Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
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 JULY 6
Dear families!
Hello from the mountains of the rainforest in Costa Rica! We are so happy to be starting our program with a beautiful group of students! We had a wonderful arrival day with earlier and later arrivals, where we got to welcome students by small groups. As they got to homebase students got to relax and have a short walk to start getting to know the beautiful nature and the hundreds of animals… We can see how student´s eyes shine when they see all the animals that share this home! Our amazing homebase, Lands in Love, is a place that indeed is full of love, from the nourishing vegan food to the care towards the animals, to the art designs that resemble nature!
As students got to meet their roomates they started to get to know each other with group games and our day finalized with our first ´chow circle´ our daily community ritual of sharing highlights of the day, as well as shout outs for each other.
By the afternoon of Day 2, we finally got to be a full group after we received our last students who had goten flights delayed. We are thrilled and grateful to live this unique and meaningful experience with our students!
Our best,
GLA Staff Team
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
This morning began with meeting the 2 new members who joined us overnight, Rowan and Nichola. The group became aquainted with them during breakfast, which was followed by a tour of the rescue. The owner explained that Lands in Love began with a group of animal lovers moving here from Israel. At the beginning, they only had 5 animals at the location. It began to grew as they took in rescues. People who had pets that they could no longer properly take care of, or didn’t want to continue to care for, started to leave their pets with the founders. It quickly grew to where it is now, hosting 650 dogs and 400 cats, along with horses, goats, sheep, chicken, and other animals.
We started the day with breakfast at 8:30. All the food here is vegan and it’s very good with a good amount of options. For breakfast we had vegan eggs, pancakes, rice and beans, and fresh fruit. The rest of the meals are mostly variations of pasta, rice, vegan meat alternatives, and salad.
We had orientation and after dinner we got to have a guest speaker, her name was Samantha. She shared insights into the culture of Costa Rica specifically the phrase pura vida which has a much deeper meaning than the translation to pure life. She also shared about how ticos (naive Costa Ricans) give directions and some types of traditional foods ticos eat at celebrations like tamales and arroz con leche, we also learned some of the national symbols of Costa Rica. Lastly she spoke about the culture around coffee and how any time is a good time to have coffee!
Leaders of the Day Sasha, Vivia and Abbie
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Today was another great day! The dog volunteers got to walk the dogs, but it was more like running. They had so much energy! The chicken volunteers cleaned the poop off the walls, fed the chickens, and cleaned the cages. Our horse girls bathed the horses and cleaned out the buckets and stables. Lastly with the cats, our peers washed the dirty blankets. We loved our first day of service and can’t wait for the next couple of sessions!
After services and lunch we drove to a nearby soccer field to face off with a local girls team. We played two 45 minute half’s with a final score of 4 to 15 the locals team taking the win. GLA played hard with Rowan, Mae, Juan Carlos, and Lucy Becker scoring and an amazing defensive team. Overall we a lot of fun and it was overcoming challenges and showing our courage as most of us had no clue how to play soccer.
Finally we arrived at home base to another delicious dinner and desert! After dinner we headed to the conference room to meet Hernán for salsa lessons. Every student learned how to do a simple salsa all though it was a little hard to keep up we all had fun and some even competed against one another with their new dance moves!
Leaders of the day,
Lucy B, Tearza and Isabella.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
Hello everyone!
Today we woke up at 7:00 a.m. for the dog service project. Everyone got ready, volunteered, and then enjoyed breakfast, which included delicious rice and beans with vegetarian eggs. The other service groups started at 7:30 a.m. after breakfast and divided into three groups based on their chosen project: horses, chickens, or cats.
After the morning service, we enjoyed a variety of lunch options. Some students rested in their rooms, while others completed the swim test. Once everyone had some time to relax, the group headed to a cooking class where we learned how to make traditional Costa Rican tortillas and empanadas. On the hour-long ride back, we made a quick stop at a grocery store to pick up snacks and try some of the local brands and flavors.
After returning to the hotel, we had our first assigned dinner seating based on our favorite film and book genres, which gave everyone a chance to meet new people with similar interests. Following dinner, we welcomed a guest speaker who taught us more about the incredible wildlife found along the coast of Costa Rica.
– Sloan, Serena and Nicola
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10
Today we got to go to a chocolate factory and we learned about the history of cacao beans and how chocolate was invented. We were divided into two teams where we answered trivia questions and competed with one another. We also got to make hot chocolate and customized our spoon full of chocolate. I personally added marshmallow and sprinkles to my spoonful while others were brave and added cayenne pepper. It was very hands-on and we got to experience things up close.
We also went to the Hot Springs at a place called like Baldy and they’re like a bunch of like waterslides, which are really fun. The Hot Springs some where like super hot like at like 110° and some kind of like cold plunges. People used their values to know what they wanted as they knew themselves and knew how much they could handle in the waterpark and knew the extent of what they could do.
After the hot springs, we ended up going to a souvenir shop where most of us got souvenirs for our loved ones. Lucy got to play hackey sac with the mentors and directors with a beautiful view of the Arenal Volcano. When we got back to home base we went into our mentor groups when we did our core three values. It was a very interesting and beautiful activity where we got to see how each of us chose certain words to describe us. Some of us had the same ones at the beginning but it was very eye opening to see the top three words each of us chose.
Leaders of the day!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12, 13, & 14
Dear families,
On our travel day to Liberia we left early as it was a 5 hour car ride. We wrote a petition to get our phones on the bus so everyone was really happy about that. Most of us were ready for our first taste of meat in a week, or so we thought…I had less than a spoonful of meat. Anyways we got to rest in our air conditioned rooms, and get settled in. Later in the evening, we had chow circle and dinner, then WE GOT OUR PHONES BACK!! Finally we went to bed.
Getting up bright and early the next day, we had our first day of service at the VIDA clinic! With waffles, eggs, and beans and rice to fuel us, we set off into the clinic. By working with the veterinarians and assistants, we got experience preparing patients for spay and neuter procedures, as well as helping them recover after. We got to observe the procedures themselves, providing us with a unique experience to learn. After our service was over, we cleaned up and set off for a walk around Liberia! After experiencing the beautiful town, we got dinner and came back to the hotel for chow circle and bed!
Finally today on our second service day we woke up bright and early at 6:45 for a lovely breakfast of pancakes, eggs and fruit. After breakfast we got ready to leave for our service morning at the VIDA clinic! We spent the morning working with the vets assisting them with surgery, preparation and recovery. Although the conditions were very hot it was really nice being able to help out with the different cats and dogs. After our work one group left to go for lunch at the hotel while the other group stayed and helped with the last surgeries. The group that left then drove to a waterfall where we got to swim and look at the beautiful scenery. The water was so refreshing after and long day and a really nice break. On our way back we were finally able to stop at Starbucks to get some refreshing drinks and snacks. We ended our night with a debate on animal ethics along with a lovely dinner and our chow circle!
– Leaders of the day Abbey, Leah, Caroline.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15
Today we started off very early this morning at 6:15 for departure for the beach. We had breakfast burritos on the bus ride, which was around an hour long—certainly not as bad as the long ride from Lands in Love to Liberia! The ride was very scenic, as we were in a new climate! We got to the beach, Playa Flamingo, and got ready to get on da boat.
After everyone got on the boat, it was a short ride to docking by a beach. Most people got on their snorkeling gear, and swam in the ocean. Some other people decided to relax on the boat. Everyone gathered back on the boat and we had lunch. We got pasta salad, wraps, salad, and yummy cookies. After everyone was finished with lunch, we wrapped up our water activities and rode back from the beach.
On the way back we stopped at our last souvenir shop and bought stuff for our friends and family back home. They had free coffee and chocolate samples many of us got to enjoy. We then rode the bus back to our hotel and all rested and played card games for the rest of the evening until dinner time when we had chicken and bean burritos! It was an amazing day full of adventure and trying new things and we can’t wait for tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 16
Hello parents!
This morning we got ready and had breakfast at 6:45. Then, we headed off to service at the Vida Clinic at 7:30. We had a long day of service until 12:00 when we headed back to home base for lunch.
Afterwards, we jumped on the bus and drove an hour away to zip lining. We zip lined through canyons, waterfalls, and ravines and we were exhausted afterwards! After we got back to the hotel we rested in our rooms and then went to eat nachos for dinner after dinner we met up with our mentors and then went to bed.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 17
Dear Families,
Today we started the morning with breakfast at 6:45 and then went to our last day of service! Everyone’s improved a lot in their understanding of roles and efficiency, so it moved a lot faster today, especially compared to the first day. It was mostly cats today with a few dogs at the end. We finished around 12:00, and went back to eat lunch at home base.
Then, we went to a wildlife sanctuary, Centro de Rescate Las Pumas. We learned a lot about the work the sanctuary has done, as they’re one of the 10 out of 400 wildlife sanctuaries in Costa Rica that are ethical. It was sad to learn about how many of the other sanctuaries keep animals after they’re able to be rereleased or even capture animals in the sake of making more money. We got to see spider monkeys, pumas, jaguars, toucans, macaws, and a two-toed sloth.
We came back in time for dinner and then got into mentor groups to reflect and discuss how our values shape our future and our goals. We’re packing tonight in order to leave for our last destination tomorrow at 7:45.
Cheers!
