PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR JUNE 10
Hola!
This is your crew from Costa Rica’s Animal Rescue and Veterinary Program (CR AVRP), and we are so excited to kick off session 1 (our first session) of Summer 2024!
Today is arrival day! Everything is ready for our students to arrive and start experiencing everything Costa Rica has to offer! Most of the students were picked up at the airport in the morning/early afternoon at San Jose Airport. Students then took a 2-hour bus ride to the beautiful “Lands in Love”, our all-vegan home base in the middle of the beautiful Costa Rican rainforest! On the way there, we stopped by the bank to exchange money and a local grocery store to buy snacks!
At the home base, students were able to mingle with other students, explore their new home base, and rest/shower after a long day of travel! The students also ate dinner, met the GLA ARVP staff, and played some icebreakers to get to know each other!
Although all of the students shared that they were exhausted from the traveling, they were super enthusiastic and looking forward to the adventure and service days to come!
We can’t wait for the next two weeks of service, learning, lifelong memories, and deep friendships that await.
We hope that you can use this blog to keep up with your student’s adventures and as a way to experience this journey with us!
From the excited GLA CR ARVP team,
Matthew (International Director)
JuanCa (Local Director)
Anna (Mentor)
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 11
Written by Jacey and Olivia:
Hola!
Today is Day 2 of the Costa Rica AVRP! We woke up with lots of energy and excitement to get the day started! We then had breakfast at 8 AM, where we ate an average Costa Rican breakfast consisting of gallo pinto (rice and beans), platanos (plantains), and ensalada (salad). Soon after, we headed to the conference room to start orientation! We played games to get to know each other and break the ice. Then, we sat in a group circle where we communicated about expectations, wrote them down, and signed our names indicating commitment.
Afterward, the Lands in Love owner spoke to us about how their animal rescue came to be; we learned lots of valuable information regarding the resort and its animals. We even got to see the animals that we would be working with during service! Then, we had hot dogs or burritos for lunch. We were all so shocked that this was vegan! During orientation, we learned that we could either elect or randomly choose two leaders of the day who are writing this wonderful blog right now! Next, we had our swim test! Everyone easily passed and then we hung out at the pool, playing games like Marco Polo. We then had burgers and spaghetti bolognese for dinner! And then, we headed back to the conference room where they were introduced to another guest speaker who talked about Costa Rican culture and food. We even got to try mamones (Costa Rican fruit) to end our day.
Overall, it was a very relaxing and exciting day, as all of us got to know each other better and started adjusting to our new environment. We are looking forward to the rest of the program!
From the Leaders of the Day,
Olivia and Jacey
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 12
Written by Jacey and Olivia:
Hola!
Today was a very eventful day! We started off at 7 AM walking, or running, dogs for 1.5 hours. Everyone was very tired by the end, and we probably smelled like dog poop. After that, we had pancakes and bagels for breakfast. From 10-12 PM, we helped clean the cats’ cages and some of us walked even more dogs. Some of us have the chance to adopt a cat or dog! Working with the cats was calming, but the dogs were more rowdy. At 12:30, we had lunch, with a choice between shawarma (a Mediterranean dish) or tacos. A little later, we went on a hike to the waterfall! The trip down to the waterfall was pretty easy, and the waterfall was a beautiful sight, but the trip back up was rough. We had to hike uphill, and everyone definitely got their exercise in for the day!
After freshening up, we started mentor groups, where we played games to get to know each other better and to focus on becoming better leaders. It was a very important bonding experience for us, as we shared our goals and interests. We wrote a letter to our future selves, which we can read after the program. At 6:30 PM, we had a choice between an Israeli dish and a Mexican basket for dinner. Soon after, we had dance lessons! We learned how to do the salsa, bachata, and the swing. It was much harder than we anticipated, but everyone was so excited to learn.
In the end, today was a very active day. We are all so excited to get to bed and have a good night’s rest.
From your Leaders of the Day…again,
Jacey and Olivia.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 13
Written by Kayla and Linus:
Hola!
Today we had an early start with walking dogs early in the morning. The perros (dogs) were exhilarated upon our arrival 🙂. The hotel’s wonderful chef, Nama, prepared us a dish of vegan assortments including french toast loaves, fruit salad, and mimic breakfast eggs.
Phase two of the service involved group Vivianne working with chickens while group Cheetah worked towards washing horses. The group working with chickens scraped feces off a variety of surfaces. The roosters were not thrilled to have their eggs collected from them. During this time the other group was getting their hands dirty washing multiple horses while trading jobs concerning water buckets. We were greeted by a very delighted goat that had a major underbite bringing a constant smile across their face.
After a lot of hard work, we were treated with a choice of vegan mac’n’cheese or pizza which we had taken a tally for previously. After a delicious meal, we had a short break before we headed into the city. Once we arrived at San Ramon we were greeted by a local tour guide to showed us a few of the landmarks. Due to the rainy weather, we took a pit stop at a local frozen yogurt shop where we munched down on an enlightening cold treat. Following our detour we split ourselves into two groups. Both groups wandered and once finally landed at a nearby French bakery thanks to technology. The other group was undecided on where to go. But when the put-together group sent a temptatious picture of their purchased hot chocolate and pastries into the “GLA Gang Gang” group chat the previous joker of the group decided to track them down. After a bit of frolicking everyone ended up being in each other’s presence for a hot cup of cocoa.
Even though everyone was stuffed from the deserts we enjoyed along the way, dinner came rather fast once we arrived back at the home base. The votes were in and dinner was served accordingly with some receiving a serving of Chinese-styled rice with an egg roll on the side. The others feasted on a vegan burrito with a side of fries. We ended the night strong with a group activity identifying our similarities and differences. With the soreness from the hike the day before, everyone will be catching some major ZZzzzzzs.
Sincerely,
Your leaders of the day, Kayla and Linus.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 14
Written By Abby and Matthew
Hola!
We started our day off with a breakfast of cereal with two choices of almond milk or soy milk (yum!), fruit, and bread. We then got ready for a long day of travel and adventure!
We arrived at the rainforest cacao plantation where we met the tour guide, Elio, a funny and delightful man who gave us a tour of chocolate-making and sustainable practices. We looked at cacao trees and were even able to pick one off the tree. After, we tasted chocolate in its different forms. Some tasted better than others, but overall we had so much fun.
After the chocolate tour, we boarded the bus again and set off for the Baldi Hot Springs and Resort! We first had a buffet-style lunch with lots of different options, such as chicken, rice, and fresh fruit. Afterward, we had so much fun going into the different sections of the resort, which were many different pools, saunas, and forms of hot springs. The hot springs made us scream for joy as we went down the waterslides that were included in the resort. 🙂
We boarded the bus once again to go to the city of La Fortuna for some fun exploration. There, we traveled around the city going into shops for souvenir shopping and buying local food from vendors. When it was time to go, we boarded the bus one final time back to our home base, Lands in Love, where we finally had a delicious dinner of Pad Thai or a hamburger.
After dinner, we had mentor groups where we discussed differences in culture between the United States and Costa Rica. To end the day perfectly, we had momones, a hard-to-find fruit that made us very very happy. Shout out to our local director, JuanCa, who searched super hard to buy us a bag of momones!!
Overall, today was great! We are excited for tomorrow and the rest of the trip.
Your leaders of the day,
Abby and Matthew
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15
Written By Nikol and Bella:
Buenas!
Today we woke up bright and early, ready to start service at 6:45. We once again began our service with walking dogs until 8:30, then enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and fruit. We then got ready for our second service of the day with the horses and chickens at 10 o’clock. The group working with horses got to wash, and brush horses, as well as clean stalls. They also learned some local Spanish slang from the head barn-hand, Marcello. The group washing the horses may have had a little too much fun with the hose. The other group assigned to the chickens was tasked with dusting enclosures, collecting eggs, and also enjoyed some time playing with the bunnies.
After a delicious lunch of either tacos or a traditional Israeli dish, we freshened up and headed out for a traditional Costa Rican cooking class, where our instructor, Sycelia taught us how to make tortillas and empanadas from scratch. We enjoyed our creations with a cup of agua dulce: a Costa Rican sugar-cane drink.
Upon our return to Lands in Love, we were greeted with a dinner of Asian rice or a Mediterranean wrap. After our delicious dinner, our guest speaker – Joseph from night 2 returned. We aced our Costa Rican culture quiz and learned a lot from his presentation on Costa Rican tourism and economy. We played a fun game of Fact or Fiction and compared common Costa Rican brands to the ones in America. Joseph ended the presentation by gifting us two delicious Costa Rican snacks: a Pozuelo Yipy and Chipy cookies. We winded down while enjoying our snacks, preparing for our final day of service at Lands in Love.
Pura Vida!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Bella and Nikol
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 16
Written By Jacey and Alina:
Hola!
Today is our last day at Lands in Love! We woke up early to walk dogs for the last time here, and everyone was very grateful for being able to walk them. Then, we ate breakfast, which consisted of bagels and a fruit bowl. After that, we took care of cats from 10 AM to 12:30 PM. We split up into Team Cheetah and Team Vivianne, and we went to the same places as before. Then, we came back to eat lunch, where we had a choice between burgers and fettuccine.
From 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM, we had free time! We were given our phones, and we had the time to pack for our next hotel as well as take naps or watch TV. At 5:30 PM, we met up to do Chow Circle, where we talked about the importance of our service at Lands in Love as well as reflecting on the day. We chose the Leaders of the Day for tomorrow, as usual, and we went to dinner. Everyone got to choose their own dish! There were many different meals, like hamburgers, hot dogs, or pasta.
After dinner, we had mentor groups, where everyone shared their story. We drew our river of life, and we added different things to demonstrate the ups and downs of our lives. Everyone got very emotional, many people shed tears, and we all had a big hug afterward. Today was a relaxing and cathartic day, as well as yummy. We are so excited about our upcoming adventures and service at new places.
Your Leaders of the Day,
Alina and Jacey
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17
Written By Nikol and Kayla (No Pictures Cause Travel Day):
Buenas!
We got a little extra sleep this morning to prepare for a day of travel. We enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup at 7:45 o’clock. We packed our things into the van, said goodbye to our favorite animals, and were on our way! Halfway through our bus ride, we stopped for a quick bathroom and snack break at the local market. We stocked up on our Costa Rican snacks and headed off for the rest of the drive to Hotel Wilson in Liberia.
Upon arrival we were greeted with a delicious lunch of rice, beans, pasta salad, and fried fish. The Vida team introduced themselves and discussed our duties and responsibilities during our time here. We shared our goals and expectations for this clinic, as well as a little bit about ourselves.
After finishing our delicious meal we enjoyed some free time outdoors and in the pool, playing games like catch, and Marco Polo. We rinsed off and prepared for a delicious dinner at 6:30, which consisted of pasta, rice, beans, meat, and a side salad. Everyone enjoyed cell phone time after dinner, and were off to their rooms to prepare for a bright and early morning start at 6:30 am the next day.
Pura Vida!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Nikol and Kayla
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 18
Written By Kayla and Nikol:
Buenas!
We started the morning off bright and early at 6:30 am with a breakfast of a local delicacy of beans and rice, eggs, and toast. After finishing, we met with the VIDA team again for the day’s family consultations. Everyone was split into three groups and completed a total of four house checks. During these house checks, one student took notes of the information. The information included the interviewees’ personal information, as well as the information on the conditions of their pets. The other students spent time with the children and donated coloring books and colored pencils. Once everyone was more comfortable, us students were able to participate in the deworming process taught to us by the professionals.
Upon our return to Hotel Wilson, we were greeted with a lunch of chicken, rice, and a side salad. We had a short break before departing for our waterfall hike. We enjoyed the views on the hike and made sure to take lots of pictures.
Everyone rested well upon returning and were ready for dinner and mentor groups. Dinner consisted of pasta, meat, and a side salad. Today, mentor groups had us taking a stance with a group debate. The debate was about a Costa Rican law advocating for repercussions on those who abuse their animals. The students took roles like the government, the VIDA clinic and local differentiating class families. Though everyone had different opinions, in the end, this mentor session taught us to compromise and we were able to come to a conclusion about this law. Finally, we enjoyed cell phone time and headed off to bed to prepare for another early morning at the clinic.
Pura Vida!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Kayla and Nikol
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19
Written By Linus and Matthew:
Buenas!
Today was the first day of service within the actual veterinary clinic. Starting bright and early we all woke up for a short bus ride to the neighborhood where we then set up tables and different stations for the VIDA veterinarians. We all worked at different stations from intake, observing the animal and taking important vital information, all the way to shaving, anesthesia, and then shadowing real surgery. After the spaying or neutering, we were then able to help the animals recover by listening to their heart rates and finding all the other information to ensure effective care until they woke up. The first day may have been stressful, but in the end, it was highly rewarding for all of us to get our hands on real clinic procedures. We took down the clinic we left for a lunch break back at our home base before departing back onto the road for another trip to go ziplining.
After a long and bumpy ride, we eventually arrived and were suited up for the adventure ahead. We were briefed on safety instructions and got to the fun right away. As we figured out midway through, the ziplining adventure had many other obstacles included with it like a rope swing across a river, rappelling down a canyon, and a rope bridge, where we spotted a paper bear lying in the water. It was a thrilling adventure going across the jungle and over the river so afterward we stopped for a quick and deserved snack break filled with buying ice cream and other treats.
The bus ride was tiring, but thankfully we had our TVs and ACs to cool us off at the hotel. Our break was long and amazing. At the end of the day, we came back for chow circle and our new leaders of the day were chosen. Afterward, we had an amazing dinner of fried chicken and delicious fries.
Night Y’all,
Linus and Matthew
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20
Written By Olivia and Abby:
Hola!
Today was a very exhilarating day! We started off at 6:15 and headed off to the coast after a delicious breakfast of gallo pinto (beans in rice) and eggs. After a loooooooong bus ride, we finally reached our destination on the Liberian coast. We boarded a small boat that took us to the catamaran. We split up into two groups. Half of us explored the beach, and the other half went snorkeling. After we all met back up on the boat, we were served a delicious lunch before heading back to shore.
After the catamaran, we took the bus to a souvenir shop where we broke off individually to buy a bunch of goodies/aloe vera for those who were unfortunate enough to fall asleep tanning on the boat. We stopped by a small ice cream shop and got some treats before heading back to Hotel Wilson for free time.
After a delicious barbecue dinner, we gathered for mentor groups and then a fun night of karaoke! So many songs were sung and even Juanca and the hotel owners joined in on the fun! Overall, it was a very fun day full of activities that had us all exhausted by the end of the day.
Sincerely, your gorgeous, stunning leaders of the day,
Olivia and Abby
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21
Written By Bella and Alina:
Buenas!
We started this morning off bright and early at 6:30 for a yummy breakfast of Gallo Pinto, eggs, chorizo, plantains, and cereal. Then we headed out for a long day of service at the clinic with Vida. We assisted in 13 successful spay and neuters, helping with patient intake and recovery by continuously monitoring vitals. We had a very long but fulfilling day.
After the completion of service, we headed back to the home base for a delicious lunch and began packing for our departure back to San Jose tomorrow. We once again participated in “Chow Circle” where we discussed our favorite meal of the trip, gave shoutouts to many people, and chose our final Leaders of the Day. We then enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by Hotel Wilson’s owners Jose and Sharron consisting of rice, beans, carne, and a side salad.
Finally, we reflected on our entire trip in our very last mentor group, tears were shed and laughs were shared to end the night. We then all winded down, preparing for our last early morning and our final day of service.
Pura Vida!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Bella and Alina
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22
Written By Matthew and Nikol:
Buenas!
Today was our final day of the trip so we started bright and early at 6:15 am and began our last day of service with VIDA. We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and Gallo Pinto and got onto the bus. We arrived soon after and set up our vaccination clinic at different houses in the neighborhood. Because of the donations, we were able to fit in 6 more vaccinations along with food and other things for the animals. We packed up the vaccine clinic and said our last goodbye to the VIDA team. We came back to home base and had lunch, which was a variety of rice, beans, meat, and a side salad. With our last lunch done we packed up and put everything in the bus and we drove to our new hotel.
The bus ride was long, but filled with beautiful sights. We arrived at Hotel Robledal where we then settled in our rooms. After a break, we got ready for our last chow circle and our farewell dinner with our fancy clothes. Dinner was fantastic with a buffet for more rice, beans, and meat. We enjoyed a dessert of vanilla ice cream with fudge.
After dinner, we prepared for our last mentor session, and appreciation circle. We started the session off by splitting into two groups and coming up with one meaningful goal we wanted to take back home with us. We acted out a skit that represented the goal in front of our peers. Upon finishing, we completed a survey on the activities we did on this trip, our personal evaluation, and the staff. We ended off the mentor group by doing an appreciation circle, where we shared our final appreciation for our friends. We finished off the night by singing ‘Count on Me’ as our last sing-along, which concluded our GLA program.
Adios!
Your Leaders of the Day,
Matthew and Nikol
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23
Written By ID Matt:
Buenos dias,
Today was a bittersweet day as we said goodbye to the amazing 9 students who made up the first “Animal Rescue and Veterinary Project” GLA Costa Rica trip of 2024! Staff dropped off students at the San Jose airport in groups depending on what time their flight was departing. All students have departed without any issue, and should be arriving home shortly!
On behalf of the staff, we want to thank every student that made this trip possible. Their incredible passion and love for animals, dedication to trying different foods and activities outside of their comfort zone, funniness, and patience truly reverberated with everyone in the staff team, the Lands in Love staff, the Hotel Wilson staff, and their peers. We hope that Costa Rica was truly a one-of-a-kind trip that the students will never forget, and take their newfound global knowledge, leadership skills, and life lessons that they have learned on this trip to “be the change” in the world as our future leaders.
Pura Vida, and Goodbye for Now! 😊
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Matt (International Director)
JuanCa (Local Director)
Anna (Mentor)
