7/26/2015
All students are safe and accounted for! Due to poor wifi in Costa Rica, blog updates will be posted as soon as possible!
7/26/2015
First work day
Today, Megan, Ian, Katie, Martin, Sari, Maya, Ryan, Cesar went to San Blas School to finish building the gym floor. The previous GLA group had built the first half of the concrete floor, so our group started flattening out the second half. To flatten the area out, the eight students, along with the help of two local men, picked up rocks and added soft dirt. The group worked very quickly and efficiently and completed their tasks with time to spare. In this spare time, we toured through the village and visited Rodlofo’s (one of the men helping out) house. Here, several different animals such as chickens and turkeys greeted us. It was a very interesting look into the lives of the locals and it created an experience that we will never forget.
-Megan and Ian
Today Alexina, Nick, Annelise, Katie, Arjay, Nick M. Ian, and Danielle went to La Libertad school to work on building a patio for the children to eat on. Today we cleared out the site, and then mixed cement and started to lay it down. After, we went home and had lunch and then went to a local community, called Communidad de las Palmas, and went to a local house and learned how to make tortillas. After we went to a local field and played with the local children. After we went back to the home base and then went to the beach for sunset and it was beautiful. It was an action packed day with lots of great experiences.
-Alexina and Nick Mclane
This group includes Makena, Jack, Adam, Samantha, Collin, Celia, Luke, and Carly. Our group worked on a small elementary school where we are completing smaller projects like painting a ping pong table and a three point line, while also building a basketball hoop for the kids to play on a previously completed (by GLA) basketball court. As it was the first day we began by building a frame for the basketball hoop and sifting sand to mix cement, which will eventually form the hoop. In addition, the group completed the paint of the ping pong table and we are awaiting the installation of a net. After our work we proceeded to a cultural immersion where we were welcomed into a local family’s casa and learned how to make tortillas from scratch. From there we took a short walk to the local park, gathering los niño along the way, to play a variety of sports and get to know (as much as we can considering Spanish is not our strongest language) the local children and the people we hope to impact most. The day concluded with a nice walk to the beach where we watched the sunset and enjoyed a short time in the ocean.
– Jack Doby and Makena Gordon
7/27/2015
San Blas
As we walk off the bus we are greeted by the enthusiastic workers. We were prepared for a difficult day of pouring cementoand officially beginning our project. Then, we went to beach for some swimming and “tuanis time”=chill time. After lunch and beach time, the girls played some Costa Ricans in soccer. The Costa Ricans were very good at soccer, they beat us. We as a group went to the super market and everyone bought food and ice cream. They money conversion was very confusing. Being a “Leader-of-the-Day” was very enjoyable and fulfilling.
XOXO Catie & Martin
P.S. hi mom…<3 your son
La Libertad
Today we started by shoveling rocks into a cement mixer. It was the first day we didn’t have to do any digging, which made the work less strenuous and more fun! We became closer as a group and started working as one unit. We learned from our mistakes from the first day of work and adjusted them accordingly. As “Leader-of-the-Day,” we had personal goals in mind and worked hard to accomplish them. In the end we both feel we achieved our goals, which led to a successful day.
RJ & Annelise
Obandito
Obadito is a school we volunteered at and it opened our eyes to many cultural differences. Even though our cultures are different we share the perspective of open hearts and commitment. Robert Frost once said “two roads diverged on a yellow road. We chose the road less traveled and that has made all the difference.” We chose the road less traveled by working with perseverance and keeping our heads high and it has made all the difference not only to us but to the children of Obandito.
Colin & Sam
7/28/2015
Morning – Luke & Celia
At breakfast, Luke and I made the morning announcements successfully. At the worksite we finished putting the cement down, helped teach kids English, and played with the kids during recess.
Afternoon – Nick S. & Katie
Lunch: For lunch there was some food, tuna pasta, steak bits, and more food.
Fruits of the day: manga & mamon chino
Snorkeling: We went to Turtle Island! There were fish & stuff. We got to touch a pufferfish and an octopus. And then we went to the beach to swim and it was beautiful. We had some fun skipping rocks and seeing who could throw the farthest.
“Tuanis time:” During this time we got the wifi password and everyone freaked out. We only get it at the girls’ house so all the people were there. We played cards and talked with friends on the internet for an hour and a half. It was a good time.
Evening – Cesar & Maya
Next, at 6:30pm we ate a delicious dinner with friends served by the lovely Doña Veronica and Liseth. Finally, we participated in a very educational presentation by a park ranger who works at the national park where we are going to for our Adventure Days. We learned a lot about Costa Rica.
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