Monday June 11, 2018

We made it to the Dominican Republic! We were able to test out our pool before dinner!! Looking forward to the adventure ahead.

Tuesday June 12, 2018

¡Hola padres!

Today we went to Las Cuevas and jumped into a swimming hole. Then we ate pizza at La Playa Alicia which was really beautiful. We swam and floated there for most of the afternoon and got back home at 4. Then we relaxed, ate dinner, and had discussions. In our discussions we talked about the seven elements of human security and issues in the Dominican Republic. We learned about the separation of the Haitian communities in the Dominican and daily hardships families face. After, we checked in with our mentor groups to talk about our days. It was a full and fun day! Miss you all we will send pics! 🙂 <3

Love,

Elise & Hayley

 

Wednesday June 13, 2018

¡Hola padres!

Today, we started building a bottle house! The bottle house is an eco-friendly shelter composed of recycled plastic water bottles for insulation. We hammered nails and assembled chickenwire to the walls of the wooden frame. Members of the community, along with the family we were building the house for, visited and helped us. After a long day of working, we returned to the lodge and relaxed by the pool and the beach. After a delicious meal, we did a group yoga session before ending a great day 3.

¡Hasta luego!

Miquelle & Gigi

Thursday June 14, 2018

Today we went to Brison, and hiked up a community trail. We did this to experience how the kids may feel when they use this trail daily, to receive an education. Along with community members, this trail is often used to get food, water, and to access other resources. When we got to the top, a local family provided us with a signature Dominican meal. Many people also discovered new foods, such as cacao, passion fruit, and sweet homemade bread (pan dulce). Back at our eco lodge, we discussed the economic benefits of mega sporting events in developing countries, specifically Brazil. We did this to experience the benefits and challenges of having different leadership roles.

Sunday June 17, 2018

¡Hola!

Yesterday we started the day off with some homemade pancakes. Then we went to Dudu Lagoon. We swam in two lagoons and zip lined. We also played a game of beach volleyball with the locals. Then we went to Playa Preciosa. We swam in waves, bought necklaces, and relaxed with coconuts smoothies. Lastly, we participated in a learning leadership discussion.

Sunday June 17, 2018

Special shoutout to all our dads – Happy Father’s Day! Everyone sends their love and wishes you a wonderful and special day that’s all about you!

Today we made our final trip to the bottle house. It was a huge success, the group finished wiring and bottling nearly the entire house and made great steps into cementing a portion of it as well. Everyone put their blood sweat and tears into it, a little bittersweet having to leave the project in the hands of the next group to come in!

The group did take a break and ventured out to a honey bee farm and got the chance to taste some authentic honey. For any parents, if you’re lucky, you’re kid will bring some home for you!

The whole gang returned back to base to enjoy the later half of the afternoon to a pool party coupled with hair braiding and music to relax after a hard days work.

Monday June 18, 2018

¡Hola!

Today, the group went to La Grua, a Haitian and Dominican community. It’s divided by a street and there were clear difference between the Haitians and Dominican communities. With the current government, there have been rising tensions between the two communities we observed. We worked on a bottle house there, which is going to be a recycling center for the community. We worked on bottling, meshing, and wiring. Today, we specifically focus on teamwork. Once we got back from the lodge, we circled around the pool with a beautiful sunset in the background and we reflected on how our team members supported us throughout the day. To end the day, we had a game night which was super fun!!!

¡Hasta luego!

Love,

David and Ally

Tuesday June 19, 2018

Hey parents,

Today was the last day of the trip. We went to SOSÚA. We took a 15 minute boat ride out to a small reef, where we snorkeled in the crystal clears waters and saw some vibrant colored fish. We found Dory. The boat rides were really relaxing and enjoyable. When we got back to shore, we ordered NON ALCOHOLIC drinks and ate pizza on the beach. We had the afternoon to swim, shop, and relax.

When we got back to base camp people packed and/or hung out and talked. After dinner we reflected on the trip and how we could make more impact on the world in the future.

See y’all soon!

-by Claudia and Hayley

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Sunday June 24, 2018

Bienvenidos a Cuba! We are excited to welcome the first Cuba Cultural Odyssey group to La Habana! Students were greeted by our local guide, Atila, and international staff, Amanda and Jenny, at the airport today. At Hotel Vedado, students were given a chance to rest and relax after a day of travel. We made our way to Los Naranjos for dinner, where students sampled local cuisine, like arroz moro and frituras de malanga. After a short orientation to the program, students went to bed in anticipation of our packed schedule tomorrow.

We look forward to meeting Andrea tonight and welcoming her to Cuba!

Monday June 25, 2018

We started the day with GLA Orientation to the Cuba Program. We spent the morning doing team building activities and discussing the community agreements that will remain important to us as we live and work together for the coming days. Our guide, Atila, walked us through Callejon Hamel, a social art project that celebrates Afro-Cuban culture. We learned about Santeria and other religions in Cuba that have African roots. Afterwards we stopped by the famous Plaza de la Revolucion, where we saw the emblematic Che portrait.

Our afternoon lunch stop was accompanied by a long and powerful thunderstorm, which we enjoyed on the terrace while sipping our espressos. Lunch was followed by a Salsa dance class, where we learned some basic steps and how to dance ‘Cuban style.’ A leadership activity in the evening brought together themes for the day, and leave us wondering what more we will discover in the next couple weeks!

Tuesday June 26, 2018

The day started off very early for the group as we embarked on the journey to Cien Fuegos. The bus ride through the countryside and coast was full both of historical explanations of the buildings and discussions about the Cuban way of living and then the American- with Atila guiding us through. I also got to bond with many of my peers with a roadtrip game. After lunch, we got the chance to tour the city and really take in the beauty of the most modern colonial city in Cuba. The state of the buildings was striking as usual, as the poor condition reminds you how historical they really are.

I got to feel the pride in the beauty and see people live and breathe in the streets, and through the people selling souvenirs and the condition I also got to experience that call to action to make it come to life- as the people want to be. Today I learned to ask more questions, and be more considerate of all sides of a story before I fight for what I think should be improvement and change. The people of Cuba get to face this same dilemma. Im learning a lot from the individual and nationwide perspectives of this struggle and I hope to be able to apply this to my struggles facing my own nation in the future. I hope we can all learn this through sharing experiences, respect, and passions. We ended the long day with a game of catch and a talks in the pool, and it was the perfect end to a day for many of us was highly personally reflective, and started too early.

-by Claire

Wednesday June 27, 2018

On day 4 the group got the opportunity to visit Playa Larga where they got the unique opportunity to visit the museum of the bay of pigs invasion and visit Cueva de Los Peces. The museum gave students the opportunity to learn the history of the bay of pigs from the Cuban perspective and see both sides of the story. After the learning experience they visited Cueva de Los Peces which was a beautiful natural pool filled with colorful fish and clear water. After getting the chance to take pictures they checked into the hotel at Playa Larga.

The students got beach and pool time which was very enjoyable as students were able to bond with one another and become closer. After having a comfortable family style dinner with delicious food to finish off the day they returned to the hotel and did mentor groups. The day was filled with fun activities and gave students the chance to experience Playa Larga, a city outside of the busy Havana.

-by Rafael

Thursday June 28, 2018

We started off today in Playa Larga with our counselors having to switch rooms due to an invasion of frogs. After that, we ate breakfast and left Playa Larga for Havana which was a 3 hour bus ride. Whem we got to Havana, we went straight to Muraleando where we did our first community service project of the program. Muraleando used to be an area where locals would dump their trash.

In 2011, neighborhood members decided that they were going to renovate the area to become a center of arts in Havana. When we arrived, there were two jobs that our team had to do. One was to weed plants and the other was to build a walkway and cover a water pipe juat with dirt and any items you could find. Thank goodness that I didnt have to weed. My group worked extremely well together as we did a grear job at making the walkway and finding a way to direct water to a better drainage point. After our community service, we had a great lunch and then toured the rest of Muraleando. We then listened to a great Cuban band play music. Some of us went up to dance and we all had a great time.

Later we went to the AfroCuban museum in Guanabacoa. This museum focused on the different forms of Santeria. We learned alot about the culture and traditions of the religion. After the museum we checked into the hotel and then left again for dinner. At dinner we had some great musicians sing for us and the food was absolutely delicious. We ended the day by going to a cannonfire salute ceremony which symbolized the curfew of Havanans after the English invasion. Overall, it was a great day and I cannot wait for the days to come.

-Written by Liam

Friday June 29, 2018

Waking up at 5:40 in the morning is always fun. We rushed down the stairs in hopes of beating the morning mob for breakfast in preparation to tour the city. In old Habana we saw a city that was alive with people and motion. We toured an old building that now operates as an old people’s home and a children’s day care. It is completely free of charge for the residents and users of the facility and is a beautiful example of people looking out for people. We toured the main square that was made into a parking lot and restored back to its former glory. In this square we saw pigeons that somebody thought was a good idea to purposely release.

We learned about a craft school that people join and learn to do construction related crafts and help restore the city. One of the main things they are currently working on is the dome on the old capital building that we got to tour as well. It was a grand building and a piece of art.

Lunch was a fun time. A band came in and had me play the maracas which was a good laugh. the rest of the day was spent relaxing and talking at the hotel. I’m proud to be here and excited to have this experience. I hope that I can bring home some life leasons that will help me and my amazing peers help ourselves and others after this trip is through.

-by Oliver

Saturday June 30, 2018

Today, I woke up at 6:50, got ready and headed to breakfast. After we ate, we all headed to our room to finish packing for Viñales, then we loaded into the bus. We rode the bus for an hour and a half,until we reached a rest stop, and met our tour guide for the day, and we talked about the deforestation and reforestation in Cuba. We then loaded into the bus again, and went to a house that was hosted by the French before they deserted the area. The most interesting thing that I learned from the house was the treatment of the slaves, which was surprisingly reasonable, for one reason or another.

We left that area, to go to a paper making place, and got some souvenirs, and learned about how they made paper from recycled paper, and how they removed the ink. Now, this was the time of the day that I’m sure the majority of us were waiting for: the river. Once we arrived we all jumped into the considerably cold water, and saw the locals jump off from the top of a boulder, and we followed.

We weren’t allowed to dive head first, due to not knowing what could be in the water. It was still fun nonetheless, and once we got off we got back in the bus, and headed to lunch. The performers were very talented, and we had a lot of fun eating great food. After we were all way too full, we wished the guide bye bye, and went to Viñales. Once we got to the hotel, we rested for two hours, until we went to dinner. Overall today was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot about Cuban culture and history.

-by Gavin

Monday July 2, 2018

Today we had breakfast at seven as usual (too early for all of us). Afterwards, we went back to the farm for service time. My group readied plots; we weeded when we were done with that.

Then, we went to the zipline place, and, in the name of flexibility (the line was still being prepared) we had to go to the cavern first. We toured the cavern, and learning about the many rock formations was very intriguing. THEN we went ziplining. It was super fun!

After, we had lunch before going back to the hotel. We had dinner and wished Jenny a happy birthday with a fabulous cake! WHOAH!

-Written by Daniel

Tuesday July 3, 2018

Today we visited Cayo Levisa which is beautiful white sand beach. We drove there for an hour on the bus and for about half an hour on a boat ride. Most of us started by going snorkelling and seeing the beautiful view, then we played a game of beach volleyball.

We had a delicious lunch at a buffet next to our spot. After swimming for a while, some of us got tired and relaxed or took pictures to end the day.

At night, we met for the last time in mentor groups, and talked about what we would take away from this trip. We are excited for our last day tomorrow, and sad to say goodbye to each other and Cuba.

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Our last day began with a high energy dance performance in Habana. A talented group of women demonstrated their percussion and dance skills for students in their unique studio while students took pictures. Students received a surprise at lunch with a special 4th of July menu that included pizza, burgers and ice cream. Staff enjoyed seeing their faces light up for a break from rice and beans!

The afternoon included a last stroll through old Havana and a lecture on education in Cuba. A powerful thunderstorm interrupted our plans, but allowed for some bonding while we waited the rain out. An amazing dinner at La Guardia capped off a day of exploration and connection. Students were greeted by a surprise salsa band back at the hotel, where they danced, laughed and said their good byes.

Cuba staff so appreciated the opportunity to get to know each of the students and to be a part of such a great group. We hope the best for all of the students and wish them mucho suerte on the next part of their journeys! We’ll miss you!

Monday July 9, 2018

We waited anxiously for the group to arrive in Havana. Fortunately, almost everyone arrived around the same time, and of course we grabbed the final two arrivals to complete the group.

Everyone seems excited and full of energy, even after their longs days of travel. We took a short walk around the neighborhood to get a feel for Cuba (and the heat and humidity!), then grabbed dinner at one of my favorite places in Havana, Cafe Laurent.

After dinner, everyone played some ice breaker games to start getting to know the group they will be spending the next 9 days with. I already have a feeling we are going to have a great time.

Jenny, International Director

Tuesday July 10, 2018

First full day in Cuba! Whe went into the orientation room so we could get a chance to get to know each other and the code of conduct. Then we went to met our professors so we could learn the basics of the contrast of dark and light. After the lecture we toured around Havana for the majority of the day, each of us mesmerized by the beauty of Cuba. We are all supposed to capture our reality of Cuba, I’m excited to see everyones perspective of the country.

-Written by Evie

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Wednesday’s adventures began with a tour along the colorful streets of Old Havana on which we learned about the rich history of the Cuban Restoration. Along the way we heard stories of old Cuban legends such as a tree that granted wishes to those who circled its trunk seven times on November sixteenth (when Cuba gained independence.)

Continuing on the theme of history, we attended a lecture by a long time Cuban photographer on how to add mood and historical context to a photo, based on his experience of Cuban immigration laws and how the restoration affected the nation as a whole. After breaking for lunch , we listened to some live music by a band called Nueva Habana and transitioned into work, which consisted of street sweeping and using machetes to cut tall grass along a road that had not yet been restored.

That night, we dined at a fancy restaurant and hiked around Old Havana with the photography professors learning how to use light painting in our photography.

-by Ali Metcalfe

Monday July 16, 2018

The past three days have been busy but amazing! On our way to Viñales, we stopped at an ecovillage “Las Terrazas” we learned about their community and the biodiversity. We then went swimming in the river, everyone had a great time – we jumped off the rocks and enjoyed the natural water. Once we arrived to our hotel, we had dinner and the rest of the night consisted of GLA activities.

The next day after breakfast we all prepared ourselves for a trail of the Mogotes, these hills are huge and can be viewed all throughout Viñales. The trail consisted of a bunch of thorns, mud, and sweat. Going through the muddy trail was a great bonding experience and something we can all laugh at now. After the dirty hike, some students went for a horse back ride through more Mogotes and some students decided to walk around Viñales. It was a long day and it was finally lunch! We fueled up with some plantain chips and ropa veiga. We went back to the hotel to clean up then headed off to service. Service consisted of going to an all organic farm and learning about how special crops have affected Cuba and its people for the better. While learning about the crops, we pulled some vegetables out and even planted new seeds! After, they prepared a lovely meal for us made with all products on the premises.

BEACH DAY! An early wake up call for the students – everyone was packed and ready to go for the relaxing day. We took a boat out to Cayo Levisa, an amazing private beach with the whitest sand and the most blue water! Once arriving to the beach – some students wanted to go snorkeling, we had a great time looking and learning about the coral reef and the fishes of Cuba. After lunch, everyone ran straight towards the water. Everyone played games in the water like throwing around the ball and we even played tag! The day trip of Cayo Lavisa was well deserved and an amazing way to spend some free time together with the group! Once we got back to the hotel, everyone showered and talked about how great the day was at dinner – ending the day with some Mentor group activities.

Missing home but loving Cuba more and more each day!

Lots of Love,
Madison Murillo

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Monday July 30, 2018

The first day of GLA Summer Session 3 was a success!

The day started out at the airport in Liberia, where all the students were picked up by Mentor Jordan and officially welcomed to the beautiful province of Guanacaste. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze, and the students enjoyed a scenic bus ride back to home base after stopping to eat snacks at a local Panadería (bakery). After arriving at the home base, a beautiful Ecolodge on a sprawling property with gardens, a pool, and lovely cabins, the students were given a tour by International Director Kilee and Mentor Megan and given a chance to settle in. After unpacking a bit and introducing one another, the group ate a healthy Costa Rican dinner of rice and beans, chicken, salad, and maduros (sweet plantain dessert). Finally, the group played a fun get-to-know-you game and reviewed the Code of Conduct together. After a long day of traveling, and after completing health checks with all students, the group was allowed to shower and go to bed early, which everyone happily accepted. Tomorrow begins a new adventure, the first day of many here in Costa Rica.

Tuesday July 31, 2018

Hello. my name is Taylor. today was our 2nd day in Costa Rica. In the morning we had a nice breakfast and then we played some get to know you games. We got a mini Spanish lesson and had orientation. Along with that we did the swim test. Then Matt came to talk to our group about being a foreigner in a new place and how to build relationships with the people around us. The groups plan was to go to the beach which got pushed back by the rain. When we finally got to the beach we did a scavenger hunt, but our trip got cut short due to the rain and lightning. We stopped at a market on our way back. And then we ate dinner played some games, found out mentor groups and went to bed.

Thursday July 2, 2018

¡Hola family and friends! My name is Sarah Meredith and I am happy to be your blogger for today. Our morning commenced when the bright Costa Rican sun shined threw our windows and pulled us out of bed towards breakfast. After completing our routine “chow circle” where we shared what we were most excited for, we sat down to a nicely prepared breakfast by Maria Louisa. On our table was whole wheat toast, butter, jelly, eggs, gallo pinto, and a variety of fresh fruit. Once we finished breakfast, we hopped into our mini bus where the wonderful Caesar was eager to drive us to El Centro Verde. When we arrived, we were greeted by Marcia who lead a tour of the nursery and gave us our individual tasks to complete. Some students were filling bags with fresh soil while others were placing trees inside of those bags. A couple of girls were in charge of organizing the layout of these plants and others were responsible for transporting them back and forth on a wheel barrow. It was truly an amazing feeling to be a part of the mission that will help increase Costa Rica’s water supply in the long term. After about 4 hours of hard work, it was finally time for lunch.

Our lunch was delivered to us in containers that consisted of chicken, rice, and vegetables with a passion fruit juice on the side. Once we ate our delicious food, we drove back to the comforts of our home base and were given an hour to rest before the next activity. The next journey that we embarked on was a salsa dance lesson that was nothing less than spicy! We moved to the rhythm of the rainstorm bellowing around us and had the time of our lives. Following our fiesta de baila, we drove down the street and were welcomed into the home of Senorita Yolanda for a traditional cafecito. We were given coffee and delightful corn and honey pastries called Daniellas. The house was surrounded by dogs, chickens, and adorable children that we all enjoyed playing with. Some of us enjoyed a friendly game of soccer with the local kids while others showed them how to play games on their phones. During our 60 minute visit, we discovered a newfound appreciation for the simplicities in life such as playing soccer in the rain or petting the neighborhood dog. Finally, we returned to our home base and came together for a comforting dinner of warm chicken soup and white rice.

Friday August 3, 2018

Buenos Dias friends and families. My name is Saoudatou Barry and I will be your blogger for the day.

On the fifth day of program, all of us girls wake up enthusiastic and energetic. We all make it to breakfast at 7:00 a.m ready to work with the students. Eating a hearty meal that consisted of tortillas, scrambled eggs, rice and beans, and our choice of tea and coffee. Once breakfast was eaten, us girls were ready to start playing with the school children.

Once we got to school, the children were very welcoming and excited to see us. Maria, one of the school girls, was very nice and caring. She incorporated us in all the activities they did and tried to communicate with us even though there was a language barrier.

Before we started our activities for the day, we played a name game with the children. We stated our names, where we are from, and our favorite animals. Although our Spanish was not as good, the children had a fun time playing the ice breaker. It was nice to hear the different animals that the children liked.

We started our first activity, hosted by our lovely Marcia, by going through a PowerPoint filled with different animals. It was amusing watching how the children had a different reaction to each animal that was shown. The children were very tentative, but also had a lot to say about each animal. They would tell stories of their experiences with a specific animal shown or they would listen to Marcia as she explained what each animal was. We all watched in awe as the children talked about each animal and the facial expressions and body gestures used to describe each animal.

After looking at the Animals, the children had the option to either color or play animal bingo against each other.

In the afternoon, after a hot meal that consisted of spaghetti, red meat, and a drink, we came back to Hotel Angeles ready to paint with Ivan. Ivan is an artist who offered two hours of his work day to teach us how to sketch and outline.

After a long day of working and painting, we all went to the beach to cool off and play around in some waves. We ended the day with a dinner filled with fish, chicken, rice, and mixed vegetables. Saoudatou also put in some good moves for the African music that was playing in the background.

Saturday August 4, 2018

¡Hola familia y amigos! I’m Rachel, and I’m so excited to share our day in Costa Rica with you all. Our day started with the birds chirping and the monkeys howling. Maria Louisa prepared a breakfast spread of fruit, yogurt, and toast. We headed out early for Santa Cruz, the capital of the province of Guanacaste. The town is very small and everyone knows each other, so it is not what you would expect! Matt from Restoring Our Watershed told us all about the beautiful city, and then we went to a panadería called PPK for pastries. We enjoyed our bread, pound cake, and doughnuts on the walk back to the park for another drawing lesson from Ivan. We sat in the park and drew what we saw, and then left to explore the town. Some people shopped, some bough ice cream, and some just enjoyed the murals. We hopped on the bus to La Terraza, a beautiful open-air restaurant. The food was delicious, but we were much more entertained by the National Geographic documentary, Tiger Man of Africa.

The entire restaurant was enraptured yet disturbed as we watched Shadow and Ron court each other, and finally as Shadow gave birth to a healthy baby boy. A favorite food at the restaurant was the pineapple smoothies. After lunch, we headed off to Hojancha. Our first stop was a coffee tour at Coope Pilangosta, a coffee cooperative. We loved learning about the process and seeing all of the equipment, not to mention smelling and tasting the coffee! Our final destination was Monte Alto nature reserve, where we’re staying over for the night.

We settled in and waited for the rain to stop, but it’s the rainy season, so we headed out to a gorgeous vista on the the top of a mountain during the storm. The view of the sunset over the mountains was completely breathtaking, and we loved watching the clouds move over the landscape. We listened as Emel, the founder of the reserve, gave us an explanation of the history of the creation of Hojancha as an independent municipality and of the nature reserves. Our final activity of the night was a delicious buffet dinner. Thanks for reading!

Sunday August 5, 2018

We woke up this morning to beautiful sunny day! After a day of traveling we had all been super tired So waking up to a nice delicious breakfast was amazing! Although most of us were woken up buy a rooster at 3 o’clock in the morning and my alarm at 5:45, the morning was great! We all had gotten ready for a tour around the preserve with the founder!

After breakfast we all got our stuff and begin to walk down the dirt road to the beginning of the trail! On our way to the trail the founder and another tour guide stopped on the side of the road to grab a bunch of sapplings. He handed us the trees and our counselors told us that we’re gonna plant them on our way up the trail. The people who wanted trees were able to get them! We all named our trees! Mine was name Steven, Megan and Jordans was named Queen Willow and Brooks was named Cesar! We then began walking again ending up at the beginning of our hiking trail which was a beautiful dirt path with natural stairs made out of wood. We begin to hike, throughout the hike the founder and the other tour guide were digging holes to plant our trees. After they were planted we walked to the end of the trail which was a beautiful babbling brook that had benches. We sat at the benches for five minutes and listen to the sounds of the river. The tour guide then explain how the water was oxygenated therefore it was good for the skin and he would always wash his hands and face with the water whenever he came to this spot! After that we began to hike back it was about a 20 minute hike in total. After we got back we got in the van with Cesar. Cesar drove us back to the preserve so the counselors could get a couple things.

After that Cesar drove us to another hiking spot where we split up into two groups. One group went on a 40 minute hike and my group went on a 10 minute hike and we ended up at a waterfall and we saw a beautiful view from a little hotel/house on the top. After that we hiked back and my group waited in the van for the other group. After the other group arrived we all went up to the lodge/ little building and took another painting class with Ivan. This class we learned how to paint a human figure. We were all stoked when we got to use the nice materials and paper, the real deal watercolor paper.

After we were done painting we had the closing conversation with Ivan about the painting class and we took a picture at the top and signed the registration book. After that, we got back in the van and drove back to preserve to have lunch. For lunch we had beautiful homemade corn tortillas with rice, beans, and chicken! It was delicious! After that we got on out bathing suits and walked down to a beautiful waterfall where we were able to swim! The water was a very nice temperature and there was even a little space where four waterfalls all poured into it and it was gorgeous! After that we walked back to the preserve and changed and got all of our stuff so we could go. We then headed back to the homebase.

On our way we stop at a grocery store so we can get some snacks and some food. Some people got fried chicken from a little fried chicken place on the side of the road. Then we were on our way back when Cesar stopped the van and said we had a flat tire. So we drove into a big town to get the tire fixed. When we got there we realize that there was nothing wrong with the tire so we continued it on our way. We made it back safely and we had dinner which was delicious! After that we had our mentor groups where we made privilege wheels/diagrams. It was an amazing conversation I will remember for a long time! These past two days have been amazing at the nature preserve and we are so stoked to be working with the kids tomorrow at their school and being able to bond with them and then after that being rewarded with a trip to the beach!

-Maya Berger

Monday July 6, 2018

It seems that the days are going by pretty fast. Today was really productive, we started with our usual morning routine which was our circle and breakfast. I think what I like most about it was working and playing with the kids, we played bingo and did coloring activities. the little grade made us really happy and excited because we were not only teaching them but we were learning Spanish from them. The kids were really supportive and interactive which made everything easier. After lunch, we headed to La Playa Negro which was really fun but then it started raining and we had to go back to base camp. Although most of us are homesick, we’re making every single moment in Costa Rica counts.

Xoxo

Madashley Cajuste

 

Tuesday August 7, 2018

Hey friends and family, and welcome to the day you’ve all been waiting for…MY DAY TO BLOG. My name is Jayneba Dieye and that’s all I’m saying about myself because this is about everyone and their experience.

So today started off with another wonderful and fruit-filled breakfast at the home base with some coffee and water. Then we patiently waited for Cesar, the God of van driving, to go another school to teach the 3rd and 5th graders about Costa Rica’s watershed. Sadly, there was a miscommunication with the school so we planned to come back in the afternoon. Luckily, our mentors decided we take a trip to Playa Blanca because everyone wanted to go to the beach in the morning plus it was high tide and a lot of girls in the group love battling the waves (including me lol). After our trip to the beach, we headed back to the home base to eat so we could have enough energy for the school kids and the soccer game after. When we arrived at the school we split up into two groups in order to volunteer with two different grade levels. My group introduced ourselves and had the kids introduce themselves and we found a kid from Houston, TX that moved here 2 weeks ago, so that was really interesting.

During the rest of our time at the school we taught the kids about their watershed and they played all the fun games we had setup for them. While we were setting up for some of the games, a group of kids started playing soccer and the ball ended up on the roof, so they decided to grab a broom and knock it down, instead they broke a wasp’s nest lol. But that didn’t postpone the fun we had planned for the students so we continued on with the games. After playing with the students, we made our way to the soccer field to play soccer. One of the soccer dads, Fran, divided up his players among a group of three of us and we began playing. Most of the kids playing were actually good and kinda intimidating (at least to me). Some of the girls got really competitive and attempted to win the entire game by themselves (Brooke and Megan). We finished the soccer game and my team unofficially won lol. We ended our day back at home base and ate unnecessarily large portions of spaghetti, then all the girls gathered in Cabin #5 and gossiped the night away. Well I hope you guys enjoyed this blog.

Side note: Dad, does this blog meet your expectations? Mom, is my grammar okay? Love and miss you guys!

Wednesday August 8, 2018

So I started out this morning by waking up extra early when Jayneba accidentally locked herself out of our room when she went to the bathroom in the wee hours of dawn. After we all got dressed and ready, we walked down to the main area while Maya blessed us with a chirpy, never ending morning song. Fantabulous. 😂

After another delicious breakfast of rice and beans we loaded onto the bus, riding over bumpy rural roads to an adorable elementary school filled with even more adorable third graders. Yay!

We got to know the kids, talked with them about animals native to costa rica, and then had a coloring session and an animal bingo game.

Scene cut to us eating some more rice, but with chicken this time instead of beans. Hold on, more food is coming… is that maduros? (Im literally writing this as I wait for food). So maduros are basically chopped, baked (fried?) plaintains. They are probably my favorite dish here besides picadillo (some sort of potato cheese thing). Anyways, time to eat.

After lunch we had a dance lesson taught by Angela, a native of Costa Rica. We learned two dances, none of which I can remember (much less spell) the names of, but thats okay because by the end of it we were a bunch of sweaty, happy kids. Cool.

We went to the beach, watched a presentation that was all about sea turtles, and then the people who put on the presentation led us to a spot on the beach where they had recreated 5 turtle nests. They put us into pairs and told us that the group who found all the eggs first while using the proper procedure would win the game; of course we turned into savages, digging through sand like a pot of gold was hidden at the bottom. JayJay emerged victorious and totally covered in sand, which was absolutely hilarious to witness.
We went home to some bean soup (ooo, switching it up a little) and, you guessed it, rice. But it was still delicious. We still have to do mentor groups for about an hour and then its straight to bed for me!

-by Elizabeth Hastings

Thursday August 9, 2018

¡Hola! My name is Brooke Fiedler and I’ll be taking you through our fun filled day today! We had the traditional morning: waking up at 5:30 to howler monkeys screaming, birds pelting small seeds at the window, and realizing we’ve ran out of toilet paper. At breakfast there’s the look of exhaustion but excitement on everyone’s face. We had our classic toast and fresh fruit.

Today we changed it up at the schools and did a recycling project! We drove to a school where littering frequently occurs. We split up into two groups, some painted the bins, and others painted signs. On the bins we painted 4 separate recycling methods: plastic; paper; aluminum: glass. It was amazing to see what an impact the recycling signs and bins had on the kids so quickly. A girl came up and asked where to throw out her trash.

When we got back to home base, we had some time to relax and clean our cabins because we had cabin checks. Living in a cabin with no AC in a humid climate, and 3 girls (one cabin has 4…) causes it to get really dirty, really quickly. Aside from the dirt, it also tends to smell really bad. So we cleaned everything top to bottom with brooms and mops.

Soon after we headed to dinner, but not before stopping by the local corner store to stock up on snacks and food. There’s only so much rice and beans someone can eat. Before dinner we stopped by our favorite beach, Juinquillal, and watched the lightening strike on the water. We made our way to dinner at a beautiful open restaurant where we were going to eat pizza. (Coming from New York I have pretty high expectations when it comes to pizza, my expectations were surpassed) Everyone ate at least 3 slices, and drank a delicious tropical fruit drink.

It was another amazing day here at Costa Rica, and we were able to come back to the beautiful Angels Lodge where we once again had our nightly talks in cabin #7.

Friday August 10, 2018

Today started off with a great breakfast of toast and peanut butter that we had bought from the market. After that we loaded up the bus and headed to Casa del Sol. A sustainable women’s farm the focused on cooking things with the sun and going against the use of gmos. There we had a great lunch with the best dessert. We came back to the home base and chilled out until we had the snake show. I was not a fan of the snakes and it didn’t calm my fears. It was interesting. We all enjoyed a dinner of sandwiches and milkshakes. Then it was off to be and ready for Tamarindo tomorrow.

Saturday August 11, 2018

Today we woke up and had pancakes for breakfast! They were amazing and were nice to have. Then we left for Tamarindo and what there around nine. We went to a wicked cool farmer’s market which had a lot of local food and jewelry. There were a lot of nice people and interesting things to try. Then we got to walk around by ourselves. We and to some cute shops and then standing there was a very familiar face. It was Mateo and we stood there for a minute and then talked to him for a while about his job and what he does. Then we went to a nice little restaurant where we had breakfast.

After we went to a lot of shops that sold T-Shirts and other things like, mugs, paintings, signs, hats, and jewelry. We got shave ice and walked some more. We then to a ceramic shop where all these products were hand made there. After we walked on the beach and got a fresh coconut from one of the people selling them. Then, we got banana bread from Dawn Patrol and walked back to the meeting spot. There were also many taxis and offers for food. There were a lot of shops and things to do. The beach is extremely pretty and seems to go on forever. All in all it was a really fun and exciting day!

Sunday August 12, 2018

Hello! I am Sarah Meredith and I will be your blogger again for today. Our morning started an hour later than usual, so everyone arrived at breakfast with some extra sleep. Maria Louisa had cheese and bean empanadas prepared for us which were definitely a delicious surprise. Following breakfast, we piled into our beloved minibus and enjoyed a scenic ride to a new beach that we hadn’t been to yet. We were not told the name of the beach or what we would be doing there because our counselors wanted to surprise us. How exciting?! After about an hour drive on some roller coaster dirt roads, we finally arrived at Playa San Juanillo. At the beach, we were able to explore the coves and rock formations, relax in the shade, tan in the sun, and swim in the crystal clear water. We spent about 2 hours having fun and taking in the beautiful views. Next, we packed up into the minibus and just like that, we were on the road again! Back at homebase, we had about an hour of free time before lunch. Some girls spent their time at the pool while other chose to write in their journals or read. Lunch consisted of garbanzo beans, rice, and mixed vegetables.

After lunch, we had a couple hours of rest and then we all gathered together in the common area for a group activity called “Story of Self”. Basically, we sat in a circle and told our life stories one by one. Each person was allowed to say as little or as much as they felt comfortable with while everyone else listened and absorbed the new information. It was really amazing to learn more about each other and develop stronger connections. For our next adventure, we rushed into the van and set forth to Juinquillal to have an evening swim and watch the breathtaking Costa Rican sunset. On the way back to homebase, we stopped at the market and picked up some snacks for the rest of the week. Dinner was flavorful meat patties with rice, beans, pica dillo, and salad. For dessert, we played a fun game of GLA Jeopardy between the three different cabins. It was a close call but in the end, cabin 5 came out victorious with 2,000 points. Congratulations to Souadatou, Madashley, Sophie, and Taylor!

Monday August 13, 2018

Buenos Dias friends and family, Saoudatou Barry writing again. Today was an action packed filled adventure. In the morning we ate a healthy meal that consisted of scrambled eggs, toast with butter or jam, rice and beans, and apples. After breakfast we were all ready to go to Paraiso to teach the school children about water and how to use less water in order to protect the environment. Just like any other day, the school children were really happy to see us. Many coming up to give us hugs and ask about our weekend.

After a long morning of working with the children, we had lunch, thanks to Dalia, by the beach. We then went back to base camp to rest our growing bodies for a little bit. In the afternoon we all went to La Playa Negra to have fun in the waves and take long walks across the sand. After about two hours at the beach it was time to go back to base camp to rest and get ready for dinner.

Tuesday August 14, 2018

Hola family and friends. It’s Rachel, writing the blog again! Today started off with some nice conversations over a breakfast of gallo pinto, toast, and fruit. We headed off soon after that to El Centro Verde, the plant nursery. After getting acquainted with the Costa Rican high school kids that were also there to volunteer, we got to work planting, mulching, and weeding. It was hard work, but we had so much fun getting to know each other that the time went by quickly. The locals got a chance to practice their English and we had the opportunity to learn some more Spanish! After a few hours, lots of sweat, and 5 bug spray reapplications, we played a game that our mentor Jordan made up. We had a lot of fun playing the game and eating gummies. By the end we were begging to hang out more, but for the Costa Ricans, it was time to hop on the bus and go home.

After lunch and a few hours to rest and wait out the rain, we headed out to Las Delicias to play soccer. The rain was still coming down, but we decided to play fútbol on the field outside. Cesar, (our van driver/ the man), told us that it’s refreshing to play in the rain, so he played with us. After some warm ups, the game was on! We had so much fun playing with the kids that we’ve gotten to know over the past few weeks as well as some new kids. We slipped around and got soaked, but this soccer game was definitely a highlight of the program. We left for Yolanda’s house for cafecitos after a while, and some of the kids that we had played soccer with came with us. We had some delicious food and juice, and we painted with the kids. Our paintings looked quite interesting, but the kids had no problems keeping them for us. We also got to play with the chicks, dogs, and cats on the property. We said goodbyes to the kids, and headed back to home base for dinner.

After dinner, we had a very educational and relaxing mentor group where we talked about our future and who we want to be as people when we’re older. Mentor groups are always guaranteed to foster fascinating, thought-provoking conversations. Thanks for reading!

Wednesday August 15, 2018

This morning I woke up at 5:00 to my alarm blaring letting me know it was time to workout! Except today I was too lazy (sorry mom and dad) so I hit snooze not realizing I set my alarm for every 10 minutes. I then turned them all off after it went off 4 more times! I ended up waking up at 6:45; 5 minutes before we had to be down for breakfast! I scrambled out of bed and let Lizzy and Jay Jay know that they need to wake me up next time! Then I got dressed, threw my hair in to a bun and put my on and “calmly walked” (ran) down to breakfast.

As soon as I got down to breakfast I made sure that everyone was present because I was leader of the day. As soon as everyone was here, I started chow circle. In the morning we say what we are excited for; I said that I was excited for the barbecue and the recycling center, which is what most people said they were excited for. After chow circle we ate breakfast which consisted of tortillas, rice & beans (gallo pinto), and fruit. I played some upbeat music and Megan sang along to the song Ignition by R Kelly. After breakfast we got all of our stuff and waited for Cesar to pick us up from the recycling center.

Cesar came and we had a short 5 – 10 minute drive to the school. There were no kids there because it was Costa Rican Mothers Day! As soon as we got the school, we got to work making signs and painting garbage cans. We even made a knew friend, a cute brown stray dog that I really wanted to name Lady! We gave her food and water. After we made a couple of signs and got a little loopy from the paint and paint thinner fumes we took a break. Rachel, Brooke, Sophie, Taylor, and I walked down to the little pulpuria next to the school to find some ice cream, but we ended up not being able to find any. Then we went to the little pulpuria across the street where they only had fruit pops. We were very disappointed! But Elizabeth ended up getting a fruit pop. We also saw two horses that were being trained for a parade.

After we finally finished making the recycling signs we walked over to the soccer field to plant some trees. It was so hot! After planting our trees, Rachel, Sarah, and I walked back to the school to take a break. Once we got there, we found the gate to the school locked tight. We had to figure out what key fit into the lock on the door. It took us about 10 minutes because Marcia handed us a ring of micalaneous keys and told us she didn’t know which one fit!

After everyone got back from planting the trees we ate lunch made by Dahlia; also known as Dahlia express. It was chicken, rice, and vegetables. It was delicious. After we ate, we cleaned up and put everything in the van. We then put our leftover food on the soccer field behind the school so the stray dogs could eat it because they needed it more than us! Then we got into the van and Cesar drove us over to the farm across the street from the ecolodge to plant some trees.

Our drive to the spot where the trees were to be planted was very “interesting.” I ended up calling it a safari. We saw cows, an iguana, and horses! We finally ended up at the place where we were to plant the trees. It was sweltering! We got to work planting the trees while I blasted Beyoncè. After a little while we heard Maddy and Lizzy scream! They ran down to us and said they had saw a huge white spider! Taylor later told us it was called a banana spider; they get up on their hind legs and spray venom at you when they’re in attack mode.

After the farm we drove back to home base to get ready for the barbecue. A lot of us showered and Marcia even gave us a white clay facemask do which was super fun and refreshing; my skin needed it! After we were all ready for the beach we hopped into the van.

As soon as we arrived at the beach it was high tide. When I said high tide, I mean really high tide; it was a swell, which means the water comes up really high! Then to our suprise we saw our friend Jayden from the elementary school in Paraiso along with his little sister and friend! They were all very happy to see us! We were as equally happy to see them. We smelled the delicious cooking and the fire on the beach that was cooking our dinner.

After a little while of playing with the kids in the ocean we begin to eat! We ate chicken and onion kebabs, chicken breasts and legs and we had caramelized pineapple and sweet plantains. It was all delicious! Even Mateo brought us Coca-Cola, Fresca, Fanta, and water. He also brought his two kids and his wife! They were super nice. Today was amazing and we enjoyed the delicious dinner and dessert. Also happy Costa Rican Mothers Day to all the Mothers out there!

-Maya Berger

Thursday August 16, 2018

Hi guys it’s me, Madashley, again, last time I gave you a brief summary of what we did mainly because my charger broke and my phone was on 8 percent but today, it’ll be a little bit longer because I really enjoyed it. Instead of having our normal alarm back in the USA, we always have monkey in trees next to our cabin to do that for us.

For. 3. Hours. Straight

So that was cool I guess

But not really

We soon forgot about that when we were served pancakes for breakfast though, then we headed straight for service.

Service was a little long today, we went to Los Pargos Escuela to set up recycle,

Plastic and trash bins. It took long but seeing the kids running around coming up to me and coming up to me to touch and compliment my hair was my highlight of the day. After service, we went to Playa Negra to eat which was amazing because after that we went to the restaurant next to it and brought deserts.

As we go into the day, We were really tired but we had to keep going. We went to a farm and planted about 50-60 trees and through every tree we planted, I thought we were dying of the sun heat , mainly because of the requirement to wear pants in the heat.

But, hey no one is complaining right?

After, 30 min to an hour, we hike up a forest to learn about Mother Nature and how Costa Rican’s fight beside her. Plus the view was totally worth it. We had the pleasure of having Jordan as our tour guide which was great even though I can’t count on my fingers he number of times he almost got us lost in the middle of the forest.

But it’s fine cause we love him. Finally, after a long day of service we went back to home base for refreshment and had a movie night.

I can’t wait for tomorrow mainly because of the zip lining but also because we’ll get to go home sooner and I really miss it back home.

I had a great time writing to you guys

Sincerely,

Madashley

Friday August 17, 2018

Welcome family and friends to another action packed blog by yours truly, Jayneba Dieye.

Anyway, the day started off with me violently waking up because my roommate forgot breakfast was at 7:30am instead of 7:00am so I started my day earlier than expected. We made our way down to enjoy another amazing breakfast of toast, fruit, eggs, and coffee. After breakfast, we got ready for zip lining next door and made our way over. When we got there everyone was so excited and eager to begin our safari adventure. We got strapped into our harnesses and took a truck up to the first zip line. Our guide gave us a quick demonstration and then a few people got a little nervous but all turned out well because the view was amazing. A couple people, including me, enjoyed the view so much we decided to experience it upside down when zip lining. We ended our adventures and cooled down with some fresh fruit and water, and walked back to home base.

Maria Luisa, our amazing hostess, prepared a meal of fish, platacones, and salad which was AMAZING! When lunch was over, everyone made their way back to their rooms, so they could clean and pack. After we finished cleaning and packing, we participated in a yoga and meditation lesson by our former dance instructor, who seems to be able to do anything and everything. We finished up with our meditation, it really turned into nap time (no tea, no shade); then we got ready to go to the beach to watch the sunsets with the teenagers from Tuesday. When we got ready to leave, it became known to us that there wasn’t enough room for everyone to fit so Cesar had to make two trips leaving Maya, Kilee, Meagan, Jordan, and I behind but all turned out well. When we all arrived to the beach everyone hopped into the ocean to take on the day’s wave battling fiasco.

After we watched the sunset, we all said our final goodbyes and rode back to home base to rinse off and eat dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of pasta, soda, and salad, then started on an activity Jordan and Meagan prepared. The activity required each of us to make an envelope with our names on it and everyone would write a note to any else they wanted to and put in their envelope. So we all sat at the table and wrote each other heartfelt notes or in my case my snapchat name and maybe a note that says “You’re grrrrrreeeeeaaatttt!”

Afterwards, we all went to our separate rooms and packed some more, showered, and relaxed until we all fell asleep (after a specific person fell off a bed trying to kill a spider *cough* Elizabeth *cough*).

Side note: Birth-giver and birthing-counterpart (aka parents), don’t worry, I bought you all some presents (also some for my big-headed sister) luv ya!

Saturday August 18, 2018

So. Last day, not counting leaving day. We are going whitewater rafting today! I’ve been looking forward to this since I first heard about it, I literally can’t sit still. That could be because I just drank the world’s supply of coffee, but we’re gonna ignore that fact for now. 😊

We got to the river and separated into two rafts; Taylor, Sophie, Brooke, and Sarah were on one boat while me, Jayneba, and Maya were in the other. The rapids started out easy, just a few bumps here and there, but it slowly got larger and larger until we were sitting in front of a twelve foot drop! Half the girls wanted to flip the boat over the waterfall, so we put the girls who wanted to flip over in one boat and the girls who didnt in another.

After we all get through the rapids, my tour guide decides to start switching people. Like, he’d slide up to another boat, start a conversation, and then pop a girl onto our boat! We did this about three times until we completely switched up who was in what raft all the way to the end of the excursion.

Cesar then drove us to an animal rehabilitaion center. They take in wild animals that get hurt and/or abandoned and fix them up to try to release them into the jungle. The tour lady took us and showed us all the animals that couldn’t be released (due to physical limitations or just being used to humans), and introduced us to all of them. At one point an ocelote flew through its cage, giving us all quite the jump scare.

So then we went to the best hotel I’ve seen here, it’s absolutely amazing! Air conditioning, no screaming monkeys, no bugs? Absolute heaven.

We grabbed dinner at a random looking buffet. It was camouflaged between all the fried chicken places, but it turned out to have some really good food! Now we’re gonna try to get a good nights rest for the plane ride tomorrow. 😊

– Elizabeth

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Friday July 6, 2018

Hola!

Megan here. One of the GLA mentors. All of our students arrived safe and sound yesterday, even after several delays. We’ve settled into the home base and shared our couple of typical Costa Rican meal together — with plenty of rice and beans! Last night, were welcomed by our home base staff and dogs, and a fierce Costa Rican thunderstorm.

We are beginning to get to know each other and I am looking forward to learning more as we continue our orientation over the next few days. We have a lot to look forward to over the next three weeks — from spreading environmental awareness to playing soccer with local kids to soaking up the sun on several beautiful beaches. Stay tuned to hear more about our adventures!

As we say in Costa Rica, Pura Vida or pure life!

Megan

Saturday July 7, 2018

Hi! My name is Vivian, and today was our first full day in Costa Rica. We started the day off with a delicious breakfast of eggs, tortillas, and gallo pinto. Everyone was learning each others names and getting to know each other, which was pretty awesome. Then the staff did some orientation things and we played an ice breaker game with M&M’s where we learned some fun facts about each others’ lives. Later on in the day there was a swim test in the in-lodge pool, and the weather was perfect at that time: sunny but not too humid.

After another delicious meal of pasta, we did a role play activity to better understand the factors that come with hosting a World Cup. It really taught us how to work together as different individuals to come to an agreement. Then, we got to the beach early so we were able to experience the HUGE waves and scenery. It was so unbelievably beautiful and of course we had to take a bunch of pictures for memories. Overall, it was a chill but fun and intimate day, and I can’t wait to experience more with this amazing group of people.

Sunday July 8, 2018

What is the scariest thing you have ever woken up to? A bad dream? Shouting parents? Or an annoying alarm clock? These really do not compare to what the naive 12 of us experienced at exactly 4:45 am this morning. There was a screeching that was very similar to dinosaurs from the Jurassic World movies.

Finally after a couple hours of laughing, we figured out that they were howler monkeys! Alyssa and I raced to all of the cabins to wake the heaviest sleepers I have ever met. (I thought I was a heavy sleeper). This was probably my favorite experience on this trip yet.

Breakfast was at 7. We had fresh Piña, Mango, and Banana. We also had Cereal, Coffee, and Toast. Then we headed to the beach for a game of human knot while overlooking the crystal clear water, and white sandy beaches. Almost everyone swam in the warm tropical Pacific Ocean. After that we had Pork chops, potatoes & carrots, and chicken. I cannot explain how amazing the food is. Doña Maria and her mother cook all of the food from scratch! Then was some pool time where we played lots of fun games, and really got to know each other more.

Our first day of service is tomorrow, so our service coordinators, Marcia and Matteo came over to teach us about the activities we are going to work on. They shared lots of personal stories, and a lot of ecological information.

Dinner was shortly after the service introduction, and it was one of my personal favorites: plantains, pico de gallo, frijoles refritos, and some cheese. After dinner we all planned to meet back at the living room at 7:15. We started by playing cards, then Hailey decided to get her hair cut, so many of us helped out to give her the coolest haircut ever. We then proceeded to have karaoke party which progressed into a lip sync battle. We went back to our cabins very tired due to the fact that we had very minimal sleep from being woken up by the monkeys before 5 am.

-by Tyler

Monday July 9, 2018

Like always, I (Sarah W) wake up the boys at 6:20 so they can get ready, but today, there was a surprise. Tyler decided to yank down his curtains in his sleep! So today we started our day at 7 by eating gallo pinto, huevos, y pan. Soon after, we boarded our bus and headed to a plant nursery to start our first day of work.

Before work Matteo gave us a short (ish) presentation using a map and he told us about the rivers and about the watersheds in Costa Rica. During work, we were trying to replant seeds in order to give them to the local farmers. Marcia split up the work by teaching us how to do all the jobs and allowing us to choose one we liked. After work, we stayed on the nursery’s property and ate lunch, a delicious mix of rice, meat, vegetables, plantains and refried beans. After lunch and work, we took our bus (thanks Cesar) back to home base for a lesson on recycling paper. During our activity, Tyler and Kilee broke the blender and we had to do everything by hand, thanks guys :)).

When the lesson on paper finished, we were introduced to Adrianna, a woman who was going to teach us to dance. We made dance circles and danced for what felt like a fun filled forever. After the dance lesson, we got back on the bus (thanks Cesar part 2) and met up with an extended farming family and all of their animals to drink cafécitos or jugo and eat a hispanic cornbread. We carried baby chickens, pet dogs, saw a horse, met little kids and met a really nice Costa Rican family. For dinner, we had tamales and rice. All in all, it was a pretty good day!

-by Sarah Wheatley

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Hello everyone! This morning we started off with a delicious breakfast of pancakes accompanied by mango and bananas. We then headed off to service at El Vivero or The Nursery. Along with 6 high schoolers from the local community we learned about the different types of seeds and trees in Guanacaste. One characteristic of the seeds is that they are very hard and take over 100 years to germinate. So what we did was cut the seeds open and sand them down to allow for the process of germination to occur much quicker.

After the morning of service we headed to Playa Junquillal for a lunch of burgers and fries. We then swam in the ocean and relaxed to the sound of the crashing waves. We then returned to the home base to wash all the salt and sweat off our bodies while Tyler decided to take a swim in the pool. After a quick bus ride to the town of Río Seco we played animal bingo with children of the area. A few of us went into the pueblo and talked with the people of the community and met a few dogs.

Then the moment we have all been waiting for finally came. We went to a corner store to buy snacks and drinks. We were all amazed at the quantity of items we could buy for a small amount of money. Then all stocked up on food we drive back to the home base for an amazing dinner of chicken, fries, rice, and beans. After dinner we did a short activity where we learned about our mentors. We then all gathered in one cabin to have a mini fiesta with all the food we purchased.

!Pura vida!

Wednesday July 11, 2018

We woke up this morning to delicious empanadas with cheese and beans. Then we headed out to our third day of service at the nursery. We continued with similar work that we had been doing the past two days. We sanded down seeds, filled many bags with dirt, and planted trees. We also had the special treat of seeing a large group of cows walking along the road. After service we had a delicious meal of tacos brought to us by the amazing Dalía.

After lunch we headed back to the home bases for a quick swim and then a mandatory siesta. Many of us wanted to continue swimming however the siesta was very well needed and many of us took naps. After our relaxation we headed into town to play soccer with the kids of the community. Compared to the Costa Rican kids our soccer skills were pretty awful. After the soccer game we hung out with the kids for a while. Then we stopped at the store to buy some well deserved ice creams.

We came back to the home base to swim for an hour before having steak and rice for dinner. For our mentor groups we did an activity where we expressed in writing where we are from. We each had to write a poem that we will share later in trip.

—by Max

Thursday July 12, 2018

What’s up everyone I’m Maddy, I will be telling you about our 5th day in Costa Rica. First off we all woke up and went down to eat some breakfast Miss Dona made us some toast, cereal, and some delicious fruit, for example we had fresh coconuts from the home base. Then after breakfast we went to are last day of service at the Reforestation Nursery, before we planted some seeds Tom asked us if we could help him push his truck and get it to start. After the hard pushes we gave to Tom trucks, it decided not to start so we stopped and then he taught us about erosion which was cool.

After the teaching of erosion with Tom, Marcía wanted us to help her plant some seeds and put some dirt in the bags. After the hard working team finishes the job, sweet ol Dailia brings us a nice healthy lunch with veggies, rice, and some coke as a refresher. The group decides to come back to the base after a hot, hard working day. Some decide to take a fat nap while other decide to go swimming or awhile. At 3 we went to the beach to hangout for a bit, now we’re off to see the turtles.

We had a little adventure while we were finding fake eggs, it started to rain and we were in sand and we got all muddy and It was amazing for me not for others. We had dinner which was bread and this Lentio soup, and avocado which was so good. Now for the end of the night, we had a little chat and now we’re off to bed, I hope you liked this blog and I hope you have a great day!!!

Friday July 13, 2018

Hi my name is Liesel Hernandez and today has been filled with new adventures. We started the day off with the boys rushing out their cabin to breakfast so they wouldn’t be late because they over slept. Breakfast icluded gallopinto, eggs, toast, and coffee. Afterward, it was time to go horseback riding which let me tell you was AMAZING. Personally, I was terrified of getting on my horse but I overcame my fear. After, that we went to go drink some smoothies which were really good and hang out for a while. Later that day we went to a new beach called Playa Avenada and it was beautiful. We all ate together at the restaurant where the beach was and everyone basically got french fries. The day ended with pulse check which the mentors check up on us to see how we’re doing.

Saturday July 14, 2018

Hello!

My name is Kanaili and I’m writing the blog for July 14, 2018. A little bit about me is that I’m 16 and I live in Santa Rosa, California. Today was a very eventful day! We started our morning by walking around Santa Cruz, a pretty large town here in Guanacaste. We had a fun time walking around, looking at the shops and for me, buying overpriced bug spray because the bugs here are no joke. After walking around Santa Cruz for about an hour, we drove to a little farmer’s market that was…interesting. We were told a lot of awesome information about this market though. For many, many years before the 1990’s, farmers from the San José area and more central areas of Costa Rica would all come to Santa Cruz to sell and trade their produce. It is very difficult and expensive to produce goods in Guanacaste due to the intense dry season and bad soil. This market now is a lot smaller than it used to be. We met a man who let us try some of his delicious pineapple that he and his family produce, and it was a favorite among all of us! After wandering around the farmer’s market for a little bit we had a great lunch at a restaurant called La Terraza.

After lunch we started heading towards Monte Alto which is where we are staying tonight. Along the way we stopped at a coffee tour, which was my favorite part of the day. Personally, I love coffee so this was right up my alley. We learned a ton about the way coffee beans are harvested and processed, along with the different degrees of quality. Turns out, Starbucks does not sell high quality coffee, they buy low quality coffee beans in large quantities (to my grandma & mom, I know you’re still going to drink it though). We left the tour about an hour and a half later, and heavily caffeinated. We continued our journey to Monte Alto Nature Reserve which is where we are now. We drove up a steep hill, safely thanks to our awesome bus driver Cesar, to a lookout point and watched the sunset. We had a great time taking silly pictures in front of the beautiful view. We came back to where we are staying for the night to a delicious dinner. We then shared “I am” poems that are about who we are as individuals. We wrote them a couple nights ago during mentor groups, and sharing them out loud was another great bonding experience for our already close knit group. That was about it for our night, thank you for reading my blog entry!

Sunday July 15, 2018

Hello everyone my name is Ivet Folch. Today has been amazing thanks to our mentors and everyone who planned this trip. So start off the day at 5 am when most of us go to watch the sunrise, which we didn’t see because of the trees but it was still beautiful. Then we came back to camp for breakfast which was delicious. After breakfast we went of a little hike to learn about trees and plants, it was so beautiful. After that we swam in a waterfall, it was so much fun. At 3 pm we took the bus back home. Today in the mentors group we did an activity about the wheel of identity.

Monday July 16, 2018

Upon waking up, we fell under the realization that we only have 10 days left of the program. After a moment of silence and dread, we continued our daily routine, we started our morning off with breakfast. Breakfast consisted of toast and jam, fruit (mango, slices of watermelon, pineapple, banana), and AMAZING coffee. After breakfast, we had many options but settled on splitting up into groups. Some of us would swim and the rest of us would cross the street and order smoothies and leech off of the free WIFI. Then we hurried onto lunch together!

Then Cesar (our bus driver, also the coolest man on earth) picked us up and we went to the beach. It was a very calm day. Some of us gathered at a table and ordered shish kabobs and snow cones. While the rest of the group was either enjoying the waves or sun-bathing.

Afterwards, we returned to home base and had time to change and get ready for the beach AGAIN but this time with a sunset. We went to another beach this time. We met up with Alexis, Matt, and David. Sadly, we missed the sunset. We had to walk to the pizza place for dinner and as we were walking we looked up and finally saw the sunset we failed to see on the beach. It was amazing like all sunsets are. The pizza was way better though. We all had dinner together, including Cesar, Marcia, and Alberto.

We enjoyed SEVERAL slices of pizza. They all just kept coming. So many options. All we were missing was chicken wings but alas, we can’t have it all. I made a new friend named Snow! She was the coolest little girl ever. It was very sad having to say goodbye when we had to leave. Marcia also taught me more about my film camera, she is the kindest lady ever. I had an amazing time. It was honestly a very relaxing day which would prepare us for the next day of soccer.

-by Hailey Hutcherson

Tuesday July 17, 2018

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of gallo de pinto, scrambled eggs, and toast. We then headed off to our first school service day in a small town named Guapote. There were only 10 students in the school all of varying ages. We did 5 different activities with the students all related to water conservation and understanding of the watershed here in Guanacaste. All of the kids were very involved in the activities and we left our service covered in face paint with smiling faces waving goodbye at us.

After a delicious lunch of noodle and vegetables we took a quick siesta before heading off to a soccer game in Río Seco. We were once again crushed by the locals. However a Tyler and Liesel both scored their first ever goals in soccer! After soccer we headed to our second cafecito at the same place as last time. We played with the large quantity of pets that the family had for a while and drank coffee. We also learned about Hocara which is a fruit that Costa Ricans use for many different things.

Upon arrival at the home base we were greeted by our three furry friends and a lovely diner of fish, chicken, and french fries. After dinner we did a mentor activity on what we want the world to be like and how a small change can spread quickly and affect many people. We then headed to bed early, exhausted from a long day of playing with the kids.

-by Dillan

Wednesday July 18, 2018

Buenos días! Alyssa here!! It’s my turn to blog yay!!

So this morning we had a DELICIOUS breakfast of pancakes and syrup. Then, we got ready for the day. Today we went to a place called Casa Del Sol where we learned about solar ovens and how to cook food inside of them. We had 4 plates of food to put inside; chocolate cake, cookies with sesame seeds, manduras which is a sweet plantain with sauce on top, and rice.

After we got shown the ovens and how they work, we took a nice walk to the Parcel Del Sol where we met a man named Don Juan José who is the caretaker of the Paracel, and he introduced us to different types of trees and plants that they are growing and the nutrients they contain. A lot of the plants, we learned and saw, had a lot of properties to help with cancer which was really interesting. During the tour, it started to rain so we had to cut it short and go back to La Casa Del Sol to have lunch.

While we were waiting for the lunch to be ready, Don Juan José talked to us about composting and the proper way to set up a compost. You need first separate your natural waste from your plastic waste. Then the order you put the waste is first the dry leaves and dirt, then put on top of that the fresh, natural waste, then put on top of that water, after water first and then on top of the dirt you put more dry leaves and sticks and repeat. Dad, if you’re reading this you can try this to help with our composting since it never works 😘🤪

For lunch we had the food that was made in the solar ovens which was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The chocolate cake was the best cake I had every tasted in my life. The rice and beans were so rich with moisture, and the plantains were sweet and light. A Very, VERY satisfying lunch. After lunch the ladies offered a cafecito and ,(mostly) everyone loving coffee here, said yes.

While drinking our coffee, Don Juan José wanted us to gather around in a circle in our chairs. There we first sang a couple songs. Tyler and I sang a little duet, and then Marcia shows us 2 different types of songs that she knew.

After singing, Don Juan lead us in a division about businesses and negotiating. We talked about genetically modified organisms and how business take advantage of the diseases that they cause. Therefore they are able to create medication to solve them. This enabled them to have a monopoly on two sides of the market. When our discussion ended we said our thank you and goodbyes and headed to the bus to go to our pottery demonstration.

We arrived at the pottery place and watched Doña Susan and Don Jesus , who started the family pottery business, create a vase. It was so interesting the way he HAND MADE the pottery and put so much effort into making these beautiful paintings and vases.

We shopped around the pottery store and then headed over to our favorite activity LA PULPERIA!!! The pulpería is just a little market where we go buy a bunch of snacks and ice-cream. The first one we went to ended up being closed so we stopped at another one closer to the base. By this time it’s raining on and off so we are running to the bus to make sure we don’t get soaked.

After shopping we went back to the home base and watched a snake show! Vinchenzo only spoke Spanish so his wife was there with him and she was translating. He gave us a presentation about venomous and non-venomous snakes in Costa Rica, how to distinguish venomous or non-venomous bites, and more information on snakes. He brought two different types of snakes: a very common one here in Costa Rica called Coral , and another snakes called arcoíris because of its skin in the light is multiple colors. We all held the arcoíris snake, her name was Pepe and she was so precious.

When the snake show finished we all went back to our cabins and got ready for PROM! Let me explain. 3 girls, Kanili, Vivian, and Sarah H, came up with a half-week spirit week and each evening until Saturday we are dressing up. Tonight was prom so we all dressed in pretty dresses and after dinner had a dance partayyyyy! Tomrorow is decades, Friday is stealth, and Saturday is meme/vine day!

So we have an exciting week coming up as it is our 2nd to last week unfortunately. This has been such an amazing trip so far and I can’t wait for the next days with these awesome people.

Buenas noches, and pura vida!

Love,

Alyssa Hernandez

Thursday July 19, 2018

Hey everyone! Viv back once again. Today officially marks two weeks that we’ve been here, which means we only have one more week together, sadly. We started the morning bright and early at 7:00 with toast, eggs, and gallo pinto (my personal favorite breakfast combo here). It was our second day at a local school, and this time it was at Venado School. Marcía, our international director, had activities based around water conservation planned for the children and assigned groups of us to run each one. We prepared all the materials after breakfast and set out to meet a new group of smiling, eager kids. Upon arriving to the school, we were greeted by a group of 1st & 2nd graders and a group of 3rd & 4th graders. We spent the morning doing the activities with each group, and it was so much fun. All the kids were adorable and sweet and easy to work with.

As we left for lunch at Lagartos beach, many of the kids we worked with came up and gave us hugs. Aww right? It was bittersweet and such a great feeling to know that the kids enjoyed our company. For lunch, we had Dalia Express for the last time, and it was delicious per usual. She cooked a flavorful meal of rice and chicken, plátanos, and cooked beans. It was the first meal we ever tasted from her, and many of us enjoyed it as the last. The food here is no joke; every meal is SO good. We ate lunch at the beach and chilled there for a while before returning to the hotel to have some pool time. We left at 4:30 to Playa Negra to see the sunset and WOW the beach was crazy beautiful. The waves were turquoise-blue and the sky was mostly clear. A lot of photos and videos were taken of course, and we returned to Doña Maria’s by 6:45 for a dinner of plantains, maduros, rice, and beans. We ended the night off with mentor groups, and here’s to an amazing last week!

-Viv

Friday July 20, 2018

Today we started out eating breakfast which was cereal and yogurt and fresh fruit. After that we went to the school in the town Veinte Siete De Abril. We did the same five activities that we been doing at all the different schools. Our group was split into two and we were each put with a first grade class. We started by learning each other’s names by playing a game with an inflatable globe. Then we played another game using a water meter to see how much water we use in one day.

Then we played a third game in which we formed a river and passed beans to simulate rain falling at different speeds depending on the season. The fourth game had dice and the children have to go to different stations to show all of the sources that contain water and use water. The final activity was with sponges, and Haley and Tyler accidentally put way too much food coloring on the sponges.

All of the kids had food coloring all over their hands and some of their clothes however they still had a lot of fun. We were supposed to do service from 8 to 12, but it was cut short because the teachers needed to have an important meeting. After, we stopped by Guapote school to check on the plants that the precious group planted there and to our dismay the plants had been ruined and the garden had been disassembled due to the fact that the school needed computers for the kids. However the workers did not have enough decency to save the plants that have been planted over hours and many months of them growing.

After that we went back to our homebase and relaxed a little bit before lunch. For lunch we had chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, and beans.This was a very delicious meal. Then most of us got into the pool and swam for a couple hours. Around 4 we all crowded back into the bus and headed to Henry’s farm for a cafecito and tour. They gave us tortillas and either lemonade or coffee to drink. After this many of us were expecting to take a nice short walk however we soon found out that it was more of a hike and all completely uphill.

After about 30 minutes of trekking uphill we made it to the top for a panoramic view with the ocean in the distance. We were able to rest for a little bit and see the beginning of the sunset from the top of the hill. We then walked back down to the bottom of the hill and headed back to the Home Base for a lovely dinner of quesadillas. For our mentor activity we did a role play of greetings in different cultures and then discussed cultural differences.

¡Pura Vida!

-Tyler and Sarah H

Saturday July 21, 2018

Today we woke up to a beautiful breakfast of eggs, toast and gallo pinto. After we loaded into the bus and drove about 45 minutes to Tamarindo. When we got there we walked around a cute little farmers market for about 30 minutes. We then picked a meeting spot and were allowed to go around and shop in groups. We had to check in twice during the day, but other than that we were free to shop within the town. All morning we walked around and went into small boutiques and souvenir store. Personally i was surprised by the prices in many stores so we had to find the thriftier stores to buy stuff in.

Around mid afternoon we started to get tired and our wallets were much lighter. The phrase “shop till you drop” really came into play around 3:00 when all 12 of us were sitting in a coffee shop with wifi waiting for Cesar to come pick us up. At 4 we left Tamarindo and drove about an hour pretty much all on a dirt round to Playa Callejones. When we got there we walked a little bit along the beach where we found Matt. He brought us to a clearing where an Argentinian Barbecue was being prepared for us. Many of us were already full however the smell of the food quickly changed that. We even had a dessert for the first time on the trip of grilled pineapple. After the BBQ we headed back to the home base and went to bed exhausted from a long day of shopping

-Sarah H

Sunday July 22, 2018

Hello everyone! It’s Sarah H again! Today we woke up and had a different breakfast than we normally have. We had eggs with refried beans and cheese. We then all got ready to head across the street for zip lining. When we got there we signed a waiver, got or harnesses, and headed to the top of the mountain in a large truck. There were 11 different lines that we went on all of varying heights and distances. Some of them we were even allowed to go upside down on. On a few of the lines we had to go tandem because of how long the line was. We even had two people conquer their fear of heights on the course! After an exhausting 2 hours of zip lining we headed to Cafe Internet for some smoothies and wifi.

For lunch we had spaghetti and meat sauce and then we had the entire afternoon to relax. Many of us went into the pool and tried to tan. We even had a girl who took their senior photos here at the home base. Later in the afternoon many of us gathered around the TV to watch some netflix on the couches. Tonight was the final day of our mini spirit week and it was meme day. Only a few people participated but the ones who did did an amazing job. For dinner we ate tomato soup, plantains, and tortillas. At nights we played GLA related jeopardy with the categories being service, food, environment, and slang. The winners were cabin 6 which included Kanaili, Vivian, and I. We then watched more netflix and headed off to bed.

¡Pura Vida!

Monday July 23, 2018

Today we woke up at the normal time and ate a wonderful breakfast of toast, fruit, and yogurt. We then headed back to Veintesiete de Abril school to do the water exercises with different grades. We split off into our two groups and first worked with the 5th and 6th graders. They were fun to work with because we could ask harder questions and they understood what we were explaining. At around 10:30 we switched to working with the younger kids however we did not have much time because there was an assembly at 11. We decided to attend the assembly with all the kids to celebrate the annexation do Nicoya to Costa Rica. The holiday is July 25 but they celebrated it in school early.

After the assembly we went back to the home base and ate some rice, chicken, and zucchini for lunch. We then had about an hour of siesta to relax. However some of us decided to hang by the pool and go swimming. We then were scheduled to have a dance lesson however we were all exhausted so we did some meditation and yoga to get our energy back up. We then headed to a cafecito and we were accompanied by about 20 children. We brought lots of arts and crafts supplies to use with the children. We did a lot of face painting, jump rope, and I taught the kids how to make fortune tellers. After about 2 hours of playing with the kids we all said our goodbyes and headed into the bus covered in face paint. For dinner we ate hamburgers and fries. At night we all hung out and watch some netflix. Tomorrow is our last day here at Angeles so we also started to pack a little bit.

-Sarah H