7/26/2015

Hot and happy to be in Costa Rica; everyone has arrived and ready to start their 2 week experience in the dry forest, on the beach and in the rainforest.

7/27/2015

Today was a day of lots of fun and hard work.
Service this morning around home base consisted of using machetes and other tools to clean up around buildings and walkways. After just a few hours of work, things were looking fresh and clean!
The morning of hard work ended with a delicious lunch and then we headed to the beach! The water was warm and clear, the view was amazing and the experience was incredible.
After the beach, we headed to a small community to play soccer with the locals.
It was a tiring day but we still had energy for a Spanish 101 class with our mentor Arturo.
All in all, today was amazing and lots of great memories were made.

7/28/2015

After a breakfast of beans and rice, we headed to service in a couple of trucks. Service today consisted of clearing the grasses and vines away from an endangered tree species. The work was hot and exhausting but the casual conversation and everyone’s positive attitudes made it fun.
After service and lunch, we had relaxing “selfie time” and free time to read and do yoga. Some also played cards and tried to take pictures of the monkeys and iguanas.
The afternoon adventure was a hike to a waterfall. Because of the lack of rain, it was dry but still a very beautiful scene.
The evening finished with watching a TED Talk video about leadership. The entire activity was very eye opening in terms of the meaning behind being a leader and how simple it can be.

-Anthony Magistrelli and  Yasmine Zein

7/29/2015

Zach Witham and Crystal Young

We started off the day with a delicious breakfast and then had service until 11:30. Service included painting rocks to beautify the home base and pruning shrubs. Then we packed and headed to the beach in the “green machine” (a huge green army truck).

Upon reaching the beast, we were surprised by Howler monkeys! We spent the afternoon swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking. In the evening we took a night walk on the beach and played a bunch of games until going to bed. We fell asleep listening to the sound of the waves; it was a great day.

7/30/2015

Valerie Torres and Avi Kate

Best day yet. We awoke to the sound of crashing waves and howling monkeys. We ate breakfast on the beach and then went on a hike with our friend Freddy to learn about the mangroves. We picked shells and then spent time floating in the lagoon before we headed back to home base.

After lunch and much needed showers, our energy was renewed and we began, what turned out to be, an evening of surprises. First, we heard a presentation from a local firefighter about some of the issues affecting the forests. Yasmine got to dress up as a firefighter and we got to meet the forest fire mascot Toño Pizote.
Then, the cooks spoiled us with an amazing barbecued meal. We also had a birthday cake to help celebrate Elana’s birthday. Just when we thought the night was over, a live band appeared and we danced the night away.

We eagerly await the next part of our journey in the rainforest.

7/31/2015

By Patrick Brennan, Diana Trinh

We are exactly halfway through the trip; today was filled with bitter sweet adventures. We had mentor groups where we reflected on our trip so far and played a fun leadership activity called Jewel. During the activity we had to work as a team to “reach our goals.” Our team did an amazing job using our communication skills, trusting each other, pushing our leadership skills and stepping outside of our comfort zones. Afterwards, we got in touch with the internet world and reconnected with friends and family. Some got homesick, others realized how much they appreciate being disconnected from Internet access during this trip.

We left the dry forest location of Horizontes to make our way to the rain forest for our next half of the trip! On our way, we stocked up on essentials and snacks from a local grocery store. At the souvenir shop, people bought an array of items whether for themselves or others back home.
When we arrived in our rain forest community of Bromelias we enjoyed dinner together at our new home base. We all practiced the “Whip Nae Nae” dance to perform for the local community at their welcome party. The locals all performed their dances and towards the end, our group performed our dance. It went really well! After the dancing, the local kids got the chance to swing at the piñata that we brought and everyone enjoyed refreshments to finish off the evening.

8/1/2015

We woke up and had our first breakfast in the rainforest, it was raining. We then split up into our service groups and painted buildings at two local elementary school thus empowering our rainforest community. It rained during service as well.

Later that day, we took a hike to a bullet ant infested waterfall. It rained during our hike as well.

We then came back to home base for mentor time and dinner.
Afterwards, we learned the cultural Costa Rican dances from the locals.

It was a fun filled rainy day in the rainforest.

– Nate McKee & Elana Weingord

8/2/2015

Fernando Pérez and Patience Burkett

Today was our second full day in the rainforest and it was exciting, exhausting and rainy. Our morning began with a lengthy hike through the rainforest in search of hot springs and waterfalls. The sights were beautiful, and hiking in the pouring rain, through mud and puddles was a thrill.

The local community threw a “thank you” party for us at a farm nearby. They showed us a beautiful river, followed by a spectacular bull riding show! After a few cringe inducing fall, the locals fixed us some decidedly delicious lamb. Once everyone finished their meals, our hosts busted out the music and we all got to dancing. Our group impressed the locals with the magnificent moves learned during the previous day’s dance lesson. Many fun times were had as everyone mingled on the dance floor, locals and students alike. After almost three hours of perpetual partying, we said our goodbyes.

We arrived back at home base just in time for Suzannah’s “beyond GLA” discussion. She led a presentation based on her experience in the Peace Corps , and educated us on our options for future programs similar to GLA.

Exhausted from our day’s activities, everyone quickly collapsed onto their luxurious swan feathered beds.

8/3/2015

Throughout the day we interacted with the local community getting to know all of its members and about their culture. We continued working on the projects that we started on Saturday-mostly painting buildings. Everything here is so colorful-from the lush green of the rainforest to the vibrant blue and red that coat the buildings. Our service group got to play soccer with a bunch of the kids in the community after we finished our project.

In the afternoon, about half the group attended a cooking class while the other half took a painting class. Cooking is a completely different experience-you work alongside cows and chickens and and bake the food in a clay oven.
The biggest surprise here has been how welcoming and happy everyone is. Although we speak different languages, we can still share the joy from simple accomplishments like making goal during a soccer game or eating a warm empanada fresh out of the oven.

– Nathan Nagaoka and Michelle Armstrong-Spielberg

8/4/2015

Today we started off with painting and making small improvements in the local community. After a long days work we unwinded with a small soccer game with kids from the local school. Also, we stopped by a souvenir shop and got gifts for our family members and friends.

Our afternoon consisted of a quick lunch, and a lesson in the art of milking cows. We each got a turn to milk the cow. We made cheese with the fresh milk. At the local farm we learned how to extract sugar from the cane using a trapiche. After a long day we relaxed with dinner and celebrated Dianna’s 17th birthday. Another fun and beautiful day in Bromelias.

– Sophia Barricelli and Gianna Guttilla

8/6/2015

Great last day; adventure day and dinner out.
Everyone is sad to say goodbye to new friends and a great experience but also looking forward to returning home.

8/7/2015

All students are on their way home!

7/9/2015

The group has all arrived! Even after a long day of travel, missed flights and lost luggage, everyone arrived safely and settled into their new home quickly. A troop of monkeys made their appearance soon after everyone arrived as well as a deer and numerous birds.

Everyone is looking forward to the next few days in the dry forest and the beach adventures before heading to the rainforest next week.

-Suzannah Crandall
7/10/2015

The first full day was spent on introductions, service and a rainy hike.

Students transplanted trees in the nursery and planted tree seeds for future projects at Horizontes (biological station).

In the afternoon mentor groups (time for reflection and a review of the day), the group did a rain dance to summon the rain. It had been over three weeks since it last rained during a season when it should be raining daily.

The rain dance worked and although it was great for the plants and animals, it made for an interesting night hike.

A long and exhausting day for everyone ended with an early bedtime.

-Suzannah Crandall

7/11/2015

Today was a very very very busy day.

We started the day off with a lovely pancake surprise for breakfast. We were excited to start our very first day of service at Horizontes, planting and fertilizing trees and building small wire fences around them (so that the Iguanas do not eat them). However that was not all; the group took a short break (NATURE ALERT) to gawk at all of the animals that Costa Rica has to offer. A sneaky Boa Constrictor had found its way into a stump, while a calf was bombarded by our loving pets and awe’s in amazement. The monkeys played in the canopy of trees as they searched for mangos.

After working hard all morning at service, the group was able to relax at Playa Del Cabuyall. Body surfing and jumping waves, we had a lot of fun playing at the beach. Back at home base, we enjoyed a lovely dinner made by Ana and Manuela. Then finsihed the day with an activity on leadership and group games.

-Donna Wesslen & Jesus Blanco

Empowering Rainforest Communities

7/12/2015

Today after breakfast we took a tractor trailer to our service project. Our job today was clearing out weeds from around the base of endangered trees so researchers could see how much they are growing.

After service we came back to base, had lunch and prepared for a hike. On the hike we saw a dry waterfall. There hasn’t been enough rain lately for it to fill but it was still impressive. After the hike we delicious, ice cold sweet tea. It was amazing!
Soon after we got back from the hike, we left to play a soccer match in a nearby town. The Pollos (Chickens) beat the Naranjas (Oranges) 3 to 2.

We were excited for our dinner of taquitos (little tacos ) and then finished our day with a Spanish lesson with Arturo, one of our mentors.
Exhausted from the day, we were all ready for bed and lights out by 10.

– Jenna Leone and Kelly Sullivan

7/13/2015

Mika Burke, and Lorraine Singleton

We started off the day with service. We made the pathway indicators around home base more prominent by arranging and painting them white.
We then had lunch after service and packed our bags to camp at the beach, “La Playa Iguanita.” Our enormous safari vehicle, “The green beast,” arrived to take us to the beach. It was a long and bumpy ride but we enjoyed the Costa Rican landscape and observed the wildlife in their natural habitat.

As we pulled up to the beach we were greeted by howler monkeys. On our arrival, our tents were set up and we geared up for kayaking and paddle boarding. We battled the currents, and enjoyed the refreshing ocean! Dinner arrived at our campsite, and we enjoyed our burgers as we watched the sunset. We played games on the beach and told spooky stories before we went to bed.

7/14/2015

Leah LeBlanc and Sommaya Rani

We awoke to the sound of birds, Howler monkeys and the waves crashing on the beach. Everyone slowly rolled out of bed and had breakfast. There was a choice of bread, jams and cereal.

We were then led by Freddy on our mini hike through the mangrove forest. We collected some shells and then played in the water and the beach until noon.

We road home, covered in sand, for lunch. After we cleaned up, we got to relax for a few hours before a colors personality assessment activity. I guess you could say we showed our “true colors.”

The afternoon finished with mentor groups and a presentation about the danger of forest fires in the region.
Before the evening was over, we were surprised by a live band playing traditional regional music. We danced for awhile and then headed off to bed.

7/15/2015

Nikola Mazzarella and Savannah Nichols

Today was an exciting day; we changed home bases from the dry forest to the rainforest!
We started the day in a usual manner, breakfast and mentor groups but then challenged ourselves in a team building activity. We all had to unite to be successful.

Lunch and our first access to WiFi happened and then we piled into the buses and headed towards Bromelias (our rainforest lodging).

We stopped along the way to buy souvenirs and LOTS of goodies (snacks) to take with.

As we traveled into the mountains, we were surprised by the lushness and beauty. After a few hours, we arrived in our rainforest destination.

After a delicious dinner, we headed to a community school for a presentation to welcome us to the community. It was a fun evening of dancing and playing with the kids.

7/16/2015

Hannah Chambers & Tamar Weir

We woke up in the morning and went to two different schools today, we split up into two groups: Buenos Aires and Gavilán. Where we helped in anyway we could. We painted new tables with children and grouted ceramic tiles in the classrooms. We had so much fun painting rainbow tires and playing with the community kids and dogs.

We returned to our home base in Bromelias and enjoyed an amazing lunch. We were able to try new Costa Rican foods in the rain forest. Even Plantains!

After selfie time and free time, we hiked up to a beautiful water fall. We were able to hike a trail to the top of the falls, and discovered humungous bullet ants along the way BUT we were dazzled by the bright and beautiful birds of paradise that surrounded us. We splashed around for some time, who knew it could get any better? We sure didn’t! However, it began to rain and pour as we hiked back to our home base.. We enjoyed the cool rain fall on our faces during our final leg of the adventure. BUT WAIT! There’s MORE! A Tucan was perched at the top of a tree, what a joy to see! Fuuunnn.

After meaningful mentor groups, and leadership/ team building activities we were warmed up and ready for our ‘clase de baile’ (dance class), led by local community members; Minor and Raquel. We learned all sorts of Latin dances like Salsa, Cumbia, Bachata and Merengue. We partnered up and danced the night away!

What a riveting day!

7/17/2015

Mika Burke and Melissa Ige

After a late, sleepy start this morning (not many slept well because of the pounding rain on the tin roof), we broke into two groups for service. Each group went to a local school to continue work that had been started by previous groups. At Buenos Aires school, we filled tires with cement (to form benches and tables for the kids) and painted two of the school rooms pink. We also had the chance to play soccer with a few kids that showed up even though they are still on vacation.

At the Gavilan school, we helped clean the school by washing windows and mopping floors to get everything ready for the kids when they return on Monday.

In the afternoon we once again broke up into two groups and went either to a cooking class or painting class in the community.

Soon after we got back to home base, we had dinner and then a presentation on the ecology of the rainforest with a local guide. We finished the night with an activity focusing on our usage of social media

7/18/2015

Jesus Blanco & Leah LeBlanc

We rolled out of bed for a traditional Costa Rican breakfast of Gallo Pinto, eggs, tortillas and a nice surprise of watermelon. Shortly after we got ready for a hike through the rain forest to a waterfall. We trekked through mud, fallen leaves and small plants on the forest floor. The big waterfall was a beautiful sight to see! On the way back.. most of the group sacrificed their dry shoes to walk down the stream to a smaller waterfall to swim in. We had fun taking pictures and bathing under the falls. Then, we walked further down the trail to some natural hot springs! It felt like our own natural hot tub!

We returned to home base for lunch, and then watched a presentation about Suzannah’s experience in the Peace Corps. We discussed other options of programs we can get involved in after GLA.

After mentor groups and dinner, we played “Costa Rica, Rica!!” (Jeopardy, Costa Rican style). The Pickle team won!

We are off to bed now, and excited for what tomorrow has in store!

7/19/2015

Jenna Leone & Savannah Nuckols

Today we had a fun rainy day of service at one of the local schools, Buenos Aires. We finished painting the lunch room and bathrooms, as well as a mini garden that previous groups had built. We played a soccer match in the pouring rain with the local community members that we have been working with at Buenos Aires. Everyone was soaked and smiling!
Our second half of the day was spent at a farm where we had the opportunity to milk a cow, and grind sugar cane to make sugar cane juice. We made cheese from the fresh milk, and ate some other yummy treats that the sweet Costa Rican family provided us. We finished our day at dinner, gathered around the TV to watch the much anticipated, riveting soccer match between Costa Rica and Mexico! Who will win?!

7/20/2015

We started off the day with a nice big bowl of cereal and then split into our two service groups.
The students had returned from their winter vacation so we got to interact with them during service.
At Buenos Aires we continued our painting project and in Gavilan, we continued the tile project and picked up trash.
After lunch and some down time, everyone returned to Gavilan for a soccer match. The Tornadoes won, 9-8, but the Aguilas (Eagles) played a great game too.
While in Gavilan, we had the chance to stop by one of the pulperias (small, community convenience store) and bought tons of snacks.
To close up the say, we had a dance going away party and packed our bags. We ended the night early in preparation for a4:30 am wake up for our adventure day.
Overall we had a great time in the rainforest Communities, making connections with the locals and seeing some amazing wildlife.

-Donna Wesslen and Kelly Sullivan

7/21/2015

Ziplining, tubing, horse back riding, mud baths and hot springs kept everyone busy today. A final dinner and “despedida” (going away party) will close up the group experience later.

Everyone will be leaving Costa Rica with at least a handful of bug bites, some with hundreds, and a new appreciation of Costa Rican culture.

It was a great two weeks!

-Suzannah Crandall

6/24/2015

Everyone made it safely to Costa Rica! The group awoke this morning with smiling faces to clear blue skies and the blazing sun.
Our home base mascot (Gordito, the enormous iguana), a very large brown snake and various insects welcomed everyone to their new home.

– Suzannah Crandall

6/23/2015

The first day flew by! A morning of introductions and fun activities took us through the heat of the day.
In the afternoon, we were introduced to the nursery and helped transplant over 350 native tree seedlings.
We spent the evening with Freddy, our local nature guide on a hike through the forest. Freddy shared information about the unique relationships between several plants and forest animals and gave us a very valuable tip: “if you see me running, try to catch up!”. This advice came after we heard a very curious grunting noise coming from the bush; “it was definitely a large animal…it could be anything” Freddy told us. A great hike and a great way to finish a very long day.

6/25/2015

Today began with a delicious meal. Then, we took a tractor down a windy path deep into the dry forest to continue our service work. Our job was to clear around the trees in a certain area with machetes and shovels. It was almost unbearably hot but we got it done.
After planting hundreds of endangered tree seed, we ate lunch and headed to the beach. The water was refreshing and mostly calm.
From the beach, we visited a small community and had a large soccer match with the children there. It was a great day overall.

– Ridgely Kelly

6/26/2015

Saludos!

With nothing but the beautiful morning sun as an alarm clock, we started the day off eager to see what it had in store for us. First was service work which consisted of making and placing wire protectors around newly planted trees in hopes that they will grow into big beautiful trees. While we did encounter some problems regarding the stability of the protectors, with a rigorous trial and error process, we were able to successfully come up with a solution as a team.

After lunch we embarked on a nature journey to la catarata (waterfall) which sadly had no water because of the dry season. Nonetheless it was still one of the most beautiful sights one could witness. After hitching a ride on the tractor, we made it back to home base just in time for mentor group time. We discussed various topics allowing for not only mind stimulating conversations but also provides an opportunity for us to open up and become closer to one another.

Overall it was an amazing day and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds in store for us.

– Toni Nunnally and Stella Moon

6/28/2015

This morning we woke up in our tents to the sound of waves crashing on the beach and Howler monkeys howling. We spent a few hours hanging out at the beach and hiking with our nature guide Freddy. Here’s what we were up to today:

• We headed back to base after a quick snack on our safari truck and had some free time to rinse off all the sand from the beach.
• We had mentor groups for awhile followed by a presentation about forest fire dangers in the region and were joined by Toño Pizote, the mascot that brings awareness about fires.
• We had a final barbecue dinner with all the Horizontes staff and were surprised by a live band and dance party.
• We are all excited to explore what waits for us in Bromelias, our rainforest location.

– Emily Rubel and Stacia Hendee

6/29/2015
Natalie Capella and Grace  Kirk

To close up the first half of our trip, we played Jewel an activity in which the group connected in order to achieve a goal (reaching their water bottles).

After lunch, we said goodbye to our dry forest location and headed for the Rincon de la Vieja volcano where our rainforest community sits. On our way, we stopped to buy our loved ones gifts from Costa Rica and snacks to fill our tummies.

Upon our arrival, the community of Buenos Aires (one of our service sites) welcomed us with a dance party. We’re looking forward to the rest of our time at Las Bromelias.

6/29/2015

Hola amigos! Today we split into two groups and volunteered at the Gavilan and Buenos Aires schools. At Gavilan, we helped move, clean and lay tiles for new flooring in the classrooms.

At Buenos Aires, the kids were still in school so we gathered dirt for a new garden.

We also got to play with the children at the school. They were so happy to see us and we played games and took lots of pictures with them.
After service, we came back for lunch and quickly got ready to go on a hike to go see a beautiful waterfall that did not disappoint. Most of us hiked to the top and saw a few of the falls and forest that was unforgettable. After a few hours, the group hiked back to home and Suzannah, our Director, gave a presentation that gave us an idea of what we can do to spread the morals and goals of Global Leadership Adventures. Her example was her personal 2 mission in the Peace Corps.

After the presentation we cleared the kitchen or should I say dance floor. ? Minor, a local dance teacher, taught us different kinds of Latin American danced including Cumbia, Merengue, Salsa and the Batchata. We danced the night away (until 9:00) and then were surprised with a freshly made desert.

We finished the day by talking about the highlights of our day and what we look forward to tomorrow.
Until then, hasta luego.

– Jacquelyn Crane and Itzel Alvarez-Garcia

7-1-2015
Jose Diaz and Kaory Verdugo

As the week progresses, the GLA team has been trying to get the most out of this trip. Today we had a great day at the schools where we helped fill in cement for the one school’s floor and continued laying tile in the other school. It was cool just connecting with the kids and taking tons of pictures.

The second part of the day consisted of cooking and painting classes. During cooking class, we learned how to make tortillas from scratch and more. Those that participated in the painting class, came home with a self made souvenir to bring home.

It was a great day!

Nicole Kim and Cassandra Bartelin
On day 5 we completed our last day of service at Horizontes. The group finished securing the wire fences around the saplings. During service, we were lucky enough to see the white faced monkeys. We also had the opportunity to drink fresh coconut water from coconuts dropped from the trees. It was a treat!
We finished our service in Horizontes in the tree nursery transplanting more trees and then played a fun water game to cool down before lunch.
After lunch, we took a ride on the “beast”(a big green army truck) to Playa Iguanita.
At the beach, we swam, paddle boarded, kayaked and snorkeled. Later, we played a friendly game of soccer and other beach games. Dinner was served on the beach and we ate watching the sunset.
The evening ended in tent camping on the beach listening to the sounds of Howler monkeys.

7/3/2015

Events of the day included service in Gavilan and Buenos Aires, milking cows, eating sugar cane and watching a movie.
During service we took a very long break and joined the students from Buenos Aires on the dance floor for a goodbye celebration.
Later that night we watched a Ted Talk video about Anonymous Extraordinaires and it taught us that any effort towards a cause, no matter how small, is necessary and beneficial for the cause.

7/4/2015

Toni Nunnally and Ridgely Kelly

Today we woke up once again in the beautiful rainforest and prepared for our last day of service. After shoveling cement, tiling floors and various other activities.

We got to enjoy one last soccer match with the adorable Costa Rican kids. After the game we played with the kids for a few hours and shared hotdogs with the community.

After we got back to home base we had one last dinner and fiesta to celebrate our last night.

7/5/2015

by Suzannah Crandall

Final day of adventure: zip lining, tubing and horse back riding.

Off the the final, goodbye dinner and one last night together.

A great finish to an amazing two weeks.

7/10/2015

Ni hao!

We’re in China! Yesterday we all arrived after our long flights, ate a adventurous/delicious dinner (including black fungus, pigs hoof and fatty beef), and got to sleep early.

Today, we all ventured to the Great Wall! It was amazing! From the lift ride up to the exhausting hike up the steps of the wall to the descend down the long slide. We learned a lot about why the wall was built and the different kinds of people who live in China and what a “foreigner” in China is. Now we are all super hungry and ready for a shower! It was totally worth the sweat and legs that feel like noddles.

We’re off to eat at one of China’s famous noodle house restaurants–more updates will come soon!

-Nicole Price

7/11/2015

Yesterday we began our day with a buffet-style breakfast at the hotel. We then proceeded with an orientation from the GLA staff. We went over the code of conduct, history of GLA and main aspects of Chinese culture. Some of the major points we learned were the five elements (earth, fire, wood, metal, and water) and PYBPAR (pronunciation, yin and yang, boisterous, practicality, awkwardness and repetition).

After the orientation, we went to a Korean restaurant and ate delicious food. Our favorites were the rice cakes and the kimchi fried rice! We then went to Tiananmen Square and we felt like we were melting. It was so humid and hot that we could have fried eggs on the ground! We went to the Temple of Heaven and walked more than a mile. It was really cool to see the history and culture that we talked about earlier in the day in-person. We wrapped up the night at a famous restaurant with a speciality of Peking duck.

It was an exhausting but memorable day!

-Sophia Chen and Stephanie Chen

7/13/2015

Hello to everyone back home!

Today we completed our journey from Beijing to Shaxi, and we made the six hour journey from Kunming count by playing a lot of games, getting to know each other better, and of course getting some solid naps in! We spent the evening settling into our home for the next two weeks. The village of Shaxi is beautiful and the cooler temperature is a welcome change. Our local staff- Uncle Lu and Alieu- greeted us with a delicious feast of local specialties. After dinner, we played a few games and created group “prayer flag” banners that list each of our goals for the next two weeks. After that, we surprised Julia (a student in our group) with a birthday cake at a local cafe. It was delicious!

Tomorrow, we’ll explore Shaxi with a tour and cultural scavenger hunt, and dive further into our language instruction. Until next time!

Cheers,

Sara McDaniel
International Director

7/15/2015

Hey everyone!

On Tuesday night we arrived in Shaxi after a long bus ride! The next day, we started our day with a nice noodle breakfast prepared by our GLA homebase cooks. We were put into groups with our TA’s (students who are more advanced in Chinese) and went on a research scavenger hunt of Shaxi. We had an arrangement of things to do throughout the town which included buying an assortment of food and drink. Following the scavenger hunt, we presented our findings to the group and shared our snacks. We then took a tour of the village, stopping at many temples. We then had dinner and following that we had our first mentor group meeting. We all got to share a little bit about what makes us unique.

The next day (due to the rain) we had our first Chinese lesson in the morning. We then had lunch and free time before we headed to the service site for our first day. We stomped mud to flatten the ground to build a floor and transported shingles from one part of the site to the other. We then went to a cafe in town with our mentor groups. And had some delicious treats! We then met with some undergraduate art students from a Chinese university who happened to be in Shaxi at the same time as us. We were able to talk with them and ask questions and use our new Chinese skills. It happened to be one of the students birthday so we ended the night with some cake and some singing from Chinese Beyoncé (one of our staff members, Alieu).

Zai jian!!
Zoé Bertone and Sarah O’Reilly

7/16/2015

Dear families and friends of GLA,

Yesterday after a breakfast of fried dough, steamed buns, mung bean paste, and coffee, we traveled to the service site. As it was raining, we were unfortunately unable to make mud bricks. Instead we pounded down mud floors and stacked tiles. After lunch we went to the town square, and had milkshakes and American food for the first time since arriving. Later we learned to play Ma Jong and made dumplings for dinner. We finished the day by testing our newfound skills in Ma Jong against college students before passing out in our beds.

Sincerely,
Max Guinther

7/17/2015

Hi everyone!

Yesterday we had another incredible day, starting with breakfast of mildly spicy dumpling soup, with dumplings made by all of us from the day before. We were rained out of our community service due to the Shaxi culture that does not permit anyone working in poor weather. This is due to their belief that if we became ill, it would be due to them letting us work in these bad conditions. After breakfast, we had Chinese class with Charles, and learned about numbers and measuring words. Then we all headed into town for market day. We were split up into partners and were able to wander freely exploring the incredible culture. The market was full of exotic fruits, vegetables, and spices that the locals had grown and prepared. The most memorable part was when I reached the end of the market and found myself in the fish section. There were small pools of water containing anywhere between 15-100 small to large fish. We watched the man pick up live fish and weigh them, before shoving them in a mini plastic bag. I was very surprised when a large fish escaped the pool and flopped and writhed around on the ground, making me jump back. After leaving the market, we all headed back to the homebase for lunch, which consisted of rice, potatoes, spices, and soy beans. After lunch, we all went upstairs to watch a Chinese tragic, romantic type movie but encountered a technological issue. While the projector was being fixed, we all played a game called “Celebrity”. After this we were very hungry and were glad to have another amazing dinner. When we had finished the movie was ready making it a relaxing way to finish the day before retiring to bed.

-Evan Anthopoulos

7/19/2015

Hello everyone back home,

7/27/2015

7/29/2015

Today we woke up at 7, and after a quick egg breakfast we drove to Caraballo, a Haitian resettlement village called a batay. The batay is a place where sugar workers used to live and still live now that the production of the sugar cane quickly went away and was replaced by high corn fructose syrup. This batay is surrounded by a desolate representation of its past as we drove through the dead fields of sugar cane and skinny cows roaming. Caraballo was very different from the village we worked at yesterday, and even more different from most of our home cities and towns. Young children ran rampant in little to no clothing, and it became very clear quickly the extreme conditions these families lived in. As soon as we exited the bus, a flood of kids came running, jumping on us and yelling in Haitian creole. It was chaotic to say the least, but we adjusted quickly and learned to banter with them as we painted and patted down cement. When we finished painting the stone bleachers we took a break. After the yummy mangoes and lunch, we had the option of going into the market to visit the locals shops they had been begging us to see. The ones with money learned to haggle with the locals, and most of us walked back to the work site with a child holding each hand and at least one on our back. We finished cementing down the inside of the school, then cleaned up after ourselves. We said a hurried and hectic goodbye, having to pull the kids off our backs as they enthusiastically hugged us adios. We piled into the bus and all fell into a sleepy stupor, processing all the manual labor we’d done and brief friends we’d made.

-Lea Churchill

7/30/2015

Today was our first day without service. We went to 27 Charcos which is a system of 27 waterfalls. We were able to visit seven of the waterfalls and they were absolutely beautiful. We got to swim around in the cleanest water that I have ever seen. We were also able to jump and slide off of the waterfalls. I wish we could have done it a hundred more times. After the waterfalls we went to a tourist town named Cabarete. We had a chance to connect with our friends and family back home with wifi (which we were all too excited for…). We swam around in the Cabarete beach, but we all liked the beach at our lodge much better. We then headed for our lodge and swam in our pool. It was a super fun day here in the Dominican Republic!

-Shoshana

7/31/2015

Today we bussed to a community called La Veredita. There we split into groups and helped the locals with various projects involving construction. One group helped cement the walls of a public meeting place while another dug holes and stacked cinder blocks to build a new bathroom for a household. All of us got involved, communicating with and learning techniques from the locals. After a long day of service, we returned to the lodge, enjoying a relaxing swim in the ocean. It is pretty hot here and we are making sure to drink enough water! Miss everyone back home!

– David

8/1/2015

La Veredita, Second Time.

I woke up at 7, as usual. Some people actually woke up earlier to do yoga. In La Veredita, we were originally supposed to finish chipping paint off of the walls, so that cement could be applied more securely. However, plans were changed and we ended up painting the water tank sky blue, which was also an extremely important job. After some time, the ice cream man came (yay!), and we bought ice cream, both for ourselves and for the local economy. In the afternoon, we finished painting the water tank. Once we returned to the lodge, we went to the beach, and I fell asleep behind a palm tree.

Intermission- feel free to grab some refreshments and use the restroom.

Speaking restrooms, our toilet was clogged for a couple of hours, and there was no water!

P.S. The water is back

8/2/2015

Hello family and friends! We had another fun filled day of mixing cement! We are slowing getting better and better at the techniques of the rustic art of cementing. However, today the construction of the floors were a little more difficult. We were faced with the challenge of climbing a very narrow, rocky alley while carrying heavy buckets of cement just to reach the targeted housing unit. After many trips up and down the steep alleyway, we finally completed the cementing. Just before we finished, we made a surprising discovery! We found a litter of the cutest puppies! The owner was selling each puppy for only 500 pesos! Our group bought two of the three puppies to take care of and maybe even take home! (ALERT: Don’t worry parents, you were contacted if your child had an interest in keeping the puppies.) Another amazing lunch was served as sat back and relaxed. However, our relaxation ended shortly as we got up to once again…. mix cement. Once finished that ended our time at La Union and on our way home, we stopped to replenish our mind, body and soul with some fresh, delicious groceries like Doritos, ice cream and gummies. So that ended our 6th day in the Dominican Republic and we are still lovin’ it!

Your personal blogger,

– Jack Burns

8/3/2015

Dudu Lagoon

Today we went to Dudu Lagoon and it was an amazing opportunity to face any fears of heights or jumping. We were able to go on a zipline and plummet 30 feet into the lagoon. We were also able to jump off of a cliff that was about 40 feet. When we got exhausted we were able to eat at a restraunt or play soccer. We also had a fun time throwing each other into the lagoon from the dock. One of the students lost a GoPro in the small lagoon and we spent a few hours searching for it, but working as a team we found it. All in al,l it was a fun day with the group and marks the end of week one.

By Mario

8/4/2015

La Grua

Hello parents!
Today we went to the village La Grua to finish up another bottle school. Some of us mixed cement, others tried to smear it on the walls, and the rest walked around picking up more plastic bottles to fill the walls. As an alumnus of the Dominican Republic Beachside Adventure program, I got to see the progress we are making first hand. Last year, when I first visited the community, I had no idea how severe the conditions were. Sure, I saw the fields covered in a layer of trash, the kids running around with a single article of clothing, and the dilapidated river, but I had no idea how segregated Haitians and Dominicans were, or how bad their water conditions were going to get. This year, I was shocked to see the differences being made. Now the fields are almost completely clean. The bottle school is nearly finished and the people are incredibly grateful, constantly smiling and thanking us. However, certain conditions are getting worse, such as the Haitian water supply and suppression. The river, which was already small but flowing, is now almost completely gone. What makes that even worse is that this small stream is their only water supply, seeing as the Dominican side of the community has completely cut all Haitians off. There are many 7 Elements programs and GLA programs working to improve the situation, and while the current conditions make me feel even more anxious to help, I know that these programs make an incredible difference in these peoples’ lives, even though the progress seems to move so slowly. Revisiting the same communities, or even seeing new ones, is motivating and inspiring. What we’re doing here is awesome, and I’m very proud of the work we are doing. 😀

by: Sofia Cabrera

8/5/2015

Santo Domingo

Hello readers,
Today we woke up at the wee hours of 5:30 in the morning just to sit in the car for 5 hours and although that sounds bad, it’s not so bad if your asleep, which was just about everyone but me and the driver Jaime. After the brutal 5 hours of sitting we got to the botanical garden and we did a 3 hour scavenger hunt in the rain which at one point, was torrential. We than went and shopped at this really nice boutique that gave us very nice discounts. We also took a tour of the historical district called El Centro. We ended the night with a nice ice cream and a good rest.

by: Finn Shepard

8/9/2015

La Veredita

Today we went to La Veredita, where we cemented the floor of the community building. Mixing cement and carrying water buckets far distances were some of the hard tasks we faced. Amazingly, we were able to finish three fourths of the floor, which was well above our goal. Also, we finished our water tank project. The water tank will supply running water to over a thousand people, which I find absolutely extraordinary. Lea drew a beautiful mural on the water tank that read, “Agua es Vida… Cuidala.” At the end of the night, we went star gazing on the beach. We played games and searched for shooting stars. By the end of the night, we learned that hard work really does pay off and that we really are making a difference, as shown in the results of our projects.

– Bri

8/10/2015

La Grua

Today we bussed to La Grua for a second visit. We returned to the community center and coated the walls with cement. We also attached wire to the interior, completing the insulation of the building with empty bottles. And, during breaks we had fun laughing with the locals who passionately took part in the project. After a lot of strenuous work, we piled into the bus to go to the home base, enjoying the rest of the day.

– David

8/10/2015

Dajabon

Today we went to the Haitian/Dominican border. Along that border is a huge, boisterous market called Dajabon. Despite the long ten hours total of sitting on a hot bus, the experience was completely eye-opening. When we arrived to the market, we were immediately bombarded with hoards of Haitians rushing from shop to shop carrying enormous bundles of goods on their heads. We had to split up into small groups to make our way through the market, and even then it was hard to keep together with all the people running around. Most of the goods being sold were donations, and almost everything seemed to be used. The ambiance was incredibly busy, noisy, and almost animalistic. I mean, we experienced a man being assaulted with a chair as he hopped over the group of maybe ten women selling shoes. Dajabon is an experience that can only really be understood when seen, as it is so completely different from anything we have experienced before, but also an incredibly valuable memory.

– Sofia Cabrera

8/17/2015

All students have departed and are on their way home!