beach. We rode on the bus for about an hour and then we got on an outdoor Jeep. It was an amazing experience to see the mountains and the unique variety of fauna. After driving, we arrived at Manuel Antonio National Park. We took a tour there and saw toucans, sloths, monkeys, raccoon, and a lot other animals. We went swimming at the beach, and then went to relax at the hotel.

-Kendall

Tuesday July 17, 2018

Papa Tom (Tommy) and Emma here. Today we had our first experience tending to a coffee
farm. Prior to service, we discussed the differences between conventional and organic
agriculture. We also visited both types of farms. After learning the importance of our service for
the organic coffee plantation, we went to work. We spilt up into groups with some people
shoveling and others participating in an assembly line to spread compost throughout the fields.
We only lasted about 20 minutes before a group of warrior ants interrupted our work. The
shoveling was postponed for a while, but we were able to see the impressive ecological wonder
of thousands of ants migrating in a flowing line. After the ants finished their crusade, we went
back to our jobs. Later, we enjoyed a homemade meal cooked by the wonderful mothers in the
community. Once we returned to home base, it was time for Spanish class! We had a surprise
addition to our class: a Spanish cooking lesson lead by our chef Memo. We learned to make
arepas con queso. We ended the night with a delicious dinner and a fun dance class lead by the
mentors. We learned bachata, salsa and even had a demonstration of the worm. Tomorrow we
have another day of service and fun, so for now hasta luego and buenas noches!

Friday July 20, 2018

Hola Mae!

Today was a bittersweet day for everyone. We celebrated our last ‘real’ day in CR with a visit to the Extreme Forest Adventure Park. We swang from trees, ziplines and even climbed a hollow tree! After our outdoor adventure, we ate lunch at the other GLA base located in CR. We completed our day of adventure with a short walk to a natural pond and waterfall where we braved the cold waters for a quick swim. We then headed to the local fair in Santa Maria.

There we had the exciting opportunity to be in the presence of CR’s president! After we came home, the afternoon was spent packing and enjoying time with our friends. After a delicious dinner, we completed the night with a talent show (congrats to Vincent and Bella for receiving 1st place!). Our last activity was an appreciation game full of love and laughter. While many of us are ready to head back home, everyone can agree that the memories we made here will stay with us forever.

Nos vemos y Pura Vida!
Emma

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Friday June 22, 2018

Holaaaa!

We made it to beautiful Costa Rica! After some long flights, some delays and some arriving early, our students are safe and sound with GLA staff in San Jose!

We had a great time getting the opportunity to talk to everyone and we even got a chance to swim in the awesome hotel pool to show our staff our swimming skills! We can’t wait to use them while we try surfing in a week or so!

We had dinner in the hotel, the traditional meal of rice, beans, chicken or fish, fried plantains and veggies! Yummm! After dinner, we got a chance to hang out with our new friends. Well, we are off to bed because at 6:20am we need to be ready for breakfast. We have a very busy day ahead of us and we cannot wait to see our homebase, Cedrela EcoLodge, tomorrow afternoon! We won’t have WiFi access there so don’t worry if you don’t hear from us, we’ll be too busy moving in to our new home!

Not pictured: Jake Writer

Saturday June 23, 2018

Hola Amigos,
Erin here!

Today we left the hotel in San Jose, and started the morning with breakfast at Dennys. We then took a tour around the city of San Jose, and learned a little about the history of Costa Rica. We learned that the majority of the buildings around are post-colonial due to the civil war in the 19th century that destroyed the older buildings. An interesting historical fact we learned about was the story behind the elimination of the army. In 1948, the president of Costa Rica, Pepe Figueres, destroyed a part of the military fort as a symbol to end the spilling of blood between brothers in Costa Rica.

After we toured around the city, we drove through winding streets up to the Los Santos region to La Pira, and had a tour around a coffee farm. Gabriel, the owner of the coffee farm business explained to us the process from picking the coffee fruit to extracting the bean and shipping the beans to coffee companies across Asia and the Americas. After the tour, we got to do “cupping,” which is the tasting of several coffees.

Getting back on the bus, we continued up the mountains to our home base. At the home base, we had a delicious lunch of chicken, potatoes, and a kale salad. Brutus is the dog here at home base, and there is also a cat, who are both adorable! We then hung out and did some orientation activities. We got to know each other better through name games, and more! As it got darker, we had a dinner of pasta, bread, and some blackberry juice. Afterwards, we got to know our mentors and played a little game of trivia which turned competitive very fast.

Again, it was pouring rain by 9pm, as well as lighting and thunder, which hopefully we’ll be able to get used to! But besides that, the view from our home base is absolutely gorgeous, and we’re looking forward to our first service project tomorrow, and having more fun!

That’s all folks!
Hasta luego!

Erin out

Sunday June 24, 2018

¡Hola Todos!
Kyle and Erin M. here!

Today we had another early morning, and had a yummy breakfast of pineapples, mangos, bread, and eggs. All the fruits and vegetables are grown here, and we got to each them fresh! Even the bread is homemade by our dearest chef, Memo. After breakfast, we left at 7:15 to our first service project in San Pedro. We met some of the local members of the community, and talked about developed communities, and sustainable communities. In the group, we also talked about why we are here in Costa Rica, and what we are doing here to support sustainable development in the community of San Pedro. Some of the things we can do here to benefit the environment is not only through the service projects, but also the little things like taking short showers, and recycling during our stay at the lodge.

Our first service project here that we started today is to make sidewalks for the kids here in Costa Rica to be able to safely walk to school. Split into groups, we accomplished our part for the day through teamwork. Some groups created cement, others dug out and flattened the dirt for the concrete, using shovels and pickaxes! Working together was very crucial, and also communicating with the community leaders as well. This service project for us was a very good experience to be able to use our hands and bodies to create something out a few materials to create an impact on the community. We are very excited to continue tomorrow, and get to see more of our progress. Although it was hard work, and at times tiring, we pushed through and getting to eat a delicious homemade lunch was very rewarding.

After a few hours of working on our project, we walked back down to the community school to meet the mothers of San Pedro who cooked lunch for us! We had an incredible lunch of beans, mixed vegetables, rice, guacamole, meat, and fresh fruit juice. Another way we were able to create a positive impact on the community was through being able to provide an income for the mothers who cooked for us. By involving and interacting with the community members, we can also encourage them to support Green Communities! After lunch, we went out and played a quick and fun spirited game of soccer. It got a little competitive, but I’m proud to say that the ‘chicas’ won! (plus Kyle was on the team too!)

Returning to the lodge, we got to take a little break and rest a little to recover. Then, we had our first Spanish lesson, which was more of just games and activities. We also had a few competitions with Pictionary and more. Then we played sardines, and some of us also played card games. For dinner, we had beef, kale salad, and fried yucca sticks which were all tasty once again. The kale here is actually grown right on the lodge! Tomorrow we will continue with the sidewalks, and have our first official Spanish class in our designated levels. Being able to practice our Spanish with some of the community members was fun, and after getting some good rest, hopefully we are up and energized for the next day of cement mixing and more digging!

¡Pura Vida!
¡Hasta Proto!

 

Monday June 25, 2018

¡Hola Amigos!

It’s Anna and Grace here to fill you in on all the exciting adventures of today!

After a nutritious breakfast of eggs, bananas and cereal, we began our day and headed to San Pedro for our second day of building sidewalks for the kids here in Costa Rica. Luckily for us, we got an extra 15 minutes of sleep because of the later breakfast time and were well-rested for the busy day of service and Spanish ahead!

At San Pedro, the service leaders were designated groups and led their teams in mixing cement, smoothing sidewalks and shoveling dirt. All the activities were similar to the ones we did the day before, but we all felt much more confident and comfortable doing each of the tasks because of our previous experience from yesterday. Today was special because we were able to listen to music during the service, making the hard work a little more fun and upbeat. Through the dancing and singing, there was not one sad face at the service site.

After our work at San Pedro, we drove to Santa Maria and practiced our Spanish speaking through interviews with local Costa Ricans! After breaking into groups, we asked shopkeepers and people around the park about what leadership means to them. By conversing with them in Spanish, we were able to apply our language skills and learn more about the role of leadership in the culture of Costa Rica. It was so enjoyable to step outside of the classroom and our comfort zones!

Our Spanish classes, split into 3 sections: beginning, intermediate and advanced, took place once we returned to the Cedrela Homebase from Santa Maria. By doing a variety of activities in the classes, including singing and discussions, we were able to get to know each other and expand our knowledge of the Spanish language.

After a relaxing break which included a gorgeous sunset, we had a delicious dinner made by our chef, Memo. Once we filled our stomachs with fish and mashed potatoes, we once more had a break before winding down for bedtime and planning for tomorrow. Overall, it was a successful day of sunsets, Spanish, service and leadership (otherwise known as “liderazgo” in español)!

¡Adios!
¡Pura Vida!

Friday June 29, 2018

Hola amigos!

We’re back from our “beachend” excursion from the land of Dominical and Quepos!

For the first day, we went to Manual Antonio National Park, which is in Quepos. There, the group was guided by a Tico expert on the historical preservation and knowledge of the biological ecosystems in the park. He helped us spot sloths, exotic crabs, lizards, birds, and monkeys hanging from the trees and scurrying across telephone lines!! We witnessed a National Geographic moment of a monkey indulging two eggs for its lunch. If we had a professional photographer, that moment would be worth a lot of money!

After our tiring but fascinating hike, we ended up at the beach, which is located in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica. Since the water was such the perfect temperature, Nicole and Tona had to drag us out for lunch. After a fun day of activities, we headed up to the hotel to rest up for the next adventure.

The next day in Dominical many of us experienced surfing for the first time. Through the local surf shop, we received lessons and the materials to surf. The waves were wild but we could not wait to stand on the board for the first time. After interviewing one of the surfers, Anna, she describe her experiences as so fun and exhilarating.

While some of us were surfing the rest of the group was on the avenue shopping from dynamic venders and buying locally made ice cream. Regrouping for lunch we traveled to a beautiful beachside restaurant where we enjoyed an array of dishes such as: fish tacos, hamburgers, shrimp and rice, and meat nachos. Mind you – every dish served to us in Costa Rica is accompanied with freshly squeezed fruit juice.

That night we all did our own thing by chillin’ in the pool and dancing the night away. We wrapped up the night with a family style dinner and the authors of this blog were the Head Queens of the table.

In the morning, we packed up our things and headed back up to the Eco Lodge. We are excited to get back and start service tomorrow, but we wish we had more time to relax by the water.

Pura Vida!!!!!

Lily and Nia

Saturday June 30, 2018

Hey y’all!

Today we started our second part of service. To start the day, we went to a conventional coffee farm and observed what the plants looked like when the farmers use pesticides and harmful chemicals. This farm was so dry and lifeless that one of the students referred to it as the graveyard¨.

After viewing the ¨graveyard¨, we went to Alvaro’s (the local leader of Los Santos) organic coffee farm. There was a noticeable difference in the plant soil, sun exposure, and amount of bug holes in the plants´ leaves.

Now comes the time that we have all been waiting for… to use Mother Nature’s resources to their fullest extent! By providing local revenue, jobs for Ticos, and positively contributing to the future of San Pedro and beyond, GLA students used manure, food scraps, and beneficial bacteria as our fertilizer. At the organic coffee farm in San Pedro, we helped fertilize one area of the farm by using an assembly line method. Some of us shoveled organic compost into buckets, passing them down the line to be dumped around the base of the coffee plant. By working together, we were able to complete a job, that would normally take one farmer 2-3 days, in 4 hours!

To end our day in San Pedro, we played an intense game of fútbol. In a close match the boys ended up winning 6-5. As a closing remark, we all had a blast getting back into service and spent the remaining afternoon learning Spanish and hiking around the EcoLodge.

¡Hasta Luego!

Nia, Lily
Hazy for pictures

Sunday July 1, 2018

Hola!

The sun beamed its usual rays this morning as the group took a minor detour to the organic coffee farm, where we began working on the day prior. We walked to a spring creek near the entrance of the lodge, where we discussed the importance of trees to our water supply. Planting the trees help retain water in our ecosystem so we began planting more trees around the area of the creek. These were small trees (no bigger than 3ft) but they would grow into mature trees with an important job. We also brainstormed the importance of saving water and steps we can take to preserve our water supply for when we return home.

Once we arrived at the organic coffee farm, we began spreading the compost to the small coffee bushes. This compost was locally made by the community and is used to add nutrients to their organic farm. We formed an assembly line of sorts and began passing compost buckets to the needed areas and tossing the empty buckets back to be refilled. After 45 minutes or so, rain clouds began rolling in, so we packed up our gear and headed to the community center for lunch.

At the Community center we had rice, chicken with steamed veggies and a Sugar Cane Lemon Iced Tea, followed by a lollipop for dessert. After lunch, many of us played a childhood favorite: Musical Chairs along to some popular Latin music. The room filled with cheers, laughter, music and the roars of our competitive spirits. Then, we returned to the lodge where we began working on our final Spanish projects with our Spanish classes.

Lastly, Dinner Time! After a nutritious common Costa Rican meal, we began to learn some Latin dances, taught by one of our peers, Mhelaney, which included Salsa and Bachata. We all had a blast learning and dancing with our partners!!! Truly a night one will never forget…

Until next time,
Hazy

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Wednesday July 18, 2018

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

Our local and international staff have excitedly been preparing for our newest session!! Arrivals were smooth on the first day and we picked up all 21 students at the airport!!

The group arrived safely at our Home Base near Playa Flamingo to freshen up and settle into their next 14 days of Pura Vida! Even though everyone was tired after a long day of travel, we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together, played some fun name games and icebreakers to get to know their new GLA family, and shared some important information regarding safety.

Tomorrow Thursday, we will review the itinerary of the program with the students to learn about all the soccer activities they will have, visit our first service site, have a pool party with swim tests in the afternoon and then watch the sunset at the beach.

Stay tuned for more news!

-Christina, Ferney, Luismi, Tyler and Jose Pablo (el equipo)

Thursday July 19, 2018

The very first day of the Soccer Beyond Borders program was full of excitement and of course full of Soccer.

Our local chef delighted us with a typical breakfast in Costa Rica (eggs, gallo pinto, jam, cheese, fruit and coffee/fruit juice). We had a first meeting all together to keep bonding and to learn more about the program, the service, the community and about the home base rules.

Once we had the information in place, it was time for us to go in action; we went to visit our service site and had our first official time for SOCCER, we had a blast!

Then, after recharging batteries with lunch, we went to a pool party to have a swimming test and to share by the poolside where the students came up with a funny game in water and enjoyed showing their dribbling skills.

Finally we ended up the day with the most beautiful sunset at Flamingo beach, while again, we shared our passion for SOCCER. Costa Rica was showing us its best nature gifts on this day, like saying “welcome” to us!

It was an awesome day!

More blogs to come!

Friday July 20, 2018

In the morning we had Mrs Verónica (chef) cook eggs, rice, beans, and pancakes. After we ate we headed to our first community service. It was a lot of hard work and teamwork. We painted the middle of the basketball court to make the lines for the volleyball court. After the hard work and effort of painting and cleaning we played a little bit of soccer with the locals. After we had our first soccer practice with Brazilian coach Moreira. We did a couple of drills with him and we scrimmaged at the end 11 v 11.

We came back to the homebase and had a cooking class with Veronica. She taught us how to cook pico de gallo and made empanadas de steak, cheese, and beans. We also made guacamole. It was delicious.

-by Esteban & Marcello

Saturday July 21, 2018

Our third full day in Costa Rica was full of excitement and fun! After a delicious breakfast from Veronica the chef, we loaded into the bus and headed for a local soccer clinic. We set up stations and made great friendships with the little local kids. After an awesome scrimmage with our new pals, we got back on the bus and were off to a soccer practice with the local Costa Rican U15 girls team. Coach Moreia and Coach Danielle led us in challenging yet invigorating drills and a fun scrimmage afterwards. We had a late yet delicious lunch and rested before leaving for the beach. After a well-deserved nap, we went to the beach and enjoyed a soccer tournament and swimming in the ocean. After a long day, we were all sleepy and excited for dinner and bedtime!

By Addie and Cece

Sunday July 22, 2018

Today, in the morning we started off very early, as breakfast was at 6:30. This early start created a lethargic attitude for us. Breakfast was normal: eggs, rice and beach, and tortillas. From there, we had a 2 hour bus ride from home base to the river, which was a struggle because we were really tired from the early start. While on the drive, we stopped by a restaurant to take our last bathroom breaks before our adventure, as well as to take our lunch orders. We drove about 20 minutes longer before switching vans in a remote location, and then taking a bumpy ride to the river. Before getting on the river, we put on our helmets and life jackets and had a safety briefing. Around this time, it started to rain so it was a downpour throughout our rafting. We didn’t think the river would be too exciting, but we were glad to be wrong, as there was a rapid around every corner.

Towards the end, the rapids became more intense, with a few boats flipping and many falling into the river. During one of the biggest rapids, on a drop, one of the leaders of the day accidentally ended up falling onto the other leader of the day and we ended up falling into the river. Then towards the end we hit the biggest, most exciting drop of them all, which was about 12 feet straight down. Most of the people from our group ended up falling out. After, we all got out of our boat safely and no casualties were involved I think. We also stopped at a souvenir shop and the rest of the day was normal: bus ride back, dinner which was lasagna and our favorite part was the pinto, which contains rice and beans. We then had free time, a team meeting and now dorm time. At the end of a thrilling day we are looking forward to the next day.

Unfortunately we don’t have any photos of this day since you can’t bring your phone on the raft 🙁

-by Caleb and Marko

Monday July 23, 2018

Day 6 of our Costa Rica adventure was full of soccer, service, and good vibes.

Our original plan was to do service in the morning then soccer in the afternoon, however there was torrential rain the previous which caused the sports court to be too drenched to be painted on. We had to do soccer in the morning and service in the afternoon instead.

After breakfast, we travelled to a futsal court where we divided into 5 teams. We played king-of-the-court style where the winning team stayed on the field. The games were made 5 minutes long to try and keep up a fast pace. The extreme Costa Rican heat really tested our endurance!

When lunch was over, we took a short drive to the local park where the sports court was. First, we got the brushes and brooms out to clean off the court. For the rest of the service session, we split up into pairs to sanded the wood to make signs for the park.

The awesome day was rounded off by a delicious dinner and group meeting!

Will T. and Brandon

Tuesday July 24, 2018

We woke up to an early conditioning session for an hour and covered the gym in sweat. After conditioning we all ate a delicious breakfast and then finished up packing and got on the bus to Arenal Volcano. On the way we stopped at great restaurant for lunch and sovereigns and met two very cute puppies.

Once we arrived we checked into the hotel and got ready to go to the hot springs. The hot springs were filled with fun slides and perfect water. The hours we spent there flew by. After we were finished sat down for a nice long buffet and got to eat all the food we wanted. Stuffed with food and tired from the water we all went to bed in our hotel rooms.

Nick and Will R 

Wednesday July 25, 2018

After a good nights sleep in Magic Mountain Hotel we went to a breakfast buffet to start the last day of our excursion. We had an exciting day of zip lining over the rain forest ahead of us. The group got aboard a trailer which took us up into the mountains of the forest. Here is where our first zip line would start. We climbed to the top of a tower and awaited our turns. We were introduced to our first zip line with a 125m drop below us. Everyone’s heart was racing. We glanced at the beautiful volcano and waterfall has we rapidly flew by. This was followed by the longest line reaching just under 1 Kilometer.

The third line out of the seven we did was the fastest line, with a top speed of around 50 kph. The group ended the tour with a educational meeting with one of the guides who happened to be apart of the Maleku tribe. We gained knowledge of their culture and history. Afterwards we were served a traditional Costa Rican meal which consists of gallo pinto and your choice of meat. Sadly this was the end of our excursion to the Arenal Volcano. We than began our long journey back to home base. Once back, we ate and showered preparing for tomorrow’s adventures.

by Gardner and Ben

Thursday July 26, 2018

In the morning we started with a surfing lesson at Playa Grande, where we were instructed by experienced mentors. It was a first for many GLA students but they were quick to adjust to a new challenge with help from the instructors. It was a fun experience although sometimes difficult, we enjoyed surfing the waves of Costa Rica. After spending a few hours in the ocean we returned to home base.

In the afternoon the students were split into two groups to host soccer clinics, one group stayed in Brasilito and the other group headed to a new town, Potrero. We both were in the group that headed to Potrero; we scrimmaged against local athletes and got to know better the locals in Potrero. It was a great experience on both sides to be able to meet new people and make new friendships. Although we didn’t speak the same language, we were able to break the language barrier through soccer. Not only were we able to interact with younger children, but also other locals who were our age and older.

by Adriana and Daniel

Friday July 27, 2018

We woke up and had the usual breakfast of gillo pinto, eggs and watermelon. After breakfast we put on the first layer of paint on our signs for the park that we had been working at. Afterwords, we came back to home base and had another delicious Veronica cooked meal. Then we went to a local fut-sol court and played futbol five with and against another program partnering with beyond sports. After we beat them 3-2 and 5-0 we came back to home base and had another amazing meal before our dance lesson. At the lesson Greddy, the instructor, put us through a crazy work out while learning how to slasa, merengue, and bachata. After the workout we had dorm time and went to bed.

-by Leo Van Sickle

Saturday July 28, 2018

We started off the day with a delicious breakfast. Then we got ready and went to the service site to help repair and paint the basketball court for the community. During this day we focused on painting the lines of the basketball court. Everybody was working very well together and the end product was so amazing to see.

When we were done with the service site we headed back to home base to get ready for next event which was soccer practice. We got the honor to be trained by a professional Brazilian coach. Even though most of us didn’t speak the same language as him we all spoke the language of soccer. It was such a great experience.While we were all playing together he started become closer friends and teammates for the big game.

Once we are all tired out we head back to homebase for a delicious dinner prepared by a professional cook.

It was one of many great days to be in Costa Rica.

-by Gabe W and Jack B

Sunday July 29, 2018

Today was a big day filled with lots of different activities. We started off the day by finishing up our service at the basketball court and playing a couple games of knockout. Some of the locals were able to join in our game making the experience even more exciting. Being able to see the completion of the court and it being used made everyone extremely happy. Next, we visited a local soccer match. Santa Rosa, the underdog, won 2-1 making it an exhilarating game. We finished off the day with the sunset swim at the beach nearby. We planned to have a goodbye dinner at the beach but unfortunately got rained out last minute. We left the beach early and came home to a wonderfully cooked meal by our chef Veronica. It was a great day filled with a lot of energy and excitement.

-by Garrett and Juliette

Monday July 30, 2018

First thing this morning we woke up at the the crack of dawn. 7:55 for an 8 AM breakfast. After eating breakfast we prepared to go on a long journey through dense forest. A one mile hike to the beach. Tiring. After we began the walk we ended up on a dirt road which quickly turned to gravel which quickly became the paved road of a resort. We arrived at the beach and camped out under Ferney’s special tree. We got in the water and swam with man eating fish and deadly rocks. We swam for about and hour and then left the ocean, dripping wet. We bought slushees from a street vendor. Best dessert ever. Then began the long 1/4 mile walk to the bus which happened to be down the road. We hoped on the bus and arrived back to home base in about 5 mins compared to the 20 min walk.

Lunch was amazing as usual thanks to the wonderful Veronica. After some rice and beans, chicken, and a small slice of cake with sprinkles, we quickly left home base to go to the final soccer game at Liberia Stadium. The first half was played against a u16 team and the second half was played against a u18 team. An undeserved 6-1 loss. A hour long bus ride back finished off with a final dinner provided with music and some of the best food of the trip. The last activity was packing to end off an unforgettable trip.

-by Jackson and Micah

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Monday July 2, 2018

Hola Dear Parents!

We couldn’t have started our Soccer program in a better way! All of our students have arrived and are at the Home Base with us. Airport procedures were smooth and the drive to Playa Flamingo was beautiful. Katelyn’s bag didn’t arrive but we’re expecting it to be here tomorrow and she’s being a trooper about it!

Even though everyone was tired after a long day of travel, we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together, played some fun name games and icebreakers, and shared some important information regarding safety and our schedule for tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more news!

Christina, Ferney, and Luismi (el equipo)

Tuesday July 3, 2018

After our first gallo pinto breakfast, we jumped straight into our Community Agreement and setting the foundation for our program. We also did a few team building activities and icebreakers. We then traveled to our Community Service site for a short visit and got a better idea of what we’ll be working on this week.

Lunch took place back at the Home Base while watching the Colombia – England soccer game (Ferney and Luismi were very sad). We then went to a nearby hotel for a “pool party”, which turned out to be a swim test to ensure all students knew how to swim and it was safe to bring them to the beach. Our awesome driver Alex then took us to the beautiful Playa Flamingo where we swam, played volleyball and soccer, and enjoyed the beach next to many Costa Rican tourists.

Our amazing cook Veronica delighted us with some homemade pizza and our Mentors had prepared some interesting and fun evening activities around leadership and community service.

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Today we had our first Community Service session! It went very well. Our long-term project involves upgrading a basketball court and surrounding areas in the community center of a small town called Brasilito. Today we started by washing the court – a very important step in preparation for painting it. We also collected some big tree branches from the surrounding area and some trash. At the end we got to play soccer for a little bit in the field that’s next to the basketball court.

In the afternoon we went to the La Paz School for our first soccer practice. The first part consisted of a couple of friendly matches with little kids from the school, where our students took on the role of leaders and shared some very valuable moments with the younger players. We then had our own practice with coach Danielle that ended with a very tight match (so tight it ended in penalty kicks!).

Stay tuned for more updates!

Luismi

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today we started the day surfing! We did a little chant before leaving the Home Base to increase our chances of having good waves and it totally worked. Our local surfing instructors were great at teaching us the basic skills and keeping us safe at the same time. We surfed for about 1.5 hours and then had some free time in beautiful Playa Grande. Everyone had a blast!

After we had lunch back at the Home Base, we went back to Brasilito to continue working on our service project. Today we finished washing the court and we got it ready for the next step: painting!.

Back at the home base some of us attended a yoga class while others chilled around the campus. After dinner we had a guest speaker who led a very interesting workshop about sports leadership.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Luismi

Friday July 6, 2018

Today we did a different kind of community service project. We visited the Monkey Park. Here we learned a lot about wildlife rehabilitation in Costa Rica and got a few laughs out trying to get the talkative parrots to repeat our words. Our work consisted of moving and painting some rocks to mark paths, painting a few walls, and collecting grass and branches. Everyone worked hard and had a great time!

Back at the Home Base we ate lunch and watched Brazil get eliminated from the world cup. Some people were sad and some were happy. Either way, we all agreed it was a fantastic game.

In the afternoon we had a very intense soccer practice with coach Moreira that left everyone tired and ready for dinner and bed.

Oh yeah, and thanks to Aidan for being born on July 6th! We all sang Feliz Cumpleaños to him and ate some delicious homemade cake that our chef Verónica made.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Saturday July 7, 2018

Saturday was a very productive day for our GLA students. They started the day hosting a soccer clinic for children from a local community. This awesome opportunity allowed them to take on leadership roles to coordinate different soccer drills, as well as showcase their soccer experience and talent with the local youth. Afterwards, the students had a formal soccer practice with our FIFA certified coaches. This incredible experience was one to remember as the students were fully immersed in the local culture and, of course, the breathtaking jungle and greenery of the Guanacaste region.

The excitement continued into the afternoon as the students started the next step in the service project – painting the basketball court! The students’ goal for the day was to complete the base layer and paint half of the court. Working together as a team, they successfully completed it!

To top off the rewarding day, we walked down to the local beach in Brasilito to cool off in the water and play beach fútbol. It was as if mother nature wanted to recognize the students for all of their hard work and achievements, for the students enjoyed the most outstanding sunset thus far of the trip. And they deserved it!

-by Christina

Sunday July 8, 2018

This weekend we went on a short two-day excursion to La Fortuna. It started with a quick breakfast, then we got on a 6 hour bus ride. Everyone was so energetic and eager to go.

We briefly stopped at a small restaurant for lunch and saw the cutest puppies. After lunch we got a chance to buy some wonderful souvenirs to bring home.

When we got to the Magic Mountain hotel we got the opportunity to relax by the pool and enjoyed a free pineapple drink. We also got a chance to check our phones with the wifi.

We ended the day at the Baldi Hot Springs where we ate dinner at a buffet. After dinner we explored the hot springs and had fun on all the water slides.

Monday July 9, 2018

After our long night at the hot springs we had a great night of sleep. We woke up the next morning and had breakfast, then checked out awaiting a ziplining trip at the Arenal volcano.

The beginning of the zipline was really scary but after the first one everyone got over their nerves and had so much fun. We also got a lot of great pictures. We rode across 7 ziplines and for the best view of the whole jungle and a few waterfalls. After the ziplines we enjoyed a nice lunch before getting back on the bus.

The bus ride home was another 6 hours but we had a lot of good talks. We arrived back at home base with the sweet smell of Veronica’s delicious food. We were all so tired, but Veronica’s food fueled us up in time for another night of great sleep.

Blogs by: Drew Wong with collaboration by Hannah Chang and the three amigos (Esteban Sanchez, Justin Quiroz, and Drew Wong).

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Our second official week of service began today. We finished painting the final half of the basketball court. It was hot out, but with great attitudes and determination we finished with ease.

We arrived back at the Homebase in time to watch the France vs. Belgium semifinal world cup match. France’s victory put Wyatt, Sierra, and Simon at the top of our World Cup bracket competition, or Totogol as it’s known in Latin America.

Our day ended with a 5 vs 5 tournament on a local turf field. We played short 5-minute games against each other and a local team. Overall, it was another exciting day of service and soccer in Costa Rica.

-Kelsey and Aidan S.

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Our Wednesday began bright and early with a 7am strength and conditioning class with two local personal trainers. It was very difficult, but certainly worth it.

After a quick breakfast, we headed out for service. We split into two groups: one group began outlining the futsal court while the other group worked with a local youth summer camp.

We again came back to Homebase to watch the England vs Croatia world cup semifinal match and eat lunch. Our day continued with a beach soccer tournament and some fun beach time. Finally, Veronica treated us all to a cooking class, where we made delicious empanadas, pico de gallo and guacamole. We ended our day well fed and ready for our next adventure.

-by Kelsey and Aidan S.

Thursday July 12, 2018

Another day of service began with a filling breakfast of cheese omelettes cooked by our wonderful chef Veronica. Paint was running low for the basketball court so instead we painted trees 1 meter high with white paint with the purpose of preventing insect infestation. We split into two groups: one to continue painting trees and the other worked with kids from the local community at a summer camp. In order to learn more about volcanoes, we walked to the beach so the kids could create their own with baking soda and vinegar. After an hour the painting group switched with the group playing with the kids, we then headed back to home base for lunch and preparations for our upcoming scrimmage with another service group.

The game took place at a nearby school with yours truly winning 2-0. The goals were scored by Wyatt and Diego (assisted by our wonderful coach Danielle). After the hard-fought game both teams returned to Home base for dinner. A little while after our “season 2” friends left, we had our very own dance class where we learned 3 different types of Latin American dance: meringue, salsa, and batchata. It was quite the workout, everyone ended up sweaty and tired after having so much fun dancing. Everyone headed back to the dorms for a good night’s sleep after a very full day.

-by Sierra and Wyatt

Friday July 13, 2018

On Friday we woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by our amazing chef Veronica. At 9 we hopped on the bus to our last day of service. We met a Costa Rican native friend named Kenyum, who helped us paint the basketball court. After a few hours we finished our part of the basketball court cementing our mark on the community.

After lunch we had an hour to rest and get hyped for the big soccer game against a U17 Costa Rican team at Libera stiadium. We picked up the team on the way and then we were off. About 2 hours later we arrived at the stadium and immediately headed towards the home locker rooms. Everyone suited up in their GLA shirts, even some customizing them, and took the field. Unfortunately we were no match for them and lost 4-0, but Ferney’s apples on the sideline and Sierra’s flip throw kept our spirits up. When the game was over, we got on the bus and headed home after a long day.

We dropped off the other team and went right to our dinner of chicken fried rice and beans. At this point everyone was so exhausted, so the councelors gave us the night off in preparation for our big day on Saturday!

-by Abby and Aidan F.

Saturday July 14, 2018

What an incredible and adventure filled day! Although we woke up bright and early to have breakfast at 6:30am, we knocked right back out on the 7:00am bus ride. A few hours later, we arrived at the Tenorio River for white water rafting. It was majority of the group’s first time rafting, so we knew this would be super fun (to watch people fall in)!

We boarded small rafts of up to 8 people and were introduced to our entertaining guides. They loved to splash us, make jokes and scare us with jungle animal noises. And yes, we did see animals. We spotted snakes, howler monkeys, tiger heralds, tilapia and – the absolute favorite – a tarantula! When one of the rafts spotted a tarantula, their guide threw a big leaf into the raft and made everyone believe it was the tarantula. The reactions were hilarious and unforgettable. Another raft passed under a large tree that smelled like a skunk; turns out that smell was a family of sloths! If we didn’t get to see a sloth, at least we were able to smell one. Overall, the currents were perfect and we even cascaded down a 12ft waterfall. And to top it off, we all (safely) flipped over. We even had one champion hold the record for falling in three times. Be sure to check out the photos for the best reactions!

On our way back from rafting we stopped at a local souvenir shop before heading to Plawya Potrero for our farewell dinner. We enjoyed the perfectly warm water of Costa Rica one last time and seized the sunset by taking endless photos. No words, only photos, can truly describe the emotions we were feeling as we captured our last moments together. After dinner, we wrapped up the evening with inspirational parting words from our mentors and quality time with our closest friends and newest family. From our deepest hearts, thank you to all the GLA students for making the first Costa Rica: Soccer Beyond Borders experience one-of-a-kind, unforgettable and absolutely life changing. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and can’t wait to watch you change the world!

Pura vida!

Christina

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Sunday July 22, 2018

Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

It’s a lovely day in San Jose! Our local and international staff have excitedly been preparing for our newest GLA arrivals! FINALLY the big day is HERE!!!

Each student began their adventure by securely exchanging their dollars into colones with the help of a mentor, and arrived safely at Hotel Pacande to freshen up and settle into their next 10 days of Pura Vida! After enjoying lunch at the hotel, students had the option to rest, or participate in activities to break the ice and get to know their new GLA family.

Tomorrow, we will depart for our beachside rainforest home base, but not before stopping in the cloud forest for a zipline excursion! We are so excited to share updates and photos of our trek to the Caribbean coast where students will call home.

Not pictured due to late arrival: Tristin, Jenna, Sage, Jesse, and Siena.

Staff from left to right: Local Director Jason, Mentor Brittany, International Director Adriana, Mentors Emily and Erin at the Green Gold Lodge in Parismina, Limon, Costa Rica.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Today we woke up to a rainy day. We had a breakfast of toast, eggs, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple juice. We then waited for the rain to clear up and began our beach cleanup where we filled up trash bags with litter from the beach.

After lunch we had mentioned groups where we talked about how our activities, beach cleanup, and daily life impacted the sea turtles and other marine life. Finally, we had dinner, relaxed, and went to bed early to prepare for our surfing adventure early tomorrow.

-by Giles, Julia, Gwen, and Flora

Wednesday July 25, 2018

On day 3, our first full day at home base we write up to the sound of howler monkeys at five. It was a great start! We wrote in our journals until breakfast. After breakfast, we had orientation to set the guidelines. Jason, the owner of the establishment, took us on a tour around the area. On the tour we saw spider monkeys, red ants, and howler monkeys as we made our way through the jungle on his property. Afterwards, we visited his farm and saw his vanilla plantation where we learned that organic vanilla could sell for $400 a kilo. We continued along his farm and saw many of the plants on the property like the banana and coconut trees. Jason let us try the coconut water and meat by chopping through the coconut quite impressively with his machete. Emily said it would be some of the healthiest water we may ever drink.

When we got back from the tour we had lunch. We had a group about rules for our community. Shortly after, Maco, a leader of the organization for saving turtles (ASTOP), discussed the expectations for night patrol and cool turtle facts. Then we went to the beach. The surf was pretty rough so they tested our swimming abilities. Thankfully everyone was able to pass the swim test so we had the opportunity to swim in the untamed waters of Costa Rica. One of the mentors found a sand bar so we got to go farther out. One of the beauties of this special beach is the black sand, it is due to a local volcano.

At night, we returned from the beach and all showered off and sat in the hammocks at home base and waited for dinner. After another amazing meal, the two tables went against each other in a game where you had to guess the song JP was playing on his guitar. Then we went on night patrol for four hours and we were unfortunate not to see a turtle. Hopefully, we have better, we have better luck in future night patrols.

Julen, Imi, Hazard, and SiSi

Thursday July 26, 2018

After two night patrols, on day four of our program we participated in a beach cleanup. The completion of our goal was satisfying, with a beautiful and clean result manifesting from our labor. Sea turtles need clean, plastic-free beaches to nest, this is why beach cleanups are a vital aspect of turtle conservation.

After three hours of cleanup, we swam in the ocean for about an hour. It was a refreshing contrast to the scorching heat and high humidity. In the morning, we discussed culture differences around the world.

For breakfast, scrambled eggs were served with the surprising addition of a new type of bread (arrepas)–it was delicious! Our lunch was just as exquisite. Dinner, in continuing with the theme of serving Costa Rican classics, was a traditional pasta*. Currently as we type this blog post we are anxiously waiting for tomorrow’s adventure of surfing.

Christophe, Layla, Tristin, and Amelia

*Editor’s note: The pasta was spaghetti with alfredo sauce which is not comida tipica in Costa Rica.

Monday July 30, 2018

It’s been an amazing ten days with these wonderful humans. Tonight we learned about the ways we touched each others’ lives in our Appreciation Circle, and then we went out for pizza to celebrate our last night all together.

Tomorrow we head home but a piece of our hearts will always belong in Costa Rica.

Pura vida!