Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

7/13

Written by Alena and Charlotte

First day of service was amazing! We are painting a school and park and working on a bridge. We’re getting dirty with paint, wet cement, and sweat. The locals are super accepting and treated us like friends. We spent the afternoon building with clay and drinking yummy coffee! We then headed back home to watch the sunset on the beach. Everything is Pura Vida!

7/15

Written by our leaders of the day: Emily & Kirsten

Service Day 2 was very fulfilling. We began our very adventurous day with a refreshing breakfast with pinto, pineapple, and mango. We then continued our service work at the different sites around 8am. Despite the strong sun and humidity, all the groups accomplished amazing things.

One of the sites we worked on was the community bridge where one group worked on making cement while the other service group was able to connect with the amazing locals that were working on the bridge. At the other service site we continued creating the soccer field at one of the elementary schools. We also continued designing and painting a marine life mural for the school. One of our other service groups are continuing painting a playground for the school as well with bright colors.

After, we came back to the homebase for a delicious lunch of casado, we later headed over to a beach for snorkeling! It was so fun! The water was clear and a bright blue. There was an array of bright colored marine life and the instrucors found a puffer fish and a baby octopus. After our lovely adventure, we came back to homebase and ate tasty taco salad. We then reflected on the day in our (mentor) groups and later played some games.. to wrap up the day.

It was a great and impactful experience being leaders of the day because we were able to practice skills of leadership with the group.

July 20, 2016
As we say goodbye to this group, our last blog entry comes from Leaders of the Day Emily and Jazmin:

Before the actual day we led the group, I would watch other leaders and think that their job was super easy, and there was barely anything to it. When it was our turn to lead, I began to second-guess those preconceptions. Even simple things like picking a quote or figuring out what game to end the day with were tricky – I wondered if everyone would like the game or if the quote wouldn’t make sense or if I would embarrass myself. Once we began I was impressed by my lack of nerves in the moment. I enjoyed being up in front of the other students, and realized that all of the anxiety I had been experiencing dissipated. My favorite part of the day was telling and explaining the quote of the day to the students because it felt as though it was the most meaningful activity – it gave us a chance to motivate and enlighten the other students, and really exercise the true leadership skills of teaching and inspiration.

Photos: meeting and playing with the local children who will benefit from our two service projects in La Libertad as well as the finished product of one of our service projects: mural and refurbished play area at the school.

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Hello everyone!

Greetings form sunny Costa Rica!

By the time you read this,  you will all be wondering off to new adventures! Either at home, school, vacation or with other communities. It feels like yesterday that we were on our way to homebase from airport and stopping on the road to look for monkeys. I invite you all to think back on our great experience together, and remind ourselves how much we learned together during those awesome ten days!

To begin with, you all impacted the life of the El Jobo community by offering the children a park where they can play and have some fun after classes, and also a place on the beautiful Manzanillo beach where everyone can enjoy family time, bonfire, picnics, playing around and grilling some food. You continued what was started from the first session, and you prepared the ground for the other groups, in order to finish the projects on time.

Manzanillo looks wonderful, I wish you could see it! It’s so full of life now, cozy and welcoming. And the park, what a change! It’s a wonderful feeling to see the community members smiling and being happy that they have these places to enjoy family time. You all did great, and now it’s also up to the community to take care of our work and teach others to be involved.

You honestly were one of the most hard working groups! You knew very well that we have an aim to everything we do… and that we also have fun! How can we forget Jenna and Riley getting all muddy at service sites and enjoying it so much? What about day one, coming back from the beach and rescuing Pirata? What about Nick’s attempt to hold his breath for more than a minute? Allana’s bug spray routine? And Paulina’s memorable quotes and questions!!!

What about the fact that you were the first group in the history of GLA Costa Rica EcoPlaya that won the soccer game with the community? …On the 4th of July!!!!! How cool is that?! Remember the partybus ride back to home base and Andrew’s Shakira dance?

I also remember with great appreciation that Cami managed to keep her promise and gift necklaces to a local family. And yes, I’m still wearing the one I   was gifted as well!

Every day with you felt like a blessing and I am thankful that I watched you all step out of your comfort zones and grow as leaders. You were all very open minded and adapted to the local culture.

My wish is that you will continue to grow every day, and that the new perspectives you gained in Costa Rica will help you take initiative to positive impact your communities at home, and that is wherever in the world your home may be. You all have such great energy, I hope you spread it everywhere you go!

Thank you so much for being part of this Costa Rican adventure, I also learned so many cool things from you all!

The adventure never ends!

PURA VIDA!

With love,

Smara, and of course- your lovely mentors, Camila and Nico!

Summer Blog Posts

June 29, 2016

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

We’re all here!!!
And we started our day with fun games, exploring the beach and writing down in journals our first thoughts and goals for the next days.

We’re excited to start our adventure…. PURA VIDA style !

July 3, 2016

“On our first day of service we sleepily boarded the bus and went to Playa Manzanillo, where we built chairs and tables for fishermen and their families to gather. We stacked tires and filled them with rocks from the shore. After service we took a boat to the nearby wild and protected island – Bolanos, to snorkle and explore. Then, after a great meal of rice and beans, we had a class about the Costa Rican culture and learned about ‚ticos’.
In the next days, we continued our projects, then learned how to make jewelry out of shells, and cook empanadas. After dinner we learned basic spanish from a native tica.

Today was our first adventure day and we went to Rincon de La Vieja Natural Park. We began with a two hour hike through the rainforest where we saw cool birds and lots of bugs. We then hiked to a beautiful waterfall where we got to swim in crystal clear water. After that we took the bus to a spa with mud baths and natural hot springs.

The spa was a nice change of tone and we returned to EcoPlaya homebase relaxed and reenergized. At homebase we had dinner and went into our mentor groups where we talked about current global issues. Tomorrow we return to service.
We miss you guys!”

– Jenna, Caroline and Luca.

July 4, 2016

July 4th away from home was definitely different than spending it in the U.S. It was very thoughtful of the staff to make burgers and fries for us even though it wasn’t their holiday. The bonfire was such an amazing experience, it felt like we were celebrating back in the states, just without the fireworks. The smores were great and it was such an amazing experience overall.

Service days are amazing because they make me feel so accomplished. I feel as if I am making a difference by helping the community. I loce seeing the progress we’ve made and knowing that I am helping people.

The beach day was so beautiful and relaxing. I felt so paceful and beautiful with the nature.

Dancing class was extremely fun and it was awesome to see how different cultures do their arts and how people come together.

Adventure day was so fun! My adrenaline was through the roof and it was an amazing feeling.

I did many new things I had never done before and it was exhilarating.

I would definitely do everything all over again.

– Camila Corrales

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

June 30, 2016

A full day of orientation activities have prepared our 34 students for their experience in Costa Rica. Students spent the day in Playas del Coco designing their Full Value Contracts – setting their expectations for how they will handle the next 8 days – and enjoying a sunset swim at the beach. Tomorrow we start our service projects in surrounding communities!

Sunset swim

Group under their Full Value Contracts

July 1, 2016

Today was an exhilarating first day of service! We jumped straight into action in the early hours of the morning. Our projects this session include building a bridge to make commutes more safe, touching up the basketball court at Escuela Libertad and building benches for Escuela Obandito. We got to play with school children during breaks, which was lots of fun. They were celebrating their last day before a 2-week break so they taught us how to dance to the music they listen to. After service and lunch, we learned about Pre-colombian Costa Rican clay art and got to make some. at the end of the day, we relaxed at the beach and played some drama games. Overall, it was a day well spent.

Written by Nina G, Leader of the Day

Day 2

Our second day of service proved to be a lot easier than our first. Students working at Libertad began working with cement. Students working at the bridge worked on the columns more and the students at Obandito started digging an irrigation ditch as well as building benches. The service groups later met to make Granizados, a type of shaved ice, followed by journaling and learning about some local legends. Next, a woman came to teach us some Latin american dances. We had fun learning salsa, merengue, and bachata. We ended our day with an ice-breaking game of “Where the Wind Blows”

Over and Out – Written by Diana and Caia

July 3, 2016

Today we got up at 6:30 to eat a delicious meal made by the local cooks. After breakfast we started in on our third day of service in the community. There’s three worksites: the bridge, Escuela Obandito and Escuela Libertad. Each group continued their projects from the day before, making great progress and putting their goals in reach. After service and lunch we relaxed at the beach with some locals who have been helping at the bridge site. We played various sports with them such as basketball, soccer and volleyball, or just cooling down in the ocean. Once we said goodbye to our new friends we walked into town for some souvenier shopping, buying things such as bags, bracelets, and clothes. To finish the day we walked back to Villa del Sol on the beach and watched the beautiful sunset.

Written by Nicole and Grace.

July 4, 2016

Today we woke up and ate a delicious breakfast of pinto, sausage, pancakes and fruit. Next we got prepared to leave for our 4th day of service. Each service group accomplished a lot today and we all know that we will be sad to be done tomorrow. After a busy morning of service, we traveled back to the homebase for a good lunch filled with rice with meats, pasta salad, beans and salad. After lunch we were all excited to see a new beach and to snorkel. On the beach, the boats picked us up and took us to to the spot where we would snorkel. We all had a great time snorkeling and got to see a lot of the Costa Rican sea life. We then finished the night off with a classic fourth of July meal of hotdogs, hamburgers and soda. We all felt exhausted and ready to sleep after this day filled with hard work and fun activities.

Written by Grace and Sophie

July 7, 2016 – Adventure day – Guachipelin 

In the morning we took an hour-long drive to Guachipelin for our day of adventure tours! We started off the day with tubing, which was really fun. Then we transitioned into ziplining, which was one of the craziest experiences of my life. We had a really nice buffet and break in the middle of the day, which was really needed. After the buffet, we went on a really nice horseback ride, that led us to a waterfall that people jumped into and greatly enjoyed. After all that happened, we rode back and got on the bus so everyone could leave. We then made our way back to the homebase, where we said or goodbyes to Jose Carlos, the local program director, and Veronica, our wonderful caterer, which was really sad for everyone. We ended off the night with a meditation where we reflected on trip memories, and open mic of singing, dancing and poetry,and some general announcements. We got the treat of going to sleep at 10 instead of 9:30.

By John Donnell and Camille Schmitt

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Greetings from sunny Costa Rica,

Not long ago the Ecoplaya team welcomed a group of 23 energetic and warm-hearted students. YOU! Our first group, and my personal favorite. Today I want to share with you some of the memories that stick out from the trip!

You were the group that started the service sites and laid the foundation of the projects! How cool? Those sites you worked at are now finished, and it would have never been possible without the hard work you put in. At the Manzanillo beach we did a lot of shoveling, cementing and cleaning up. Also, it was Grayden’s initiative to make a fire pit, and it was a success. At the Centro de Acopio you cut down overgrown weeds, prepared the land for cementing and interacted with the refugees. For those of you who painted and sanded at the park it turned out amazing! The kiosk is up and the games look like new, good job.

GLA is all about service but also about fun, and we had so much of it. The adventure days were exhilarating; swimming in the clear waters of the oropendula waterfall, the mud spa and hot springs, hiking in the pailas sector of the rincón de la vieja volcano… pretty sure you remember the smell of sulphur! Tubing was a blast. Sheina and Maria were my floating buddies, Evan made it like 1km without a tube and we were all there for each other when our tubes flipped (unconditional support). Horse back riding was also a lot of fun, Jackson and Jordan (the fake siblings) led the pack. Oh and remember I didn’t do the zipline because I was too scared? By session 3 I built up the courage to do it… and I lost a shoe!

Another highlight of the trip was the soccer game. Thanks Chazz for coming up with solid soccer strategies: “patience, stay calm, don’t get overly emotional, stay focused, listen, be affirmative, mind over matter.  Your mind is your strongest weapon. Deep breaths. Stay hydrated.” Great performance guys! And even better performance against hotel staff the last day. You were the most competitive and athletic group, thank you for sharing that energy with us during the 10 days. The hotel was filled with life when you were around; opening coconuts, synchronized swimming, DJ Zein’s music, 6am yoga, awesome flips and even a cow in the pool. Unbeatable!

I hope you keep expanding your horizons and spreading love everywhere you go.

With love,

Cami, Nico, Lila and Smara

Recollections:

-Affirmative Anne’s lava cake recipe was a hit
-Waking up EVERY DAY for running or yoga
-Sheina’s shades surviving all trials (swimming, tubing, ziplining)
-Jillian riding Evan’stube  down a full set of rapids
-Grayden got covered in bugs after breaking a branch at service
-Jackson and Brandon’s shoveling dance
-Wager’s barbie girl performance at the talent show

Summer Blog Posts

6/17/2016

Summer is here, and so are all the students!

Yes, everyone arrived safe and sound, and we’re getting ready for our next days of service, adventure and discovering the roots of PURA VIDA!

Off we go to our journey of adventure, service, new culture, learning and a lot of fun!

– The GLA Costa Rica Team

6/23/2016

These past few days have been enjoyable and productive and contained many activities. The day following our arrival, we enjoyed many “get to know you” activities. These included the trust walk, journal entries, and reviewing the code of conduct.

The following day was our first adventure day. We all woke up early and took a two hour bus ride to Pailas Adventure Park, where we hiked a volcano, sat in a hotspring, and later enjoyed a packed lunch. Once we retruned to homebase, we played a game of capture the flag on the beach.

The next day, we broke into small groups and worked on our community service sites for the first time. The time spent was mainly focused on cleaning the areas so that we would be able to safely perform repairs and/or build structures. After return from the sevice sites, we enjoyed a boat ride to the island of Bolanos, directly across from our homebase. Once we arrived we hiked up the island and the view was extremely worth the effort. Our evening ended with more games and a basic Spanish lesson.

– By Benjamin Sarrasin

The past few days in Costa Rica have been extremely fun and filled with new experiences. On the first orientation day, I was a little nervous because I came alone but then I met some pretty awesome people. Our first adventure day was cool because we got to go on a hike and see volcanoes. In addition, we covered ourselves with mud and relaxed in a hot spring.

I was at “Centro de a Copio” for my service site, where we work on expanding a recycling business. It was rewarding to see all the progress we made in two short days. My favorite part of the trip so far was when we climbed the island mountain. I think the adventure of it was what made it so exhilarating. The view from the top was spectacular as well.

– By Fallon

We get to know each other

On our way to homebase

Boat ride to Isla Baleanos

Panoramic view from our beach, while we reflect and write our thoughts 🙂

Beautiful view from the top of Isla Baleanos:

We’re unstoppable!

……and we make new friends while we work!

We stay hydrated with… coconut water!

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Time has flown by since our 10-day Beachside Service Adventure program in beautiful Playas del Coco at the beginning of Summer 2016, but we left it with lasting friendships, fond memories, and a ton of experiential learning takeaways that will stick with us for life. When the spirited group of 34 students from all over the US came together on Day 1, we had no idea just how much we would learn from our surroundings, challenge ourselves both physically and mentally at service, escape the warmth of our comfort zones as we raced down rapids in inner tubes and flew across a canyon on a zipline, all the while forming into the close-knit group we would become by Day 10.

Working at 3 different service sites – the bridge, Escuela Obandito and the recycling centre at Escuela Sardinal, we put in countless hours of shoveling, painting, mixing and pouring cement, while doing our best to connect with the Tico community we worked alongside of, and to play with the kids who showed us boundless energy and curiosity.

Aside from service, we had the chance to participate in some awesome cultural activities, from making pottery with a local artisan, to dancing salsa and bachata with Daniela, to tasting some delicious tropical fruit smoothies at a workshop at the home base. All in all, we witnessed some spectacular sunsets on the beach, ate amazing food thanks to Doña Verónica and her catering team, learned, reflected and got a little deep in our nightly mentor groups with Allie, Siushan, Rachel and Kevin, and jammed out to some great Latin beats courtesy of our bus drivers Lenin and Orlando.

Here are just a few of the Unforgettable Moments from this Session:

• Holding the octopus that our guides found while snorkeling in the deep blue
• Siushan’s service group at the bridge digging holes and mixing cement until their backs ached and sweat dripped in their eyes
• Michael blowing out the candles of a delicious cake to celebrate his 17th birthday
• The girls on Rachel’s boat belting out Taylor Swift songs in the pouring rain after an afternoon of snorkeling
• Playing pato pato ganso and freeze tag with the kids at Escuela Obandito.
• Arley vs Paz: an ongoing battle of Arley’s impressive ability to make noise against Paz’s best efforts to maintain quiet order and peace throughout our program
• Lizzie’s awesome Latin dance moves during and after our salsa and bachata class with Daniela
• Hearing Don Gato, the groundskeeper at Escuela Obandito, share his life story with service group
• Conversation and singing exchange at the beach with the Costa Rican youth group

-Rachel

Summer Blog Posts

6/18/2016

Despite cancelled flights and heavy rains, all 34 students are now at Playas del Coco for their Beachside Service Adventure. After enjoying a beautiful sunset staring into the Pacific Ocean, participants got a taste of typical Costa Rican meal: rice, beans, seasoned chicken, a vegetable dish of corn and chayote (“vegetable pear”), and baked plantains with cheese.

There was also a special treat as Michael Z. celebrated his 17th birthday. He was feted with a lively version of Feliz Cumpleaños (“Happy Birthday”). The students being their service projects in the morning!

Photo: The entire group (credit Paz Magat)
Photo: Sunset at Coco (credit Kevin Yochim)
Photo: Michael Z. and his birthday cake (credit Allie Morris)

June 23, 2016

Day 5 was probably one of the best days and I think most of the group can agree. The group working at the bridge completed 2 columns of support for the town’s bridge. We are all super proud of it and definitely feel like we are making a difference. Later in the day we got caught in a rain storm after snorkeling off the beautiful coast of Costa Rica. My boat made the best of the rain and sat on the front of the boat singing Taylor Swift songs at the top of our lungs. Today was definitely a day to remember.

June 27

All of our participants have left the Home Base, and suddenly Playas De Coco feels so empty.