Have you ever heard about the GIN Team at The Columbus School? Or have you ever thought of joining? Because let me tell you, it will most definitely change your life. GIN stands for Global Issues Network, which is a program that takes place in numerous schools around the world and gets together once a year in an International Conference. Teams from various countries address different global problematics by creating projects and action plans, and then present their improvements at the conferences. This is held in order to increase every GIN member’s knowledge regarding sustainability and hopefully form leaders with mindsets that can eventually change the world. This years International Conference was held in Costa Rica’s Pan American School in San Jose.

Having the opportunity to attend the Conference along with my friends and teammates was incredible. Not only did we gain a lot of knowledge, but we also had a great amount of fun. During the day, we would go to the school in San Jose and learn about the issues that are currently affecting the world, as well as understand how we can all work together in order to improve the situation before this world becomes an uninhabitable place to live in. We came back to The Columbus School with new ideas to implement in our own community, and with even more goals that will make this school a more sustainable place. There were ideas that inspired all of us, such as the “LunchBox Project” from Escuela Internacional Sampedrana in Honduras as well as the project called “Blankets for a Change”. The “Food Waste: Zero Hunger” project from Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogotá, and the “Water is life” project from Pan-American School in Costa Rica taught all of us a lot of new information which we plan on carrying out at The Columbus School over time. The three projects that we presented at the International Conference were “WaGin,” which shows the school’s journey through the trips to La Guajira, “The Greenhouse,” and “Accreditation.”

We also came back with hilarious stories to share, since eleven high school students living together for five days can for sure create some unforgettable memories. Laura Mesa, with her incredibly loud voice made sure that our team would never go unnoticed. In fact, one night we went to a restaurant, and out of the blue everyone just started dancing with the staff for like ten minutes nonstop. During the trip we experienced embarrassing and improvised dance moves, failed hair straightening attempts, and a lot of laughs. Sofia Urrea with her fear of bugs, and Juliana Aristizabal talking about the “puppet socket” instead of “pop socket.” Felipe Hoyos with his fake Bobby Backpack, and Juan Manuel Rodriguez ruining everyone’s “chopsticks,” not “chapsticks.” Andres Calle and Gregorio Correa with their brotherhood, and Pedro Barrera with his cuteness! Maria Cuartas with her funny comments, and Elena Echavarria with her strange surveys. Most importantly, Freddie and La Mona, who were not only the best companionship but the funniest as well!

Recalling every single hilarious moment from Costa Rica would be infinite, but overall it was an incredible trip for both the mind and the soul. GIN has been an amazing experience, and it has without a doubt completely changed many lives.