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 AUGUST 8
Pura Vida!
Today was a great start to our last session. We welcomed 20 students to Costa Rica, each bringing their own energy and excitement. Throughout the day, they arrived at Liberia Airport and made their way to our home base.
Once here, everyone got settled into their rooms, completed health checks and swim tests, and began getting to know each other. In the afternoon, we went to the beach to play soccer and frisbee and and took a lot of photos during sunset.
For dinner, we shared a traditional Costa Rican meal—casado—with rice, beans, chicken, salad, and a taste of local culture. Afterward, we played icebreaker games and talked about our phone policy, focusing on how we can be present and engaged during our time together.
Tomorrow, we’ll have our orientation and begin our first steps toward the service projects ahead. Thank you to all the families and friends for your trust and encouragement. Please continue to follow our journey here on the blog and leave us a message—we’d love to hear from you.
Mentor RJ
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 10
Hello everyone!! Today the students had there first adventure day. It started off with waking up nice and early to drive two hours to the adventure. The students were given on the go breakfast which everyone enjoyed. The adventure of the day was tubing and zip lining! During this experience the students learned to over come some of their fears and step out of there comfort zone. After this fun adventure the students went to go eat lunch at a buffet style restaurant where we celebrated Louis’ birthday in advance.
After lunch the students had the chance to go to a market to buy some souvenirs. After everyone got back from the adventure the students had a delicious dinner prepared by the staff at the hotel. Then the students partook in team building activities involving fair play, good sportsmanship, and Costa Rican culture. When the games concluded the students went to bed to wake up early to start our first day of service!
By Tatum, Rowan, and Liam
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 11
The day started off with an early wake up so GLA students could begin their services. After building nests for sea turtles as well as painting community benches, the attended a Costa Rican dance class. This consisted of multiple traditional Spanish dances. There’s was lots of fun competition between tribes, each team taking home one victory. The day ended with mentor groups where people connected with others and learned more about each other.
By Piper Sean Mia
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 12
Pura Vida! Today we had our fifth day in Costa Rica and our second day of community service!
For our morning Pura Vida session, we played ‘Eyes up, heads down.’ After our breakfast, we set off for service.
In UC, we went to La Florcita and helped build a tire fence to keep the cows away from the children when it’s mango season. We filled those tires with dirt and flowers to keep the playground looking nice. We had also taken trips to get gravel for the playground floor and soil for inside the tire fence. At the end some of us played fútbol with two of the kids that live in the community.
In VerdiAzul, we built three turtle nests by digging holes and replacing the bacteria infected sand with clean sand. We also picked up logs and driftwood that would be in the way of the turtles reaching their nests. Along with that, we picked up the microplastics on the beach to prevent the turtles from choking.
Once everyone had finished their four hours of service, we came back and had lunch and spent time at the pool until we went to a cooking class. At our cooking class, we learned how to make empanadas with one of the locals in the community. After we made and at our empanadas, we all played a 10 v 10 fútbol match between our group tribes. Some of the kids in the community came and played in the match with us.
We got on the bus again and went back to our hotel to eat dinner and do our nightly routine. Something new that we did today was a current events debate and that wrapped up our day!
By Evie, Jack, and Maddie 🇨🇷🐢
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 13
In the morning We played our pura vida game, it was infection tag. Then for Verdi Azul service we dug 5 turtle nests. For UC we finished putting up posts and flowers for the playground. We had beach Olympics in the afternoon and saw baby turtles on the beach.
And happy birthday Louis!
By Gabe, Vivian, Emma
