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Monday June 11, 2018

Hola!
Aquí estamos! We have all made it safely here to Costa Rica. The rain pounded the roof at the airport but luckily as the last students trickled in we were greeted by a full rainbow to commence our time here in Guanacaste. Now at the home base, the students are moved into their cabins with bellies full from a homey pasta dinner made by the lovely women here at the eco-hotel. It is already evident that these weeks will be filled with lots of laughs, many bugs in our shoes, and individual growth as we get to explore out into Costa Rica and into ourselves as we find our place here in this space.

It’s only 8pm but the night is dark and the frogs and crickets fill the air with their song. I have high hopes for this group and extreme excitement for them to get to know this magical place. There is a saying here in Costa Rica—Pura Vida—that people use as a greeting and a goodbye but also say just in passing. Literally it means pure life and I’m hoping that the students truly get to experience a small bit of what it means to the people here. I am currently watching the students form their community agreement and am excited to watch them grow into a small family as we go on this adventure and push ourselves to try new things and meet new people!

I’ll leave you with the saying that is said so often here in Costa Rica, with hopes that your children will be able to explain to you it’s meaning!

Pura Vida!

Adiós,
Kilee Davis (International Director)

Tuesday June 12, 2018

We started the morning with a big ray of sunshine, shining through our cabin windows. It was a rough sleep with the monkeys jumping and screeching at 3am. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, rice and beans, we walked across the street to go horseback riding! Luckily only one person fell off. After the horseback riding adventure we hopped off and had some delicious fresh fruit to tie us over till lunch time. We got back to home base and had to take a swim test.

After that we chilled in the pool for a little while. We then had a tasty lunch of rice, beans, salad, picadillo and plantains. After our lunch we played some games to get to know each other some more. Later, Matt filled our brains with knowledge about watersheds. We had some free time where we went to a nearby beach to run around and let some (non existent) energy out of our bodies. We finished off the day with a scrumptious meal of tamales and salad. The fresh juices make the meals even better! With our tummies and minds happy and full, we sang some acapella to finish the night out.

Xoxo Alex

Wednesday  June 13, 2018

We woke up bright and early, ready for another amazing day here in Costa Rica. For breakfast, the Angeles Ecolodge staff prepared for us-a variety of fruits including papaya, pineapple, bananas, watermelon, with also some toasted bread with butter and jam. After that we loaded the bus and headed off to Playa Blanca. Different to the beach we had seen yesterday. This beach was full of little and big rocks. Everyone immediately dove into the ocean and tried to navigate their ways through the rough currents.

After having cooled off some people hung up their ENOs and relaxed while others others watercolored with Marcia. Later we headed to a nearby park to have lunch. The chicken, rice, and vegetables were delicious. On the way back we made a pit stop at a tiendita and each bought ice cream. We also stopped at El Centro verde where Tom showed us around and gave us a branch of little bananas that everyone devoured. Back at the home base we had some free time. Some went swimming and others played UNO. Then Marcia came and gave us a presentation on the most common animals in Costa Rica and we all got to work planning activities for service tomorrow. To finish off the day we had everyone’s favorite-chicken and French fries.

Adios,
Ximena

Friday June 15, 2018

Yesterday, our early Costa Rican morning started with an American meal for breakfast, a ham and cheese sandwich. We then began with practicing our Spanish phrases for the school later this morning. At 8:00, we departed to the school to teach the children about the diverse wildlife in the area. We played an interactive bingo game to help them to respect and understand their surrounding. In the schools, we split into our two groups and spent around 4 hours with the children. We began by introducing ourselves and spending time doing different activities with them. We played soccer as well as practiced our Spanish.

We all developed special relationships with them and became very close with them in the few fours we spent together. As we left from our amazing journey, the children waved and gave hugs, sad to see us go. We then enjoyed a hearty meal of beans and eggs for lunch. To rest after a hard working morning, we relaxed in the pool to then prepared for the rest of the day. The rest of the day consisted of local dance lessons followed by a hike in coffee fields. Thankfully, only one person broke a toe nail and got chased by a goat. We made it to the top of the beautiful mountain and later bought some local honey. On our way home we listened to some throwback jams to let out the rest of our energy. Our day ended with a great meal and group reflection. ¡Adios!

Saturday June 16, 2018 

Today was a fun and exciting day filled with adventure! We started our day with fresh coconut milk, cereal, and beautiful fruits. We then all loaded up on the bus filled with excitement, knowing we were on our way to Santa Cruz, the historically packed city in the center of Costa Rica. We had time to explore and buy some goodies as well. We then hopped back on the bus and headed to the local farmers market stuffed with fresh veggies, fruits, and impactful stories from local vendors. One of our most exciting stops was a coffee tour where we learned about how coffee is made and produced compared to big companies.

We did a walking tour in the pouring rain and then rejoined for fresh coffee, treats, and gifts. Our next stop was a small town center in one of the first Costa Rican cities. We met with a local and our lodging host to hear stories of the past. We headed to our home base for the night and unloaded. We then quickly got back on our feet and went on a beautiful nature hike where we saw waterfalls, bugs, and wildlife. After that, we came back to the home base and enjoyed a delicious dinner of beans, rice, and chicken. Lastly we had a relaxing meditation hour, and then peacefully fell asleep cozy in our beds.

We made an awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 16 Video

—by Sophie Balis

 

Sunday June 17, 2018

This morning we woke up in a new reserve. We ate eggs, fruit, bread, and the traditional rice and beans. After breakfast we headed up to our hike. We went on a hike and some of us decided to go on the short hike and some of us decided to go on the long walk. I ended up going on the long walk and while we were walking we saw so many beautiful things. We saw a lot of mangos, ants carrying leaves, and bees. We also came across a stream of water where we were able to cross and stop to enjoy the sound and the sound around us. We also got a chance to bathe ourselves with the water and drink it. We were all amazed by the taste of the water. The trail led to a house, which was beautiful and very colorful. Up there we were able to see the beautiful view and see some amazing things. We were able to see a couple of bats and lizards and also a squirrel and a woodpecker.

After that we continued our walk and headed back down where everyone else was painting. We spent an hour painting the beauty we saw and at the same time eating some fresh fruit. After we were done we headed to another reserve for another walk. We walked up to the top of a big grassy hill. We were able to look at the beautiful view and of course take many pictures. After we were at the top we went back down and got back on the bus and drove back to the place we were staying at for the weekend. Once we arrived we had a delicious meal prepared for us. We had the options of chicken, pasta salad, salad, beans, rice, and tortillas. It was all very good. After lunch we drove back to our home base. Before getting to the home base we stopped by a market to buy some goodies. When we got back we did a communication activity, which didn’t end up that good, but after we were able to swim and cool off. After we came down we were served some amazing food. After that we did mentor groups and then went to bed.

Love,

Nicole

Monday June 18, 2018

The morning started bright and early as we had breakfast at 7:00. Breakfast included toast, eggs, and of course, rice and beans. After breakfast, we all packed up and headed to a new school called Las Delicias. Before leaving, we spent quality time as a group bonding with the dogs, Kira and Laura. After arriving at the school, we brought out our inner kid by playing soccer and jump rope. We spent all morning with the kids educating them about the importance of respecting the animals around them. After our lesson, we spent more time with them picking up trash, playing sports, and helping serve lunch.

After finishing up at the school, we headed back to home base where we ate fish, rice, beans, and fried plantains. We then had some down time before heading to Playa Avellanas. We spent a couple of hours at the beach playing in the sand, in the waves, and with the dogs. The dogs were definitely one of the highlights of the day as they ran around, splashing in the water. After spending 3 hours at the beach, the crew went back to the home base where they ate dinner consisting of soup with avocado and cheese. After dinner, each camper did a Pulse Check with one of the mentors, where they were able to talk to the mentors about the week that has flown by. After finishing Pulse Checks, we hung out as a group before heading to our cabins after a long day.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

We started our morning off with our usual breakfast and went to the school that we first did our service at. During the service, Marcia helped us with explaining the animals that are living in Costa Rica, we handed the kids coloring papers to color the animals, and played bingo. After saying good bye to the kids and eating lunch, we played soccer with the kids who attend the second school we went to. Then we had some free time; some of us were in the pool, and some of us stayed in our cabins to rest. Then we ate dinner and shared our personal stories for mentor activities.

-Katie

Wednesday June 20, 2018

Today was a day of hard work for the group. We went to a new school for our lesson and afterwards we started beautifying the surrounding community. There were pits of half-burnt trash and thousands of bottle caps bejeweled to the earth. We worked in the blistering sun until Dalia arrived on her motorcycle with delicious tacos and coke. Later, we played more soccer with our friends David, Matias, Justin, and many more. We finished the night with a Coco viewing, and we all loved it.

We miss you all!

And happy birthday Mom!

-Hannah

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 20 Video

Thursday June 21, 2018

We started off the day with corn flakes and fruit for breakfast. Then we went Guapote where we planted many different types of plants around the school. After, we returned to home base where we had some free time. Then we went out to a pizza restaurant for a birthday celebration. We ended our day with a mentor group activity at home base.

— Annika

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 21 Video

Friday June 22, 2018

We started off our day with a breakfast of beans, rice, and toast. After, we headed off to visit a women’s cooperative sustainable farm. On our way there, we stopped in a small town to learn the traditional method of making pottery. There were no machines or even electric wheels; everything was done by hand. At the sustainable farm we learned how you can harvest solar energy to cook meals and have them taste just as good. Later on, we visited a wildlife rescue center and saw jaguars, spider monkeys, ocelots, and many more. To finish off our day, we had a delicious soup with a side of potatoes and corn.

Love,
Emma

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 22 Video

Saturday June 23, 2018

After starting the morning off with some freshly made empanadas we waited for our favorite bus driver Cesar to come pick us up. We then headed to Tamarindo where we went to the farmers market. Then we had hours of free time to do A LOT of shopping, eating, swimming and relaxing on the beach. After Tamarindo we then headed to a small and secured beach called Playa Callejones. We were able to swim for a little and have a quick snack while watching a breath taking sunset and of course taking many photos. We ended our day with music, a couple free style singing and rapping, laughter, and as always good food.

-Love ya girl Leyah 🙂

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 23 Video

Monday June 25, 2018

Today we started off with some fresh watermelon and some Costa Rican pancakes. After breakfast we went to the beach and did a scavenger hunt. After the beach, we had to stop by a soda to get us some yummy snacks before we got to the home base. For lunch we had beef, beans, rice, and salad. After lunch we had free time and then we had a snake workshop. After learning about snakes we had dinner. We ate a chicken sandwich with fries. After dinner we played some jeopardy and then headed off to our cabins to get some sleep.

Love,
Nicole

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 25 Video

Tuesday June 26, 2018

After waking up to some delicious breakfast as always, we started our day off early with heading to blank where we were able to teach the kids about the water use and conserving water in Costa Rica with some game we had made. Hours past and the wonderful Dalia came to bring us lunch where we ate rice, beans, chicken, and some veggies. Shortly after we headed back to the base to get ready for our final soccer game with the kids from the local school. We ended our day with great food, group activities, laughter, and some good bonding

Again from ya girl Leyah 🙂

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 26 Video

Wednesday June 27, 2018

We started of the day by having eggs, rice, beans, and tortillas for breakfast. After breakfast, we loaded the bus and headed to the school we would be working at today. Kinder Florida was located in the mountains and had approximately fifty students. Once we got there, we broke off into groups and prepared for the water dynamic activities we had prepared. The first activity we did was called “El Planeta Azul”. The purpose of this activity was to learn what percentage of the world was covered with water. On top of that, it was a good way for everyone to introduce themselves.

Another activity we did was called “Agua Para Todos”. This activity aimed to show how in different time periods, different amounts of water were used. To demonstrate this we used water, sponges, and food coloring (to show the contamination of water). The children got very competitive and had a good time participating in this activity. During our down time we played a fun game of mafia. After completing all the activities and saying goodbye to the kids, we got back on the bus and headed back to home base. For lunch we had rice, beans, beets, chicken and vegetables. Everyone enjoyed this lunch, saying it was one of the best so far. Ready to cool down, we headed to Playa Avellana. Here we swam, relaxed, and got smoothies from a restaurant called “lola’s”. On our way back, we stopped at a tiendita to get ice cream as well as other snacks. To finish off the day, we had chips, beans, salad, and mozzarella sticks for dinner.

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 27 Video

Thursday June 28, 2018

Today was an extremely busy day! We had a nice breakfast of cereal and fruit! We spent time with the kids at Las Delicias, teaching them about the importance of water in the watershed. It was very difficult for many of the students to say their goodbyes to the kids who they had become so close with. We spent our afternoon back at homebase, relaxing and packing. We then enjoyed a dinner together before more time off. At 8:30, we left for La Playa Ostional where we searched for turtles laying eggs on the nearby beach. We saw a couple of turtles laying approximately 80-120 eggs in each of their holes. It was incredible to see the process of them laying their eggs. We got back to homebase after a long and exhausting day at around 2:00 am.

We made an another awesome video of our day that you can download here —-> June 28 Video

Friday June 29, 2018

Today was a day of rest and relaxation as we prepared to depart from Angeles. Following our late-night rendezvous with the turtles, we slept until 10am for a late breakfast. Some of us dropped into the pool and I showed everyone the baby puercospín (Central American porcupine) that I discovered. Afterwards, we headed across the street to grab smoothies and relax as the storm rolled in. Then we went to Junquillal for some beautiful black sand and calm cerulean waves. We finished the night with our last dance party at Angeles.

We miss you all!

Writing by Hannah, Photos by Emma

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Saturday August 4, 2018

We are writing to you from our lovely home base in Santa Teresa as we sit down for our first breakfast together. All of our students are here safe and sound and we are all very excited to begin our Initiative for Children program! Everyone arrived safely in San Jose yesterday. Several students got to experience lunch in a Costa Rican mall while waiting for the rest of their peers to arrive.

As we headed to our secluded home-away-from-home, we admired the Costa Rican countryside (or slept) on our three-hour bus ride. We arrived home, unpacked and got to know our new roommates. We got a good nights sleep listening to the sound of jungle rain and frogs. We are excited to get started with orientation today before getting into service and cultural activities starting tomorrow. Be on the lookout for more updates on our adventures coming soon!

Sunday August 5, 2018

Today the group went on a tour to the pineapple farm. They got a chance to see pineapple being picked and how they grow. During the tour the group got to taste the sweet pineapples fresh from the plantation. After the pineapple tour the group ate pineapple marmalade and crackers along with drinking Virgin Pina Colada´s. After the pineapple tour the group went back to Homebase and relax for a little bit before eating lunch. After lunch they went on a 2 and a half long hike through the Costa Rican mountains. After the hike the group again relaxed for an hour before eating dinner.

Monday August 6, 2018

Today we began our day with our first day of service. Our service groups visited two schools, Bella Vista and Santa Teresa. Both groups interacted with the students and worked in the garden. After our long and exciting time at the schools we returned to home base for time at the lake. At the lake we kayaked, sunbathed, and played pool. We then came together for a lesson taught by Rosie about how to teach the young Costa Rican students English. At the lesson we came up with ideas about how to teach different topics such as learning numbers, colors, classroom objects, etc. After our lesson we had a leadership activity which was a mock debate about FIFA in Brazil. We played roles with different groups/stances involved in the issue. We learned to understand both sides of arguments and come to an agreement. We finished our day with a nice dinner and games.

Tuesday August 7, 2018

This morning we each went to our service schools where we played with the kids, and got some yard work done. both us and the kids had a lot of fun even with the rainy weather. we taught the kids animals, days of the week, and prepared them for an english spelling bee which will take place tomorrow along with other english activities which we will be a part of.

After having lunch at the home base, we went on a boat safari and rafted along the San Carlos river. we saw many crocodiles as well as iguanas, monkeys, and sloths. it was funny seeing people falling into the water and pushing each other around as well as having splash wars between the three rafts. at around 6 we came back to home base, and had dinner.

Wednesday August 8, 2018

The day started at 8:00 a.m, when we left to go to our school. today we worked in the garden and we had some time playing around with the kids. we played kickball and some dancing.

At 11:30 a.m. we came to home base and we went to the lake until lunch was ready. after lunch and a nice break we had a chat about Costa Rican coffee ☕️, we learned a lot and actually we got to try some coffee( it was yummy 😋).

At 5:00 p.m.we had a Russian class, it was super super fun, everyone enjoyed it. After we had a mentors meeting and we got to talk about our sentimental life which was very emotional but it helped us bond more together.

Nicol

Today Carlos and Gabriella’s service group participated in an English festival. The day started off with an hour of hard work in the garden, because the children at the school were to come in an hour late for the festival. The English festival consisted of a dance to “Old McDonald” which was followed by two singing performances and a puppet show. Three of the volunteers participated in a dance rendition of Jailhouse Rock, which was followed by the Spelling Bee. Jose, a sixth grader, emerged victorious and will go on to compete against other schools. After service, the entire group enjoyed some lake time. Following that, Alfredo taught us about coffee and we learned the reason why his tastes so much better than other brands. After consuming a fair amount of caffeine, there was a large period of free time. During this Abbi A., Anne, and Nina taught a Russian class. Free time was followed by mentor sessions, and finally, a delicious dinner of burgers and fries.

-by Trissy

Thursday August 9, 2018

Hey fellas! It’s your pals Carly and Alexa coming at ya from Costa Rica! Today was super fun. Half of the group got to experience Carlos’ school and help work in the garden! We did the Macarena and the school girls taught us cool dances. It was quite the FIESTA! The other group went to Gabi’s school! Carly cleaned gutters! Then, we all took a nice long dip in the lake, some of us even dared to jump from the tower, but not all. After the “LAKE BREAK”, us and our fellow internet hungry friends took a trip to the Iguana Cafe! This bop had free wifi, which was really slow, but usable. Many of our amigos FaceTimed their friends and families back home! We got ice cream, (Alexa got strawberry and Carly got chocolate!), and some friends purchased gifts. Safe to say it was a thrifty time. After the cafe, we went to ‘Su Casa’ which is a local supermarket!!! We shared our shopping cart with many amigos and it was quickly filled with ice cream, cookies, chips, and cereal with milk for our british friend Gordy. His name is Gordon, but Sofia mispronounced it within the first few days… thus, Gordy was born.Then, we paid for our snacks and hopped back on the Juan Ca mobile. For our amigos that aren’t with us, Juan Ca is our conductor! For those who don’t speak spanish, Juan Ca is our DRIVER!

On the way home, we had a real fiesta and BLASTED throwback songs including Tik Tok by Ke$ha and Low by T-Pain! However, a storm was brewing. On the bus, lighting struck just feet away from the mobile and the thunders roared as our fearless driver took us to safety. However nobody noticed the hardships ahead because we were distracted by the music! Honestly, the bus was POPPIN’! Soon, the lighting began lighting up the Juan Ca mobile and the music could not hide the fear any longer. Once we got back safe and sound, I (Alexa) ran off the bus and did a backflip onto the patio and wiped out, dropping my cellular. I am slightly bruised, but ALIVE, and that’s all we can ask for. Everyone ate dinner in the storm, until a DEADLY ROAR brought everyone to screams. Our amigos and I huddled together for safety and were quickly sent back to our rooms. We are writing to you now, safe and sound, letting you know we have ALL survived. We thank our fearless Juan Ca and our helpful mentors for keeping us ALIVE. The storm is silencing and soon we will all sleep sound. Cameron’s necklace, that was given to him by the aliens that abducted him, is keeping me and my roommates safe. With this power I vow to protect the entire GLA group. Sofia has just informed us about a song about a ‘Gnome Mobile’ because our Juan Ca mobile reminded her of it. Now Sofia is showing us the video from her childhood. We really are a family here in Costa Rica.

Signing out,
For now,
Not forever,
Just for now,
Alexa and her faithful companion Carly Michelle.

Friday August 10, 2018

What’s cracka lackin’ amigos?! It’s Alexa and her pal Carly back at ya with another daily update! Luckily the storm stopped last night and we were able to return to our normal activities with no casualties! We went back to the same schools we were at yesterday and continued our service. Carlos’ group played a game with the older kids which resulted in Cameron having to dance like a chicken, do push ups, and dance awkwardly. It’s important to note that Cameron was NOT wearing the magic necklace (given to him by aliens) when forced to perform these actions.

After returning home, we had lunch and a small break where some of the group members took another dip in the lake. Soon enough, it was time to travel to the cow farm where we watched cows get milked by machines. Some of us even tried our HAND at milking! These brave amigos included Lauren, Sabine, Tricie, Abby, and our british friend Gordy. On the way back we stopped at a local Wawa type of thing and got ice cream! Finally, we returned back to home base. Gabi and Sophia played some real bops and got the Juan Ca mobile back to it’s hyped up self.

Soon enough we were all involved in a group activity. We were told to get into pairs with people we did not know very well and take a stroll with them around the base. The objective was to find 3 connections with your partner. After, we went to mentor groups. In mine, we watched a video about how the meat industry negatively affects the Earth’s water consumption, and it was safe to say we were all vegans until dinner. Soon we were at dinner, where we happily enjoyed our chicken wings, and then just hung out. I’m actually writing to you while my new friends are playing some sort of Russian game with cards. Sabine has just discovered hula hoops and it is safe to say it is our Gordy’s’ first time ever using, and possibly seeing, one.

Signing out,
Alexa
and Carly did nothing.

Saturday August 11, 2018

Hey what’s up its JC and Kayla! We had a great day today despite the fact that we had to reschedule horse back riding due to the incredibly unfortunate mudslide 😀 !! First we went shopping for souvenirs in La Fortuna, parents watch out for gifts when we come back ;). Next we went zip lining. It was lots of fun!! We had a beautiful view from the trees as we zoomed through the air. You can say the day ZIPPED BY. AHAHAHAHA. On our way back to home base, we stopped in La Fortuna again for some scrumptious ice cream. Yum. On the ride back, we listened to more music.

We all jammed to the music and we continued the dance party when we got back to home base. Then people hung out in the lake and finally, after multiple days of waiting, Cameron finally jumped from the tower!! He landed safely in the water. He even jumped twice! We all cheered as he jumped the second time, he obviously had a blast. Right now we are all heading to the treehouse to wind down before bed. We’re all probably just going to talk about the day and random things. All in all, the day was amazing, especially the zip lining.

Signing off til next time, JC and Kayla.

PS : Rice is life

Sunday August 12, 2018

Hey y’all guess who it is! We are back and better than ever to tell you about day 10. The day was amazing before it even began because we weren’t going to have breakfast until 9:00! On top of THAT, our amazing chef Luis put chocolate chips in our pancakes! After we ate a yummy meal we hopped on the Juan Ca mobile and headed off to the stables for horse back riding. On the way there, we listened to Country music to get in the spirit ;). Alexa’s Tim Mcgraw was denied by all and Carly “saved the day” by playing Sam Hunt. Once we got there, the stable keepers chose the perfect horse for each of us and we were on our way. On our ride we encountered many obstacles! Luckily our trained horsies were able to maneuver through streams, mud piles, and lots of branches. They were even able to escape the wrath of Abby’s evil horse that kept biting the others. With the fun, came quite a view, (and we don’t just mean us in cute helmets and saddles). We saw a huge volcano and mounds of glorious mountains (see the photos). After the trail, we dismounted from the horses with minimal chaffing.. for the lucky ones 🙁

On the way home, everybody was Country’d out so we bopped to some more throwbacks. It’s safe to say that the 3 boys on our journey are DONE WITH US. I don’t know how much more Selena Gomez and Hannah Montana they can take. JC has resorted to headphones, while Cameron and Gordy try their hardest to drown us out and sleep on the rides. Our fabulous leaders of the day included Carly herself and Tricie. They made a great team and made sure we all got home safe. While riding home, we noticed the beautiful cotton candy sunset in the back. Juan Ca, being the fabulous man he is (see photo), stopped the mobile for us to take pictures! He even climbed atop his mobile to shoot us from above. Quite the photo sesh we had in the middle of the road. We felt like real tourists as we stopped traffic for pictures! We ended the night with a special surprise from our mentors… a bonfire and marshmallows! We told scary Reddit User ghost stories and sang campfire songs! Have we mentioned that we really are a family here in Costa Rica?

Signing out,

Your Amigas,

Carly & Alexa

Monday August 13, 2018

Why hello there. We didn’t see you there. It’s us, Lauren and JC, about to serve you a hot steaming pile of information straight from the furnace called our day. First off, we went to our respective schools and started service. It was really fun, as some of us haven’t seen the kids for about 4 days. It was really fun because the kids all had tons of energy that they had been saving up. Actually, they are always full of energy. They were battery packs ready to go. They were the sun feeding solar plants. They… really had us running around XD. Afterwards we ate lunch, as per usual. The food was very good. We then had a bit of free time to spare. Most of us spent times in our rooms to unwind. We then drove to the hot water holes. Or for people who don’t speak unnecessary wordage, hot springs.

They were really relaxing and there were even slides! We raced each other down the slides and had a blast. Tons of people also had chicken fights. I — JC — didn’t because I am a CHICKEN. Get it?? HAHAHHAHAHA. Sorry. We also got ice cream and got back on the bus. We had another exceptional dance party on the bus and stopped by the super market again to replenish our ice cream stock. As soon as we got to home base, we ate dinner. That brings us to right now, which is us writing this blog. We currently have free time and some people are playing poker outside. Don’t worry parents, we aren’t using real money. We are having real fun though haha. We are all a bit sad that the trip is coming to a close soon, but also very excited to see you all again :D. So for now, this is adios! Au revoir! Goodbye!

Your home slices,
J.C. and Lauren

Tuesday August 14, 2018

It´s Abby! We started our day with our last day of service. The kiddos where practicing their body parts and landscapes in English today. After some learning we played with them for the rest of the day. The kids drew pictures on our arms and legs, lucky with washable markers. Other kids printed photos and made us goodbye cards. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things. We have grown so attached to these kids in such a short amount of time.

What’s happening chicos?! HERE WE GO AGAIN! It’s Alexa here to tell ya about the second half of our day! Luckily it started to storm as we got back to home base so it was almost impossible to distinguish our sad tears with the raindrops! To lighten the mood, our mentors had some great activities planned to SPICE up the afternoon! After lunch we had a dance lesson! We were all DANCING QUEENS! Those who can dance showed off their spicy moves while the ones like me tripped over their feet until it was over. But despite each of our skill levels, it was easily a lot of fun for everyone.

Right after, we had a cooking lesson with our very own Alfredo and a special guest Glenda. With Alfredo, we made empanadas! My amigos filled their empanadas with pork… cheese… mushrooms… and beans! Then Alfredo threw them in the fryer and we ate happily. After, we made VEGAN ¨hamburgers¨ with Glenda. Some of my amigos were skeptical to try them, but the experience was fun for all. After that, we had a short amount of free time before the mentors had something ELSE planned! It´s safe to say that they were trying hard to distract us from the fact that we aren´t going to be seeing our kiddies tomorrow .

In my opinion, they did a great job when they told us all to bring chairs on the lawn to watch a movie! The options were Wall-E and Mama Mia and we easily chose Wall-E. Just kidding. There’s 13 girls and three guys. If someone voted for Wall-E… nobody heard it. And haven’t you picked up on all the Mama Mia references above? On top of MAMA MIA, the mentors also surprised us with ice cream! It was the best girls night (plus Carlos and JC). Tomorrow´s our last day of service and I´m not sure if it has sunk in yet for anyone.

All 16 of us are going to Sofia and Rosie’s school to work in the garden while the kids spend the day with their moms for Mother´s day. Hopefully some of the local students will stop by for a final goodbye. That’s all we got for ya today… it´s been GREAT! Tomorrow’s leaders are me and Carly and it’s going to be an amazing last day! Families, we can’t wait to see you all and tell you about our adventures. These blogs DEFINITELY don’t catch all of the amazing details.

Signing off,

Forever,

Alexa & Abby

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Wednesday July 18, 2018

We are writing to you from our lovely home base in Santa Teresa as we sit down for our first dinner together. All of our students are here safe and sound and we are all very excited to begin our Initiative for Children program! Everyone arrived safely in San Jose and everyone was back at first base earlier than ever! Several students got to experience lunch in a Costa Rican mall while waiting for the rest of their peers to arrive.

As we headed to our secluded home-away-from-home, we admired the Costa Rican countryside (or slept) on our three-hour bus ride. We arrived home, unpacked and got to know our new roommates. We are ready for a good nights sleep listening to the sound of jungle rain and frogs. Were excited to get started with orientation tomorrow before getting into service and cultural activities starting the day after. Be on the lookout for more updates on our adventures coming soon!

Friday July 20, 2018

Hey guys!

Welcome to our blog! Day 3 was filled with lots of laughs and learning from both the GLA students and the children. We started the day out with a quick breakfast and then headed off to three different schools. Once we arrived we were greeted with huge smiles and lots of hugs. While in the classroom, we incorporated learning English into the fun activities. As some students played with the children, others got to work in the beautiful gardens. One group even got to play with a parrot! After hugging goodbye, we got on the bus and headed back for lunch. After lunch the afternoon was filled with bracelet making fun! We also discovered our true colors in mentor groups. Soon after, we had an intensive but interesting debate about children’s rights. Finishing the night off the chefs cooked us a traditional Costa Rican meal.

xoxo,

Francesca, Daley, Stella

Saturday July 21, 2018

Today was the fourth day of our Costa Rica Adventure. We started off our morning by eating a late breakfast which then transitioned to boarding the bus to the pineapple farm. There we saw first-hand the background of farming and finding a perfect pineapple. We were able to pick and taste our own pineapples! After that we enjoyed some delicious piña coladas and pineapple jam. All of us students then took our first visit to the local supermarket to stock up on snacks and necessities for future trips. Once we returned we enjoyed a game of mafia and a few hours of free time. We then enjoyed a bonding leadership activity which improved our friendships with one another and finished our day with a nice meal and a cake to celebrate Rosie’s birthday.

Your leaders of the day,

Brandon, Grace, and Viviana

Sunday July 22, 2018

Today we went on a tropical river safari. We saw many animals including howler monkeys, sloths, iguanas, crocodiles, and many more! Many groups got into a water war. After the tour we made chocolate drinks with fresh cocoa beans. We also ate handmade tortillas with “queso blanco” and plantains. When we got back to home base we enjoyed a lively game of charades. We also learned about coffee culture in Costa Rica from Alfredo. Before dinner, we had a lesson in Español to enhance our knowledge. Some of us learned pronunciation and others practiced conversations.

Pura Vida,
Maggie & Lucy 🙂

Monday July 23, 2018

Hey guys! Today was an action-packed day filled with rewarding service and a trip to the luxurious hot springs.

At school, we weeded and planted a garden. We taught some kids the alphabet, days of the week, and helped them with the upcoming spelling bee. With the remaining time we played soccer, hot potato, and picked beans in the garden.

At the hot springs, we relaxed in the warm water. After floating around various pools, we bought ice cream and chips at a snack shack.

Lots of love
Maggie, Elizabeth, Lucy, & Daley 🙂

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Today we woke up and had the usual breakfast of pancakes and pineapples. We had a little time to get ready for our day of service. Our day at the schools consisted of learning about the national holiday occurring tomorrow, the annexation of Costa Rica. (Consequently, the students have the day off tomorrow.) They showed us a presentation of traditional Costa Rican dances in costume along with homemade food. We also had time to work in the gardens and start growing some more vegetables.

Around noon, we came back to Home Base for a scenic hike around Alfredo’s property. We saw cows and walked around his lake, or Lago Santa Teresa. Since it was on the hot side today, we had time to swim in the lake. Then, we met with our mentor groups to check in with how the GLA program is going so far. In addition, we had a leadership activity that taught us the importance of accepting other cultures. Afterwards, we ate an All-American dinner of hamburgers and coke and had time to ourselves.

Written by,
Julia M., Eunice, and Christina

Wednesday July 25, 2018

Hi everyone! Today was yet another jam-packed day filled with community work, lots of rain, and ice cream! We started the day off with pancakes and headed out to work at the schools. The students at the schools didn’t attend because of the national holiday, but we took this time to tend to the garden and clean the sidewalks! One group’s work was spotted by a local farmer who gave us four pineapples, free of charge! After hours of working, we ate a delicious lunch and topped it off with fun group activities. Later, we loaded into buses and rode to a cafe which included souvenirs, ice cream, and WIFI! After making lots of phone calls and checking on social media, we returned to home base. We had dinner and concluded the night with a traditional (student-made) Brazilian dessert.

Lots of Love,

Stella and Parker

 

Thursday July 26, 2018

Today concludes our ninth day of our GLA trip. We headed out after eating breakfast to continue working on our service projects at the local schools. Students worked on picking weeds, harvesting beans and mess from the school gardens. While another group worked on continuing a mural and teaching English to the Spanish speaking children. Today was our fifth day working with the schools and it has allowed our GLA and local students to connect more personally on a broader spectrum. After lunch we headed down to a dairy farm to experience first hand on how locals integrate their culture into work. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. Everyone took something away from the dairy farm and was able to see how locals work together to provide locally and internationally. We headed back to home base and concluded the day with a leadership activity and finished with a bonfire. Until tomorrow!

Jimena, Julia, Alex

Friday July 27, 2018

Today is day 10 of the GLA trip. We had a fun filled day, starting with an early morning at the schools. There we worked on projects around the school, gardening and helping the students with various subjects. Afterwards, we came back to home base and took part in cooking and dancing classes. We learned how to cook empanadas and vegan burgers and the dancing class taught us how to bachata dance and the Costa Rican swing criollo. To end the day we watched Freaky Friday outside while enjoying a delicious desert cooked by our GLA cooking staff.

xoxo,
Grace and Megan

Saturday July 28, 2018

Hi everyone! This morning we woke up bright and early to a rainy sky and breakfast at 7AM. At 9 o´clock we boarded the buses for a two hour bus ride to a small river boat ride close to the boarder of Nicaragua. On the boat ride we saw lots of animals including monkeys, iguanas, and sloths. On the bus ride back, lots of us napped and listened to Latino music. When we arrived back at home base, we had our lunch for the day. We got a really great lunch of steak, corn, rice and beans. During free time today, we had the option of going to the lake, hanging around home base, or getting ice cream down the road. After ice cream we were able to play soccer games with the local kids who attend a school next to the field. After free time (and getting creamed at soccer by the locals) we had mentor groups, and did some group activities. Finally we ended the day with dinner and cake for Julia´s birthday (Happy Birthday Julia!!!).

Xoxo,

Tiffany, Eunice and Sophie!!!!!!!

Sunday July 29, 2018

Hey everyone,
Today is Sunday, July 29, and it was a very fun packed day. We woke up at 6 AM and ate breakfast and then loaded into the buses at 6:45. We split into two groups; one group went horse back riding and the other zip lining. We enjoyed 15 zip lines and a beautiful trail ride up the volcano on the horses. We also went to a souvenir shop in the town of la Fortuna. We headed back to the home base around 6 where we enjoyed a traditional Costa Rican stew. We ended off the day with a big thunder and lightening storm. We are all excited for our last day of service tomorrow!

-Adios!

Rachel, Eva, and Morgan

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Monday July 2, 2018

We are happy to write you from our lovely home base in Santa Teresa as we eat our first breakfast of rice and beans and pineapple. All of our students are here safe and sound and we are all very excited to begin our Initiative for Children program! Everyone arrived safely in San Jose and several flights were even early! Several students got to experience lunch in a Costa Rican mall while waiting for the rest of their 30 new best friends to arrive.

We admired the Costa Rican countryside (or slept) on our three-hour bus ride to our secluded home-away-from-home. Last night we got some rest after a long day of traveling and today we are ready to go with orientation before getting into service and cultural activities starting tomorrow. Be on the lookout for more updates on our adventures coming soon!

Wednesday July 4, 2018

On day three of our adventure, Gabriella’s group headed off to their school Escuela Santa Teresa Sur for a morning of service. During this am we started by turning up the soil in the garden to make sure the kids had a proper place to grow their food and herbs for lunches. Next, we continued the mural that the previous group had started and also got to leave our handprint as a flower petal on the wall. Once lunch time came around, we had a lot of free time to swim, read, kayak and make memories with our new friends. Furthermore, our mentors put together a leadership exercise which consisted of a debate in different groups. In my opinion, it was extremely interesting to hear everyone’s point of view on the subject we were working on. To sum up, the day was very educational and eye opening and we are all looking forward to the next 10 days!
-Thia Courchesne

Today students learned the reality of how these children learn and the environment they live in. Students worked together to create a better campus for the children. They pulled weeds, broke the group up, and power washed fences. Innovative ideas were spread all throughout the students’ thoughts on how to improve the school for the children. They ended the day with laughter and fun.
-Bianca

Our first day of service in my group was spontaneous- we did a few different projects. Similar to winter break at my school, the schools here have a two week break for a national holiday which began this Monday. Therefore, the school my group was assigned to help is locked during the break. We began our service picking up trash across the street from a town ( they do not pay for the trash truck to come for their trash, so they just toss it in a pile across the street). The local director at home base kindly paid for the bags of trash we collected to be properly taken away. After that we were driving around in hopes to find either something we could help clean or a group of kids that we could play soccer with. We eventually found a group of five boys playing on a field and joined them in a pickup game. Then our group joined another service group at their assigned school to help pull weeds and power wash a fence for the small, local school.

-Trent

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today we went into our service group schools and were preparing the garden for the new mulch, pulling weeds and yuca and breaking up the ground. We also power washed the fence to prepare for painting it and continued pairing the mural of a tree with the children and volunteers’ handprints.

Afterwards we played soccer and kickball with the kids from the village and we learned about the history of Alfred-s coffee business and tried to types of coffee. Later, we played group games and relaxed by the lake. Overall we all felt today was very rewarding, had fun, and can’t wait for future service and the excursions to come. (We also went to a supermarket and most people got snacks they had never tried before).

– Eliza, Kennedy, and Brooke

Monday July 9, 2018

Today was our first day of camp for the families and kids from the area. We were split up into groups and each group has a designated day to lead and organize the camp. Today, Sophia’s service group put together three hours of activities such as a scavenger hunt, soccer, and face paint.

Alfredo, and the local staff, even put together a lunch for all 40 of the kids that attended the camp. In the afternoon, we went to the iguana ice cream parlor and a nearby supermarket to stock stock up on snacks and necessities. It was a great day filled with lots of smiles, Pura Vida!

 

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Hello parents!

This is Anika, Katelyn, and Kennedy. After breakfast consisting of yummy pancakes, we were off on another adventure! To start the day off, we went on a hike in a national park near the ciudad Quesada. Despite the rainy weather, each of us enjoyed and made the best out of the hike to a beautiful lookout spot. Here are pictures from the hike below! Once we finished, we went to the city for lunch at a local café and ate a typical Costa Rican lunch. Later we were given the optional to go into a store and get ice cream! We enjoyed our ice cream in the central plaza nearby and returned to our home base. There, we had free time and some people swam in the lake.

After free time, we went into our mentor groups and shared an object meaningful relating to ourselves. In this activity we were able to learn more about our peers and connect to each other in a deeper sense. Alfredo made us a delicious dinner, and after we had a bonfire where we roasted marshmallows and bonded with one another. Saving the best for last, we also became really good friends with a puppy one of our mentors rescued. We decided to name him Piño since he was found next to the Piña fields. He is now a part of the GLA family! Tomorrow we are going to the Hot Springs and be ready to see a lot of smiling faces.

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Today we hosted our second day of camp for the kids and families in the community. Although it rained most of the time, we still had a soccer game, water games, an obstacle course, and plenty of crafts to keep everyone busy. We had another great turnout with over 30 plus kids. In the afternoon, we relaxed at the hot springs, where we swam and went on the slides. After the busy day, we returned to home base where we relaxed for a little bit before eating a traditional Costa Rican soup. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Pura Vida!

Jacy, Jordana, Alyssa

Thursday July 12, 2018

We started the day off with pancakes, rice and beans, eggs, and fresh pineapple and watermelon. Everything was delicious and scrumptious. We were very excited, yet anxious for the last day of the children’s camp. We had planned some soccer games, relay races, and painting. The kids had an amazing time and so did we. To finish off the first part of the day, we ate hot dogs with french fries and fruit cups.

In the afternoon, we had a dance class and a cooking class. An excellent latin dancer taught us ¨bachata¨ and ¨salsa¨, which we practiced in pairs and danced vividly to the music. In the cooking class, we made tasty empanadas and vigorones (a vegan twist on a classic Costa Rican dish). After a tiring day, we had a bit of free time in which we learned ASL from Sophie and Katelyn and at night we indulged in some delicious ice cream and peaches. Now, Sam and I sit here at the table with Gabriella poking me in the back talking about our great day. There’s only two more days left, see you soon Mom and Dad.

-Andrea and Sam

Friday July 13, 2018

Hi, this is the GLA Initiative for Children Blog! I hope you all are excited to hear about the penultimate (it means 2nd to last) full day in this program! Today was a great day for the chickens because we visited them. Anyway, back to the beginning. Today it started out raining (and it rain pretty much the whole day. We had our last day of servicio (service). Students pulled there last pieces of weeds out of the fields. They also finished painting the mural at the children’s school. Cows were seen (both meat and milk). Some students decided to try to milk the cows to experience a different type of life style. Chicos and chicas also bonded for the last time over card games and a privilege walk. We ended the day with dinner and laughter.

-written by Allison, Winda Winda, Hansen <3, and the coolest cat around: BIANCA!!!

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Saturday June 16, 2018 

We are happy to write you from our lovely home base in Santa Teresa as we enjoy the soft sounds of the birds and watch the swaying shadows of the palm trees. All of our students are here safe and sound and we are all very excited to begin our first session of the 14-day Initiative for Children program! Everyone arrived safely and almost exactly to plan in San Jose. Several students got to experience a Costa Rican mall while waiting for the rest of their 30 new best friends to arrive. We admired the Costa Rican countryside (or slept) on our three-hour bus ride to our secluded home-away-from-home. We ate our first meal together at the Crazy Iguana pizzeria and came back to home base to rest after a long day of traveling. Tomorrow we will hit the ground running with orientation before getting into service and cultural activities starting Monday. Be on the lookout for more updates on our adventures coming soon!

Monday June 18, 2018

Student bloggers: Bailey, Jackson, Anna:

This is Bailey! Today we went to Santa Teresa de Sur to help the students prepare for their art show this upcoming Friday. We cleaned up the yard, power washed the concrete, played with the kids, and cleaned some classrooms. The kids were so sweet and talkative and kept wanting to play games with us, including soccer and some new games they taught us how to play. They even performed a dance and sang several songs for us! Everyone had fun and an amazing time, not only did the school benefit from our works but we learned a lot too! Even though they don’t speak English and we barely speak spanish, we could uniquely communicate with them through body and facial language.

This is Jackson. One of our expert photographers.“Pura Vida!!!!” The most memorable part of our day was going to Bellavista School. Seeing the kids’ contagious smiles would never NOT bring a smile to your face. Although there was a communication barrier, we had fun trying to speak to our best of abilities. Overall, the experience of these little children is absolutely magnificent. I am very happy that I came to Costa Rica with GLA.

My name is Anna Vaine, and I was in Sofia’s group. We went to the smallest school, with a grand total of twelve students! Today, we went to the school and got a tour, even though there weren’t any students. We started talking about the kinds of things we wanted to do, and as we were discussing, three boys showed up! It was really great because they were willing to spend all their time with us. We played hanky panky, and they showed us around the town. We saw the pineapple fields, the church, and we went to a “lake” that was actually a little pond that the kids love to swim in. We also learned where all the “brujas” live and all the spells that they will put on you. After we got the tour, we went back to home base and made a tentative schedule for what we want to do the rest of the time that we will be there. I feel really prepared, and very excited for our time here.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

This is Anna again. Today was another great day. We woke up to a lot of rain, and while it was beautiful, it forced us to cancel our hike for today. For my group, it was the first time that we met all of the kids and their teacher. Everyone was so nice and accepting. It was really wonderful. We started by introducing our selves and playing a few games to break the ice. Then our group of people split up. Half of us worked on organizing the shed, while the other half taught the kids English. I was really impressed with how engaged all the kids were with the lesson, especially the younger ones. Some even took it upon themselves to write notes!

We got back and had another amazing lunch. We were supposed to take a hike, but like I said, the rain was too intense. So, we hung out for a little while, before the owner of the house we are staying in, Alfredo, gave us a talk about Costa Rican coffee. He talked to us a little bit about the history of coffee in Costa Rica, and then had us compare two brands of coffee. One was a brand you can find in stores, while the other one was his family’s brand. His coffee was by far the best. After that, we did a leadership activity where we broke into groups, and each group represented a culture with their own greeting. We then greeted each other, and then discussed how different greetings came across to other people, and what assumptions we made about those groups. It was really enlightening when it was connected back to the real world and how we make assumptions about people and try to change those people.

After that we had some down time, where a group of us played a couple rounds of mafia. Then, we played something called Telephone Charades, which was the most fun I have had in a long time. Overall, today was an amazing day, and I am very excited for tomorrow.

Hi Im Hailey, today we spent the majority of the time interacting with the children since the rain prevented us from doing most of the outdoor jobs, like painting and raking. We got to the meet the English teacher, Susan, and were given the opportunity to help teach the first graders greetings in English, like hello and what is your name. A few of us also got to one-on-one help the older students practice for their spelling bee on Friday, which was a great way for both us and the students to learn more about the languages that each of us speak. Other volunteers who were not with the kids worked on power washing the rest of the sidewalks and concrete walls. For the majority time left at the school today we played games with the kids, such as duck duck goose with a number twist, musical chairs, and soccer to further help engage some of the kids in the English language while still further building friendly relationships between us and the students.

This is Emily! Today was yet another amazing day. We went to our school and got to play games with the children such as hot potato and an awesome game of soccer (US vs. Costa Rica). Although the kids had to leave in the middle, the soccer game ended with a great score of 3-3. Some of us got to help in the garden, rake, and teach the kindergarteners ‘head, shoulders, knees, and toes’ in English. Today we got a lot of rain and had to cancel our hike. Although a bit inconvenient, it gave us the opportunity to play a few games of mafia and charades telephone. Alfredo taught us all about the history of coffee and his family’s coffee business. Afterwards he offered us his coffee to taste that is 100% made from coffee beans grown in Costa Rica. We have all been enjoying the delicious meals at home base. Some of which included: rice and beans, steak, potatoes, and plantain! All of us kids are excited to see what the rest of our time here holds for us!

Wednesday June 20, 2018

Here are a few updates about the day from students: Heath Reynolds, Caryus Pak, and Amber

Estoy aprendiendo español! Translated into English means “I am learning Spanish!” My experience here at GLA So far has truly been adventurous and humbling. Being blessed with the opportunity to work with the youth of Costa Rica has truly been amazing! Not only do I feel that I have made a difference in their lives, but they’ve made a difference in mine.

-Heath Reynolds

Today we worked at Santa Teresa Norte School, where we alternated with teaching the children and organizing a shed full of supplies for the school. In the classroom, we helped teach the children the numbers and colors, and with the older kids we introduced them to the alphabet. The kids quickly picked up the lesson and were eager to utilize their newfound words. In the shed, we helped clean out the termite and spider infested cardboard, and organized the supplies into categories such as paint, classroom materials, and gardening tools. At the end of the day, as we’re leaving the school, we were saying our goodbyes only to receive “hellos” back from the kids. So we have some work to do but progress is progress, and its rewarding to see the children so eager to use what we taught them. Later in the afternoon, we drove a short distance to a nearby hiking adventure. Despite the bad humidity and heat, we ventured on, eventually gathering around the base of a huge tree, maneuvering through itchy weeds in search of monkeys we supposedly heard, and skipping rocks on the San Carlos River. On the way home, we were given a nice treat at a nearby convenience store where we got ice cream and soda. Overall the day was splendid and rewarding, and I felt accomplished with the work I did today.

-Caryus Pak

Today in Gabby’s group we did a lot of manual labor. Our group took advantage of the beautiful day we had and prepared for the art show on Friday at our school. We had three stations at the school in order to utilize our time efficiently. We had a group working on moving poles out of the way for a more safe environment. The second group was moving rocks to prevent mud from forming and creating a mess. The third group was painting the court where the art show is going to be held. We worked very hard today, so hard that the director of our school told us how impressed she was, and how she would like it if we participated in the art show. After our hard day at service we came home to a delicious lunch prepared by our family at the base. Next we took a short hike to a really big tree then a longer hike to a really cool river. After skipping rocks at the river Alfredo (our celebrity host) treated everyone to ice cream and a soda. Later we had some down time where we could either swim in the lake our play a game of pool. Then we broke up into mentor groups and made a deeper more personal connection with each member creating a stronger bond of trust and confidence within each other. Overall today was one of the most challenging days where almost everyone overcame their own inner struggle. Pura vida!

-Amber

Thursday June 21, 2018

Here are a few updates about the day from students: Robin, Isis, and Jennifer

Hi, I’m Robin. Today was a day of having fun with the kindergarteners at the school and dogs! The kids in my group today learned the long heads, shoulders, knees, and toes, and later me and several others did some manual labor in the yard. After lunch we had the chance to wash and play with some beautiful dogs, my favorite of which being a fluffy black one named Sacha. The afternoon was extremely hot but very satisfying as more or less each person had their own cat or dog to care for; however, sooner or later, we had to leave our fluffy friends and go back to the home base. The bus ride was bumpy as ever, but I was riding with Jackson who had been bitten by a bullet ant! The rest of the day was spent in the tower with some friends and calm music over the beautiful lake.

Hi this is Isis and today was a good day. All of us doing service were super excited to prepare for the art show tomorrow, as we learned new dances, practiced, sung, and set up for it. As we got back to home base we had time to share our enjoyment of the morning with one another and prepare to go to a dog rescue league. Though I couldn’t go to the dog rescue because I’m allergic, everyone else had the opportunity to bathe a few, swim with some and run around with them all, it seemed a great time in the sun. From what I heard, everyone was all smiles as they spent time with the dogs, it was almost like they were in dog heaven! As for me, I took a long nap and when my roommates got back they all had to shower and be careful as they entered the room with me. My room and the bus had to be disinfected! The afternoon continued to be great as we continued to get to know one another and practice our cheer dance that we will preform tomorrow at the school’s art show.

Hey, I’m Jennifer. After finishing a very delicious breakfast, my service group walked over to our school. Despite there being no school today, a few kids showed up to see us! They’re awesome. Today we decided it would be best to tackle the “book graveyard” as we call it. We made a lot of progress and I think the teacher will be proud 🙂 We also played futbol with the kids and everyone was fried from the sun. We literally looked like overheated potatoes by the end of it haha. Then our group came back and took a dip into the lake, a refreshing end to a hot and productive work day. As the sun was setting and everything was a shade of golden, everyone headed to our leadership activity of the day, an activity on what it means to be “triggered” (something that makes you feel insulted). We wrote on post-it-notes about our reaction and emotions to six scenarios that are triggering and then posted them on the wall, high up meaning you were very triggered and low on the wall meaning not bothered. Then we sat on the grass and had a deep discussion on the results. I found everyone’s comments very enlightening and I’m proud of us all for being open-minded and capitalizing on the importance of being respectful of different opinions and rather than being angered by differing opinions, learning and growing from them. Also, we had burritos for dinner, they were great. (mayo and hot sauce is a pretty bomb combo).

 

Friday June 22, 2018

Here are a few updates about the day from students Gracie and Blair, and Staff Mentors Carlos, Gabriella, Sophia, and Rosie

Hey it’s Gracie Platt and wow we are already halfway through the program! Today I got to be a photographer and I’m glad that I could do it. So today we woke up and had breakfast and then went to our schools for service. When we got to the school, we played soccer with the kids and then we helped teach some of the kids english. We also played simon says and it was very fun! Then some of the kids started drawing on the white board and they were drawing pictures and then writing the spanish word and we wrote the english word for them. We also worked in the garden and pulled weeds and it was very hot. Then we came back to home base and ate lunch and then left again and went to an ice cream place called Iguanas. The ice cream was very good and some of us also got some souvenirs. Then we left and went to a farmers market place and everyone just bought a ton of junk food like cookies, chips, and more! Then we headed back to the home base and we just chilled for a bit and then got with our mentor groups and did some activities and they were super fun. Then we ate dinner and now we are heading to bed but today was a good day!! Pura Vida!!

Hi, this is Blair! Today at Sant Teresa Sur, the students and staff put on an Art Show to show off their talents. Everyone participated and all the teachers wore matching costumes. Besides signing and dancing, students showed their artwork which was centered around themes of sustainable development on Earth. It was super cute to take pictures with the students and to spend time with them. Everyone who attended was having the time of their life and cheering for all the participants. All GLA students danced in a choreographed dance and also in the Macarena. It was super fun to dance in front of the crowd and be silly and sing along. Afterwards, we came back to the home base for lunch. Later on, the group went out for ice cream to try and connect to wifi and also to the supermarket to buy snacks and restock on supplies. I really enjoyed doing activities with my mentor group before dinner. The chickpea soup we had for dinner was delicious! Hasta luego.

Hi Friends and Family! Wow we cannot believe this program is already halfway done. We are so proud of all of our students, we can see a huge transformation in all of them; some big and some truly eye opening. Its such a privilege and an honor for us to have you trust us with you kids and send them on this amazing journey. This week has been pretty eventful but now that its the weekend we have even more adventure planned for your kiddos! A lot of this is new for us too, so its really special to be able to share this for the first time with you children and reflect all together as a group. We can see ever lasting friendships forming, relationships growing, and hearts and minds transforming into future leaders. We hope that you are proud of your sons and/or daughters as much as we are. We cannot wait to see what this next week has in store for us! Sending much Tico Love, Mentors Carlos, Gabriella, Sophia, and Rosie

Saturday June 23, 2018

Hola! Today, we took an hour long journey to a trail up in the mountains of Costa Rica! The trail took four hours to compete though thick mud and rocks, but the destination was all worth it! What we came across was a beautiful green lake. It was the perfect spot for pictures, and a great place to take a rest before the journey back. After returning to the buses, we took a quick detour to Ciudad Quesada and had lunch at a café. Afterwards we shopped at a local store and hung out in the city’s plaza until the rain kicked us out. Then we returned to home base and participated in some leadership activities. Overall the day was very tiring, yet it was worth the effort, and we had a great time!

-by Heath Reynolds, Arianna Schott, and Caryus Pak

Sunday June 24, 2018

Hey guys! It’s Hailey, Bailey, and Robin. Today we had the opportunity to go horseback riding and zip-lining through the rainforest near the volcano in La Fortuna. The view was beautiful and we saw some sloths and monkeys during these excursions. It’s really cool for us to see more of the volcano and rainforests in this beautiful country. We also got to go into the La Fortuna town where we went into an artisan shop to buy some souvenirs. Finally, we ended the night with a bonfire and pizza from our favorite restaurant, the Crazy Iguana.

Monday June 25, 2018

Here are some recaps of the day from students: Jennifer, Blair, Raina and Bailey!

hey guys, my name is jennifer. today at sophia’s service site we power washed the chairs and picked up trash around the school field. picking up trash was very tiring but it felt good seeing a clean lawn afterwards. also, you don’t even know how fun power washing is. it’s like you’re blasting a zombie haha. then we drove to the hot springs. that was by far one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip. it was so refreshing just chillaxing in the warm water, staring out at the sunlight speckled trees. we were totally immersed in nature and it was much needed after a long day of working outside under the hot sun. we even saw a toucan!

Hi everyone, it’s Blair! Today was our first day back at service since our weekend excursions. My service group went to our school and worked on tearing down the existing greenhouse in order to expand it and pull weeds. There were no teachers or students at Santa Teresa Sur today because of a teacher strike, but we were still able to make a lot of progress and plan out what needs to get done by the end of the week. After lunch, our whole group went swimming in naturally heated hot springs to enjoy the warm water and relax. I thought the hot springs were great because they were very clean and soothing to itchy bug bites. For the rest of the week we will continue to go to our schools and get done as much as we can before our time in beautiful Costa Rica is up. ¡Adios!

Hi guys! It’s Raina and Bailey. Today, we worked on the greenhouse at our service site, Santa Teresa Sur. We weeded, pulled out tree stumps, big rocks and poles, picked up trash, and loosened the soil. The kids were not at school today because their teachers were on strike, but we still managed to get work done at the school. After service, we went to a hot springs water park where we spent 3 hours relaxing by the pools. It was refreshing following our active weekend and morning. We plan on starting the mural tomorrow at our school.

Tuesday June 26, 2018

This is Dean. Today was another great and impactful day of this program. After breakfast, we went to our school. Outside, we worked on power washing the fence. Hopefully the next group will be able to finish power washing and painting it. Inside the school, we played games like uno and one where we said a word in english and the kids had to find the Spanish word on the whiteboard before the others. We also went swimming in the lake and looked at the cows and pigs. It was crazy to see how many animals were packed in such a small space. They had nowhere to run when they were afraid of us. It made me think for the first time that vegetarianism is a good idea. Back at camp, we learned about each other in an activity where we had to find something that made us different from everybody or the same as everybody. It was much easier to find similarities. In mentor groups we thought about what we did well today and what others did well. Overall, today was a great day and we had a lot to think about.

Today was a great day 🙂 This morning the group at the small school finished up our English review and started power washing the fence it’s sad to think that tomorrow’s our last service day but I’m glad we’re making a lasting impact. This afternoon our AMAZING host Alfredo gave us a “cow tour” we got to learn about them, watch them get milked, and pet them. Fun fact: Cows love to lick people. Alfredo made the whole learning experience great. We also got some time in the lake. It was a blast!! Can’t believe we only have a few days here 🙂 -Alexus

Hey it’s Isis here! Today was a fun day as we were able to distribute friendship bracelets we made to all pf the children at the school. The children were gleaming with excitement as we gave them the bracelets and absolutely loved them. It felt good to see the smiles on all their faces. At the school, we also played a game of BINGO as a way of teaching words in English. The game was full of laughter and the children, my peers and I really enjoyed it. As we came home, we got to have time in the lake house to bond with one another and just talk. Later on we played a really fun game as a whole, which motivated us to learn more about one another and realize how many similarities we have with one another. With tomorrow being our last day at our schools and the program coming to an end, I think it’s evident how much we’ll miss one another and how memorable the bonds we created are.

Thursday June 29, 2018

Hey guys it’s Raina, Tori, Allyson, and Arianna,

Wednesday was our last day at the service sites. In the Santa Teresa del Sur school, the group painted a mural of a big tree with hand prints as the leaves. In the Santa Teresa del Norte school the group had a game day where they enjoyed their last day the kids while playing soccer. In the Bella Vista school we taught English and played games like tag, soccer, and musical chairs. Saying goodbye was hard. The kids gave us notes, posters, and lots of hugs. Later in the day, we split up into two groups: one attended a cooking class and the other attended a dance class. For the cooking class we learned how to make a delicious vegan stir fry. In the dance class we learned how to dance bachata. After dinner, we had a movie night outside where we watched the Parent Trap. It was a lot of fun and great bonding experience.

Thursday we woke up early to drive out to the Santa Teresa river for a boat safari. On the safari we saw crocodiles, monkeys, iguanas, and otters. We had a great time seeing all these animals and splashing and racing each other down the river. Once we got out of the boats, we were fed hot tortillas with plantains and cheese. We also got to grind cocoa beans to make our own hot chocolate. Then we headed back to home base and had lots of lake time where we took turns jumping from the lake house. After dinner we all got dressed for our goodbye party. We danced and sang to our favorite songs and enjoyed our last night together. It was a memorable way end such a impactful trip.