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 7
Bienvenida a Costa Rica,
Welcome to Costa Rica the land of pura vida or pure life. Today was a busy day with 52/53 students arriving to home base. Students found their rooms, passed their swim tests, and were introduced to some of home base protocols.
We finished our evening watching the sunset, eating a traditional Costa Rican dinner, and playing some get to know you games. The last student will be arriving to home base later tonight. We are excited to continue our orientation tomorrow and to get to know each other over these next 10 days!!
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 Amanda
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Written by Rachel
Today we woke up to warm weather and positive mindset for our first day at home base! Breakfast began around 8:00 and consisted of rice and beans, eggs, cereal, and a cup of fresh fruit. After breakfast, we headed to orientation where we learned about the amazing family who own and run the resort. We then broke into groups for a fun game and some different safety activities.
After a bit of free time, we headed to lunch for a mix of rice, beans, chicken, and a mix of veggies. We then learned about all of the amazing opportunities and leadership experiences we will partake in. We were then introduced to the different service activities that this program offers. Verdiazul – helping out a sea turtle conservation organization, Uniendo Comunidades – service for local communities, Guanacaste Water Center – tree planting, and Grupo de Ecológio de Avellanas – beach cleanup and meeting people from a local school.
After a day full of orientation activities we sat down for dinner – mashed potatoes, pork chops, vegetables, and salad. After dinner we had some free time to visit the restaurant and have some of their amazing smoothies. We ended the day an intriguing debate about sea turtle conservation. Orientation day was full of fun learning activities!
Also, happiest 16th birthday to Harrison!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
After an early morning breakfast we started our first day of service. We split into groups of GLA students who served the Guanacaste community through beach cleanup, turtle conservation, planting trees, supporting a local school.
At the primary school we were able to see monkeys in the wild. The memorable experience was enriching as we learned that the monkeys shouts could travel 8 km!
After traveling back to the home base from our dedicated labor had a delicious lunch provided by our awesome host family. In the afternoon we learned more about Costa Rica and helping our community from our guest speaker. We danced through the rest of the afternoon learning about salsa dancing, Zumba dancing and a traditional Costa Rican dance using our “Shakira hips”.
After the hot Costa Rican sun we love to cool off in the pool and go to the beach for sunset. While the sun was setting we gathered in a huge game of beach volleyball and splashed in the surprisingly warm pacific water.
Even only after our first day of service this has been unforgettable experience and we can’t wait to see what the week will hold.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10 (See BLOG POST FOR JULY 11 below)
We started off our day by having another great meal that the family prepared for us. We all headed out for our service projects bright and early. Many of our leaders are in the the Grupo Ecoligio de Avellanas service project, where we learned about plastics and were led to pick up trash on one of the beautiful beaches that Costa Rica has to offer. Other leaders partake in the Guanacaste Water Center project and Uniendo Communidaes project. The water center group spent the day planting 45 trees, while the other project continued to pick up and sort trash. They also learned about the importance of separating the trash and the effect it has on the environment. After service we had lunch.
We all then packed up for an afternoon full of the beach. We all got to experience our first full swim in the ocean and continued to play games, like volleyball and monkey in the middle. This was a great way to grow our bond as a group and enjoy Costa Rica. For dinner, we enjoyed Tacos. Unfortunately, no one was able to break the record of 17 tacos eaten! For night activity, we learned about the stereotypes of different people and places and how we can change our perspectives. We are all exhausted after another great day of service and are excited for an adventure day tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Written by: Harrison, Gabe, Maelie, Nate, Sloan, and Ava 🙂
Hey everyone! today was an early morning as we got ready to leave for our adventure day at 6:30 am!
we had empeñadas for breakfast and took a 2 hour bus ride to hotel hacienda guachipelín. we started our adventure by taking multiple ziplines through the jungle, repelling, and rock climbing.
then, we had a delicious lunch and continued our adventure with tubing through the river rapids. we had an amazing time conquering the rough rapids and floating together down the lazy river. some of us even got a chance to jump off a large rock into the beautiful water.
After returning from the river, we all hopped on the bus and headed back to home base. As we journeyed home, some of us raged to some killer music selections, while others had a competitive game of catchphrase.
Once we arrived home, we witnessed a breathtaking sunset at the beach. It was by far the best one yet! Then, we ate a scrumptious dinner of chicken, veggies, and rice.
To cap off our day full of fun and adventure we had a group karaoke session and jammed out to everything from Call Me Maybe to Sweet Caroline.
Today was full of memories to last a lifetime and made our group even tighter than before! We can’t for more adventures with this amazing group!
