PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
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.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR MARCH 27
Hola!
It is Spring Break here! And we are excited to start our third session of Costa Rica: Spring Break Service Adventure!
Today, our students made their way to Guanacaste Province in Costa Rica to jump into their adventures and learning opportunities that are coming along! We hope that you will enjoy using this blog as a way to experience this journey with us!
Our group has safely arrived and is getting comfortable in their new home on the beach of Junquillal. Most of the students shared that a long day of traveling tired them, but they are all super enthusiastic and looking forward to the adventure and service days to come!
We picked up our first two students in the early morning at the Liberia airport. After their 1.5-hour van ride they reached their home for a coming week to get settled, walk around, and start living the Pura Vida. With 13 students we departed the airport to meet up with Sydney at the home base. Unfortunately Bergen couldn’t make his connection but he will join us tomorrow! We can’t wait to have our complete crew! This week we have a group of 15 students and we are excited to make meaningful connections and work at the turtle project!
We can’t wait for the week of service learning , lifelong memories, and deep friendships that awaits.
Pura vida from Mag (International director) and Juan Carlos (Local director) and our amazing mentors AC and Lisamarie
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 28
Leaders of the day: Sam, Sarah, Anna
Hola familias!
Last night we encountered an exciting adventure on our first day! Turtles were ready to be released into the ocean and we all got to watch as they made their way to the water. We learned to use red light around the turtles for their protection, and smiled as they began their life. Today we began with orientation, involving some fun bonding activities and going over rules. After orientation, we ate a delicious lunch before heading to Avellanas beach.
With a short bus ride we arrived and split into groups to go for a swim and practice some awesome boogie boarding on some boogieable waves. We got to see some animals along the shore and visited a local artisan selling patterned clothing, and enjoyed some refreshing smoothies. After a long day of fun in the sun (don’t worry mom, no sunburns-Sam), we made our way back from the beach to home base to gather for a sunset circle where we discussed important people in our life, and reflections of the trip so far. Some peers mentioned missing their pets at home and thinking of them often!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 29
Written by Leaders of the Day: Syd, Mackenna, and Anna
Hey guys,
Yesterday we got to know our GLA group leaders; AC, Lisamarie and Mag a little better with a quiz game where we interviewed the staff. Mags team was the winner by one point even though with their extensive knowledge the obvious choice was Lisamarie’s team. In the morning after breakfast where we got energized for service we took a 5 minute walk to ‘Verdiazul’ which is the turtle project we are working with this week. Before getting done to work we talked about the four different species of sea turtle that come to Playa Junquillal: Leatherback, Negra (Green), Hawksbill, Olive Ridley.
After lathering so much sunscreen on and locating our hats, we got and started our assembly line for the clean up of sea turtle nests. Lets give you a rundown of this operation: 3 people were in the hatchery (including Wedsel the project leader) digging out the contaminated sand from the previous eggs. Then the buckets of sand were passed down through our GLA peers and group leaders, and us obviously, and spread across the beach. After the sand was cleared we went and got new, wet sand, and passed it up the assembly line to fill up a new nest which are now ready to incubate new eggs! During break number 2 we made a killer playlist, which really helped get us going. Once we got into the groove of things and figured out a system, which included getting water from the ocean and dunking our hats in the water to cool us off. Right before lunch we helped clean a park (trash, palm leaves, and coconuts) where we ended up learning how to open a coconut without a machete (thanks Mag).
After drinking the water we ate lunch and went for round 2 of service. We ran the assembly line back and this time were really in our groove. In the end we exchanged the sand in 4 nests. After our extravaganza in the sun, where we had live music from Sam, Lenon, and Adrianna when the speaker died, we headed back to home base for a swim before home dinner and sunset circle.
Catch ya on the flip side!
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 30
Written by Ava, Alexarya, and Lennon
Sup y’all,
We started off the day at 7am in the bus. We traveled around 2 hours to a really amazing adventure/nature park. We got ready to take a rapid ride down a 3 mile river in tubes. The tubing was very fun and we met a lot of new people from other groups travelling in Costa Rica, who were helpful and caring, some of them we will remember are Chris and Kara. We were able to make closer bonds and so many new inside jokes.
After, we changed into dry clothes and got some delicious buffet lunch. There were lots of amazing fruits like mangos and papaya. We got harnessed up to go canopy zip lining. We went through canyons, slides that drop into the zip lines, rock climbed, and rope swung. Later after the zip lining, we were able to go to the gift shop and get gifts for friends, family and us. We took our last bathroom break and got back on the rode for the long drive back.
On the ride, some of us played cards and others passed out. On the road we stopped at a small, local fruit shop, where we drank coconut water out of the coconut and got delicious fruits. As the drive continued, we all sang songs and laughed. Around 5pm, we finally got back to home base. We got cleaned up for taco night and to finish off the day we are going to play a really fun turtle debate activity.
BLOG POST FOR MARCH 31
Written by Adriana, Mika, and Isha
Hey Fam,
We started off the day with optional yoga, and everyone else had a little extra time to sleep in. Then we went down to breakfast and had some delicious French toast. After breakfast we went down to the beach and started our service with Verdiazul. It was a little different than the service on Wednesday as we started with seeing a baby turtle get released into the ocean. This turtle was the last in her nest to hatch because she was a little lazy and all her siblings had already been released that morning. Then, we all sat down in the shade for the turtle workshop where we learned how to differentiate the nests and tracks of different turtle species. Afterwards, we put that knowledge to the test through a game, in which we were split into two groups and built turtle nests of our own.
After they were built, the other group then had to find the nest, identify the species of turtles, and count the correct number of eggs. We were able to squeeze in some pool time before lunch, where we enjoyed chicken tenders, salad, and fries. After lunch, we went back to service to change the sand of a nest. When service was completed, we were all tired and sweaty, so we went back to home base to clean up for cooking class. In cooking class, we made some delicious corn tortillas served with potatoes and beans. We were taught by a local woman in her outdoor kitchen and afterwards tried to catch some of her chickens. Afterwards, we went next door to play futbol (soccer) with some local kids. Then, we headed back to home base for Sunset Circle where we saw one of the best sunsets of the week. We’re about to head to dinner, and then will be ending with our evening activities.
Hasta la vista and catch you next blog ☺!
BLOG POST FOR APRIL 1
Written by Emma, Autumn, and Kat
Hola!
Today was an awful day. For starters, our catamaran got canceled. Then, we learned that the pool at homebase was drained. Finally, we couldn’t swim in our alternative beach because it was infested with jellyfish.
At least, that’s what we thought…APRIL FOOLS! Our directors and mentors played a prank on us and we were all fully convinced our day had been ruined. We were all super bummed, but decided to embody the pura vida lifestyle that we have been working on all week.
The catamaran turned out to be amazing, with snorkeling, paddling boarding, diving, swimming, and a delicious lunch. It was truly one of the highlights of the week. We made some great memories! Afterwards, back at home base, we did our final packing and checked our flights with Mag.
After packing up our rooms, we came together for a group activity centered around appreciation for each other, ending the trip on a positive note with a bonding moment. Next, we had a thrilling dance class that incorporated 3 Latin-style dances. We were taught and given time to practice some choreography before competing in a dance battle.
After a short break, we returned to an OMG circle, which is GLA slang for One Meaningful Goal. The two mentor groups focused on developing a common goal to apply to their lives at home based on what we learned here in Costa Rica. One group decided to talk about confidence and determination, and the other group’s goal focused on reducing food waste. Each group performed a skit to explain their OMG to the other.
Now, we are about to join the rest of the group for a final night pool party. This week has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we will never forget the people we met, the things we learned, and the turtles we helped.
Pura Vida!
