Keeping the Ball Rolling

We began our fabulous sixth day in La Republica Dominica with our usual breakfast of eggs, toast and pineapple before heading off to a new Dominican village, Las Canas. Loaded up with bug spray and sunscreen (you’re welcome, moms), we piled into the bus where we got to experience Cameron navigating a dirt road made for motorcycles and mules, popular modes of transportation here in the DR. Luckily, the ride was only five minutes, and we quickly got to work building a bottle clinic in this new community. Now that we’ve been working with bottle building for a few days, we’ve mastered techniques and we used up all of the bottles on the site by lunch time! We were served a delicious lunch of the chicken and rice variety, a common and tasty meal here.

Since we finished our work for the day early, we split into groups for some quick comedic relief and prepared funny skits about our time here. We all battled ferociously for an ice cream prize, and although neither of our groups were victorious, we enjoyed watching all the skits as well as the tiebreaker, a joke off and dance battle. After cleaning up the site, we headed back to camp and got to spend an unexpected afternoon relaxing on our beach at the Home Base. Following some swimming, tanning and beach volleyball games we cleaned up for dinner and leadership activities. Tonight, we discussed privilege with Kala and global health security with Drew. We’re certainly feeling grateful for all we have, especially to be in such an amazing place right now surrounded by such an enthusiastic group of people!

Signing off (a little too sun-kissed),

 Sarah Kersting and Wallis Herzog

Dudu Adventure!

Today was awesome. After being able to sleep in a little later, we headed off to Dudu. Following the hour long drive, we were greeted by a zip line overlooking a 35 foot drop to the water! Once the nerves passed we enjoyed zip lining, cliff jumping, playing volleyball, and exploring and swimming in the caves. We were able to walk among ostriches, turkeys, and peacocks on the Dudu property. After a while, we all chose something to do and by the end of the day everyone was happy and proud of themselves for conquering their fears. By 4 PM, it was time to go– even though most of us wanted to stay! Later, after dinner, we finished off the day by watching a documentary called Food, Inc. and learning about the food industries.

Working Hard

During our third day in Dominican paradise, we continued our work in Caraballo. We constructed more of the bottle school walls and mixed cement to coat the outside of the bottle walls to make the building more durable. The mixing of the cement was harder than we expected, and as Cameron would say, it “gave us big guns.” After our filling lunch made by the locals, we visited the market in Ascension. The vendors sold beautiful bracelets and decadent artwork; however, it was very overwhelming because of the need of the families there, and their want for money and us to buy their products. Most of us felt empathetic towards the families who were working towards a better living.

After this eye-opening experience, we visited a more touristy beach where the water was a beautiful turquoise blue and we competed in multiple beach volleyball games. We then headed back to our Dominican Home Base, where we showered, ate dinner and continued leadership exercises with Kala. We took a personality quiz and discovered what attributes we possess the most and learned how to feed into these values. It was an overall amazing and enjoyable day and we look forward to the rest of our life changing experience here in the Republica Dominicana. We’ll be keeping you posted!

-Morgan Demboski and Jade Paquette

Welcome to Caraballo

Today was an awesome day! We went to Caraballo to work on the Bottle School, which will be the biggest structure built using this technique in the world! It is such a cool thing to be a part of. We worked on making the walls by recycling used water bottles to fill them. Our favorite part was the people we worked with: Dominicans and Haitians of all ages from the area. We got to play with the little kids, who loved taking photos. Especially selfies!

We ate a traditional dish of chicken and rice for lunch in the community and had a leadership meeting about self-awareness and the Johari window. After a couple more hours of work, we went to the beach near our Home Base. The beaches here are beautiful and blue, with huge waves to swim in. Dinner was delicious, as usual, and then we set up our hammocks (easier said than done) and played with them. To finish off the night, we watched a documentary called “The 11th Hour,” which was about environmental issues, awareness, and solutions. Overall, another fabulous day in paradise!

Today we started off our day by waking up at 6:30 to get ready and eat breakfast. The fruit here is delicious, and every meal has been wonderful! At around 7:30 we hopped on our big bus, squished into the seats, and headed off to Brison for a hike. When we got to the trail head, a local man let us use the bathrooms in his home. It is very welcoming how happy and friendly the Dominican people are!

We started hiking around 9:30 and hit our first hill right out of the gate! Little did we know the whole hike was uphill…it was a challenge to say the least. Dave and Cameron showed us around a typical village in a developing country, which was an eye-opening experience. We continued our treacherous hike until we arrived at our lunch spot. The people were once again very welcoming and gave us a delicious lunch, including this amazing chocolate ice cream!

Following our lunch, we continued our uphill hike. On our way, we stopped to plant cacao trees as part of a reforestation project in the area. These trees will be ready to harvest in two years and will provide the communities with a sustainable source of income. After planting more trees than we could count, we started our trek back down the mountain and got back in our big bus. We returned to the home base to shower, eat dinner, and enjoy the night’s activities.

We’ve Arrived!

All the participants have arrived safe and sound. After dinner, students had orientation and learned more about one another by participating in team building and leadership activities.

Headed Home

All students are on their way home after an amazing program!

Wrapping Up!

Today the Temps went to Tempetal. We spent the morning working on a bridge, which GLA has been building/ working on this summer. The bridge being built to help children get to school when the road floods. We also took time to pick up trash around the area. It was a very meaningful experience.

-Brooke Goldstein

Today we went to the local high school in La Cruz. We are trying to promote recycling as well as raise awareness of proper garbage disposal. To do that we spread sand paper across the garbage cans so that the oil paint would stick once it was painted over. We will continue on with this project and hopefully make a long lasting impression on the local community’s high school.

-Alistair Ramirez

Today, G-Unit worked at the school, especially at the greenhouse. We spent a long time shoveling gravel, washing it off and rolling it into the greenhouse in a wheelbarrow. We also painted desks and chairs. It was one of the longest service projects, taking about 4 hours. Afterwards, my family group took a boat to an island and Bahia Salinas, and relaxed there for a couple of hours.

-Walter Weisberg

Final Days

Today the Amigo Casados ventured to the secondary school in La Cruz. We played games and helped the kids practice their English through various activities and skits. During their class break we joined some boys on the soccer field and much their surprise we scored two goals! It was amazing to find out the many similarities we shared with the Costa Rican teens and it was very fun to exchange cultural dance moves! As always, we had a fun, eye-opening day. -Hannah Ship

Today G Unit worked on the finishing touches on the footbridge. We finished putting up the mayas (sides of the bridge) and tied them together with wire. We then mixed cement to create ramps while painters touched up the bridges appearance. After a long morning of service, Alex and Maria’s family groups went to a beach for swimming and yoga. Sherrilees and Kevin’s group took a boat trip to a nearby island. We then topped the day off with an ice cream social! -Izzy Crocker

Today The Temps service group went back to the elementary school to do some more work for the greenhouse. The kids are so sweet and absolutely love taking pictures with our cameras. After lunch we split into our family groups and we took of the beach where we enjoyed the sun, ocean and some yoga. I got to teach my first yoga session on the beach with Emily, which was awesome –Beth Ivany

Service

Today The Temps visited a school to help with the construction of a greenhouse. The greenhouses are being built to grow vegetables to feed the children of the school. This trip was not only an amazing experience because of the greenhouses, but also because the children of the school. They were so welcoming and sweet and they made all of us feel welcome. – Meredith Brown

Today The Coco’s travelled to Tempetal to continue work on the bridge project, which has been worked on by previous sessions. With Dakota, our leader of the day, the events went swimmingly; we worked on attaching fences to the side of the footbridge and welding a ramp to the two ends. Teamwork was a huge factor today because the equipment was heavy and it all had to be done a very particular way. While some people attached the fence, others painted the fence to cover up any blemishes. Communication and cooperation come together to create a long awaited service. -Rimma Levina

Today The Munchies helped el Jobo’s local women’s group. They are currently in the middle of a project to re-do the town’s recycling center. Our project today was laying the concrete base of the building. At the construction site we met 3 young girls who taught us some dances and some clapping games. All together we got a lot done and got the chance to get to know some local girls in el Jobo. -Rachel Raffield

Today The Amigos Casados traveled to a high school in La Cruz where we sat in on the English classes. We were able to practice our Spanish and they were able to practice their English by telling each other about themselves and playing games with them. We were able to talk to 7th graders, 10th graders and 9th graders. They were so interested and excited to talk with us. It was a fun and amazing experience to see their school life and compare the similarities and differences between our schools and theirs. -Kait Launcher​

Recent Happenings

Today was packed with adventure. Alexa’s family group began the day with breakfast at 5:30, and then everyone boarded their busses. After a two hour-long drive with singing and chatting we arrived at Guachepeline. First, we rode our horses for quite a while until we boarded a classic ell school bus taking us to the tubing. The 5 km tuning adventure was such a thrill. With all the drops, turns, bump and splashes, it felt like natures rollercoaster. After that, we got strapped into our harnesses and walked down to the zip-lining platform. The zip lines were so incredible and swinging upside-down is the most fun a person can possibly have. Lastly we made a quick stop at a grocery store, sang along to some songs and went back to homebase. – Max Kaye Hamilton

  

Today Sherrilee’s family group got an early start at 5:30 with a delicious breakfast. Then we headed off for a beautiful hike on Volcano Rincon de la Vieja. After, we went to a natural hot spring and painted ourselves with sulfuric mud. After the mid dried we washed off the cool river and took a lto of photos. We continued our day with the most delicious tacos and life-changing gelato. We finished our day at the shops in Playa del Coco, where we bought gifts for ourselves, friends and family. – Nicole Romeo

Today Kevin’s family group ventured out to horseback ride, water tube and zipline. We first went horseback riding. The horses were crazy and trotted throughout the entire trail. We rode to the area where we went tubing. The rapids were extremely run. Most of the time I got stuck in the rocks, but it was still amazing! Lastly, we all went ziplining. At first I was timid, but I eventually got use to it and loved the insane experience. The works were insanely funny and made the experience comfortable. Overall, the day couldn’t have been any better. – Karina Stotz

Hola! Today Maria’s family group ventured to the Rincon de la Vieja National Park where we fought the muds fierce tree rounds to a sulfuric hot springs. Hannah also unfortunately fought a giant spider. Pictured here is the tour guide showing Rimma some classic moves. Then we were off to the mudbaths where we soothed our skin and ronsed off in the cool river. Lastley we drove to Playa del Coco for $1 tacos, shopping, and gelato! Of course we jammed out to the classics suchs as “Fergalicous,” and “Bilando,” the whole way home. – Hannah Ship

Today was packed with adventure. Alexa’s family group began the day with breakfast at 5:30, and then everyone boarded their busses. After a two hour-long drive with singing and chatting we arrived at Guachepeline. First, we rode our horses for quite a while until we boarded a classic ell school bus taking us to the tubing. The 5 km tuning adventure was such a thrill. With all the drops, turns, bump and splashes, it felt like natures rollercoaster. After that, we got strapped into our harnesses and walked down to the zip-lining platform. The zip lines were so incredible and swinging upside-down is the most fun a person can possibly have. Lastly we made a quick stop at a grocery store, sang along to some songs and went back to homebase. – Max Kaye Hamilton
Today Sherrilee’s family group got an early start at 5:30 with a delicious breakfast. Then we headed off for a beautiful hike on Volcano Rincon de la Vieja. After, we went to a natural hot spring and painted ourselves with sulfuric mud. After the mid dried we washed off the cool river and took a lto of photos. We continued our day with the most delicious tacos and life-changing gelato. We finished our day at the shops in Playa del Coco, where we bought gifts for ourselves, friends and family. – Nicole Romeo

Today Kevin’s family group ventured out to horseback ride, water tube and zipline. We first went horseback riding. The horses were crazy and trotted throughout the entire trail. We rode to the area where we went tubing. The rapids were extremely run. Most of the time I got stuck in the rocks, but it was still amazing! Lastly, we all went ziplining. At first I was timid, but I eventually got use to it and loved the insane experience. The works were insanely funny and made the experience comfortable. Overall, the day couldn’t have been any better – Karina Stotz

Adventures

In Alexa’s family group we walked along the base of a volcano, saw boiling mud with the strong smell of sulfur and saw lots of lizards. We also went to a hot spring and let our pores open up before painting and letting ourselves dry in the mud. We then washed it off in the cool river. Afterwards we went to Playa del Coco where we ate some food, saw a beach, went shopping and finished our day off with gelato.
-Hannah B-W

In Kevin’s family group we spent the day hiking through the forest alongside the base of the volcano. We saw beautiful views and other fascinating sights. Our tour guide, Yoni, showed us plants that change shape when touched and pits of mud that boiled because of the volcano. After our hike we refreshed and went to the hot spring. The naturally made hot top was beautiful and surrounded by a refreshing river. There we were able to paint ourselves with mud and let it dry in the sun. After rinsing off in the river we went to Playa del Coco. We ended the day there perfectly by walking on a local beach, tasting some amazing gelato, and shopping for souvenirs for our families and friends.
-Brooke Goldstein

Today is Sherrilee’s group we had breakfast and left on the bus to go to Guachepelin. When we arrived we each got on a horse and rode to the river where we grabbed some tubes and headed down the river to go white water tubing! It was a lot of fun! Then we went zip lining and rock climbing. It was scary but fun. The whole bs ride back was spent signing along to songs. It was an amazing day!
-Eliza M.

Beach Clean Up & el Jobo

Today the Temps went to the beach with Kevin and Sarah. We split into 2 groups and cleaned along a trail and the other group cleaned across the beach. We took breaks and during that time we had hermit crab races, learned to skip rocks, had a soccer game and watched cattle cross the beach. After our break we traveled to other beaches and met up with another service group. We played games with the other group and left after having a successful day of beach clean up
-Megan McDuffee

The Munchies
In a rural area, in a country most of our service groups have never been to, eleven young students embarked on the strenuous task of cementing the groups of a nearly finished, brand spanking new recycling center in el Jobo.

Hola from Eco Playa!!!

Mother Nature has brought us some wind, but its a good thing because it’s keeping the mosquitos away! We have our session 6 crew here and ready to start a new adventure here in Costa Rica! We’re going to have a great time here!

We’ve Arrived!

All students have arrived in country and are ready for an amazing program!

“Sometimes pictures are all the words we need.”

More Adventures

Today I was the bloggerpher for the day. It was really fun and I got to take some great pictures. My favorite part was interacting with the kids at the elementary school. I loved talking and playing with them. I loved seeing how happy they were just to talk to me. -Hayley R.

Today we went to a local elementary school to help build a greenhouse. Many of us helped build the foundation of the building, while others worked on a nearby bridge or played with the kids. We also got a chance to learn about the upcoming school elections and each of the political parties involved. Many of the children also shared information about their school and how they will use the greenhouse as a learning opportunity. – Aleisha L.
Today we continued leveling off the back of the church to eventually build a safe place for teen mothers. The locals are extremely grateful for the hard work of the GLA students. We are all very proud of the work we have accomplished in such a short period of time and happy to be apart of this amazing project. -Stella K.

Today was day 4 of our project to create an organized recycling dump for the locals in el Jobo. Our focus was on laying down the first few square feet of cement in order to establish a foundation for sorting bins. Our final obstacle was met with great optimism and determination. There was no electricity in the surrounding building to power the cement mixer. Luckily our project manager had some experience with mixing cement by hand and so did a local construction expert Fran. We dug a hole in the soil and mixed the cement with sand and gravel. It required lots of mixing and watering, but by the end of the day we had completed our goal. Special thanks to the local women who sold us delicious ice cream! -Griffen K

Reflections

Today Maria’s group went to La Cruz and helped teach a class of women English. First, we were assigned to one of the women and we had an individual conversation with them discussing our lifestyles and hobbies. Next we got into a group and shared what we learned. Our group talked in Spanish and the natives spoke English. It was very cool talking to the locals and we learned a lot! -Kate Ryles

Today Sherrilee’s mentor group went to La Escuela del Jobo, a local elementary school. Our group was lead by Lexi and I was the bloggrapher. At the school we painted, sanded trash bins, fixed roofs and played soccer with the students. Getting the chance to interact with the students made the work feel easier….and the ice cream breaks made it eve better!!!!! -Ryan Pontone

Today Alex’s service group worked hard destroying clay and rock so we could shovel and move it. All of this hard work will make it possible for people in Costa Rica to reduce, reuse, and recycle! We flattened out the dirt area to make it possible to pour cement over it. Now, big trucks will be able to easily pick up the recycled materials. -Julia Regenstreif

 

Today Emily’s group went to the local church for our service project. It was a long day but we were very excited to see all of our progress. The main job was leveling the land behind the church. Everyone worked very hard during the time we were there. Some of us worked on painting a sign for the church. Some local kids stopped by for a short time to see what was going on. Although the work was tiring, it was great to see the progress we made in such a short amount of time. -Lizbeth Brosnan

Today Mateo’s group went to La Escuela del Jobo. We played soccer and talked with the kids. Their dazzling smiles and laughter left and everlasting imprint on our lives. Mateo’s group also helped paint desks in a beautiful shade of blue. To add in, we hammered in nails on black liners into wood tables to help the start of building a greenhouse. Overall it was a memorable day and it was sad to leave the beautiful school. -Chloe Kudler

Activities!

Today was a very fun but tough day. Chandler was the leader for the day and I (Katia) was the bloggerpher. Chandler helped out our mentors in a leadership role while I took photos of people (from my group of course…and certain children and a dog). We all leveled out the ground behind the church. We switched roles and some went to take breaks and some made friendship bracelets with the local children while mingling. Some bought ice cream and some translated for others who don’t know how to speak Spanish. All in all it was a good hard working day. -Katia Smarduch

Today our group went to a high school to teach the students English with our mentor Tiffany. First we introduced ourselves to our first class and played some games with them. Then we went to a 10th grade class in which we talked to the students about what they would want to do if they visited the US. We also performed short skits with them. The students were all welcoming and involved in the activities. – AQ

 

Today was the second day working at the recycling site with Maria and Alex. From yesterdays work we had thought we were finished but we were not. The measure marks made from what we had completed were short and we had to extend the dirt from the walls one meter more towards the field. Having a little over an hour left to work we were able to get the job done with the help of the locals, our mentors and the team of GLA kids. – KongPheng Lee

Today Sherrilee’s group continued work at the elementary school. The kids did not attend school today because they were at a cultural festival in La Cruz. Our group dug up poles and relocated them. These will serve as the base for the new larger recycling center. Our group also worked to level the ground between classrooms to permit the construction of a new sidewalk. In addition, we continued to varnish the wood pieces that will serve as a bench for the students in front of the school. Overall, our group completed a great deal of work today to help improve the elementary school. – Sara Buscher

 

Today Kevin and Matt’s group went to the elementary school service site and sanded down the desks for the children’s classrooms and painted them a beautiful blue to help improve the learning area. In the school we finished all the desks in the classroom and got a good start on the next. –Kennedy Gulas

Service

       

Today Sherrilee’s group had the opportunity to spend the day working with the local elementary school kids and helping build a better, more suitable working environment. Throughout the day we dug holes for a flagpole and started building a snack bar and recycling center, polished wood for tables and repainted the front of the building. We also had the opportunity to play soccer with them and they turned out to be amazing for their age! Hopefully by the end of the week their school will be new and improved and the kids will be excited to learn.
-Brandon Washington

Today our morning quickly started with breakfast and then transitioned to the high school. In Tiffany’s service group we were stationed at the local high school with the 7th and 11th graders. In the 7th grade classroom we they found out our names, age, where we are from and other great things. The 11th graders had great English skills and we all had an awesome time. Finally we ended the day with some free time at home base.
– Alex Furtado

   

Today Bilando Ingesia’s group went to el Jobo to work on a church we have been helping to improve. On the way to the church we collected trash around the town with trash bags. We then leveled dirt out behind the church in order to help build a school behind it. During this, children joined us and made friendship bracelets as well as helping us with our Spanish. Overall I was an amazing day!
-Olivia Cara

Today Maria and Alex led our group to el Jobo where we began to build a foundation for a recycling system. We had to weed all the plants from the area and shovel away dirt all while bearing the heat. We were able to accomplish a lot for one day! Other than helping with the recycling system we had the opportunity to visit some children at the elementary school. We all had a blast playing soccer and speaking Spanish with them. It’s amazing to see how talented and compassionate all the Costa Rican kids are!
– Michelle Kaminski

Today in Kevin and Mateo’s group our first service day consisted of two main tasks: working on an organic greenhouse by building garden beds and sanding and painting desks for the school. After working hard for a few hours we were able to take a short break and play with the kids! They couldn’t wait to take selfies, play games and teach us how to dance. We made great progress on our tasks and can’t wait to continue tomorrow.
– Kristina Bridgwater

    

Adventure Day!

 

The day commenced with an early 5:30 AM breakfast to maximize the time spent on our adventure day. GLA’s 65 participants were split up into two groups that alternated between two journeys. One of them was a more relaxed vibe including a scenic hike followed by a mud bath and souvenir shopping in Playa de Coco. The other was an action packed day starting with a 5-kilometer inner tube journey down a river with unexpected dips, rapids and occasional straightaways to enjoy the rainforest. After drying off the bus left for zip lining through a tropical canyon as well as repelling into an enchanted ravine. The day finally ended with a horseback ride to a waterfall to swim and relax

-Dante Amedeo

Our day started bright and early with breakfast and 5:30 AM and a bus ride to our destination at 6 AM. Though we were sleepy, everyone was so excited for what the day had to offer. Two groups were on their way to a short hike around the base of a volcano where they were able to witness the beautiful nature and wildlife of Costa Rica. After their hike, the students got to jump into a geothermal spa and paint each other with volcanic mud. Once they had finished taking muddy selfies and finishing off in the river, they headed to Playa de Coco for tacos, gelato, and souvenirs. The day was truly a wonderful adventure.

– Kristina Bridgewater

Everyone’s exhausting day began the same way. Breakfast, one-hour bus ride, etc. However, after the bus ride two family groups went in one direction while four family groups went another. My group was small with only 22 people. We went hiking around the Pilas volcano. It was beautiful! We saw iguanas, butterflies, and toucans. We even heard howler monkeys! The forest was amazing but we moved onto the hot springs where everyone breathed a sigh of relaxation…at least until we started paining each other in mud. When we washed the hardened mud off in the cool nearby river everyone had fun in the clear water. After our mud baths everyone went shopping. It was a little different navigating the streets of Costa Rica, but people managed to get everything they wanted. We got delicious gelato and tacos before hopping back on the bus and heading home. It was interesting to hear about the other group’s experience horse back riding, rafting and zip lining and we are all looking forward to our next adventure.

-Maya Florin

We’ve Arrived!

What a beautiful day to kick off our 5th session! We have a fun filled week ahead of us and we’re excited to get started. Today we got to know our home base and the members of our family groups. We also spent time relaxing by the pool, playing soccer and volleyball, and getting our zen on with yoga. This is already a great start to a wonderful session!

Group A- Tiffany	Group B- Kevin	Group C- Alex	Group D- Emily	Group E- Matt	Group F- Maria
Ali Jordan	Aleisha Lee	Carmen Hall	Alexander Daniel Furtado	Bailey Arthur	AQ
Julia Regenstreif	Audrey Grammer	Dylan Wolf	Amara Malik	Claire Toyoko Barthelemy	Alexandra Owen
Kamia Bothun	Brandon Washington	Emma Brohawn	Ian Richard Spotswood Parish	Dante Amodeo	Cameron Snell
Kennedy Gulas	Chloe Kudler	Finn Siegers	Jacob Muskovitz	Elizabeth Rice	Chandler Kryshak
Kristina Bridgewater	Christina Miller	Hayley Rieman	Jenna Movsowitz	Emily Bland	Jack Vasconcelos
Quinn Willamson	Essex Thompson	Joshua Taylor	Justin Glazer	Griffen Keane	Jenna Drecchio
Rachel Jacob	Jared Gassman	Kate Ryles	Kendall Steinberg	Jenna Baraw	Leah Hogenmiller
Sara Buscher	KongPheng Lee	Katia Smarduch	Olivia Cara	Laura Victoria Restrepo Gomez	Maya Florin
Shane Power	Maricarmen Burgos-Solis	Rebecca Milman	Rebecca Duncan	Lizbeth Brosnan	Michelle Kaminski
Steve Smarduch	Mustafa Chamadia	Ryan Pontone	Stella Kleynerman	Matt Glazer	Ryan Dooley
Theodore Heroux	Yumna Haque	Soleiman Abdallah	Zoe Ruben	Samantha Kleyner	Wilson Harris
11	11	11	11	11

Horses and Hot Springs!

Today, Sherrilee, Matt, Maria & Emily’s groups went on a hike through the national park around a volcano which was awesome (even though the smell was a little odd.) The groups then went to natural hot springs to relax & were able to exfoliate our skin with mud masks. After washing off, we went to Playas del CoCo to shop, eat incredible gelato & get tacos. Everyone was able to buy a lot of souvenirs for themselves as well as friends and family.

–Danni & Ali

Today, Kevin and Tiffany’s groups went to Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin for horseback riding, white water tubing and zip lining. It was a very fun experience and everybody had a great time. After, we had lunch at the hotel and enjoyed a nice ride home after an exhausting but exciting day!

–Madeline & Nicole

Service!

           

Today, Emily’s group went to a local high school in La Cruz. We introduced ourselves to groups of eighth and ninth graders and played a couple of games with them. We got to practice our Spanish while they were learning more English.

Today, Matt’s group went to work on the green house at the elementary school. Some of us were hard at work cutting planks of wood to make legs while others played with the local kids. Towards the end, one teacher gave us a presentation on the local culture of Guanacaste.

Today, Alex’s group went to a local community center and built an eco-playground with local women. We dug holes and places painted tires for the kids to jump on. Half way though the morning the kids from the local school came and played on the new playground we had built.

Today Sherrilee’s group went to a local church and helped set the foundation for a daycare center. We were able to interact and play with the local kids, who also helped us do a lot of work.

Kevin’s group had one goal; building the bridge. Upon arrival, we couldn’t start working immediately, because we didn’t have the materials. After waiting an hour for Sam to bring the materials, we could finally start working on the bridge. We made some progress making the structure of the bridge and making the cement.

More Adventures

Today in Tiffany’s group we went to the local bi-lingual high school and helped teach English to the kids. In Mateo’s, we helped construct planter boxes at the local elementary school so the locals could grow their own fresh vegetables and incorporate deeper greens into the children’s diet. Also, we dug holes for posts to build a bridge in Maria’s group. With Alex we finished digging holes for tires and cleaned the tires for a tire park. In Sherrilee’s group we went to helped out at a adult English class. Later today, we split into groups and some of us went to a near by island and the others went to a beach in El Jobo. Tonight we went to a bonfire and learned about the Costa Rican culture and the Peace Corps.

     

Mentor Groups

Group A- Tiffany
Abigail Schinderle
Betsy Garcia
Elsa Beard
Emily Burkle
Jacob Marcus
Julia Arreola
Max Engel
Priyam Khemani
Tyler Borden
Walter Haracz

Group B- Kevin
Benjamin Buchholz
Gurleen Grewal
Hattie Sher
Jarod Rodriguez
Jason Chubbuck
Jasper Arendse
Kalia Norris
Madeline Henderson
Megan Waterhouse
Noah Shamsai
Sage Shamsai

Group C- Sherrilee (All girls)
Allison Ambler
Bethany Roos
Danielle Bianco
Eliana Feinerman
Franchesca Maria Timpanaro
Natalie Stewart
Paige Fox
Patricia Janick
Rebecca Scott
Sabrina Boutiette
Samantha VanDrisse

Group D- Emily (All girls)
Alison Yang
Courtney Redmond
Katarzyna Maziarczyk
Kathleen Garvey
Madison Pake
Mia Sgamboti
Mikayla Emery
Molly Zhang
Naomi Goodwin
Sophie Maher
Tara Morgan Griffith

Group E- Matt
Adam Philip Lawrence
Amanda Murgia
Gabriela Ching
Jessica Strokowski
Kevin Chen
Leah Greenberg
Megan Lo
Melissa Ferlatte
Nicholas Tuanchaem
Noah Bleakley
Ryan Ceschin

Group F- Maria (All girls)
Alexandra Lutz
Christina Piccinin
Elise Pohlhammer
Emily Holloway
Katherine Clavadetscher
Kimberly Miramontes
Kylie Blessing
Lauren Hansen
Marisa Li
Nicole Patch
Siena Hasson

Service Groups:

Group 1 (Reales)
Adam Philip Lawrence
Bethany Roos
Christina Piccinin
Elsa Beard
Jacob Marcus
Jasper Arendse
Kalia Norris
Megan Lo
Noah Bleakley
Noah Shamsai
Sage Shamsai
Walter Haracz

Group 2 (Llamativo Pantalones)
Alison Yang
Allison Ambler
Benjamin Buchholz
Emily Burkle
Emily Holloway
Hattie Sher
Jarod Rodriguez
Kathleen Garvey
Leah Greenberg
Madison Pake
Marisa Li
Max Engel
Priyam Khemani
Ryan Ceschin

Group 3 (DTSS)
Abigail Schinderle
Alexandra Lutz
Amanda Murgia
Betsy Garcia
Danielle Bianco
Elise Pohlhammer
Jason Chubbuck
Kimberly Miramontes
Madeline Henderson
Paige Fox
Patricia Janick
Sabrina Boutiette
Tara Morgan Griffith
Tyler Borden

Group 4 (Ticas Chicas)
Jessica Strokowski
Julia Arreola
Katarzyna Maziarczyk
Katherine Clavadetscher
Kylie Blessing
Mikayla Emery
Naomi Goodwin
Natalie Stewart
Nicole Patch
Rebecca Scott
Samantha VanDrisse
Sophie Maher

Group 5 (Trece con Suerte)
Courtney Redmond
Eliana Feinerman
Franchesca Maria Timpanaro
Gabriela Ching
Gurleen Grewal
Kevin Chen
Lauren Hansen
Megan Waterhouse
Melissa Ferlatte
Mia Sgamboti
Molly Zhang
Nicholas Tuanchaem
Siena Hasson

Group Activities!

Tara Morgan Griffith- Today the “real conquistadores” (Group 1) went to a local elementary school to play soccer and other games such as hide and seek and duck duck goose, other known as “pato pato tigre” with the children. They enjoyed showing us their tire playground and much more.

When not playing with the children, the “real conquistadores” helped start the process of building raised plant beds for the greenhouse in the elementary school. We used saws to cut wood to length, and hammers to nail down nails and take out old ones.

Bethany Roos- On our first day at the service site, “llamativos pantalones” (Group 2) helped dig holes in order to build a bridge for local Ticos. We dug 180 cm (6 feet) deep holes and all had a great time and can’t wait to go back tomorrow!

The “llamativos pantalones” also met the local family who lives across from the soon-to-be bridge. Guanalupe, a beautiful seven year old girl, helped us dig before school along with her uncle while her adorable two year old brother watched. Lenin, our amazing bus driver, also helped us a great deal. We all loved meeting their family as well as having a fun time enjoying working with each other!

Kathleen Garvey- The “Ticas Chicas” (Group 4) an all girls group, led by Sherrilee, had a delayed start due to “Tico time.” The service was held at the local church. Because of a lot of hard work and dedication from the locals and GLA, the church is able to continue to be a place that helps the community. Once the service started we were on our feet leveling the back of the church and digging holes. During the service we divided our group and were able to play with the little kids, a great experience about hard work and patience.
Lauren Hansen- Today the “Trece con Suerte” (Group 5) service group had the wonderful task of digging holes for a new local park! The work was hard but that only adds to the fulfillment at the end. The holes will be filled with recycled tires creating a fun obsitcal course for the young Ticos

 

A Rainy Day

It rained quite a bit today, but that didn’t stop us from having a ton of fun. Everyone arrived and we are already making new friends and getting to know a new culture. This is going to be a great session filled with many memories and stories to share!

We’ve Arrived!

All students have arrived safely and are ready for an amazing program! Stay tuned for blog updates and photos!

We’re Coming Home!

All students have departed and are on their way home!

The Past Few Days

       

Today, one service group went to El Jobo to work on a local church. The church is in need of repairs, or else it will be closed down. In order to prevent this, we worked on refurbishing both the outside and the inside of this church. We touched up the yellow and green paint on the church exterior. Projects on the outside of the church were in the yard. We leveled out the yard so they can build the bathroom and a play area for the children. While leveling, we found a tarantula and disturbed an ant colony. Thank goodness for bug spray! It was hard work, but it was very rewarding and fun! -Kelsey Akerson

Another group also went to El Jobo to paint the garbage cans. We were able to paint unique designs on the cans! Also, the children were able to play and paint with us. It got a little crazy when one of the garbage cans was filled with cockroaches. Along with that, another service group went to work on the suspension bridge by continuing digging holes, they are getting so deep. #6feet. -Kim Hansen

Today, the group the Doce Ondas worked hard at the greenhouse and playground. We played with the energetic school children on the new playground and soccer field. We switched off painting and repairing the playground. Maria Jose, the leader of the playground project, wanted to do this project because before the GLA students came along, the schoolhouse and greenhouse was not accompanied with a playground for the kids at all. As a group we worked to make the playground as great as it could be, safe and colorfully adorned with bright paints. Many piggyback rides were given, and the kids happily played volleyball and soccer with us. Running around with the adorable children made the work extremely enjoyable because we knew that what we were doing would be worth it. -Nancy Howe

Today, the final group went to a small elementary school across from a community center and soccer field in El Jobo. Today was the children’s second day back from vacation, as they take a couple of weeks off at a time, rather than three months, like in the United States. At the elementary school, students worked hard to paint lettering reading “Orgullosos de ser Guanacaste cos” which translates to “Proud to be Guanacastan” in English. This was important to the school as the annexation anniversary of Guanacaste is coming up very soon, and the school wanted to show their pride. Another project included touching up the paint on the school buildings and playing “Pato, Pato, Gonzo” (Duck, Duck, Goose) with the elementary students. Every now and then at Home Base, we catch a few baa’s from Panchito, the resident goat. -Quincy Rose

Today in our free time, we were given the opportunity to go to El Jobo to play in a community futbol game and make recycled jewelry. During the game, it rained. This was very refreshing, considering the humidity outside. The futbol game was very fun, even though we lost 4-2.The locals were wonderful to interact with. I am glad we had the opportunity to share a game with these locals through something they love. Maria Jose, an amazing, incredibly involved tico who lives here in La Cruz, led the recycled jewelry activity. By taking old plastic soda and water bottles, cutting them up, putting in holes and attachments, and painting them, Maria taught us to make beautiful earrings and necklaces that anyone, even the most un-artsy of people, can create. –Kelsey Akerson & Quincy Rose

Continuing Service

    

Today one of the groups headed back over to the local church to continue their service. The tasks included painting the walls of the church a lovely shade of green and yellow, helping tile the floor, and digging holes for a fence to be put in. Although the work became strenuous under the blazing sun, the group enjoyed a quick break by partaking in a dance party with a local children and fan favorite, Jose.

Another one of the groups went to a local school to continue their service. The projects at the school included building and painting a playground made out of tires, working on tables for a greenhouse that will provide dark greens for the children at the school, and playing soccer and other games with the children.

Another group had the responsibility of repainting garbage cans and making them more presentable. They proceeded to provide each garbage can with a theme: earth, water, and sun. In addition to painting some of the garbage cans the group was able to play with the kids at the near by school during their recess period. When I say PURA you say VIDA….. PURA! VIDA! PURA! VIDA!

-Kate Collins, Lindsey Rae, Maggie Hayes, Kate O’ Keefe

Adventure Zone & A Volcano

Today two mentor groups traveled to Adventure Zone to experience Costa Rica through zip lining over the rainforest, horseback riding, and tubing down a river. The zip line course proved fun yet challenging activities from propelling down a cliff, rock climbing back up, and hanging upside down on the zip lines. The groups also had a chance to ride horses. Each person was able to ride their own horse- it was so much fun! The horses were sweet and comfortable to ride. They brought us to a local waterfall where we could jump off a cliff and enjoy the fresh cold water. PURA VIDA! Lastly, the groups went white water tubing, an experience that proved exhilarating yet relaxing. With a little help from our friends Fernando and Fabio, each mentor group had the time of their lives. We didn’t even fall out of our tubes!

The other three groups traveled to an exotic volcano, where the group got to see the boiling hot mud from the volcanic activity and get a peak at the wildlife throughout the hike. After hiking around the volcano, they traveled to one of Costa Rica’s natural wonders—the hot springs. After bathing in scorching hot water, they covered themselves with mud and washed it off after it dried, all meant to rejuvenate and relax. After, we went and looked around the local shops to find some Costa Rican treasures! We ate gelato which was the most delectable and stimulating experience for our taste buds. Gelato es mi amor! Thanks for reading!!!
Hope y’all are having as much fun as we are having in this truly incredible, fantastic, and captivating country. And one more time everyone…PURA VIDA!!!!!!

With love,
Lindsey Rae, Kimberly Hansen, Hannah Mercorella, Rebecca Godfrey, Lauren Edmiston, and Mariel Arnold

   

An Exhilarating Day

Hola!

With two service days behind us, today 4 family groups set off on an adventurous day; ranging from flying through the air like spiderman to cursing down speedy rapids to riding a horse through the rainforest to a beautiful waterfall. Today was such an exhilarating day. We are all tired, but ready for another exciting day tomorrow.

The other 2 family groups took a beautiful walk through the forest and saw a lot of volcanic activity. From there we headed to el Coco to do some souvenir shopping. It was fun to see a different part of Costa Rica.

-Zoey Pellowitz, Lydia Bruemmer, Sarah Marlin, Alisha Schwartz

Service

Today two service groups went to a local school and helped reorganize the interior and rebuild the playground. Afterwards they ended the day by playing a game of soccer (football) with the local kids. Another service group assisted in starting the foundation of a suspension bridge that will prevent a part of the town from being cut off during the rainy season. They worked with the locals to dig holes and interacted with the children. The third group went and participated in an adult English class in which they interacted with the students and practiced their Spanish. They helped locals with English, while the locals taught them Spanish. They were near the beach, and got to play games and soccer with the locals. One of the service groups went to a local church and painted the outside a vibrant green and yellow. Some GLA members went around and painted touchups on the outside while others were inside scraping the dried paint droplets off the tile. Some members of the group went around and placed the poles of wood in the pre-dug holes and poured the cement mixture in. Of course the most memorable part for everyone was interacting with the local children. One of them Jose, went to the neighbors house and bought us all ice-cream that was made in a plastic bag. So that was a delicious and wonderful break after a long morning of work! All of the GLA members created friendship bracelets on the church porch. While creating them we listened to the local children’s music, definitely an incredible way to finish our morning.

After service, a group took a boat ride out to a nearby island. The water was clear and blue and people either swam or collected shells on the beach. The island was a protected area for native birds and had beautiful trees and shells. Students who stayed at the hotel had the option to participate in a cooking class, in which they learned how to make empanadas, a traditional Costa Rican meal. Cooks taught students how to assemble the empanadas.

Starting Service

Today was our first day of service here in Costa Rica. Yesterday we spent the whole day at our home base, the Ecoplaya Hotel, meeting new friends from across the world and learning about the Costa Rican culture through a Spanish lesson with Fabian. Therefore, leaving home base and travelling to various service sites in the community was refreshing, rewarding, and very exciting!

Two service groups travelled to a local school to work on a playground made of recycled tires and a greenhouse. While we were there, we also had the opportunity to connect with local children through soccer and other activities. The playground is an ongoing project that will allow local children to have something more than a dirt field to play on. Our green house project was designed to give kids more much needed dark greens within their diet. Connecting with the children included some amazing soccer skills, an impromptu game of “perro, perro, gato” and some hair braiding. It was an incredible experience getting to interact with different personalities even though we don’t speak the same language.

Another group went to a local church and began our day playing some simple games with a little boy named Jose. Then we began to work. We made some touch ups on the interior and exterior paint jobs of the church, dug holes for a fence around it, and cleaned up paint from the tile floor. While we were not working on the church, we were able to interact with some little Ticos named Luna, Nathalie, and Gretchen along with Jose. We even got to treat ourselves to some ice cream in a bag! We then finished off the day with some jump rope. Although in the beginning communication was tough, we then figured out that everyone loves a simple high five and knows how to bust a move.

Lastly, one other group was building a bridge in a local community. This project is very important to the Ticos since when there is heavy rainfall the whole road floods and people are not able to go to school or work. Therefore, this bridge will ensure that their lives aren’t affected by these floods. Today we started the project by digging some holes, which will be the foundation of the suspension bridge. The best part of the service was meeting the local engineers who were really nice and funny, and meeting other locals who were excited about the project and eager to help.

-Catie Jaffe, Kelsey Akerson, Bebe Chancellor, Carolina Barrosa

Hello everyone!

Everyone arrived safe and sound! After a great nights sleep we were ready to kick off the 3rd session in a big way! Today we played a lot of get-to-know-you games and we went on a wild scavenger hunt. Every group came up with creative songs to represent their family group and presented them to the entire group. There’s lots of positive energy from Ecoplaya (our homebase) that’s sure to keep going throughout. It’s our first full day together and I can already tell it’s going to be a stellar session!!!!

-Lindsey
International Director

We’ve Arrived!

All students have arrived in country and are ready for an amazing program! Stay tuned for blog updates and photos!