Time Capsule Letter – October 2016
Hey Everyone! I hope you all transitioned smoothly back into your normal lives and enjoyed the last few weeks of summer before school started again. It was awesome to see how everyone bonded so well by the end of the session and a lot of you really went outside of your comfort zones and overcame many challenges just as we encouraged you to do during orientation! Despite being one of the quietest groups at the beginning, we ended up having some great discussions, fun adventure days and seeing solid friendships bloom! Our talk after watching Story of Stuff was really genuine and productive and I witnessed an impressive transition in many of you from fear to enjoyment – or at least acceptance – in both tubing and horseback riding. While at first there was quite a divide between boys and girls, friends from back home and others, at the end you all looked like one big family and I saw you hanging out with different people every day.
Service was awesome as well! We made good progress and had a great mix of hard physical work vs. interacting with the community. For those who were at the centro de acopio with me, I was super happy that we were able to start welding and everything is on track to finish this last session! We are painting a final coat on everything – both original structure and new – and have the roof materials ready to be put on in the final days. The park and beach will also be finished, possibly ahead of schedule! Our visit to the school in La Cruz was also a success, so we have decided to do it again this session and will be using some of your suggestions to try and improve the visit, such as starting out with more games and giving more structure to the conversation aspect to try and reduce that awkwardness.
I hope that you all have taken something away from this experience that you can apply in your life back home and that you keep growing and maintaining an open mind in everything you do, whether abroad or not. All the best from Cami, Emily, Smara, Maria Jose and myself!
Nico
Recollections:
- Pasta night in the boys room with all the staff, thanks to Jacob!
- The hermit crab pit built and monitored by about half of us at Isla Bolaños
- Dayvi and Jordan did some wild riding on those horses at Guachipelin
- Luke was hilarious slipping everywhere during the soccer game! And way to go Aya with some solid defense… those ten year olds were still just too good for us though
- Po´s party van… loud music, all the girls singing… enough said
- Nice job Jordan and Mia for saving that baby bird that fell out of the nest
- The story of Cole. Hope you all learned how to brush your teeth, um, thoroughly
Summer Blog Posts
Holaaa!!!
We are all getting to know each other, enjoying our homebase, the beach and the surroundings!
We also started working on our project sites with the help of people from the community.
Isla Bolanos is waiting for us to explore today, and we have adventure days and more projects to work on ahead!
Untill next time, pura vida!!!
July 31, 2016
Hi readers! My GLA experience has been one to remember! The volunteer work that I have participated in has taught me the values of teamwork and leadership in a working environment. The adventure days were so exciting and exhilarating I enjoyed meeting new friends in this program. Also, this program taught me about cultural immersion and how different cultured in different countries work together to create an efficient and proper community.
Ally 🙂
