Thank you for visiting one of our GLA Program Blogs! Here are a few things you can expect:

1. We typically receive 1-2 Blog Posts Per Week from international staff. It is very unlikely programs will send blog updates daily.
2. Blog Updates sent on weekends may be delayed until Monday morning.
3. Due to many factors including internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes staff are only able to send text.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

GLA Staff

Saturday March 10, 2018

Hello from the Dominican Republic! The Community Impact track is all here and ready to get to work today on our bottle house service project.

Sunday March 11, 2018

Today we spent time in the local community Cano Dulce helping to build a house for a local man and his family . We spent the day doing various jobs such as plastering, nailing wires, filling walls with bottles, leveling floors, and any down time was spent with the local kids.

Monday March 12, 2018

Today we spent time in a small community called Cabarete. We walked up and down the street picking up trash. After we went on a short walk through the woods to a small cave filled with spring water. The water was cold and refreshing after our walk through the hot forest. We said our goodbyes and than made out way to a beautiful beach. The water was amazing and the sand was blistering hot.

Tuesday March 13, 2018 

Today we went on the Brison Hike. During the hike we saw people from the community who lived on the mountain and had to do this on a daily basis. We learned on this hike that the country suffers deforestations which leads to problems in economy, less money for the civilians so that they can demand action from the government and begin the healing process from within. The people there have to walk a minimum of 4 miles a day to reach the town for their daily necessities. The kids at the community walk the same path to get to school.

The statistic of how long it would take a high school graduate in the United States being 18 years demonstrates how the educational speed is in the country. Compared to the Dominican Republic speed of education of high school, graduates would have to be 127 years of age, showing the lack of educational development in the Dominican Republic. Once we got to the top of the mountain, we were served by a local, Dona Maxima, and we ate like kings. Even with her struggles with having food on the table, she was still able to show us hospitality by feeding us and welcoming us into her home.

Wednesday March 14, 2018

Today, the group ventured off to Dudu Lagoon, a natural sinkhole that has turned into a tourist hot spot. We played volleyball and soccer with locals and were able to go swimming in the lagoon and explore the site. A highlight of Dudu Lagoon was zip-lining down and falling 35 feet into one of the many sink holes. We ate lunch at Dudu Lagoon and set off to Playa Preciosa, a beautiful beach with unforgiving waves. The group was able to buy some local merchandise and delicious coconut patties.

Thursday March 15, 2018

Today was our second and final day building the bottle house. We began by sorting through 1,500 bottles. Then, we took those and placed them into the walls where wires were already in place. Once the walls were complete we cemented them and nailed down more wire. The local children helped a lot, and made the process go much quicker. They let us use their bikes on downtime fun, and then we returned and finished the front room and secured the windows. Once we returned to the lodge, we went to the beach to celebrate Matt’s birthday.

-Emma and Matt

Thank you for visiting one of our GLA Program Blogs! Here are a few things you can expect:

1. We typically receive 1-2 Blog Posts Per Week from international staff. It is very unlikely programs will send blog updates daily.
2. Blog Updates sent on weekends may be delayed until Monday morning.
3. Due to many factors including internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes staff are only able to send text.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

GLA Staff

April 7, 2018

We are off to a great start! All of the students are here safely and are already chatting away like old friends.

We are so excited to be on our way to the Caribbean today, with a pit stop to zipline through the rainforest canopy!

Here’s to an amazing spring break together!

April 9, 2018

Quite the day, quite the day indeed. Right off the bat, after a breakfast of arepas, we were given a tour of the entire property by Jason himself. On the way, we busted coconuts, spotted sloths and basilisks, and learned about many interesting plants and animals. After that, we had lunch and took a dip in the lovely beach lagoon where we spotted a cow on the beach. After a lecture from an ASTOP representative about the Sea Turtle project, we marched over to the nearby beach and snapped away with our cameras. As I write this, we prepare to go on night patrol.

-Blake

April 12, 2018

It’s day 6 on our Costa Rica trip. So far its been absolutely magical. Last night we saw a turtle for the first time, which was great because it really gave a purpose to why we are here. Rosa was a beautiful, 1.5 meter leatherback. We were able to see her hide her eggs and get back into the ocean. Today we learned how to cook arepas, like a Costa Rican pancake. We were also able to buy small items at the local artisan market. All of us (kids) are getting along great. We all have such interesting backgrounds and reasons why we came on this trip. Tonight will be our last night patrol and we will leave tomorrow morning for Alajuela and fly back the day after that. This trip has been nothing short of amazing and I don’t think I’m alone when I say that Parismina will be dearly missed.

-Joe

April 14, 2018

It was an amazing spring break week with an inspiring group of 8 students. I am so grateful that this group was so enthusiastic, curious, open-minded and fun. The week of beach time, lagoon swimming, turtle watching, deep discussions and card games went by too quickly! We wish all the students happy travels as they head home and on to new adventures in their future!

 

Thank you for visiting one of our GLA Program Blogs! Here are a few things you can expect:

1. We typically receive 1-2 Blog Posts Per Week from international staff. It is very unlikely programs will send blog updates daily.
2. Blog Updates sent on weekends may be delayed until Monday morning.
3. Due to many factors including internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes staff are only able to send text.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

GLA Staff

April 1, 2018

Welcome to the pura vida!

After everyone arrived safely last night, we settled into our new spring break community in Costa Rica. Today we spent the day traveling through beautiful scenic mountains toward the Caribbean coast! We are all now safely at homebase, excited to start our adventure together!

 

April 3, 2018

So far this has been such an amazing session. We are lucky to have a group of students that jumped right into chatting effortlessly about both deep and superficial topics together, exploring their leadership skills as they support each other in this new and exciting environment. Exploring the coastal rainforests of the Costa Rican Caribbean is always full of surprises; check back soon for students’ first hand insight into our experience here and all of the things we have seen and learned!

Hannah Calloway
International Director

 

April 3, 2018 – Part 2

¡Hola from Parismina! After our night in Alajuela, we drove the several hours (taking a break to zipline in the forest) to meet our boat. We loaded onto the low laying transport (at top speed the water sprayed well over the roof), adorned with nothing but our wits and life jackets, and made our way across the river. Upon hitting land, we retrieved our bags, and, like the savvy travelers we are, made the trek to Home Base. Among lush vegetation, our temporary home is shared with other critters (most notably the spiders and a few praying mantises). Several hammocks are littered between every set of beans they can fit between, and they’ve allowed for many a nap and even more conversations between newly formed friends. Our rooms are sets of bunk beds with our best friends always immediately above us: mosquito nets. The rooms are open to the jungle, where monkeys and birds have no care for our quality of sleep, going about their very loud, natural, lives. They visit us occasionally for breakfast, ‘stealing’ plantains that our host, Jason, has left hanging in a tree for them. Our second day here, Jason took us on a tour of his land. We ate termites, saw a gargantuan colony of leaf cutter ants, and drank fresh coconut water.

Last night was our first night patrol, but the turtles behavior is unpredictable, so we didn’t get our hopes up. Walking up and down the shoreline under the stars, we talked about the sand in our shoes and how bad we smelt. Then, about 2 hours in, we got a call from down the beach. A turtle was making her way up the beach to potentially nest. We made our way up the coast to see Bessie, a 152 centimeter by 113 centimeter shelled leatherback turtle. We sat for over an hour watching her make her nest, lay her eggs, bury them, then make her way back to the ocean. By the time midnight rolled around, we were ready for our bunk beds and welcomed sweaty sleep. This morning we hopped into the beds of vegetable trucks to see the hatchery and the village of Parismina, where we amassed a handful of dog friends who followed us through the streets. The same trucks brought us back to Home Base, where we are now lying in our hammocks, awaiting beach cleanup. We’re having an amazing time!
-Ashley

April 5, 2018

Today was a great day, and a perfect end to our trip!

We had breakfast at eight as usual, consisting of arepas, gallo pinto, and fresh fruit, and then headed to the village right after for a full day of activities. Greeting us when we came into town were the friendly and happy-go-lucky stray dogs of Parismina, some of who we had seen the previous day in town. We saw them many times throughout the day, happily wagging their tails and definitely wanting to be petted.

We began the day by visiting Escuela de Parismina, the local school, to spend some time with the kids and help teach English. Our time with them was limited, but we tried to teach as much as we could in the time we had. There are 17 of us and about 14 of them, ranging in age from two to ten. We split into small groups to teach some basic English.
My group worked with about 6 kids. We taught them basic phrases like Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, You’re welcome, I don’t know, and I don’t understand. They were very enthusiastic learners, and did a great job sounding out the foreign words and repeating them back to us.
Towards the end their attention span seemed to be dwindling, so I asked some of them what their favorite animals were (in Spanish) and they excitedly told me. Mono and caballo were the two answers I got, and I told them the words in English. They joyfully repeated back to me “monkey” and “horse”.
Then we all came back together to play a game of duck duck goose (or, pato pato ganso until they got the hang of the words in English). This involved lots of running, yelling, and laughter, as well as one wipe out.
All too soon it was time to go, so we said goodbye to the kids, who were out of school for the day.

Next, we walked to the house of a woman named Yolanda, for a cooking class. She taught us how to make Prestiños: a sweet, fried tortilla-like desert. First she made the dough, which consisted of flour, lime juice, and a little sugar. Then we each took turns kneading the dough, and after that she cut it into lots of little pieces. We each took a piece and rolled it out. There was only one rolling pin, so some of us used empty soda bottles. Rolling them out correctly definitely took some practice; the prestiños had to be very thin. I really enjoyed the process, and ended up rolling out the dough for 4 or 5 of them. By the end I think I was actually pretty good at it, although nowhere near as good as Yolanda.
After we rolled them out, Yolando fried each prestiño. The dough bubbled up and turned a golden caramel color. We ate the prestiños with honey and/or condensed milk. They were delicious – light and crispy with a sweet flavor.
Afterwards, we said goodbye to Yolanda and continued on our way.

We walked to ASTOP next (the sea turtle protection organization GLA is working with) for a lunch of arroz con pollo (chicken fried rice) and plantain chips.

Afterwards, we walked to a local restaurant for batidos (smoothies), and then headed back to ASTOP, because locals were setting up an artisan market there, and we wanted to see what they had and bring back things for our families (and ourselves). The locals had many items for sale, including bracelets, necklaces, and pieces of wood with animals and beach scenes painted on them. Many items were made from locally sourced materials – a man named Mako who we had met earlier in the trip was selling necklaces and other items that were carved from cow bone, and another man named Carlos had on display bowls, spoons, and other items carved from wood and made from coconut shell. 10% of the profits from everything we bought went to ASTOP, to help them fund their organization and continue to protect the sea turtles.

After the market, it was time to leave Parismina. Between the town and home base there is a lagoon, so we stopped there for a swim on the way back. Some of us went in the water, while others layed out to tan.

Soon we had to leave and head back to home base. When we got back, it was time to pack, since tomorrow we’ll be leaving right after breakfast.

After packing, we all wanted to go to the beach to see one last sunset. We laughed and had fun on the beach, and took lots of pictures. Then we went to the volleyball court and played a short game of volleyball with a giant, soft, neon pink and green ball.

We had a little downtime after that, and then dinner. We had brownies for desert as a treat since it was the last night. The day wasn’t over yet though, because we still had night patrol. We got dressed in our all black clothes, and left at eight as usual. We got to see turtles both of the other nights we went, and I think some of us were hoping we’d go three in a row. The turtles weren’t in the mood though, so we didn’t see any. However, it’s still important that we were there, since people consistently being on the beach discourages poachers, regardless of if there’s a turtle there on that particular night.

We got back some time between 11 and 12, and were all very tired. We brushed teeth quickly and went to bed, exhausted from our fun-filled day.

-Hana

April 6, 2018

It’s crazy how time flies when you’re having fun! Sadly, today was our last full day together.

We traveled from Parismina early after breakfast to catch a bus back to Alajuela. On our way we stopped for lunch and bought last minute souvenirs. Once in Alajuela it started pouring rain but that didn’t discourage us from cherishing our last day together. We all showered and dressed up for a final dinner at Kurcuma, where we indulged in American style food and laughed at everything that happened during our week.

Once back at the hotel, we watched a Ted Talk video on how people can affect our lives and how it’s important to let them know how much they mean to us.

We participated in a closing ceremony allowing us to let our peers know how they impacted us.

We reflected on our experiences before saying our final goodbye. Thank you so much GLA for this unforgettable experience! Pura vida!

Thank you for visiting one of our GLA Program Blogs! Here are a few things you can expect:

1. We typically receive 1-2 Blog Posts Per Week from international staff. It is very unlikely programs will send blog updates daily.
2. Blog Updates sent on weekends may be delayed until Monday morning.
3. Due to many factors including internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes staff are only able to send text.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

GLA Staff

March 25, 2018

¡BIENVENIDOS A LA PURA VIDA!
Welcome to the pure life!

Yesterday was a successful and awesome arrival day! Everyone arrived safely and spent the day relaxing and getting to know each other. With 22 students under one roof, the enthusiastic chatter still hasn’t stopped!

Today we have embarked on our long and scenic bus ride toward homebase in the Caribbean jungles of Costa Rica, with pit stops for an incredible zip line experience and some typical Costa Rican food!

We are all so excited for our week together! It is just beginning!

Hannah Calloway
International Director

 

March 26, 2018

We started the beautiful morning with arepas (fried dough balls). Shortly after breakfast, Jason showed us his organic farm that we are staying on. Our group was lucky enough to see all three indigenous species of monkeys- howler, spider, and white faced capuchins. We also saw lizards, sloths, leaf cutter soldier ants, and termites. Jason cracked open fresh coconuts with his long machete for us to taste and observe the different flavors. He took our group deeper into the forest where we saw his upcoming vanilla farm. After the tour, we had lunch and a few hours of down time. Then we had a discussion about volunteering and leadership. A woman from ASTOP came and educated us about Leatherback Turtles. This activity was followed by a refreshing trip to the black sand beach near our home base. When we got back, dinner was served followed by a fun mentor group activity. After the long day we dressed in black and went on our first night patrol. We walked the beach from 8 to 12pm searching for turtles and nests, but had no luck. Even so we had an amazing day.

March 28, 2018

Hey! It’s Tessa. Yesterday was BY FAR the best time I’ve had on this trip. We did so many awesome things, but also got super lucky when we were patrolling for turtles! First thing in the morning, we woke up and had these amazing dough balls, similar to donuts, with the best marmalade anyone would ever eat. Then, we walked a while past the eco lodge and got onto a boat to take a tour of the mangroves. We saw so many cool plants but the animals took the cake for the most exciting things. We saw an emerald basilisk (a sick lizard), lots of cool birds, poison dart frogs, and of course crocodiles. The tour lasted a while but was never boring. There was always something to look at, whether it be spider monkeys in the trees or big boats of old tourists waving to us. Lots of locals also said their hello’s when we drove past their homes on the water. We got back and had lunch, then had some chill time. Next, we went to the beach and cleaned up some litter and then got to go swimming. It was super sunny and hot so of course some kids got sunburnt but most have been lucky enough just getting a nice tan. After that, we channeled our creative sides and painted signs for the beaches with Spanish phrases such as “nosotros protejemos el ambiente” (we protect the environment), etc. that was super fun and we made beautiful signs. Then, another highlight of the day was when a woman came to home base to teach us traditional Caribbean and Latin dances. We all got sufficiently sweaty and tired but had so much fun. After dinner we rested then got ready for night patrol. Wearing black from head to toe, we split into our groups and walked in different directions down the beach, searching for signs of turtles. My group and I were walking when we got a call that they had found a turtle!!! We speed walked as quick as possible with our big group and finally approached the rest of our GLA group who were all sitting silently, observing the turtle. It was SO much bigger than expected and totally looked surreal. I was so close to it and I couldn’t believe that I was actually observing this leather back laying her eggs. It really gave a whole new meaning to what we are doing here. I will never forget how beautiful and amazing that truly was. Once night patrol ended, we went back to the ecolodge and went to “bed” but stayed up talking for a while in our rooms. There was not a dull moment that day!

March 29, 2018

Today (Day 6) has been another awesome day so far! We started off with a delicious breakfast at home base, and then we headed into the nearby town of Parismina for our second visit to ASTOP – Asociación Salvemos las Tortugas de Parismina. (Association to Save the Turtles of Parismina). While we were there we had a cooking class and we learned how to make fresh tortillas from scratch. We split into two groups, and while the second group was cooking, some of the first group played a couple games of Jenga with a local boy named Angel, who was just the sweetest little kid! After our cooking class we all walked over to the grass fields and played soccer and volleyball with the locals, which was super fun! After that we went back to ASTOP where several local artisans had set up tables with all of their handmade crafts. It was so cool, and we felt so lucky that they held this little market just for us! We all got such awesome souvenirs there, like hand-carved turtle necklaces and hand-made bracelets and other jewelry and art. Then some of us got our hair wrapped with colorful thread – even some of the boys! We’re going to head back soon for an afternoon of swimming and free time, and our final dinner/evening at home base. After dinner, we’ll have our last night patrol (fingers crossed we see another turtle!), and then tomorrow we head back to Alajuela for our final full day together before departure day – so sad!

Thank you for visiting one of our GLA Program Blogs! Here are a few things you can expect:

1. We typically receive 1-2 Blog Posts Per Week from international staff. It is very unlikely programs will send blog updates daily.
2. Blog Updates sent on weekends may be delayed until Monday morning.
3. Due to many factors including internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes staff are only able to send text.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

GLA Staff

Sunday March 18, 2018

BIENVENIDOS A LA PURA VIDA
Welcome to the pure life!

Yesterday was a successful and awesome arrival day! Everyone arrived safely and spent the day relaxing and getting to know each other.

Today we have embarked on our long and scenic bus ride toward home base in the Caribbean jungles of Costa Rica, with pit stops for an incredible zip line experience and some typical Costa Rican food!

We are all so excited for our week together! It is just beginning!

Hannah Calloway
International Director

Monday March 19, 2018

Today we woke up to heavy rain in the jungle, and were enveloped by the sounds of nature. We were fortunate enough to have better weather after breakfast, and enjoyed a tour of the property! We got to learn about all of the plants that grow here and even sample some of the water from fresh coconuts. We saw lots of wildlife, including spider monkeys, a sloth, and emerald basilisks. After our tour, we had lunch and spent some time at the beach. The rest of the day was pretty tranquil, but we are all very excited at the moment for our first night patrol tonight!

Tuesday March 20, 2018

Hey, it’s Journey here! It was an incredibly humid day today, waking up to rain once again. After a breakfast of fruit and grilled cheese, we all headed out into the rain to the village to learn more about ASTOP. This program is all about saving and protecting the sea turtles of Parismina.

After we learned more info on Green Turtles and Leatherback Turtles, we went on a guided tour of Parismina where we got to see all the sodas and cantinas! These are restaurants where the locals and tourists alike both go to hang out or have a good meal. Before our tour was over, we enjoyed some delicious chocobananas that helped us cool down in the intense heat.

After our tour, we went back to home base where we all ate lunch and then took some time to rest up before we headed out again. After our naps, we all headed out to the beach lagoon to clean up the shores and pick up the trash for about an hour before we all took a dip into the lagoon. Now we are all relaxing and hanging out awaiting dinner. Adios, amigos!

Wednesday March 21, 2018

We started the day with a breakfast of rice, beans, sausage, and fruit. Then we went on an amazing boat tour, on which we saw snowy egrets, great egrets, blue herons, tiger herons, aracaris, emerald basilisk lizards, a caiman, poison dart frogs, a sloth and a group of crocodiles! We came back to a fantastic lunch of pasta with cream sauce, salad, and garlic bread, after which we had mentor groups on the beach.

After lunch we painted signs for the beach and the Eco Lodge, mostly to encourage visitors to be mindful of the environment. Then we had a Latin dance lesson, which was a lot of fun! Maya taught us the bachata and salsa, and then Journey finished the dance party by teaching us the Caballo Dorado. Dinner was rice, beans, veggies, and fried plantains. Tonight is our second night patrol, wish us luck!
-Maia