In her second year of teaching high school math Erin is lovin' life! She loves to spend time with teenagers helping them learn and experience new things. She spends her free time learning to ski swimming at the pool and hanging out with awesome people. 
A soccer coach and teacher, Pete simply loves being outside, whether playing soccer or playing in the ocean. He loves introducing students to new and interesting places and challenging experiences as he has previously done as an adventure trip leader in Alaska and is excited to do again in Costa Rica. 
Lauren can't get enough of the pura vida in Costa Rica and is returning for a 3rd year. When not leading Global Works trips she works at a middle school in Longmont, Colorado as a mentor and counselor for truant students. 
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. 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.
Welcome from your Global Works Trip Leaders!
Saludos a los estudiantes de CRX2! We leaders are so excited to get to know you and travel in beautiful Costa Rica with you in less than a month! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to dive right in to our homestay community, Pueblo Nuevo. Every year, I love meeting all the homestay families and learning what makes their community unique. Plus, the cultural events we participate in are so much fun (I call defense on our soccer team) and always an opportunity to try something new. And that’s not to mention all the delicious gallo pinto, plantains, and yucca we get to eat. Most of all, I’m excited to get to learn about all of you and observe how you change and are changed by the people you meet and the amazing things you’ll do. Actually, now that I’m talking about it, I think we should just get the adventure started right now. Do you think your parents will be ok with that?
Hasta Pronto!
Lorena (Lauren), Erin, y Pedro (Pete)
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Update #1:
The first day, it was only three of us here in Costa Rica since the rest of the group’s flight got canceled. It gave us a change to get to know each other while we got to know the country. By the first night, it felt like we had been friends for a long time. On the second night, another group member joined us. This got us more excited to meet the group. Our adventures included eating at a really nice local café, an excellent restaurant and a café/museum – all of which had excellent, fresh and native food that furthered our appreciation for the country and the areas we were staying in. One of the evenings we watched “The Notebook”, it was a great night. Everyone was crying over the movie – and lusting after Ryan Gosling. That night we stayed up talking and laughing till we all fell dead asleep. The next day brought an informative tour of the capitol city San Jose. Our guide explained to us the hidden beauty behind the many historical monuments all within 100 meters of each other. The people of Costa Rica are bringing this uprising city back to life with weekly festivals and community gatherings. We also planted trees and took out unwanted young trees. During this experience we learned to use a pitchfork! Soon after, the group arrived and our adventure together began.
CANCELED! The 5:15pm flight from Newark to San Jose gets cancelled. After 6 exhausting hours of inconclusive delays, we find out about this sudden change of plans. Great. Super. Now you would think that we would be pessimistic about our situation, and there was a great deal of disappointment, but by the time we checked into our lovely Newark hotel, we were a family for the night. After a well winged day of last minute plan making, we returned to Newark Airport early Sunday morning. By a greater grace our new flight went off without a hitch. On average between all of use we had spent a total of about 20 hours at the airport, it felt like forever. Honestly, some of us could have ended up giving tours. Overall, Newark’s terminal C became the birthplace of our group’s bonds and adventures, and although flight gates may lead to new found disappointment on occasion they can lead to new found friendships as well.
Today we went to JERSEY! First, we visited Liberty Park and enjoyed a breathtaking view of the New York skyline. We really had a great chance to bond and get to know each other over talking on the park grass. After, we took a scenic walk to the Liberty Science Center and watched I-Max movies. We had the choice of watching Born to Be Wild or SURFING MOVIE!. Finishing the activities for the day, we went to the Liberty Park diner and enjoyed a delicious meal. For transportation, we took a stretch limo to the park – which included neon lighting and fun music. To return to the hotel from the diner, we took a party bus which really got us bonded with singing our voices out. Though our flight did not go according to plan, we learned to make the best of it and ended up close than expected!
We were all dead tired when we were woken up at 5:30 this morning but then had a peaceful bus ride because every single person was sleeping. As son as we got there we had a delicious Costa Rican breakfast and then went to meet our guides. In groups of six we piled into our rafts and took off. The rapids started at class 2 which is really easy and simple. Slowly, over the next three hours the rapids grew stronger and more intense. We stopped for lunch at a house built by the indigenous people of the area. The architecture, history and fresh fruit were pretty awesome. On the way back we were able t do some swimming in the calm areas and we rafted underneath mini waterfalls. The view was phenomenal when we got back to the hostel, we ate dinner, rushed to get showered and had a tough but fun dance lesson. ¡Ay carrumba!
Update #2:
Poco Sol: We started our adventures at Poco Sol with a tough 3 hour hike. Some of us struggled, but the hike was scenic and worth it. We were living in a cloud. Chilling in a hammock, over looking the mountains was peaceful and tranquil. The food was exotic and plentiful and we took amazing hikes into the steamy jungles where we saw hot springs and breathtaking monkeys. The culture is exciting and we are all keen to keep learning new things!
Our service projects began at Poco Sol, forever & a kilometer up a mountain. The place was gorgeous both buildings and environment. The first day, two groups were formed: One to build a bridge over a marsh and another to rake the long paths throughout the lively rainforest. We were lucky enough to work on the bridge had the privilege to watch a work of art emerge from nothing but mud and grass. Those who raked got to both help out while enjoying the beautiful scenery and all Poco Sol had to offer. Both groups got seriously dumped on and were soaked through and through. The only difference was that the bridge constructors went back out and finished the bridge in heavy, wet clothes! The second day, two different groups were made. One groups raked a trail and another built an observatory above the waterfall. Although the structure was not finished, we worked hard and had fun. Although much sweat was shed, the accomplishment we all felt made up for it.
Homestay: Pueblo Nuevo
Here in Pueblo Nuevo the sense of community is overwhelming. Being able to interact with the locals despite the language barrier has made our Global Works group appreciate the value of close-knit relationships. In living with our Costa Rican families we´ve been accepted in to the incredibly warm atmosphere that envelopes the community. We look forward to our activities and a good night´s rest at days end.
Our first day of service projects was yesterday. After a long day of work, the Ticos (Costa Rican´s) and the Gringos (us) played an epic game of soccer. Of course, we won, but only after 2 hours of battling it out. Honestly it was surprising because they were all so talented but we worked as hard as we could. The game started off with thirty people and ended with about ten. They were really nice and probably took it easy on us. But either way, Los Gringos emerged as winners today. The joy they got out of this simple game was contagious and suddenly language barriers fell away and Costa Ricans and Americans and Canadians were one and the same.
Update #3:
The Day of Activities - The warm day began with the students of Global Works teaching the Ticos the exciting all-American game of football. The Ticos were excited to learn and ultimate Frisbee was a favorite. In turn the Ticos taught us their culturally intriguing game of football (soccer) as well as a potato sack racing. After a full afternoon of exhilarating activities. We enjoyed the wonderfully prepared lunch our homestay families provided for us and finished with a challenging but fun game of volleyball. Afternoon showers bring beautiful flowers and after the rain we played egg toss with the Ticos. It was an action packed day of filled with great learning experienced and we couldn’t wait to go home to our delicious meals. We go to bed anticipating and waiting for what tomorrow will bring.
Service Projects - Working hard in the hot Costa Rican sun, day after day we see our projects produce results quickly. The whole team works tires together. Splint into 3 or 4 teams we´ve cleared fields, moved earth, built gardens, and most visibly, constructed a sturdy concrete structure from nothing but an overgrown patch of dirt. The fulfillment gotten out of such simple tasks and hard work is something rarely found back at home, and in its simplicity is a great deal of satisfaction, pride, and joy. It can be anything from building a structure up from the ground to solely budging a large rock, yet the way we learn to value teamwork and the power of the group as opposed to the individual is something to be greatly cherished.
Waterfall!! - Our group saw another beautiful feature of Costa Rica when we hiked to a truly breathtaking sight. The plants and trees were moved to reveal a resplendent waterfall. The mist splashed our heated faces as we quickly jumped into a small poll of water on the side. Sliding on the slippery rocks, our group managed to have a blast in the winter heat of Costa Rica!
Community Activities - Here in Pueblo Nuevo, the community and the Global Works students come together every night. One of the nights everyone came together and made tortillas. The community moms were making them so fast and made it look easy. They taught us how to make them. Ours didn’t come out perfectly but our moms were happy to help. The next night was our night to teach the community about our American traditions. We chose to share Halloween with them. The kids and even some adults dressed up in great costumes. We taught everyone “Trick-or-Treat.” They caught on fast and everyone had a great time. The next night it was time for the community to show both Global Works their talents. They played both American and Costa Rican music. Everyone dance with each other. Then the community showed us some of their dances. Everyone was laughing and having fun. The community and Global Works have gotten so close. We can tell now goodbye is gonna be hard.
