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.
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 throughout the program during designated spaces of time we call ‘tech time’. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location. 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.
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 posts!
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24
Hello GLA families!!!
Finally the day has arrived and we are excited to have everyone here to kick-off the Surf, Sports and Sustainability program in Costa Rica. The staff team has been working hard to set up the last details and are ready to provide the best experience ever for students. Everyone has arrived on time and safely, with the exception of Kathrine, Addison, Dominic, Carter, and Bodhi who are joining the team today on another flight. The group arrived at Home Base and had their first look at Costa Rican nature as the jungle surrounds our beautiful Ecolodge. After getting to know one another and a delicious dinner, everyone settled in their cabins, and is ready to get some rest in order to be prepared for the amazing activities GLA has scheduled for the next couple of weeks.
We are looking forward to Orientation Day. More news coming soon.
Pura Vida!!!
The GLA Staff Team: Heather, Ricardo, Alexandra, Rodrigo & Sar
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25 & 26
Written by: Sammy, Jake, and Morgan
Hey parents! What a great time we’ve been having these last couple days. We have eaten great food, met lots of new people, and played lots of games. The second day was Orientation Day and even though it was a lot of going over protocols, Costa Rican culture, and health checks we got to have fun around home base by going in the pool and playing games that let us get to know each other.
The third day (yesterday) we had our first surf lesson. We caught lots of waves and had an amazing time. Later in the afternoon, we went back to the beach and played soccer and volleyball. As soon as it started to rain, we headed back to home base and went in the pool. We all had an amazing bonding experience turning it into a whirl pool. To end the day we had a group discussion/ debate on a real life situation about sea turtle conservation efforts in Costa Rica.
Note to families: We’ve added lots of photos from Day 3 below, along with a new blog post for Day 4. Happy reading! -GLA HQ
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 27
Written by Leaders of the Day – Laura, Griffin and Ally
Today we woke up to a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and warm pastries. We headed down to the beach to meet a conservation organization called Grupo Ecológico Avellanas, who took us on a tour of the mangroves. While informing us of the history of their program, we quickly learned to keep our eyes peeled for the monkeys above who have little care for who their pee and poop landed on! After a traditional lunch of rice, beans, potatoes, sausage and guacamole we spent the afternoon helping clean the mangroves we had toured earlier in the day. After 60 pounds of trash was picked up from the beach and mangroves we split up into groups, did some body surfing in the waves, engaged in an INTENSE soccer match, and played some beach volleyball.
Once back at home base we took showers and ate a large dinner of delicious tacos. We finished the night off in our mentor groups focusing on our leadership and responsibilities with photography and posting on social media. As we write this blog for you all, we also engage in playing intense sessions of billiards and various card games before bedtime. We look forward to tomorrow where we will have our second surf session, and work in the Junquillal Mangrove to plant the mangrove seeds.
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
Written by Athina, Isla, Tyson
Hi Families!!
Breakfast this morning was perfect for our big day out in the water. We had a big plate of eggs with blueberry bagels and sausage. Then we headed down to the beach to meet the surf instructors for our second lesson. This time we all got to catch bigger waves and practice some more of the skills we were being taught. After the two hour surf lesson, we headed back for another delicious meal of stir fry; with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and chicken. In the afternoon, we arrived at the organic garden at Junquillal, where we got a little dirty… from weed picking to mangrove planting, the rain did not let up. We headed home for a wet bus ride and finished the night off with warm white bean soup. We spent our last hour with mentor groups and then headed to bed after a long day.
