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 JUNE 27
Hola de Costa Rica,
Our GLA staff Margarida and Kaycie arrived earlier this week to our first home base at United World College, a lovely campus in Santa Ana where we met our Local Director Juan Carlos. Last night Andrei arrived and today we finally got to pick up most of our students who trickled in throughout the day. Lila, Lynea, and Gemma were our first arrivals and we shared lunch together. Maud, Zoey, Rose, Henrik, Parker, Adrian and Caroline arrived later in the afternoon and our last arrivals Satori, Alex, and Viana are here safe as well. We expect Samreen to arrive tomorrow.
We enjoyed our first meals together with super tasty and healthy food prepared by onsite kitchen staff. The weather has been incredible and students have been relaxing, walking around campus, working out at the gym, practicing our Spanish, and bonding over shared interests. Everyone has arrived with a positive attitude and we are so excited to get our internship started!
Hasta pronto,
Kaycie, Margarida, Juan Carlos
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
Hola de Costa Rica,
Our first real day of the program started! After a delicious breakfast, our interns found their way to the library, where we had orientation and discussed what the expectations were for our internship. During this time, we welcomed Samreen, our last (but certainly not least!) intern. At last, the group was complete. We played a Speed Amistad(friendship) game to get to know each other more, in which an outer group of interns rotated around a smaller one, having one minute to answer questions such as “What is one current trend you would wish would end?”. These were great conversation starters and we were able to continue our discussions on these questions throughout the day.
Following lunch, we were given a tour of our current home base: The United World College. The tour included: a view of the basketball court and soccer field, the theater, the large mango trees located near the entrance, and a surprise visit from a pair of iguanas, and another brief glimpse of a young iguana scurrying up a tree!
After the tour, our interns learned about the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been established by the United Nations, and applied them to a challenge scenario that was presented to them and used our creative thinking to discover solutions for these challenges as teams.
After spending half the day at campus, we went on a walk around our local city, Santa Ana where we made a stop at a local supermarket called “Maxi Pali” and grabbed some snacks for the evening. While it was very warm outside, there was usually a nice breeze that kept us from getting too hot.
Because it was so nice out, the interns and staff decided to dine outside for dinner, and were rewarded with a peek of all the animals around.
Finishing off the day, we had a meeting and discussed social media and AI, our current views and stances on it, and how we want to see ourselves in the future, in the current technological world.
As our first day drew to a close, the interns staying at UWC settled down underneath a beautiful full moon.
Signing off,
Parker
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 29
Hola de Costa Rica,
This morning, after waking up we had a delicious breakfast to start off our day. We then all migrated to the library where we had our guest speaker, Celeste Leon from UWC who gave us a lesson on intercultural communication. During this lesson we learned about how humans set pre biases about other people based on visible features and behaviors, and how we can avoid that by asking questions and staying curious. We also learned how different cultures may have different behaviors and how that can result in miscommunication or misunderstandings if it’s something we’re unfamiliar with. The lesson was very interactive and we played a lot of games. One of them being an activity where we were all assigned cards that had a specific rule with how we could communicate and we couldn’t show anyone else our cards. Some examples of these rules being avoiding eye contact, being vague, keeping distant, etc., often traits that would make someone uncomfortable in a conversation if your communication style is different.
This lesson was very informative and important especially since we are all getting immersed into a culture that is not our own and it’s very crucial to be respectful and know how to communicate with people who speak different languages and have different backgrounds than our own. It’s also helpful for us to communicate with each other.
After our lesson we had a dance lesson led by Yen Núñez from a company called El Spot. For a lot of us, dancing was out of our comfort zone and not an activity we would usually partake in, but we all had a lot of fun and we learned one of her choreography’s! She inspired us to talk positively to ourselves which can help you succeed at new things.
After dance we had a much needed break where we hung out and reset with our snacks we had purchased at the grocery store the day prior. Dinner was Azteca soup, a dish from Mexico with homemade tortilla chips made by the local chefs here who always put so much love into our meals.
We ended off the day by meeting with our mentor groups for the first time to write down our goals for our internship and the type of person we wanna be by the end of it. We also wrote letters to our future selves to look back on after our time in Costa Rica. Overall we had an amazing day and we are all very excited for the days to come!
Buenos Noches,
Maud
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30
Hola de Costa Rica,
We started the day with a nutritious breakfast to kick the day off! We decided to have a fun team exercise by playing Mafia. After our games we started our second UWC workshop with the guest speaker Sofia Quiroz presenting about climate action and sustainability. We learned about how Costa Rica has tackled issues of climate change and monoculture, and explored the interconnectedness of the people, planet and profit in sustainability.
In the afternoon, we walked into the town of Santa Ana and bought food and ice cream, and then played a friendly soccer/football match with some locals at a park.
In the evening after dinner we reviewed our strengths assessment results from the survey we took. This helped us discover which areas we specialize in, then we grouped up according to our main domain of strengths and discussed pros and cons of each area. Overall this day was very entertaining and informative!
We hope you enjoyed our blog,
Buenas Noches!
Satori and Henrik
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
Hola de Costa Rica,
Today we went on an exciting adventure to Cartago, but not before celebrating Canada day at breakfast! Festive Canadian flags and red ribbon decorated our outdoor dining hall with special pancakes and maple syrup from the staff.
After a scenic bus drive from Santa Ana to volcan Irazú in Prusia national park, we went on a 1 hour uphill trek to the outlook spot. With our tour guide Alejandro guiding us, we enjoyed beautiful foliage and saw a historic landmark referred to as the haunted tree, which was the only tree to survive the fire from the volcano explosion in 1963. We reached a maximum elevation of 10,000 feet, and learned about how the US government helped reforest the park with arboles de pino.
After trekking back down we enjoyed lunch at El Sitio in Cartago. We enjoyed fajitas, quesadillas, and the two most iconic Costa Rican dishes Caldosas and Chifrijo, as well as pineapple and watermelon juice! After recharging we headed to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles, the biggest church in Costa Rica. Here we learned about the church’s history and its impact on Catholicism in Costa Rica. The beautiful stained glass windows and intricate architecture provided great photo material and a very memorable experience. We visited and drank from the holy water fountain and saw all of the Milagros people leave for the ‘La Negrita’. These are miniature charms shaped as specific body parts (arms, legs, hearts, eyes, or internal organs) to represent an ailment, injury, or physical condition they are praying to have healed. We then ended our trip by getting boba and waffles, we were so excited about this.
We played games on the bus ride home and bonded even more. After arriving back to home base we watched an educational documentary about the effects of pineapple production in Costa Rica, and headed to bed.
Hasta mañana,
Rose and Zoey
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Hola de Costa Rica!
Today we had our last workshop entitled Agents of Change taught by Luis Abarca from UWC where we learned about creating a project with steps like who we are as change makers, discovering challenges, coming up with ideas, action, getting the word out, and lastly reflection. We also learned about the characteristics of change makers such as passion, initiative, active listening, adaptability, and courage. We worked in groups to ask “how might we solve…” and chose a problem we wanted to solve together. We made a visual brainstorming map and presented them to everyone at the end. This was great practice for our final projects we will work on throughout our internship and present at the end.
After the workshop some of us took a well needed recharge back at home base while a small group went to play soccer in town.
At the end of the day we discussed starting our final project with some more brainstorming.
Adios!
Alex and Caroline
BLOG POST FOR JULY 3
Hola!
This morning we brought our luggage out from our base in Santa Ana and prepared for our travel to our next stop! We started the day with a wonderful breakfast at UWC and then hopped on the bus. After spending two hours on the bus enjoying view along the way, we arrived at Crocodile Bridge in Tárcoles. We explored inside the gift shop and store and then saw the crocodiles lounging in their swamp from a bridge above them. Although they were sleeping, it was a very fun observation.
Next, we returned to our bus and traveled for another two hours and arrived at our lunch spot. The humidity hit us immediately, but we nevertheless enjoyed our food together. After a delicious lunch, we returned back our bus for the final stretch towards Puerto Jimenez.
As we entered the rainforest region, we passed by fields of palm trees, horses, cattle, and an abundance of greenery. The rain came down heavily throughout the evening and picked up even more when we finally arrived to our home base, Refugio. We were welcomed by the owner and staff and settled in to our new rooms. This place is so beautiful, it truly feels like we’re in the rainforest. Finally, we ended the night with a dinner of chicken, rice, fries, and salad. We’ll be heading to bed early tonight to reset and prepare for our rainforest service portion of the internship! Tomorrow we look forward to celebrating the Fourth of July with another GLA group who will arrive tonight.
Adios,
Gemma and Alex
BLOG POST FOR JULY 4
Hola, GLA familia!
Today was a fantastic 4th of July in Puerto Jimenez, despite the slight humidity. We started the day off with an amazing first breakfast at the second homebase of the trip. We set off on our orientation with Biosur, GLA’s conservation partner. We were the first to see a project that they had been working on for the last 20 years. They inaugurated their insect museum and gave us the very first tour. Then we watched a short film that followed a baby spider monkey, Kalu, who has been very affected by the deforestation in Costa Rica recently. Our hearts were touched and it got us excited for the service work ahead.
Once we got back to the homebase we had a splash and took our swim test with 100% passing rate. BOO YAA!! During our 2 hour free time break, some swam, some napped, and most started creating our research presentations. Biosur met back up with us and took us on a tour around the town. During our tour we got tres leches in cups, drank authentic coconut water, and jumped into the ocean from a doc. At dinner, we were served a wonderful USA original meal, a burger and fries. And now we are waiting for our 8 o’clock poolside pilates and yoga before we catch some z’s to prepare for our first service day!
Buenos noches familia,
Love Lynea and Samreen 😝🥰
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
Hola de Costa Rica,
Today we drove off into the rainforest with Biosur to the Río Nuevo Nature Reserve which is a preserved primary tropical forest. We had to cross 3 small rivers in our 4 wheel drive vans to get, what an adventure!
We started with a presentation on insects and the importance they have on the environment. We then watched a video https://youtu.be/KYBkeFQRN9s
with Coyote Peterson and “Jungle Jim”, the founder of Biosur. We were also introduced to the shampoo plant and some of us put it in our hair.
We were then shown the hives of native non-stinging bees and got to try their honey, which is very rare and we are some of the only people in the world to try it. Next we caught butterflies to track the biodiversity of different locations around the forest. We caught over 10 different species of butterflies, with Zoey and Adrian being the star butterfly catchers. We also saw many leaf cutter ants all throughout the forest.
We enjoyed packed lunches and did a drawing activity before heading back out again. Then we went down to the river to cool off, where we used natural clay as body paint. This was a nice way to cool off after spending the day wearing long layers in the humid rainforest.
After returning from the rainforest, we all went swimming in the pool. Then we had soup for dinner and finished the night playing a game to get to know each other better.
Buenas Noches!
Viana and Lila
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Hola de Costa Rica,
Today we had our second day of service at Biosur’s Rio Nueves nature reserve. As before, it was a very hot and very humid day that began with a nutritious breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, a plantain, egg and rice burrito.
During our drive to Rio Nueves, we encountered a group of White Capucin monkeys that our drivers quickly spotted, one of which ran out across the road and two more in the trees. Jim and his insects greeted us and introduced us to his interns, Chloe, Mathilde and Toby. After hiking back up to the meeting platform, Chloe, a Belgian university student, gave everyone a presentation on her internship work with camera traps around the reserve, showing us the importance of documenting the wildlife of the rainforest. We also saw footage from these trap cameras, which included ocelots, pumas, tapirs, and the extremely rare crab eater raccoon, a species whose existence was still debated until documented with footage.
We then hiked up to find a trap camera which had been set, where Jim introduced us to a very old plant (at least 300 years old), which evolved over ~400 million years. On our way back to the viewing platform, we took pictures in front of one of the largest tree species in the world. Lunch was briefly delayed, during which time we made rain guards out of recycled plastic jugs to be placed over the camera traps to protect them from rain so they can last longer.
After lunch and a short siesta, we divided into small groups and set off to place camera traps in different parts of the rainforest, where we hope they’ll help document many species of animals. Since much of the biodiversity in the rainforest is still undiscovered, there is a real chance of discovering something new with these cameras.
Before leaving the reserve, we found a group of Squirrel Monkeys, the smallest and most endangered species of monkey in Biosur’s rainforest. On our drive back, we encountered a nest of Red Macaws, one of nature’s most talkative birds, which pair bond for life. Again spotted by our lovely bus drivers. They also spotted the king vulcher, another rare sighting that many never get to see!
After returning to the hotel, everyone went into town to return to the local bakery and super market to stock up on snacks. To end the night, we all participated in an activity where everyone wrote a message on a singular piece of paper addressed to one individual with compliments for each other.
Everyone went to bed happily after packing for tomorrow’s short trip to Nereus for the beach portion of our internship.
Signing off,
Andrei and Parker
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
Hola de Costa Rica!
We started off this amazing day with a delicious breakfast before leaving for the Rio Nuevo reserve. After we arrived we listened in on a presentation given by another Biosur intern named Mathilde. She taught us about the macro invertebrates that inhabit the Rio Nuevo.
Then we got nets and magnifying glasses and set off for the river for some in field exploration. Split into groups, we searched the river for tiny creatures to study. Even though we were on the hunt for small water animals, we also got to see squirrel monkeys and king vultures, two extremely endangered species! With our samples collected, we headed back to the platform for lunch.
After lunch, we did an activity with face paint provided by a Biosur employee, Wendy. With sample pictures, teams of five tried their best to recreate their sample on a teammate.
When we were all cleaned up, we sat down and examined our samples under a microscope. We saw a huge variety of invertebrates and even found a shrimp that Biosur founder Jim believes to be an un-described species!
Our next task after leaving the reserve was to move from our home-base to the Nereus retreat facility, only a short drive away. We were greeted by owners Jen and Stuart and welcomed with a delicious buffet-style dinner of coconut curry, ginger beet salad, and 100% cacao brownies. Some of the best food we’ve had! Wendy creates all the recipes and all of the ingredients are sourced locally. After eating and even examining the private beach on the property, we spent some time working on our final presentations before bed. Some of us took a night walk and saw the most insane stars.
Today was a blast and we cannot wait to explore our new home further!
Hasta mañana, Zoey and Alex!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Buena días,
Today we started our morning off with a relaxing yoga class lead by our lovely owner of the Nereus residence! Well some students started the day even earlier by going to watch the sunrise at the beach, a unique opportunity as we are on the west coast. Then we followed our class with a nutritious breakfast with a delicious variety of foods. The food is amazing here!
At 10 am we gathered together and listened to the owners of the Nereus residence discuss being a sustainable business along with how and why they live their specific lifestyle. Being sustainable comes at a higher financial cost but leads to better quality of life for workers, visitors, and the environment around it. Once the informative presentation and discussion was finished we had some free time until a late lunch of pad Thai when most of us cooled off at the beach or the pool!
Around 2pm we continued our research and creation of our final conservation presentations until 4:15. We had another beach cool off break until we met back around 5:50 for our usual should out circle, then leading into dinner at 6. Tonight it was tacos and those yummy brownies again for dessert. Our final activity for the night was Energy Bank which was understanding which practices and things we have or don’t have control over as well as which ones create positive/negative outcomes.
Hope you enjoyed the blog,
Satori
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
Hola de Costa Rica,
This morning was our last day at Nereus where some of us enjoyed another yoga class with Jen. Afterwards, we ate a lovely breakfast before saying goodbye to this lovely resort and heading to our activity of the day, kayaking! After meeting some very sweet kitties we headed out on the water.
In partners, we kayaked through mangroves and learned about their growth processes from our guide. While navigating some tough terrain of very narrow mangrove passages and getting stuck in their branches, most of us made it out unscathed (except for an unlucky duo who flipped). They immediately made it back into their kayak and the guide said that’s the quickest he’s ever seen people get back in their kayak. We stopped by a beach for some pineapple and coconut snacks on the water before heading back to the mainland to return our kayaks.
We returned to Refugio, enjoyed lunch, and settled back in. Some of us took a well needed nap and others went into town for snacks. Later in the afternoon, we made empanadas with the kitchen staff which we were able to eat after as an appetizer for our dinner. Dinner was served and we moved on to our evening activity of a pulse check to check back in with everyone to see how we’re feeling now that we’re about halfway through. After a fulfilling day, we all went to sleep, looking forward to our next adventure.
Pura Vida,
Gemma and Caroline
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10
Hola de Costa Rica!
We started the day with some yummy pancakes and then set off to our beach clean up. At the beach we learned what can and can’t be recycled. We cleaned up 2 beaches and during we saw 6 beautiful macaws! After we finished we sat in the beach and watched the turtles poke their heads out from the water, which was a magical sight. We headed back and enjoyed lunch and a siesta before we did a improv game led by Kaycie. We acted out different scenarios from our trip and had lots of laughs.
In the afternoon we worked on our final presentation and walked to town for crêpes from our favorite bakery. We just finished dinner and we are all hanging out at the tables because the power went out and it’s raining so heavy and we are all scared. We are exited for our last jungle adventure tomorrow and a cozy sleep tonight!
(The storm calmed down and the power came back on whoop whoop)
Love,
Lynea and Lila ❤️
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Hey fam,
The day started by waking up and heading to Rio Nuevo to work with Biosur for the last time. We learned about ecological restoration and the dangers of invasive species. For our service, we pulled out the roots of an invasive plant from Cuba and enjoyed a visit from a group of at least 10 squirrel monkeys. Next we took a break for lunch and face painting.
In the afternoon, we planted monkey guava trees (which we named and sent good vibes to) to reforest the area and said our goodbyes to our friends Jim, Wendy, and Walter from Biosur. We then arrived back to our cabins and had free time where many went into town and ate at a local pizza restaurant and others stayed back and enjoyed the pool. After this we went back for dinner and played a game of hide and seek as a group. To finish the day off we did an activity where we explored our biggest values and how they affect us.
Thank you Jim for your infectious passion and dedication, Wendy for your kindness and enthusiasm, and Walter for your aura.
-Henrik and Adrian
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
Hola de Costa Rica,
This morning we woke up bright and early at 5 AM to attend our turtle excursion at Tortugas Perciosas. We saw the cutest freshly hatched baby turtles before we released them into the ocean. There were probably 20-30 babies. Some had some trouble finding their way and were going in the wrong direction. After that we went on a mile walk on the beach and collected eggs from a nest. The first nest we found had been dug up by a dog 🙁 but in the next nest, we counted 86 eggs total! Shoutout to Parker for being our counter. We then transported the eggs back to the hatchery and buried them in a hole that was measured to the same depth and width as the original nest. They’re exported to hatch in 45 days!
We returned from our excursion at 9 AM and there was a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with fresh mango juice waiting for us. After that we all had a siesta until 12:30 PM when we ate lunch. Then we got on the vans and went to Biosur to hear 4 NGO talks with some amazing guest speakers. They spoke about coral reef restoration, agroforestry, turtles, and jaguar conservation. It was incredibly educational and we learned a lot.
When we got back to the home base some of us went to play soccer with the local children and some of us relaxed before dinner. We had a refreshing chicken salad for dinner before our evening activity with Kaycie! Our activity taught us to be well rounded thinkers when approaching issues and think about them through a social, economic, and political lense.
We look forward to having a great sleep and our road trip to Uvita tomorrow!
Adios Amigos!!!
Samreen & Viana 💖😛🌟
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
Hola from Costa Rica,
We started off the day at the Refugio hotel in Puerto Jimenez, having our final delicious breakfast (eggs, toast and seconds). We left early in separate vans for the coastal beach city of Uvita, going on a boat tour right after arriving.
The start of the boat ride was bumpy and we all held on super tight. On this tour we explored the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, seeing a school of dolphins that followed our boat jumping in and out of the water, and sea turtles came to see us up close and personal. We also got to see “bird island” where most people jumped in the water to swim. The water was the perfect temperature and it felt really good to cool off. We got back on the boat and our guides had fresh watermelon and pineapple waiting for us. We then had a bumpy boat ride back to have lunch.
After chilling at the hotel we then walked around town and went to some souvenir shops. After that we went to the beach at Parque Nacional Marino Ballena to watch the sunset while a lot of the group went in the water to body surf. On the way to the beach we saw this bright blue iguana and other cool animals. The sunset was
beautiful and reflected pink and orange off the wet sand and we were all in awe.
We ended off the day with a delicious meal at the new hotel with very nice staff. It was much needed for all of us. We then had some presentation work time and all went to bed pretty early since we had a long day.
Hasta luego,
Maud and Andre
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
Hola de Costa Rica,
Today we spent the morning at the beach and it was absolutely beautiful. The water was so warm, and the waves made it even more fun. A bunch of us went swimming, and every time a wave came, we’d jump over it or let it carry us. Some people walked over to see the famous whale tail, which was a really cool long walk with lots of rocks at the end. We spent a while just enjoying the beach, taking in the views, and making memories together.
After the beach, we went to a waterfall. We jumped off a small platform into the bright greenish blue water which was super chill and refreshing. We slid down a mini waterfall, and then walked over to see the big waterfall. It was definitely one of the coolest things we have ever seen and such a nice place to cool off and refresh.
We begged our staff to stop for bubble tea, which was such a nice treat after being out all day. Almost everyone got bubble tea, and some people even got bubble waffles with ice cream or brownies. We love our sweet treats.
After that, we headed back to the hotel for lunch before hopping on the bus to drive back to our UWC campus in Santa Ana. Our boy Henrik had a nice suprise while we were packing up our van. There was another GLA group that stopped at our hotel for lunch and an old friend he met on his GLA trip last year was there!
To end the day, we had our evening program where each group acted out a skit about everything we’ve done on the trip so far. It was hilarious watching everyone’s performances. After that, we had our shout out circle. It was a really nice way to end such an amazing day before heading to bed.
Alex and Samreen
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15
Today we left for our final group adventure, zip lining through the rainforest! After a two hour drive we strapped in and learned how to safely sail through the tree canopy. After enjoying eight different lines we quickly made it to the final and longest line which was almost half a mile long! Heavy, but quickly passing rain only made the beautiful trip more memorable.
After enjoying a delicious buffet we went on a gondola ride through the canopy and saw the rainforest from a monkeys pov. We saw primary growth forest and a Boa constrictor sheltering from the rain (which started up again on our journey) on a nearby bench.
After getting thoroughly soaked we walked through the butterfly gardens and caught a bit of the World Cup before heading back to Santa Ana. The two hour bus ride consisted of funny jokes and many singalongs.
We enjoyed some scrumptious pasta for dinner and headed to our evening activity. We learned how to present ourselves in a professional manner with CVs and resumes. Finally, we ended the day with our nightly shout-out circle.
¡Hasta mañana!
Rose and Caroline
