COSTA RICA – The Initiative for Children – July 19 – August 1, 2017

Day 1

ComWow! ( dijo el perro) the day has finally arrived for Airport pickup day on Day 1 of GLA’s Children’s Initiative for Costa Rica! This is our third and final group and we are excited to get things underway! Let me start by first introducing myself. My name is James Tuttle and I am in the International Director for the program this summer, and I feel honored that I get to spend the summer between year one and year two of medical school having an amazing time in Costa Rica with students from the U.S., Canada, Spain and beyond! I am happy to be returning to Latin America after having spent two amazing years managing college students in the mountains of Guatemala. I am joined this summer by two amazing student mentors: Casey Riesing and Aileen Soto. Casey is an expert Spanish language instructor who is working on her Master’s in Spanish Language, while she manages her university level Spanish classes. Aileen is taking a break this summer from her work leading teens on 20-day wilderness hikes with Outward Bound to share her years of experience with GLA students this summer. Between the three of us we have over 15 years of experience working with youth, and over 10 years traveling, living, and working abroad. Finally, we are hosted and guided by our Local Director Alfredo Corrales. Alfredo is well known member of the town of Santa Teresa de Cutris where he owns an amazing 200 hectacre finca (farm), complete with 3 beautiful lakes, farm hands, and everything una vida en el campo requiere. Alfredo is the father of three sons, a master in the kitchen, and is joining Casey, Aileen, and I with over 30 years experience working in hospitality as a hotel owner, business owner, and partner with GLA since the program’s conception. Today, the first three students arrived early in the morning from Los Angeles and had an opportunity to catch up on some sleep in a nearby hotel with Casey. Once the vast majority of the other students arrived we took a trip to City Mall so students could eat their last bits of American comfort food before heading off to our home base. We were on our way to home base around 5:00pm and students were able to relax and have a dinner at the “Iguana Loca” named for the Iguana’s which sunbathe in front of the restaurant during the day. As you read this all 23 students are getting to know their new roommates in of the six cabins at Alfredo’s finca in Santa Teresa. Students are enjoying a comfortable air-conditioned rooms, a Costa Rican sunset over one of our three private lakes, and an opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep. Not much in terms of “roughing it” is in store for our group. However, cell phone service is limited at home base so please expect some delays in communication while your student is in Santa Teresa, I, however, can be reached via my local number +506 7248-0065. Tomorrow morning we will start the day early with an extensive orientation on our dock, followed by a day of planning for our first day working with the local schools on Friday. So as they say here in Costa Rica, “Hasta muy pronto”, and of course, “Pura Vida”!

Today was wonderful. We started off the day with a delicious breakfast of eggs, fruit, rice and beans, and cheese. After, we went on a bus to one of the schools to play with the kids. They were unbelievably adorable!! We played many games with them in a big field like sharks and minnows, duck duck goose, red light green light, and drawing. It was great to run and play, I felt like a little kid again! Some of the kids loved to play with my hair and take pictures! After, we went back to home base for lunch and had pork tenderloin, coleslaw, plantains, rice, and beans. It was also very good. We followed lunch with a rainforest hike. After that we chilled by drinking Costa Rican coffee which is amazing, and I don’t like coffee!!!! Today was also joseline’s birthday and we had a great celebration with her and it was so fun! Can’t wait for tomorrow!!!!!

Brenna Hymowitz

(Picture of kids touching a girl’s hair)

(Picture of kids at a table)

Today in Costa Rica we got to go to Santa Teresa and meet the local kids who attend there. We played a few games , and they were definitely a challenge . They were so sweet and eager to learn. Later that afternoon we took a hike in the finca and got a little more familiar with our surroundings. On our second hike we went through the rain forest and saw some of the most beautiful sceneries .

Joseline Betanzos

Dear Parents, friends, and family,

In order to better provide a more personal touch to the day-to-day affairs of our students, we ask each student to write one blog post and select one picture of the day that best captures their experiences that day. So without further ado:

First full day in Costa Rica! Today we hung around home base, had a group orientation, and got to know each other more. After learning more about the program and each other we had a lake day. Everyone swam and jumped off the dock. For breakfast we had eggs, pancakes, plantains, and a pineapple banana salad. For lunch we had beans, rice, and chicken. For dinner we had pasta. It was good to rest from traveling and getting to know everyone better!

Isabella Kakish

(Picture of lake)

Hoy ha sido el primer día completo en Costa Rica! Hemos pasado el día en “Home Base” donde hemos hecho orientación en grupo y nos hemos empezado a conocer mejor entre nosotros. Hemos pasado la tarde en el maravilloso lago que tenemos. Todo el mundo salto de la terraza y se dio un bañito. Hemos tomado maravillosa  comida tradicional de Costa Rica. Para desayuno comimos huevos revueltos, pancakes, plátanos fritos y una deliciosa  ensalada de piña y plátano. Para comer en mediodía tomamos arroz y verduritas justamente con un delicious pollo. Para cenar tomamos la famosa pasta de Alfredo. Fue un día perfecto y tuvimos la oportunidad de descansar del largo vuelo y conocemos todos mucho mejor!

Georgina Rigat

Vanessa Vides Leon

July 23, 2017

July 30th 2017

This was a great day leading up to the end of the program. As the day began, the idea of our trip ending hung over us but that did not affect the day at all. Throughout the day we continued to show the great bond that this group shares and has expressed throughout the trip. We had a good time swimming, relaxing, and enjoying the activities presented to us by our mentors. Everyone was enjoying every last minute of one of the most amazing trips ever. Jaden Toulson Sunday morning, like any morning in Costa Rica, was beautiful. At this point the near 2 weeks of strenuous emotional, physical and mental work has sank upon la finch and its subsequent residents. We have a late breakfast at 9:00am. Soon after the group split and Aileen’s service group followed up with the invitation to Daira’s house. Meanwhile, the other service groups performed an activity in the yellow house. Afterwards, we had some fun in the lake. Lunch rolled around as Aileen’s group came back from Daira’s house with what I could only assume to be tears in their eyes. Despite such, we ate lunch and proceeded to our next activity, the activity that was by far the highlight of the day. The volcano of Costa Rica! We have barely been able to see it all trip due to the rainy season, however Sunday is the day we do. We set off at 1:30 and arrived at La Fortuna at 2:30 for more gift shopping and such. I personally bought some tres leeches cakes (delicious) however, when all was said and done we had to leave at 4:00 for the sight seeing of Costa Rica’s volcano. We go up a mountain, with slight problems, until we reach a giant lake that has a view of the volcano. Above us, however, the sky did not seem to agree with our plans and brought upon a lightning storm. To say the least it wasn’t long until everyone was in the bus and we were going back down. The lightning was beautiful (the thunder not so much) however it was terrifying when one lightning bolt decided to pick its target next to bus. After a somewhat long day we pick up the family (Daira’s family) and mired their hospitality by inviting them to dinner and everyone had a good time playing with the kids. After dinner the universal topic and question in la finch was, “2 week! Already?” To conclude an earlier statement, or at least to clarify, the collective toll that sank upon la finch on this Sunday morning was not unwelcome nor was it a surprise, but a reminder of our transient, yet beautiful experience in Costa Rica. From Costa Rica, Alejandro Gonzalez July 31st Blog! This is about to come to an end, and although our mosquito bites don’t say so, we want to stay here for longer. At school we did the last class, we started off with a quiz and a water balloon fight and finished with a soccer match. But the hardest part of the day was saying goodbye to the kids after everything we went through. We finished the day with the final dinner, where we all dressed up and looked nice after all these days having worn wet clothes. From this experience kids have not only learned English from us, they have taught us how to be kids again through their enthusiasm and their never ending questions. Although for some of us communication may be hard due to the language barrier, we have been able to find our way through it and establish some unbreakable bonds and everlasting memories. We have learned to see this country in many ways, we have seen it through wildlife, cultural activities such as salsa, empanada making or cow milking, but the one that I personally like the most is through the people. The Ticos have taught us the meaning of Pura Vida and this is something that we are taking back home, together with this people that were once strangers but are now great friends. And although we have not been here for a long time we will have these memories forever!

Laia Rigat