Horses and Hot Springs!
Today, Sherrilee, Matt, Maria & Emily’s groups went on a hike through the national park around a volcano which was awesome (even though the smell was a little odd.) The groups then went to natural hot springs to relax & were able to exfoliate our skin with mud masks. After washing off, we went to Playas del CoCo to shop, eat incredible gelato & get tacos. Everyone was able to buy a lot of souvenirs for themselves as well as friends and family.
–Danni & Ali
Today, Kevin and Tiffany’s groups went to Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin for horseback riding, white water tubing and zip lining. It was a very fun experience and everybody had a great time. After, we had lunch at the hotel and enjoyed a nice ride home after an exhausting but exciting day!
–Madeline & Nicole
Service!
Today, Emily’s group went to a local high school in La Cruz. We introduced ourselves to groups of eighth and ninth graders and played a couple of games with them. We got to practice our Spanish while they were learning more English.
Today, Matt’s group went to work on the green house at the elementary school. Some of us were hard at work cutting planks of wood to make legs while others played with the local kids. Towards the end, one teacher gave us a presentation on the local culture of Guanacaste.
Today, Alex’s group went to a local community center and built an eco-playground with local women. We dug holes and places painted tires for the kids to jump on. Half way though the morning the kids from the local school came and played on the new playground we had built.
Today Sherrilee’s group went to a local church and helped set the foundation for a daycare center. We were able to interact and play with the local kids, who also helped us do a lot of work.
Kevin’s group had one goal; building the bridge. Upon arrival, we couldn’t start working immediately, because we didn’t have the materials. After waiting an hour for Sam to bring the materials, we could finally start working on the bridge. We made some progress making the structure of the bridge and making the cement.
More Adventures
Today in Tiffany’s group we went to the local bi-lingual high school and helped teach English to the kids. In Mateo’s, we helped construct planter boxes at the local elementary school so the locals could grow their own fresh vegetables and incorporate deeper greens into the children’s diet. Also, we dug holes for posts to build a bridge in Maria’s group. With Alex we finished digging holes for tires and cleaned the tires for a tire park. In Sherrilee’s group we went to helped out at a adult English class. Later today, we split into groups and some of us went to a near by island and the others went to a beach in El Jobo. Tonight we went to a bonfire and learned about the Costa Rican culture and the Peace Corps.
Mentor Groups
Group A- Tiffany
Abigail Schinderle
Betsy Garcia
Elsa Beard
Emily Burkle
Jacob Marcus
Julia Arreola
Max Engel
Priyam Khemani
Tyler Borden
Walter Haracz
Group B- Kevin
Benjamin Buchholz
Gurleen Grewal
Hattie Sher
Jarod Rodriguez
Jason Chubbuck
Jasper Arendse
Kalia Norris
Madeline Henderson
Megan Waterhouse
Noah Shamsai
Sage Shamsai
Group C- Sherrilee (All girls)
Allison Ambler
Bethany Roos
Danielle Bianco
Eliana Feinerman
Franchesca Maria Timpanaro
Natalie Stewart
Paige Fox
Patricia Janick
Rebecca Scott
Sabrina Boutiette
Samantha VanDrisse
Group D- Emily (All girls)
Alison Yang
Courtney Redmond
Katarzyna Maziarczyk
Kathleen Garvey
Madison Pake
Mia Sgamboti
Mikayla Emery
Molly Zhang
Naomi Goodwin
Sophie Maher
Tara Morgan Griffith
Group E- Matt
Adam Philip Lawrence
Amanda Murgia
Gabriela Ching
Jessica Strokowski
Kevin Chen
Leah Greenberg
Megan Lo
Melissa Ferlatte
Nicholas Tuanchaem
Noah Bleakley
Ryan Ceschin
Group F- Maria (All girls)
Alexandra Lutz
Christina Piccinin
Elise Pohlhammer
Emily Holloway
Katherine Clavadetscher
Kimberly Miramontes
Kylie Blessing
Lauren Hansen
Marisa Li
Nicole Patch
Siena Hasson
Service Groups:
Group 1 (Reales)
Adam Philip Lawrence
Bethany Roos
Christina Piccinin
Elsa Beard
Jacob Marcus
Jasper Arendse
Kalia Norris
Megan Lo
Noah Bleakley
Noah Shamsai
Sage Shamsai
Walter Haracz
Group 2 (Llamativo Pantalones)
Alison Yang
Allison Ambler
Benjamin Buchholz
Emily Burkle
Emily Holloway
Hattie Sher
Jarod Rodriguez
Kathleen Garvey
Leah Greenberg
Madison Pake
Marisa Li
Max Engel
Priyam Khemani
Ryan Ceschin
Group 3 (DTSS)
Abigail Schinderle
Alexandra Lutz
Amanda Murgia
Betsy Garcia
Danielle Bianco
Elise Pohlhammer
Jason Chubbuck
Kimberly Miramontes
Madeline Henderson
Paige Fox
Patricia Janick
Sabrina Boutiette
Tara Morgan Griffith
Tyler Borden
Group 4 (Ticas Chicas)
Jessica Strokowski
Julia Arreola
Katarzyna Maziarczyk
Katherine Clavadetscher
Kylie Blessing
Mikayla Emery
Naomi Goodwin
Natalie Stewart
Nicole Patch
Rebecca Scott
Samantha VanDrisse
Sophie Maher
Group 5 (Trece con Suerte)
Courtney Redmond
Eliana Feinerman
Franchesca Maria Timpanaro
Gabriela Ching
Gurleen Grewal
Kevin Chen
Lauren Hansen
Megan Waterhouse
Melissa Ferlatte
Mia Sgamboti
Molly Zhang
Nicholas Tuanchaem
Siena Hasson
Group Activities!
Tara Morgan Griffith- Today the “real conquistadores” (Group 1) went to a local elementary school to play soccer and other games such as hide and seek and duck duck goose, other known as “pato pato tigre” with the children. They enjoyed showing us their tire playground and much more.
When not playing with the children, the “real conquistadores” helped start the process of building raised plant beds for the greenhouse in the elementary school. We used saws to cut wood to length, and hammers to nail down nails and take out old ones.
Bethany Roos- On our first day at the service site, “llamativos pantalones” (Group 2) helped dig holes in order to build a bridge for local Ticos. We dug 180 cm (6 feet) deep holes and all had a great time and can’t wait to go back tomorrow!
The “llamativos pantalones” also met the local family who lives across from the soon-to-be bridge. Guanalupe, a beautiful seven year old girl, helped us dig before school along with her uncle while her adorable two year old brother watched. Lenin, our amazing bus driver, also helped us a great deal. We all loved meeting their family as well as having a fun time enjoying working with each other!
Kathleen Garvey- The “Ticas Chicas” (Group 4) an all girls group, led by Sherrilee, had a delayed start due to “Tico time.” The service was held at the local church. Because of a lot of hard work and dedication from the locals and GLA, the church is able to continue to be a place that helps the community. Once the service started we were on our feet leveling the back of the church and digging holes. During the service we divided our group and were able to play with the little kids, a great experience about hard work and patience.
Lauren Hansen- Today the “Trece con Suerte” (Group 5) service group had the wonderful task of digging holes for a new local park! The work was hard but that only adds to the fulfillment at the end. The holes will be filled with recycled tires creating a fun obsitcal course for the young Ticos
A Rainy Day
It rained quite a bit today, but that didn’t stop us from having a ton of fun. Everyone arrived and we are already making new friends and getting to know a new culture. This is going to be a great session filled with many memories and stories to share!
We’ve Arrived!
All students have arrived safely and are ready for an amazing program! Stay tuned for blog updates and photos!
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