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June 4, 2014 by Brett Scuiletti 11 Comments

COSTA RICA – Empowering Rainforest Communities – June 15 – June 28, 2014

Heading Home

All students have headed home after an amazing time in Costa Rica!

Breaking Down Language Barriers

Today is Heather’s birthday, and we surprised her with cards and a candlelit… watermelon.

After another breakfast of rice and beans, we were given the choice to either nap or watch the World Cup game of Costa Rica vs England; I, without hesitation, picked the nap. After a much needed slumber, we headed over to Escuela Gavilan, for the second day of service. It was truly an amazing experience for me because although the language barrier was as strong as ever, I still managed to connect and play with the kids in ways where words weren’t needed. I made a special connection with a 7 year old girl named Kristel, and she taught me how to play their games using hand signals. Even at such a young age, she understood that verbal wasn’t an option for communication.

After getting dirty while playing tag in the mud, she brought me over to the sink to wash our hands, and then continued to splash excess water on me. I did it back in return, starting what turned out to be quite a water war. First it was the flicking of water, then it transitioned to cups of water, then to buckets of water and before I knew it, the whole school was in on this war. Soon enough, I got all of 20 kids on my side by providing them with water bottles, and used them as my little minions. They’d run up to me and ask “Quien?” (who?), and I’d point at someone who they would douse in water even after being begged not to. Through shared laughs and great memories, I made an indescribable bond with all of the students, and Kristel continues to help me probably more than I help her.

Saying goodbye was hard; I even got sprayed with muddy water by one of the youngest kids as his final “Ha, I win!” Although it was disgusting, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Not much longer after we got back, we were instructed in a dance class by a couple of ladies that taught us common Latin dances, such as Salsa and Cumbia. It was neat to see their form of dancing, and it was cool to me how easily it was to pick up on. Following dancing was a bit of karaoke, which was probably more entertaining to the eye than pleasing to the ear. Then I was given the task of distracting Heather while they put the finishing touches on her birthday cake, and I told her that she NEEDED to remove a gross bug from my room. After ‘not being able to find the bug’, we arrived back at dinner to a cake and candles. We sang happy birthday in Spanish, and ate the cake, which was unlike any other cake I’ve had before: muy delicioso. It’s crazy thinking there’s only really two days left of camp, for everyone here is starting to become less like strangers and more like family. I wish I could have at least one more week, but overall I’m glad that I can take away not only this beautiful culture, but an unforgettable experience with unforgettable people.

 – Jennifer Chamberlin

A Wonderful Weekend!

From the wildness of yesterday we were able to get back on track and really enjoy our time together during service and relaxing in the hot springs. Our main service project at this new site is to help a local school reclaim their school’s area by building a fence. Building this fence will empower them and allow the students to focus more on their studies as outsiders will not bother them. Arriving at the school we surveyed the area that we needed to fence and looked at the materials we were using. Once the kids were on break, we were able to play soccer and taught the Costa Rican kids how to play with a Frisbee. Then a group of us went with Luke to start digging holes to up the posts in. Eventually we decided we’d have to even out the land so that the fence could be easily installed. Another group went to help cut the fence to the desired size as it was much taller than they wanted. Once the kids were off for the morning we went to go play with them again and grab a quick snack before cleaning up to go. We played Simon Says, sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” and some played a new game the boys taught us where they tried to push each other while being along a wall.After eating lunch we had some time to ourselves to do whatever we like at base. Several of us decided to take a nap or play cards. We played Spoons, Comps, and Egyptian War. Several moments later, we were back on the same trail we went on yesterday through the rainforest, this time taking a different turn into the Hot Springs. We put all our daypacks and clothes by a wooden hut, then went down the steps into the warm clear water. We relaxed there for a couple hours and talked miscellaneously. We went on a different trail back.After eating dinner we watched video footage of animals in the nearby forest, then the movie, “Into The Wild.” Going back to the housing area we planned for the next day and made posters for Heather’s birthday.
-Marisa Wong
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Today we hiked roughly 16 miles to the top of an active volcano and back. The tiring journey took the whole day but it was the most fulfilling experience of my life and I wouldn’t change a thing (other than Alex hurting his ankle). We started our hike in the lush jungle of the tropical rainforest, then we reached the top of the treeline and hiked along a stream. The water was so fresh and clean that we were able to fill our water bottles and hydrate ourselves. It was the best water I’ve ever tasted. We started our hike up the mountain, and the toughest part of all was hiking straight up the volcano. My thighs felt like they were on fire, but I couldn’t give up. When we came closer to the top, the strong smell of sulfur filled the air, and when I finally reached the top, I saw the beautiful layers of rock in the crater. I peered into the opening, I saw the pool of baby blue minerals and my eyes filled with tears but I was too happy to cry. I’ve never been so proud of myself. The blue color was completely unexpected and being up so high, inside a cloud gave me goosebumps. It felt as if I were on top of the world. The view was breathtaking. I am thrilled to have spent all day hiking in this beautiful country, with these awesome people I only met just a week ago. I am so thankful to have been given this life-changing, unforgettable experience. THANK YOU DAD, I LOVE YOU!!!!

-Christina Brown

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Today was kind of a relaxation day for the group. We spent most of the day driving up to our new home-base up in the rainforest, Las Bromelias. Before we left Horizontes we had some time to do a team building activity called, Bucket of Dreams. First we all wrote down our dreams on notecards, and then the dreams were placed into a box which was placed in the middle of an obstacle course. Four people were blindfolded, a few people could not talk and the rest could talk but could not touch any objects. We had to work together in order for us to get to the box of dreams.As I said before the bulk of the day was taken up by a nice long bus ride up to Las Bromelias. For all of us the bus ride was a nice time to relax, think about our time in Costa Rica, and look at the amazing Costa Rican countryside. While we were riding up to Las Bromelias we stopped at a local supermarket and got a lot of snacks for the ride and for down time at Las Bromelias.

But without a doubt the best part of the day was seeing the four-week old puppies that live here at Las Bromelias. There are five puppies here and they’re very cute. For some people the puppies are one of the best things about this trip so far, but for most of us they’re just an added bonus to an already amazing trip.

-Finn Goldsmith

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A Full Day

There was no wake-up call this morning, no “Preparame la Cena” song and a little less of a morning ritual. We awoke few by few, groggily gliding towards the port-a-potty behind the camp and eventually congregating around last night’s fire space and the makeshift canoe benches. There was cereal for breakfast, paired with 1% milk. We were all introduced to pre-toasted bread and a jar of alternating peanut butter and sweet jelly. During breakfast, there was talk of raccoons trying to get into the trash, and Omar said that he heard monkeys (maybe the howler monkeys from the day before). After changing, our group slathered on some sunscreen and hit the beach [specifically, the Pacific Ocean]. A few of us went stand-up paddle boarding in the choppy waters of today, while others played Frisbee in the water. It was a very relaxed way to spend the morning, and much of it was spent doing nothing but floating in the shallow water just talking and bonding. Heather taught us a kind of self-reflecting activity called “Pagamento,” which means “payment.” It was a cleansing ritual where we all sat on the beach holding an object, such as a shell or rock and thought about the past day. One by one, we finished by dropping the object into the ocean. After Pagamento , we had fun not only burying Edison in the sand, but completely morphing him into a sand-mermaid.Adventures at the beach ended around noon. Lunch was the perfect combination of brown rice, corn, beef, onions, and possibly other foods. We held a particularly memorable conversation about the weather during this time. Coming from New Jersey, a state that has endured Hurricane Sandy and snowstorms, I was surprised to find that some people need a jacket for temperatures as high as sixty degrees, or that schools in California have fire days, not snow days.After returning from the beach, the rest of the day was low key. A few of us climbed “the tower,” a high reaching radio tower with a spectacular view and a few wasp nests. I am proud to have lost a fear of heights (at least, until zip-lining next Friday). At 5:50 we gathered for a Forest Fire Talk, presented by 1 of 13 firefighters in the area. There, we were briefed (via PowerPoint en español) about the causes, effects, and how to prevent forest fires. Edison got to try on their uniform, and we learned that Cost Rica even has their own version of Smoky the Bear! A Toño Pizote mascot surprised us at the end, by the time which we were all very excited for the barbecue dinner that lay ahead. Grace, who has worked at Chipotle, taught us how to wrap the tortilla bread properly and effectively. After dinner, we had a discussion about the meaning of the program, Empowering Rainforest Communities. Jen came up with the novel idea of viewing the word “empowering” as an adjective rather than a verb, because really, the rainforest communities are already empowered. They help us to appreciate the beauty of the rainforest and become better people while helping out a little. It was a long day, and while some went to bed after the talk, others stayed to play an entertaining improvisational game, called Excuses. We fell asleep easily, ready for our next adventure in Las Bromelias.
-Chunchun
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The Beach and Burgers!

Our morning began the same as the others. We woke up to music, did our morning ritual, had breakfast, then prepared for service. For service we took a tractor ride to a test site for trees. This area is devoted to testing which trees grow the fastest and are most beneficial to empowering the forest.Our job was to use a rake and pull away the weeds from around the trees so they could grow without any other plants taking their nutrients. Mainor explained the task and surprised a few of us with a special job. He distributed machetes to 5 of us and told us to simply hack away at the grass. One gets a sense of power while holding a razor sharp object and being allowed to clear away the thick forest. Finn described the experience the best when he said, “I feel like I’m in Nam!” While of course Vietnam was a different experience, the scenery was similar. After about 3 hours of service, we went back to home base and prepared for camping on the beach.As we got to the beach, the sight was beautiful. Calm waves splashed against the shore. Thick forest surrounded the beach in a large cove. We swam for hours. There were kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and snorkeling gear that supplied endless fun. As evening rose, we got out of the water and grabbed our dinner. Burgers! Haven’t had those in a while. We ate our delicious food on the beach and watched the sunset. As the purple, pink and orange sky turned into a deep blue, the stars came out of hiding and presented themselves to us. With no lights around there was nothing to disturb the vast majority of twinkling stars. The 14 of us lied on the beach and star-gazed. There were times where we had enlightening conversations about life. Or we just talked about our favorite movies. Then there were the times where we stared into space in silence. It’s been 5 days and we have all connected so well with each other. It’s truly amazing how fast we were all able to get used to each other and make strong friendships with everyone without leaving anyone out or being hostile to anyone. Everyone here is here for the same purpose and I feel that similarity we all share has made it easier for us to grow closer and stronger as a group. Today has been an amazing day and I can’t wait to see what future days have in store for us.
-Edison
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The Green Tunnel & Beyond

Today we woke up to another beautiful day in Horizontes. After a tasty breakfast, we headed out to the Green Tunnel, where we performed our service for the day. A recent wildfire burned nearly 16,000 acres, including much of the original tunnel. We also planted twelve trees, which turned out to be fairly grueling work.

From the Green Tunnel, we drove to the community of El Triunfo, where we met the seventeen students attending the community’s elementary school. We played games like fútbol and Frisbee. Interacting with these incredibly kind children was absolutely amazing. They wanted to talk with us and play with us the entire time! A few of us GLA kids even found that speaking with the children was easier than with the adults here. The GLA Family and the children enjoyed a meal together, followed by hugs and goodbyes. I speak for myself when I say that playing with those kids tired me out more than any service activity we’ve done thus far! They are terrific individuals and I’m glad to say that I will remember my time spent in that community for a long time.

Later we headed out on a hike to a nearby waterfall with Freddie the Biologist! Thanks to Freddie, we were able to see interesting flora and fauna. We had the opportunity to meet a snake, whom we later named Seth. Upon reaching the waterfall, we were disappointed to see that we could not take a refreshing dip, because there hasn’t been enough rainfall so far. Nonetheless, we were still able to enjoy a beautiful view. After our hike we reflected on all that we had accomplished and experienced. Now we are taking a few minutes to rest up before our dance lessons! Hasta Luego!

– Laura Schwab

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Welcome to the Jungle

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Hello friends and family, and welcome to our blog! Today each and every wonderful student, or “forest person” as we are referred to by our mentors, was greeted at the airport. In shifts, we were driven through the beautiful scenery of Costa Rica by our great bus driver, Fabio. After traveling through the “green tunnel” in Guanacaste, the luscious conservation area that we are staying at, we finally arrived at our first Home Base, far out in the tropical dry forest. Since then, we have received many welcomes from various adorable critters such as cockroaches, frogs, venomous snakes, and feisty ants. We put up some comfortable hammocks and established our official “chill zone.” Then for dinner, we ate some delicious rice and beans with salad, fresh mystery fruit juice, and ice cream. We also played some ice breaker games and discovered that every member of this trip is fantastic. The stars outside generated the effect of a planetarium, for there were so many and they were so incredibly bright. We are staying at such a wonderful place with such wonderful people… It’s going to be a great trip!

-Tara

Conservation Station

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Today was our first full day in the conservation area, and it was chock-full of fun. We began our day with some delicious desayuno [breakfast] consisting of pancakes, fresh fruit, and exotic juice. We then retreated to the Salon, our meeting room, to go through our orientation. During the orientation, we went over the rules and regulations, and we also played games amongst ourselves and with the staff to learn everyone’s name. After our orientation, one of the conservationists gave a presentation on the workings of a national park in Costa Rica, thoroughly explaining the contents and inner-workings of various ecosystems that exist here, from the Ocean to the Cloud Forest. This presentation also explained the conservation procedures that the staff here at Horizontes, the experimental reforestation station that we are staying at, have taken to counteract the damage done to the tropical dry forest ecosystem. We then ate lunch, which was delicious.

After almuerzo we began our fist service project, mixing soil with sand, and then planting seeds in the fertile mixture. After a long and fulfilling work effort, we got the chance to play soccer in the rain with our two counselors, Heather and Luke. Omar was the best soccer player. We then ate dinner, which was delicious, and embarked on a night hike. Our leaders were Freddy and Mainor (pronounced “Miner”), the former a biologist and the latter a conservationist at Horizontes. We got to hear the rhythm of the forest, as the noises of the animals coalesced into a collective exhalation of wilderness, instincts such as touch and hearing became dominant, because the brightness of the stars could only poke small holes of light into the darkness which permeated through the forest. For the most part, the creatures of the forest remained hidden, scared by our invasion of their land, but we did manage to spot some toads, tadpoles, and beautiful birds. Once we got back to the station, we went back to the salon (community room) to watch a video in which a Nigerian woman spoke about the danger of a single perspective. We then went back to bed, our excitement inundated by the need for rest.

– Omar

Food for Horizontes

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On our third day as forest people, we headed out into the critter-filled dry forest to find cow poop to use in the greenhouse that will be used to grow fruits and vegetables for the people of Horizontes. The tractor ride to our destination was like a video game. We lost many lives while fending off attacking branches and thorns. It was game over for Edison when he fell off the back; but don’t worry, he didn’t break any bones. Once reaching the pond that contained the cow poop, we connected with Vanessa and Minor, the conservation staff, by learning some Spanish words and phrases. Scooping poop-filled dirt into bags was a true bonding experience for us GLA-ers, and discovering grubs in the dirt was an added bonus. We showed true physical strength when lugging the heavy bags of caca (poop) in and out of the tractor. Others showed more artistic strength by painting the water and fertilizer cans with colorful decorations. After lunch, we headed to the beautiful beach, where some of us pruned ourselves in the salty waves, while others collected palm leaves and made a headdress and hula skirt. There was a ceremony to anoint a sorcerer (photos to come). It was a sad moment leaving Gerard, the stray dog who loved to take pictures with us.

We immediately drove to a school in El Triunfo, where we played soccer with the community. Both teams consisted of GLA forest people, Horizontes staff, and the locals. The community was hospitable enough to let us wear their authentic, green jerseys. Other community members watched our bloody battle, until the non-jerseys came out on top with a close score of 4-1 (it was closer than you might think). We then connected and snacked with the community members and met some local kids, our age and below, who were incredibly kind and friendly. Once we got back to home base, we ate dinner and chilled together, opening up even more, and learning many interesting things about our peers. We may have only been here for three days, but it really feels like we have known each other for months. After a long, labor-filled day, we are happy to crash at 10, excited about tomorrow exciting opportunities and adventures! Hasta luego!

– Leah


Global Leadership Adventures


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Filed Under: Programs

About Brett Scuiletti

Brett Scuiletti is the Editor of The Young Leader. He is passionate about young people having meaningful travel experiences and enjoys sharing their stories. Brett resides in San Diego but always has his passport handy!

Comments

  1. Liz Fuentes says

    June 18, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    Hey Omar and Edison,
    We are all so excited to see you in the beautiful rain forest. We will follow the blog closely and for all you forest people and leaders…enjoy and learn!! love Nana

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  2. James Austin says

    June 20, 2014 at 3:09 am

    Thank you for the wonderful account of your activities with GLAD. Continue to enjoy!

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    • James Austin says

      June 20, 2014 at 3:11 am

      Sorry, typo, we meant GLA.

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  3. Karen says

    June 20, 2014 at 4:21 am

    More pics please!!! Love the blog…keeps us connected since we haven’t heard from our forest person in awhile…Marisa, you are still alive with a cell phone still…

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  4. Phyllis McGhee says

    June 22, 2014 at 12:36 am

    Granddaughter Jen Chamberlin so proud of what you are doing and you keep up the good work. Love you.

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  5. Cheryl says

    June 24, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    Wonderful blog entries! I actually laughed out loud at hearing Finn’s description that cutting weeds with a machete made him feel like he was in ‘Nam! Boy, you watch too many movies….Love you!
    See you back in NYC soon! We all miss you and and glad you are having an exciting trip!

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  6. Gabriela Fuentes says

    June 24, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    Wow! Boys we are soooo proud of you guys! Miss you deeply but more so very excited about all that you are doing…sounds like such a great group of people and that you are all doing such important things! Love Mom( Gabriela)

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  7. Mia says

    June 24, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    Omar and Edison,
    I hope you guys are having bucket loads of fun in Costa Rica. I miss you guys so much,but luckily it’s easier to sleep without all your video games beeping. Love you!

    Mia

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  8. Colleen Rubin says

    June 24, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    I love the Blog and reading about your activities; they sound very productive and educational and the fun sounds really fun! Would love to see more pictures. Connor, we hope it is the trip and adventure of a lifetime. Love you!

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  9. Paula says

    June 24, 2014 at 11:54 pm

    Jen – We love and miss you! You are empowered, exciting. Mom, Dad, Jaime and Drake.

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  10. Neil says

    June 26, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    What critters have you seen?

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