Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Here are a few things you can expect:
- We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 20
Pura Vida!
Today, we welcomed our 52 amazing young leaders to the beautiful country of Costa Rica! The first batch of students arrived around 9 in the morning at the Liberia Airport, followed by couple more groups by noon.
They went straight to the homebase where they found their rooms, had some initial health checks and swim test, and got to know one another. By afternoon, just as a new batch of students arrived at homebase, we went straight to see our first sunset here in Playa Junquillal! We finished the day with a delicious traditional meal of arroz, frijoles, pollo, y enselada and some icebreaker activities to get to know one another. We also celebrated Kenya’s birthday with a cake and songs!
We look forward to orientation day tomorrow and to learning more about the service projects we will be participating in.
Dear parents, family, and friends! Please keep supporting our leaders’ journey here in Costa Rica by following our blog and commenting below! Thank you so much!
Pura vida,
Mentor RJ
BLOG POST FOR JULY 22
Written by Miah, Sam, Lola, Zach, Connor, Sydney
Today was the first day of service. There were 4 service activities that peoples took part in. These activities included cleaning up the beach, working with turtles, and working with trees, plants, and locals. After these services and lunch, we took part in afternoon activities which involved traditional Costa Rican games, soccer, and a cooking class with our local chefs!
The daytime festivities were concluded with another amazing sunset. After another amazing meal, everyone got together and brought out some competitiveness for trivia night!
– Miah, Sam, Lola, Zach, Connor, Sydney
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Written by Leo, Julia, Elyse, Asha, Hugh
We had breakfast at 7 and left for our service at 7:30. We met up with a local fisherman at a beach close to his house to start service. We started off by collecting trash and micro plastics off of the beach. We went swimming in the beach with the fisherman and his very cute dog.
At 12 we made our way back to home base for lunch which was tacos. Then we went to a beach with our whole group, to swim and hang out. Around 5 we made our way back to home base to watch the sunset at the beach. For dinner we had chickpea and potato curry, which the host family kindly cooked for us. Since it was raining we couldn’t do our originally planned activity with our mentor groups, but we got to play board games and spend time with everyone!
– Leo, Julia, Elyse, Asha, Hugh
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
Written by Austin
Today, we had breakfast at 7 and left for our service project at 7:30. We met with a local community worker and painted signs saying to protect the environment and the beaches. After we finished the signs we went swimming at the local beach and enjoyed our time together.
At 11:30, we made our way back to home base for lunch at 12. For lunch, we ate homemade curry made by Elizabeth with a side of salad. At 1:30, we had a special guest attend to discuss Costa Rica and the annexation of Guantacaste. She also discussed interesting facts about Costa Rica and the celebration of Guantacaste. After the guest speaker, we had dance class in which we learned some of the basic moves of the Salsa and a couple other traditional dances. After dance class we met back at 5:45 for the beautiful sunset along the beach of the country.
For dinner, we were fed chicken and fries, which the host family kindly cooked for us. At the end of the night we met back at 7:15 for our night activity but, instead we celebrated the birthday of 2 students and 1 GLA Staff. Our GLA Team set up a piñata for the students Jacob and Kenya and our Local Director Juan. The gift from the GLA staff was a pool night in which everyone enjoyed till 9. After that we went into our rooms for the lights out at 10!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
Written by Julianna and Sierra
This morning we all woke up and ate our usual rice, beans, and eggs. Later on we headed to our service group for a productive morning of volunteering. Luckily the weather was nice and a lot of work was completed.
After lunch, we took the bus to the chocolate factory. We got to taste lots of different local chocolates and learn about the process of making them. The day ended off with delicious garlic bread and pasta.
