Hey Guys!

We wish we could be sharing these memories and stories with you over a grande gelato in the Plaza de la Reina, but instead grab a nice cup of coffee, or some shredded tomato toast and think back to Spain!

 From the ice breakers in the park to that first meal complete with tomato, onion, and lettuce salad, spaghetti, bowls of bread, and melon, Spanish Service Adventure was off to a great start!

Service is always an integral part of GLA. Jarit’s summer school brought us standout students like Sergio, Violeta, Toni, and Omar. How cool was it that our Arabic speakers were able to talk to the kids who recently arrived from Syria and Morocco?! Let us not forget the fun times we had with the kids: dancing to Cotton-eyed Joe (in the rain, mind you), having epic water fights, playing soccer games, and the like. Service ended with a lot of tears, a lot of laughs, and unforgettable memories.

The cultural aspects of Spain are definite highlights from our 2 weeks in Europe. Learning how to dance Flamenco and clap correctly (and quickly) was so fun, and learning how to cook paella was awesome (and delicious). Walking around the historic barrio of El Carmen was so cool, and the Mercat Central was an outstanding snack stop!

 Spending 2 days in Barcelona brings back such fun memories! Some of the most notable memories were from Park Guell, the all you can eat buffet, and La Sagrada Familia. Of course, we can’t forget the hidden walking tour, or the Camp Nou experience. What a great 48 hours!

 How awesome was it to have finish out the program with a Flamenco show in the courtyard of the hostel with seafood paella?

 As international staff, we really enjoyed the effort everyone put into mentor groups, the leadership activities, and being leader of the day! It was a pleasure getting to know you all better!

7-10 Quick Summer Recollections:

1. Big talk questions
2. Gelato!
3. Mercat Central
4. Rafting and the Baños Arabe
5. All dem push-ups / jumping jacks
6. Maui/ Aloha!
7. Albufera (Fartons)
8. Horchata museum (más Fartons)

 Thank you for joining us in Spain! We can’t wait to see where your future endeavors and travels take you!!

 Gracias,

 -Chris, Julie, Lexi, Noelia

 

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Hola mis tetes,

The second year of the Spain program was a great way to remember the summer of 2017. We started with 21 students ready to take on the next 3 weeks of Spanish, culture and Valencian humidity. 

Service is always an integral part of GLA. In Valencia, Jarit’s summer school brought us stand put students like Sergio, Violeta, Toni, and Omar. Everyone got along with them no matter the language barrier. There were some interesting activities, like when everyone had to roll over each other (big kids included) or when we all got wet multiple times during the week with our epic water fights. Service ended with a lot of tears, a lot of laughs, and unforgettable memories.

Aside from service, our weeks could not have been any more packed with activities. The flamenco class was a memorable one. It was obvious some of us were in our element, but we persevered, nonetheless. (No, but how does the music make you FEEL?!) We also rafted in Montanejos, which seemed to take place on one of the coldest days in Valencia. Everything Valencia had to offer was incredible: the boat ride, tower climb, Plaza Reina, and gelato. 

Who could forget the food? The coffee and bread in the morning, the salad and bread in the afternoon and dinner that sometime consisted of our favorite food: paella. When we were really hungry we would also adventure out and get some snacks and stop at a cafe to drink a nice coffee or eat even more food. 

Although it seems like the trip flew by, there was so much that we accomplished in that time. Kudos to everyone for having stepped outside of their comfort zone in our collective effort to learn about our communities and ourselves.

I’ll leave you with a few memorable memories:

• Hamptons, sip water, Hamptons, sip water.
• Air dropping on the bus
• Dapping like its our job
• A certain someone keeping their room key a bit too close to their heart
• Megan and Chris’ epic farewell

Un fuerte abrazo,

-Angelica

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our new destinations for Summer 2018, or enroll now.

 

 

 

 

Hello young leaders of GLA South Africa 2017!

Can you believe that it is all over? By the time you read this I imagine that you have grown immensely, using the various skills and lessons you learnt at ALA to make measurable impact in your various communities. Also, you may already have plans to come back to South Africa, whether it be with the entrepreneur you worked with or as a new student at ALA! Regardless of what you are doing, I sit here typing this letter with beaming pride.

As usual, we shall begin with the shout outs:

• Shout out to the various teams – Marky Mark and the Diverse Bunch, Team Skim Milk, and Supreme Team – for doing excellently well in presenting their solutions during Ideas Festival!
• Shout out to all the students for maintaining a strong support system, especially in times when people felt down or sick!
• Shout out to everyone for joining Bubbles in learning a dance (Azonto) during assembly
• Shout out to everyone for ploughing through the hike at Kloofwaters despite the challenges faced!
• Shout out to the students, mentors, and directors for making our GLA experience one to remember!

It was a privilege to watch you grow in the short time that you were here. I remember the intelligent and curious questions you asked Bra Steve as he took us on the Soweto tour and the maturity in which you handled intellectually challenging ideas in seminal readings. I watched you actively challenge your assumptions about South Africa and Africa as a whole, whilst quickly adapting to the new, culturally different environment. I loved your enduring energy, sometimes due to finally getting a nice cup of coffee from the local coffee place or from the working cappuccino machine. From you too, I had a lot to learn.

Most of all, I cannot forget how you pushed through. You worked together with entrepreneurs to create sustainable impact. I was delighted in the ways you became so invested in your various projects. This work did not go unnoticed. Who would have thought that in such a short of period of time, you would have spurned out such ideas for RHTC (Returning Home To Create), LoCrate, and Fixin Diaries – new designs for a website, a comprehensive marketing and financial strategy or bike-coffee tour? Furthermore, many of you went above and beyond your assignments to establish relationships with the entrepreneurs, making promises (which I hope you keep) to try your best to continue contributing from your various parts of the world. Yet, with all those achievements, you still mustered up energy to embark on more exciting adventures that awaited you in the scenic areas of Cape Town.

But the time has passed. Now that you have dispersed and the memories of ALA are fading away, I hope you are willing to hear some advice:

• Please maintain contact with each other – your relationships with one another do not have to end in the summer (please don’t forget us staff too!).
• Continue to challenge your presumptions and biases – we are bombarded by so much information; however, you have the power to question and filter this information
• Be proactive – remember to be response-able. Take responsibility of your actions. Yes, you can.
• Keep dreaming – there is so much you can do to make measurable impact in the world. You just have to believe you can

So, thank you for being authentically yourselves, for striving through, and excelling. We were glad to have you with us and remember to come back some day!

Here are some sweet summer/winter memories:

• The lions and lionesses at the Lion Park’s splendid show of strength while fighting over lunch
• The beautiful, yet ancient stalactites and stalagmites at the Cradle of Humankind
• Hanna displaying some wonderful skills during her warm up activities during assembly
• Students showing some dancing finesse in the dance showdown during the Battle of the Axe
• Eating some delicious South African food at the Moyo restaurant
• Discussing the complexities of our roles in Africa for an extended period of time during seminal readings

-Ijay and the South Africa team

 

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Text here…

Hola Spanish Service Adventure chicos y chicas!

Wow – what a summer it’s been! After round #2 of the program, Maria Fe, Allie, and I had a few days together in Cuzco (with plenty more baby alpaca sightings) before heading our separate ways to school and new job opportunities in Hungary and California. Still, we love thinking back on our time with y’all and the memories we made. Here are a few of our favorites:

– Our epic Egyptian ratslap card tournaments at the home base

– Waking up at 4:00 am for the totally-worth-it dawn hike at Machu Picchu

– The trench at Escuela Umanes. Oh, that trench…

– Conquering Andean peaks on our final day at home base in Coya

– Braving the frigid waterfall on our hike to Aguas Calientes

– All the name that tune and singalong extravaganzas during our bus rides
– Hearing amazing original music and beautiful voices at our talent show

– Perfecting your bartering skills at the markets in Cusco and Pisac (and that final Blue Llama dinner!)

While we’re sure you are all busy with school, sports, and other activities, we hope you still look back on everything you learned and accomplished this summer – through our service projects, Spanish class, mentor groups, or even from spending time and learning from each other. We’d encourage you to keep up your language skills and find ways to be culturally aware and lead by example in your homes, schools and communities. Bien hecho, and keep up the good work! Keep in touch with us as we’d love to hear the amazing things y’all are doing, and keep us in mind for next summer!

Saludos,

-Patrick

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our new destinations for Summer 2018, or enroll now.