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 28
Hola from Costa Rica!
We are so excited to welcome 23 amazing students to Paraiso. After a long travel day we enjoyed burritos on the bus ride home, getting to know the students and learning about the adventure awaiting us this week. Upon arrival to home base we took a walk to the local supermarket, ate a traditional Costa Rican dinner, and played some card games. We can already tell that this is an amazing group of students, and we can’t wait to spend the next 2 weeks with them! We are excited to welcome Nour, Beatrice, Zack, Nathan, and Penn when they arrive later tonight.
– Juvel, Jack, Leslie, Ana, and Julianne
BLOG POST FOR JULY 1
Hola Parents!
We miss you and hope you’re doing well!! The amazing and glorious leaders of the day (Penn and Teagan) woke us up at 7:00 to Katy Perry. We had breakfast and got ready for the day in our scrubs. Today we went to a local school in Cartago where we did vision tests for kids. We were able to point out the letters to the kids, walk them through the process, and even practice Spanish phrases with them. We then headed to an amazing lunch! Afterwards, we listened to a dental professional who spoke to us about the dental health problems Costa Rica faces. Later on, we headed to the soccer fields to play soccer and volleyball with the local Ticos (Costa Rican locals). We then went to an authentic Costa Rican Walmart and got ice cream and snacks while exploring local cuisine. After that, we had dinner and split into our mentor groups, where we discussed what it means to be a leader to us. Can’t wait to see what’s for tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Penn 🥷 and Teagan 👩⚕️
BLOG POST FOR JULY 2
Hola from Costa Rica!
Today everyone was woken up by the song Call Me Maybe blasting on a speaker🎶. For breakfast we had pan dulce and tortillas with cheese. We than headed to the school for our last day vision tests and dental checkups👓. After all of our hard work we accomplished 219 vision tests and a total of 58 lenses were donated, showing how our hard work finally paid off. In the afternoon we had a tour of Cartago City, where we visited Basílica and had delicious traditional Costa Rican ice cream. We finished the day off by watching a traditional Costa Rican dance preformed by the youth of Costa Rica 💃
PURA VIDA!!
– Nour and Layla
BLOG POST FOR JULY 5
Dear parents,
Today we woke everybody up at 7 and then started the day with some breakfast sandwiches, fruit, and cereal. We all put on our athletic clothes and packed our bags to go zip lining. We had a fun time at the zip line (even though we got attacked by bugs). Everyone faced their fears of heights and the views were phenomenal. We headed over to a park to enjoy a picnic lunch where we had fried rice with refried beans, a beet salad, and chips. After eating, we walked around, played volleyball, and soccer while at the park. Then, we went back to home base where we had free time for about an hour.
After our rest time, we played “silent football”, which was confusing to understand but fun. Then, we played our leader of the day activity where we chose to play “wavelength” which kept everyone entertained. After our game, we had dinner where we had a make-your-own taco bar and celebrated Anita’s, the owner of the house we are staying in, birthday. We sang her happy birthday in Spanish and ate a delicious tres leches cake. Then, we had a group meeting about our community values and goals for each other as we continue through this trip. Finally, we wrapped up the day by relaxing in our rooms, talking with our friends, and calling our loved ones.
Pura Vida!
Lily y Kyrah
BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Hola!
We were awoken from our slumber at 7:30, followed by a delectable breakfast at 7:45. After our tasty breakfast we headed over the senior center, where we socialized and worked with elderly people on their mobility. We then came back to base camp for lunch before hopping back on the bus for to tour the beautiful valleys of Costa Rica. We toured three unique look offs including the hydro electric damn and then we grabbed some ice cream on the way back. We made a short pitstop at the bakery as well and returned for a little free time. It was then time to begin our leader of the day activity. For this we choose to play screaming feet which involved people asking questions to get to know one another better. We had mentor groups with our favorite mentors where we reflected on the service we did during the past week. Today was definitely a busy day, and we’re excited for tomorrow!
Cheers,
Bea and Nathan
BLOG POST FOR JULY 7
Dear parents,
Hola! Today we woke everyone up with the wonderful music of their choice at 6:45. We had pancakes made by the cooks which was wonderful. Then, we headed off to white water rafting. It was fun the water was a little chilly. There was a lot of splashing and boat battles between us all. The instructors were very good. Half way through we stopped and ate local fruit which was very good. Then we continued our journey until we reached the end. We got off and headed back to home base where all were exhausted and most of us took a nap. Then we were surprised by the wonderful kind amazing receptive amazing again and cool staff (gracias) McDonald’s was very good. We then did the leader of the day activity which was the one word story game. We then switched to change, an improve game, but then that just turned into trolling with the sound board on Leslie’s phone. Then we had a meeting for the plans in Uvita. After we ate dinner which was soup. Yum! Finally, we played another game of charades then headed off to sleep. See you tomorrow!
Pura Vida,
Katie y Zach
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Liam and I woke everyone up at 7. Then we went through the schedule at 7:15 and after we had breakfast which was eggs and cupcakes! We got on the buses at 7:45 and left base camp at 8. Mostly everyone slept the first hour and then we stopped at a rest stop to go to the bathroom and get snack at 9:30. The rest of the ride we didn’t stop until lunch at 1:00. Finally we got to the hotel at 2:00 and unpacked and got settled until 2:30.
Next up was swim tests (we all passed!) and our leader of the day activity which was a game in the pool. We had some free time before we went souvenir shopping at 4:30. We went into 3 stores and had fun walking around. then we came back around 5:30 and got ready for chow circle at 6. After chow circle we took the bus to the restaurant and ate dinner at 6:30. Dinner was spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread. After we made a stop at a super market for snacks at 7 and headed back in the bus at 7:30. Then we had mentor groups where we talked about our future goals and the road/roads to get there. Then we had free time until it was in room time at 9 and lights out at 9:30.
Best,
Liam and Margot
