Hola mis tetes,

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

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

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

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

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

I’ll leave you with a few memorable memories:

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

Un fuerte abrazo,

-Angelica

 

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Hello young leaders of GLA South Africa 2017!

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

As usual, we shall begin with the shout outs:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here are some sweet summer/winter memories:

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

-Ijay and the South Africa team

 

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Text here…

Hola Spanish Service Adventure chicos y chicas!

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

– Our epic Egyptian ratslap card tournaments at the home base

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

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

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

– Braving the frigid waterfall on our hike to Aguas Calientes

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

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

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

Saludos,

-Patrick

 

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We hope that you are all eating your quinoa! Remember, it is for your health and if you don’t eat you could be sent back.

It’s been a minute since you all have been in Peru. Well maybe more than a few minutes, but Mario and his students are still here making good use of the greenhouse you built.  You put a lot of work into it – endless bags of dirt, painting until arms got tired, but in the end you completed a great project that will benefit a lot of people.  Mario’s school is continuing on as normal (kids are still crazy, but at least they’re learning something!) and hopefully you’ve all settled back into your own lives of high school classes – or potentially college- or perhaps your final year of middle school.  Remember your experiences with the Peruvian students here, their own challenges, backgrounds, and excitement, and utilize what you’ve learned in your own lives.

We’re sure you all remember Lares! Oh how the endless steps and hills seemed to go on: one foot in front of the other, one llama sighting after the next. Cresting the hill and finally lunch, little did we know that we would continue on to yet another beautiful valley. That night we were able to enjoy dinner – whether we wanted to or not- as well as a toasty fire with campfire songs and breathtaking stars. Literally breathtaking. The next day, the challenging but beautiful moment when the group crested the mountain together and looked into the valley beyond was shared and enjoyed by everyone. Finally (only 10 more minutes, promise!) we arrived at the Hot Springs that night and relaxed into the realization that we had all completed such a challenging task.

The highlight of the trip for many of you was our visit to Machu Picchu.  We had another tough climb up, but everyone accomplished it with minimal complaining and encouragement for the others in the group.  We all got some great selfies and took a nice group photo with the hippo.  We split into two groups and had our guides explain the history behind the site.  Some people got a little more out of the tour than others (sorry, Dani!), but everyone could appreciate the beauty of one of the wonders of the world.

The trip was a beautiful mix of personality, talent and adventure. Being able to see the entire group come together to appreciate each person’s contribution to service brought us closer and helped our group become a family. Together we learned about ancient Incan sites, took on the rapids of the Urubamba River and laughed at the talent show.  We shared an incredible last night together.

Our favorite moments:

Arriving back from MP at 2 in the morning

So. Many. Stairs.

Finally getting Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream in Aguas Calientes (or a few days later for Morgan)

Getting coca leaf fortunes told by the shaman – remember, Matt, you’re marrying rich!

That damn darn hill on the way to service everyday.  At least it got a little easier by the end!

Inca Kola.  Hopefully Dan and Sandra have found some sort of supply of it somewhere.  If not, can someone check if they are still alive?

Singing songs around a campfire.  Some happy moments before everyone started getting sick.    

Learning about Sacsayhuaman with John.

Mateo’s wonky finger and Olivia’s wonky detachable teeth.

Taking time to deconstruct everything you experienced in Peru during Mentor Groups.

Supporting each other during each difficult step on Lares.

Making bird fighting noises whilst flapping your arms during dance class.

Gabby’s awesome poem at the talent show

Yojan and the legend himself, Rolando, doing some traditional dances for us at the farewell dinner.

Playing a valiant game of soccer, despite getting destroyed by the local team.  Remember, Lily H, soccer means no hands!

Fighting over our Leaders of the Day’s trivia questions in order to be first in line for meals.

Coca tea.  Some liked it, some hated it, but remember how much it helps with the altitude!

Nothing ever being on time.

Mob mentality taking over for the piñata and smashing it with Gabby’s crutches.

John having to translate for the MP guide, whilst Dani and Sandra had to translate for John.

The USS Dank taking on some rapids!

About half of you got to know Cusco’s lovely MacSalud Clinic with Yensi at one point or another.  Fond memories from there, I’m sure.

Adam carrying around a cuy’s head in a bag, for some reason.

Movie nights!  Also getting to see the cinematic masterpiece that is Transformers in theaters, which many of us weren’t able to understand a word of, and was probably completely inappropriate for 5 year olds.

Mario and all the work he has put into helping just a small number of Cusco’s children.  Never forget the difference that just a small amount of work, done by just a small amount of people, can make in the world.

Slow and Steady,

Mateo, Sierra, Raquel, Yensi

 

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