Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures Custom Group program!
Here are a few things you can expect:
- We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 28
Buenos dias and welcome to Spain! On behalf of the entire GLA team, we welcome you. GLA staff has been working nonstop to ensure you have an incredible experience, and we can’t wait to share our experiences and snapshots of our adventure. Our first day started bright and early as we took off to the airport to pick up the Atmosphere Academy students and staff.
Everyone arrived safely and we did a quick intro and loaded the bus, and everyone saw a quick glimpse of the city of Madrid. Our first stop as a group was to Parque Del Retiro where Silvia, our Spanish expert, guided us through a beautiful nature walk. She elaborated on the history of the park, and some history of Spain, and answered all of our curiosities about her country. We saw ducks, geese, the Crystal Palace, a Lucifer statue, and even a black swan! How cool was that!?
We finally took a break from walking and started student orientation with a fun game of Where The Wind Blows. This was the perfect opportunity to solidify trip expectations, review our impressive itinerary, go over the code of conduct, review roommate agreements and brainstorm ideas on how to be successful on this trip. Students were very receptive and before we knew it, it was lunch time. We walked to a local burrito restaurant where we ate all of our calories we had just burned but it was worth it. We finally were able to check in into our hotel and settle in before heading out again to tour The Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas.
During the trip, we learned about how this venue is the biggest bullfighting ring in Spain, the architectural history and about how the bulls are maintained. By this time, everyone was hungry again, so we wrapped up our night at a local pizza spot where we ate pizza with a Spanish twist. Even though we walked more than 13,000 steps, everyone was in good spirits and ready for our Spanish adventure.
Sincerely,
Luismi, Ilana, Rudy and Silvia
BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 29
Written by Derickson and Carlos
Hi everyone,
We woke up in the city of Madrid with a cup of coffee and a very loud wake-up alarm in our beautiful hotel called Radisson Red. Everything in the hotel is red-themed and there is a lot of art everywhere. After breakfast, we explored Madrid starting with the Museo De El Prado, El Palacio Real, Antigua Residencia Real, and also a Christmas market. We were fascinated by the Royal Palace due to its exquisite architecture and its complex history. It was truly an opulent experience.
Then we walked over to a chocolate shop where we tasted different chocolates from Madrid and we tried local churros con chocolate. Today was a very long day as we walked over 16,000 steps but we are all in good spirts. Today was filled with art, history, and culture. We cannot wait to see what else Spain has in store for us.
BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 30
Written by Amaya and Laura
Hello everybody! Today we woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast that included eggs, various cereals and fresh fruit. We loaded the bus with our bags and we were off to Toledo!
It was an hour drive and during the bus ride we all played card games and got to know each other better. When we arrived at our destination, we had a walking tour of Toledo, we had a delicious lunch of chicken cutlet, fries and fried eggs. For dessert, we had a flavorful chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.
Afterwards, we walked to the mountains, where we had an exhilarating experience zip lining over the river. My name is Laura and when I was getting prepared to go on the zip line I was feeling nervous and excited. When I was right at the edge, about to jump, I felt anxious but right after I jumped the feeling went away and I was just taking in the scenery peacefully. My name is Amaya and the entire day I was very enthusiastic about getting on the zip line, that wouldn’t have been my first time but I can say it was definitely a great experience. The feeling I got when arriving at the stand gave me butterflies but as soon as I took off I knew I was going to be fine.
We got back on the bus and reached our destination of Granada in the evening. We had a quick dinner and Rudy guided us in an art reflection activity. We are having a blast and we hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did, see you next blog!
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 1
Written by Donte
Good morning! My name is Donte and today I have a story to share with you. Today started out with breakfast where we ate croissants, eggs, and fresh fruits. After that we got ready to head out to the infamous Alhambra located in Granada. During the bus ride, we had a Q&A session with Silvia about Alhambra. One fact that stuck with me was that the meaning of Alhambra means Red Castle. During our tour, we learned about the kings and various religions. We also learned about the war between Germans and the Spaniards.
Afterwards, we took a break and went to a gift shop. The colors in the gift shop were beautiful! We also had hot chocolate, which was amazingly tasteful. We then walked and took group pictures and encountered tiny cute little cats. We had a pop quiz from our tour guide about the fruits, and I was able to answer some questions correctly.
As we came back to the hotel, we took a break but had an intriguing activity led by Rudy about the dangers of social media. As a group, we shared our thoughts and had great conversations. We wanted some fresh air, so we went for a walk into town and entered a famous guitar shop where we heard about the celebrities who had bought from the store. We wrapped up the day with dinner and a small prep about our business presentations. See you tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 2
Written by Benny and Justin
Hi everyone! We woke a bit tired this morning but with breakfast we got full energy. We didn’t know what to expect for the day but Silvia told us we were going to walk in a beautiful neighborhood. We met the tour guide and we learned about architecture and the old water reservoir systems. We took many pictures and then it was time to eat. This is the first time we tried Moroccan food at a local restaurant. It was different but tasty. Back at the hotel we started practicing our business presentations. After that we had an hour to get ready to participate and observe the flamenco dance that was incredible. We took a class to learn a few steps and then we had dinner. The highlight of the day was the flamenco show and it was so good. So much passion! The weather was very cold and we finally went to bed. See you tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 3
Written by Jeffer and Andrew
Another day in España. Yesterday we woke up, had breakfast, and got on the bus for our six hour expedition to Valencia! The bus ride was long but it flew by with all of the rest stops that we took. We took advantage of the bus ride and worked on our business plan. Our teachers asked tough questions to encourage revisions of our projects. For lunch we had french fries and chicken at a restaurant on the way there which was filling. Once we arrived, we got some well needed resting time in our hotel rooms. Afterwards, we went into the city to admire the scenery and take photos with one another at a famous structure called City of Arts and Sciences. Overall, yesterday was quite an exhilarating day even considering the large portion of it spent on the bus!
See you tomorrow.
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 4
Written by Stefano
Buenos días. Today we woke up early at 7, got dressed, and ate a big breakfast. Then we went on a bus ride to a business college to propose our business projects. My group’s idea was proposing a green grave and we got good feedback on it. After that, we ate lunch, which consisted of some sandwiches and fries. We were able to relax a bit before heading out for a boat ride on this lake that is important to the process of making Paella. The scenery was nice and we saw many birds. After the boat ride, we ate dinner, which was Paella, rice with chicken and spices. Valencia is known for Paella. It was delicious because I got a second plate. Hasta mañana!
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 5
Written by Sariah
Hi everybody!
My blog is about what we did yesterday December 5th. First we woke up got ready and went downstairs to eat breakfast which was fruits and eggs with meats. We went to the Museum of Sciences and Arts which was very cool and informative. There was another photo challenge in our teams where we had to take a picture of interesting points of the museum. We spent all morning there but afterwards we got on the bus for a 4 hour bus ride to our final city, Barcelona. The bus ride had beautiful sights (took a bunch of pictures). We got to our final hotel, checked in and went to dinner. Dinner consisted of 7 Spanish dishes and after dinner we made appreciation cards. Rudy talked about the importance of gratitude so we wrote a thank you note to a GLA staff, an Atmosphere Academy staff, a close friend on the trip, a distant friend, and a letter for ourselves. The letter to ourselves was to realize the significance of this travel opportunity. After that we went to bed because we were exhausted. That’s my blog so thanks for reading!
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 6
Written by Kymarli
Hola! We woke up after a fantastic slumber due to the fact this hotel has the softest beds throughout the whole trip. We got ready and went downstairs to enjoy the final days of this trip. We got on the bus and did a small bus tour around Barcelona and took pictures together as a school. We were given a bit of time to ourselves to take some pictures for us and our families.
Then we took the bus to the plaza part of Barcelona, which is called the Golden Strip because it has all the super high brand name stores. We saw Gucci, Dior, Prada, Boss, Rolex, Zara, Loui Vuitton, Balenciaga, and many more. Then we saw amazing houses built during the “Modern” age of Spain. The best architecture during this time was named Gaudi. He built a house that resembled a sword killing a dragon. After learning about unique, distinctive art in the form of architecture, we left to go explore the city of Barcelona some more. We walked for about two hours and saw many things. We saw a huge cathedral; we saw children hitting wood for presents, which is tradition. We also saw a building that looked like a palace which was actually meant for a queen during the Middle Ages. They turned into a building for old classical music. Then we walked to the bus and went back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner. Currently eating Spaniard pizza. It’s amazing! Tomorrow is our final day.
BLOG POST FOR DECEMBER 7
Written by Edward Alberto Pimentel Garcia
Hello everyone, today is the last day in Spain, and I am conflicted; I am both sad and happy; I am happy I was able to experience this, but I’m sad this is ending because I loved meeting everyone. Today, I had lots of fun; when we woke up, I ate some yummy breakfast and got ready for the day. Today we got on the bus and we traveled to the Park Guell where we saw some beautiful sights and took pictures. After this we went to a very beautiful church named “Familia Sagrada”. This church had beautiful storytelling on the walls on the outside and beautiful stained glass from the inside.
After this church tour, we ate some yummy lunch where we all danced, sang, and had a blast. We left with our full bellies and happy faces. We got back on the bus and came to the hotel, where we got ready to move on to our final group activity. We did this activity where we all were given prompts, and if the person we thought fit these prompts, we would tap their shoulders, but they would not be aware of the people who tapped them, sort of like a secret Santa way of saying thank you but you don’t reveal the gift giver.
After this activity, we were given the time to go to the beach and appreciate this beautiful city named Barcelona. Now, as I write this, eating this tasty brownie, I am just reminiscing of the wonderful time I had in Spain. I want to say thank all the GLA staff and atmosphere academy chaperones for making one of my biggest dreams to come true. As a football fan and la liga fan I can say I reached a hefty milestone in my life. Thank you,
