Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun! That’s what I felt at the end of our three weeks in Costa Rica.

I remember your scared and tired faces when you arrived at the airport, despite of that we felt a good vibe, “this is a great group” is what we thought. Well, we were right. We could see how you rapidly got involved in the Green Communities mission and you got committed with the hard work, overcoming challenges every morning.

Providencia’s people welcomed us with open arms, was really nice see you interacting with them and having such a great time those afternoons on the soccer field. We could discover the beauty of the country on our excursions while we had fun on the beach, the river and the forest. I could never forget Tamí, it’s a really special place: the views when you open the tent’s zipper, showers looking at the forest, the starry sky with the backdrop of the sound of the waterfall… and what about the spiders? I had so much fun trying to get that one outside of the tent, your screams could be heard from dozens of miles away, poor spider!

We had the opportunity to learn about good practices for sustainable development and became responsible global citizens. Now is in your hands, you can positively impact your communities and raise awareness about environmental issues.

It was an unforgettable experience and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I hope that this time in Costa Rica would be unforgettable for you as well. I wish you all the best on this school year! See you around the world!!

Recollections:

–       Everybody screaming on the back of the pick up the first day of work.

–       Juan’s happy face when he was serving the delicious food.

–       The kindness of the people from Providencia.

–       Andrey scaring us with leaves or sticks pretending to be insects.

–       Alison beating everybody on the game of riding the bull.

–       Jonathan’s dance lessons.

–       All together painting the eco-bricks, great job!

–       Campeón (a.k.a Pablo) joining us all the time.

–       Groups exhibing the projects on the last Spanish lesson.

–       The bonfire and marshmallows the last night in Tamí.

Story of impact: UNCOMPLETED

Prompt #1

GLA has an efficient method to positively impact the communities where students go establishing partnerships with local organizations. These organizations are the ones that better know the needs and characteristics of a community.

In the case of Costa Rica Spanish Service Adventure (Tamí) program the local partner is Green Communities dedicated to raise awareness on environmental issues and aimed to make Providencia a sustainable community.

Providencia is located in the center of Costa Rica in the heart of the Quetzal National Park. This rural community is surrounded by lush forests and waterfalls and its main source of income are the coffee farms.

The eco farmers of Providencia benefit from the work of GLA students. During our stay, students helped to fertilize coffee plantations with ecologic compost. Gerardo is a coffee farmer that decided to trust in Green Communities and that made a big investment to transform his plantation from conventional to organic. He was very grateful with GLA’s students because they helped him to fertilize over 100 plants in one day. He said that he can make a difference and produce coffee in an eco-friendly way thanks to the work of volunteers.

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Summer Blog Posts

July 10, 2016

The whole group has arrived in San Jose. This afternoon we explored the city center and learned about its history.
Alison, Andrei and Maria are really excited to have you here!

Attached: Picture of the group in the Morazán park. Celina and Leila arrived later.

July 12

I’m sitting here on the second day of our excursion and as the leader of the day it is my duty to write a blog. This is something I am more than happy to do considering the productive yet enjoyable nature of our day here up in Providencia, Costa Rica. As the leader of the day I was fortunate enough to wake up extra early in this paradise (550 a.m.) for the purpose of waking up my peers. After getting a bright and early start to the day accompanied with a delectable homemade breakfast we were ready for our first day of work. Upon arrival at the work site which included a heap of coffee peels used to fertilize 100% organic coffee plants that were then shoveled and planted into the ground, it was no easy task. What fascinated me at the work site was not only our groups ability to work together despite such a short amount of time together but also how much progress we made throughout the day. Just seeing and being a part of the community for only a day did not make the work mindless hard labor but rather a group of volunteers gladly working towards a goal. I cannot wait for the experiences to come in this country and with this group of people that I already feel close too. My first real day was nothing short of an awesome experience and starting as lead3r of the day gave me an invigorated sense of duty to complete the task at hand and of course ill be doing it gladly enthralled in the new welcoming community and the interesting objective and people I have been exposed to.

-Kevin Reimers, Leader of the Day

July 13, 2016

Words to sum up today: fun, challenging, heavy, tiring, unique and a relief. Our work was difficult, we shoveled dirt into bags that will eventually be used to plant, but it was extremely rewarding to see our dirt mountain shrink throughout the morning. Lunch was amazing, especially after service – gracias a las mujeres de la comunidad.We followed upon placements today in Spanish class and we are all excited to learn frases típicas de los Ticos.

After Spanish Jonathan drove us to play soccer (or football) with some of the locals. The ride was almost as fun as the actual game.
Finally, we ended the night by getting to know each other through name games and sharing difficult times, followed by happy ones to make sure we ended the night on positive note.
Pura Vida y Hasta mañana!

July 19, 2016

written by our leader of the day Morgan Lee:
This morning was our first day of street paving. It’s a really slow process between mixing the cement and carrying wheelbarrows up the hill. Also the cement sprays everywhere! One of the leaders with Green Communities – Jonathan- Likes to throw the stuff at us and give us handprints on our clothes.
Another group also made “ecobricks” (lots of trash shoved into plastic bottles). They can be use in the community for paving but one of the main purposes is to makes us aware of how gross our plastic consumption is. We stayed with that theme today because before dinner we had a long discussion about how much stuff we go through and the ridiculousness of the plastic that we don’t even need like a straw that just end up in the ocean.
During Spanish class today we went into the community of Providencia to interview citizens. We got up spoke with the lady who settled this area as well as a farmer who showed us his pigs and let us try fresh sugarcane juice, someone else showed us her backyard garden and cooked us the traditional dish of picadillo (salted chayote in corn tortillas).

20th July, Ellie Rogers
Yesterday is a day I will never forget. Out of all the fun and enriching experiences I´ve had at Tami, this day will be the day I will have the most stories for. To start off, as GLA leader of the day I had to get up early and go to each tent and wake everyone up. It was weird to not hear anything around the camp because everyone is usually laughing or screaming their heads off. After I did that I went to go set the table for everyone and waited until people started to head down to the restaurant and have desayuno. We had eggs, corn tortilla and cheese that was so delicious I had to pile my plate with seconds. Later, we went back to our routine of cementing and making eco-bricks. Thankfully, I didn´t have to go do eco-bricks that day because theyŕe kind of disgusting to make. All I know is that I will never use plastic water bottles again. The cementing process is difficult since we had to carry wheel barrows of wet cement up a hill. I will always remember the hard work we put into that road and years later see the progress other volunteers have made. After a hard days work we went to have lunch and get ready for spanish class. That day I took the shortest shower in my entire life because we only had 25 minutes for 4 people to shower and get dressed. But somehow everyone managed it and had a really fun Spanish class. One thing I learned was that when you say “Me gusta ____” That means you actually LIKE the person. I accidentally said I was in love with Roy in front of the whole that day and I´ve never felt more embarrassed! After spanish we had dinner and watched a movie but I felt so tired that I ended up going to bed early at 9:30 which I´ve never done before at home. That just proves that the day was well spent and AWESOME.

21st July, Lars Kong
With the morning looking beautiful as always, the other students and I worked on the last day of paving the road. Unfortunately I forgot to wake everyone up so most of us were late for breakfast. Oops, my bad. After breakfast, we all worked hard as always. We finished the road with 17 feet of concrete.
With this being the last day of road work, we traveled back to the restaurant. For lunch we always have great food cooked by some of the local woman. Pasta and potatoes were prepared for us when we arrived.
After lunch we had two hours of free time which for most means an extra long shower and a quick nap. Once the two hours were up we traveled to local houses to do what we call “Adopte un Gringo”. For two hours we talked with the locals of Providencia to practice the Spanish we learned throughout our week.
We haven’t had dinner yet but tonight we have a barbecue.

22nd and 23rd July, Bethzabel Muro

On the second discussion I was leader of the day. So my job was to wake up at 7 and wake everybody up as well. We all had breakfast at 8 o’clock and left on the bus at 9. It took like 2 hours to get to Cartago. However in those two hours we stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch. I ordered a burrito but others ordered stuff like hamburgers, casado and nachos.
Once we arrived at Cartago we went to the market. They sold a lot of fruit and vegetables. It reminded me a lot of a street called Market in San Francisco. We were there for like hake half an hour and we got in the bus. Our next stop was at the church ruins. It was rainy when we arrived. We all huddled in one side of the ruins so Andre can tell us the history behind it.
Then we walked to the church that is very famous in Costa Rica. We entered and took pictures and Andre continued to tell us the history behind it. We got back in the bus and headed to the hotel. On Saturday we woke up early and waited for a bus to come pick us up. It was the company who was going to take us river rafting. During the rafting the views were amazing. Our tour guide was very nice and was telling us about the indigenous people who lived near the river. I saw monkeys on our four hour raft and the chicken burritos we had were delicious. Overall it was a great experience. It was my first time rafting and I want to do it again. After rafting we got on the bus and headed home. We stopped at a restaurant to have dinner before we got back to Tami, it was buffet style. By far, one of the funniest days of the whole trip.

24th July, Wyeth Kong

Today, I woke up and woke up everyone else at the tent. I then went to the restaurant to set the table. We had breakfast . After, we worked on eco bricks. Making eco bricks is easy if you know good techniques. Just put the plastic in, put the stick in, turn it upside down, and put all your weight on it. It makes the job a lot easier and more efficient. After, we went to the soccer field for a picnic. We then played soccer with the locals. The game was fun but I didn´t do much. After, we had Spanish class. Spanish is fun if your dedicated to learning it. Its a bit long though. I think it would be better if we removed 20 minutes, but other than that, I think Spanish is good. Then, we had 30 minutes of free time. Then, we ate dinner. My favorite dish is mashed potatoes. I also like the banana chocolate drinks. They are delicious. I then went to bed. Lastly, we watched a Spanish movie. It was okay, but everyone else thinks its not good. I then went back to my tent and went to bed. Overall, being a leader today didn´t feel any different than if I were not a leader. The only thing I can think of that makes it fun to be the leader is waking up everyone and waking up early.

July 25

I awoke at six o´clock in the morning to a awful song that I have had set as my alarm for at least a year now. My first instinct was to fall back to sleep because it was an especially humid and cold Costa Rican morning. However the sound of the birds chirping and the waterfall crashing outside the tent made waking everyone up a surprisingly relaxing job. Followed by a great breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, plantains, and toast the day was off to a good start. Instead of going straight to service after breakfast like on a normal day, Jonathan drove the group out to the edge of a farm.

There we had a very informational and eye opening conversation about the limited resource that is water. This was followed up by a nice five to six minute walk in silence to a spring that acted as a great example of what unpolluted water looks and tastes like. Proceeding this great morning activity was about four hours of making eco bricks for a staircase that is going to lead to the water fall. On the walk up to lunch I was ambushed we a bucket of murky semi paint filled water by some of the nicest people ever. Don´t worry though lunch was great as always because I got to enjoy even more plantains. After a nice shower and a change of cloths the groups presented their final Spanish projects. We then received certificated for Spanish class and I had to say goodbye to my amazing teacher Jasmine. From their on out the day consisted of some casual soccer in the sun, a short nap and then another delicious meal.

-Noah Karel

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

Day 1- July 10 – Arrival day!

We all arrived safely in Costa Rica! Pura Vida 🙂

July 12

¡Hola! Today was our first full day in Costa Rica with the entire group. We started the day bright and early with breakfast at 7 AM at or hotel in San José, the capital of Costa Rica. We all eagerly hopped onto the buseta and began our tour of the capital, lead by our very outgoing, native local director, Davíd. As we drove around the city, Davíd explained everything you could possibly know about Costa Rica. I learned that the country is divided into 7 provinces with 81 counties.

Something that I found incredibly interesting was that the country doesn’t have a military. “We don’t get in people’s business, so no one gets in ours.”, Davíd told us. The government decided to use the money that was originally going towards the military for free health care and education all the way through the college level.

After our very enlightening tour, we began our journey towards Cedrela lodge, our home for the next three weeks. With my best friend, Emilia, sleeping on my shoulder, I was gazing out the window, wide-eyed, as I watched the change from the bustling capital to the breathtaking countryside. This drive was the moment when I really realized that I’m in Costa Rica! As we drove along the inter-American highway, I watched as the large buildings began to fade into banana trees and vibrantly- painted houses. The amount of vegetation and wildlife is inexplainable. Locals sitting on their front porches waved at us as we drove by, while the community dogs ran along the buseta with us.

After an hour and a half of driving, we stopped at a small coffee shop called Coopadota. We all filed inside and found a seat, as the natives working there introduced themselves and took our orders. As we were enjoying the delicious, locally grown coffee, one of the women working there began to explain the corporation of Coopadota; it is a coffee processing plant and exportation business. She gave us a very interesting tour of the factory, showing us everything that needs to be done to produce coffee beans. I was blown away by the amount of little details that impact the process; it involves an insane amount of work! We even got to try cupping ourselves. Cupping is what large coffee businesses, like Starbucks, do to decide which type of beans they want. They send a representative to the coffee plantation and they smell and taste the different grounds. It was very interesting how they slurp the coffee into their mouths in such a way so that it reaches every part of their mouth, since different parts of your tongue taste different tastes more strongly, such as sweetness and bitterness.

After our very educational adventure through the coffee factory, we drove another hour to Cedrela, our home base. As the buseta pulled up to the home base, my jaw dropped. It was so incredibly beautiful. I couldn’t wait to go inside and get situated into my room. We got out of the buseta and were warmly welcomed by the lodge dog, Brutus, as we walked up the dirt hill to our cabins. Attempting to roll our suitcases down the gravel path, we finally entered our cozy cabin with a breathtaking view that we get to wake up to every morning and fall asleep to every night. We unpacked and got situated and headed back down to the main lodge, where we ate dinner and then played games.

Then, David lead a group discussion explaining what green communities is, the organization that we will be working with for the trip. He explained the challenging and insufficient process of selling coffee to corporations as a conventional plantation. The growers end up getting a very small portion of the profit and having to spend lots of money on chemicals for the plants. At that point, we were finally told what our service project is; we are working on coffee plantations with green communities to convert the conventional plantations to ecological ones.

After that, we ate dinner, played more games, and finally got to go to bed. It’s been an incredible experience so far and I can’t wait to find out what comes next!

-Mira Wegman

July 13
¡Hola parents families and friends!

Today was our third day here in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. We started the day with breakfast time at 7:00. Some people including myself may consider this early but with so much to do there is not a minute to waste. We all gathered in our central eating area overlooking the beautiful green hills and ate our breakfast of eggs, pancakes and the best tasting fruit I have ever had.

After breakfast we loaded into the bus and headed out to the small community of San Pedro where we will be doing the first 4 days of community service. After a 30 minute drive we got out and walked into the coffee fields, where our community service would be taking place.

First off, there are a few bigger picture things we learned to get a deeper understanding of why we were here doing this specific service. GLA is in collaboration with a local Costa Rican program known as Green Community’s. The mission of GC is to adapt the style of coffee farming in the local area to one that is more lucrative, sustainable and better for the environment.

Coffee is the biggest export of Costa Rica responsible for 100% of the Costa Rican economy. For this reason, as any farmer would, the Costa Rican farmers attempt to maximize the coffee production in order to get more money. However, as we have learned this causes a major problem. In order to maximize the density and number of coffee plants growing, farmers use unnatural chemicals and clear cut the land to maximize production. This results in decrease in water quality, soil quality and biodiversity in the area. Over time the chemicals are essentially poisoning the plants soil and animals living in the area.

The mission of GC and the focus of our service project is to help instill a practice called ecological coffee farming. This is where natural, organic fertilizer is used and there is no clear cutting practices used. 11 separate coffee plantation owners have dedicated plots of coffee to GC to practice these new methods of farming. These farms overall have proven to be a better long term solution, not to mention much much better for the environment and our own health. Over time the conventional farms end up depleting the nutrients in the soil by using chemicals. Every year, more chemicals and more money has to be spent to keep the same plants growing. As the farmers transition to ecological they are guaranteed that each year the plans and nutrients will be restored through natural fertilizer and their ecosystem will be kept safe for growing not just in the short term, but guaranteed to prosper in the long term.

After this talk we learned what we would be doing to help this transition. On the ecological farms we helped fertilize the lots of coffee plants with natural fertilizer composed of compost and cow manure. This will help replenish the nutrients that were lost when using chemicals. Each bucket was filled with fertilizer, passed along the assembly line of volunteers and dumped at the base of the coffee plant. After 4 hours and 2 different fields of coffee we headed in for lunch at 12.

The women from San Pedro cooked spaghetti and meat sauce and we got to talk to them and get a taste of the local culture. At 1 we all piled into the bus and headed back to home base. Once there we had 45 minutes of free time, mostly spent talking and laughing as we all get to know each other more. Then it was time to head to our first Spanish class. We took a short written and oral exam to determine our Spanish skills so we can be placed in the correct level in the future. After this it was some more spanish name games and an intense game of musical chairs.

After Spanish we had a short reflection circle where we got to know each other more and reflect on ways we express ourselves. Next it was a dinner of curry chicken and rice. After dinner there was an hour or so of activities and more games until around 8:15 when we were let out for the night. This experience so far for me has been an amazing opportunity to meet knew people and hear about everyone’s different background. The service has been very educational and I am truly inspired to help Green Communities with even something small that can make such a big difference.

Thanks for reading,
Megan Andersen

July 13, 2016

Hey! Hola!

Today was our third full day in beautiful Costa Rica. It started off early having breakfast at 7 and needing to be on the bus and ready to go to our service site at 7:30. Breakfast consisted of eggs, tortillas with cheese, and a variety of fruits such as pineapple, mango, and watermelon. My personal favorite was the mango. All the fruit here has been so fresh and juicy. After breakfast we all got on the bus to drive about fifteen minutes to our service site in San Pedro. Everyday we do this drive I seem to appreciate more and more the beauty of where we are. The mountains are breathtaking along with the vibrant colors on them.
Upon arriving we were told what the day had in store for us and did not waste a minute before getting to work. We walked to the first site which isn’t always the easiest thing to do considering it is very hilly and steep. Our first stop was a coffee plantation where we were all alined in a row passing buckets of fertilizer down rows from one person to the next. At the head of the row were two volunteers who had to open the massive bags of fertilizer and then had to shovel it into buckets to pass down. I was one of those volunteers. The amount of energy it takes just to do one part of the job is unbelievable. After only about 30 minutes I was exhausted. I got to thinking that it takes about 20 people to do this job and it still isn’t easy, what must it be like for only 2? We stayed at the site for about an hour and a half before getting to a break and enjoying a snack.

We walked back to the community salon and enjoyed some bananas and pineapples. My friend Mira and I also went to the small shop next to where the group was and got some awesome Costa Rican candy. Although, nothing beats the chocolate wafer called “yipy”. It tastes almost like a Kit-Kat but better. After we took a little break we got right back to work.

We went to the second site and had to unpack all of the big bags of fertilizer and carry them to unload near the coffee plants. That was the hardest part about the entire day and the most labor intensive. Although it was hard, it was one of the most satisfying things once it was finished. Once all of the fertilizer was in the area we needed to be in, we started distributing it in buckets to each plant. Similar to the first site, we assembled lines and passed the fertilizer down to the plants. This particular site was a lot bigger than the first one but when everyone came together it didn’t seem that way. Once we finished planting we returned back to eat lunch but had about 20 minutes before where we decided to play soccer on the main field in the center of town. It was so much fun and definitely one of the highlights of my day even thought I know nothing about soccer.

Lunch was chicken rice and veggies prepared by the women who live there and it was so flavorful and delicious. Once we finished lunch we came back to the home base to shower and relax for about 45 minutes. After that we were split into our Spanish groups were we had our Spanish lessons.

I have never taken a Spanish class in my life and the Spanish I know is from growing up and listening to my family. The classes were fun and informational. After Spanish we took another break and then proceeded to our yoga lessons led by the boys on our trip: Max, Jaxson, Ethan M, and Ethan Z. They were the “Leaders of the Day” which meant that they were responsible for creating group activities and discussions. It was very funny watching people try these poses.
Once we did that we put the room back together and had dinner.

Dinner consisted of steak, potatoes, fresh salad, and hummus. All the vegetables come from the fresh garden at the home base. After that we cleaned up dinner and prepared for evening activities. Our counselor Shannon started off the activity by telling us to all stand around and she would pick two things completely opposite from each other. For example, she would say chocolate or vanilla. If you liked chocolate you would go to one side of the room where as if you liked vanilla you would go to the other. That was a very basic explanation but once the questions got harder we had to think more. I actually learned a lot about myself during this activity because for most of them I didn’t know which side I would go to right away. We finished off the night with some high points of our day.

My highest point was at the second work site where my friends Max, Meg, Jaxon, Emily, and I all worked together in the assembly line at the second plantation and finished the job. I also liked how when we did this I got to talk to them more and learn about these new people considering they are mostly from California and I’m all the way on the East coast in New York. Each day here is packed with so many things I hope I could portray just a taste of what a day is like in Costa Rica!

Pura Viva!
Hailey Santiago 🙂

July 14, 2016

Hola!
It’s already our third service day! As usual, we woke up at 6:30am for a 7:00ambreakfast. Today I really enjoyed the food because it was a Costa Rican rice and bean dish called gallo pinto, some grilled plantains, scrambled eggs and delicious fresh fruit.
We got to the service site, and four of us (Haley, Sho, Peaches and Melissa) volunteered to help transport all the bags of fertilizer for the day. Let me tell you that these bags were not light whatsoever. With each bag weighing about 100-120 pounds, it took two of us girls to lift them and place them in the back of the truck. Throughout the drive, the views around us were breathtaking. There were mountains covered in greenery everywhere we looked and it was a great break from the heavy lifting.

We took about 5 different trips transporting the bags to different coffee plantations and while we were driving we saw some plantation owners spraying chemicals over the coffee plants. This way of farming is considered conventional because it’s using artificial nutrients and chemicals versus ecological farming which relies on natural nutrients and microorganisms. It was honestly scary and eyeopening seeing them go though that process because they were wearing a full body suit, and hood/mask to protect themselves from the chemicals. They were creating a cloud of chemicals that were dispersing into the air. This is extremely ironic because they are trying to protect themselves from the chemicals they are using to grow crops and food which are going to be consumed by people in the future. This made me look at pesticides and chemicals in a whole new light because I’ve always been told that pesticides were bad, but seeing the way that they are applied made me really question why we as consumers allow our food to be produced in that fashion.

Haley, Sho, Peaches and I finally joined the rest of our group and helped transport the fertilizer from the bags to the plants. Once we finished our work for the day, we walked back to the community Salon in San Pedro where we had lunch. We were given delicious rice, beans, beef and a plantain like scramble.

Once we had finished lunch, we all hopped in our van and made our way to Santa Maria. Today we were given the opportunity to have our 3 hour Spanish Class in the small town of Santa Maria. Our teachers gave us questions to go ask the local Costa Ricans about and find out about how people live in the city of Santa Maria specifically.

While a group of us were walking from store to store, a cute black dog followed us around the center I asked a few people, “Qué actividades hay en Santa Maria para las turistas?” They answered telling us how they have parties in the park in the center, soccer games every Thursday, zip lining in the forest and other small activities. It was very interesting to talk to the locals and hear perspectives of these Costa Ricans who live in a small city a few hours away from San Jose. I learned that the town has changed a lot over time because lots of locals have decided to move to the United States for school and job opportunities.

We made it back to home base at around 4:15 and we got to relax until 5:30. At that time we played a few leadership games and then we had reflection circles in small groups at 6:00. In this circle, we reflect on the day and/or we just play some games and we reflect on ourselves and think about what is important to us. Finally at 6:30 we had a delicious dinner filled with salad, fish and mashed potatoes.

After dinner we had a discussion about being leaders and we watched a Ted Talk called “How to start a Movement,” which discussed how leaders need followers to be considered leaders and that most followers are leaders in their own type of way. This conversation was interesting because it is true that a leader is only a lone wolf until a few people become the first followers. As a group, we got to talking about the topic of Dreams and change we would like to see in the world. All of you reading this should check out the videos made by Prince EA, specifically “Why most people die before 25,” and think about what types of dreams or goals you have for the future. The video really gets you thinking and by watching it, you can join our conversation about what change you would like to see happen in the world.

-Melissa

July 15, 2016

As usual, we woke up to an unwelcome alarm, groggy but ready for the long day ahead. By 7, our heavy legs carried us to the main lodge for a welcomed breakfast. As we munched on our scrambled eggs, potatoes and various fruits, we awaited the announcement of our schedule for the day (hopefully it would be as fun and satisfying as yesterday). Soon after we learned that the house of the day was the four amigas, the leader: Megan, inspirerizerator: Mira, MOM: Emilia and sidekick: Emily; we learned that we didn’t have Spanish class (unfortunately), but had three hours of relax (or as we call it) Pura Vida time.

When we arrived at the Salon near most of the coffee plantations where we had been working; we were surprised to learn that we wouldn’t be going straight to the plantations, but were having a discussion/activity with Davíd (our local director, resident amazing person with the best laugh who works for green communities). Davíd split us up into three groups and gave us an assignment, chemical factory CEO’s, CEO’s of a chain of five star hotels and the local citizens of San Pedro. Davíd gave the chemical factory and hotel group a prompt : come up with a plan to build a factory/hotel in local San Pedro and propose it to the citizens. After a heated debate about ecological, economical, etc. aspects of the two propositions; the two proposals were turned down by the “citizens” of San Pedro. Although we were reminded that if a factory or hotel etc. wanted to build something in a community, they would just do it, with or without the blessing of the people.

As we continued our discussion, we talked about community development and sustainable development and the similarities and differences. We defined community development as any sort of development that would affect a community; and sustainable development meant a good and (as the title implies) sustainable development. I think we were all incredibly amazed on how little we knew about the differences of development and its merits and consequences.

To finish up our discussion session, Davíd provided a scenario in which the earth was dead and we could bring ten things to a crystal ball with nothing in it at all. By the end of our deliberation we realized that it was impossible to start a planet with ten things, we need everything the world has provided for us; and in fact, the human race is breaking away all of those things we need to survive. The activity and discussion was eye opening and I think we all learned something.

From there we finished putting fertilizer on one of the coffee plantations we had been working on. The large hills we knew almost too well, were less tiring and breath stealing (hopefully a sign of improvement) and felt more satisfying. We finished our work at the two plantations with a little help of excess yelling, and the silly antics of Alvaro, a local community member who helps green communities in the community of San Pedro; I will admit I did get in a water fight with him…

We carried ourselves back to the salon for a fun game of soccer and a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) and salad made by the local women in San Pedro. Before we got our food, the women and young girls from the community showed us a traditional dance they had prepared, and it was amazing, the men were screaming and we all jumped in at one point acting like Bulls.

Even though our day had been amazing up until that point, I think we were ready for those three hours of Pura Vida time.
After we had relaxed, napped and showered we waddled down to the main house, and were greeted with a new discussion topic: phones and social media addiction. It was pretty clear to most of us, that we were addicted to our phones. Not only did we have a discussion, but we watched another Prince EA video (it gave me goosebumps), and a video from a British man called Look up, which showed just how looking down at your screen can ruin your life, as so many opportunities pass you by. I was surprised that we could have two interesting and eye opening discussions in one day.

Afterwards, we enjoyed pulled pork with rice, peas and lentils. A few of us put our phones in the middle of the table to refrain from compulsively grabbing it and disconnecting.

Our leader of the day(Megan) led a talk about whether we thought lying was ever okay, do we change ourselves to fit in and to what extent does wealth relate to happiness.

Later, our fabulous leaders of the day introduced their fun, but different game: Murder in the dark. Basically, everyone picked a card that had either a C for commoner, M for murderer or J for judge. There was an obstacle course we had to crawl through in the dark and when we encountered someone else we would shake their hand, if they scratched our hand we would go off to a corner and “die”. If you were found, someone would yell “murder in the dark” and the lights would come back on as the first judge guesses who they thought the murderer was and if they were wrong we would continue the game and so on. I had a lot of fun, but was also completely terrified.
The day was long but exciting and satisfying, just what I hoped for.

Floria

July 16, 2016

Today, we started our day off later than usual, and got to sleep in an extra hour! We went down to eat breakfast at 8am, and we had eggs, pancakes, pineapple, watermelon, froot loops and water or raspberry ice tea. Breakfast was delicious; my favorite part was the pancakes!

Next, we listened to an announcement made by the “House of the Day.” During this announcement we got a brief outline of how we were going to be spending our day, and we also learned more about the LOD’s (leaders of the day) which were Megan and Hailey, and they gave detailed information on their life through a brief presentation called “story of self”

Following breakfast, we went down to the field to play a quick game of Ninja before our bus came to take us into the city of Cartago; our ride there was around an hour and a half. The ride there was nice, the scenery was beautiful and the mountains add a lot of character to the area.

Once we arrived in Cartago we got to tour around the market, buy some goodies and speak to very friendly locals. We then walked to the church, and while we were waiting for mass to end we played a group game called “human knot” in front of the beautiful church.

After that we went to the main Catholic Church in Costa Rica and learned about the religious traditions that the Costa Ricans follow, since it is a big part of their culture. After touring the church, we went to eat lunch at a restaurant nearby. Everyone had ordered either Casado (traditional plate: rice, beans, salad, picadillo (vegetables) and a meat of your choice) or a hamburger and we all loved our meals!

We then went back in the bus to go to the hotel that we spent the night at. Once we arrived at the hotel we had around 2 hours of free time. We all got wifi and caught up with family, friends, and pets. At 5pm we got into our reflection groups, in my small group, we played a game called “who am I,” and then engaged in a discussion.

For dinner, we had a mixed plate of food, consisting of rice, black beans, salad and plantain chips. We then engaged in a discussion led by our house of the day about what we wanted to bring back with us after this trip. We played jeopardy, which tested us on everything that we have learned this first week. Once the game was done we went into our rooms, packed out bags for tomorrow, and went to sleep.

-Énoa

July 17, 2016

July 19, 2016
July 19

Good Morning!!! How’s everybody doing? Cool times. Anyway, for my portion of the blog I’m just gonna take you through my day. I’ve never written a blog so it’ll be a learning experience for all of us 🙂 Let’s jump right into shall we?

I woke up about two (I don’t sleep much), and managed to read an entire book by the time my cabin mates woke up at six. The book was fine, but nothing to write home about- which is good because there is a definite lack of wifi at Cedrela, and no one has time for written letters anymore. At 6:20 Shannon knocked on our door and asked if we could all sing happy birthday to Ethan (Happy Birthday Ethan!!), and then we all headed down for breakfast. I had pineapple, watermelon, and eggs for breakfast, probably too much pineapple given my slight allergy, but it was totally worth it. Once all of us were thoroughly fed we headed to Zapotal to do some hard core concrete mixing and transporting.
Davíd, probably my favorite person on the planet (sorry Ma!), made the entire process look easy. Let me tell you, it was not! Making concrete consists of shoveling dirt into a wheelbarrow only to dump it out again about four feet away from the initial pile… Five times… For each pile… We made 9 piles. After a pile of dirt was compiled and flattened, a 100 pound bag of cement was placed on top and sliced open. It was then spread evenly and mixed like crazy. Have you guys ever made homemade pasta? ‘Cause that was basically the next step. We took the dry ingredients, the dirt cement mixture, and made a volcano shape, then dumped the wet ingredients, water, into the center. We then had to build up the walls of the volcano until all the water was covered. It was a precarious task. After the water was covered we proceeded to mix like crazy once more, and, tahdahh, concrete. Moving the concrete was probably the most difficult task because wheelbarrows are harder to use than they look :-). After about five piles of concrete were transported we took a break for a fruit snack (actual fruit, not the processed gummies) and then finished up the other four.
Lunch was much needed and couldn’t come quick enough. It consisted of rice and beans (as usual) salad, pork and chips. I’ve probably consumed more rice and beans on this trip than I have in my life, and that’s not a complaint. Everything was delicious! We then got back on the bus, which is where I’m writing you guys now. I’ll check back in once more has happened. Bye for now!
K, it’s about 10:25 p.m. now and it’s my first free moment to catch you guys up.
After getting back to Cedrela we had an hour to scrub the concrete off of our bodies and mentally prepare for Spanish. Spanish started at 2:30 and for the first hour and a half we practiced subjunctive verbs (I surprisingly remembered this from school so it was a refreshing review). Then for the last hour and a half we learned typical dances including bachata, salsa, and svuing criollo. It was a bunch of fun! Emily R. and I probably took the whole thing a little too serious but if anyone needs bachata lessons I’m your gal. After working up a sweat I was definitely ready for the delicious dinner. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but that didn’t make it any less tasty. It was sort of a burrito but also sort of a chimichanga. Either way it was good times.
Once people ate dinner and went back for seconds, we split up into groups and discussed the similarities of what we put in/on the human body and coffee plants. It was super fun. My group discussed how chemical fertilizer was comparable to body products like sunscreen or deodorant. We also discussed the importance of yogurt and coconut oil, but that had little pertinence to the given activity. That activity lasted about an hour and after we shared spooky stories. Some definitely got a little too real but it was a great bonding experience.
Once everyone was thoroughly creeped we lightened the mood with a piñata in honor of Ethan’s birthday. The piñata led to a party and a cup game (stretching to grab the plastic cup with your mouth) that I rocked if I do say so myself. We danced and munched on candy for a while before making our way back to our cabins. A little girl talk took place after that, and some serious bug saving. I would just like it to be known that I have saved 8 cockroaches on this trip and numerous spiders. I feel like that should at least get me a medal :-).
And that pretty much brings me up to this point. Hope I did this blog thing correctly, or at least whatever I just created was entertaining and informative. That was the goal. Sleep tight people. Don’t let the cockroaches bite.
-Sho

Oh, also I have counted 268 dogs on this trip so far. You know. In case you were interested. K bye!

July 20, 2016

As we began our third day of service in Zapotal, we started our day at 6:30 with breakfast. We headed out of our beloved home at Cedrela at 7:00 and began the hour long drive to our service site. With our arrival at 8:00, the group began to head inside the community building and waited for the H.O.D (House of the Day) instructions. The leader of the day, Melissa informed us that we will begin with the introduction of Eco- bricks and then some of us will switch out to work on the cement. As we sat in a circle, David introduced us to the Eco-brick and the significance of it to the environment. Essentially the Eco-brick is made up of recycled plastic wrappers stuffed inside plastic bottles. Because the production and the reproduction of plastic is so harmful to the environment due the the high consumption of oil we live by reduce, reuse, and recycle.

With that, we each began to work on our first bottle oblivious to how long one bottle took to make. When break at 10:00 came we were informed that who’d be split between working on cement and who would continuing working on the bottles. At break we had a choice between bananas and watermelons!! After being fueled we began the second part of our service work, some of us only starting our second bottle for the Eco-bricks.

It was 11:30 and we were surprised with a game of futbol at a nearby park with some local community members. We all gathered at 12:00 for a delicious lunch prepared by the lovely ladies from the community of Zapotal. With our stomach full we headed to start the second part of the day, Spanish class in Santa Maria!! The group split into their classes and went around communicating and practicing our Spanish with locals.

After two hours we headed back to Cedrela for the last hour of our Spanish class, working with our bomba and the other class was playing a game. After dismissal we got an hour of Pura Vida time.

The group met again at the main lodge for our presentation about topics on the sun, body care, food and medicine. As each group presented their topic we quickly noted the relationship between what we as humans need and what plants need. We learned that our bodies alike to plants and chemicals, can become dependent on everyday things like medicine, junk food , and deodorant.

As we wrapped up our conversation, dinner had started and we had a scrumptious meal of fried chicken and a side potatoes!! After dinner the H.O.D separated the group for a game of first impressions, we gathered in smaller groups and discussed our impressions of one another. We followed up the discussion with a documentary called
“Cowspiracy” which narrates the lack of knowledge concerning agricultures negative effects towards the environment. Although we couldn’t finish the whole documentary since many of us were exhausted. That wraps up our tenth day here in Costa Rica!

Jia Huang

July 22

We arrived late at the quaint village of Zapotal and took our time getting our gear together before leaving on our first hike into the dense coffee plantations. However before any of us could leave on our excursion, we were lead into a brief yoga/stretch session, led by our very own mentor Shannon (The Shan-man).

The hike was then led by a fellow community member named Jonathan (The Jon-Mon), and our very own David Ureña. On our way down we were treated by David’s silly antics, in which he confused 75% of the group by sending them down the wrong path. As the group regrouped, we began to follow the inviting and welcoming trail. Near the end of the trail we found ourselves face to face with one of the many natural springs of Costa Rica. Little do people know/understand that these springs produce one of our most important yet powerful liquids on the planet, water.

We finally headed back up to the local community center so that half the group could stuff plastic bags into water bottles with bamboo sticks (Eco-Bricks). Ethan Z had this to say on the Eco-Bricks “Today was fun and productive!!!” The other half of the group preceded to make concrete for the sidewalk, to help local children be able to get to school safe and happy.

Later we had our lunch, which consisted mostly of rice and beans, with a side of deep fried egg and green bean (it was eggcellent).

¡ Pura Vida amigos!

It’s lit up in this restaurant, we’re surrounded by the beach. The dinner was so banging and we are so full! But let me tell you about our rough day. We left early this morning for our two hour ride down to Manuel Antonio on the pacific coast. After driving through a crazy and strong rain storm, we make a stop to eat our tasty casados for lunch. If we could ever say that we got a taste of Costa Rica, we would surely remember this day. We were soaked! The rain became a barrier to our plans to experience the National Park and “la playa”. No worries! We will be there tomorrow morning. We arrived at our beautiful/tropical hotel and did an amazing trust activity after our Pura Vida time. We learned a lot about ourselves and how we must face challenges before we meet our goals.Hasta Luego Ticos!
Shakya signing out!

July 28th

Hello everyone so all you know that today is our last day at home base that became like a second home to us. Today we had Breakfast at 7:30 and half of the group was there some came late, like 2 min I think but as long as I get food we are ok.

Today we had a trip where we had to hike to a waterfall but we had a hour long drive but Marlo ( I think that I spelled his name wrong (Mario)) got us there safely. There were two baby cows that were in front of the bus on our way. And the place we had to go was a reserve so David said but it looked like a farm to me. He had a lot of information about it and next we had to walk like 20 minutes but Shannon said it was a hour so she kinda forgot. In our hike we walked down the walkway and the hill was a lot of muddy but nothing happen so we was chilling.

The whole group was done down the hill and ready in the water but the water was so cold that they all run out as fast as our legs can take them to get out of the water so they said that the water was so cold or it was just my imagination, but the air itself was so refreshing near the waterfall. The waterfall was so nice, we had extra time to sit and reflect by ourselves- just so you know I love to reflect on my life and see what I have to do.

But the hardest part was going up the hill back to the entrance. After we was done we all had another 45 minutes in the bus again I hate getting car sick but I got a little better when it comes to being on the bus now so that’s good. Next the whole group was going to San Marcos to have lunch at and after we all had a chance to walk around the town. Me and the girls when looking for our favorite candy and practiced our Spanish but in the end we couldn’t find it so we got some ice cream. Then we found Jessica and Shannon, who were talking about gifts for our driver and our director and we all pitched in to get them something (a reusable water bottle for Mario). We all want to get something special for David that he will remember us so we went to get a flower for him and Leo.

The whole group gave David his gifts early because he was going home early like always…and he look like he was about to cry to that mean we touch his heart and he know that we will not forget him. And then we came back to home base to have pura vida time for 2 hours and some minutes and it was good to have some free some time and then we have to work on the story of action and I was thankful that Jessica and Shannon help me. And some of the group presented their idea to us and we all like them and after we had dinner we had finally had pizza I was wishing for pizza a long time but thank you to Leo (our home base staff) and Marcial (our cook). That night after we had our discussion we have a special event that everyone want so bad and we got it thank to Jessica , Shannon and more all Leo our hero had made a fire place for us that it was inside but it was so good, we made SMORES, everyone was having a good time and some went to see the stars that night but it was a little cold out there and everyone went to bed . Finally in the end of this paragraph you have to know that I am more fun in person than in writing sorry about that. And now I have got to go!

Peaches Boodoo

STORY OF ACTION
Over these past few weeks we have been helping create change here in Costa Rica, by fertilizing plants on ecological coffee farms. However as we have neared our long dreaded end, we each have created a few ideas of what we could do when get back to the states, to be the change. This is in hopes to help change the problems we are facing in the states, and without further ado, I present to you our stories of action.
-Maxime

Emilia Andersen- I came up with the idea to create an ECO-Club at school to create a better and more environmentally sustainable school environment. As a club I would like to host a series of events such as “Carpool 2 School” that raise awareness about carpooling, recycling, and driving low emission vehicles. I would also like to fundraise and work with my school to purchase a reusable water bottle fill up station, water saving toilets, and energy efficient hand dryers. Lastly I would like to plant drought resistant plants around my school making my school more environmentally friendly and a better learning environment.

Emily Lanigan- My goal is to stop golf courses from using so much water, because the world is running out of resources and I think we need to start making a change wherever we can. I would like the golf course(s) in my community, at least, to be turf because it will require a lot less water, if any.

Emily Ross
My problem is that too much pressure is being put on students in school because of teachers, parents and peers. My story of action is to create a program after school where students can get together and help each other with homework and tests. The club would also introduce ways of helping students with stress, such as yoga or music.

Énoa Gibson- Racial pride club
The goal of this club is to educate on different cultures, history of races and discuss current events associated with discrimination.

Ethan Matthews- childhood obesity is a large problem in America. Many kids eating habits come from their parents and the lack of education on a healthy diet. The most effective way to educate kids is to provide them with healthy school lunches using vegetables that they grew themselves.

Ethan Zarov- As YouTube is becoming more people’s jobs, smaller creators are unable to be spotlighted as larger creators are taking up exponentially larger amounts of market share and money. My goal is to spotlight smaller creators and give them a network to collaborate and grow each other’s channels and livelihood.

Floria- My issue is the corruption and ineffective control of the criminal justice system in America. I want to start a petition to lengthen the statute of limitations in America, make it harder to become a prison guard, and to set a fine against corporations that don’t respect the limit of inmates in a prison. I’m also going to send a letter and/or email to the government requesting change for the statute of limitations.

Hailey Santiago – My story of action is what my solution is for bullying in my area. I wanted to create a group within my school that allows kids a place to come and talk about issues they have and ways they can be dealt with. The group will not be big and will focus on bullying and the more recent acts of cyberbullying. I hope that my club will group and carry on into the years to follow once I graduate.

Jaxon North- Corporations are controlling everything! Through the help of a small group of people and the backing of a larger movement, we can work to end lobbying in the government, support smaller businesses, and educate people on the corruption surrounding these overly large corporations who are taking an extremely unbalanced amount of money and power for themselves.

Jia Huang- During my last year of high school I wish to start a club that targets the issues of discrimination and racial issues. In hopes that this club will be successful it will be called “Multi-Cultural” club. This club will be a space where students will be able to discuss current news, ideas for events and more. Multi-Cultural club’s main goal will be learning to embrace each individual’s culture and spreading that to combat discrimination.

Maxime Abel- My story of action is on how in the U.S. we are being brainwashed into buying new phones, new cars, new clothes, things we don’t necessarily need in order to be happy. What I’m trying to do, is spread awareness on how we spend our money, and have us question whether what we’re buying will truly make us happy.

Megan Anderson:
Problem: Conflicting assignments and test dates, unfair grading curves, and not understanding material is causing stress for students.
Solution: An app or a website with 5 components….1. Teachers publish test schedules so they can avoid multiple tests on the same day. 2. Anonymous grade curves are published and monitored by the administration to make sure majority of students are passing tests. 3. A Help center that connects confused students to students who are willing to tutor. 4. A direct message to teachers and the administration to allow an easy route to communication. 5. Students submit the number of hours spent on homework each night. This again is monitored by administration to ensure that students have a healthy lifestyle and have time to carry out other passions

Melissa Galanty- The problem I have focused on is the fact that the majority of Americans lack knowledge about food choices, portions and what they put in their bodies. I want to teach people, with the help of my cooking club at school, that food can effect your body in large ways. You can use food to reverse and prevent many diseases because food can be used as a poison or a medicine depending on how you use it.

Mira Wegman: The problem that I would like to face is discrimination. To me, the main cause of discrimination is ignorance so I would like to start a club at my school that focuses and educates on current events and history with discrimination. I would eventually like to open it up to the public and have lectures/discussions featuring a guest speaker from my community that would be willing to share their personal experiences and stories about any sort of discrimination.

Peaches Boodoo- My story of action is that people abuse welfare and that people rely on the government and it go on the youth to the older. I want to help the young kids to get out off poverty and try to make it out there.

Shakya Geiger- I want to be able to give the black community their voice. I want the support from all races to come together and help us stand as one. We want to honor the life of Donnovan and many fallen angels who have passed away from police brutality, hate crimes, and many other things. I want everyone to come together and stand together.
#BLM

Shoshannah – Problem- A lack of acceptance between diverse individuals. Specifically, sexual orientation and preferences.
Solution- Bringing knowledge and awareness to those who need it.

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Sweat, tears, laughter, exhaustion, fun, homesickness, hugs, new friends, and unforgettable experiences day in and day out. This is only a short list of what the last three weeks have given us during an extremely impacting stay in Providencia de Dota, Costa Rica. Anna, Fran, Sophie, Savannah, Maddie, Kai, Julia, Katrina, Che, Jay, Jake, Todd, Alex (aka Suga Bra), and Eliott made and incredible service team, completing more community service work than any of the bigger groups did. What an accomplishment!

Together we made 100 eco-bricks, cemented 70 feet of road, and worked on Juan, Orlando, and Gerardo’s ecological coffee farms, building terraces to prevent erosion and fertilizing over 500 coffee plants. We spent hours every day shoveling hundreds of pounds of brosa into large woven sacks….mmmmm brosaaaaa….I’m sure none of us will ever forget the lovely scent of fermented coffee fruit skins, but hey, the coffee plants appreciate the organic food! Passing buckets full of brosa through human assembly lines was definitely one of the best parts of service, thanks to Jake’s smorgasbord of entertaining music. You really set the bar high for future volunteers. and for that you should all be very proud.

Excursions were by far a necessary break from all the hard work we were doing at service. Remember seeing all the awesome animals and plants of Manuel Antonio? And how about surfing in Dominical Beach!? Everyone got up at least by their second or third try, and some of you on your first wave! Such naturals. Then we were in the pool for hours – basically 70% of our time at the beach was spent in water. And to continue the water theme, white water rafting in Turrialba was an epic choice. We laughed so much and have the photos to prove it! And our lunch stop for burritos and fruit in the middle of our trek was incredible. Nothing like taking your lunch with you in a big waterproof barrel on a raft and rummaging through white water just to have lunch in the jungle. To top off water excursions, our waterfall hike really hit the spot. How beautiful was that place?! None of us will ever forget the boys screaming when they jumped in the freezing water! Hahaha! The girls did however make up for it with their blood curdling screams at the adventure park. Climbing inside a 90 foot ficus tree, hanging midair at the mercy of your peers and their decision to pull the cord to send you flying through the canopy of the forest, launching from the Tarzan Swing platform…how much better could it get?! Maybe a monkey bridge dual contest? ϑ

After all was said and done, dance parties and reflections were had, and hugs and new friendships found, we are all so lucky to have spent 3 short weeks together in Providencia. May you all remember this trip forever and what you learned about sustainable development and ecological farming, and may you take those lessons learned to be strong leaders and positive change agents who will continue to strive for world peace and saving our planet! <3

Recollections:
– Suga bra’s musical talent with his wooden whistle.
– Jake’s ability to keep everyone laughing constantly.
– Jumping in waterfalls at Tamí.
– Covering each other with cement and paint during service.
– Singing while rafting.
– Juan’s delicious food!
– Johnny and Gustavo’s giggles while playing.
– The soccer tournament when we had 15 people on the field all at once.

Summer Blog Posts

June 17, 2016

Everyone arrived safe and sound to San José! Providencia here we come!

6/22/2016

The last couple of days have been really great. We’ve been putting all of our efforts into helping the farmers by fertilizing the coffee plants with recycled coffee shells. We also went to an awesome waterfall and have been having Spanish classes while learning all kinds of different things. We have all bonded and become really close in the time of 4 short days. Along with all of that, the people here have been very helpful and nice.

-Madison

Today, I went to Manuel Antonio National Park. I saw a variety of animals, including sloths, monkeys, deer, and lizards. The monkeys were the highlight of my day because they are always so fun to watch. After hiking through the park, we stopped at the hotel and hung out at the beach for a little while. This day was really fun, and I can’t wait for surfing tomorrow.

-Alexander

–

After four days of busy service, we headed to the National Park and beach today. We hiked in the national park, spotting all kinds of animals along the way: monkeys, butteflies, and sloths. I feel my life not constrained anymore; instead, it became as free as all the various lives in the park. Bathing in the sun. Swimming in the pool. Running in the pouring rain. I feel myself coalesced with nature in a way that I’ve never experienced before.

-Katrina

June 25

June 28

Today we woke up to the beautiful sounds of the boys screaming, ate a delicious breakfast, got on Omar’s bus, and headed to Cartago. Once we arrived in Cartago we ate lunch at a café with happiness in the air. Some of the girls bought cappuccinos with impressive designs in them. Then we went off to our next activity, a city tour. We started with a trip to the market, where we were set free to immerse ourselves into the everyday Tico lifestyle. The market had everything all in one; the butcher, fruit stand, bakery, shoe and clothes store, hair dresser, and even a natural pharmacy. We met up after our exploration and continued our city tour where we saw and learned of places like las ruinas de Cartago and la Basilica. we were told the stories behind these important buildings and their importance. Las Ruinas was uniquely beautiful because of its contrast between the buildings ruins and its perfectly out of place plant life. The cathedral was special because of its architecture and its magical story of the girl and the statue. We wrapped up the tour and went to the hotel. The hotel has a mind blowing view all the way around. on one side we can all sit and lounge while over looking the valley between us and a volcano, another way you look and you see the city Turrialba, and another way you see a forrest. We are all having a really great time and cant wait to go rafting tomorrow!

–Sophie Hyslop

6/29/16
Today was the second day of our two-day excursion to Cartago and Turrialba. We went whitewater rafting and it was amazing. The forceful rapids and beautiful views combined to form an incredible experience. My guide was pretty funny cause he kept convincing the girls that they would die or get attacked by various animals. The river consisted of many rapids, some that were huge and some that weren’t so big. personally, I preferred the bigger ones, but the majority of my raft preferred the smaller ones cause they were scared. About halfway through the tour, we stopped for lunch and made our own burritos. after lunch, my friends and I decided to swim in the river. Turns out that was an awful idea because we all got stuck in a current and couldn’t get back to where our rafts were. When we finally swam out, we got back in our rafts and continued downstream. Eventually, we got to a pretty big rapid called, “Superman.” Our guide explained it was called this because people commonly go flying out of the front of the raft. I was almost one of those people, but I luckily landed in the raft. At the end of that rapid was a long stretch of still water, so everyone got out to swim. We swam through a small canyon and it was beautiful. There were trees everywhere, waterfalls, and a small wooden bridge that went over us. once we got back in the rafts, we went through a few more small rapids before our tour ended. Whitewater rafting was one of the most-fun things we’ve done in Costa Rica so far.

–Todd Rissman

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

All students have arrived safely. Let the Pura Vida adventure begin!

Day 2: Friday, June 17, 2016

Buenos Dias from Costa Rica!

Thursday afternoon and evening we did a few activities to get to know each other and on Friday the fun began. We started with a tour of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. David (our local director) showed us all of the important places of San Jose that we passed and explained their history and significance. Then we started on our journey to our home base of Cedrela (Eco-Lodge) in Los Santos region.

One of the most interesting, was the national fútbol (U.S. Soccer) stadium. A few years back, the Chinese government gave Costa Rica money as a gift to either rework the road system or tear down the old national soccer stadium and build a new one. The roads in San Jose are old and so they don’t fit the amount of traffic that goes through nowadays. However, it was no contest and the people voted for the new stadium. We all passed several churches and David told us that that’s how we could tell we the old communities were before they grew together into San Jose. Every community here has a catholic church and a soccer field.

After San Jose, we went through the mountains to a coffee farm. We learned how coffee is grown and planted a few seedlings and larger trees. Besides the coffee plants, there were banana, avocado, and other tropical fruit trees. One of the trees had fruit that looked like lemons, but tasted sweet at first with a bitter after taste. After we walked through the farm, we went back to learn about the different types of coffee. We smelled and tasted 14 different varieties!

We got to our home base of Cedrela in the afternoon, and the view from the cabins is beautiful. We have four cabins for the students, with two for the girls and two from the boys. They all look over the valley and several mountains. The sunsets and the clouds around the mountains are beautiful.

-Anemone

Day 3 – 6/18/2016

The third day of our GLA adventure began with a 630 AM breakfast. Cedrela provided us with delectable homemade scrambled eggs and pancakes. A jam prepared with Blackberries found in Cedrela’s very own garden accompanied the pancakes. A plethora of fruits rounded a wonderfully prepared meal. Cedrela’s exquisite chefs paired the palatable breakfast with Costa Rica’s main export- coffee.

Half an hour later we filed into our bus and began the nearly one hour trek to Zapotal. Zapotal houses one of the communities we are hoping to help through our service. Our assistance to the community primarily consists of continuing the community’s sidewalk. The community hopes to implement a sidewalk beginning at the church and reaching the primary school. A sidewalk for the town provides the community with an extra level of safety, especially for the young children who are forced to make the commute to and from school on foot.

The community greeted us with a traditional dance; despite the technical difficulties, the dancers managed to depict a vivid scene of a bull fight. The end of the dance marked the commencement of two hours filled with discussions and activities in order to further exemplify the beneficial effects of our service projects. In pairs we defined sustainable and community development. We discussed the environmental and economic factors of the service project. Our final activity revealed how dependent we are on our environment. We ended with a discussion of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) and what we can do to help the environment.

After an extensive introduction, we were deemed prepared enough to begin working on the sidewalk. Half of us were granted the job of creating and lying out the concrete. The progress begins with the task of shoveling four buckets of dirt and carrying them downhill to be mixed with cement and water. We proceeded to carry the cement in wheel barrels up the hill where it was spread and leveled. By repeating this process multiple times we will be able to complete the sidewalk in the months to come.

The women of the community rewarded our hard work with an amazing homemade lunch. Naturally, our plates contained Costa Rica’s staple dish – rice and beans. A variety of meats and vegetables were skillfully mixed into the rice. A fresh salad containing lettuce, avocado and tomatoes.

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay with the community all day; home base required our presence in order to begin our very first Spanish class. In order to gain a better grasp on our level, the teachers presented us with a two part placement test, written and oral. We then practiced conversing in Spanish and played games geared to improving our Spanish.

The third day of our GLA adventure proved that by the end of our stay in Costa Rica we will have made a change in peoples lives and will have taken our Spanish to new levels.

-Sydnie

Day 4- June 19, 2016

Everything is vibrant and alive, from the pink and blue houses with green and red metal roofs, to the flower bushes reaching up to our windows and the mountains covered with forests and coffee farms. As we are quickly learning, the life that we see all around us is fully reflected in the people. Many people waved as we drove past and once our bus and the bus in the other lane stopped as the drivers shook hands and greeted each other. Really the only way to describe it is with the phrase that we learned as soon as we got here – “Pura Vida.”

Today was the second day of working on our service project, of making a sidewalk from the church to the primary school of the community of Zapotal, and so it was also a chance to get to know the community better. After we’d finished the work for the day, we connected with eachother and the community by playing musical chairs and learning a few of their dances (Bachata and Cumbia). We also went out to their futbol field and played soccer together.

This afternoon, we also had our first real spanish class of the trip. Both the beginner and intermediate groups started working on our projects that we will present at the end of our trip. We also learned more about the Costa Rican culture, and compared and contrasted it with our own cultures.

-Anemone

Day 5 – June 20, 2016

Under normal circumstances, one would wake up to cold weather and reluctantly get out of bed while slightly shivering at about 6:00am (give or take) unfortunately it was raining at about this time which practically set the mood for the rest of our work day. Instead of digging out gutters for the very important Zapotal futbol field, or mixing cement to pave the sidewalk for the locals, we had to work inside on eco-bricks (plastic bottles stuffed with pieces of plastic bags that serve as a useful alternative for a brick). Although finding a way to help the community, despite the rain, was great, a common complaint was the smell of the recycled plastic that we were using. Luckily for the group, we had plenty chances to take breaks and lighten the mood by playing a game of ninja or attempting to limbo. We ended up discovering that there are some very flexible campers among us! Although the service work was different then expected because of the rain, it was still pretty great! I’m really sad that our last day at this community is tomorrow.

Usually, after the 45 minute bus ride after home base we would split up into our Spanish groups and attend classes. This wasn’t too great for us students considering we had just come back from 4 hours of work. As a result, our wonderful counselors convinced the teachers to give us 30 minutes to relax and rest before class. The class dynamic was definitely different, in a more than great way. Pretty soon dinner came along, which was followed by plenty of exciting activities, ranging from what it means to be a leader (lead by a student) to skits about space pirates discovering talking cheese. Crazy! Right!? Not for us! Every opportunity to be different was taken and the adventurous personalities of the GLA students makes everything exciting.

Still wondering about the talking cheese? I guess I have to tell you…

All of the students had the opportunity to engage themselves in a proposed skit. After opening up to the “audience” for ideas, great minds thought alike and led us to… space pirates looking for treasure, but they ended up finding a talking cheese. Our laughs were both abundant and tremendous. In short, it was a great day for a slow morning, and I would be more than happy to have one just like it.

-Adam

Day 6 – June 21, 2016

A beautiful, clear morning started our last day of service helping the Zapotal community. Our chef, Marcial, prepared a warm, delicate breakfast of french toasts to pump us up. We were in the bus heading to Zapotal at 7:15! Another warm welcome from the community cheered us up before we began our final service. For today, our goal was to mix and spread 8 bags (plus 32 wheel barrels of sand/rocks) the process was arduous and demanding, but we were still able to finish our jobs efficiently and successfully.

Lunch came at a perfect time. The Zapotal community prepared a plentiful amount of homemade Costa Rican food for us, including rice, black beans, potatoes and salad. It was absolutely delicious and we were all falling in love with the gourmet. Right after lunch, we went to the football field and reflected in our journals. Thanks to David (our local director) for leading the discussion about tourists vs travelers.

Then, as soon as we got inside salon comunal (where we rested and dined), the rain started pouring down. David, our local leader, told us that the friendly community had a surprise for all of us, how exciting! They gave us pieces of chopped coffee wood to make handcrafts as keepsakes and presents to our families. We created bracelets, earrings, and necklaces from the coffee wood; first, we sanded the surfaces and after that… Jonathan, a community member drilled holes in them and we were able to apply colored paintings onto the “exquisite” surprises. We started to say our farewells to the community by playing games and exchanging blessings. We gave them a poster that we made for them, with a costa rican flag and U.S flag on it, centering a heart – signaling the love that we have shared with the Zapotal people. Everyone signed a kind message and their name.

We concluded our service with Zapotal with an awesome, joyful, and unforgettable afternoon.

The dinner tonight was a mesmerizing dish of shredded beef, beans and yellow rice with peas. Leo (our local home base host) was kind enough to offer extra tortillas for us. The food was great for revitalizing our night, after a full day of working and fun. We had an inspirational and meaningful discussion afterward, encompassing aspects such as – reasons and goals for attending this program, dreams and passions, and environmental destruction versus recreation of nature. Everyone wholeheartedly engaged in the conversation despite the fact that we were tired from the day.

Tomorrow we will set off for a two day adventure of white water rafting, closer to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. All in all, the fun never ends and we hope to get more immersed through our experiences within our 21 days here, far from home.

-Thomas and Eli

Day 7 – June 22, 2016

It was not a usual day here in Costa Rica as breakfast started at 8:30 instead of 6:30. So that meant more sleep and relaxation before our breakfast of warm pancakes and eggs with fresh fruit. Then we headed to Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica, in search of the local market and cathedral. Even though the bus ride was an hour long it consisted of rolling green hills.

Once at the market we were able to get a taste of a Costa Rican’s local day. We bargained for the best price, practiced our spanish with the venders and tried some new things! After we had our fills of candy and breads we walked down the streets of Cartago, as we were greeted with smiles, until we hit the famous Cathedral, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles. It is a beautiful cathedral laced with gold that millions pilgrimage to every year. We witnessed a truly magical experience as many walked on their knees to the center of the church and others were using holy water for their misfortunes.

Lunch was next at one of the local restraints, then it was off to our hotel where we passed two volcanoes and drove through many clouds. The hotel meant three things – food, sleep and wifi (all of which we were equally excited for.) At last our day came to a close with games, discussions, dinner and a fun jeopardy game as we prepared for our rafting adventure tomorrow.

Pura Vida,
Kylie Wells

Day 8 – June 23, 2016

Waking up to the view at Guayabo Lodge was just as beautiful as our typical view from Cedrela but different because it was more of a tropical climate. There were so many beautiful flowers and plants and we could even catch a glimpse of a volcano in the distance.

To start off our day, we had a delicious and hearty breakfast at the lodge to fuel us for the long day of adventure ahead. We then set off for the river, which is known to be one of the top 5 best rivers for white water rafting in the world. Our rafting guides were very friendly and helped us to practice our Spanish. They went above and beyond and even prepared us a special lunch halfway through consisting of fresh pineapple and watermelon and a make-your-own burrito bar.

In the beginning a lot of us were unsure whether rafting would be a positive experience because of all the hard physical work required. However, we soon discovered that all it takes is a little teamwork. I think everyone can agree that all of the challenges were easily overshadowed by the tremendous beauty surrounding us. We were in the middle of the lush rainforest and at times we were lucky enough to see towering waterfalls flowing into the river. No words that we include in this post could do the beauty of the scenery justice.

The best part was after the last class 4 rapids, we got the chance to jump out of our rafts and float in the calm water, just taking in the scenery.  It’s a bit like the saying “Despues de la tormenta viene la calma” or “After the storm comes the calm.”
Tomorrow we are heading to a new community to continue our service but we appreciated our break. Today was a really special day and we all stepped out of our comfort zones.

¡Pura Vida!

-Haley and Faith

Day 9 – June 24

Today at GLA we had started our new adventure at the San Pedro community. I think I speak for everyone here when I say, that the previous day’s strenuous physical activity of rafting wore us out, but that didn’t stop us from working hard and getting or jobs done. Our first task we performed at San Pedro was to shovel organic fertilizer into bags and distribute them for use at ecological coffee farms. That might sound like easy work but if you think that, you have clearly never tried shoveling dirt with one hand while plugging your nose with the other. It’s not exactly a fun job, but here at Global Leadership Adventures we make all work enjoyable. To pass the time, we told jokes and riddles, and before we knew it, it was time to eat lunch and board the bus.

When we got back to Cedrela, we showered, cleaned up and got ready for Spanish. Three hours of spanish class might sound like a horrible nightmare at school- but our teachers engage us in activities and games and I feel like I’ve gained more experience in these 9 days here then I have in my three years at school.

After class came the most anticipated part of the day; DINNER!!!! On our 9th day here we had a traditional Costa Rican dinner.. Hamburguesas con queso and french fries And it was delicioso! I was even tempted to go for thirds.

Overall today was a good day and we can’t wait to continue our service at San Pedro.

¡Pura Vida!

-Kyle

Day 10 – June 25

Today at the Cedrela Lodge, we got ready and had an amazing breakfast (like always) to start our very exciting day. After breakfast, we traveled to San Pedro to continue our service. Once we got there, we got all of our gear on and headed to the work site where we finished up shoveling the fertilizer into bags. After that, we took a lot of bags to both of the coffee farm sites. Once that was over, we played a friendly game of soccer and had so much fun doing so. Exhausted and tired, our group was happy to finally have a fantastic lunch provided by the amazing community members at San Pedro.

After our lunch, all of us changed into a clean pair of clothes and we traveled to Santa Maria where we were greeted by our Spanish teachers (Marilyn and Laura). They told us about a scavenger hunt for us to do within the city (We had been divided into 4 separate groups). Sounds easy right? Well….. It wasn’t since we had to read and translate Spanish on a total of 10 different cards in different locations. After figuring what one card said, we had to politely ask strangers in Spanish where these places would be. After we figured out that place on the card, we would find the next card and so on for the scavenger hunt. I speak for all of the teens when I say that this was such a fun activity and was very helpful for us to be more social while also improving our Spanish.

Once every group finished with their separate hunt, we all came together to discuss how we all did and how it went. After that we traveled back to our home base where we had 2 hours of downtime. During that downtime, half of us went on a little hike down the trails from our bases while the other half decided to rest for that time. Upon our downtime ending, we all went to the dining hall where we had a great dinner of chicken and sliced potatoes. After that, we all made a circle where we participated in communication/feedback activities. Once we were all done giving constructive and positive feedback to one another, one of our counselors (Jessica) put on a documentary called “Cowspiracy”. This described the impact of both humans and agricultural farming on the planet and how destructive both of them are. We discussed how the film was interesting and our personal/open thoughts about how what we do to the earth can be extremely harmful or dangerous. Concluding the night, each one of us presented at least one thing we did today that was out of our comfort zone. All together today went very well because the amount of production/work and how lovely we all had been throughout the day.

– Michael McCann

Day 11 – June 26

Pancakes and eggs for breakfast this morning! We woke up to warm weather and after having breakfast headed out for San Pedro around 7:30.Today before service we spent some time observing then discussing the difference between conventional and ecological coffee farms. The way they both affect the environment — conventional negatively and ecological positively — is amazing. I think the discussion, along with the Cowspiracy documentary we watched held quite a bit of weight behind them, and got everyone’s attention.

For today’s service we shoveled our soil into buckets and created something of an assembly line, then spread the soil throughout the ecological farm.
After finishing the day’s work we went to the community’s center where we had a wonderful meal with a large portion of the community’s citizens; today was a big day of celebration for them. Many were dressed for the occasion, many were out playing games on the fútbol field, and it seemed as though the vast majority were having a wonderful time.

After getting back to home base, we began Spanish. We spoke about yesterday’s time downtown and then put together a treat — fruit salad with ice cream — afterwards going down to Cedrela’s garden and examining the fruits and vegetables they grow there. We did quite a bit of work on our group’s mural as well! (Laura (our teacher) is the best.)

Later in the evening after dinner, we finished our Cowspiracy documentary and then had a conversation about global issues and how we can put our ideas into action and push solutions. And thaaaaaat was how we ended our night.

-Rachel

June 27, 2016

Our time in Costa Rica has been incredibly interesting and fun, and I don’t think anything highlights it more then the wide variety of activities we partook in today.

The day began as any other with one twist. It was the birthday of one of our guides, Shannon. We had a surprise party for her this morning at breakfast, the joy on her face was something to behold.

As for the workload, Phase 1 consisted of moving half-filled bags of manure to make a pile where we could shovel it. Easy to begin with no doubt, but going back and forth did get a little tiring. It’s fortunate then, that our next phase of work was relatively simple. Shovel the previously mentioned manure into small buckets so we could spread it throughout the coffee plants. This was not too difficult, and we ended up finishing early.

After lunch, we played soccer! We then had our cultural activity for the day, spending an hour and a half with a Costa Rican family “Adopt a gringo.” I was very happy to learn my Spanish was at the very least passable, if not on the level of some here. All in all it was pleasant, we even got to have some coffee and cookies with them.

Upon returning to Cedrela, nothing of note happened until dinner, in which we threw another more extended party for Shannon and a member of our group, Anemone, whose birthday is tomorrow. Music, dancing, cake, limbo, more games and a piñata. It was without a doubt, the best Costa Rican birthday celebration I’ve had the honor to be a part of. As for whats to come in the future, that’s a story for another day.

-Jack
Find inspiration within

June 28, 2016

Today was the first half of our national park and surfing adventure, so in the morning we left Cedrela and drove through bumpy mountain roads for a few hours. At first, we saw colorful birds and waterfalls, as well as Coffee farms. And as we got out of the mountains, we saw a group of monkeys! At first we only saw a couple, but then as we stopped and looked, we noticed that there were many more jumping from tree to tree.

We ate lunch across the road from the beach and then we went to Manuel Antonio National Park. One of the first animals that we saw was a three toed sloth. We watched it slowly turn its head and make its way down the tree… Verrryyy slowly. We also saw two golden orbed spiders, a few bats hanging from a tree, a poisonous snake camouflaged in with some leaves, and a few more monkeys. Later at the beach, we saw a raccoon stealing Pringles chips and an iguana! We relaxed at the beach for a while before heading to our hotel.

After dinner we participated in two activities: one that was lead by the house of the day and the other lead by our favorite GLA staff. In the first activity, we each had a different assigned social custom and we had a discussion in small groups with four different cultures. This allowed us to better understand how different cultures interact and communicate differently than one another.

In the second activity, we laid around a circle of rope and placed our water bottles on top of our heads. The water bottles represented our goals. Then all fourteen of us stood inside the rope and without touching the ground outside of it- we each had to reach for our own water bottle and bring it back inside the circle. At first we thought it was impossible, but with everyone holding on to each other and supporting the one who had to lean out of the circle, we finally figured out how to do it. Once we were done retrieving each water bottle- it felt good to see what we could accomplish together. The point of this exercise was to reach for our goals, and we discovered that we needed a whole team of people behind us to support us when we take risks.

Parents, you’re a part of our teams, so thank you for supporting us before, during and after our trip.
– Anemone

June 29, 2016

Today was the latest time to wake up in the morning. It felt really good to sleep in till 9am, a lot of students needed it. We spent the night at the DioWak Hotel and Beach Resort. The GLA directors were not kidding when they said it was going to be much hotter here than our home base back at Cedrela.

The adventure of today was surfing. It was very successful that many students stood up for their first time and road the waves. I personally had the best experience considering that I can’t swim well and I took the advantage of it because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity being a teenager who gets surfing lessons in Costa Rica. PURA VIDA!

After our lesson, David (our local director) had a beautiful lunch scenery set up for us. It looked as if we were famous and had VIP reservations. Spending quality time with everyone and seeing down the table of 18 people made it seem as if it was a family reunion, yet we see each other everyday. We are getting closer to going home but for now I am completely happy here with the people I’ve come to know and love.
– Ashley

Day 15 – June 30

Today was the last day at the hotel. We were all looking forward to going back home to Cedrela. After living there for two weeks it really felt like home. What we were not looking forward to was the three hour car ride. Midway on our way back to Cedrela we stopped by a store. We couldn´t help resist the curiosity – we had to explore it. The majority of us spent money on buying snacks. I was no exception. We got back to Cedrela with plenty of time to get settled back in.

For Spanish class we all worked on our Spanish projects and we got to help make dinner. We made picadillo (diced potatoes and veggies) patacones and chicken. It was an amazing experience to get to work in the kitchen with everyone. Patacones are flat plantains fried. We had to peel the plantains, cut it in somewhat big pieces, fry them to soften them, then squish them using some kind of squishing machine. Then we had to re-fry the squished (pancake-like) plantain.

I feel like we all enjoyed dinner because of how much effort and hard work we put into it.. After dinner the Spanish teachers had a special surprise for us. Since it was their last night with us. The surprise was a Pajama movie night! We all got in our p.j´s to watch a movie called EL REGRESO (the return) while we munched on popcorn! It was a Costa Rican movie about a guy coming back home to Costa Rica after living in New York for the last 9 years. It was an amazing movie that made me tear up at the end.

That was the whole day, even though it was one of the most chillest days we have had in Costa Rica, we still got a lot done.

– Katherine

Day 16 – July 1

Today is the second to last day of service that we have in San Pedro. We started our day off by going to the community and finishing up the spreading of the rest of the fertilizer to one of the plantations. After we finished our work and got back to the cafeteria, we were greeted by cooks and the fruit they had prepared for us.

Once we all settled down and had our snack, it was time to play with all the kiddies at the school. We played a great variety of different games that each group had to lead in Spanish for the kids. Some of the games were ninja, red light green light, limbo, and shipwrecked.

After we had a great time playing with all the happy kids, we went back to Cedrela to have a wonderful last day of Spanish. For our last day, we presented our amazing projects that we worked on since day 1 of Spanish. After presenting our projects, we all had a small graduation ceremony to show how much we improved our Spanish. Then we had a thoughtful discussion that David set for us.

After dinner we watched a video called “The Story of Stuff” which was a very honest and inspiring video to us all. Fueled by our motivations from this video, we have an amazing and thoughtful discussion about what and how we want to change in terms of global issues. Once our final discussion for the night was over, we all went to bed and had a wonderful sleep.

-Michael

 Day 17 – July 2nd

Today was a bittersweet day because it was our last day in San Pedro and our very last day of service. Shortly after arriving in San Pedro, we set off on a hike into the forest. It was a little tiring at parts but it was worth it because of the great conversation and the breathtaking view once we climbed high enough. Eventually we made it to a clearing and sat down to have a discussion about the ways we waste water and the ways we can save it. David shared eye opening statistics about the amount of fresh water on earth and the amount that is undrinkable due to human interference. We also learned about people in other countries who walk hours and hours to get just a little water. With a new perspective after this discussion, David then led us to a nearby freshwater stream and explained that is where San Pedro gets it’s water.

On our hike, we unfortunately came across a huge amount of garbage that had been swept by the rain towards the stream. Everyone pitched in to pick up trash and we all had our hands full walking back to San Pedro’s community room.

After our excursion, we set to work making more Eco Bricks and painting the ones we had already made. When we were done, we mixed some concrete and were able to build a bench next to their football field. After our hike and all our hard work, we were hungry. The women of San Pedro prepared us a delicious meal (as always) and performed a traditional dance for us. They let us join in on the dance as well and soon everyone was laughing, dancing, and clapping!

To end our final day of service, we played one more game of football. Saying goodbye to the people of San Pedro was hard. They were so welcoming and gracious towards us. Even though we were all sad to go, we’re very grateful for the opportunity to make a difference there and to have met so many special people. It’s hard to believe we are done with service. It seems like time has flown by! We only have a few more days left here so we plan on cherishing every moment and making the most of our remaining time.

-Haley

Day 18 – July 3rd

Starting the day off great with pancakes and Marcial’s famous blackberry jelly which is the best jelly in the world ! That breakfast really got us pumped up for the amazing zip lining trip for our second to last adventure tour. There were four courses and personally I don’t have a fear of heights but the ones where high up I did close my eyes when I felt the drop go down quickly.
Though I knew I had to open my eyes because of how beautiful the forest was filled with so much nature and diversity of plants. The courses were made to the ability that nature let green communities make them. The night coming back to Cedrela, we had a lot of free time to work on our talent show and I can say it was a very good practice that we kept saying one more , one more and we ended practice at least 10pm. Overall , today was a good day<3

Ashley

Day 19 – 4th of July

Hey blog visitors! Today was our last day in Santa Maria before going to San Jose for our return trips home. Though the majority of us were upset that our little family was going to be disbanded, none of us let that stop us from having an amazing day! After waking up to a fantastic breakfast, we all headed out to a government protected farm for an adventure tour. Something unique about the owner of the farm was that he had 60 chickens, and they could lay eggs anywhere on the property. Because of this, most everyday was an Easter egg hunt!

Anyway, little did our group know, we were in for a big surprise. After a 15-20 minute hike downslope, many of us were hot and/or sweaty. Still full of energy, we hit flat ground and were amazed by the sight of a beautiful waterfall that had been the official conclusion of our little excursion. THIS IS WHY WE NEEDED OUR BATHING SUITS IN THE MORNING *drops jaw in realization*. I feel it is perfectly Normal for someone to want to jump in the water when they’re super sweaty, but that wasn’t the case today. That’s because the water was FREEZING COLD. Sometimes, I think freezing might be considered an understatement. For the lucky ones, it took two second to get into the water. For others, the cold soaked our skin another inch or so every ten seconds as we slowly waded into the water. Despite all this, it was beautifully relaxing once you adjusted to the feeling. It was at this waterfall that I, alongside many of my peers, realized my true appreciation and beauty of the planet we live on. We are so fortunate to be alive.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. This good thing happened to end with a very tiring walk up the steep slope we previously went down. Breaks were crucial.

A much needed lunch break finally came along and we stayed local in the small community of San Marcos. After a delicious meal, we were granted 30 minutes of free time to walk around and explore the area! I’m still in shock over how open people are here in Costa Rica. Shortly after loading the bus, we arrived back at Cedrela, our home base. With two hours of free time, we had the option of preparing our action plans to the world, or our acts for our GLA talent show. It was our last night here in Santa Maria and we certainly weren’t going to leave without leaving memories.

After a wonderful barbecue dinner, it was time for the talent show (GLAmour 4 Days). We were lucky to have a fellow camper who brought lots of ‘Murican gear, being July fourth and all. We had 11 acts in total and a little game of quiz bowl during the halftime. All the acts were fantastic and I was very fortunate to be the MC for this event. There was music, dancing, acting, spoken word, a flashmob, comedy, and friends all around! It was truly beautiful to see what people can do and come up with.

After the glamorous performances of all the campers, we students were able to push curfew back from 10:00 to 11:30 pm! The power of words made us an hour and thirty minutes happier :))) We danced and we danced. I’m sad to say goodbye, but there was no better way to conclude a fun trip than a talent show and a dance party!

Live life to the fullest.

Adam

Day 20 – July 5th – STORY OF ACTION

Upon waking up this morning, we decided that our final day of our GLA experience would be cheerful, not the sad day it so easily could have morphed into. Today’s agenda revealed that this would not be as difficult as we anticipated; today’s schedule focused on sharing our Stories of Action.

Much of our final few days as part of the GLA program had been dedicated to preparing to present our story of action. Having participated in an abundance of activities geared to making us the best leaders we could be, armed with the knowledge that change was necessary and that kids could be that change, and inspired by the story of two young girls in Bali eliminating plastic from their country and countless other success stories we’d been exposed to in the past weeks, we ready to embrace GLA motto and “be the change.” We began developing our Story of Actions by comparing problems that we found to be high priority and those that faced our community.

Issue in hand, we worked on narrowing it down to the specific dilemma we would focus our energy on. We then examined why this problem was an issue and how it was happening. With a better grasp on the issue, it was time to transform a problem into an opportunity. We brainstormed solutions to our problem-identifying resources, anticipating challenges, and preparing to network. Plan of Action prepared, we began developing elevator pitches, which we presented to our friends today.

Jack began the presentations by exploring Tallahassee’s lack of a Floridian identity. He proposed implementing a major Film Festival at FSU, in an attempt to unite the city.

Thomas followed up Jack’s presentation by exploring the troubles haunting China’s testing system. Understanding that the stress paired with these exams was unacceptable, Thomas planned on beginning online dialogue in an attempt to find solutions to these problems. Possible solutions that Thomas begins to bring to the government’s attention are an easier retake process and exams not being given in all subjects to every student. Thomas reminded all of us to enjoy the process of studying and learning.

Next, I explained that lack of Computer Science education for women and foster care children. I planned on bringing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) tutoring to my local foster homes and introductions to Computer Science. I also hoped to introduce Computer Science and STEM subjects to young girls before stereotypes set in and, as a women, be a role model and remind them that they can have fun and success in STEM fields. I hope all those who have been too scared to try Computer Science make a small attempt to explore the subject.

Eli proceeded to detailed the problems that existing with gardening in his community, including but not limited to use of pesticides and introduction of foreign species of plants. Eli plans on changing his garden first and then spreading the word to his friends and neighbors. Eli suggest that we support locally grown food and start a garden of our own.

Adam tackled the growing issue of plastic bags in his community. He plans on asking local stores to stop offering plastic bags as an option, or at least attach a price tag to them, and encouraging the use of reusable bags. Adam asks that we all say no to plastic at the store.

Faith followed with a presentation on the lack of education on sustainability. Faith had a plethora of methods she intended to use to fight this issue. She planned on converting her lifestyle to a sustainable one and convincing others to do so. She hopes to more actively participate in our eco club and use her position as class president to raise awareness with events, such as assemblies and an eco-week. She hopes to spread the education to younger children as well. Faith reminds us all that it is our job to spread the word on this issue.

Michael took the floor next and explained the problems of deforestation. Intending to focus primarily on the biological implications of deforestation, Michael intends on talking to his uncle and other experts on the subject. Michael asks that we are all resourceful.

Rachel proceeded to examine the problems tourism and their trash is causing. She intends on starting new courses to educate others on this issue and offering better advertising for those already existing. She hopes to get local businesses involved. Rachel reminds us to recycle and pick up trash whenever we see some littering the ground.

Kyle followed by detailing the problem of the over consumption of plastic bottles. Kyle intends to get his friends involved and to have the school stop having the option of plastic bottles. He also hopes to improve his school’s eco-club. Kyle asks that we stop buying plastic bottles.

Next, Kylie focused on the inaccessibility and high price tag of education. She plans on fighting this issue first in our local community and then globally. She hopes to collect backpacks and school supplies to distribute locally. Kylie hopes that we will all donate school supplies.

Haley proceeded to passionately explore her anger at the use of plastic bags in Arizona. She plans on starting by eliminating plastic bags in supermarkets. She will began by sharing local success stories with other stores, raising awareness, and bring the issue to the government’s attention. Haley reminds us all that reusable bags are the only option.

Anemone started her presentation with a thought-provoking speech on the destruction of creativity and individuality of schools in the United States. Anemone hopes to start an after-school club at the local elementary school she will be volunteering at next year. This club will bring in creative teachers to introduce music, art, poetry, etc… in an environment free of the stress of grades. Anemone asks that we are supportive, and reminds us that it is ok to enjoy an activity we don’t excel in.

Katherine tackled the issue of an excess of plastic in her community. She plans on spreading awareness to those around her, and introducing the idea of eco-bricks to her community. Katherine asks that we help with spreading the idea of eco-bricks as a form of reducing plastic.

Finally, Ashley examined the problems with the distribution and budgeting of money in her community. Ashley hopes to get her family and neighbors to stop buying too much. Ashley hopes that discussions hoped up to the members of her community and not just the officials will allow money to be placed in more appropriate areas of her community such as school. Ashley hopes that we will be supportive and add another voice to her solution.

Shannon and Jessica reminded us that our changes were possible and our goals were reachable. They added that it was important to take the initiative and stick with our goals. I think I speak for all of us when I say GLA has forever changed us and inspired us to be the change. Thank you GLA.
Pura Vida
Sydnie Shea Cohen

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Hello fellow travelers!

It’s been several months since our amazing experience together in Rancho Quemado. I hope your share our fond memories of exploring the Osa Peninsula, growing together as a group, and making an impact in our adopted Costa Rican home town. The community members were so grateful for all the help you gave!

During our program, we promoted ethical and sustainable tourism by staying at locally owned home bases and participating in tours and activities that gave local men and women the chance to share with us their traditions, culture, and unique natural resources. During that time you formed authentic relationships with many of the people who live in Rancho Quemado. Your work on the library and on the recycled materials mural has the community looking more beautiful and bright than ever and the school gardens you helped beautify are now producing a healthy crop of vegetables and herbs that are being used to provide healthy lunches at reduced cost to the elementary students.

We hope you were impacted as well by your experience. As we led excursions and service and through our discussions about culture and leadership in mentor groups, we saw you all grow together as a team and build on your own unique leadership strengths. We hope you are continuing to learn and promote global citizenship wherever you go!

Sincerely,

Amanda, Lexi, and Patrick

Memories list:

• Smoothie time with Brenda
• Amazing wildlife! We had sloth, monkey, whale, and stingray sightings
• Our hard-won soccer victory over the Tamandua group
• Late night card games
• Multiple surprise visits from our happy and fun moth friends!
• English teaching with hilarious students – “head, shoulders knees and toes” was especially a hit!
• Waterfall jumping in Rio Claro
• Early AM ice cream during our last day in Alajuela

Summer Blog Posts

¡Hola! ¡Bienvenidos a San Jose!

We’re so happy to have all of our students here in Alajuela, a tranquil town just outside San Jose. After settling into the hotel we headed out looking for food, and came across casados, a typical Costan Rican meal consisting of rice, black beans, plantains, and a little salad! This typical Tico meal got its name “Married” because the rice and beans are always served together! Fun food fact! After looking over the schedule of the fun filled two weeks in the Osa peninsula and Rancho Quemado, we all played a few “rompehielos” ice breakers to get to know all 14 students, 3 US staff, and the local Rancho Quemado guide. A delicious asado dinner with guacamole followed and early to bed, ready for a full day driving down the Costa Rican coast.

Abrazos.

July 27, 2016
After a typical Costa Rican breakfast of gallo pinto (rice and beans!) and
eggs, we began our journey to Rancho Quemado. The landscape quickly
changed once we left San Jose: from modern city to verdant hills and
sprawling jungle. The bus ride proved the perfect time to catch up on
sleep, get to know other students, and just enjoy our arrival in this
beautiful country.

The thought of an 8 hour bus ride was scary at first, but the stops we had
made it comfortable and fun. We saw huge crocodilos lounging in a
coffee-colored river, surfers slicing through turquoise waves in Dominical,
and even a sloth making his way up a tree!

When we arrived in Rancho Quemado, the community greeted us with a
traditional dance (baile tipico!). They also prepared an ice breaker
that allowed us to meet community members for the first time. The
communal dinner that followed made us all excited to have come to such
a beautiful area with such warm people. We are ready for the program
to start in Rancho Quemado!!

July 28, 2016

On day two of our service adventure, Sandro took us on an organic chocolate tour where we got to see a tree where the chocolate grows and then we got to learn how it is turned into the chocolate we use to make hot chocolate. We also got to use the chocolate to make organic face masks which was really cool. After the chocolate tour, we got the opportunity to see and learn about the butterfly garden run by Yolanda here in the neighborhood. She showed us the process of how she watches them transform from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly, and then we got to go into the garden where all the butterflies lived. It was fun to see the different kinds of butterflies in the garden and have them land on some of us!

P.s. On our 8 hour bus ride we saw a sloth sitting in a tree on the side of the road and got to stop to take pictures 🙂

-Gillian

July 29, 2016

Today, we split into two groups and while one group rode horses, visited a farm, and swam in a waterfall, the others taught English to children. The hike to the waterfall included learning about some of the interesting things about the nature of Costa Rica and walking up a river. After a delicious lunch, we switched groups. We taught the kids a variety of things such as animals, numbers, and parts of the body through (hopefully) fun lessons. After a little break and dinner, we met with some of the abuelitos of the community, some of which had founded the town, and listened to all of the cool stories they had. We were all really tired when we went to bed that night after our super fun and busy day!

July 30, 2016

Waking up at 5:30 am we were treated to a breakfast of pancakes before setting out for an adventurous day of zip lining and fun at the beach. After a forty five minute bus ride we finally arrived to a beautiful view. Within a half hour we were zip lining through the trees. We had a lot of fun. One of the platforms was set in a tree and we all stopped to look over the edge at the dizzying height. The last zip line was the longest and the fastest and we all enjoyed it as we sped towards the finish line. Afterwards we ate snacks and relaxed. Later we even did yoga, some of us being more flexible than others.
Heading over to the beach we ate a delicious lunch before getting in the water. Dunking, mud fights, and water games ensued as we enjoyed a refreshing escape from the heat. A duck, duck, goose game ended in a splash before we moved on to a game of tag. After getting out of the water we headed back to main camp where we had a relaxing evening at the hostel.

-Avery

July 31, 2016

We started the day by cooking authentic corn tortillas and pica dillo with a local, Odili. The process was simple but time consuming, and it showed us the amount of care and effort that the people here put into their meals. After a delayed lunch, the groups were sent to do either do service or go to Spanish class. For example, Group B helped the kids take out colorful empty snack packages from the trash cans and cut them into pieces. With the pieces of trash, a mural beside the fields was touched up. The afternoon was enjoyable and enlightening because of the sustainable and convenient ways we found to beautify the community.

August 1, 2016

Yesterday morning we went and visited a local gold mine. We were able to see how the locals panned for gold, we also got to use a canoa to speed up the process of panning gold. Then we had a 3 hour Spanish class that actually turned out to be more fun than I had expected. And after dinner we played a soccer game against another volunteer organization. We won 9-6! It was a really good chance to get to know the kids from the other organization and to spend more time with the local kids.

-Madison

Hello GLA blog! Today we woke up and went on an adventure in Corcovado national park! After a breakfast of pancakes and eggs we hiked from Punta Morenca to the beach side turtle sanctuary a little while away. From there we boarded boats to sail up the Rio Claro and floated back down wearing life jackets. On our way down the Rio Claro we climbed and swam up a waterfall and jumped our way back down. After making it back to the turtle sanctuary (and eventually Punta Morenco) we took a taxi boat back to Drake bay and bussed back to Rancho Quemado. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in Jaguarundi with a brief mentor session on sustainability in the evening.

8/2

First thing in the morning we split into our hostel groups and went on a local gold tour. We learned the traditional techniques that were used to find gold in streams. Although gold mining was once a way of making a good living, recently it hasn’t been very profitable. We really learned this after our group worked for about an hour and only found fifteen dollars worth of gold. After the gold tour we headed back to the Rancho Quemado plaza for a cabuya tour. We learned the steps to weaving a tough string that comes from cabuya plants. This was a more sustainable way of making a profit and is practiced by the local women a few times a week. Both tours showed us the admirable work ethic of the Rancho Quemado community.