Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
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 post!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 14
Hola from Costa Rica!
We’re so happy to have all these great students here on the program with us. All 10 students in the group have arrived safe and had a fun day of new experience.
Today we had arrivals, orientation, pool time, and delicious meals on our restaurant balcony overlooking the beach.
We shared some laughs and got to know each other throughout the day. Such joyful, funny, intellectual, sporty, and talented students in this group. What a great start to this journey!
Students will be busy during the days fostering in-person community. To keep you looped in, we’ll send regular blogs and be available as a staff support team for you and them 24/7.
Our blogs will start with myself Amanda, International Director, and Juanca, Local Director, as authors then transition into student written narrative.
Thanks for trusting us with your young ones, it’s really an honor to work with them.
Amanda and Juanca
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 15
Everyone in camp set an alarm for the morning the previous night. The birds outside everyone’s rooms had a different plan and decided that they could beat out loudspeakers and quite literally scream at 5:30 this morning.
When we all met up for breakfast at 8, we all discovered that everyone had woken up around 6 to 5:30 due to the birds.
We had all finished breakfast by about 8:30 when we had decided to start packing up for the beach. We brought boogie boards, cards, and goggles.
By the time we were all inside the bus. After a 20-minute bumpy ride to the beach, we were greeted by crashing waves and crystal-clear water.
We spent the three hours we had at the beach by playing volleyball, exploring the tide pools, and swimming around the cove. We saw several things, including little crabs, snails, and 2 to 3 sea turtles.
After we packed up and got into the bus once again, someone brought out a speaker, and we decided to play beach music for the ride home.
After we came back, everyone took their time washing off a little bit and resetting themselves for lunch of chicken fingers that were fried in a fish batter and fries at 12:00. It was absolutely delicious.
We were then taught in a presentation about Costa Rica. We learned about local dishes as well and about the wildlife in the area.
After getting about 30 minutes to reset and enjoy some (virgin) strawberry daiquiris, we walked over to the turtle egg hatchery. We learned all about the four different types of turtles in Costa Rica and we learned how to identify which tracks were which species as well as their threats and diets.
Then, we were able to simulate finding turtle nests. We all used tools to locate the nest then our hands to carefully dig out the “eggs”.
We then ran to clean off some sand, and we had two hours to spend cleaning up and jumped in the pool and played various camp games.
We then went to have sunset circle and discuss the next leaders of the day as well as achievements, and one fun story we had about an animal encounter.
As the sun finished setting, we ran to dinner and had salad, pork, and mashed potatoes. Once again, it was very protein-filled and nutritious as well as delicious.
After seven, we went to play a hypothetical game where we are crashed astronauts on the surface of the moon, and we have to figure out the importance of the 15 objects we were given in order. It was very well thought out.
We had free time for the rest of the night, so we played card games and more camp games (and wrote an incredible blog, if we do say so ourselves).
We’re all enjoying our time here in beautiful Costa Rica and we cannot wait for our next adventure!
Kaden and Sydney T
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 16
This morning, we went to go volunteer at a school in Guanacaste. One group made an area to contain trash, essentially like a platform. However, the other group walked around a forest and streets looking for trash to pick up. We collected a total of 81.17 pounds of trash. After that, we started a project to paint signs for the local community. This will be finished on Wednesday. Overall, volunteering at the school has been a very humbling experience and taught the true value of hard work.
Later, we had a relaxed afternoon by the pool. We played a series of different games as a group. It was a really nice way to recollect and have a fun time with the group.
We were supposed to have a dance class after this, but there was actually an opportunity to release turtles into the ocean. So, we headed over to a nearby beach to go watch them make their way. It was a really special treat. Yesterday we had a simulation of finding and identifying turtle eggs, it seeing them live in action elevated the whole experience.
To finish off the day, we did an activity that sparked the critical thinking of new technologies and their impact on the modern world. The prompts focused heavily on their impact in the school environment. After, we wrapped up with a few games.
We’re looking forward to ziplining and dance class tomorrow!
Charles and Emma
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 17
Our morning began at 8am with a a delicious breakfast before heading to the zip line course, where we had our fun adventure of the day.
The zip line course was about an hour and a half away and was filled with fun moments of music and fun conversations.
When we arrived, we were kindly greeted by the zip line pros who surprised us with a quick jump from about 40ft high before we began our journey.
We completed 10 zip lines in the trees and we saw some monkeys along the way!
Then we had a picnic lunch before heading off to a market a little further.
The market was right on the water and some of us purchased some souvenirs as well as some ice cream and refreshing drinks.
We then headed to the nice beach for some monkey in the middle and some swimming. On both our way to and from the beach, we saw several animals like horses and a puffer fish in the sand.
Immediately after arriving back to our home base, we went to dinner where we had taco night.
After dinner we went to dance class where we learned some salsa, reggaeton, and typical costa rican dance moves. This class was so much fun and we all worked hard!!
We then went to the home base parking lot to do our daily leadership activity and “sunset” circle in the night.
Our day was closed off by some card games and board presentation for tomorrow’s schedule.
We are having so much fun here in costa rica and we are flabbergasted that we are already half way through the trip!
Lilie and Sophia
