Wow! ( dijo el perro) the day has finally arrived for Airport pickup day on Day 1 of GLA’s Children’s Initiative for Costa Rica! Let me start by first introducing myself! My name is James Tuttle and I am the International Director for the program this summer! I am from Denver, Colorado, and I feel honored that I get to spend the summer between year one and year two of medical school having an amazing time in Costa Rica with students from all across the U.S.! I am happy to be returning to Latin America after having spent two amazing years managing college students in the mountains of Guatemala.

I am joined this summer by two amazing student mentors Casey and Aileen. Casey is an expert Spanish language instructor who is working on her Master’s in Spanish Language, while she manages her university level Spanish classes. Aileen is taking a break from her work leading teenagers on 20-day wilderness hikes with Outward Bound to share her years of experience with GLA students this summer. Between the three of us we have over 15 years of experience working with youth, and over 10 years travelling, living, and working abroad.

Finally, we are hosted and guided by our Local Director Alfredo Corrales. Alfredo is well known member of the town of Santa Teresa de Cutris where he owns an amazing 200 hectacre finca (farm), complete with 3 beautiful lakes, farm hands, and everything una vida en el campo requiere. Alfredo is the father of three sons, a master in the kitchen, and is joining Casey, Aileen, and I with over 30 years experience working in hospitality as a hotel owner, business owner, and partner with GLA since the program’s conception.

Our first group of students arrived early in the morning, and as we awaited the arrival of the others we had time to play a few hands of Uno, visit City Mall, and discuss what the students should expect from the next two weeks. With the students who arrived before 4pm, they are headed directamente for la Pizzeria, “Iguana Loca” (named for the Iguana’s which sunbathe in front of the restaurant during the day).

As you read this we have already headed on to our home base at Alfredo’s finca in Santa Teresa, where we will be joined later in the night by Sara King-Hook, Helen Hudson, Krystal Joy Llose, Alfredo, and myself (James). Helen, Sara, Krystal, and I will eat dinner in San José!

Students look forward to comfortable air-conditioned rooms, a Costa Rican sunset over one of our three private lakes, and an opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep. Not much in terms of “roughing it” is in store for our group. However, cell phone service is limited at home base so please expect some delays in communication while your student is in Costa Rica, I however, can be reached via my local number +506 7248-0065.

Tomorrow morning we look forward to an orientation on our dock, followed by a day of planning for our English summer camp that will be facilitated by our staff and your students to benefit local elementary aged children from around the surrounding communities. So as they say here in Costa Rica,  “Hasta muy pronto”, and of course, “Pura Vida”!

Dear Parents, family, and friends. As often as possible I will be posting updates written by the program’s “Leaders of the Day”, two students who are chosen to help lead many of the activities throughout the day, and facilitate group discussions. The Leaders of the day are also asked to write a paragraph about their experiences, reflections, and takeaways from the day’s activities. This approach helps to provide the student’s perspective on their experiences while simultaneously keeping families updated on the day’s happenings. So without further ado : My GLA group and I spent our first full day in Costa Rica. When we woke up we had breakfast. After breakfast, we went to the dock and did activities to bond. We got into our service groups and played human knot, my team won. We had a delicious lunch which was chicken, rice, beans, smashed potatoes, and salad. We had free time for a while and then we went to the lake that is right next to us to swim. The water felt really nice and warm. Some other people and I went to the top of the dock to jump off into the water. It was scary but also fun. After we planned our service work for tomorrow played a game called song wars. Overall today was an amazing day, I enjoyed it very much.

– Daniela Sanchez

Today was the first day at home base! The farm we are staying at is so beautiful. There are cows, dogs, and a lake! We began the day with a delicious Costa Rican breakfast. Then we had time to go over all the rules, do fun team building activities, and get settled into our service groups. I feel like I am getting to know everyone and their names after all the fun games we played introducing ourselves. Afterwards we had lunch of chicken, rice, beans, and salad which was so good! Unfortunately it was starting to drizzle out so we had to hurry up to swim in the lake. We all jumped off the dock and had a great time swimming. Then we met in our service groups and discussed our plans for the activities we would do for the children we are going to see tomorrow! I am so excited to play with the children.

-Tatiana Alvarez

July 5, 2017

Today was the first day of summer camp for the kids. I was doing the science station and we made play-dough. They were so excited to do all the activities and we practiced numbers and colors in English. We also got to make play-dough with flour and water with food coloring it was so much fun! Everyone loved it and made lots of cool things. We also went to the hot springs and had fun in the water. My Spanish improved so much today and I learned a lot of new words. -Lauren Fletcher

We had sausage, eggs, rice and beans, and fresh fruit for breakfast this morning. We spent yesterday planning our activities for the kids and today they arrived at the home base for their first day of activities and we were all wicked excited to meet them! The 3 stations included arts and crafts, field games, and science all with an aspect of english education. In the arts and crafts group we worked on numbers, colors, and animals. We played number games, color games, and taught them to make paper fortune tellers. The kids were all so great and had lunch with us here! After that we all went to swim in the hot springs and got ice cream on the way back to the home base. -Jessie Paquette

July 6, 2017

Today was amazing we woke up to see an interesting schedule that continued to change but always for the better. The food has not been even the slightest bit disappointing because each meal is something unique with its own style to make it amazing. Usually back at home in N.Y. the best part about the trip is the ride to the destination rather than the destination itself, but this has not been the case in Costa Rica one bit. Its not just because we’re in Costa Rica that makes it so fun, it’s the people, the mentors, the other students, the locals, everyone is what truly makes this the best part of my life yet. It’s almost impossible to find something to complain about with this program because it is so awesome. – Justin Cartagena.

July 6, 2017 (continued)

Today, we worked on cleaning out a building and painting beams for the school down the road. We started right after breakfast and worked until lunch and we made a lot of progress. We had planned to go on a tour around the farm and to see the cattle and taste test some of Alfredo’s coffee, but since the weather was good we decided to go to the animal refuge instead. There we saw a ton of new animals that we had never seen in the United States. Then we returned from the zoo and swam in the lake under a beautiful sunset.

— Lukas Affeltranger

July 7, 2017

As every morning, we ate our breakfast in front of a beautiful lake. Shortly after, young children from the Santa Teresa school arrived. Three stations were set up: a science station, an art station and a activity station. The children rotated stations every 30-45 minutes. After, we all hopped onto the bus to find our way to a lovely home. This lovely home stands out to be very special because the owner dedicates immense amounts of time to the local costa rican dogs. Costa Rica possess many stray dogs so this generous family looks after the dogs that don’t have a home. We washed the dogs aside a gorgeous river surrounded by a thick tropical forest. Once back at home base we had time to play team building games. Last but not least, we enjoyed a delicious pizza.

— Máxime Paul

Today was one to remember. We started our day, as always, with an incredibly good breakfast courtesy of the GLA staff. After that, we began setting up our activities for the children, which for my group, consisted of making slime. Though our hopes of having the kids make slime was not completely successful, seeing the smile on their faces while messing around with the ingredients was completely worth the major clean up endured after. Though our day was far from over, the best part of it, in my opinion, was when this kid, Delvin, taught my group and I how to make a paper boat, which i gave to my friend, Madeline. The fact that something as simple as teaching us how to make a paper boat made both him and us volunteers extremely happy was honestly so unforgettable. And as if our day couldn’t get any better, today was the day that we got to spend time with and wash a few of the dozens of stray dogs taken in by a political couple here in Santa Teresa. Overall, I can honestly say that this has been one of the best days thus far for me, and likely some others, while volunteering here in Costa Rica.

— Krystal Llose

Several more photos are uploaded in the group Dropbox folder here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eq1slkb2nuyypa1/AACvrozpzWrR23asUbZVlJy4a?dl=0

Costa Rica has been such an life changing experience. The friends I have made so far are amazing. Everyday had been a new and fun experience! This morning we woke up and had a great breakfast and then moved into planning for our last few days of summer camp with the kids in Costa Rica. After that we had fun jumping off the dock and having lake time. Later, we had lunch and then headed out for some rafting tours in the RIVER. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store and the ice cream shop! I can’t wait to see what else Costa Rica has in store for us!

Emma

Costa Rica has been a blast so far! We have all met great friends and have experienced new things! Today started out with a delicious breakfast. We then all planned out our service groups for the kids camp next week. The three groups are dancing, martial arts and team building! After that, we took a good long break at the lake and had fun jumping off the dock. Later in the day, we went rafting along the river and got very wet as we enjoyed a water fight. The group then drove back to home base and had fun with activities and wrapped up the day with a delicious dinner and bonfire!

Ellie

July 9, 2017

Today we woke up early to go horse back riding. We split up into two groups and one group went on the horses and the other went into town to shop. We met back up for lunch. For lunch we had tacos with beans, pico de gallo and beef. After that the other group went on the horses and the other went shopping. We rode the horses through the jungle, rivers and through fields to get a view of a volcano. Some people got a change to get their horse to gallop. It was a great day with many beautiful views from the top.
⁃ Sarah Webster-Heenan

Sunday July 9th part 2

Today was an especially exciting day. We got up an hour earlier, enjoyed Alfredo’s always amazing breakfasts, and found our seats on the bus for a ride to a horse stable. Although it was raining, I will never forget the beautiful views and memories made by so many of my friends facing their fear of horses. After this, I found very adorable sloth-themed souvenirs and enjoyed some ice cream. Alfredo ended our day with another amazing meal, followed my some serious bonding time during mentor group. Today was definitely a day I will always remember.

Sara King-Hook

Monday July 10th

This morning we went on a hike around the home base and saw some lakes. We also saw an iguana belly flop into a lake from a tree. In the afternoon, Alfredo taught us about coffee, and we tasted different kinds of coffee including Alfredo’s. We also learned about cows and got to pet one. Then we had lake/nap time, and tonight we had a surprise birthday party for our director James.

-Helen Hudson

Tuesday July, 11th

Today started with eggs, rice and beans, sausage, and fruit for breakfast. Soon after, we split into our independent service planning groups. My group worked on our dance to “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney movie Moana. We discussed different ways in which we could teach the Costa Rican kids the choreography and how we could introduce new English words throughout the song. From 10am to noon we did our service at the Santa Teresa school, which included power washing the walls with bleach and painting. At 12:30 we all came together to enjoy lunch: mashed potatoes, salad, pork, rice, and vegetables. In the afternoon, we were treated with a Coffee tour from Alfredo. We tasted different coffees and compared them to the “best” coffees in the world (we all decided that Alfredo’s coffee was way better). We then took a trip to the barn to learn about the cows here on the farm, as well as how different types of meat are produced. Overall, day eight has been really fun and interesting!!

-Holland Traver

July 11, 2017

Today was one of my favorite days of this entire trip. This morning we did service at the school and a hike for the people that did service yesterday. My service group painted at the school, and other than getting paint on my shirt, it was so much fun. After lunch, we went zip lining. The picture is of the entire group waiting for the first zip line. My favorite thing about the zip line was the amazing view from the cable. You could see mountains, wildlife, farm land and more! Overall, today was such a great day, and it made me never want to leave!

– Ashley Aaron

Today was an action-filled day. We started off the day by enjoying a scenic hike throughout Alfredo’s neighboring properties. The short hike proves to be worth the sweat; we saw monkeys hopping in between trees! In the afternoon our excursion consisted of a bus ride to La Fortuna to go zip-lining. The course consisted of thirteen zip-lines ranging from 25-500 meters long! I had such an amazing time! We wrapped up the time with time to shop in La Fortuna. The local ice cream shop was delicious! I can’t wait to see what adventures tomorrow holds!

-Marisa Knaus

July 12, 2017

We woke up to a sunny day and some of Alfredo’s fantastic banana pancakes this morning. Today was our first day of independent service groups with the kids, and my group, led by Justin, played games with them involving leadership and teamwork, such as their favorite- birdie on a perch. In the afternoon, we went to the lake and then rotated between three activities. We had the chance to milk a cow and learn about the cheese-making process from the family that makes the cheese we eat at home base, we had a Spanish class with a local teacher whose school we are working on, and we made our own empanadas, which turned out delicious. After a dinner of pizza and wifi, we had a party at the dock to celebrate Jessie’s birthday.

Christina Aaron

Today started with another amazing breakfast from Alfredo followed by the arrival of the kids for our second to last day of camp. I helped out with the martial arts portion where we taught them punching, kicking, and forms. When all the kids had left we enjoyed lunch and lake time before our afternoon activities. For our activities we had three class rotations that included cooking empanadas, learning Spanish, and milking cows. We then finished the night with pizza wifi and cake for Jessie’s birthday! I can’t believe it’s all coming to an end!

-Makena Zorza

July 13, 2017

Today was another great day in Costa Rica. We woke up to a good breakfast of pancakes, eggs, rice, and my favorite the fruit. After eating we had planned our individual service. There are three groups, dance, soccer, and mural painting. After individual service planning everyone split into two groups, one group did a tree hike and the other group did service at the school. I did the service at the school and we painted the inside of the classroom and so much was done, everyone really did a good job today. After we had salsa dance lessons which was super fun then had more individual service planning. I look forward to the more adventures out in Costa Rica, pura vida !

Daisy Diaz

After a late night, everyone woke up a little groggy, however Alfredo’s cooking left us feeling energized. The day began with service planning, where we talked about how we can make our last day of camp with the kids the best it can be. After, we split into two groups. One went to do service at the school, and the other took a hike to the largest (by diameter) tree in Costa Rica. I went on the hike, and we saw lots of exotic animals like a poison dart frog, colorful butterflies, and bats. We had some extra time afterwards and so we decided to go down to the San Carlos river. We spent some time at the river skipping and throwing rocks, and only left when it started to rain. After a delicious lunch, we prepared ourselves for a salsa dancing class. Everyone had a great time with the complicated spins and steps, and some of the pairs even performed for everyone at the end. Salsa left everyone exhausted, so we took some time to shower and relax until we met again for more service planning and a discussion on cultural norms. Following dinner, we all met up for one of our final mentor nights.

Cassady Adams

July 16, 2017

All good things come to an end, and this trip isn’t an exception. We started this trip as a hodgepodge of people, hailing from exotic places like Boston and Chicago, all on a mission to help Costa Rican youth, but now we are something much more: a family. This fact had never been more apparent than today, our last 24 hours in Costa Rica. However while you would expect this day to be filled with loads of special activities and partying, it was quite the contrary. Today half of the group went on a hike through the Costa Rican rainforest- observing the largest tree in Costa Rica- while the other half finished up work on the school we had been refurbishing throughout throughout the week. While I cant speak for the group that went on the hike as I worked on the school, but we all had a blast. Working on this school all week and finally finishing was truly one of the most satisfying feelings that I have ever had and hope the children will enjoy to for years to come. After our individual excursions, we all met back up for lunch and prepared to say our first goodbyes. Simply put, as the emotions at the time can never truly be captured in words: tears were shed, and friendships were forever forged.

-Ryan Ellegood

(Picture of kids sitting at table)

Today was so fun, but sad because we know that we have to say our final goodbyes soon. We started the day out by going on a hike while the other service group worked at the school. On the hike we saw four dart frogs and one of the largest trees in Costa Rica.  Then we drove to a big river where skipped rocks and covered ourselves in mud.  After lunch we had to say goodbye to Sara, Cassady and my roommate Helen. Finally we packed up all of our stuff and had our last lake time of the trip.  This trip has been amazing and I have learned so many new things.

-Madison Ostrowski

(Picture of kids covered in mud)

June 18, 2017

Wow! ( dijo el perro) the day has finally arrived for Airport pickup day on Day 1 of GLA’s Children’s Initiative for Costa Rica! Let me start by first introducing myself! My name is James Tuttle and I am in the International Director for the program this summer! I am from Denver, Colorado, and I feel honored that I get to spend the summer between year one and year two of medical school having an amazing time in Costa Rica with students from the U.S., Canada, and the Philippines! I am happy to be returning to Latin America after having spent two amazing years managing college students in the mountains of Guatemala.

I am joined this summer by two amazing student mentors Casey and Aileen. Casey is an expert Spanish language instructor who is working on her Master’s in Spanish Language, while she manages her university level Spanish classes. Aileen is taking a break from her work leading teenagers on 20-day wilderness hikes with Outward Bound to share her years of experience with GLA students this summer. Between the three of us we have over 15 years of experience working with youth, and over 10 years travelling, living, and working abroad.

Finally, we are hosted and guided by our Local Director Alfredo Corrales. Alfredo is well known member of the town of Santa Teresa de Cutris where he owns an amazing 200 hectacre finca (farm), complete with 3 beautiful lakes, farm hands, and everything una vida en el campo requiere. Alfredo is the father of three sons, a master in the kitchen, and is joining Casey, Aileen, and I with over 30 years experience working in hospitality as a hotel owner, business owner, and partner with GLA since the program’s conception.

Our first group of students arrived early in the morning, and as we awaited the arrival of the others we had time to get to know each other, play a few games sourced from Aileen’s extensive Game-repertoire, and discuss what the students should expect from the next two weeks. With the students who arrived before 4pm, we all headed directamente for la Pizzeria, “Iguana Loca” (named for the Iguana’s which sunbathe in front of the restaurant during the day).

As you read this we have already headed on to our home base at Alfredo’s finca in Santa Teresa, where we will be joined later in the night by Isabelle Paisan, Madison Callahan, and Salena Schottenheimer, Alfredo, and Casey. Students look forward to comfortable air-conditioned rooms, a Costa Rican sunset over our private lake, and an opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep. Cell phone service is limited with foreign SIM cards, so please expect some delays in communication while your student is at home base. I, however, can be reached via my local numbers +506 7248-0065 (or my other number: +506 8374-2560 in case of connectivity issues). Wednesday night will serve as one of our dedicated “Wi-Fi nights” so your child can catch up on communication with friends and family back home.

Tomorrow morning we look forward to an orientation on our dock, followed by an amazing first day excursion. So as they say here in Costa Rica, “Hasta muy pronto”, and of course, “Pura Vida”!

-James Tuttle, International Director

—

Dear Parents,

Already we are on the 5th full day of our program here in Santa Teresa de Cutris! I have asked students to provide a paragraph providing their own perspective of the activities from each day of the program. Due to limited connectivity, I am uploading a few days of the students’ experiences all at once.

June 18, 2017

Hola! My name is Chloe and I am from Dayton, Ohio. Saturday started very early for me! 3am. When we arrived, it was super humid and all I wanted was water. Once we left the airport, we had a long ride home through the winding mountain roads with the most gorgeous views and I ate the best I have ever had and afterwards we left for our new home. It is beautiful here and the food is amazing, I will never be able to eat fruit again. Today, Sunday, we went on a boat tour and saw Howler monkeys and exotic birds. When we came back, we went swimming in the lake. Lastly, our night ended with spaghetti and mentor groups. This is only our first whole day here and I am excited for the rest of our journey.

June 19, 2017

Buenas Noches! My name is Emely and I’m from Miami, Florida. I along with all the other GLA students, got to experience all that Alfredo’s “finca” had to offer. We got to have a unique coffee tasting tour of the best coffee in both Costa Rica and Brazil. After tasting six of teh some of the best Coffee in the world, we go to visit some cows in a farm. Some us were able to pet hte animals, and one of the cows even began to munch of the student’s jackets. Due to the heat we all got to take a dip in the lake (on Alfredo’s Finca). To finish off the day we got to go to a nearby restaurant and enjoy some delicious Costa Rican food. Overall, I really enjoyed learning about the coffee industry and meeting some unique animals.

— Emely Acobo

Hi, my name is Jonathan Palash-Misner. I’m from San Francisco, California. Breakfast is amazing every day, but today was especially good. We had Gallo pinto, eggs, hash browns and fresh pineapple. All from the farm we are living on. Today was our first service day. I went to work on a school called Cajeta We taught the kids English phrases and got them rest for their spelling bee. I even got to play soccer with them! Bonding with the kids at my school has been the highlight of my entire trip. The connections we are able to establish even despite the language barrier are priceless. After our service we had a chance to eat a delicious lunch of roast chicken rice and beans before jumping into swimsuits and hitting the lake! As always the lake was amazing. After the lake we separated into three groups and rotated between having Spanish lessons with Casey, hearing the story of one of the most interesting people I have ever met, GLA’s manager of central and South American programs, Mathew Dawson, and finally seeing a “lecheria” where we got to milk cows, learn about sustainable farming methods and eat amazing cheese, coffee and ice cream. Once we finished up our last bites of ice cream we came back to the farm for an amazing Costa Rican soup, consisting of beef, potatoes, and corn (still on the cob). We ended our day with a mentoring group focused on sharing and listening to each other’ stories. We learned that everyone has a story if your willing to listen to it.

June 20, 2017

June 21, 2017

Hola! Today was an action filled day. It started off with a spelling bee at the school. My service group arrived and immediately got to work practicing (English) with the kids. They were all really good! We taught the kindergarteners the Spanish equivalent of Duck, Duck, Goose. We played, “Gato, Gato, Raton,” but they didn’t quite understand. These kids are the cutest thing ever.  TheThe day wasn’t all service filled, though. After serivce, we came back to “La Finca” for lunch and then went to the ziplines in La Fortuna. To be honest, I was scared of falling, but the ziplines had teh most beautiful view of Costa Rican villages. I was so at peace when flying down those cables. It was such a rewarding day. The spelling bee, “Gat, Gato, Raton,” and feeling at one with myself and the land, all while conquering one of my biggest fears.

— Katie Kocsis

Hola! I’m Jared and today we did a bunch of fun things. First, we played with the kids and that was a lot of fun because we got to help them study for their spelling bee and it was really fun and cool to see how even though they don’t have much they live life to the fullest. Also, today we went zip lining which was very fun and the view of Costa Rica from above was beautiful because even though it doesn’t have a lot, it’s still a very beautiful country and one of the best ones I have even to and I would stay here forever if I could. Adios!

— Jared Dooley

June 22, 2017

“Zombie, zombie, zombie!” Victoria giggled, as she spun around to face her peers. They froze, motionless, suppressing their laughter and trying not to move. We were playing Zombie Zombie, a game in which a group will try to steal a water bottle from the “zombie” while their back is turned. Once they get the bottle from the “zombie”, they have to bring it back to the starting point without the “zombie” figuring out who has the bottle. While it may seem like just a game, it teaches the kids very important lessons while allowing them to enjoy themselves through competition and antics. It teaches kids to work together by encouraging them to create strategies and subtly reinforces the importance of sharing as each must hide the bottle once before returning to the starting point. The kids at Santa Teresa School are obsessed with the game not only because they get to play it with cool American teenagers, but it allows them to have fun, run around, compete and work together simultaneously. Not only is it a learning experience for them, but it’s a learning experience for us as it teaches us to connect with others despite language barriers and cultural differences. These language barriers we face are no obstacle for us during Zombie because laughter is the universal language, and there’s ample supply of it here.

— Sophia Rubbo

I can tell you that today was the third day of service, and my 6th day being in Costa Rica. The school where we volunteer at contains the happiest and energetic kids I have ever seen. It’s the energy that leaves us once we reach a certain point in our lives. The energy that drives them to play outside in the scorching sun. It provides them the want to ask questions and to be curious about anyone and everything. These kids share their thoughts that I wish came naturally to me. The kids I’m meeting at the school have taught me all these wonderful things that I hope to keep with me forever. Sometimes I think, “Why don’t we all just stay kids?”

— Sam Flores

June 23, 2017

¡Hola Amigos! Today marked the end of Service Week 1. All week my service group and I have just been teaching and planning with the students. The school wasn’t in session today because 1 teacher had a doctor’s appointment – so different from the U.S., but we were still able to get some of our service for them done, which felt pretty amazing that we were finally able to do something for the school as a whole. After service, we came back to La Finca (the farm) for lunch, where we saw Caballos (horses) blocking our way to our house. The experience of walking around 3 horses was definitely something else. We didn’t see any of our school kids, so we made up for it with wildlife. It was a good day in all, but a little hard for me. It was my mom’s birthday and I miss her and my family so much. I had everyone say Happy Birthday to her over speak and it made me realize how close I’ve gotten to these people and how much I’ll miss them when I leave. I can’t wait to see what adventures await for us in the upcoming week. ¡Hasta Luego! Tambien: ¡Feliz Cumpleanos Madre!

— Katie

Escuela Santa Jorge, that is the name of the school I am doing service at! Today the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders had their Spelling Bee. The winner was Christopher, you don’t know him but him, along with others are the kids I have grown to love in this past week. This past week has been an emotional roller coaster for all of us. My experience with culture shock was rough but with the help of everyone here I’m over that and I know I will miss this place.

— Salena S.
June 24, 2017

The Journey to purchase souvenirs in La Fortuna was fun for some and stressful for others. We traveled block by block to find the perfect gifts for loved ones and memorabilia for ourselves. The race for bracelets was real. Nearly every person bought beautifully stranded bracelets to add to their collection. There was talk about expensive prices and bargaining with the sellers, but they weren’t going lower the price at all. Some of us got lucky and were able to find items on sale, others felt it was worth it and spent what they believed was too much. Whatever the price or the item, those objects bought in Costa Rica will always serve as a reminder of all of our unforgettable excursions and the heartwarming bonds we’ve created with the local students.

— Layeelah

The horseback riding was an exhilarating memorable experience. It was a new experience for many, while others showed their skills of riding a horse.The excursion went near the Arenal volcano going uphill and downhill and in flat land. We had the chance on the way to feed the horses with guava and ride them near the waterfall. When it began to pour, some horses galloped way up high and some went the other way, but for the most part, the ride was smooth with a challenge. It definitely brought tears, laughter, scared, and a new perception of Costa Rica…and soreness.

— Shenna Padilla

June 25, 2017

Today, Sunday the 25th, began with a delicious breakfast and then rafting down the river. Everyone got to relax and enjoy the beautiful view. We passed by crocodiles, monkeys, bats, and iguanas. In the afternoon we were able to chill and swim. Alfredo’s brother brought a jet ski and let us take turns tubing in the lake. It was lots of fun! Since today was also Mongo’s last day, we threw him a surprise party with ice cream and balloons. He very much appreciated it, and we are extremely sad that he is leaving us. Overall it was a very fun day!

— Hailey O.

Today, the 25th was Mongo, our beloved bus driver’s, last day driving us around. Everyone on the trip felt his joy and enthusiasm. He knew the places we would like going to and had a connection with each of us. Our group wanted to pay back the favor by throwing a goodbye party. A lovely poster was made with all of our signatures as a gift to Mongo. We celebrated with ice cream and chocolate and danced to lots of music. Tears fell as we said goodbye to Mongo!

— Murfee J.

Every day after service group we do an end of the day activity, today we visited the hot springs. Before we got started, we had to say bye to our first bus driver, Mongo. Mongo was like a father to many of us, even a close friend. Even though we won’t see Mongo for the rest of this trip, we remained optimistic for our new bus driver that we would meet after enjoying the hot springs. My first stop was the hottest hot spring. It was muy caliente. We all relaxed and spent time bonding with each other.

— Andrea Garibaldi

June 26, 2017

Today, I went to my service group in Santa Teresa, in which we taught them body parts. I laughed liked I had never laughed before. Thinking about the few days left with the children, brought me deep Sadness. I loved singing with them, “Ray and el Sol”, and showing off my awful soccer skills, in a soccer match. For our afternoon activity which was a surprise, we went to an animal shelter. We saw dogs of all types, shapes, and colors. We were able to bond with them and we got the opportunity to bathe the dogs! Spending time with the kids and catering to refugee dogs brought me joy and brightened my day in Costa Rica.

— Juliet A

I was one of the first leaders of the day along with another girl Emely towards the beginning of the trip which made it interesting to see how everyone reacted towards the concept.

I enjoyed seeing how the group split off and started to form friendships.

On the first day, we started with a lake tour. We were able to see monkeys, iguanas, and my personal favourite caiman. Toward the end, it started to rain everyone was in a hurry to put on their rain jackets except for Johnny and myself who put our rain jackets over our bags and stuck our heads over the sides. One of my favourite things about Costa Rica is the rain, it’s warm but refreshing. I was so tempted to jump in the water with the Caiman and all and just enjoy it. At the end of the day we went out to a restaurant which made me nervous because one of the instructors said that we would attract a lot of attention, and why wouldn’t we 23 Americans/Canadian. But it ended up being a really good night and I am thankful for that because I do not like to attract attention to myself.

— Cage
June 27, 2017

Today, our service group walked to Santa Teresa School and all the student ran up to the person they adored, which warmed all of our hearts. Although we taught them numerous body parts in English today, we also worked on certain projects for the students so they could learn about us and we can learn about them. Today we could see how much their English had improved from the day before from them approaching us and telling us their favorite colors without hesitating. Unlike any of the other days, we all gave them piggy-back rides and ran around, which made the kids super happy. This entire trip has given me a new perspective on so many things and I am going to miss all of these intelligent, precious kids.

–Isa P.

Egg, egg, rock! Today while we were at our service site we had a missionary group come; they brought games, toys, and last but not least soccer balls! We played egg drop, which is a game where people have a spoon and an egg, the goal of the game is to be the first to cross the finish line without dropping the egg. We did not have enough eggs for each student so we had to make do with a rock substitution. While playing this game, it was obvious the students were always jumping at the opportunities to learn new games and play with whomever and whatever. After myself and my peers stated our names, favorite foods, and colors, the students ultimately wanted to show off their new English skills and introduce themselves. Santa Teresa Norte, the school at which I’m working at, only had 11 kids so we were surprised to see how shy they were towards to missionary group. It took a while for me to realize that they were this way when we first came in, but the second day we all acted like we’ve known each other for years. It has only been a week in a half, and I’m already being surprised with serenades from some of the students. They’ve shown that they are willing to make strong connections with complete strangers with little to no hesitation. Also, they’ve shown an immense amount of compassion towards us and learning English. I came to Costa Rica thinking that I would make a huge impact on these kids lives, however, I was surprised to find out the impact they made on me was just as big.

— Maggie

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Lost connectivity prevented some student blogs from being posted while students were abroad. These entries were added on July 9, 2017 after the program’s conclusion.

Today, our service group walked to Santa Teresa School and all the student ran up to the person they adored, which warmed all of our hearts. Although we taught them numerous body parts in english today, we also worked on certain projects for the students so they could learn about us and we can learn about them. Today we could see how much their english had improved from the day before from them approaching us and telling us their favorite colors without hesitating. Unlike any of the other days, we all gave them piggy-back rides and ran around, which made the kids super happy. This entire trip has given me a new perspective on so many things and I am going to miss all of these intelligent, precious kids.

— Isabelle Paisan

Welcome back to another exciting entry from one of your fellow GLA students. Today our story starts with marriage. Not officially, of course. It all started with a miscommunication. When an English student tries to understand a hyperactive Spanish speaking child, all they usually do is smile and nod. So of course the subject of who has a boyfriend/girlfriend came up, which then lead to marriage. So two of our own will now live happily ever after, joined together by the love of these children. After that, the day was pretty relaxed as we learned how to survive if we were stranded in a rainforest here in Costa Rica. We ended the day with a slightly terrifying lightening/thunderstorm.

— Oonagh Spunner-White

Buenas noches! My name is Natalie Collins and i’m from Fort Worth, Texas. Tonight is, sadly, our last night in Costa Rica. We have all shed many tears today from saying goodbye to the kids and leaving this beautiful country. The kids at our schools have taught us so many valuable lessons to take home and share with our culture. On this trip, I have learned how to be a great leader, but also learned from that you must embrace the differences between people. Saying goodbye is hard, but we will carry the memories we’ve made and the lessons we’ve learned with us for the rest of our lives.

— Natalie Collins

Day 1: June 12, 2017

The Initiative for Children students arrived to Costa Rica safe and sound and we are so excited for our amazing 3 weeks of service, fun, learning, and adventure! Our students were immediately taken from the airport to have a typical casado lunch, consisting of rice, beans, plantains, salad, and a choice of either chicken, steak, fish, or veggies. Today, our students also signed up for two adventures of their choice: surfing on one of Costa Rica’s best beaches, stand up paddle boarding through the mangroves, zip lining through the jungle, or horseback riding on the beach-all of which should be very exciting in the days to come!

Once we arrived to our Home Base, we unloaded suitcases and got everyone moved into their rooms. We had a delicious dinner and then headed to bed early as everyone had a long day of travel and an early morning ahead of us.

Day 2 June 13, 2017

Today our group started off with a simple but beautifully plated meal made by one of our chefs, Junior.  We had fruit, yogurt, granola, scrambled eggs, and toast.  From there we jumped right into orientation day, which included introductions to one another as well as the staff, a cultural norms discussion.

We then jumped into an intensive safety session that touched on everything from being a conscious and aware traveler in a foreign country, to beach safety (that included a scenic walk to the beach-not to mention the gorgeous beach itself!), an earthquake drill, and lightening safety drills.  The teens all ended up “safe” in the parking light, standing in their designated rows.

After lunch, we broke up into groups and performed skits of what not to do to make sure we all understood our Full Value Contracts.  Then we made an incredibly thoughtful, fun, and colorful team flag with each of our hands expressing our values.  We ended the night meeting in our small mentor groups to debrief the last two days, and for some reflection time and journaling.  We’re tired, but content.

DAY 3 June 14, 2017

Hello! From Trudie and Bella, your first set of “Leaders of the Day!”  Leaders of the day are 2 people who direct the group at the work site, help facilitate activities, manage the team, act in service by doing everyone’s dishes, and help by make everything go a little smoother.

Today we had several fun things planned, such as going to the school we’ll be serving at for the duration of the trip, a swim at the beach, a Spanish class where we learned out to use colónes, and some group discussions.  However, due to rain, things got a bit turned around-but in the end, we were still able to accomplish everything and had an amazing day!

After breakfast, we all headed down to the meeting room and had a relaxing group yoga session with our mentor, Kelly.  We were all still a bit tight from so much transit (sitting on our planes and the bus) so it was nice to stretch out.  Then we got to see a cool documentary called The Goose with the Golden Egg, which was about how tourism is affecting the culture and environment in Costa Rica.  It was very interesting to learn how big hotel chains are leaving the Costa Ricans with close to nothing, depleting their water sources and essentially killing off the natural biodiversity of the land.

Once the rain calmed down, we all took about a 15-minute drive to the school to meet Alvaro, who told us what he had planned for us at the work service site.  He showed us around the school and community hall, taught us how to use certain tools, and showed us the walls we will be painting our murals on!  His outlook on life is really inspiring because he believes that everything he does has the capacity to leave a positive impact.

To end our day, we all walked down to the beach and swam for a few hours.  We visited some tide pools, boogie boarded, and relaxed.  We all got the chance to officially bond as a group and introduce ourselves to more people on the team we hadn’t spent much time with.  It was a great group bonding experience!

DAY 4: June 15, 2017

Pura Vida from today’s leaders of the day, Madison and Isabel!

For us, the last few days have been quite an adjustment on many counts. For one, being away from home for this long is not necessarily a sad thing, more of a new thing that requires adjustment. Moving from using primarily English, to English and Spanish equally has been an interesting transition.

The best way, we think, we can describe how this trip has been so far and how we expect it will be from here on out is by comparing it to the thunder storms. There’s something really beautiful about the thunder here, it’s peaceful and calm, yet there’s nothing peaceful and calm about it. It is just as much the silence between each clap of thunder as it is the resounding boom. It is loud and it is quiet. It is scary and it is calm. It is cruel and it is lovely. It is harsh and it is gentle. It is the measure of noise and silence and everything in between.

In so many ways this is what this trip has been like and what we expect this trip to be like. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes it’s fun and sometimes it’s real work. It’s a journey where things that should be frightening suddenly seem beautiful. We expect the rest of this trip to be joyful and scary and everything in between. And we know it will be.

Today was a day filled with new and eye-opening experiences. Bright and early at 6:30 a.m., we woke and ate an amazing breakfast prepared by the lovely kitchen staff here at home base. After this, we left for service in the nearby village of Santa Marta (no rain-yay!). We spent the morning sanding down tables, scrubbing tires, cleaning the school walls, picking up trash, and much more. Tomorrow we will begin the exciting task of repainting, digging holes, and creating a mural for the school in the area!

We also had the opportunity to play with the children during recess– they were so joyful and happy to help us practice speaking Spanish. After soccer matches and games of tag, everyone (especially the kids!) was covered in mud! At midday it began to rain as we returned to the home base for lunch. After some group activities, we embarked on a community walk of the town of Nosara, where we got to see the high school, the library, and shop in the local supermarket! We are all so excited to continue our service projects tomorrow and continue to grow as individuals and as a group!

Pura Vida!

June 16, 2017

Hola, It’s Zoe and Carly, today’s leaders of the day.

It was another morning waking up to the sound of rain and howling monkeys. Junior prepared us some delicious pinto gallo alongside some fresh fruit to give us energy through our second service day. We set off to the school for service and split the group in two, sending some to the salon and others to the school.

Those that stayed at the school spent their day working on priming the kindergarten wall for the mural, continued painting the bars, and got a head start on painting the Guanacaste and Costa Rican flag on the front of the school wall.

At the salon, the group continued to sand the tables and managed to finish painting three of them. Not only did we have enough time to do the work assigned today, we even had time to teach the school kids jump rope, color with chalk, and play a classic game of tag. We are nothing short of proud of the hard work the group has put in on only the second full day of service.

After a hard day of service, we were rewarded with an internet cafe break in Guiones, this is a big deal for those of us without international phone plans. As we finished up, we hopped on the bus towards Lisbia’s kitchen to cook some Arroz con Pollo. If you want a taste of our afternoon…

Recipe for Arroz con Pollo

Ingredients:

cilantro (optional)

carrot

green beans

red/white onion

peppers

celery

garlic

old (cannot be fresh) rice

precooked chicken

pasta de achiote (paprika paste)

salsa lizano

ketchup

chicken bollian

can of corn

chicken broth

pepper

Steps:

1. Dice all the vegetables.

2. Acquire a pan and add two serving spoons of olive oil. Heat the pan.

3. Add four tablespoons of pasta de achiote.

4. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers. Cook for a few minutes.

5. Two minutes later, add the rest of the vegetables.

6. Add two spoons of ketchup, two spoons of lizano, one spoon of mustard, teaspoon of pepper, and one chicken bollian.

7. In two minutes, add the can of corn and two cups of chicken broth.

8. Let it simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

9. Once it simmers, put in the chicken and add some broth.

10. Finally, add the old rice. Mix it, lower the heat, and simmer for about ten minutes.

We recommend a side of plantains, hardboiled eggs, salad, and fruit. Enjoy! (We sure did.)

Not only did we help the local community, we ate a well-known Tico meal, and ended the night with a banging dance party. On a scale of 1 to 5, our energy is 5.

June 17, 2017

We enjoyed our first weekend in Costa Rica by volunteering in the local school, but with the lack of students and staff today, the school felt a bit too quiet and deserted. However, we got a lot of work done and thanks to Caleigh and Mariana and the rest of the artists, we finally have a sketched-out plan for the kindergarten mural. We can’t wait to finally start it tomorrow, and eventually see the final product.

This afternoon, we had arroz con camarones (shrimp and rice). As simplistic as this may sound, it was easily one of the favorite meals of the trip. We plan to get the recipe later so we can enjoy it with our families at home.

After lunch, the group enjoyed the “Dating Game.” We played it “game show style,” inviting members of the audience to answer dating site questions while pretending to be a certain character assigned by the audience. These five characters had to be guessed by the bachelor/bachelorette through questions guided by the hosts of the show.

After game time, we headed out to La Escuela de Musica, the local music school, to watch a beautiful performance put on by Tico teenagers. The dance was a good combination of traditional Tico culture and fun audience participation. The dancers let the girls try on their flowing skirts, while the boys practiced waving scarves through the air. They guided us through a simplified version of their dance, which turned out to be quite a challenging, but fun task. We worked up an appetite in our dance attempts and they generously provided us with a local dish, called arroz de maiz. We enjoyed the soup, gave our thanks and headed back to home base.

Pura Vida,

Caroline and Sophia, your leaders of the day

DAY 7: June 18, 2017

Hola from Julia and Sanaya, Sunday, June 18th’s leaders of the day!

We started out with a delicious breakfast of fruits, eggs and ham, and gallo pinto, a traditional Costa Rican dish. We then headed to the service site and continued working on our projects. We made progress on the Costa Rican and Guanacaste flags we started painting at the school service site and finished the second coat of the paint. We also worked on painting fun images, such as whales and octopi, on the walls of the kindergarten bathroom. Sanaya and her group continued sanding and painting tables in the community’s gathering hall. We also started painting the benches that surround the soccer field, but unfortunately it started raining so we could not complete this job. We then watched a community soccer game on the soccer field between two local teams. It was very interesting to watch and spot the differences between the Costa Rican game and games in the U.S.

We had grilled fish and traditional rice and beans for lunch. We then went to the yoga pavilion and discussed the plans for the next few days. We also went around and told embarrassing stories as a fun bonding activity. Alvaro then came and spoke to us about the environment, sustainability, and what we could do to help the community. We specifically discussed recycling and separating trash. We then went to the local dump and recycling center. It was shocking to see what exactly happens to our trash, and it really encouraged us to be more mindful of what we throw out.

We returned to the hotel for a presentation from the local fire chief! He spoke to us about the different species of snakes in the area, showing pictures of snakes, such as boa constrictors and rattlesnakes, that he had taken himself. He then brought out snake skins and live snakes that he had caught for us to touch and look at. It was a very interesting presentation, but it definitely surprised us to learn about all of the different kinds of snakes, venomous and non-venomous, in the area.

We had a dinner of chicken, cheese, and bean quesadillas. We, the leaders of the day, then picked the leaders for tomorrow–people who we thought were the most productive and helpful today. We had a discussion about our recent anonymous survey to address positive and negative issues amongst the group. Tomorrow we go on adventures! Pura vida!

Day 8: June 19, 2017

Hola! 

It’s Kelly, one of the mentors, checking in on day 8. The mentors will be taking over the blog today and tomorrow as we won’t have leaders of the day on adventure days. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know our group over the last week. They have been working hard at service and engaging with each other during group activities and mentor groups. 

Today we got to sleep in a little and our wonderful chefs, Kim and Junior made a delicious pancake breakfast that the students loved! 

After breakfast, we headed out for a short morning at the beach. It appeared to be a nice beach day until the rain started, which is expected most days during rainy season. We packed up and went back to home base to clean up before heading to a local soda, or restaurant, for lunch. 

The sky cleared up after lunch and the sun came out as we headed off to our adventures. We split up into 3 groups and went surfing, zip lining, and horseback riding. Both the students and the staff had a blast! I took the group surfing and we had a lot of naturals out in the water! It was fun to have time for adventure after all of our hard work at service this past week! 

As the first week has officially passed, I’m looking forward to all the service, learning, bonding, and adventure yet to come! This is a fantastic group of students and it’s a joy for us as staff to watch them work, learn, and grow as leaders. The next 2 weeks will be packed with more work and fun. 

Tomorrow is adventure day number 2! We are all looking forward to another fun day out and about in Nosara! 

Day 11: June 22, 2017

Hi this is Marianna and Ethan,

Today we got a lot done in service. We finally sanded, fixed, and painted all the tables in the Salon. We moved on to creating welcome signs and some for directions. We also created a fun memory game for the kids so they can practice memorization and patterns.

As for the school, we’re finishing up most of the projects we began last week, one of these being the Kindergarten bathroom mural. The primary focus was to help the kids remember to brush their teeth, making this daily task as fun as possible. Themed with under the sea creatures, we created a mural with all elements involved in maintaining oral hygiene. Hopefully, kids will learn the importance of brushing their teeth, and develop an enthusiastic approach towards being clean.

A project that was started today was another mural for the Kindergarteners, however this one is outside of their classroom and in their small recreational space. Our idea for this mural was to make it as interactive as possible (while keeping the under the sea theme), so the teacher could incorporate it into her lessons and potentially have the kids learn a couple of things from it.

During our “time off” we took part in a dance class, led by our instructor, Willy. The intended dance was salsa, however, he included many different genres such as Merengue, Bachata, Zumba, and Cumbia. It was really fun to see people step out of their comfort zones and get involved in the hour-long lesson.

After this, as leaders of the day we are expected to come up with some sort of activity, and our idea was team building oriented. The game “Salt and Pepper” involved cards with the names of pairs that would usually go together: black and white, cookies and cream, rice and beans, and mac’ and cheese. The cards were later taped to each volunteer’s forehead and they were instructed to ask yes or no questions to the people around them in order to help decipher what their item was. After this was achieved, each individual would go on to find their “matching” partner. We felt like the activity was enjoyable and served its purpose. All in all, our day was successful in service and fun filled with activities.

Hola from Liv and Ava, Day 12’s Leaders of the Day!

Today marked the halfway point of our journey, and we are making great progress at the service site. In the salon, we worked on welcome signs to be placed around Santa Marta and the elementary school, while in the school, we completed the outline for our Under the Sea themed kindergarten mural, featuring sea turtles, jellyfish, and stingrays. During breaks, we played soccer with the students and enjoyed fresh empanadas before getting back to work. We saw an increase in hard work and quick cleanup today, allowing us to get back to home-base and have some free time before lunch.

After lunch, we led an activity called the Privilege Walk, in which we read off statements and allowed individuals to step forward if those statements applied to them. This activity allowed us to be open with our group without being put in an uncomfortable position. It got pretty deep, and on the way to cafecito later, we shared stories on the back of the bus. We also facilitated a conversation planning an ice cream sundae bar for our wonderful staff at the end of our stay in Nosara.

We split into two groups and attended Costa Rican “coffee and conversation” at the homes of gracious families. We made tortillas, taste-tested Tica drinks, and translated stories between Spanish and English to connect with our hosts. The afternoon consisted of lots of laughs, great food and drink, and an authentic experience, which many of us were grateful for.

After returning to home-base and eating a comforting meal of spaghetti, we checked in with our mentor groups about our energy levels and opinions on the trip as a whole. We were all excited to hear our itinerary and packing list for our 3-day trip to Rio Celeste, which we will leave for on Sunday morning. We look forward to hikes, a sugar cane tour, and especially milking a cow!

Though we miss our families and the comforts of home, we are saddened by the fact that our trip is now more than halfway over. We are making every effort to make our final days count!

Xoxo, Liv and Ava

Day 13: June 24, 2017

Hola from Izzy and Kenzie, Day 13’s Leaders of the Day!

Today marked the last day of service before we all go on our adventure weekend trip to Rio Celeste. On this trip, we will be unavailable for 3 days- no Wi-Fi and poor service from Sunday to Tuesday night. Parents don’t worry! Nothing bad has happened to us, we’re just white water rafting, hiking, tasting sugarcane, milking cows, and crossing the beautiful hanging bridges of Costa Rica.

Our events for today consisted of going to a normal day of service for 4 hours. We are truly amazed at how fast we have been able to complete this project and how each day we are growing closer to completing our goal. We had people continuing on the Under the Sea mural, people creating a memory game for the children, and painting signs, walls, and tires.

Later in the afternoon, we held our Leader of the Day Activity where we facilitated an open discussion about Feminism and gender roles. It was great to see everyone opening up and explaining their own opinions about the topic. Hearing everyone’s thoughts on the subject helped us grow closer as a group and understand each other more.

Immediately after this activity, all of us took a lovely beach walk down to a delicious and local gelato shop. The gelato tasted so fresh and was really nice on an especially hot day here in Nosara, Costa Rica.

After this quick snack, we headed on over to the Super Nosara to get a few items or snacks before we head to Rio Celeste. We also picked up the ingredients for an ice cream bar that we will all be hosting to thank the wonderful staff here at the Nosara B&B Retreat on our last night here. The staff has been so kind and welcoming to our group and we are so thankful for all of the work and dedication they have put into our program.

Signing off after a full, fun day; you will hear from the next leaders of the day in three days after our trip to Rio Celeste.

–       Izzy and Kenzie J

Day 17: June 28, 2017

Hola from Adeline and Ava , Day 17’s Leaders of the Day!

On Sunday we got up, quickly ate breakfast and hopped in the van for a 3-hour bus ride to Rio Celeste. We stopped halfway to grab a casado lunch at a local restaurant and then took a short hike. During the hike, we crossed hanging bridges and searched for animals throughout the trail. After the hike, we got back into the van and drove to our hotel. Shortly after arrival our mentors told us we could go down to the river for a quick swim. We were all so amazed at the bright blue water, we didn’t even take into account how cold the water was. That concluded our first day in Rio Celeste.

Bright and early the next morning we had breakfast and then headed out to our first excursion: milking a cow. It was a weird yet exciting new cultural experience. We milked the cow straight into the cup and got to taste the milk, even making some into chocolate milk-everyone enjoyed it! After milking the cow, we drove to Costa Rica’s Parque Nacional Tenorio,  where we met our jungle tour guides Kevin and Juan Pablo.  They led us on a 3-hour hike through the dense rainforest where we saw snakes, spiders, hot springs, and aquamarine rivers and waterfalls. After our exhausting hike, we got to visit a sugar cane farm (trapiche) where we snacked on many different goods made from sugar cane. We then drove back to the hotel, had dinner and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, we got to go white water rafting. Our rafting adventure included going down a 12ft waterfall! It was so much fun and we all got soaked. Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to the bus for the next 3-hour trip back home.

Today, we were back doing community service at the local school. We’ve made lots of progress with the under-the-sea themed mural and we are finishing up the other projects as well. The kids happened to come out and see all the work we had done and were so excited and pleased with their “new school.”  One kindergartner said he was “so excited he might drop his banana!”

This afternoon we had a pizza party for lunch, taking a quick break from the Tico traditional meals.  We then got to chill on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. However, we are still going to enjoy our amazing dinner created by our chefs Junior and Kim, and we are looking forward to the first few people who will be presenting their Capstone projects tonight.

Buenas Noches, from Adeline and Ava!

Day 18: June 29, 2017

Hey, it’s Caleigh and Natalia, and we’re the leaders of the day for day 18!

On this sunny Thursday, we got up and after a yummy breakfast, headed straight to the school to try and wrap up our service work! We got super close, and we will be finishing everything on Saturday. The mural looks great, the bathroom walls are finished, and the school overall is looking much more appealing. The parents and kids love to greet us and exclaim “¡Que linda!” (how pretty) or “¡Que chiva!” (how cute). We finished painting the trash bins and the walls, so finishing up the mural, completing our game in the salon, and hanging the welcome sign at the front of the school is all we have left. Tomorrow, the school community would like to throw us a fiesta to show their gratitude!

After service, we came back and had lunch, which consisted of rice, beans, plantains, and some delicious seasoned carne y vegetales. We then had mentor groups, and discussed “reverse culture shock” which included the expectations of going back home and possible difficulty when trying to describe our experiences here in Costa Rica. We also used graphs to portray the emotions we felt when coming here and the emotions we are feeling now, getting close to our departure. We then had some free time to work on our capstones, which we will be presenting some more of tonight!

Right after we headed off to meet Quinko, a local in Nosara that owns two oxen and an oxcart that we all had the honor of riding. The short and slow ride was very eye opening, as this was one of the only methods of transportation that Ticos were able to use. We got to take pictures with them and ask a bunch questions.

Once we got back home we had some free time to either stay home or take a short walk to the beach to watch the sunset.

We went to dinner and had a lovely meal, only to top off the day with some presentations of capstones! We, as a group, are very good writers. We are excited to see our families, but we are also going to miss being here and helping out so much. We plan to make the absolute most of the time we have left!

Buenas noches, y adios para ahora.

(Goodnight, and goodbye for now.)

Natalia and Caleigh

Day 19: June 30, 2017

Hey, it’s Jacob and Trudy, and we’re the leaders of the day for day 19!

This Friday we woke up 30 minutes later than usual to show up on time for our service celebration day with the children!!! It was the day we were all looking forward to. The day where we got to spend the whole day playing, celebrating, and eating with the children. The school kids enjoyed painting the faces, arms and legs of many of us student volunteers. The school chefs were even nice enough to serve us some amazing chicken as a snack. After we filled our stomachs with chicken, the kids and us got the chance to top it off with churned orange cream ice cream and amazing white velvet vanilla cake. I personally loved the combo, but it was bitter sweet, as I regretted the way it made my stomach feel in the afternoon.

Just when the kids thought the desserts were over, we brought out the grand finale of a gigantic piñata and their memory game from student-painted wooden pieces for them to play with. As the kids spun around and attempted to hit the large candy sack, it slowly began to shed its wrapping, until it finally exploded and a dog pile of children ensued to fight over every last bit of candy.

After service, we came back and had lunch, and had the opportunity to go to the Playa Guiones main tourist area, or as many of us like to call it, “gringo village.” We all enjoyed filling ourselves up on overpriced tourist ice cream at a local ice cream shop as we surfed social media with our last day of Wi-Fi privileges before we go home. We then topped it all off with souvenir shopping for our families, so many of you should have presents to look forward to when we return home.

As we finally arrived back to our home base we had an hour and a half to relax until dinner, or if some of us wished we could go the beach for 45 minutes to take pictures as one of our last days together. However, given our sore feet and worn out bodies from a long day of playing with the kids, many of us chose to spend the time relaxing and napping. Myself included!!!

We then concluded our day with another amazing home prepped meal from our chef, Kim, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. And then we listened to the last of our capstone presentations from the rest of our amazing student writers and curators that pleased our hearts with our many perspectives from all of our diverse views from all across the country. Afterwards, we finally got the chance to rest our tired heads and prepare for our last day of service and school clean up. It is nice to see our hard work pay off. And we are all finally ready to see it all come together tomorrow.

-Jacob

From all of us here in Costa Rica,

Pura Vida!!!

Day 20: July 1, 2017

Our past three weeks here are full of cherished memories, laughter, and joy.  We learned and laughed a lot.  We shared café y arroz.  We gave our best as service- we sanded, and painted, and nailed, and scrubbed.  We told each other the stories of ourselves.  We swung from zip lines, learned to surf, white water rafted, and played in the sand (rain or shine).  But most of all, we gained friendships and experiences that will last a lifetime.

Today was about completing what we came here to do, and us.  We went back to Santa Marta to clean up and put final touches on our mural.  We then bid adieu to Alavaro, a prime example of servant leadership, and the place we had given the majority of our time.  We returned to home base where we had the opportunity to participate in a goodbye activity where we sat and talked with each other individually and reflected on how that person impacted our lives.

Knowing we had our farewell dinner later, we decided to head down to the beach together for the last time.  We frolicked in the waves, caught a plethora of hermit crabs, and let the Costa Rican sun shine on our skin for the last time.

Dinner was spectacular!  A traditional and amazing Tico dish… We then thanked our staff and all those who served us while we were here (those who clean, cook, wash, tend to the grounds, our guards, office and maintenance staff, etc.) with an icecream bar we had prepared ourselves.  We then went down to the pavilion for what we had already planned to be a “dance party.”  Little did we know, our GLA mentors had also planned a surprise Marimba band!

Today was long, fun, and bittersweet-but we also can’t wait to come back home to our families smiling faces.

Hola!

The group arrived to our home base in Nosara, Costa Rica!! Everyone excited and getting a taste of costa rican culture with some beans and rice for dinner. We’ll keep updating you and post our first picture tomorrow as it is dark now.

pd: We are exciting to receive our last student tomorrow morning, Isabel!

Pura vida!

Hi parents,

These first few days of this trip have been amazing. After we landed, we all met up at a restaurant and talked to each other, becoming friends. When we got to the hotel, we received our roommates and slept. We woke up at around 7:30 and had breakfast. We were then orientated to the program. By the end of the second day we had a good knowledge of each other, and where we would be working. It is currently the third day at the time of this writing. We are all safe and happy and tired. We have been to the BEST ice cream spot, and we even got to go to the beach (for a good 10 seconds before we got rained out). Some have taken many pictures and while we regret to say that the monkey refuge will not allow us to take pictures of the baby monkeys ☹, rest assured they are adorable and I may have one stolen in my bag… not really but still.

-This was written by Brad V. and Rafael Gonzalez soooo love ya dad mom…. And all you others… kinda not sure how end this… Im just gonna stop here.

Hello families it has been some magnificent first 8 days. Every day we have been doing team building activities to get to know everyone and to have fun. We have also been going to a local school to write a play about how to be a Super Dueno “R”, in fact 3 of our students directed and wrote the play. On the day of the play we had a lot of activities and some information to let people know about castration day and how to be a Super owner “R”. We also had a day were we got to go on the only 2 oxes in Nosora, that same day we had a lesson on the typical dance in Costa Rica which was awesome. The next day we had a race volunteering were 2 of us participated. And after all this stress we finally had our first adventure day and it was amazing some of us got to go zip line riding, horseback riding, and surfing. These past days had just been great and can’t wait for whats next to come tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning.

Rachel and Carlos Diego

Hello world it is us,

We are writing to inform you of our travels these past weeks. Today was our last day volunteering at either Refuge for Wildlife, SIBU, or Safari Vet. Sorry to not keep you updated, we are currently BEING the change. Yesterday, we returned from our three-day adventure to Rio Celeste in which we lived in a huevo (also known as an egg).  We swam in a blue lovely river and everyone had a blast.  Hiking was so fun and we got to see some hanging bridges along the way. It is sad to think we will be home in just a few days but we know our parents are excited to see our bright and smiley faces. Kate got a massage so that’s cool. We hiked our butts off and the soreness has yet to pass. Today we ate pizza, Julia had 10 slices and Hailey had 5. But wait! The eating didn’t end there. While in Rio Celeste, we toured a sugar cane farm and ate to our hearts content. Everyone’s levels of sugar were at an all-time high! We started one morning with hot chocolate and milk straight from the cows that we got to milk. The beach is lifechanging, we heard surfing is awesome. Cleaning animal poop has become a routine in our daily lives. In case you didn’t hear, we castrated 65 dogs and cats and got tons of experience working alongside a vet! Thanks to our dedicated fans for tuning in!

Love you always -J/H (Hey Pam, Alyssa, Rob and Ralph!)

 

Today we took a tour of San Jose. We visited the wealthier part of town back in the 1890’s. While we were there we went to a very nice coffee shop where we tried hot coffee, lattes, and a cold brew. We ate at a cute restaurant where we were served traditional rice and beans, plantains, eggs, and cheese.

After lunch, we split into groups and went on adventures with our staff members. In my group we bought mamons, which are a red spiky fruit that you peel open in half to eat. For dinner we enjoyed a lovely meal of rice with chicken, beans, and potato chips – my fave meal so far 🙂

To finish off our night we learned about dog conduct and behavior. Then my roommates and I FaceTimed our lovely parents!

Love,

Mandy 🙂

(and her roommates)

July 23, 2017

Today we woke up at 5:30 and headed out to a national park. We had breakfast in the bus, some sandwiches, breakfast bars, and pineapple. After we got to the park and prepared to go zip lining. IT WAS AWESOME!! Then we walked around and saw super cool animals and bugs. Like frogs, snakes, and spiders.

When we got back we split into our mentor groups. I liked learning about the other students. We had fun choosing our team name and making the flag and it was very cool and we got to learn a lot about each other. Overall it was an amazing day.

Sebastian

July 24, 2017

 

Today we had a very productive day at Territorio de Zaguates. One group continued painting the entrance gate. Another group put down tiles. The third group cleaned the dog’s area, painted a gate, and mixed cement. We all made great progress and at they end we got to play with all of the adorable dogs. Some kids may even be adopting a dog! We even got to see kittens today.

Our next adventure of the day was visiting Zoo Ave, an animal rescue zoo. We saw many unique animals and then got ice cream! After dinner, one of our mentors Pepe gave us a great presentation about his Macaw bird project. He’s like an encyclopedia of birds! Pretty soon we will be like him except we’ll be an encyclopedia for mixing cement and painting fences 🙂

Elizabeth, Madison E., & Madison L.

Today was a blast!

We began with beans and rice for breakfast to give us enough energy to play with the dogs! When we got to Territorio de Zaguates we were greeted by lots of dogs. We started off with a long hike with the dogs which was AMAZING 🙂 After a great hike and lots of hard work, we came back to home base for more rice and beans!

My favorite part of the day was the souvenir shop! They had many gifts that were handmade and the store had parrots outside.

To finish the day off, we played games with the group that strengthened our bonds with each other. Then we had a talk about leadership where many great thoughts and ideas were contributed. Overall it was another amazing day in Costa Rica ❤️

Eliza & Ali