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Sunday June 17, 2018

They made it!  After a relaxing night at a hotel and a good breakfast,  the ladies are ready to go!  Still fighting a little jet lag,  everyone will spend the day going over program logistics,  getting to know each other and begining service at Elephant Valley Thailand.

Monday June 18, 2018

What a great first full day together! Another two group members joined us, Payton and Samantha (yay!), we further explored what the next two weeks has to offer, collaborated on group agreements, learned about Elephant Valley Thailand’s mission, watched and fed the elephants AND explored what I means to be a leader. It was an exhausting day! Tomorrow we start our service work and will learn more about the Thai culture.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

Today was an incredibly busy day. It was the first day we did service with Elephant Valley Thailand, which consisted mainly of hoeing, raking, and gathering. We started the day by sweeping the trails where the elephants walk and cleaning up their poop. But, don’t be too jealous yet because the fun doesn’t stop there. We also cleared out a field of vines and long grass so that we could use the land to plant grass for the elephants to eat. As we were clearing the field, many of us got bit by ants that were crawling up our legs on top of being drenched with sweat and covered with dirt. Luckily, we got to take a break and eat some delicious Thai food before we went back to work. After we cleared the field, we started to dig trenches and plant Elephant Grass that the elephants would later eat and then stomp on to help it to continue its natural growth cycle. After we got a solid start on what would be tomorrows full day of work, some of us split off to trek through sharp, tall grass to get to banana trees. We cut down about ten of them to use for the elephant’s dinner. We used every part of the tree: the stock, the leaves (And of course) the bananas. It was hard work, but feeding the elephants made it all worth while.

It was a sweet ending to our long day of work. Seeing the elephants reach their trunks through the fence out to us made us realize why we’re here and how our hard work helps keep this amazing place going. But the moment didn’t last forever because when we were done feeding the elephants, we found out that there was no electricity. No electricity means no showers, no hand washing, no fans and no flushing toilets. This came at a bad time considering that we were all sweaty, smelly, and filthy. Luckily we didnt have to sit in our filth for too long because just before dinner, the electricity came back on so that we could be clean and relatively cool while we had Thai Time with John. John is an amazing man who lives in Thailand and answered all of our questions about Thai culture. Overall the we had a tiring, but fulfilling day and we can;t wait to do it all again tomorrow!

By: Alyssandra DeSeranno & Kate Laughlin

Wednesday June 20, 2018

Today, our group accomplished a lot of wonderful things. For starters, our group finished planting grass in a field that we worked hard on both today and yesterday. The field was overwhelming when we first encountered it, but it became far less intimidating as time went by and we continued to work hard as a team. To accomplish our job, we hoed, cut out unwanted plants, and planted new elephant grass. Banana trees were cut down with great effort once again by the group.

Our group also got to feed the elephants their delicious plants and bananas. Jack (the founder of Elephant Valley Thailand) graced us with his presence and knowledge of both the Thai culture and elephant life. It gave everyone in the group a broader understanding of how unique and interesting his elephant sanctuary is. Our group is having an exciting excursion to the night market tomorrow evening. The girls cannot wait to see the different treasures and souvenirs that will catch their eye and remind them of their time abroad in Thailand.

Thursday June 21, 2018

Today was riveting! We completed our final day of service at Elephant Valley Thailand before heading off to the night bazaar. We watched the elephants playfully taking a swim. We even observed what appeared to be an elephant drowning another one, but they were in fact just messin’ around (#elephantsbeingelephants).

After lunch we watched a jarring video detailing the horrors that occur in abusive elephant camps. We’re incredibly grateful that we get to experience a genuine elephant sanctuary that allows elephants to be in as natural of an environment as possible. Before everyone could completely erupt in tears, we discussed how we could prevent further elephant abuse in Thailand. After dinner, we grabbed our baht, hopped in the party vans, and drove to the night bazaar.

There, we all bought presents for our families (you’re welcome) and got to sample some tasty Thai food. Today we had to say goodbye to our newfound elephant pals, but they’ll always remain in our hearts. We’re looking forward to the scenery we will see and school children we’ll meet in the week to come!

P.S. Fun elephant fact: An elephant’s trunk can hold up to five liters of water! Also, elephants can die of a broken heart :,(

-by Anna and Thalia

Saturday June 23, 2018

Olivia Danner, Audrey Lamey, Caruna Gillespie, Sydney Dicker, Rebecca Unruh

We left our first home base yesterday morning, and our highlights of the past two days were visiting temples, camping, a sunrise hike, hot springs, and reaching our new home base. Friday morning, we visited three temples named Wat Phra Kaew, the White Buddha, and the Blue Temple. An interesting fact we learned at the temples was taking fun pictures, having Buddha tattoos, as well as house decor are considered very disrespectful. You can travel up into the White Buddha via a long staircase. After the temples, we had a three hour car ride to a mountain camping site. Our tents overlooked a beautiful valley view. For dinner, we made a traditional Thai dish over a coal fire, picnic style. The following morning, we went on a hike up a hill to view the sunrise. We were in the clouds, and we got glimpses of mountains, forests, and rivers below us. It was very slippery coming down, but we made it. After eating a savory Thai breakfast, we drove three hours to the hot springs, with two stops for snacks, and a buffet lunch of Western and Thai foods. The hot springs were hot. We had the option of a large pool, or smaller three-person pools, and Thai-style massages. We walked past a traditional elephant camp, and after staying at a true elephant sanctuary for a week, it was heartbreaking to see elephants chained up and rocking back and forth with lifeless eyes. While strolling through the Hill Villiage Tribe, we visited different shops and got ice cream. Then we arrived at our new home base, and were pleasantly surprised with air conditioning, a pool, and an abundance of showers.

Sunday June 24, 2018

Today, Sunday June 24, was a fun-filled, relaxing day for us girls at GLA. Beginning with a healthy breakfast including rice, eggs, and veggies, we then quickly moving in to our first activity of the day. We started off with a few fun games like “Captain’s Coming!” and “Metamorphisis” that brought us together as a group. We also discussed how important it is to use social media for the right reasons when engaging in trips like these and how important it is as young teens to not further stereotypes and generalizations as we travel in other countries. After that, we ate an awesome lunch and took some selfie time.

Selfie time is a period of time in the day with no talking and technology to allow time for personal reflection. At around 2:30, John (the Local Director) came in for orientation of Thailand education to teach us the ways to communicate with the kids when we go to the school tomorrow. We had a group discussion about how Thai school systems categorize students and other specifics to be aware of when we enter the classrooms tomorrow. We then had a few hours of free time and at 6:00, ate another amazing dinner here in Chiang Rai!

-by Chloe Campbell and Sabrina Castle

Monday June 25, 2018

Today was our first day at our Thai school. We were all really nervous but we didn’t need to be, it was super fun. First, we woke up and ate breakfast at home base- delicious rice and pineapple. Then, we took the bus to the school just in time to catch the flag bearing ceremony. We then got assigned teachers and got split up into different classrooms. We were so excited to meet the kids! All the teachers were super nice and welcoming. We followed our teachers to different classes like mathematics, science, physical education, health and English. During lunch time we got the chance to go to a Thai tea cafe to order some yummy drinks and get wifi.

After the lunch, the fun continued with more classes. The kids were super enthusiastic to have us there; all of us had sore hands after giving out so many autographs.

After a fun filled day, we were all drained and came back to home base for a surprise…a later breakfast the following day which meant we got time for a (needed) few extra minutes of sleeping. Most of us then took time to prepare some educational activities for the kids we would be working with tomorrow.

This consisted of making flash cards or drawing fruit to introduce and quiz the children on new vocabulary. Once our little homework assignments were finished, we had a delicious dinner during a light drizzle and even got to see Flat Ears, the resident dog. We spent some time together doing a GLA activity and finished the night with some free time before bed. As the trip is coming to an end, we realize how lucky we are to have this amazing experience and we are so grateful for this service opportunity.
See you soon!

-by Dannie and Sami

Tuesday June 26, 2018

This morning we got to sleep in and then went back to the school to teach the children. We taught the children new songs and games. All of our groups got to know their children better. We played and took photos with the kids. They loved to do peace signs in all of the photos. The kids each gave us flowers and clung to us. We signed even more autographs than yesterday. We then went back to class. Everyone had success in teaching classes. The teacher even treated us to tea. We then made our way to the Masai Market. Everyone bought as much as they could, including lots of ice cream. We ended our trip to the market with more tea at the coffee shop. We headed home and went straight to dinner. We were all shocked to see pasta instead of rice for dinner. We stuffed ourselves with pasta and then had time to relax before mentor groups. We discussed our day at the school. We learned about the pool party for tomorrow and we couldn’t be more excited!

-by Sarah Happy and Elena Kreger

Wednesday June 27, 2018

When we woke up this morning we were surprised by the chilly fog that hung over the home base. None of us were inclined to pull ourselves from our slumber, nor get to work. This groggy feeling was quickly swept away by the excitement of the school children. Our group was split first thing as some went with the Thai teachers and the rest followed an international teacher to their next adventure. We then had waffles and a surprise dance party during the lunch break. Our group spent time frolicking in the bright gym and listening to live Thai music with the kids of the school. After lunch of lunch we split up into two groups again.

Nine teens headed back to the classrooms to create new memories at the school. The remaining thirteen teens ventured to the tiny tea shop on campus and spent there time bonding with their fellow GLA participants. We met up for the final time with the kids and departed from the school at 3:30. On our arrival back at home base we searched deep into our souls for our final service reflection. We ended the day at dusk with a divine dinner provided by the delightful resort cooks.

-by Sophia and Emma

Thursday June 28, 2018

Today started off with the surprise of getting to sleep in until 8. After a healthy breakfast of fried rice, eggs, toast, and fruit we started off towards the white temple. After we arrived at the white temple John then tasked us with a photo scavenger hunt around and in the temple. During our time at the White Temple we discovered that it is actually an art installation with influences of the Buddhist religion. Inside the temple there were many paintings with references to the American pop culture such as the Avenegers and George Bush.

Around lunch time we ventured off for our second surprise of the day…PIZZA! After a quick stop at Starbucks we left for the third market of the trip, The Chaing Rai Local Market. This market was similar to the one in Mae Sai, however it was more cultural, fewer cars and motorbikes, with more food and the lovely stench of the local fish. With the shopping all wrapped up we headed back to home base at the Chang Garden resort to relax for the rest of the evening.

-by Julia and Thea

Friday June 29, 2018

Sadly, today is our very last day of fun with Global Leadership Adventures in Thailand. Our day began with a yummy breakfast at 8 am with toast, fruit, and eggs. After breakfast we were off for the waterfall hike. The hike was slippery but well worth the trek once we got to the waterfall. The waterfall was breathtaking as we climbed down the hill and felt the mist hit our skin. The water was refreshing to swim in and was very fun to stand underneath as the water dumped on us.

After the hike, we jumped back in the van and ate a delicious lunch on the water. Some of the students even made friends with a cat who tired to steal our chicken! Next, on our agenda was visiting the Black House where we saw water buffalo and lots of different pieces of art. One room was filled just with crocodile skins! Finally, when we arrived back at the home base to start packing, looking at our flight agendas, and eating our last meal together as a group.

All of us are very sad to leave, but are so grateful for the adventures we embarked on in this amazing country. Thailand is a beautiful country surrounded by beautiful people and we are so lucky to have experienced this amazing culture. We all are looking forward to eating cheeseburgers, sleeping in our own beds and snuggling with our pets. We will always have a special place for this unique trip and the friendships we have made.

-by Kaitlin Violette and Payton Curley

Saturday June 30, 2018

So long, fair well…it has been a beautiful journey and we will miss you all dearly. You are all officially on your way homeward towards new an exciting adventures. Thank you for bringing your individuality and unique perspectives. Thanks for being a great group to start the summer.

Yours sincerely,
Mattie, Brendan and Suzannah (And Peanut and Flat Ears)

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Friday July 13, 2018

Good Evening from Thailand!

Yesterday, arrival day, was filled with our 21 students filtering in sporadically. Our first flights arrived at 9am, while our last group didn’t land until 9:30pm. Needless to say, when the last group arrived at home base most of the students were already sleeping.

It was great to see everyone coming together for the first time at breakfast, well rested (maybe a little jet-lagged), smiling, and already asking a lot of questions of what our next 20 days together in Thailand would hold.

After breakfast we got to know each other a bit and got right into our program orientation. During this time we learned about the program, the culture, and dove even deeper into why we were here. We also covered what we valued individually and as a group, and what we expected from this experience. After finishing our orientation some students got in the pool, while others did their med-checks/swim tests.

We took to the streets and went for a nice bicycle ride through back streets, fields, and small neighborhoods. Before dinner we asked the students what they noticed; some of the answers included:

• Dogs
• Different farming practices
• Water buffaloes
• Friendly people everywhere
• Controlled burns
• Different construction of houses

Before dinner we reminded them to keep noticing, stay present, and continue to always ask questions about they’re surroundings. Staff and students are extremely excited to take on the next 20 days of this journey!

Tomorrow we check-out of Little Village Resort and head to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital!

Saturday July 14, 2018

A highlight of today was touring the city of Chiang Mai and exploring some famous temples. At the temple, we interacted with monks, where we all got a bracelet. In the city, we tried some local street food that was very different and exciting. Then we went to pick up necessities at a superstore for the following week.

A challenge for the group, was dealing with the heat and humidity of the climate. Also, there are still a few setbacks from the jet-lag.

Something we learned was about the lifestyle of monks, and how the Friends of Asian Elephants hospital was formed. Additionally, we learned and about some of the patients that have been in and out.

-Written by: Brooke Dubner , Sam Flax, and Dominique Lombard

Monday July 16, 2018

Hello from Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital here in Chiang Mai!

Today on the fifth day we had a very busy day filled with service, adventure, and fun! We started the day split up in our service groups to either sweep the hospital grounds, tend to the elephants, or cut elephant grass. After which, we had a nutritious breakfast and got ready for a day out on the town. Experiencing the local market and eating exotic delicacies including insects quickly became the highlight of the day. However, the heat proved still to be tiring to the students. Through these experiences in the city of Lampang, we learned how to branch out from the natural friend groups previously established. Adding to this, eating insects brought many students and teachers to get out of their comfort zones and step into a day full of adventure and new experiences!

Written by: Malia Wulbrecht, Nick Mouskondis, and Brittany Williams

Wednesday July 18, 2018

Today we all thought it was going to be a normal service day, but the weather changed the plan. We woke up to hard, pouring rain crashing on our windows that had been going on since the night before. In result of that, we lost our morning service but, we gained two more hours of sleep.

Everyone enjoyed the extra sleep and was energized for the service that was to happen after breakfast, but later was cancelled.
Later in the day, Dom and Jing taught us Thai and we even learned how to spell our names which was a good learning activity. Even though it was a very chill day, we all did face some obstacles, like being unsure of how the weather would affect our set schedule.

To sum it up, today was a very relaxed day where we all bonded more by playing games and doing various fun/service activities. We also had our first guest speaker, Dr. Preecha. Dr. Preecha was the first elephant vet in Thailand. He explained each elephant’s need and how they’re being treated.

As leaders of today, we felt accomplished of our duty and learned more about our peers.

-Written by Emma Sohn and Emilie Heller

Thursday July 19, 2018

Highlight: Planting bananas, beautifying the cemetery, planting fruits and vegetables

Challenges: bugs, humidity, and the heat made it extremely difficult.

What we learned: spiders can swim and elephants can sing

Today was quite eventful in the way of service and what we encountered. We woke up at 5:30 AM as per usual and catapulted straight into service. Anna’s group was with Boon-me the elephant, sweeping out her enclosure and taking lots of pictures J. Fernando’s group was sweeping home base and the road, right after the tree trimming. Georgia’s group was cutting grass to feed the elephants.

After morning service, we ate a combination of western and Thai food for breakfast. Just after breakfast was morning service. For 2.5 hours, we gardened, planted banana trees, and beautified the elephant cemetery. A big challenge during this part of the day was the bugs. Fernando and Georgia’s groups worked close to unattained plants and having to dig holes to make a new home for future banana trees.

Fernando’s group learned that spiders could swim. The rest of the day was very chill, with one guest speaker at 1:00 and time to rest before our evening activities and dinner.

Written by: Fernando Lopez Contia, Georgia Feinberg, Anna Kraeski

Friday July 20, 2018

Today was our final day of service at FAE. We finished up beautifying the cemetery, cleaning the pond, and working in the garden. It was very satisfying to see how all our hard work had paid off. Some highlights included seeing the finished product of the cemetery as it was our main service project and we accomplished our goal of making it more aesthetically pleasing. It felt good to know that we were paying respect to the past elephants. Another highlight was daring our friends into jumping into the grimy pond, knowing there was a chance of encountering the unknown. Three girls took the challenge and plunged right in!

A challenge of the day was that there was another large storm throughout the night. This caused branches and leaves to fall where we had been working, hindering our progress on both cleaning up the cemetery and sweeping the property. However, we worked with even more determination to complete the projects, even with the setback. We learned to persevere through even the most difficult obstacles and not to give up even when some hope is lost.

-Madi, Jadyn, and Alexanna

Saturday July 21, 2018

A most fun and interesting day today was. Unlike the past week, we slept in and woke up at 7 for breakfast as there was no morning service (though we must say, it was somewhat fun, particularly shadowing the mahouts of the elephants Boonmee and Mosha).

A goodbye-thank you poster was also created for the wonderful and generous staff of FAE. Afterwards, we were off to a cooking school in the city. There, we learned how to make staples of the Thai cuisine: spring rolls, pad Thai, soup, and mango sticky rice. Everyone found the activity fun, even suggesting that it was a highlight for the day. Everyone also felt satisfied in cooking their own delicious food. These dishes that we made later became a nutritious lunch before climbing a long flight of stairs to a temple in the mountains.

Indeed, this journey of stairs was extremely tiring, but it paid off the end as we were greeted by a great red temple with golden decorations inside and out, surrounded by wisps of clouds, overlooking the humble city of Chiang Mai (but unfortunately, with the clouds, we were unable to see the city from this angle). This experience inside the temple also became a significant highlight to some in the group, not only getting to see a 700 year old temple up close and personal, but to learn its history behind its founding. Of course, with a long stretch of fun came a stretch of nonchalance, an opportunity to wind down for the night. Following our trip, we returned to our first home base, Little Village, ate dinner, and played a game of 8 ball pool!

Written by: Malia, Pascal, and Breier

Wednesday July 25, 2018

Today was a very eventful day. It started out with a nice hike to two different waterfalls. The hike was quite slippery and ended with a few people falling in the mud. The second waterfall at which we stopped and swam in for an hour.

We then had a lovely picnic lunch of chicken and pad Thai straight from the market. We topped off the day with some bamboo rafting which was probably the highlight of the day. Here many people also learned how to steer and control a 15 foot long bamboo raft.

Overall today was a great day!

Written by: Brooke, Brittany, and Emilie

Thursday July 26, 2018

Today’s GLA adventure started off with a nice early-morning hike through some of the beautiful scenic farm lands of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We headed out from our hotel at the crack of dawn, 8:30 am. Some struggles we were met with at the very beginning were muddy up hill terrains, some wind & rain, wet socks, and who could leave out the sudden barrage of leeches. Some people escaped with only one or two, but there were some students who reached double digits. Despite all that we hiked through the jungle up hills to reach the Hmong village, led by our normal mentors and local staff, we also were lucky enough to be lead by people who lived in this area and even in the village itself. We were humbly welcomed into the local shaman’s home and learned about his duties to the village. Also, learned about their village’s livelihoods and struggles. After leaving the village we all hopped into cars and enjoyed a gorgeous ride through the mountains, seeing other villages and impressive terraced farms. This ride was concluded by and amazing lunch that over looked the stunning valley we had trekked around that day. Because of the dreary weather the group decided to return to the home base. The day was concluded with a traditional Hmong show. The shaman, a young man who had been one of our guides that day, and some young girls from the village put on a very engaging show.

Personally this was one of my favorite days filled with interesting, engaging and fun activities, and I wouldn’t love to shout out of amazing staff and mentors. They are incredibly understanding and work with each student’s needs and at the same time are so much fun to have as leaders through this amazing experience!

– Hannah Kevin

Saturday July 28, 2018

Today we woke up, and had a good breakfast at Royal Ping Resort! We got in the vans and arrived at elephant carer home to see our four legged friends waiting for us. We all got into our ma-suits (Mahout : Elephant keeper/trainer + Suits = ma-suits) and headed over and started raking the elephant dung.

We then went to the river. After, we ate lunch, which was chicken chow fun.

Later, we planted sugarcanes in the fields as a part of our afternoon service. Mud fights have quickly become a part of our afternoon rituals. 🙂

Then, went to the river again to bathe ourselves after our mud war.

After that great day we went back to the resort, showered up and prepared ourselves for dinner and our evening activities!

Another great day in Thailand!

Written by: Georgia Feinberg

Sunday July 29, 2018

Today was a day full of amazing service and hard work! We started the day with shoveling dung and having a competition of who could throw it the farthest.

Then, we headed over to the fields to plant some grass. This was probably the challenge of the day! This was the challenge because the group struggled with having a plan to start with, too many cooks in the kitchen, and a lack of communication. In the end we were able to finish planting the grass and come together as a team to problem solve. Then, we figured out what to do better next time.

Like always we finished the day with feeding the elephants before we ended the day of service. We had a water fight, floated in the river, and scrubbed ourselves clean. This was the highlight of the day!

Overall it was a very productive day that went by super fast and did not feel like only one day!

Written by: Breier, Bella, and Dominique

Monday July 30, 2018

If we were to put today in a nutshell, it was similar to the past few days with some exciting variation mixed in!

Our service began as usual with cleaning up elephant dung with rakes and our gloved hands. Then, unlike the other days, we helped lay the foundations for a new shelter for the mahouts. Some of us dug holes for the pillars while another group brought over logs for foundations. Indeed, both tasks were tiring, digging through rocks and clay, lifting log after log, giving our arms a workout. Though we did not entirely finish building the shelter, we provided enough of a head start for the mahouts to finish the task in the foreseeable future. Grinding labor was greeted by a delicious lunch of spicy minced chicken on a bed of rice served in the typical banana leaf wrapping.

Elephant time afterwards was met with an unpredictable downpour, but nevertheless we made the most out of once in a lifetime routine. After miry trails, puddles, and elephants snacking on bamboo, we reached the bathing site. The bathing site is a small section of the Ping River where we proceeded to splash, brush, and clean the elephants. Coincidently, the downpour let up at around this time, allowing for a dry walk back to the camp.

Dinner consisted of tempura, fried pork, vegetables, and tofu. For our evening activity we had an unofficial GLA Elephant Health and Welfare talent show. Though the talent show was rather short, there were some impressive and comedic acts. To note a few, Sandra read some poems that she wrote; Pascal showed off one of the katas that he learned from seven years of training in karate; Jadyn made herself cry and showed us her freestyle skills. Jessica made animal impressions, causing everyone to completely loose it and burst out laughing throughout the whole act. Lastly, Patrick and Jonathan told knock knock jokes while playing their guitars, and Neha spun poi. Who knew that seemingly normal people have unique talents. The abrupt talent show led to an unofficial dance party.

Tomorrow is our last day at the elephant camp. We all are headed to get some rest before tomorrow’s eventful day!

Written by: Pascal Cheung

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Monday June 18, 2018

Sawaddee-khrab (Hello) from Thailand!

Our main arrival day was a huge success as we have just finished a delicious meal together and retired to our bungalows! With some students arriving late last night, and the remainder throughout the day today, sharing our first meal as a group was a great feeling. Just before dinner we did a quick activity to get to know one another and just like that we learned new things about each other, shared laughs, and bonded as group.

As for now, it’s time to get some rest as we have a big day tomorrow!

Tuesday June 19, 2018

On our first official day of programming saying we experienced a lot is an absolute understatement.

We started out our morning by having our program orientation. This was comprised of icebreakers, program breakdowns, setting expectations, cultural awareness sessions and even coming together to speak about what we valued and the creation of a social contract.

After having lunch we had little time to catch our breath, lather up in sunscreen and pick out bicycles for our next adventure! The sun had been out all morning, but as we took off from Little Village clouds rolled in and we were treated to a tranquil and cool (thank you clouds!) bike ride.

We pedaled right from the Little Village Resort and weaved through neighborhoods, along narrow back streets, past watermelon and lychee farms, and eventually ended back at the resort. Along the way we learned about the area we were in, and stopped at a temple to explore, ask questions, and catch up on our hydration.

After freshening up and exploring some of our own space we were treated to a traditional Bai Sri Ceremony. This is a ceremony that is held during special occasions, including welcoming our group into Thailand! A local shaman came and performed the ceremony which we all took part by listening, observing the techniques, and holding a communal string throughout the duration. The ceremony concluded with the shaman cutting the string and tying a bit around each of our wrists that we are all wearing now as bracelets. It was a great day of cultural learning, an adventurous bike ride, and officially being welcomed into this wonderful country!

Wednesday June 20, 2018

This morning we had an exciting visit to Doi Suthep temple in Chiang Mai. We learned that you have not really visited Chiang Mai without taking a trip up the 300 steps to this temple. The view from the top was definitely worth all of those steps. We could see the whole city in front of us, with a giant gold temple behind us. This was our highlight of the day.

After the temple, we ate a delicious buffet lunch at a restaurant where we were able to try all sorts of Thai food. A challenge at lunch was 100% trying foods that we had no idea what it tasted like. We learned that there are a lot of foods with different textures to what we are used to. After lunch, we all napped on the way to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital. As soon as we hopped out of the vans, we saw beautiful elephants! We took a tour of the grounds and learned about some of the elephants and their caretakers.

Our challenge for the day was our after-dinner debate (leadership activity), where we all had to take different positions on the issue of whaling in a small island in the Caribbean. We challenged cultural norms, environmental issues, and how the world deals with problems as a whole.

-Written by Alessandra Malone and Alice Nobles

Thursday June 21, 2018

Today was our first day of service! This morning we split into three groups and did our first two hours of service; cutting grass for elephant food, sweeping the hospital grounds, and service in the elephant enclosure. Once we were done cooling down from service we talked to the owner of the elephant hospital and she was telling us her stories of how she started Friends Of The Elephant Hospital.

After lunch we did another two hours of service, where we worked in the garden. We planted betel leaves, Chinese cabbage, and pepper plants, which was another highlight of our day. This brought us closer together and we had a lot of fun.

A challenge we had was waking up at 5:00am since we had to be downstairs by 5:50am. We learned that in Thai culture their days start much earlier then what we’re used to. What we learned today was that waking up early gives us the opportunity to get more things done in a day, and that hard work is necessary to get things done!

-Written by: Alecia Cartwright and Alexandra Urbat

Friday June 22, 2018

Highlight: Today we volunteered to help out at the Hangchat local school to help the students practice English. First we participated in their traditional dance in a large group, then split up to talk to the students; 5 Thai students, to one of us. We talked about ourselves and learned about our similarities and differences and later moved into a smaller classroom and had a very fun game of Pictionary.

Challenge: We had a challenge today touring the city of Lampang because it was 90 degrees and we hadn’t walked around in this environment. We packed plenty of water but it was still difficult with energy after volunteering and walking around, so we had to cut short our tour which was disappointing because we all really enjoyed the people and the city and wished we could do more.

Something We Learned: We learned about the similarities and differences of our cultures. First by meeting first hand the students in the school and seeing how they had a wildly different campus and different attitudes towards us, but also appreciated the same things and had many of the same personality traits as us. Later when walking around the city we saw the people far more accepting and friendly to us than you would expect with reversed roles. At the end of the day the staff gave us an activity where we were told individually to mingle in a fake party with secret “cultures”, like long pauses before answering, or being closer than normal while talking. It showed us that what could be respectful in one culture could be misunderstood as rudeness and told us to pay attention, learn, and adapt.

Written by: John Carter and Briyona Ziegler

Saturday June 23, 2018

Overall today was a good day. We started service at our usual time and some of us got to see a baby elephant while others bathed Mosha. Before lunch we got the chance to sit in with Dr. Boonyoo as he showed us the steps in making a prosthetic and answered all our questions.

While there was a language barrier between the prosthetic doctor, Dr.Boonyoo and us, we had a translator that helped us understand the full process of how prosthetic legs for elephants are made.

During our afternoon service while planting, the sun wore us down, but with the help of everyone’s hard work we got all of the garden planted in a short amount of time. We decided that the word of the day should be prosthetic “kha tiem.” One of our leader of the day responsibilities has been choosing activities to lead. As our leader of the day activity we chose to play a group game of charades. We all had fun and then headed down to have dinner as a group. Headed to a mentor meeting to finish out our night before getting to bed so we’re ready for our early morning service!

Written by: Anna D’Agui and Isabel Powell

Sunday June 24, 2018

Today could be described as what the mentors call, ‘low energy.’ On most days, we can point out one or two coffee cups at breakfast time. Today, eleven. The 5:30 wake up call for morning service had seemed to take its toll. Throughout the rest of the day energy increased, but overall the main challenge was simply fatigue.

Nonetheless, we got a lot done during the day, and it was overall quite productive. After morning service, our main activity of the day involved learning more about Thai culture from our lovely local mentors. Thai language was as beautiful as it was confusing, and taste testing Thai snacks was a joy (well, some snacks). The evening concluded with a lively and competitive game of spoons.

Today we learned that perseverance and a good mindset could change the course of a day. Starting off sluggishly and concluding on a high note is entirely possible with open communication and positivity. Before dinner, during ‘Chow Circle,’ everybody gave a compliment to another person in the group. It was truly heartwarming and a solid end to our first week.

-Written by Kate and Molly, June 24

Monday June 25, 2018

Today we started the day off with something new in our 6am meeting… early morning stretches! We thought to utilize this time to combat our low energy crisis. For some, it had the desired effects, and some not. Maybe some professional assistance is required in the future.

The day is always filled to the brim with new knowledge-based activities. Today we got the very rare opportunity to meet one of the original elephant vets in Thailand. We learned not only how he got into his occupation, but also where his heart and mind lie in the treatment of elephants. I think we were all very intrigued by him and his presentation of thoughts.

After working so intensely in a new environment, we all began to feel the sluggishness from putting our best foot forward for the past week and pushing through the day suddenly became our biggest challenge.

Not so far from where we sleep each night, Mosha has her living quarters. Since she has an amputated leg, we need to help make her as comfortable as possible. Mosha’s mahout asked us to help replace the burlap sacks she rests her injured leg on when she’s not wearing her prosthetic. A lot of us can most certainly agree that being able to interact and care for the sweetest and most playful creature is always the best part of our day!

Tuesday June 26, 2018

One of the highlights of today was being able to look back at all the progress and work we’ve done here at FAE. Today being the last day that we were able to work at FAE gave us a unique opportunity to reflect on all of the work we’ve done and the things we’ve experienced.

This week we have been cutting grass for the elephants and it was amazing to see all the change in the field. When we first showed up to the field the grass was up to the road and seeing how far back we’ve been able to cut showed how much we’ve accomplished in this week. It has also been interesting to reflect about how much we have learned this week through discussions and seminars about the way elephants are treated in Thailand.

This morning, our journey to the Thailand Elephant Conservation Center led to us learn a lot about the royal family and white elephants, how Buddhism and elephants are connected, and how conservation of elephants in Thailand is being done. It’s been a challenging week with getting up early and having very busy days and this last day here was especially challenging. Energy was low and getting places on time proved even more of a challenge today than it has other days. However, we have been good about pulling each other up and staying motivated. It really shows how we have come together as a group this week at FAE.

-by Sienna Colucci and Rebecca Harbour

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Today, we departed from FAE Hospital early in the morning and headed to downtown Chiang Mai for a cooking class! We first went to the market, which was a highlight since we got to see how the local Thai people got their food and what special ingredients go into Thai cooking. We learned how to make spring rolls, phad thai, mango sticky rice, and coconut chicken soup. My favorite was definitely the mango sticky rice, which I can hopefully bring home and teach my family how to make. We got to eat all of the food we made ourselves, and it was all so yummy!!

After lunch, we departed for a walking tour of Chiang Mai; we visited a beautiful temple, which is also where we were able to get the chance to talk to some monks. They have a special area at the temple called “Monk Chat” where monks can practice their English with tourists, sharing special details about their religion. We learned that every Thai Buddhist man has to become a monk at some point in their life in order to protect the women in their family.

A challenge for today would be moving with all our stuff to a different location, as we didn’t know our schedule or what the new flow of things would be. We were at the hospital for 7 days with a pretty consistent schedule, and now we’re back in the city for some cultural exploration and adventure! We’re all very excited for what’s to come!

-By Stephanie Wu and Alessandra Masone

Thursday June 28, 2018

Today we went to the Maetang River. We hiked and crawled over the rocks to the waterfall at the end of the gorge We were surrounded by sugarcane and lychee trees. Once we reached the end of our hike, the gorge opened up to a beautiful waterfall, surrounded by bamboo. Some of us jumped in the pool under the waterfall, laughing and playing, but also realizing how truly small we are compared to the awe-inspiring scale of nature. After the hike, we had originally intended to go white water rafting, but heavy rains and rising water levels didn’t allow for that. As an alternative, we visited central plaza mall, where some of us got massages, while others roamed to find food or go shopping.

Some highlights of the day included swimming under the waterfall, karaoke at the end of the day back at homebase, and experiencing Thai massages. Some challenges of the day were the rain on our hike, which made rocks slippery and hiking more difficult. Some of us were also disappointed by the cancellation of white water rafting. Many of us had been looking forward to the rafting, because a lot of us hadn’t done it before and were excited about seeing the terrain from a different perspective.

We learned that having a positive attitude will get you through most challenges, or at least make slippery rocks more bearable.

-by Alecia Cartwright and Alice Nobles

Friday June 29, 2018

A highlight of the day today was that we got to walk around and shop in the Chiang Mai night market bazaar with all the different exotic food and interesting new clothes. Many of us bought items for ourselves and people back home to introduce them to the culture

A challenge for today was that we had so many exciting and fun things to buy for many of us it was difficult not to overspend. Recognizing we would have other opportunities, and figuring out what we genuinely wanted or not was difficult when we were presented with a opportunity to own so many new things for the first time.

We learned a lot today, but something specific was when we ate ate the monsoon tea shop. One of the employees talked to us about the history of the original tea plant and how it originated from Southeast Asia. We learned how it was was fermented and originally used to spice food. Only later was used for tea. He told us how the tea plant has been changed to fill the demand for tea and he talked about how the company’s mission was to bring back the natural tea plant to plant and use the way it was in the beginning because it was more natural and didn’t require deforesting.

Sunday July 1, 2018

Today we went to a elephant camp and (an elephant) poopoo paper park. The highlight of the day for us was the poopoo park and seeing how elephant poop was made into paper.

One challenge was going to the elephant camp and seeing all the elephants in the enclosures but it was still a fun learning experience and interesting to see. We learned about how our peers felt regarding the elephants in their enclosures. There were a lot of really great perspectives shared. ​​

Written by: Anna D’Agui and Alexandra Urbat

Monday July 2, 2018

The Chai Lai Orchid is a truly beautiful place. It was a pleasure to meet the friendly co-owners of the organization, and a joy to spend the afternoon with the elephant residents. A definite highlight was meeting the dear baby elephant (only three weeks old!). Watching her parade her miniature, adorably uncoordinated body around was incredible, and she was as playful as any puppy I’ve ever met. I miss her already, and can’t wait to see her tomorrow.

On another note, I can barely believe this is the last week of service. It seems impossible to picture the final day of this trip approaching. Thailand has felt surprisingly comfortable to me, which I’m sure I can attribute to the lovely people I’m with. This has been a beautiful whirlwind of a journey, and I feel so grateful to conclude it at such a beautiful place.

Written by: Kate Netto

Tuesday July 3, 2018

Today was our first day of service at Chai Lai Orchid elephant camp. The emotions were very hyped up this morning and we were all excited to work with elephants and their mahouts. All our groups split up to do different volunteer work before lunch. After lunch, we had a conversation about our experience, which, for the majority of us, was very difficult. This is because we all have very mixed opinions about the things we have experienced in the past couple of days.

Arguably, the best moment of the day was being able to bathe the elephant’s first hand in the river. Every single person had a smile on their face. We learned the background for why GLA created the experience for us all in the first place. Always great to work and be inspired by the people we’ve met on our journey!

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Today we spent the day with elephants at Chai Lai Orchid, which was a ton of fun. While we had to work hard taking cleaning up after and feeding the elephants with the Mahouts, we got to spend our breaks with the elephants. After indulging in lunch, we split into two groups. Half of us chose to hike up to a waterfall to swim. The rest helped around the elephant camp by planting nearly 75 pineapple plants.

Although we split up for the afternoon, at night we spent time around a campfire, telling stories and having a generally great time. We got to release paper lanterns into the night, and they were absolutely beautiful! All in all, it was an enjoyable and productive day, and we look forward to spending more time at Chai Lai Orchid.

-Written by Stephanie Wu

 

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today’s highlight was sleeping in an extra hour before getting up for service. Just kidding! Today was filled with excitement – we split into groups and rotated through different activities. One group made herb medicine balls for the elephants. It was awesome to feed and help these magnificent creatures.

Despite all the days fun, the heat wore us down. With sweat dripping off our faces, the whole group worked hard to assist Chai Lai Orchid with some daily tasks. Some of us even helped build a fence to keep a pair of young mischievous elephants in.

With only a few days left we really had to made this one count. #awesomeday #lovegla

Friday July 6, 2018

Today we started our morning service off with our elephants. Our group got to take the three week old baby and her mother for a walk in the jungle. We learned that, like our mothers, the mother elephant is very protective of her child. When she feels like her baby is threatened she will growl as a way to ward off the threat.

For our afternoon service we got to have a great conversation with some Karen (ethnic group from Myanmar/Thailand border area) refugees who are now trying to further their English skills so they can start their own businesses, work in the tourism industry, or get their dream job. We ended the day with a nice refreshing cool down in the river.

Before dinner we had a short Muay Thai class, which is their form of boxing. Overall today was a great day!

Written by: Olivia Pullin

Sunday July 8, 2018

Our last day in Thailand together is one for the books. It was emotional, fun, and memorable. Some of us finished with service while others trekked in the jungle with elephants and ate by a campfire.

We dressed up for dinner and shared our appreciation for one another through multiple activities. The most challenging part of today was unique to this day, it was about of enjoying the time we had left but not getting too emotional knowing it was about to end. We know we will miss each other and remember these past three weeks with the best light (even if we got on each other’s nerves at times.)

We learned how each individual has their own quirks and can be an incredible contribution. We also learned that while three weeks can be a lot but it can also be so little. I think we can safely say we will miss GLA and every opportunity that has been given to us.

Written by: Isabel Powell and Olivia Clossick

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Saturday July 14, 2018

Good morning from Thailand! Late yesterday we welcomed the final students to our program and everyone had a good night’s sleep here at Home Base! Yesterday was a full day of visiting temples, learning how to properly greet one another in Thai, relaxing at a local city park, and taking in all the sights and sounds around the city center of Chiang Mai. The group finished the day with an interactive tour of a food market, followed by a Thai cooking class (we made Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, and Mango sticky rice with Butterfly Pea to color it a beautiful blue and add some sweetness). Once everyone got together at home base, it was clear we were all exhausted and decided to call it an early night.

Already this morning, we’ve had our breakfast which included pancakes and eggs and lots of pastries, plus some traditional Thai breakfast items from the buffet! We’re now off to market and then a fun lunch spot on the lake….more about that tomorrow, so stay tuned!

With warm greetings from all of our staff here at “In & Beyond”,
Lexi, Rein, and Mark

Sunday July 15, 2018

We spent a good bit of today preparing for first day in the class room! It began with a bit of shopping in a really unique street market to pick up a few clothing items to wear at the elementary schools–skirts & shoes mostly. Following that, we had an interesting lunch at Huay Tueng Tao which is a very beautiful reservoir at the foot of the mountains, with expansive views all around. Some brave students even popped a couple dancing shrimp in their mouth! It’s a local dish of, you guessed it, live “dancing” shrimp!

After lunch, we arrived back at home base with a couple hours of free time. At 4:00 pm we had Mr. Todd come to share some tips on teaching English to the local Thai children. We then had our very first dinner circle recapping the day and giving each other “props” for all of the great things we’ve seen and done so far. Finally, we ended the day by preparing for tomorrow’s classes, creating lessen plans to engage the children. We can’t wait to see how all of these creative activities–songs, games, vocabulary drills–impact the local kids. It’ll be a fun week, to be sure!

Here’s to the start of a new week, a new adventure, and new challenges! Next, hear from a couple of our students on how they experienced the day! -Lexi & Mark (international staff)

Hi everyone! Today we woke up for a nice breakfast in the hotel buffet line, as we do each morning. There were eggs, fruit, pastries, rice, and cereal. We headed to a clothing market afterwards to get any last minute clothes we needed for teaching. There was also a great food market next door! 🙂 After that, we went to the most beautiful lunch spot on a reservoir. Some of us even ate jumping shrimp that some of the locals gave us! We had some down time at home base before we listened to a guest speaker named Todd tell us about our teaching days coming up. We prepared for our lessons with small groups and will be teaching tomorrow!

-Your Leaders of the Day (Dylan and Hailey)

Monday July 16, 2018

Today was absolutely incredible (as always). Going in the classroom overwhelms all of us with such happiness seeing the students’ smiling faces. One of my students does the “I love you sign” with his hands in sign language. This student in particular is so sweet. I am always receiving hugs from him as well as a casual hand-hold when the class is done. The learning environment in Thailand is so different than what I had imagined; the kids are so incredibly respectful, kind, and hardworking, and they make teaching fun for me as well as for my teaching group.

We work hard to plan out lessons for them, and everyone in the teaching group has an opportunity to share their ideas and creativity. So far, being with the students and being in the classroom is the best thing that I’ve gotten the chance to experience. We are really growing as leaders with our mentor-leading groups at the end of each day, as well as coming up with hours worth of lessons for the kids. Today was so fun and so successful! The kids showed improvement as the class progressed, they had a lot of fun, and we had a lot of fun. We do our warmups where we sing a song, presentations when we talk about weather, and practice when we play games that related to the topic we learned. Seeing the kids and being with them is a life-changing experience, and I hope that we are changing their lives too!

-by Parker Lynch

Tuesday July 17, 2018

Today, July 17th 2018 was so fun, and personally my favorite day so far. Today we got to go Muay Thai boxing! I know that everyone had a blast and I would personally love to do it again. We all learned a lot of different boxing techniques. My co Leader of the Day, Parker, and I did a local interview with the owner of the gym. We asked him when he started Muay Thai and he said he’s been boxing since he was 12 and used to compete, and then he decided to stop competing and became a personal trainer. We all had lots of fun, and I even got a small video of me boxing!

-by Devan Summers

Wednesday July 18, 2018

Today was our third day of teaching and things went very well! Relationships with the students are growing and it’s great to see how they progress. We also had Thai massages today. They were painful but in the best way possible and I would definitely do it again! We also celebrated Devan’s (Summers) birthday today with a pool party and cake. I am super excited for what’s to come and look forward to continue building relationships with the other future leaders.

-by Megan Etter

Thursday July 19, 2018

Saw-wa-dee ka!! Happy 18th Birthday Devan! We started the day off on a positive note with a birthday song for Devan and a delicious breakfast, featuring the continuation of Lexi’s egg saga (trying to get her egg order correct on the breakfast buffet). After a fulfilling day at the school teaching adorable Thai children, we went to experience genuine Thai massages. Immediately after being relaxed with our massages we went to Rimping Market to get snacks we all wanted. After dinner we had cake and a pool party in the rain and finished the night off with “BIG” talk (not just small talk:).

-Ally Shew

Friday July 20, 2018

Today we went to our schools and had a great last day of teaching English to our students. After we got back to home base, we planned for Friday, our last day being an English camp with the kids at our schools. We are so sad to leave the kids at school but so far everyone is having such an amazing time teaching the little kiddos. We also love hanging out at night and playing cards before lights out!

**Here are a bunch of photos from the past few amazing days in Chiang Mai (our Muay Thai class, wood carving, temple visits, teaching at the schools, our cooking class and a few others…)

Love,
Grace D and Ella C

Saturday July 21, 2018

Hey GLA blog readers!

Today was our last day with the kids at our schools. We put on an English day camp for the kids, which was so much fun. Our goodbyes at the end of the day were filled with lots of hugs, high fives, and even some tears.

After we got back to home base we all participated in a leadership activity where we collaboratively wrote our goals and aspirations for the trip. Then we hung out as a group during free time before having another great dinner at the resort. We ended the night by taking personality tests as a group to learn about what type of leaders we are.

The first week has flown by and we can’t wait to keep making memories and getting to know each other even better over the next two weeks.

Much love,

Anathea Kordosky and Alexa Clark

Sunday July 22, 2018

Today everyone was excited to feed, bathe, and play with elephants at a jungle elephant sanctuary. We excitedly sat through a 90 minute bus ride outside of the city of Chiang Mai to arrive at the sanctuary. Upon arriving, we changed (putting on traditional Karen shirts) and grabbed bunches of bananas to feed to the elephants. It was fascinating to watch the elephants grab the food with their trunks, and for the more adventurous people, put the bananas straight into the elephants mouths. Before continuing to play with the elephants, the group sat down for lunch and had time to view handmade souvenirs by the locals. After showering at home base and relaxing for a little, we made our way to a local night market. We enjoyed our freedom to walk around and purchase dinner and souvenirs to forever treasure our journey. Overall, it was a day to remember and I’m excited for more adventures yet to come.

Love, Kiara Q.

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Today we had an eventful day. We started off by going to a temple and participating in a monk chat, where we were given a in depth look into buddhism and the way of life of a monk. And then we were given a chance to practice meditation with prayer beads before going to service. We continued our work in digging holes for septic tanks and then got to play with some of the kids that live in the orphanage.

-Morgan and Jasmine

Thursday July 26, 2018

Today was amazzzziinngg as always. We went to a Thai Catholic all girls High School where we participated in a cultural exchange!! It was so cool to see the traditional Thai dancers mixed in with some hip hop, followed by our iconic hoedown throwdown performance ;). I talked to one of the dancers named Mai & it amazed me how fluent in English she was! She’s been dancing her whole life & loves to preform on any stage. After our performances, we participated in a myriad of activities including a modified version of rock paper scissors & painting cloth bags.

Today’s my birthday & all the girls sang to me which was super sweet. After the cultural exchange we headed out to service to continue digging the four 6ft holes (for septic tanks) & playing with the children. A couple hours later we wrapped up our activities & went out to dinner at an American restaurant! The food was so good. We had nachos, mozzarella sticks, ribs, fries, pizza & birthday cake! Down below there was another street market where we spent an hour shopping & walking around. Night markets never cease to impress! Thank you to everyone who made my birthday amazing!!

-Caitlyn Wagner 🙂

Saturday July 28, 2018

Saw-wa-de ka! Today was a heart touching day as we spent the day with kids from the orphanage for the last time. We kicked off the morning with perfect eggs for Lexi and spent the morning playing with the kids at Baan Praporn and having lunch there, too. In the afternoon we went to a water park called Tube Trek with some of the kids and had lots of fun, laughing and screaming down the slides. After dinner we wrapped up the day with a couple hours walking around the Saturday night market and continuing to buy souvenirs.

-Ally

Sunday July 29, 2018

Hello from Thailand!! Today was a mixture of exciting adventure and relaxation. We started off the day by heading into the jungle for our two hour zip lining excursion. We zipped, jumped, and repelled! Then we headed back to home base for some relaxation time and a leadership activity about our personal mission statements. We later went to a night market and bought some cool souvenirs and had some Thai street food.

-Kate Turner

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Tuesday June 19, 2018

Hello! Welcome to Thailand!

We’re so happy our students arrived in Chiang Mai safely and full of smiles today! We’ve been so excited to meet our first 21-day “In and Beyond the Classroom” group! Today’s been a tranquil arrival day, adjusting to Thai time, meeting one another, and exploring the Woodfield Resort, our home base for the next 3 weeks! Needless to say, all our students are a little tired after 2 days of traveling, so resting was s a highlight of today! We were welcomed with a delicious Thai dinner with chicken/tofu curry soup, fried rice, fresh fruits, and veggie spring rolls! After dinner we briefly looked over tomorrow’s orientation day plan and our fun filled 3 weeks! The international staff can’t wait for the adventures and leadership activities to begin!

We’ll be updating this blog at least twice a week with stories, quotes, and photos from our days at service, and in the community! Check back!

Best wishes from your international staff,
Lexi and Mark

Wednesday June 20, 2018

First full day in Thailand, and what a day it was! We started the day with a buffet breakfast with foods ranging from veggie fried rice, to waffles, and back to Thai noodles! After breakfast, we met in the large conference room for Orientation! We reviewed the code of conduct, house rules, and dos and don’ts in Thailand. Then off to an awesomely international lunch buffet (they even had green tea ice cream)! Post lunch was the city tour! We saw 2 of Chiang Mai’s wats (temple) including the oldest one! After a quick Thai tea in the park, GLA met a local chef in the market to pick out ingredients for our cooking class. We learned how to cook pad Thai, green coconut milk curry, fried spring rolls, and mango sticky rice for dessert! We even used a blue flower, butterfly pea, to turn the ricey dessert blue! Back to home base for a mentor group regarding hopes and fears for the program along with silly and serious group goals! The last student arrived this evening! We’re so happy to have all11 students safe and sound in Thailand! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

International Staff,
Lexi and Mark

Thursday June 21, 2018

Today we woke up bright and early to head off to a local pottery village. We toured the village and saw the processes behind the beautiful Thai artwork. After touring and seeing how effortless the Thai potters made it look, we took a stab at making our own pottery. We learned that many of us are not natural artists, but with the help of the potters, we were able to make small, beautiful vases. Once our time in the pottery village was up, we ventured out to Huay Tung Tao reservoir for lunch.

Our delicious meal was devoured inside a cabana overlooking the lake. We ate live dancing shrimp, soup, rice, and some good old french fries. Bon appetit! Once our lunch was finished we took a picture with a giant gorilla (see picture below) then played games and had an intellectual discussion about Children’s rights. After a long day of fun, food, and friends we headed back to our beautiful home base for a swim test. All of us passed so we were able to swim around and play pool games.

Following our pool fun, we chowed down on dinner which was scrumptious! Then our wonderful mentor, Lexi lead us in an activity to inspire meaningful conversations. We learned about the importance of being open and talking about things that are important to you. We closed the night off with some group bonding. We can’t wait for more adventures, learning, and bonding.
– Paige

Friday June 22, 2018

Saw-wad-dee-kah everyone!

We started off our day today with an hour long trip down a windy road to the Doi Suthep temple about an hour away from our home base. After climbing all 306 steps to get to the temple (yes, Clare and I counted), we all had the chance to walk around, take pictures, and ask questions to our local staff about everything we saw. We also were able try out some interesting fortune telling techniques to find out if our wishes for the future will come true, like shaking a cup full of sticks and waiting for one to fall out, or lifting a heavy gold elephant with one finger. We then had the chance to get some amazing views of all of Chiang Mai from the mountaintop where the temple stood.

On our way home, we visited a Northern Hill Tribe village where we learned all about the different tribes in Thailand. We even had the chance to shoot a crossbow at a hanging vegetable… with varying degrees of success. On our way out of the village we walked through a market where most of us bought elephant pants for only 100 baht! (About the equivalent of 3 USD). We then came back to the home base for some free time. Most of us spent our time doing yoga led by our mentor, Lexi… also with varying degrees of success. Despite a lot of tripping and complaining about exercise, we all had a great time. After dinner we all got together for a leadership activity in which we all discussed ways we can overcome the things we feel hold us back in life.

Hope everything’s going well back home!

-Cara

Saturday June 23, 2018

Hello! (Say wah dee kah )

Today marked day 5 of our adventures in the scenic Chiang Mai, Thailand. Today we started off by visiting an adorable nearby community which is known for making cotton umbrellas. We learned the history of the community that has existed for over 40 years and saw the umbrella making process ourselves. After we saw the steps of making an umbrella we got the chance to paint our own umbrellas.

Many of us have quickly realized in the past few days that our artistic abilities are more to be desired. After our artistic attempts we proceeded to a little market of highly talented painters where many of us got our phone cases painted with flowers, elephants, and dragons. Then we went to the cafe for a pick me up. We have been practicing ordering in Thai and getting all our drinks without straws (mai aow lòrd).

We get a lot of weird looks from barista when attempting to drink things from smoothies to iced drinks without our straw but we are trying to save marine life one straw at a time thanks to our awesome mentor Lexi’s influence. After that we went to lunch at a local restaurant where we could try anything on the menu. With the freedom many choose pad Thai and spring rolls but some went outside there comfort zones and tried a totally new dish.

Mid- afternoon we returned to our beautiful home base where we had a leadership activity. Each of us dived into our goals and what we want in the future whether that may be tomorrow or years from now. Also parents if you get a postcard in the mail before our return please don’t read them. They are for our future selves. After that we had a pretty laidback night of self care, getting to know each even better, practicing our Thai, and then a family pool night . That’s all we have for the today.

Hashtags for the days included:

#dontbelackluster

#doorsarentforgiving

-Clare

Sunday June 24, 2018

Today was a really great day! The first thing we did was go zip lining. It was a blast and everybody was proud of Lexi for facing her fear of heights and falling. The instructors were really fun and loved to tease us. They dropped us down the belay rope half way, shook all the bridges we walked on, and even scared us into thinking that we started zipping the line when everybody wasn’t ready. In the evening, we went to the night market to eat dinner. While we were there, we bought many items that the vendors had for sale such as: elephant pants, shirts, sandals, essential oils, playing cards, jewelry, and wood crafts. Overall, today was a very successful day and I hope to have more just like it.

-Milan

Monday June 25, 2018

Hey parents and readers,

Time is flying by here in Thailand! It’s been a tiring day; we did a lot of physical work. We started our morning workin’ on our biceps while trying our hand at carving wood. Emphasis on ‘trying’. Though many of us struggled, Jolie and Cara killed their wood carving; it’s not as easy as it looks!

Next stop: the rice fields. Before we got down and dirty in the paddies, we saw a variety of agricultural practices. We fed hungry catfishes kept in above-ground pounds and learned how Thai farms keep frogs in captivity. Afterwards, we learned about how rice is grown and processed. First, rice seeds are thrown randomly into their respective paddies — essentially large muddy ponds. Then, after around one month, the rice seedlings are picked and replanted in orderly rows. Wait four more months and the rice is ready to be harvested. We part took in the seedling replanting process and it was a really fun experience. Knee deep in rice paddy mud, you really appreciate the work it takes to get every grain of rice. Note to self: don’t waste any grains of rice.

To end our excursion we went to the orphanage Baan Praporn. Unfortunately we weren’t greeted by kids — they were still in school. Instead, we were greeted by sand, stones, water, and the final ingredient: cement mix. We mixed and poured cement for the foundation for a new bathroom. We probably got a third or fourth more done with it then where it was left off. After some hard sweaty work, with plenty of hydration breaks, we enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich to boost our energy for the arrival of the kids. Trust me: we needed it. We ran around what seemed like for ages. The amount of energy bursting from the young kids was insane! We played tag, kicked around a soccer ball, and introduced ourselves. Our playtime was cut short by a sudden down pour of rain and our hot dinner waiting back at home base. Today was another novel and adventure packed day for the GLA team.

To many more!

— Adam Zawierucha

Tuesday June 26, 2018

Today, we started out the morning by enjoying our resort breakfast and headed out to another popular Thai market; Warorot. We got to try some local snacks, such as rice crackers, and explored the many parts to the market! Most ventured off to find skirts to purchase for our teaching beginning on Monday. After a couple hours at the market and a pit stop at a nearby coffee shop that had complementary WiFi, we continued our service project at Baan Praporn. Six bags of cement later, we got to enjoy playing with the kids for an hour and a half. It was a beautiful, sunny day, which allowed us to participate in some of the favorite activities amongst the children, which include soccer, frisbee, duck duck goose, tag, and decorating our hair with flowers. After saying our dreaded goodbyes to the kids, we returned to home base and enjoyed a well earned dinner. We’re all so excited to spend more time with the children and can’t wait to see what’s yet to come!

-Bri

Wednesday June 27, 2018

Today we woke up to some beautiful pouring rain. We started our day off in the “leaf room” of our resort with Ajarah Todd. He taught us everything we need to know before we head off to teach Monday morning . After our seminar, we headed off to the school to meet the principal,check out the classrooms and the students. By then it was lunch time so we headed to the famous 89th Plaza. By now we were excited and ready to start service as soon as possible so that we could play with the kids at the orphanage.

Because of the rain we couldn’t play outside, but that didn’t stop us. We went into a hut together and played a hand game. It breaks our heart to say goodbye everyday, but we know that they’ll forever be in our hearts. We may be impacting them in some way, but they’re doing so much more for us… we headed home for dinner and had a leadership seminar with Lexi and Mark. We discussed our vision of what we would want the world to look like. We ended our night with some ice cream and good laughs.

-Esme

Thursday June 28, 2018

This morning, we woke at 7:30 am for the usual breakfast buffet. Shortly after, we left home base in our temple-appropriate outfits and made our way to Wat Suandok, or Flower Garden Temple. We gathered in a private room and awaited our chat with the chief monk who holds a position of respect and honor in the Thai community. Phra KK warmly greeted us and began recounting the origins of Buddhism, emphasizing that it is a philosophy rather than a religion. He also told us of his childhood and experiences with his discovery of self. Towards the end of our time with Phra KK, we asked about his daily routine and his fluency in multiple languages.

After an enlightening chat, we headed to lunch, and on our way out witnessed the younger monks as they left the school near the temple. We ate at Boat Bakery, and then returned to the orphanage for a new day of service which centered around digging holes and dumping the dirt into the foundation of the bathroom. Once the children returned from school and the rain subsided, we picked up where we left off the day before and enjoyed our time with the kids, keeping in mind our limited time. After a long and tiring day, we convinced Mark and Lexi to stop at 7/11 on the way back to Home Base and we stocked up on “healthy” snacks. We closed out the day by preparing a dance for later next week which took a lot of coordination that not many of us had. I can’t wait for tomorrow, our last day of manual labor at the orphanage!

-Mia

Friday June 29, 2018

We woke up an hour early to drive to the Hmong Village that was about an hour and a half away from home base. We drove through the beautiful mountainside of Northern Thailand, giving us the opportunity to experience once in a lifetime views. Once we arrived we met with Mr. Yua the village community leader and he gave us an overview of the village history. We began our exploration of the village with a hike through the national park in the surrounding area. Mr. Yua explained what different plants were used for and what types of produce they provided. We were able to try fruits and vegetables from right off the tree. As we concluded our hike and made our way back to the meeting room we went down village streets and were able to see different aspects of their culture, such as “spirit catchers” and chickens used for sacrifices to the spirits. At the meeting room we learned about the art of beeswax painting. All of us were able to create our pattern on a cloth and trace it with beeswax using a special tool. The beeswax can be used as a “barrier” to keep the cloth white during the dyeing process. At around twelve o’clock we hopped back into our vans to go to the Baan Praporn Orphanage that we have been working at for the past 4 or so days. The drive down from the mountain was very quiet as almost everyone was tired from our trek.

After the long car ride was over, we resumed our service and finished our 2 meter holes for the septic tanks. This was our last day of manual service and we wanted to to make sure that we finished and we savored the moment. The kids arrived back from school at around 4:30 pm. We all played on the playground and fields. A few of the girls, including myself got their hair braided because the little girls love to do it and are really good at braiding. We were overall sad to leave the orphanage today because this was our last time seeing some of the kids that we had grown so attached to in such a short amount of time. We got back to home base and did our normal evening activities such as dinner circle, dinner, and tonight leadership group where we talked about the meaning of development. We are excited to see what tomorrow brings for us as Mark has organized a special surprise for us GLA teens and some of the kids from the orphanage!

-Marietta

Saturday June 30, 2018

Today we all headed over to the Baan Praporn orphanage for the last time, giving us a chance to play more group activities and say goodbye to most of the kids. After a few hours of games and laughter we had lunch at the orphanage, coconut curry, vegetables, and rice!

Next, we took a designated group of children to a Thai waterpark and enjoyed the slides and lazy river for a few hours. Lastly, we concluded the day by organizing our English lessons for Monday’s first teaching day. It was for sure one of my favorite activities so far.

-May

Sunday July 1, 2018

After waking up and eating our typical Thai breakfast, we set out for a day full of fun. First, we took a 15 kilometer (9 mile) bike ride on a route that had a beautiful view of rice fields and mountains in the distance. After returning to our starting point, we all ate a big lunch which included rice, chicken, and smoothies. Once our bellies were full, we changed into our bathing suits and took a short bus ride to Sri Lanna National Park where we got to kayak in the lake. We swam around in the lake and played a game called Chicken Dance, where you and your buddy stand on the kayak and try to knock each other off. Back on shore, we changed into dry clothes and headed back to home base and ate dinner. The group practiced the performance for cultural exchange that will be preformed at a local high school tomorrow. Off to bed we went, ready for the next eventful day.

-Jolie

Monday July 2, 2018

Today was the first day of teaching Prathom 3,4,5, and 6! Despite having to wake up early (breakfast at 6:30am) we got to watch the school’s morning assembly! We all were excited to start teaching! Teaching went really well, and we now know what works and what we need to work on for the rest of the week. The kids were eager to learn and made teaching fun and worthwhile. Im totally excited to teach again and cant wait for what tomorrow holds. Our classes were overall successful and we are all prepared (fingers crossed) for tomorrows day of teaching.

Afterwards we visited high school students at Sarapee Pittayakom School. It was eye opening to see the difference in culture between us and Thai high school students our age. We spent time sharing cultural performances, like dances and musical talents. All of the performances were so awesome and we were in shock at how amazing the Thai students are. After getting the chance to learn some of their cultural activities like bamboo dancing and gong-like drums, we can conclude that it is way harder than it looks. After the performances, groups of high school students gave us a tour of their school. We exchanged our goodbyes, took some selfies, and ended the night journaling and reflecting on the past few days.

-Adam, Bri, Cara, Clare, Esme, Jolie, Marietta, May, Mia, Milan, Paige.

*This blog post was written as a part of tonight’s journaling exercise. Each student wrote one sentence about the day and passed it to the next student leader.

Tuesday July 3, 2018

After waking up bright and early we all headed to the elementary school to teach our classes. After eating a quick lunch at the school, we hopped on the vans and went back to home base to change into athletic clothing. Once we were changed we went to Chiang Mai Muay Thai gym and learned how to Muay Thai box.

After getting our hands wrapped, we started off with a warm up of running around the boxing ring for 5 minutes followed by stretching. We were showed the moves and techniques and practiced on punching bags, trainers, and each other. Tired after the two hour work out, we stopped by the grocery store to buy snacks such as gold fish, cookies, candy, chips, and salsa. Back at home base we helped ourselves to a nice big dinner followed by a movie night. Curled up with our blankets, pillows, and newly bought snacks we watched the movie Inside Out and then off to bed we went.

-Paige and Jolie

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸

Today we headed back to school for our third day of teaching. We spent our mornings teaching lessons and playing games with our students. Some of us even explained that in was the United States 242nd birthday and we had our classes sing happy birthday. After our busy morning we headed back to home base and prepared for the afternoon in the city center.

First stop of the afternoon was at a 3D art Museum filled with all sorts of different exhibits. Then we headed to our much awaited Thai massages. Thai massages focused more on muscle tension rather then relaxation. There were lots of laughs shared to say the least.

Next stop was the grocery store across the street to buy any snacks or candy we wanted for back at home base. That night we went out for dinner at Duke’s where we had an American meal to celebrate the 4th. We were served pizza, nachos, mozzarella sticks, salads, ribs, fries and more. After our delicious meal we headed down to the market on the street below. We each got time to buy gifts and explore Chiang Mai markets once again. After our night on the town we once again returned to our beautiful home base. Upon our return home we were surprised with sparklers. We finished our night singing some patriotic songs and enjoying each other’s company on the 4th of July.

-Clare and May

Thursday July 5, 2018

This morning we woke bright and early! We headed to the school to have our last lessons with the classes. Then after a quick lunch prepared by the school we rushed back to home base. We began planning our english camp games for tomorrow. We separated into groups and created a list of items that was needed for our games. With only a short break we went straight back to brainstorming and creating posters for our stations. We then went to dinner and indulged in smiley face french fries! Today’s activity with Mark consisted of tips on how to manage your anger as a leader. Okay We’re tired, its been a long day. See you guys soon!!

-Esme and Mia

Friday July 6, 2018

We woke up bright and early this morning to make some lasts minute preparations for our full day of English camp! Split into 4 groups, we all prepared to put the plans we had spent the last day coming up with into action. Our stations included “camping,” soccer, a clothing relay, and a scavenger hunt. The day was overall a huge success! Despite some challenges due to the large class sizes, we had so much fun playing with and teaching the kids. At the end of the day, we were thanked with a closing ceremony where we were able to watch our students preform some traditional Thai dances. We were also able to thank the school for allowing us the opportunity to teach for the last week. Cara stood up to say a few words to the school while Milan translated, revealing to the entire astonished crowd that he speaks fluent Thai despite having taught his classes entirely in English all week! After the camp, we headed back to home base and ended our night with a mentor group where we discussed each of our personal mission statements.

-Bri & Cara

Saturday July 7, 2018

Today was our dreaded last day of activity, but we were all excited for what the day held. At 9:15 am we left home base and headed out to the elephant sanctuary. All was good until van 2 got stuck in a ditch just before we got to our destination. Luckily everything was fixed and we were able to get to the sanctuary in time. We first learned a little bit about elephants in general and then about the elephants specific to the sanctuary. Nut, our elephant guide, then set us free with our colorful ponchos to play with the elephants. First we fed the elephants bananas and avoided getting sat on by a baby elephant. We had a quick lunch break before jumping into the mud pond to cover the elephants in mud. Then we rinsed the elephants, and ourselves, in the river. I don’t know who got splashed more: the elephant or us. To conclude our day we went to the Saturday night market to make our final purchases, and spend our last baht.

— Marieta & Adam Z.

Sunday July 8, 2018

Today was the last full day of our GLA trip to Thailand! It was a pretty relaxed day for the most part. In the morning, we hung out near the pool and went for a sweat in home-base’s sauna and steam room. After our spa morning, we left for lunch at the Central Festival Mall of Chiang Mai. Central Festival is the biggest mall in Chiang Mai. We had time to walk around to shop and get some food. Many stores were visited and a lot of clothes were purchased. During the evening, we had dinner on a river boat and sailed the river. We listened to some teen tunes and enjoyed our last night together. Love to our entire GLA family.

-by Milan and Jolie

Monday July 9, 2018

Departure Day!

And just like that, it’s our students’ last day in country! How time flies! One final breakfast at the Woodfield before our first student departure! Our morning was filled with laughter, reminiscing, and holding back a few tears, oh and packing, so much packing. Checking out at noon we headed to a mall near the airport for lunch, the last Thai meal for many! We headed towards the airport in the early afternoon and checked everyone into their flights and checked their bags – no overweight bags! Hooray!

Around 3:30 the flood gates opened and through tearful goodbyes we said goodbye to most of our students. One student hung out with international and local staff until her later flight. At midnight we had confirmation that all of our future leaders were homeward bound! We’re so thankful for this amazing group of humans and the adventurous times we shared over the last 21 days! Kopkoon and see you soon!

-Lexi and Mark
International Staff