TRAVEL JOURNAL:
Mia McCauley
Traveling abroad to Costa Rica and Peru to help others has given PV High Student, Mia McCauley, a unique opportunity to experience different cultures, customs and help others in a meaninful way that she says, “was nothing less of unforgettable.”
We asked Mia to tell us a little about the service-oriented organization she travels with called GLA and share with us some of her amazing experiences through a few of her journal entries and photos.
Here’s what she shared….
Global leadership organization is an organization for teens to be able to have the opportunity to travel and volunteer while they’re doing it. GLA is an organization that I have been going on trips with for about two years. The summer of 2019, I went on a trip to Cusco, Peru with GLA. While I was abroad, I was able to get the experience of the culture, the customs, and I was able to help people. I believe GLA provides the best trips for teens because they give you an opportunity to experience multiple different things. Because I loved my trip to Peru so much,
I decided to take another journey to Costa Rica. unfortunately, due to coviD, there were very few available locations for trips. My original dream destination was India, and I planned to work in a school there. I even fundraised the majority of my trip, which I thought would be to India. I realized that I was not going to be able to go to India, and I decided on Costa Rica instead. My plan was to continue to work within the school community and with the children. i decided to go for two weeks, and by the end, I didn’t want to come home. I believe that traveling and volunteer work are two of the most important things you can do as a growing person.
August 6, 2021
Today we had an especially early wake up call because we had a boat to catch. The boat tour left from a port near the border of Nicaragua. While on the tour, I saw many animals and wildlife. It was also super nice to relax on the boat and just take in the scenery. it even started raining, but I stayed outside on the deck anyway. After that, we headed back and had a traditional dance and zumba class. it was one of my favorite activities. We got to dance with partners and our instructor was so fun and energetic. He played fantastic music and everyone was loving it. Halfway through the class, it began to pour down rain and we all ran outside and danced in the rain. It was an incredible day.
August 3, 2021
First Day Of Service
Today was the first day of service. We were split into two groups for each school. There is a small school that is walking distance from the home base, and a big school that we take the van to. Today I worked at the small school and it was a lot of painting and preparation for what we are going to do in the next few days. I got to spend a lot of time in the “comedor” which is where the children eat and hang out. I repainted letters on the wall of the cafeteria. The message spelled out “Thank you God for blessing our meal”, but in Spanish of course. Although there wasn’t much interaction with the kids today, except for a quick soccer match, I felt like I really did help. I can’t wait to check out the big school—and maybe even teach some of the kids.
Fantastic journey, Mia! Good luck in all of your endeavors.
Jane Reitz