TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Nicole, Alysse, Diego, and Marbella
Hola chicos!
The whole team -Nicole, Marbella, Alysse, and Diego- misses you already. You were fabulous group. We wanted to reach out now that you’re back to your daily lives in the U.S. and let you know that you’re still on our minds and to remind you of all the adventures we shared together this summer!
Firstly, we want to thank you for all of your hard work. Our service was difficult! Service to the school, Juan Rafael, was hard work refurbishing chairs for the students. At Terron Colorado, we worked hard to elevate the school classrooms! At both schools you also had opportunities to work with students in English learning and activities of fun!
We are so proud of each and every one of you. Your efforts to integrate yourselves in the culture by trying new foods or speaking Spanish were recognized and appreciated. We remembered seeing each of your faces when the whole fish was served to you. No matter your level of Spanish language you all showed great efforts when communicating with students in the schools.
Beyond our service to the schools, there are experiences we shared during our days together. All of your unique personalities had an impact and created moments unique to our 14 days together. Although we can think of endless such moments, here are some of our favorites:
- The banana boat rides at the beach
- “Do you know the UV today?”
- Clubhouse hangout
- Its not that deep!!
- Endless hugs at the schools
- All the Gerards
- Stubby
- Breakfast pancakes!!!
- Soccer with the kids
- The ants at the national park
- Day at Baldi hot springs
- Chiky’s!!!
- Baby cows
- Karaoke at the beach
- Movie night and popcorn
- FBI
- Fishing for lunch
- The sweaty dance class
- Don Alfredo “este café es basura!!!”
- Hot seat
- Water slides
- Popsicles at the Pineapple tour
- Our extremely heartwarming appreciation circle, and the feelings that come with recognizing others and being recognized ourselves
Whether we mentioned you by name in this letter or not, we hope you know that you each made a lasting, positive impression on all of us. You showed heart and soul in your general attitudes and your friendships with one another, embraced the challenges of the program with humor and poise, and (thank you!!!!) behaved yourselves all the while. We’re excited for what each one of your future brings. Follow your dreams and let them be your motivation to succeed. We wish you a bright future filled with joy and delight.
All the best from your GLA team.
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
This blog is for the Costa Rica split session starting June 29, 2023, which includes both the 14-day and the 21-day student groups.
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.
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 after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. 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.
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 JUNE 30
Written by Written by Dayne and Ray
Hello Families!
Yesterday was a long and tiring day but we all made it to HomeBase to sleep for our first night in Costa Rica.
I think that coming to Costa Rica for this GLA camp was an intimidating task for lots of kids; it was for me, and I hope I’m not the only one. Many of us were frightened of the idea that they would only be able to use their phones for 30 minutes each day. However that changed and as I sit at our dinner area writing this blog, I see a table full of illuminated and satisfied faces. Phone anxiety wasn’t the only fear, though, as I know some of us were apprehensive about the living conditions, Costa Rican weather, and even a mandatory swimming test.
Dayne and I volunteered to be the ‘Leaders of the Day’ (LOD), meaning that we had some extra responsibilities around home base, such as:
⁃ presenting each of the meals to the camp (I’m sure later blogs will go more in-depth about the food here, but it’s all excellently prepared by Don Alfredo and the staff here)
⁃ leading the group in a ‘Chow Circle,’ or a pre-dinner bonding time. Lots of kids seem to be excited about zip lining…
⁃ cleaning up by washing dishes and clearing the table.
⁃ writing this blog that will be updated by future LODs.
Our first day orientation started off with plenty of bonding games and exercises, mostly learning everyone’s names. Before lunch, our mentors/program directors taught us about the culture of Costa Rica, our future service projects, and the rules of GLA. We then took a swim test, which was also our first look at our private lake. After dinner, we played a game called the Funny Olympics, and celebrated Diego’s (camp mentor) birthday despite the rainy weather.
Today was more than just a schedule, though. We learned about rules and policies, but more importantly we learned about each other. We don’t see the group as just strangers who ended up flying to the same summer camp anymore, but as friends who we are eager to share the next two (or three) weeks with. Maybe this paragraph was too exaggerated, but I think that to some degree it’s true, and that by the end of this program it definitely will be.
Sent with Love from ALL!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
Written by Bernice and Ayame
Hola Families,
Today we got to wake up to a delicious breakfast. There were eggs, brand, rice, toast, and orange juice.
After our morning meal we had the opportunity to try Don Alfredo’s delicious premium coffee. Costa Rica has the best weather and conditions for coffee growing so this coffee was definitely the best I’ve had.
This Coffee Workshop was very enlightening because we got the chance to hear about the length prices and labor that good into making high quality coffee.
Then we meet in groups to brainstorm ideas for activities that we will do with the children at the schools for our service project.
After that we ate lunch and changed into our bathing suits to swim, kayak, and paddle board in the lake. It was an extremely fun activity.
We gave our shout outs at chow circle and answered the question of the day made by our LODs (leaders of the day) which was “what was your favorite activity?”
For dinner, we had chicken and chickpea soup, rice, yucca fries, and a sweet caramel treat.
Then we broke up into mentor groups an did some reflecting with our groups.
We are very excited about our day tomorrow at the hotsprings!
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Written by Annabelle and Kiyomi
Hola Families,
Today was really fun!
We had a good breakfast, which included meeting an awesome new camper.
Then we drove to our first destination of the day: the La Fortuna waterfall, (waterfall is catarata in Spanish) which is a popular tourist destination. We took a few pictures at the lookout point, then headed down the 500 steps to reach the bottom of the waterfall. Once we got there, we were able to get into the river flowing from the waterfall to cool off and relax.
Then, we headed back up the steps to our second destination, Baldi Hot Springs Hotel, for a delicious buffet lunch.
After lunch, we relaxed in the various hot springs and had an exhilarating time speeding down the various water sides. After a couple of hours, we headed back to home base for a delicious dinner of (enyucado). Enyucado is beef, cheese, and beans wrapped inside yucca that is fried on the outside.
We are so excited for our first day of service tomorrow.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 3
Written by Adam and Matthew
Hola Families,
Today was our first day of service. We arrived at the school to clean chairs for the students after we headed back to home base. We enjoyed an afternoon in the lake. Later in the day we played games like anchor and telephone. Eventually we had burritos and ice tea for dinner.
[The schools are on vacation and we are helping the schools to renovate chairs and desks so students have sufficient materials for learning. On our first day we were able to work on 22 chair collectively.
We got to spend time swimming, paddle boarding, and kayaking on the lake for a few hours. Then our Anchor Activity was a role-play simulation debate around whether or not English should be taught in schools where English is not the first language. Students had some really thoughtful conversations and perspectives.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 4
Written by Nola and Evan
Hola Families,
Happy Fourth of July everyone!
Although not all of us from America were home for the holidays to celebrate with our families, we found a way to celebrate with the community we’ve built here! Today to start off our day, we woke up to pancakes that were delicious. We did our service which was so rewarding, today we painted 22 chairs and around 15 desks for the students. After our service we had the opportunity to learn how to cook empanadas! We all got to pick what we wanted inside (curse, beans, or rice and checked) leading to them all tasting so good.
We ended off the night with fun outdoor games, dancing, and a Fourth of July bonfire and barbecue to celebrate.
Thank you!
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Written by Kiyomi and Clare
Pura Vida Families!
We’re back from our mini-hiatus and now back to scheduling as normal! Thank you for your patience while we handled what we needed to handle and are working back toward normal 🙃
Today we had our first of two days getting to interaction with the local kids! We woke up, had breakfast, and headed out to the same school that we’ve been working on sanding and painting desks and chairs at. There were probably about 15 kids who showed up and we had three different activity groups for them to rotate through: Crafts, Games, and English.
In Crafts, we taught them how to make dreamcatchers and also some origami fortune tellers.
In Games, they played musical chairs, soccer, and (a hand made) giant Jenga that the Games group made themselves.
Lastly, in English, we helped the kids feel more comfortable speaking in English and taught them simple words and phrases.
After getting back from the school, we had lunch, and spent some time outside.
Then, after dinner, we celebrated Elisa’s birthday with confetti and cake! It was a long day but we enjoyed all of our adventures.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
Written by Matthew and Sully
Hola Families!
Today we went to our second School, Terrón Colorado, where we played soccer, taught English, danced, sand played musical chairs.
We got very emotional when we left our new friends. Some of it wanted to take them home with us – but turns out we can’t 🙃.
We also got to go to a pineapple farm where we got to learn about the prices of growing pineapples and we even got to try fresh pineapple that was cut up in front of us.
[They gave us fresh dried pineapple, pineapple jam with crackers, and Pina coladas 🍍]
In all, today was an amazing adventure and very impactful for all of us.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Written by Angie and Elisa
Hola Families,
Today we started the day off with breakfast as usual, eggs, rice, beans, toast, orange juice, sausage and other great options.
After breakfast we got ready to leave for an amazing day of ziplining and tubing. We did 7 different ziplines which was a new experiece for some people here and we had fun along the way.
After ziplining we headed down to the town park to enjoy a nice pincic which consisted of some packed sandwiches and some lovely snacks. After lunch we headed to the tubing site and enjoyed the river rapids. After the fun day of tubing and ziplining we headed back to homebase for dinner. At dinner we ate a delicious Costa Rican dish made by the kitchen staff, which was a kind of soup. To end the day we had free time, some people decided to sleep in early while others decided to enjoy being in each others company and workout.
Angie and Elisa
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
Written by Clarissa and Angela
Hola Families,
Today was an extra fun day!
We started off our morning by eating breakfast which was the usual: eggs, rice/beans, lots of fruits, cereal, bread, and orange juice.
After breakfast, we left to go fishing. It was so fun, we all took turns fishing and then a couple brave volunteers killed the fish for us.
While we were waiting for the lovely staff to cook and clean our fish, we went on a hike. The hike was beautiful, we saw many plants, flowers, fruits, and some cows. After the hike we listened to a short presentation about different rocks that are found in Costa Rica.
When we came back we sat down to eat lunch. Some chose to order chicken, pasta, or trout fillet. However, the really adventurous campers chose the whole fish – spine, eyes, and head included. Everything was delicious.
We left and drove into the town of La Fortuna where we went on quite the shopping spree. We stayed in groups with mentors and shopped around in souvenir shops, handmade art stores, ice cream parlors, and our group even stopped for some pizza.
On the bus ride back, we talked about our favorite stores and some other ice breaker questions we came up with as the leaders of the day.
When we got back to home base we ended the day with chicken for dinner and a get to know the staff game.
Everyone had a great day with some delicious meals and lots of shopping!
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10
Written by Clare and Nola
Hola Families,
After a very relaxing weekend we started the day off with community service at Juan Rafael sanding and painting chairs for the school.
After we had lunch and then got ready to go to an animal rescue called La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center. They had hundreds of different species of animals. They had sloths, capybaras, birds, pigs and even a puma. Many of the animals were not in cages and they were free to roam the center.
Our mentor Diego’s favorite part was the sloth, and the turtles. On the way home we stopped for some local fruits! Mamon chino/lychee, pejibaye, and manzanas de agua. Once we got home we had dinner and the rest of the night was free time for the students.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Written by Lau and Stella
Hola Families!
Today we had pancakes for breakfast and then we got ready to go to service. At service we painted two classrooms at Terron Colorado. After that we returned to homebase and had some yummy fish for lunch. Then after we had lake time! We showered and got all dressed up for our farewell ice cream social and dinner for those friends only staying for two weeks. Our dinner was pizza of all our favorite kinds! We have lots of pineapple pizza lovers. Later we had an activity about recognizing privilege then had free time until lights out at 10:30!
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
Written by Clarissa and Angela
Hola familias!
We woke up bright and early to say goodbye to our 14 day program friends! We had breakfast before leaving for service. At the school we painted our classrooms and returned to home base at 12 for lunch.
After lunch we had free time so many students took that time to nap or spend time with friends.
We then played a photo scavenger hunt game where we searched for fun items around the homebase! The winners received ice cream as a reward! We all took a trip to the pulpería for some ice cream and treats.
We had chow circle at 5:30 before dinner! After dinner we watched a movie and enjoyed some more free time before bed!
Hasta pronto!
Written by Clarissa and Angela
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
Written by Evan and Mckenna
Hola Families
Today lived up to the song named “today was a good Day” by ice cube, because well, it was a good day.
We started the day off being sluggish and tired, but we were ready to get the day started. We had the usual traditional Costa Rican breakfast.
After breakfast we all got ready to head to another hard-working day of service. We arrived while it was raining, but we went straight to work painting the classroom’s. We were hoping for the rain to stop, praying that it will end soon and half way through, I guess God heard our prayers and made it stop raining.
Our wonderful game crew was sanding boards for the big Jenga, I asked them what they had to say about it, and my friend Matthew said “I want air conditioning” and also my friend Aaron said “I also want AC”, wow very inspirational.
We got done with our first room in the first hour, with our mentor diego saying over and over again “i want a movie”, not really sure what that means but i hope he gets that movie. I feel like I can speak for all of us when I say that the paint is like a magnet to our shirts.
Another thing I learned today is that Diego is a soccer pro.
When we got back we had a nice lunch.
Then we had free time where some of us got our tan, while on the dock.
After tanning and having the most random conversations, we got to the good part, the milk and cheese farm! We got to milk cows and see how the cheese is made, then we got to try a fruit called guanabana, that tasted like a lime type sour candy. When we got back we did chow circle where we asked questions that everyone had to answer. And then we had dinner.
Finally to end the day we had free time until 9:00, then at 9:30 we had to get sleep for the next amazing day.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
Written by Dayne and Lau
Hola Families,
We woke up with a pep in our step due to the intisapation of concluding our days of painting at Terrón Colorado. We started off the day with a special pancake breakfast to celebrate our time with Stella. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast; Eggs and Pancakes along with Fresh Juice and Don Alfredo’s special coffee.
We quickly got all packed up for service and enjoyed our short car ride to the school due to Nicole’s music. We continued to Re-paint and add side walk games throughout the campus to bring a more colorful and fun atmosphere. We re painted games like hop scoch and twister. After many hours we accomplished great work. In total we painted nearly 4 classrooms and 5 Games.
Painting at Terrón Colorado is not the only thing we had to say goodbye too. Our freiend Stella was also leaving us. Her considerate and friendly personality caused an emotional goodbye.
Once arving back at home we ate lunch. The amzing chef made buffalo fish.
Shortly after eating we took part in a leadership activity. This activity allowed us to connect to our roots and reflect on where we are truly from.
After a short break we met up with the local neighbor kids that we previously met from our surveys project at Terrón Colorado to play a soccer game.
Around 10 of kids showed up, providing a tough matchup. Although the kids we played were between 5-14 years old they proposed quite a challange. After lots of sweat and hardship the score was 5-2.
We were given the opportunity to enjoy downtime that was spent to shower and nap.
At dinner we feasted on chicken, rice and beans. To conclude our day we watched a movie; Fast and Furious 5. After a long day, sleep was desperately desired.
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15
Written by Annabelle and Aaron
Hola Families
Today we woke up, ate breakfast and loaded onto the bus for an adventure! After about an hour of driving, we arrived at our destination…white water rafting!
We then went out onto the rapids and had an amazing time swimming, flipping, and watching our friends fall out of their rafts. We took a break about halfway down the river to have a delicious snack that consisted of fresh pineapple, mango, oranges, and watermelon. We finished out the tour with lunch at the rafting company’s headquarters, where we enjoyed some local cuisine.
During lunch, we got to see all of the funny pictures from our tour. After rafting, we had the opportunity to go shopping in the La Fortuna town centre to get some last-minute souvenirs. We got ice cream and pizza, too.
After shopping, we headed back to Home Base where we had a late dinner of beef stew. Today was so amazing!
Written by Annabelle and Aaron
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 16
Written by Sully and Matthew
Hola familias!
Today we had our plans for the beach. We had breakfast and packed the bus with our bags. It was pouring down raining and I personally was soaked. We had a four hour bus drive to the beach. We stopped once at a coffee shop and we got to stretch and go to the bathroom. We continued on our way for another hour and a half. We got there and the hotel was a lot different than any of us thought. It was huge, had multiple restraunts and other things: a carousel, a small Ferris wheel, and bumper cars. We got our wristbands, they were an all access pass to everything there. We could eat anywhere there, order mock tails from the bar, and ride any of the rides although they wouldn’t open until the evening.
When we arrived we had a buffet style lunch and swam in the pools. We walked to our rooms, it was down a steep hill and there was small villas on either side with the hotel rooms. We got to our rooms and put our stuff and headed out for the beach. We walked down the road again for another five minutes before reaching the beach. We stayed at the beach until dinner time. The water was cool and very salty. We were in a large cove so the waves weren’t big but it was still fun. After a bit we went on a banana boat. We went in groups of six and got to ride it while they tried to flip us. Sunset came and people got pictures. After we went back we had showers and dinner. We had dinner at the buffet place again. We wanted to go to a pizza place but it was closed.
After dinner we found out we had missed the Ferris wheel and other rides but that there was karaoke. We went up in groups and videos were taken. I think most of us were surprised when our international director Nicole and mentor Alysse went up and sang the song Shallow. The singing was great and caught us off guard. We finished karaoke and we went back to our rooms around nine and went to bed.
Hasta mañana!
Sent with Love from ALL
BLOG POST FOR JULY 18
Written by Angela and Clarissa
Hola Families,
We woke up and ate breakfast before heading off to our last day of service. We got the opportunity to work with the english teacher to help teach lessons. We also painted a few more games, tables, and benches. It was very rewarding service day and in between classes the kids came out to play with us.
After service we headed back for lunch and then left for a farewell ice cream trip.
After ice cream we had time to relax, pack, and get dressed up for our farewell dinner. We had a beautiful candlelit dinner of mariscada.
After dinner we worked on creating meaningful goals in which we will implement what we’ve learned while here into our lives at home. Then, we did an appreciation circle which everyone said was their favorite leadership activity.
Considering that this is the last blog that will ever be posted for this june 29-july 19 trip we wanted to take a second to appreciate everything. Including our staff, friends, and mentors. We all came out with memories that will last us a lifetime. I also want to thank all the students who attended this, it wouldn’t have been the same without you all and even through tuff times, we all pushed through. Thank you and welcome home!
We also added in a post for July 14th. Scroll up to read! 🙂
Sent with Love from ALL
