Luke is an outdoor enthusiast constantly trying to reconcile his passion for traveling and adventure with his desire to pursue a career in medicine. He currently lives in Bozeman, Montana 
Jackie spends her days teaching Spanish/ESL and coaching soccer at Basalt High School in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. With a passion for traveling, teaching, and community service she looks forward to summers with Global Works. 
Braden currently teaches Spanish to middle school students in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He possesses an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and a Masters degree in Public Health. 
Crisley first met our students when he was working on his dissertation at the Poco Sol research station in the Monteverde Cloud Forest. Since then, he has traveled all over Costa Rica teaching students about the ecology of Costa Rica. 
Known for her nonstop smiling and mild obsession with salsa dancing, Emma began leading international academic and volunteer trips in 2006. At Eckerd College in Florida she studied psychology Spanish and how to engage in water sports as much as possible. After leading courses ranging from rain forest conservation and public health to childhood education and SCUBA diving, Welcome Global Works travelers, parents and friends. We are excited to share with you trip updates from around the world. As our main office receives updates from the trips we will update the page as we receive news from the field.
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Welcome from your Global Works Leaders:
Saludos to all who will be joining us in Costa Rica with the CRS3 trip this summer! We are anxiously awaiting the trip and we hope that you are as well. With two beautiful weeks of rafting, surfing, ziplining, community building, and service, this is sure to be a summer you’ll remember! Be prepared to improve your skills in Espanol, make new friends, try new things, and have tons of fun! We’ll see you all soon! (And please contact any one of us if you have any questions!!!)
Pura vida,
Luke, Emma, and Jackie
CRS3 leaders 2011
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Update #1:
Saludos de San Jose!
Historia, cultura, y cumbia were a few of today’s buzz words. Sleepy, yet smiling, the entire group arrived to San Jose last night, on time and with all our bags; an auspicious start to be sure. Once we settled into the cozy bed and breakfast affectionately called “San Rafa”, the group wolfed down some snacks and settled in for a much-deserved rest.
Waking up this morning to gallo pinto, and fresh tropical fruit was a treat that prepared us for our orientation and a lot of silliness. We learned names and fun facts about everyone. This is a talented group; everything from a ukulele player to someone who can actually lick her elbow!
Teambuilding activities and some friendly competition in finger fencing and toe tag got us all laughing before ninja and a transition back inside. We came together to outline our trip goals and discuss how to make this the most successful trip possible. There is a lot of diversity within the group and we also have a lot of goals in common. We wrapped up in time to pile into a van for a historic tour of San Jose. The pouring rain didn’t even slow us down as we explored the centro historico. We checked out a mural that highlighted the cultural diversity of San Jose, a school rumored to have been built from melted down cannons and a beautiful sundial that only told the time from 7am until 12pm…mas o menos 33 minutes.
We were pleasantly surprised to end the tour at a gallery featuring local, fair-trade art and jewelry made of fruit. Yes, banana, pineapple and orange jewelry! After lunch, we headed back to San Rafa to rest up before dance class where we shimmied, swiveled and spun our way through cumbia, cha-cha-cha and salsa steps. Dinner was followed by a rafting orientation and packing as we set off at 6am for some world-famous rapids and scenery.
Hasta Pronto!
Update #2:
“ADELANTE! Vienen los rapidos!” Even those of us who are just beginning Spanish know what those words mean; “Forward! The rapids are coming!” Paddling through class III and IV rapids was much more than a vocabulary lesson. We had a blast being blasted by splashes of the waves on the Pacuare River. We felt a little nervous and excited as we headed to the put in with our hilarious guides, and the blazing sun made us excited to get wet. After learning how to paddle safely and as a cohesive team, we set off on the white water. For the most part, we attacked the rapids, and when a hole came up, the command “get down!” generated a speedy response. After getting a great workout while taking breaks for splash wars, we pulled the boats up on shore and hiked to a clear waterfall and swimming hole with a rock that formed a natural slide. Piling back in the boat, we only had a short time before arriving at camp and we celebrated the fact that nobody fell out! By camp, we mean gorgeous rustic little bungalos sprinkled over the hillside. The guides prepared a tasty lunch and we luxuriated in the hammocks overlooking the river before sloth-watching and hiking to another beautiful waterfall. It wasn’t surprising that an intense morning of whitewater rafting and the background noise of tumbling water made for a great night of sleep.
Day two of the float took us through a waterfall lined gorge that reminded us why the Pacuare River is one of the top 5 most beautiful whitewater rafting spots in the world. After powering though some
wild rapids with names like, “Adios Amigos”, we relaxed by jumping out and gently floating down river. While lunching on a black sand beach, we were thoroughly entertained by the band of monkeys that made an appearance on the other side of the river.
Arriving back to base camp dirty and tired and happy, we did what we could to clean ourselves up before traveling to San Juan de Penas Blancas to meet our host community. Balloons on the door, and banners hung, we pulled up to the shy, smiling faces of our host families. After everyone was introduced, we all ate dinner together in the community comedor. The awkward, funny and sweet intercambio eventually dispersed and all the students returned in pairs to the homes of their respective home stay families.
Waking up to roosters, dogs and donkeys, the group needed no alarm clock to get them to their morning breakfast of gallo pinto on time. We arrived at the school to meet the community leaders who would guide us through the first day of work on projects. After a tour of the community and slow start (we’re on “Tico Time”), we began some real work. Some of us began improvements on the community comedor and the others began hauling long cement posts to the site of a new office building for community projects. Sweaty and dirty, lunch was a welcomed respite before we organized some activities for the high school students studying next door. Not surprisingly, the activities turned into a giant soccer game. Tired, but determined, we continued digging holes for the foundation of the office building, hauling cement slabs, grouting tile and staining a wood building. We closed the day of hard work with a presentation on the importance of the irrigation project that we’ll contribute to tomorrow. For now, it’s off to a delicious dinner, card games, conversation practice and surely a very sound night’s sleep…for as long as the roosters permit!
Update #3:
Thursday, day two of service projects in the community, brought more work on the office that will serve as the new home for the aqueduct committee, as well as a new project further up the hill, which involved creating a concrete encasing for water tubes that bring precious water to the families in the San Juan area. These tubes often split after long days of hot Costa Rican sun, the tromping of passing cattle, and overly ambitious shovel wielders, and we soon realized the importance of protecting them after various water outages in the village (don’t worry mom, we showered with a hose outside!) The participants worked hard, digging, digging, digging, and hand mixing cement which involved hauling the materials (sand, gravel, and cement mix) to the site, and then carrying water to complete the mixture out of the nearby creek. This made us truly appreciate the readily available dump trucks and cement mixers that we rarely noticed before at home. We spent that afternoon swimming in the creek, trying to find some reprieve from the scorching Costa Rican heat. We’ve loved the fact that we’re getting far less rain than this time of year typically brings, but the relentless sun and humidity have taken a toll on us lately. That same creek became a sort of haven over the coming week as we used it to cool off, quasi-bathe, and wash our muddy clothes.
Sunday brought an excursion out of the community. We spent the morning swimming at the base of a beautiful waterfall on the Rio Fortuna. The endless stairway down was worth it once we reached the turquoise waters at the bottom. After tiring of the churning waters at the base of the falls, we chose instead to relax in the calmer waters down stream, where we swam amongst the schools of trout and sunbathed on warm rocks. After our swim, we headed into town to eat lunch (no beans and rice except by choice!), and took advantage of the readily available pay phones, internet cafes, and souvenir shops. The evening brought family time and adventures in the community.
Tuesday morning brought a tear-filled departure, but the beach was waiting. After our first day of surfing, during which the students quickly picked up the basic surf moves, we have arrived back to our poolside cabinas safe and sound. Everyone loved the day in the sun, and we’re looking forward to more surfing and some zip-lining tomorrow. We’ll see you all soon!!!!
