Time Capsule Letter – October 2016
Hello everyone!
Greetings form sunny Costa Rica!
By the time you read this, you will all be wondering off to new adventures! Either at home, school, vacation or with other communities. It feels like yesterday that we were on our way to homebase from airport and stopping on the road to look for monkeys. I invite you all to think back on our great experience together, and remind ourselves how much we learned together during those awesome ten days!
To begin with, you all impacted the life of the El Jobo community by offering the children a park where they can play and have some fun after classes, and also a place on the beautiful Manzanillo beach where everyone can enjoy family time, bonfire, picnics, playing around and grilling some food. You continued what was started from the first session, and you prepared the ground for the other groups, in order to finish the projects on time.
Manzanillo looks wonderful, I wish you could see it! It’s so full of life now, cozy and welcoming. And the park, what a change! It’s a wonderful feeling to see the community members smiling and being happy that they have these places to enjoy family time. You all did great, and now it’s also up to the community to take care of our work and teach others to be involved.
You honestly were one of the most hard working groups! You knew very well that we have an aim to everything we do… and that we also have fun! How can we forget Jenna and Riley getting all muddy at service sites and enjoying it so much? What about day one, coming back from the beach and rescuing Pirata? What about Nick’s attempt to hold his breath for more than a minute? Allana’s bug spray routine? And Paulina’s memorable quotes and questions!!!
What about the fact that you were the first group in the history of GLA Costa Rica EcoPlaya that won the soccer game with the community? …On the 4th of July!!!!! How cool is that?! Remember the partybus ride back to home base and Andrew’s Shakira dance?
I also remember with great appreciation that Cami managed to keep her promise and gift necklaces to a local family. And yes, I’m still wearing the one I was gifted as well!
Every day with you felt like a blessing and I am thankful that I watched you all step out of your comfort zones and grow as leaders. You were all very open minded and adapted to the local culture.
My wish is that you will continue to grow every day, and that the new perspectives you gained in Costa Rica will help you take initiative to positive impact your communities at home, and that is wherever in the world your home may be. You all have such great energy, I hope you spread it everywhere you go!
Thank you so much for being part of this Costa Rican adventure, I also learned so many cool things from you all!
The adventure never ends!
PURA VIDA!
With love,
Smara, and of course- your lovely mentors, Camila and Nico!
Summer Blog Posts
June 29, 2016
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca
We’re all here!!!
And we started our day with fun games, exploring the beach and writing down in journals our first thoughts and goals for the next days.
We’re excited to start our adventure…. PURA VIDA style !
July 3, 2016
“On our first day of service we sleepily boarded the bus and went to Playa Manzanillo, where we built chairs and tables for fishermen and their families to gather. We stacked tires and filled them with rocks from the shore. After service we took a boat to the nearby wild and protected island – Bolanos, to snorkle and explore. Then, after a great meal of rice and beans, we had a class about the Costa Rican culture and learned about ‚ticos’.
In the next days, we continued our projects, then learned how to make jewelry out of shells, and cook empanadas. After dinner we learned basic spanish from a native tica.
Today was our first adventure day and we went to Rincon de La Vieja Natural Park. We began with a two hour hike through the rainforest where we saw cool birds and lots of bugs. We then hiked to a beautiful waterfall where we got to swim in crystal clear water. After that we took the bus to a spa with mud baths and natural hot springs.
The spa was a nice change of tone and we returned to EcoPlaya homebase relaxed and reenergized. At homebase we had dinner and went into our mentor groups where we talked about current global issues. Tomorrow we return to service.
We miss you guys!”
– Jenna, Caroline and Luca.
July 4, 2016
July 4th away from home was definitely different than spending it in the U.S. It was very thoughtful of the staff to make burgers and fries for us even though it wasn’t their holiday. The bonfire was such an amazing experience, it felt like we were celebrating back in the states, just without the fireworks. The smores were great and it was such an amazing experience overall.
Service days are amazing because they make me feel so accomplished. I feel as if I am making a difference by helping the community. I loce seeing the progress we’ve made and knowing that I am helping people.
The beach day was so beautiful and relaxing. I felt so paceful and beautiful with the nature.
Dancing class was extremely fun and it was awesome to see how different cultures do their arts and how people come together.
Adventure day was so fun! My adrenaline was through the roof and it was an amazing feeling.
I did many new things I had never done before and it was exhilarating.
I would definitely do everything all over again.
– Camila Corrales
