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June 1, 2023 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Elephant & Marine Conservation Adventure (June 28-July 18, 2023)

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

Here are a few things you can expect:

  1. We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
  2. Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
  3. Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team


Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28

Hello Friends & Family!

We are so glad that all sixteen of our students arrived safely and on time! Many students left on a Monday and arrived on a Wednesday. Looooong trip!!

It was a chill day at the hotel, completing swim tests and meeting new friends. Many students were eager to see the city so we took an evening walk to a hustling and bustling local marketplace where we got to try lots of yummy treats like Mango Sticky Rice, Pad Thai, and Bubble Tea.

We were back to the hotel by 8 pm so that everyone could get a much-needed long night of rest before we start our orientation tomorrow morning!

We have a friendly and diverse group of students that have already started to build a strong community. Even with the lack of sleep, there was energy and excitement bubbling all day.

More updates soon!

-The EMCA Team


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 29

The first half of the day was all about orientation. We played some games, started to develop an understanding of Thai culture, and learned what was expected during this trip. The students performed hilarious skits that demonstrated what NOT to do regarding GLA policies, came up with creative (and sometimes quite harsh) possible disciplinary procedures, found safety risks to manage around our hotel, and tried to guess some culturally appropriate “dos and don’ts”.

It was a fun morning, but the real fun started when we left in the afternoon to see the Wat Pho temple. Drenched in sweat, we stared in awe at the beautiful and holy artifacts around us. From there we walked to a nearby flower market that was absolutely packed with flowers of all shapes and sizes.

Then it was time for dinner at a classic Thai grilling restaurant. There was a huge buffet to pick food to grill directly on our tables. A server even came over to put live crawfish on the grill right in front of us! It was both a little shocking and very delicious.

The van ride back to the hotel was full of shared laughs and fun music. We returned for our first Chow Circle. It was flawlessly led by Kaiden, tomorrow’s leader of the day. Then we split into smaller mentor groups for a short reflection. After that, a couple of hours of free time in the pool and then off to bed.

Tomorrow we travel to Kanchanaburi, where we’ll stay for most of the trip!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30

Written by Leader of the Day: Kaiden

Today we said goodbye to the fast-paced city of Bangkok and hello to the rural town of Kanchanaburi. Our morning started off with our final meal in Bangkok. We then went back up to our rooms to pack everything up for our journey west. Prior to departure, the group went to 7-11 to purchase any snacks for the ride. We bought things ranging from pineapple danishes to seaweed-flavored potato chips. Some of us even went to Café Amazon, which is pretty much just a better version of Starbucks. We then finally hit the road.

Our home base in Kanchanaburi was not our first stop. We were all super excited to visit the historically-rich site of the Kwai Bridge and railroad. The bridge was constructed by Japan during World War II through the use of prisoners of war. The purpose of the railroad was to transport items and people through Thailand without having to use boats. The museum described the whole process of constructing it, the immense brutality the prisoners of war experienced, and a general overview of the events happening around the world at that time.

Following our visit to the museum and bridge, we went out for lunch on a floating boat-restaurant. We were given an assortment of food including egg rolls, fried rice, etc. We all enjoyed talking about our experiences over our delicious meal.

We finally arrived at our main home base of the program in Kanchanaburi and did a photo scavenger hunt to find risks around the hotel. It’s an absolutely massive resort full of impressive views. But it’s also empty and quiet. Walking down the empty halls, in such a massive space and hearing our voices echo, felt surreal. Some even said they got spooky, haunted vibes, jokingly, of course. But it’s an awesome place and we’re all super excited to call it home for the next two weeks and fully take advantage of the space and opportunity for fun.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 1

Written by Leader of the Day: Elizabeth

Today is Canada Day so we celebrated with our Canadians John and Malachi. After a lovely breakfast at our hotel we headed in the van to Elephant World. Elephant World is a sanctuary that rescues ex circus and trek camp elephants as well as wild ones who have been injured. Their sanctuary is gorgeous and elephants are free to roam all over. They are cared for by wonderful staff and volunteers. They also enjoy baths with tourists in the beautiful river. Our first activity was feeding them. Elephants are very picky eaters and want to eat yam beans before watermelons, they will spit out food if they do not want it. It is surreal feeling to feel an elephant trunk grab food out of your hands. They have over 50000 muscles in their trunks and they are very strong.

After meeting our elephant friends we got into a open van and headed to do field work. Elephants love to eat all kinds of fruits and veggies, and they eat 10% of their body weight everyday. In order to care for these gentle giants it takes a great deal of food. We planted corn in a field that will feed our elephant friends.

After our hot field work we came back to the sanctuary and ate a lovely lunch and enjoyed the serenity of the river and Thai jungle. We then waked down to the river and watched elephants give themselves a mud bath and shower in the river. Near the river, we met a 20 month pregnant elephant who is due in 3 months; it takes almost two years to grow a baby elephant. You could out your hand on her belly and feel the kicking. Elephants love to be dirty and spray dirt on themselves to avoid sunburn. They also enjoy putting leaves and twigs on their head almost like a hat.

After observing elephant hygiene habits we met the oldest elephant who was 79 years old. Her teeth are old so she prefers to eat sticky rice balls which contain grass, bananas, rice and other nutrients and are much easier to chew than fruit. Some of our brave students tried the elephant rice ball mixture. We also observed her drinking, the noises almost sound like a toilet flushing. To drink you spray water in her nose and she sprays it into her mouth.

After our long day we said goodbye to the elephants and got in the vans to head to Natura. We followed the elephants’ tricks and headed into the river to cool off. The current is very fast so we stayed in the shallow area but it was lovely to be cool. After our relaxing swim, Vijo taught us about Thai sprit rituals. You light incense and ask a higher power for protection. It was a relaxing way to end our day of hard work.

After we ate a lovely vegetarian Thai dinner accompanied by a cat and two stray dogs. We headed home and reflected with our mentor groups. It was a magical day to stand inches from gentle giants and ended with a peaceful swim.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 2

Written by Leader of the Day: Leire

Breakfast in our systems, our group set off to Elephant Haven first thing in the morning, and met the six elephants in the sanctuary.

In order to get them used to us and vice versa, we fed them some leaves and pineapples, to which they responded as happily as expected.

After a fun and short-lived first meeting, we started our service by preparing some rice balls and chopping some slices of watermelon for them. When all the food was ready, we fed it to the elephants, with whom we then took a great walk through the forest and to the river. However, the elephants didn’t feel like bathing so early, so we all headed back to the main entrance for lunch.

Having recharged our batteries, we got into the forest once again, where we watched the elephants getting a mud bath and ended up sharing it with them. After that, we all got into the water, elephants and mahouts included, in an attempt to rid ourselves of the heat, although it wasn’t necessary in the end, as our bathing in the Kwai river got interrupted by heavy rain. This brought us back to the main entrance, where we waited for the rain to stop and got back to helping in the sanctuary. This time, it came in the form of shovels, rakes, and brooms, as we cleaned out the elephants’ excrements.

This concluded our service for today, after which we relaxed at Natura, where we had some dinner, rope swung into the river and got back to the hotel.

In mentor groups tonight, we made hilarious portraits of each other in which every member drew a different part of the face. Then we created a personal mission statement that will help guide us to be true to our core values throughout this trip.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 3

Written by Leader of the Day: Malachi

hey guys

This morning was very eventful. As I was finishing my breakfast, which was a spread of rice, meats, eggs and juice. My roommate came running to my table soaked. He told me our bathroom was flooded, I ran back to save my stuff, by the time I got there all the water was drained. A burst from the back of the toilet had bursted and flooded the bathroom. We moved our stuff to a new room and continued on our day with a delayed schedule.

We traveled to another elephant sanctuary. Somboon Legacy Foundation Sanctuary. I chopped down a banana tree, while our group gathered the trees and loaded them into a truck. Older elephants lose their teeth over time and forget to drink water so banana trees are frequently feed to them as they have high levels of water. We learned about the two senior elephants and the long history of abuse they have been through. This sanctuary was a hands off experience as they believed and taught us that it was healthier experience for the elephants. I believe it’s more beneficial to the elephants as well but a hard way for them to make money.

We ate lunch and we went through their museum and filled out a scavenger hunt sheet and learn more about the biology, daily life of the elephant, ethical and unethical ways to live with elephants. we also learnt how we can make the world more sustainable by reusing elephant waste to make paper.

We watched the elephants bathe with their caretaker, this is the most natural way for an elephant to bathe while still being taken care of. The other sanctuaries we visited had tourists wash them, which causes stress on the elephants. We finished our learning experience and headed to a cooking class of traditional thai food.

All of us had really good energy about cooking and enjoyed learning how to cook the food. The Thai lady named On who was teaching us to cook spoke good english and made the experience really fun. With our stomachs stuffed we headed to a local market of street food and knockoff clothing. I bought a hat and a small portable fan. I bargained and got a lower price on both. Even after the cooking class some of us bought snacks including insects and drinks. Then we headed back to the home base to reflect on our day. I learned a lot about the long history of elephants and I think the difference between the sanctuaries were based on ethics and money. My favourite part of today was definitely the market. Looking forward to learning and exploring more tomorrow!!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 4

Written by Leader of the Day: Ana Chapula

Today we started the day with a late breakfast. Luckily, Olivier and Randy matched outfits for the day which put a smile on our faces. Our first activity was a session on captive elephant welfare. We learned how tourism in Thailand is socioeconomically driven and why that is the reason bad practices on elephants continue to this day. Then we got the opportunity to get creative and create our own Elephant Sanctuary based on the three we visited. Split into four groups, we designed an elephant sanctuary and presented our ideas to a panel of judges. Presentations were judged on creativity, economics, animal welfare, and poster design. The ultimate winner was McHout’s Sanctuary– an elephant sanctuary sponsored by McDonald’s with various McDonald’s themed attractions. However, the other ideas were very creative, including a sanctuary with a skyview hotel, a sanctuary with a boat ride to watch elephants bathing, and a sanctuary with a full resort on site.

We had lunch at the resort and got ready to leave for our “river float”. As we got to the river, Khun gave us instructions and safety procedures to understand the current of the water and stay safe. Floating down the river was fun. We saw cool bird nests and coconut trees. Afterwards we went on a jungle walk. We saw wild elephant footprints and walked their trails. Before dinner we had free time at Our Land and then had our final “Animal Extravaganza Competition” where we played muddy games and answered trivia questions. Ultimately, theCobra team won.

Before we made out to the resort to shower and go to bed we had mentor meetings where we drew what we like about ourselves to better understand leadership and recognize our own strengths. We were interrupted by the Our Land dogs suddenly running into the jungle and barking which meant… wild elephants!! We all went to the second level for safety and waited to see if we’d get a wild elephant sighting. While we didn’t end up seeing them, we heard them crashing branches and trumpeting at the dogs.

Then we watched a slideshow of our first week together and celebrated July 4th with some sparklers!

Finally, we got back to the hotel to rest after a very long day!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 5

As the leader of the day, John Grant, and the writer of this blog, I had the privilege of guiding my group with our staff through an exciting day at Erawan Falls. After a tiring Fourth of July extravaganza, we decided to sleep in an hour later to rejuvenate ourselves. With our energy replenished, we embarked on a thrilling journey, experiencing the beauty of nature, overcoming challenges, and forging stronger bonds as a team.

After enjoying a delicious breakfast, we packed our essentials and set off for Erawan Falls. Before starting our hike, we made a stop at the ever-convenient 7/11 store, where everyone stocked up on snacks for the day’s adventure. Fueled and ready, we proceeded to have a delightful lunch at a local restaurant, with the Pad-See-Ew emerging as the most popular dish among our group.

Our one-and-a-half-mile hike toward the tallest part of the pool began, and along the way, we encountered several levels of the falls. Each stop offered breathtaking views and provided opportunities for relaxation and exploration. However, an unfortunate incident occurred during our ascent as Lucas, one of our group members, was struck by a branch, resulting in a head injury. Thankfully, Michael and Pinom swiftly attended to him, ensuring he received immediate care. As the leader of the day and also the oldest of the group, it was my responsibility to ensure the well-being of every member of our group. So, when Lucas was hit by a branch and his head started bleeding, I made the decision to stay back with him, providing comfort and reassurance while he was being checked out. It was important to me to be there for him, especially since he is the youngest member of our group, and I view him as a little brother.

At the waterfall, Olivier showcased his skills by catching some shrimp, and we marveled at the sight of fascinating bugs in their natural habitat. The cascading water, combined with the serene surroundings, provided an idyllic setting for everyone to immerse themselves in the joy and beauty of nature.

Following our descent from the falls, we made our way to a restaurant for dinner. Considering everyone’s craving for familiar flavors from home, we opted for a place that served a variety of dishes, including burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, and steak. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal, relishing the opportunity to indulge in our favorite foods. To mark the completion of our first week of volunteer work and celebrate the knowledge gained about elephant sanctuaries, I took a moment to toast our achievements. It was a heartwarming experience, acknowledging our growth as individuals and as a team.

With dinner concluded, we headed back to the market, responding to the group’s high demand for another visit. The market offered an array of treasures, and each of us indulged in our personal shopping endeavors. Kaiden opted for sticky rice, Randy adorned his iPhone with some stylish bling, Jordan assisted Owen in selecting fashionable clothing, and Ivy and I playfully indulged in fake-branded items. As the evening drew to a close, we returned to our hotels at 7:45, eager to make the most of our remaining free time.

Being the leader of the day was an immensely enjoyable experience, guiding my fellow GLA students through an eventful day at Erawan Falls. The day’s adventures, from hiking through the natural splendor of the falls to overcoming obstacles together, strengthened our bonds and created lasting memories. While Lucas’s injury brought concern, we were relieved to learn that he received stitches after going to the hospital and was on the path to a full and speedy recovery. As we eagerly anticipate the involvement of other GLA students in leading future expeditions, we look forward to the continuation of our volunteer work and the exploration of new horizons.

In conclusion, being the leader of the day was an immensely enjoyable experience, guiding my fellow GLA students through an eventful day at Erawan Falls. The day’s adventures, from hiking through the natural splendor of the falls to overcoming obstacles together, strengthened our bonds and created lasting memories.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 6

Written by Leader of the Day: Ivy Wells

We woke up this morning and headed to breakfast feeling tired after having a late start the previous morning. After we enjoyed a meal of french toast and tropical fruits, we packed our bags and headed to a local neighborhood where we talked about the conflict between humans and elephants co-existing in the same environment. We learned a lot about problems and how people have made previous attempts to solve the situation. We all discussed some questions we had and potential answers.

After that, we headed over to some bee hives where we got the opportunity to try some natural honey straight from the hive and we were even able to buy our own bottles.
We left and drove to a local tree nursery nearby where we gathered around a pile of dirt to plant tree saplings inside of black bags packed full of soil. Inside the pile of soil a little frog even paid a visit to us. We then had a delicious lunch. We were given the option of hiking up a short waterfall or returning to the resort. Lucas, John, Oliver, Heba, Elizabeth and I decided to hike up to see the waterfall and take in the beautiful nature. We saw large swarms of butterflies, spiders, shedded snake skin, and a natural salt lick for elephants.

We all arrived back at the hotel and sat in the lobby to hang out and order treats from an online app called Grab (similar to Doordash or Uber Eats). We had a much longer free time than usual which was much needed after doing lots of service and being out in the sun for many of the past days.

For dinner, we all went to the Our Land reserve and gathered around the campfire for activities and hanging out. One of the activities was talking to a partner about a deep question. After a couple of minutes, we switched partners and discussed a new question. I was able to connect with many of the students and get to know them in a different way. It was definitely the activity that stuck out to me the most out of the entire trip. I was very happy to have gotten the opportunity along with my other friends to hold Vijo’s pet ball python snake named K. This was definitely a night to remember for many.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 7

Leader of the Day: Olivier
Blog Writer: Kaiden

Today was all about banteng, a critically endangered species of cattle. We started the day off by heading to a Banteng conservation reserve. The reserve focused on rehabilitating banteng back into the wild and increasing their population. We got to watch a presentation about the banteng and the things happening to help preserve the species. Then we played a game, for points, to show how much we learned from the presentation. We then went to go see the live banteng living on the site. We even got to feed one!

Following the banteng, we spent our service time creating seed bombs. Seed bombs are small balls made of clay, with a seed and nutrients in the middle. The bombs are then launched via slingshot into the forest to provide random, but still efficient, forestation. The slingshots were super fun to use! What was not so fun, however, was the blazing heat and higher-than-normal humidity levels today. Service was pretty difficult and felt pretty exhausting, but we survived and had a lot of fun, nonetheless.

We also completed a key GLA activity, the debate. John mediated. Olivier, Rebecca, and Malachi were the council that listened to all sides and created the final plan. Everyone else was split into partners to represent organizations with varying viewpoints and demands regarding elephant tourism in Thailand. It was a productive and respectful debate with great points and arguments from every pair.

We spent the final hours of our night with a spontaneous trip to 7/11 (a huge fan favorite), time in the river, and dinner at Our Land before we decided to have an early trip back to the hotel, due to an incoming thunderstorm. We ended with a mini-mentor group session, playing funny games, sharing a “story of self”, and reflecting on the day.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 8

Leader of the Day: Petra
Blog Writer: Leire

Today we started our day off by getting some knowledge on the topic of snakes, and got to meet six different species of the animal during a 70 minutes long session; a Reticulated python, a Burmese python, a Sunbeam snake, a Red tailed pipe snake, an African Ball python, and a Monocle Cobra

After an incredibly hot lunch hour, during which we ate in hammocks under the shadow of the trees at OurLand, we did two activities related to leadership; the Bucket of Dreams, where we were deprived of some of our abilities (seeing, talking, or touching) and had to work together to retrieve said bucket, and the Types of Leadership, where we divided the definition in three parts and talked about the different ways you can be a leader. During a debrief, we realized that the two activities were connected. The Bucket of Dreams activity was actually a giant metaphor for the three different types of leaders.

Then, we went to a waterfall where we picked up some trash along the way. We headed back to our hotel for showers and a quick rest before returning to dinner at OurLand.

Lastly, in mentor groups, we played a silly game, shared some meaningful stories, and reflected on the day.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 9

Written by Leader of the Day: Jordan

Today we started our sustainable building process. We woke up at eight for a traditional Thai breakfast with some aspects of home food. Then we traveled 15 minutes to the concrete site. We discovered that concert comes from inserting dynamite into hills that are homes to several animals and blowing the hills up so factories can harvest the rocks from the sides of the mountains and then send the product to another factory that processes the rocks and minerals into concrete. We learned that concrete is very inexpensive to make and most of the times over processed materials are made to seem more expensive but in reality they are not.

We then went to Outland to start our mud brick building. We split up into our four animal groups and then two went to the mud pit and the remaining two went to the brick site. The two groups that were at the mud pit had to jump into a hole that was filled with mud and mix it around with their bare feet. The group had to mash the hard mud up with water until the mud became a soft smooth clay substance. After 25 minutes of running on the mud, mashing the mud with all body parts, some throwing, and playing into the mud, the two groups had a challenge to see who could make the best mud bricks first. The challenge consisted of four people on each team running with mud and tossing mud to their teammates to get the most mud into the molds for the bricks. The group had a blast and helped to make around 30 bricks to contribute to sustainable houses.

The second group was challenged with some heavy lifting. They had to take the dried bricks that weighed around 10 pounds and carry them to a location that was about a 2 minute walk away. Under the hot sun and high humidity both groups were tired and ready for a break.

The amazing cooks at Ourland prepared a Thai lunch that consisted of fried chicken, deep fried eggs with a sweet and spicy sauce, garlic rice, and some fresh watermelon. After a lunch break, the group got into our vans and headed to our next fun activity which was kayaking. We arrived at the kayaking place after a fun one hour car ride. We then split into pairs and started our three hour paddle down the Kwai Noi river. We stopped along the way on an island to take a group photo and then we returned to our boats. The adventure down the river was filled with amazing sights. We reached out destination and then made our way to Ice Phochana restaurant.

We had a well deserved dinner and then we ended our night with one of the group’s favorite activities by stopping at a 7 11 to get some yummy nighttime snacks.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 10

Leader of the Day: Owen
Blog Written by Elizabeth

Today we started off at breakfast with only 3 members of our team present because many wanted some extra sleep. We then headed over to a Thai military base and saw their mud house structures. Mud houses are more sustainable than concrete and very sturdy. We even learned that they’re bulletproof.

We headed over to OurLand and started making mud bricks. The Great Wall of GLA is slowly making progress. Mud felt very cool on a hot morning!! We had a lovely lunch of spicy Thai chicken and dragon fruit. After our day of service work we were ready to relax.

Our vans headed over to the River Kwai once again and we got our orange lifejackets on. We floated down the river on foam rafts as rain poured down and ended up drenched by the end. The raft floating turned into a (safe) throwing each other off competition. It was very fun and everyone got soaked! It was nice to have fun in the river after many long hot days.

As we exited the river the rain came crashing down harder than ever and we rushed into the vans. We headed back to the hotel instead of the nature reflection that we had planned. Our local director Vijo got separated from his cell phone and was left in the rain with no car, but eventually made it back to the hotel in time to set up a movie for us! We got dinner delivered to the hotel and had a nice night in. Relaxing at the hotel was nice after two busy weeks of travel, work and adventure!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 11

Written by Leader of the Day: Sam

Similar to other days, today we started our day with breakfast at 8, and departed the hotel at 9. We arrived at Ourland where we finished off the mud wall we had been building for the past 2 days. Feeling accomplished, we ate lunch and headed back to the hotel. After a much needed rest time after our hard work, we played a game of Family Feud in our mentor groups on the pros and cons of “voluntourism” or service abroad. After the hottest part of the day passed, we left for a trash collection site. There we were introduced to kind man who has been collecting trash and recyclables from the nearby village and sorting them, and eventually selling them for a small amount of money.

We were split into groups and were prompted to collect a specific type of recyclable and put it into a bag. Soon after we headed to Natura for a rainy dinner. Despite the rain we headed to the market and indulged in the delicious snacks and desserts they had to offer.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 12

Written by Leader of the Day: Randy

Today, our last day in Kanchanaburi, was all about sustainable farming. We worked hard on compost piles at Red Squirrel, a sustainable farm run by Our Land. We cut down banana trees and chopped them up, collected fresh manure, and mixed them together to make compost.

During the hottest hours of the day, we took a break a Natura where we hung out in the river, had lunch, and rested in hammocks. We did an individual mid-program reflection and wrote letters to each other. An ice cream cart came by for a sweet treat!

After finishing the project at the farm, we went back to the hotel to shower and dress up for our final night at the Our Land reserve. We had dinner and shared favorite moments around the campfire. Then we said goodbye to Jordan and the local staff that aren’t coming with us to Phuket. “Uncle Nom” had handcrafted flowers out of leaves for every student. There were lots of tears and hugs. We then went back to the hotel to finish packing… Our vans are leaving for the airport at 6:30am!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 13

Written by John

Our day kicked off by saying goodbye to Kanchanaburi. Waking up early, we hit the road by 6:30 in the morning, with our sights set on Bangkok. The drive to the city took us a few hours, and by 10 AM, we were stepping into the hustle and bustle of the Bangkok airport.

Our bags were swiftly checked in, paving the way for a well-deserved lunch break. The food court was buzzing with options – from familiar chains like McDonald’s and Dairy Queen, to local favorites like Korean corn dogs and bubble tea. It was hard not to get excited in the face of such diverse culinary options. And just for a fun twist, I took a quick picture with the iconic Ronald McDonald statue.

After lunch, we went to security, since our flight departed around noon. Phuket was the next stop on this part of the trip, which we reached by 2 PM. Once there, we took a scenic drive to the dock where a charming wooden boat awaited to take us away to the island of Koh Yao Noi.

Upon reaching the island, we quickly drove to our hotel to unpack and settle down. After freshening up, we were off to explore the local cuisine further, and by 5:30 PM, we were relishing a hearty meal of black rice, chicken, and an assortment of vegetables.

We decided to conclude our day by soaking up the stunning sunset, watching as the streets were painted in hues of crimson and gold. The refreshing coolness of Phuket compared to the heat of Bangkok was appreciated by all, leaving us feeling more relaxed and comfortable. This day, filled with the joy of shared experiences, and the thrill of discovering a new place together, made our journey truly unforgettable.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 14

Leader of the Day: Heba
Blog Writer: John

Today we began our journey an hour earlier than our typical schedule. As the morning light unfolded, we, an enthusiastic bunch, hopped onto a boat, ready to explore the turquoise waters encircling the islands. We initiated our venture by strapping on snorkeling equipment and life vests, allowing us a sense of comfort in the inviting sea.

The option to swim without life jackets was presented to us not long after and was greeted with excitement. Many from our group had fun jumping off the boats into the ocean. This fun hour of snorkeling, diving, and soaking up the sun gave us a lot of joy.

In between, we were offered mango sticky rice, which everyone loves. An event of particular interest during this time was Heba’s first entry into the saltwater, a memory that proved to be a great milestone.

Afterwards, we hopped back onto the boats to journey towards another location for a brief, but equally thrilling, 15-minute adventure. We found a sandy beach perfect for lunch, where we held a picnic, eating fried rice and chicken as we chilled on the warm sand.

After lunch, we returned to our hotel for some rest and freshening up, marking the end of what could only be described as an extraordinarily surreal experience. The sight of everyone having fun and the general ambiance felt like a scene straight out of a movie.

As the clock struck 5:30, we moved towards a pier to admire the view, clicking numerous photos to commemorate the memorable day. This was followed by a dinner rich in seafood – fish, squid, and shrimp – wrapping up the day.

Reflecting back, what made the day particularly endearing was not just the sun or the water, but also the sense of harmony shared among us. To me, this day stood out for its tranquility and relaxation, and the ability to appreciate nature’s gifts, marking it as one of the most beloved days of my trip.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 15

Leader of the Day: Lucas
Blog Writer: Elizabeth

Today we started early again and headed to the mangroves. Mangroves are an important part of all tropical ecosystems. They produce tons of carbon dioxide, almost 20x more than a rainforest. Mangroves also protect islands from rough waves, especially hurricanes. We met up with local community members and 12-year-old students who participated in trash cleanup with us as a class project.

We worked together for 3 hours and could see the trash disappearing but it would’ve taken years to get rid of all of it which was very sad. This inspired our initiative towards the 4 Rs (reduce, refuse, reuse, and recycle). After cleaning the mangroves we headed to a recycle bottle sorting center.

We had thousands of various plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and containers to sort through. The local community sells these sorted recyclables to grocery stores and uses that money for a fund that acts as “health insurance” to participating community members. It is amazing to see what communities can do for each other. After a long morning of recycling, we headed to lunch.

After lunch, we headed home through the rainstorm and had mentor groups. During mentor groups, we reflected on our goals after this trip and how to take what we learned home to make an impact. After the rain settled we head to local shops in town.

We all bought beautiful bohemian beach clothing and souvenirs for us and our families back home. After shopping till we dropped we headed to dinner. Our restaurant had gorgeous views of the Thai countryside. We had a nice meal of Western food and pad thai. We watched the beautiful sunset as we gathered for a group talk about conservation and the different ways our service impacts this community. It was a great day here and we are all sad to be leaving soon.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 16

Written by Leire

We started our day with a light breakfast, after which we drove off to get on the boats that would take us island hopping throughout the day.

In each of the places, we had some friendly competition; swimming, and trash collection. Our third island was also our lunch spot, with the crystal clear water of its beach successfully tempting us to get in once again.

After a quick stop to see monkeys at one of the many marvelous islands —from a distance, of course— we set off to our last water destination of the day; a nice, empty spot where we jumped and swim into Thai water for the last time!

A pause at the hotel and a quick trip to a café later, we were happily surprised by our mentors, as we found ourselves on the boats once again, this time on our way to dinner at the beach, which then led to individual and collective reflection, and the definition of our One Meaningful Goal (yes, OMG). Our goal as a group is “to inspire others to be more sustainable by sharing/communicating our stories.”

Stomachs full, and hearts content with seeing the stars in a fairly clear night sky, we got back on our boats, got to the hotel, and had one of our last and best bonding times.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 17

Our last day!

After a late breakfast and a stop by the local cafe, we loaded into our vans and started our journey home. We made a stop at a local marine life sanctuary and got to see some beautiful fish, sharks, and pufferfish. Then we continued on to the mainland.

After checking into the hotel, we spent most of the day at Central Mall, using any baht we had left on souvenirs and delicious snacks.

For dinner, we went dressed up and went to a restaurant with an absolutely stunning view. There weren’t many other people there, so we had room to get up and dance to loud music they were playing. It was a magical last night.

Back at the hotel, we had one final appreciation circle and then an hour of free time to say our last goodbyes.

It’s been an incredible trip! Thank you to all for the incredible memories!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

June 1, 2023 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Elephant & Education Initiative (July 18-July 31, 2023)

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

Here are a few things you can expect:

  1. We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
  2. Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
  3. Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team


Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 19

It’s been a packed full first day for us! We started this morning with a delicious breakfast followed by a small intro about the staff team and the entire group, where we learned more about where everyone is from and why they chose this program. Afterwards, we had a program orientation to review the rules, schedule, and learned more about the local Thai culture. Mentor Taylor led us in an evolutionary rock paper scissors tournament as well! And this was just the beginning of the day!

For lunch, we ate a hearty meal of Tom Ka soup, fried shrimp, rice, fruit, and stir fried vegetables.

Next, we went on a walking tour around Chiang Mai where we learned about the history and visited a variety of temples. Of course, we made a stop for Thai tea along the way.

For dinner, we got to cook our own food at a local cooking school! Each one of us got to make our own stir fry, mango sticky rice, curry, and soup! It was a delicious way to learn about the culture and experience the local ingredients. It was a lot of food, and we had so much fun!

After that we were just sooo ready for bed!

We will keep you guys updated!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 20

Written by Brooke, Mia, Jake

Hello GLA family and friends! Today we started our day by eating breakfast then going to off pray to the spirit house (a dedicated structure to honor the guardians of the land and to protect the house from any harmful spirits). After the spirit house, teacher Todd taught us strategies for the Thai classroom, and fed us Thai snacks 😌
Then we hopped in the vans to go a lovely Thai noodle place for lunch. Next we took the bus to visit the local elementary schools we will be teaching in, and saw all the excited kids and the Thai schools.

We then returned home to work on our lesson plans for tomorrow and enjoy some free time by the pool. We ended out day with a yummy dinner and an introduction to our mentor groups. Tomorrow we look forward to our first day teaching and a Muay Thai lesson!

From,
The leaders of the day – Brooke, Mia, Jake


BLOG POST FOR JULY 21

Hey everyone!

Today was a packed day with our first day of teaching. We got up bright and early to eat some breakfast. After a hearty meal, we made our way to the schools.

Once we got to the school, we were able to watch the opening ceremony that the students do every morning. We then split off into our teaching groups to teach English lessons.

After all of the hard work, we let off some steam by playing games with the kids and ate some lunch!

Then, we headed over to a Muay Thai studio where we learned the true craft of Thai boxing. It was a lot of hard work, but a great workout!

After we finished, we made a quick stop to grab some refreshing boba! Then, we headed back to home base and relaxed in the pool. We had some dinner and planned our teaching lessons for Monday. We also got to dance in a rain storm!

Stay tuned for more exciting Thailand adventures!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 23

Written by Charlie, Talei, and Sienna

Hello Everyone!!

We started off the day today by going to the first elephant hospital in Thailand. We got to learn all about the injured elephants and what the hospital has done to help them. One specific elephant, Mosha, had the first ever prosthetic leg for an elephant. We got to see where all of the fake legs were made to help all of the amputee elephants.

Later after the visit we went to an interactive museum showing the evolution and uses of the native elephants. After a brief lunch, we went to go feed and touch the first elephants of the trip!!

When we got back to homebase, we were all super tired, but once we heard we were going to the night market, we all got excited. The night market was filled with tons of delicious food and Thai collectibles. Elephants pants were a very popular item people bought. Everyone had such an amazing time and we were all so excited to come back and sleep. Overall this was a very active and exciting day!

-Charlie, Talei, and Sienna


BLOG POST FOR JULY 26

Written by Lauren and Anessa

Yo Everyone,

We are back again from Thailand. we had a phenomenal last day of teaching with the amazing students. We played games and performed dances all while celebrating our fantastic teaching experience.

After school we made our way to the Warorot market. We experienced authentic foods and clothing. Some of us even bought baby turtles that we then released into a pond (their fate with the koi fish is unknown).

Back at home base we had a fantastic fruit party prepared by P’ Aun where we got to try things like dragonfruit, mangosteen, and passionfruit! We ended off the night with another yummy dinner and some time with our mentor groups.

Tomorrow we are headed to the elephant camp! Wish us the best of luck!
Lauren and Anessa


BLOG POST FOR JULY 27

Written by Layne and Sam

Hello All!

Today was a great day! We started out with breakfast at our home base at 7am and finished getting all packed out and ready to transfer home bases! We started the short road trip to our next home base at the Karen Eco Lodge. We made a quick stop at a 7/11 where everyone got the options to buy snacks and treats for the next few days adventures.

We arrived at the next home base around 11:30 where we got roommate assignments And unpacked a little. We then headed to the elephant camp where we had some lunch and got to learn all about elephants from a vet: like what they eat, how tall and heavy they are, and all about the differences between Asian and African elephants. We then made our way back to the new home base where we got a rest hour until our first group activity.

Later, our next activity was talking about leadership. Everyone defined leadership among their own words. After some ping pong, we had dinner. Sitting and gazing at the mountains was peaceful to say the least. We are truly appreciating this experience!

After our daily “chow circle” we ended off on a tired note, having a tiring but, exciting day. We are ready for more excitement tomorrow!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 29 & 30

Written by Dayne and Julia

Hey everyone, today was a very eventful day! We went back to the elephant sanctuary and learned how make nutritious supplement bowls to help aid in the elephants digestion. After we made the supplements we fed it to them. Everyone enjoyed the elephants noises of excitement. Soon after we fed the them we hiked over to a small pond where we bathed them. We also had some fun by splashing each other. After the bath we went over to the mud pit and slathered the elephants with mud as well as had a mud fight. After all of that we took a break to rinse off and eat some delicious pad Thai.

After lunch, we drove over to a river where we bought souvenirs, swam and relaxed by the water. It was a much needed break from the heat! As we were headed back to home base, the local staff surprised us with a trip to a coffee shop! Soon after, when we got home, we relaxed for a bit and played hide and seek.

As we only have a few days left with our new friends, we’re making the most of every activity! Thanks for reading!

Written by Gabi & Kaycee

Hey everyone,

We started off the day at Karen eco lodge and had a late breakfast which we all loved. we packed out bags and went to go say goodbye to our elephant friends and the mahouts. we fed the elephants their favorite snack (bananas) and then we were on our way back to our home in Chiang Mai (chotana). we all un packed our things and wrote our letters of affirmations for each other, then got ready for our goodbye dinner.

once we were all ready we celebrated Lauren’s birthday and then went to the boat to have our goodbye dinner. we had some delicious food and made amazing memories. we went home and and played some games and exchanged our letters of affirmations. we all jumped in the pool (some of us still in our dresses) and had the best time.

Til next time. we will all miss Thailand, we made the most amazing memories and can’t wait for the next GLA adventure.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

June 1, 2023 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Elephant & Education Initiative (July 1-July 14, 2023)

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

Here are a few things you can expect:

  1. We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
  2. Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
  3. Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team


Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 2

It’s been a packed full first day for us! We started this morning with a delicious breakfast followed by a name game where we learned more about where everyone is from and why they chose this program. Afterwards, we had a program orientation to review the rules, schedule, and learned more about the local Thai culture. Mentor Taylor led us in an evolutionary rock paper scissors tournament as well! And this was just the beginning of the day!

For lunch, we ate a hearty meal of Tom Ka soup, fried shrimp, rice, fruit, and stir fried vegetables.

Next, we went on a walking tour around Chiang Mai where we learned about the history and visited a variety of temples. Of course, we made a stop for Thai tea along the way.

For dinner, we got to cook our own food at a local cooking school! Each one of us got to make our own stir fry, spring roll, curry, and soup! It was a delicious way to learn about the culture and experience the local ingredients.

We ended our day with some in the pool together! Looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of the program!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 3

Today, July 3, we had our first connection with elephants. We started our day by going to the first elephant hospital in the world. We .etc some patients including Mosha, she had the first prosthetic leg on an elephant. Then we had a delicious lunch at a local Thai restaurant. Later we stopped to feed some elephants. We also went to see the elephant parade, which is a project that helps the elephants by raising money through elephant art. This led us to painting our own elephant statues.

Tomorrow, we are touring the elephant jungle sanctuary and we spent the rest of the afternoon packing. We are very excited and greatly looking forward to it. Furthermore, today was our first leadership activity, where we were put into groups to discuss the values that make each of us unique, something that was truly enriching.

We’ll keep you all posted, and stay ready for the next edition of our blog.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 4

The day began with a 7.30 wake-up call. International Director Isadora lead a few students through a breathing exercise and a peaceful meditation. Breakfast was at 8.00 and by 9.00 we were packed and on our way to the elephant sanctuary. The ride was 1.30 long with a pit stop at 7/11. Students bought traditional Thai junk food and scrounged for any traces of American cuisine. Thai clothing was also purchased. The arrival to the home base was surprising to many. Everyone unloaded their luggage except for one unfortunate student that left his suitcase behind.

The home base is beautifully decorated, filled with tropical vegetation. The students enjoyed ping pong and archery. The only possible issue might be the lack of air conditioning in the bedroom, the impact of this will surely be expressed in the morning. At 12.00 we left for lunch and then proceeded to feed the elephants. This was our first interaction with the elephants we’ll be working around for the next few days.

After this was a lecture from the local vet. He taught the group about elephant eating habits, social habits, biological features and a variety of other aspects that may or may not have gotten through to the students. This was followed by the first hours of service which involved shoveling elephant manure and brushing up the elephant’s leaves. Clearly some had it better than others. The students returned to base for a GLA activity.

Today groups of 3 students explored a certain perspective on the theme of elephant conservation and argued the case of their respective organizations to the mentors (playing the role of a royal Family). Dinner was at 18.00 and afterwards students took the liberty to explore the home base. The day ended with the introduction of mentor groups where students are split into three groups to spend quality time with each other and the mentors.

We ended the day with fun game “who am I?” And a lot of laughs. We are ready for new adventure and to contribute more for this sanctuary!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 5

Today, Wednesday, July 5 was our first full day here at the Karen eco lodge. We got first hand experience walking some of the most beautiful thai elephants in a lush jungle. We began the experience by feeding these gentle giants, we then continued on a trail.

After our trail, we contributed to the feedings of these elephants by cutting the grass which happens to be their food. Overall, today really gave us an insight into the hard work it takes to take care of these beautiful elephants.

We are eager to bathe the elephants in the upcoming day. As well as seeing more of the picturesque scenery we continue to view here in Chiang Mai.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 6

Written by Zoe and Tomi

After a morning run, and meditation session, we ate a delicious breakfast, and eagerly set off on the minibuses to the elephant sanctuary. While there, we fed the elephants, and then at 11:00 we walked to a nearby reservoir. We bathed the elephants by pouring water all over both them and each other. All of us were drenched. We thought it was over, but we were then led to a mud pond. We messaged mud onto the elephants skin (fun fact!! it helps keep the elephants cool in the hot Thailand climate and it protect from mosquitos!!). We rinsed the mud of our now permanently stained shirts and trousers (pants).

At exactly 12:00 we ate a lunch that consisted of pasta, salad, and fruits. then our group started on a hike. No one except the mentors and team leaders (us;) knew what the next activity was. We ended up swimming in a beautiful river for about 2.5 hours.

We were then told about another surprise, that even the team leaders weren’t aware of. We ended up driving to a local cafe, where we enjoyed different desserts and drinks. Finally after arduous day we all returned to the camp and had a long deserved shower!! After being fed with a dinner of fried chicken and fried bananas we played volleyball, had a ping pong tournament and unfortunately we both lost :(. Anyway goodnight and stay tuned for the next one!!!!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 8

Today we were introduced to teaching by todd, who gave us a great lesson on trying to teach in a language the students don’t understand. After our lesson with todd, we went to a local pad Thai restaurant to try the food (it was very tasty). After lunch, we went to the two schools we are teaching at to see the campus a little bit.

While at home base, we got a nice surprise, a local ice cream truck came by! Refreshed from the ice cream, we started on our teaching prep, which was a lot harded then most of us thought it would be. After the teaching prep, we did a fun activity where we learned out leadership styles. A great activity to get to know ourselves better!

For dinner we got pizza! Yay!

Everyone was very excited. After dinner we had a fun karaoke night where everyone showed off their singing skills with songs like California girls, rolling in the deep, let it grow, and many more. We then ended our night with some mentor groups.

Tomorrow is a very busy day, because we’re going to two temples and another market. It’s also Josh’s birthday! We are all going to celebrate and make sure it’s super fun.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 9

We started the day eating our breakfast and singing happy birthday to our fellow student Josh. After breakfast we took a 20 minute ride to Wat Suan Dok and had a 30 minute talk with Phra K-K, a monk of 20 years. He told us lots about the lifestyle of being a monk, such as forgiving ourselves and living in the moment rather than the past or future. After learning about the life of a monk, we went to lunch and had a delicious bowl of Khao Soi.

After lunch we walked through the village Doi Poi, that rested on the side of a mountain. While walking through we stopped at many side shops and once at the top we had coffee along with a great view of the neighboring mountains. After exploring Doi Poi, we went over to Doi Suthep. We climbed over 300 stairs until we reached a beautiful temple. There we got our fortune told, took in the amazing view of all of Chiang Mai, and took lots of photos.

After being out all day, we went back to home base and celebrated Josh’s birthday with cake and ice cream. Then, we went to the Sunday market for a few hours, a huge night market with nearly everything you can imagine. When we got back from the market, we exchanged our secret Santa gifts that we got for each other, then went to bed after a very eventful day.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 10

After an early breakfast, everyone headed to their school’s for our first day of teaching! Everyone taught 2 lessons to their class’s. After 2 hard hours of teaching, everyone enjoyed a delicious pre-made lunch and spent the rest of the break playing games and talking with kids.

Next, everyone headed back to the home base where they prepared dances and songs for a cultural exchange we’ll be doing on the 12th. A few hours later, everyone cooled down in the pool and got soda’s.

For dinner, we had a delicious assortment of curry, rice, and chicken. After dinner, we met with our teaching groups to prepare our lessons for tomorrow.

We ended our day with mentor groups, can’t wait for Mai Thai boxing tomorrow and getting to see our classes again tomorrow. Looking forward to another great day!

A special thanks to one of our mentors, Megan, who has to leave our program early. You brightened this experience for everyone and helped to create an inclusive and friendly environment that GlA strives for. You will be missed.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 11

We started the morning bright and early with a delicious breakfast. At 8am, we split into our teaching teams and headed off to school. We were greeted by adorable Thai students who were very eager to learn. After teaching our lessons, we ate lunch and played with the children outside.

After teaching and playing with the kids, we headed off to our mauy Thai boxing lesson where we were taught by professional Thai boxers. Many students embraced the activity and wore their Thai boxing shorts they bought at the market. Though we all sweat heavily, it was a very fun way to spend our afternoon. On our way back to home base, we were surprised with a stop at a boba tea shop and waffle stand.

After we all enjoyed our drinks and waffles, we went back to home base and were surprised with a fruit party set up by the local staff. Many delicious native fruits like durian, mangosteen, rambutan and lychee were available for us to snack on. After the surprises, we enjoyed a delicious dinner. Chicken feet, which are popular in Thailand, were served. Some students tasted them while others refrained from going anywhere near them.

We are excited for another fun-filled day tomorrow!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 12

Hi all!

Everyone in GLA started off with an early breakfast at 7:00, to which we were mostly all late too. Promptly after breakfast we headed to two schools for the second to last day teaching. At school one Diego and Anina entertained their kids with duck duck goose. Danny, Clem and Zoe taught the kids modern day American dances, lightly inspired by tiktok. Simon, Eve, and Nina taught their 4th graders about family members and emotions. And finally, Sasha, Talar and Rebecca got a surprise visit from government officials eager to see the lesson plans quickly made the night prior.

At school two, Scarlet and Gavin taught their students how to say their name and what they want to do in the future. Sam and Amanda taught their class professions. Moreover, Naomi, Federico and Tommaso kept teaching their students the alphabet along with numbers and have started to teach them a few short words such as cat or dog. To finish of, Josh, Jazzy and Michaela taught their students the names of vegetables.

After lunch we made our way to a Thai highschool for a cultural exchange event. We expected to see a couple dozen students perform casual Thai dance, but we were met with 100+ students skillfully perform Muay Thai, play multiple traditional and intricate Thai song and dance. In return, we danced to Boogie Wonderland and YMCA. Clem and Tomi blessed the audience with their take of “Just the Two of Us,” and Micheala, Federico, Diego, and Sam sang “Sofia.” But despite our lack of preparation and nerves our energy and attitude blew everyone away. We were taught more Muay Thai by the students, and got the full celebrity treatment. We were bombarded with students eager to learn about us!

After the event, we drove home for dinner and enjoyed our last GLA activity followed by our very last mentor groups. After hanging out and eating delicious pineapples, the July 1-14 Thailand GLA group said goodnight for one of the last times.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

June 1, 2023 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Elephant & Education Initiative (June 14-June 27, 2023)

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

Here are a few things you can expect:

  1. We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
  2. Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
  3. Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team


Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 14

Hi Everyone, sawatdee ka!

After a longggg few days of flying, all 16 students arrived safely at our home base, Chotana Villa!

We spent the morning getting acquainted with our new home and spent the day swimming in the pool, trying typical Thai fruits, and taking some time to connect with new friends.

After our first dinner, the group enjoyed a few iconic Thai dishes, including Pad Gapraw (basil stir fry) and Tom Kha (coconut soup). They also got the chance to try what spicy food REALLY tastes like! We’re all excited to explore more of the flavors of Thailand in our cooking class tomorrow!

We’re also looking forward to visiting some temples around the beautiful city of Chiang Mai!

That’s just the beginning of our adventure!

We will keep you updated,

Kobkunka (that means thank you in Thai <3)


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15 & 16

Sawatdee ka/khrap!

Checking back in at the end of our second full day, and what a long and full two days it’s been already!

Yesterday morning, we dove right with our program orientation. After a tasty Thai lunch buffet, our afternoon and evening was filled to the brim with new sights, sounds, and tastes! We toured the city of Chiang Mai, seeing a few of the most significant temples and landmarks in Northern Thailand. We learned history and lore all along the way. We are quickly learning how to adjust to the hot and humid Thai weather, which includes drinking a LOT of water, and maybe a Thai tea or two! Our day ended with a real treat – a Thai cooking class! We learned how to cook our own four course, authentic Thai dinner, including hand rolled spring rolls and the signature dish of Northern Thailand called Khao Soi, which is a deliciously rich curry noodle soup. Needless to say, we slept well with happy, full stomachs.

Today, we got a jumpstart on our first service project which will be teaching English at a local elementary school next week. We had the pleasure of learning tips and tricks on teaching in Thailand from a local teacher this morning.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Thailand without eating Pad Thai, so we spent our lunch enjoying the national dish of Thailand at an authentic Pad Thai restaurant. Then we got our first look at the service site on a school tour, and we’re absolutely thrilled to return next week and get started teaching! We spent our afternoon cooling off in the pool and then enjoyed some Massaman Curry, fried chicken, and mushroom curry for dinner. Also, we completed our first leadership activity which was focused on elephants in Thailand. This got us excited for tomorrow which will be filled with elephant adventures, like visiting an elephant hospital!

This Thailand adventure is moving right along – much more to come!

Bye for now 🙏


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 15

Written by Josefa and Lizzie

Hello everyone!

Today we went to the FAE Elephant Hospital and met some of the resident elephant patients, including Mosha, who is known around the world as the first elephant to receive a prosthetic leg. We had the opportunity to learn about prosthetic legs for elephants. Then we visited an elephant museum at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center and saw the history of elephant and human interaction in Thai culture. Wow! It was super enriching!

After the museum visit, we had the privilege of feeding elephants sugar cane, corn, and bananas! Getting so close to the elephants was an amazing experience for all of the GLA members! We then had the pleasure of visiting the Elephant Parade, which is a global art project that directly supports the work of the Elephant Hospital. We got to flex our artistic skills and paint some ceramic elephants!

After making the long trip back to home base, we enjoyed a filling meal of Panang curry, shrimp stir fry, fried mushrooms, and jasmine rice. And as a special treat, we celebrated our new friend Kylie’s birthday with cake and ice cream! We finished the day with a presentation and discussion about the effects of good and bad posts on social media. It was an enjoyable day for all!

We are looking forward to visiting some more temples tomorrow, and we’ll even get to chat with a Thai Buddhist Monk! And also the night market, we can’t wait!

Kobkunka!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 17

Hey GLA friends and family we are excited to fill you in on a jam packed day 4!

We started bright and early in the morning with a short trip and incredible opportunity to learn about Buddhism from a Buddisht monk himself. After some insightful wisdom we followed with a windy road up the mountains to the home of the Hmong tribe in Doi Pui. For lunch we had a delicious Thai meal called Kao Soi, there was no doubt everyone loved it. To work off these unregretted calories we trekked through the town along a beautiful trail. Between the botanical garden, coffee shop, and amazing views we were kept interested for hours.

After we had filled our cameras with exquisite photos we continued up the mountain to the base of the Doi Suthep temple. Three hundred and six steps later we made it to the most infamous temple in North Thailand. There we were fortunate enough to be blessed with holy water and had the opportunity to receive our individual fortune stick giving us insight to our future. Not to mention a breathtaking over look of the beautiful city.

After the trip back down the mountain and a much needed break at homebase, we ventured out again to explore the night bazaar. The market was filled with traditional Thai goods and foods,an hour and a half was most definitely not enough for our hearts but most definitely enough for our wallets. After we reconvened together back with the whole group we returned to the homebase for much needed rest with a big day of teaching early the following morning.


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 19

Hello everyone!

We started today bright and early in order to make it in time for the opening ceremony on our first day of teaching school. We had the amazing opportunity of getting a look into the school’s tradition and the Thai national anthem!

In our teaching groups we taught English to two classes of 3rd to 6th graders. While challenging, teaching was super fun and the kids were so excited to see us!

After boosting our energy with some Thai tea, we headed to a Muay Thai boxing ring. There they taught us some common Muay Thai moves and we had a great workout practicing them!

We returned back to our home base early today and enjoyed some refreshing pool time after our tiring boxing workout. After this we did a few group challenges that required teamwork to complete.

All of us are so excited to go back to the school and teach again tomorrow! We will begin our preparation for a culture exchange at another school. Woohoo!

Fan dii na! (That means boa noite)


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 20

Hello everyone, sawatdee ka!

With an early start, we had our second day of working with the kids at the local elementary school. We continued to teach english, play fun games, and overall bond with the kids. Everyone was able to overcome challenges and learn new things.

After lunch we prepared for a cultural exchange with a high school that will take place on Thursday. We choreographed dance pieces and taught them while others made posters and props to add to the show. We are excited to share our cultures and backgrounds and learn more about Thai culture!

We closed the day with some pool time, teaching reflections, a delicious Thai dinner, and we’re getting ready for our third day of teaching.

Look out for more adventures to come!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 21

Howdy y’all!

Today was our third day of teaching 3-6 graders. We had so much fun teaching and playing many games with the kids. It has been very interesting connecting with the children through teaching a new language to them.

Later we went to the Ton lam yai and Warorot market to learn about and buy Thai fruits and clothing. After the market we all got Thai tea and coffee at a local shop.

We went back to home base and continued practicing our dance for the cultural exchange tomorrow. We had the fruit party where we learned the Thai names for many local fruits and enjoyed eating them. Many of us enjoyed fruits such as the mangosteen, longgong , and many more. We had another delicious meal including Pad Thai, sarim, etc. We ended the night with one final performance of our dance for the cultural exchange with the beautiful sunset in the background and everyone is very excited! Goodbye!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 22

Hello family and friends!!

Today we started our day bright and early at 7 am, it was our last day teaching at school. We started our lessons like always but ended early to have a goodbye celebration with the kids. We danced, laughed and said our goodbyes.

We came back to home base to have a delicious Thai meal. Then we were off to our next adventure, the international cultural exchange. We made friends and learned to play chairball, a common Thai “basketball” game. We performed a mashup of several songs to the students, it was really fun.

After the cultural exchange, the stafff surprised us with pizza and karaoke night. We sang songs from the greatest showman and Hamilton, we even got a private concert from our local staff Ta. We ended the day with a night time swim and lots of laughter.

Tomorrow we head to the elephant sanctuary, be on the lookout for more fun filled days.


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 23

Today we made the journey to the elephant sanctuary! On the way we stopped at 7-11 to buy some snacks and drinks, because the ride was long. Once we go to the place we are staying, we checked into our rooms and got ready to start our elephant adventures!!

The students took an open air truck to the 1st elephant camp of the day, where the students fed four adults and one baby elephant bananas! Then we had lunch, which was very delicious!! The next camp host almost 11 elephants! The students fed the elephants bananas, and bathed them with first muddy water and then cleaned them off in the river, which led to a big splash fight! Super fun!

When we returned back, the students had an one hour break to freshen up after bathing with the elephants. Then the students were led on a tour of the new home base and had a scrumptious dinner followed by 2 hours of ping pong and card games.

What a great day!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24

Written by Amanda <3 Hello blog and sawatdeeka !! Today we started off our day at Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and fed elephants their favorite breakfast, bananas! We got the chance to learn their names and build an ever deeper connection with them. After their breakfast, we endured a hike through Mae Wang’s greenery alongside four other gentle giants. We watched them explore and thrive in their own environments and it was truly such a treat. After our trek, we enjoyed a delicious lunch, our favorite food being the spring rolls!! We then got ready and out of our food comas and prepared to visit a nearby waterfall. Once we got to the site, we swam and sight saw as we watched from the waterfall’s rocky shore. We made our way back to camp and prepared for our service project of shoveling elephant dootie. Although it doesn’t sound entirely glamorous, we all learned how to better cooperate with one another and further understood the responsibilities of a true adventurer and leader. We made our way back to home base where we were greeted with a much needed rainstorm. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and ended the evening with a stroll through our home base’s beautiful outdoors. We are looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures and can’t wait for what’s to come!!


BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26

Today was the officially last day 🙁

After our goodnight fancy dinner last night on a beautiful boat ride, and our last THAI meal together we started understand that this was the end of this unforgettable experience!

We had the chance to feel deeply appreciated by the letters of affirmation and appreciation circle, and felt in our hearts how we touched each others lives.

We leave Thailand with our souls full of love, and our luggage packed with amazing memories, friendships and adventure we won’t ever forget!

We definitely connected as group and it wasn’t easy to tell our goodbye!

Our huge KOBKUNKA! And see you soon Thailand!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

June 1, 2023 by Ashley Welter

Spain: Spanish in the Land of Don Quixote (Sessions Starting July 17, 2023)

Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

This blog is for the Spain split session starting July 17, 2023, which includes both the 14-day and the 21-day student group.

Here are a few things you can expect:

  1. We typically receive 2-3 blog posts per week here at GLA Headquarters from our program staff and students, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post daily – that’s totally normal.
  2. Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
  3. Due to many factors, including but not limited to internet accessibility, photos may not always be available to post onto the blog. Sometimes onsite program staff are only able to send text back to Headquarters, where our team updates the blog.

Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.

Cell Phone Policy: The GLA cell phone policy is currently in place this summer to help foster meaningful connections between students. This means your student’s phone will be collected every day and returned to them after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. During designated ‘tech time’, your student may use their phones as they wish. Please note that your student may not always choose to use this time to get a hold of their parents. If you are not hearing directly from your student each day, you can assume that no news is good news! We strongly recommend you follow the blog to follow your students’ experience without talking to them every day. If you are a parent and would like to get in touch with your student directly, you can call us at +1-619-758-3031 and we can set up a formal time for you to connect with your student.

For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team


Click here to jump down to the most recent posts!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 17

Hello everyone!!!

After a long day of airport pick up, delayed flights and long waits, we finally start the first oficial day of this program in Spain.

We had prepared different activities to help our students to learn and practice their Spanish, develop their own leadership style and have lots of fun. From visits to the historical site of Toledo to making paella with a Paella Master in Madrid we are sure the students will have the best time!

Enjoy the blogs that students will write to take you in this journey with them.

Saludos!!!!

GLA Team for Spain


BLOG POST FOR JULY 18

Written by Jose. Mentor and Leader of the day.

Que tal?

Today was our first full day of being in Toledo.

Despute the long travels and some jetlag, the students as a group did a good job at waking up on time for breakfast, but you could still see that some needed more rest – including me. After breakfast we started orientation (not the most thrilling activity but it’s a very important part of the program in order to keep everyone safe).

After the first part of orientation the students had to take a Spanish Placement Test to see what group they will join. Some were nervous, but we assured them that it was just to see what group would suit them best.

We had a nice lunch at our home base and after we had a much needed siesta time. Some decided to hangout in a common area, but others took advantage and got some rest.

Later we continued with the second part of the orientation, ending with the Community Agreement that the students created.

After the orientation, we decided to surprise everyone with some pool time to get refresed in this very hot weather of Toledo. Everyone got to relax by the pool, some got ice cream, chips and even jamón. Some even surprised me and started to talk to me by using words in Spanish!

After walking back to home base from the pool, we got ready for dinner and right after we had the daily meeting.

Everyone seems to be excited for tomorrow because Spanish class will begin, as well as the Service Work and a city tour exploring Toledo by foot.

Espero que sigan nuestras aventuras…


BLOG POST FOR JULY 19

Written by leaders of the day Timi and Ronan:

Hola!

Today was an exhilarating day as it marked the thrilling third day of our incredible journey. We eagerly embarked on a series of captivating activities that left us with lasting memories. Our day commenced with our very first Spanish class of the trip. we learned a few different things in our different groups from how to tell the time to how to general opinions and even to some difficult grammar such as reflexive verb tenses!

Following the invigorating language session, we were filled with joy as we spent time with the little children during their much-anticipated water day. It was love and war as an intense battle began between us (the mentors) and the children broke out as water balloons were emptied on heads and hoses were pointed at their next victims. It was incredibly enjoyable but safe to say everyone got a little wet.

As the day progressed, we ventured into the beautiful town of Toledo where we were guided by local toledo celebrity Ricardo as he gave us an in depth description of the background and history of the city (in Spanish of course). Every corner revealed architectural and historical marvels, showcasing a blend of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian influences that echoed the city’s diverse heritage.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 20

Written by leaders of the day Sierra, Arianna, and Ellie:

Hola! Today marks the fourth day of our GLA Program. We started the day with our second Spanish class, learning new vocabulary and more about the beautiful city of Toledo! We also spent lots of time playing with the kids at the school and practicing our Spanish! 🙂

After lunch and a good siesta, we took the bus into the city of Toledo once again and toured the Toledo Cathedral! We learned a lot about Toledo’s history and it’s religious aspects.

We then had some time to shop and get souveniers, snacks and even some clothes. After that we went zip-lining over the Tajo River!! It was exhilarating and the views were unforgettable. We then took the bus back home and had dinner while admiring our day. Unfortunately, after that, it was our time to pass the torch to the next leaders of the day.

Adios!!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 21

Written by Joseph and Theo

A new day, which means a new opportunity to connect with Spanish culture! We continued our journey by connecting with the local spanish children, playing games and helping them! Today they rode through an obstacle course on scooters and roller skates-“patines” in Spanish-and wrapped up their activities with a pool day!

After a quick lunch and a MUCH needed siesta (the group can attest to the way I was passed out on the couch -JA), we commenced with our preparations for our Madrid trip! Many deliberations were had, including laying out our itinerary for the days to come. After the ~45 minute session, we all decided it was high time for a trip to the pool! Quickly heading over, it was a field day as we all bought snacks and had a great time lounging by the pool, or in some cases jumping in en-mass.

After bread was broken and fun was had, our tired-yet intrepid-group returned, and exercised our minds. Forming into small “mentor groups”, we all debated a pressing issue that Spain faces today, about languages being taught in classrooms. After that, your dear writers were obliged to pass the torch to the next vanguard.

Hasta Luego, and on to Madrid!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 22

Written by the leaders of the day Jake and Zeid

Our first day in Madrid started off early with our bus ride from the Colegio Mayol in Toledo to our hostel in Madrid. We were eager to explore Madrid and visited many places including the Plaza Mayor where we were able to shop, the Almudena Cathedral with its stunning rose windows and lastly we visited the Royal Palace where we were lucky to catch the changing of the royal guards. After our walking tour we were all hungry and had a traditional Spanish lunch, indulging at a local tapas restaurant.

Lunch was a nice break but we went right back to it to visit some museums in Madrid. Some chose to visit the Prado art museum where they immersed themselves in the vibrant art scene of Madrid and saw artists like Vazquez and Goya. The masterpieces of renowned painters adorned the walls, evoking awe and admiration for the city’s rich cultural heritage. Others stoped at the iconic Santiago Bernabéu stadium, where Real Madrid plays. We embraced the electric atmosphere of Spanish football and learned about the history of the club.

As the sun set, we strolled through the enchanting streets of Madrid, witnessing the city’s architectural marvels illuminated in a golden glow. The night air was alive with laughter and chatter as we explored the lively plazas and bustling cafes, savoring the genuine warmth of Madrid’s welcoming spirit. Our first day in the capital was a captivating journey that etched lasting memories in our hearts.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 25

Written by the leaders of the day Julia and Erica

Hola a todos!

¿Cómo están? Nosotros estamos muy bien!
Today we got back into the swing of our daily schedule after a fun weekend in Madrid. We started the day with an early wake up call where Shake It Off by Taylor Swift (did we mention that we’re Swifies) got most people excited for the day. After that we ate breakfast and did our volunteer work where everyone got to participate in arts and crafts, show off their dance moves playing just dance, and remembering the favorite movie, Encanto, as we watched it in the cool indoors. In Spanish class we watched a music video filmed in the Toledo Cathedral which we visited last week along with reviewing Spanish vocabulary and grammar. Today’s Spanish class also consisted of a debate over the music video itself, and an introduction to tomorrow’s daily activity: Legends of Toledo!

After lunch and a very relaxing siesta, our dance moves were tested further in a Flamenco class taught by Toledo celebrity and also one of our Spanish teachers, Ricardo. We all had a great time combining delicate foot work with regal arms and working with our partners to coordinate our dance moves.

After a fun, but intense Flamenco class, we all split up into our mentor groups and talked about moments in our lives that shaped us into who we are. It was a very powerful, healing, and eye opening experience. We all opened up and shared emotions and situations that we have gone through. Everyone listened attentively and gave each other a lot of support. We hugged each other through tears and let ourselves feel the emotions shared. It made us all come together and through the challenges of being a teenager in this world, it made us have people that could help us through all of it.

The rest of the night was very relaxed and we all enjoyed an early bedtime to recharge after nearly 9 full days of fun. Good luck to the next leaders of the day!

Swifies signing off 🫶


BLOG POST FOR JULY 26

Written by the leaders of the day Marianna and Bella

Hola a todos!!

Today was a fantastic and fun-filled day!! We started off the day with a scrumptious breakfast at the comedor as we prepared for the packed day ahead. Then we continued the morning by attending our respective Spanish classes where we learned all about the different Legends of Toledo. We also enjoyed our time in the company of the children at the day camp. We showed off our dance moves in passionate rounds of Just Dance, spent endless hours braiding the kids hair, teaching them how to make friendship bracelets, and splashing around in the refreshing pool on a hot summer day. After a siesta (that passed by way too fast), we embarked on our journey to Toledo. Once there, we visited various key sites of where different Toledo legends occurred, groups from Spanish classes 2 & 3 took turns using their speaking skills to share the remarkable legends to their fellow peers. We learned so much about the rich history and culture of Toledo and it was life altering to see where these moving legends originated from. Upon returning to the Colegio Mayol we had a wonderful dinner of flavorful carbonara (and pears) while energetic stories and laughter ensued across the tables. Unfortunately, after this, sharing our roses and thorns, and many (a record breaking amount!) shoutouts we had to pass the torch to the next great Liders Del Día. This was a momentous day with memories and bonds made that will last forever!

Xoxo your Liders Del Dia,

Marianna y Bella


BLOG POST FOR JULY 27

Written by Sophie and Analily – Leaders of the day

Hola everybody,

Today we spent our morning volunteering with the kids and partaking in Spanish class as per usual. After a lunch of paella and a siesta, we spent the afternoon by the pool. At the pool we also had our daily meeting, and enjoyed ice cream and drinks. In our daily meeting the torch for leader of the day was passed to a new group who performed a card trick as their talent to earn the role.

During our volunteer time, we created an obstacle course that the kids loved. Latter, we danced with them which was fun for both the kids and us. It was bittersweet because it is one of our last days with the kids and we will miss out time with them.

During Spanish class we discussed the modern history of Spain, including Alfonzo the sixth and Rey Don Rodrigo. We also learned the Spanish viewpoint of Christopher Columbus. Tomorrow will be out last Spanish and service day, and we have greatly enjoyed both of these experiences.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 28

Written by Maggie, Semmi, Heather – Leaders of the day

Hola a todos!

Today was a fantastic but bittersweet day as it was out last day of service work with the children. Due to this we all tried our hardest to make this is memorable day for all the children. While some of us played soccer, others made bracelets and others ended up just caring around the younger ones. To end our service we had an hour filled with snacks, drinks and just dance videos for us and the children to enjoy. Unfortunately after this the moment it came time for us to say goodbye to the children we bonded to over the past two weeks. We said our goodbyes, hugged the children and left them with our best wishes before we had to leave to enjoy the rest of the day.

We later eat at a local restaurant in Toledo for lunch where we were served three different courses of our choosing to enjoy. We laugh and enjoyed our meals before heading out to Consuerga to explore the windmills and castles the town had to offer. We had an awesome tour guide that took us into the windmill and explained the functions of it before we headed out to the castle. The castle was massive and we got to explore almost every room and lookout spot there was. Many of us were fascinated by the history and the architecture this castle had to offer. The adventure wasn’t over yet as as we were leaving we saw two adorable little cats that stole all of our attention. Overall today was an amazing day and we all went to bed excited for what the next day had to offer.


BLOG POST FOR JULY 29

Written by Lexi, Maya & Leila – Leaders of the day

Hola!

We started off the day a little later, the 8:30 wake up call gave us a chance to sleep in and prepare for the long day ahead. We had our breakfast per usual and then we had siesta, which was spent spent packing up our suitcases because today was the last day of the two-week program.

After our siesta time we participated in group closing activities and our final mentor group activities. We decided on some shared community goals and some more personal goals, made playlists for each other, and had an appreciation circle that gave us the chance to appreciate each other for things like “you inspire me” or “you make me smile.”

Then we headed to the medieval theme park where we had dinner and then got to see a show about the history of Spain, which included all of the events we have been learning about in Spanish class! Everything about the show from the dancers to the special effects was incredible and we were all in awe the entire time. Safe to say we had an amazing last day!


BLOG POST FOR JULY 31

Written by Joseph – Leader of the day.

Today was the second day of the extension week for us kids! Even though it was strange, waking up with so few other teens in the building, we held fast and went straight back into caring for the children! It was a new batch of kids, so we saw some old faces as well as new. With our smaller group came an intermixed Spanish class, which we discussed the final day!

Afterwards, the group split into two, with one group going to the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, and the other the mall.

Both of us had plenty of fun respectively viewing the monastery and the mall. After doing some late-afternoon shopping, we returned to the Colegio. After dinner, we watched Knives Out, having a movie night with popcorn!


BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 1

Written by Maggie – Leader of the day

Hola a todos!

Today was a relaxing and energetic day. We started our day by doing a new volunteer project. We met up with the Red Cross of Toledo to help in a project of environmental restoration they have along the Tajo river. We collected garbage and tooke water samples. During this project we collected many plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, paper and a few articles of clothing. While collecting and filtering the water we ran into many geese, so many to the point that we were constantly outnumbered. When we were done with this activity we were all exhausted but had the opportunity to relax in the Baños Árabes. The Baños Árabes were a great experience. We were able to chill in three different pools each of different temperatures and chill in the steam room while eating cookies and drinking tea. This experience went by quickly and before we knew it we were back out walking in the humid streets buying ice cream and going to shops. After we headed back to the Colegio where we had dinner and finished the movie we started the night before, before heading off to bed.


BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 2

Written by Landen Wang

Hola Amigos!!

Not only was today an amazing day packed with adventure and fun, but it was also one of our campers birthdays! Happy Birthday 18th Theo! Today we spent our last day in the colegio de mayol before going to Barcelona saying goodbye to the kids, saying bye to them was hard but having spending the last 2 weeks with them was great!

In Todays Spanish class we got to show off what our Spanish teachers Lucia and Ricardo taught us by telling our counselors Sofia and Fernanda about our trip so far, but in Spanish. Everyone did amazing in their presentation and we had another very fun class

Siesta was special as we spent it by the pool and had great talks and played with the water.

Today being our last day in Toledo we had a special dinner while we celebrated Theos birthday, the food which was excellent made us all have a very good time and laughed and had fun with each other. Goodbye Toledo, and Hello Barcelona!!

Adios!


BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 3

Written by Julia

Wow. What a crazy day!

Today we said goodbye to the Colegio Mayol which we have been living in the past two and a half weeks. Our Directors Fernanda and Sofia have spent the past six weeks there so they also took part in the emotional fair wells. After a bus ride, we arrived at our train station to catch our train. On the train, some of us took a much needed nap while others admired the beautiful scenery of Spain. Once we arrived in Barcelona, everyone was so excited. We quickly dropped our bags off at the hostel and took the metro to a Pompeii exhibit. With the help of virtual reality, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in the city as if we were gladiators. It was so cool to see the detail in the virtually reconstructed city.

After our great time at the museum, we walked along Las Ramblas and went to a bustling market where people got fresh juices, empanadas, ice cream, fried crab, potato chips on a stick, and candy. Although it was a bit overwhelming, we enjoyed immersing ourselves in this lively market. Finally, we headed back to the hostel, had a delicious dinner, and went to sleep for an exciting day ahead.


BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 4

Written by Sierra

¡Hola from Barcelona!

Today is our first full day here and it has definitely lived up to our expectations so far. We spent the day visiting sites built by Antonio Gaudí. We started our day visiting Park Guell, with its intricate combination of ceramic and nature. We walked through the beautiful park, taking photos and learning about its rich history from our favorite tour guide and teacher, Ricardo!

From there, we walked to a local restaurant, Cal Boter, for a yummy lunch and a break from the sun 🙂

After lunch, we took a tour around the Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by Gaudí; however, unfortunately, he passed away during the making of this cathedral with all of its design plans in his mind, so now the cathedral remains under construction as others attempt to mimic his style in order to complete the cathedral. Nonetheless, it was stunning and incredible to see.

Then, we walked around the gothic neighborhood of Barcelona, and enjoyed a quick treat! After a jam packed day, we finally returned to the hostel for dinner and to rest for the night.


BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 5

Written by Cooper

¡Hola a todos!

Our program ended on a high note. We enjoyed our morning at Mar Bella Beach, which was much-needed. There was a great view of the ocean coupled with amazing weather which created a fun and relaxing experience.

Afterwards, we stopped back at the hostel to prepare for our last evening out together in Barcelona. Our first stop was the National Art Museum of Catalonia where we browsed plenty of murals and sculptures. Our amazing tour guide, Spanish teacher, and wedding singer on the side, Ricardo, told us about the history of all the art as well.

Once we finished at the art museum, we split into two groups: one went to the aquarium, the other revisited the Gothic Quarter for some final shopping. It was a fun time for those who went to the aquarium to see various marine life, and for those who went shopping it was great to soak in the last of what they saw of the Barcelona city life.

Our last activity to finish the night was a nice dinner where we had plenty of laughs and delicious Barcelona cuisine!

Back at the hostel, we had our final daily meeting where we expressed our gratitude and appreciation for everything this trip has been.

Thank you to everyone who made this trip special. We all appreciated it!

¡Hasta luego!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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