Our trip to Costa Rica was absolutely incredible and I can’t believe how time has just flown by! In just two short weeks we did a TON of activities, made new friends, learned more about ourselves and our host country. Now that you are back home and back to your normal routines, I hope that you still think about your time in San Pedro and are using all that you learned here to do something you are passionate about!
As GLA and Green Communities have taught us, it is our job to consider how our communities can become more sustainable, looking at the pros and cons of everything before making a decision. It is also our job as global citizens to promote awareness on the changes our Earth is going through simply because of the materialist nature of our economy. What we hope is that your time here helped develop you to be true global leaders and that you continue to look for ways to incorporate sustainable development at home.
But besides the academic portions of the trip, we also have learned a lot about ourselves through our excursions and service! Some of us learned to embrace the unexpected and try to look at life through a new lens-whether that was learning how to trust and be brave while getting flung across the forest at the Adventure Park, putting our differences aside while working with the locals at service, meeting the mothers that work and live in San Pedro, or being valiant to express our own opinions and ideas during our mentor groups! I’m sure that each of us gained a bit of confidence somehow, someway, during our time here and sometimes that’s the most valuable thing you can achieve from a trip like this! So, next time you are in a difficult or similar situation, I hope you think about how you handled differences, insecurities, debate, and friendship while in Costa Rica.
We hope that you all think of Costa Rica and the people here often. The sidewalk is getting longer each and every day. In fact, the town of San Pedro has said they want to contribute some of their own money to the project to help get it completed faster! We have also fertilized over 20 coffee farms in San Pedro! The organic coffee will grow to be an amazing product that not only provides income for the families, but also will be bought from next year’s GLA students and their families! We are still recruiting more families into switching to organic farming and thanks to your help, more and more people are willing to give it a go!
Although it may have been a while ago that we were all together at the ecolodge in Copey, your memories and the friendships made here will remain forever! Here at GLA Costa Rica, we hope that you are all doing well and going the extra mile in whatever you are passionate about. Keep up the good work!
Some highlights of our trip:
-Surfing the waves in Dominical
-Seeing the natural wildlife and the National Park and swimming in the crystal clear waters!!!
-Working alongside Alvaro and his constant teasing!
-ordering pizza to thank Memo and the kitchen staff for the wonderful food
-Esteban’s “dad jokes”
-The amazzzzing smell of compost
-laughing with one another all the time and creating special bonds with new friends!
-Nicole, Tona, Esteban + Green Communities Staff
Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.
