Costa Rica: Service & Sand, Session 3
July 17, 2025
Amir and Alexandra reporting live from Costa Rica!
Here’s Alexandra with more information:
We arrived safe from the airport last night. This morning we woke up to playing games dedicated to remembering everyones name. For example, we played the sun shining on me, which involves a person in the middle of the circle saying their name, and saying something about themselves that might relate to others. After that we made a 20 minute bus ride into the city.
Back to Amir for more information.
Today we woke up at 8:30 for a nice breakfast. After that we played some name games and then headed in to Alajuela for lunch and a scavenger hunt in the town. We went to check out the church, an ice cream shop, bakery and we got to talk to locals in Spanish about the places we had to find. After that we went back to the hotel and swam in the pool, played spike ball, and soccer for a couple hours, until we had a nice dinner of rice and beans and chicken, and ended the night off with desserts and card games.
Thank you for tuning in to Costa Rica Global Works News. See you guys later!
By Amir & Alexandra
July 18 & 19, 2025
Yesterday we rose bright and early and hopped on the bus for the 3 hour bus ride to our rafting location. Once we arrived, we ate breakfast, and promptly set out on a tractor to bring us to the river head. On the river, we split up into groups of 5 students and one guide, and set off through the rapids. We rafted through a canyon, with jungle on both sides. We arrived at our campsite around 1. We played various games such as mafia and hacky sack. Then indulged into lunch having chicken rice and beans. After lunch we played a large game of manhunt exploring the property. We then sat down to learn more Spanish vocabulary and as well information about our home stays. After having burritos for dinner we set way to our tents for the night. This morning we woke up to eggs and pancakes for breakfast. We set off around 9 to continued our rafting. We rafted through some more intense rapids today, and got very wet. Around lunchtime, we arrived back at the finish for our rafting, and walked back to the tables for lunch. We hopped back on the bus for the bus ride to our homestays. Once at the community, we met our families and headed back to our new homes to enjoy dinner.
From Liev and Vaughn
July 20, 2025
On this beautiful Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to the sound of roosters awaking. Starting the day off with a delicious meal from our given family. Later meeting the group and locals at the community soccer field to take part in a water balloon fight, volleyball games, and soccer games. With the locals using the hose to refresh the children around. After this activity we spent quality time with our host families. Eating lunch and growing our Spanish vocabulary. Then coming back together to play a community bingo and celebrate a birthday. To start the birthday celebration we began with a piñata. We all enjoyed getting some Costa Rican candy when the piñata broke. After that we headed to the local kitchen to make some home made tortillas. We ate together with the community, put tortillas and some yummy fillings like potato, meat, and yuca. Then we had a fire and roasted marshmallows with everyone. Finally ending the night off with quality time with our host families getting ready for the hard work ahead of us the next day.
By Carson and Angelo
July 21, 2025
This morning was a bit rainy and cloudy. We had our first day of service work. We helped the community painting walls in the new community kitchen and in the public bathrooms by the soccer field. We also moved gravel from piles to creat a parking lot for the communal kitchen. After that we went back to our houses where we ate lunch and relaxed for a few hours. We then went back to help out the community and finish our service work for that day. After our hard work was finished for the day, we played a round of sharks and minnows (which is called bulldogs in England), and the whole group decided to get ice cream. After that we relaxed at our homestays. Now in the evening, we will be doing a dance class with the community. We will learn merengue, bachata, and salsa. Then going back to our homestays to sleep!
By Luis and Emma
July 22, 2025
This morning the group met up at 8 and split up into 2 paint groups. The weather was rainy the whole work day. One group worked on painting the outside of the communal showers a dark blue while the other group worked on touching up the paint on the black gate of the community center. Then both groups met up and worked on painting the inside and outside of the communal kitchen. The outside was painted a tanish pink and white on the inside. We had a quick lunch break then went back to do a second layer of paint on the kitchen and the outdoor showers. After another hour of work we met up to have cake and celebrate Matt’s birthday with tres leches cake and the town dogs. After that we went home for an hour and met back up to end the night with karaoke. During karaoke we had many songs sung by Arlo, Rafe, and Rupert such as Wonderwall and Iris. We also had a big group song of Mr.Brightside to end the night.
Written by Ruby and Evie
July 23, 2025
We woke earlier than usual this morning and jumped straight into Sky Adventure Zipline. There were 7 parts of the zipline, all in which had breathtaking views of the largest lake in Costa Rica. Even though it was showering for a while, along with the fog, it still felt magical just gliding through the rainforest. For lunch, we headed over to a local restaurant in La Fortuna, where we were served volcano rice (that was actually shaped like a volcano) and fresh pineapple juice. After that, we went to the nearby plaza to do some souvenir shopping for friends and family. A large variety of shops were offered, including beaded jewelry, fans, Costa Rican magnets, tshirts, and stickers (mostly what you can find in a tourist souvenir shop). In the late afternoon, we went back to the homestays to reset, shower and get ready for the community goodbye dinner with all the locals. We had a delicious dinner of rice and chicken. There was also music for us to all dance together.
By Kate and Nicole
July 24, 2025
As the end of the Pueblo Nuevo era draws to a close with tears of joy in people’s eyes, we made sure to exchange numbers and take farewell photos. Then we had a 40 min bus ride to the quaintly beautiful farm belonging to global work’s good friend Crisley. After more arroz y frijoles we had the opportunity to plant some corn, and learn about how farms like Crisley’s contribute to nutritional security in the region of central Costa Rica. Later we had some free time, drew pictures, played Frisbee and spikeball, and swam and had chicken fights in the luscious plastic paddling pool. We were sat down to a dinner of fish and mashed potatoes with salad, and watched a troupe of performers dance a traditional Costa Rican dance. The radiant rainbow like traditional Costa rican dancers had a traditional yell that sounded a bit like seagulls. And as always we pray with our whole hearts that tomorrow may bring bring about the second coming of the Renaissance where we may enjoy enlightenment, liberty and freedom just like the UN says that we are entitled to. We can’t wait to see our guardians, parents, pets and loved ones. We hope you are all safe and sound.
Lots of love to all of you at home.
By Arlo and Anthony
July 25, 2025
Following an air-conditioned slumber, the group awoke to the distant cry of tropical birds and insects echoing throughout the farm. Breakfast tasted familiar; rice, beans and eggs, with a side of fried plantains, but the group was surprised to see colorful cereals waiting to be devoured by our sugar deprived group. Following our small feast, the group chimed into the owners presentation of his farm’s history and upbringing: an amazing story for a different time. After the speech, we all broke up into three small groups to start a long awaited process of producing fresh mozzarella straight from the cow’s utters. A cheese so fresh and flavor packed it had many saying it was the “best I’ve ever had”. The kids headed to their respected rooms and had a quick break before hopping into the owners shoes for a tour of the farms equatorial fruits, vegetables, and herbs. In which tour the group unleashed their full senses to the moo-ing of cows, sleeping of a distance sloth, and the unforgettable stench of the squeeling pigs. As the group moved on from the animals and other spicy situations, we were introduced to the vibrant colors of a blue jean frog, one of the poison dart family. The group then dove head first into yet another meal, surprisingly an American one; nachos. We loaded up our stomachs for more free time consisting of volleyball, a cool dip in the pool, and calming down watching the television in our cold rooms, a special delight after the home stays. A couple hours later, everyone gathered under the pinkish hue of the sky for a delicious spaghetti meal of music and socializing. As nightfall nears, the sounds of laughs and giggles fill the air as a game of cops and robbers commences. The night ended with movies as the kids grouped into their dorms for yet another comfy, air conditioned night.
Written by Jasper and Jackson
July 26, 2025
We started off our thrilling morning with an early wake up, the sun abruptly rose as we put on our black boots to milk cows at Crisley’s farm. Next we devoured the homemade pancakes. 😋 soon after we skedaddled onto the bus as we said fairwell to Crisley’s farm. We belted songs for around 2 hours and stopped for Crisley’s cheese at the store. We bought out the store of cheese, while trying a bunch of new snacks and treats. Some of these treats include turtle gummies 🐢, pink and blue chocolate covered marshmallows, and exotic Fanta flavors. We cruised on the road for sometime as it began to pour cats and dogs or as the costa ricans say llueviendo gatos y perros. We had a pit stop at el jardin for lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping. We jumped right on the road again in the pouring rain and continued our long bus ride. 🚌 We ate snacks and as some might have guessed, sang many songs including a group favorite “Down Under”. Hours passed and soon we arrived at the hotel with quick flashes of the power cutting in and out. We ate dinner and are excited for another thrilling day in Costa Rica.
By Mayah and Isla
July 27, 2025
We started the day with, you guessed it … GALLO PINTO!! Within the next hour we were at the beach! We caught waves for hours ate fresh fruit and sun baithed while reading. Next we went back for lunch and inhaled our delicious hamburguesas. 😋 We then made our way to the whale watching boats and strapped on our bright orange life jackets. We had a beautiful boat ride through the Pacific ocean and even got to see a turtle and many whales! After viewing the majestic animals we took a dip in the ocean alongside beautiful mountains. All was well until jellyfish stung a few fellow camp members and we all rushed onto the boat for more fresh fruit! On the way back we made a pit stop at the supermercado for chikys and yippys! (some of our favorite costa rican snacks) We had some free time where many of us jumped in the pools before dinner at the hotel. We are now getting in the mood for a movie night in Jasper’s room! Hopefully our group comes to an agreement to watch Happy Gilmore 2!!
GOODNIGHT
Julia and Elle out
July 28, 2025
This morning we got up early and had the usual breakfast of rice, beans, eggs, and waffles. We then headed off to this guy’s property where we planted a few trees to help combat deforestation. We did this by pairing up, so two peole to a baby tree. The hike then lead to a trek toward a beautiful waterfall. After tossing rocks and bathing in the pools that surrounded the waterfall, we headed back to our hotel for lunch.
After lunch, we met and chatted with a few members of another Global Works Costa Rica program. We made a ice cream run to beat the heat. Later in the afternoon we did yoga which was split between guys and girls. It was much harder than we had anticipated, leaning more towards a workout, ending in meditation. Us girls watched a couple movies before dinner. Dinner was yummy. We then all enjoyed spending time together on our second to last night of the trip.
By Alexandra and Cate
