Our trip to Guatemala was surely incredible and I can’t believe how time has just flown by! In just two short weeks we did a TON of activities, made new friends, learned more about ourselves and our host country. Now that you are back home and back to your normal routines, I hope that you still think about your time in Guatemala and take those ideas that Willy talked about to heart-to do what you are passionate about, find happiness in the little things (like awesome smelling plants!) and remember that time is just a social concept, not something that should run our lives.

But most importantly, I hope that you are challenging yourselves at home and making sure that you are not giving a single story of Guatemala or any other social group and remembering to check your own perspectives of others to prevent a perpetual stereotype of a group/country/people. As GLA has taught us, it is our job to utilize adequate words and express our ideas and opinions knowing both sides of the story, looking at the pros and cons of everything before making a decision. It is also our job as global citizens to promote cultural awareness and acceptance in our own communities, as well as abroad. What we hope is that your time here helped develop you to be true global leaders and using what you have learned to promote unity among people.

But besides the academic portions of the trip, we also have learned a lot about ourselves through the afternoon excursions! Some of us learned to embrace the unexpected and try to look at life through a new lens-whether that was learning how to trust and be brave while zip-lining across the mountains, putting our differences aside while working with the kids at the school, meeting the community members, or being valiant enough to use the bathroom at the weaver’s house on the side of a mountain! I’m sure that each of us gained a bit of confidence somehow, someway, during our time here and sometimes that’s the most valuable thing you can achieve from a trip like this! So next time you are in a difficult or similar situation, I hope you think about how you handled differences, insecurities, debate, and friendship while in Xela.

We hope that you all think of Guatemala and the people here often. The school has finished steps with the multiplication tables painted on the sides, newly painted desks are now in the classrooms and the plastering of the new constructed classroom is complete! Hopefully students will be able to be in that new room soon! I think you’ll be happy to know that the kids loved playing hopscotch and are practicing their letters everyday with the caterpillars that you all repainted. Let’s hope that they continue to play and learn while at recess while we are gone and our work there remains beneficial to the students and teachers.

Although it may have been awhile ago that we were all together at the comfortable home in Xela, your memories and the friendships made here will remain forever! Here at GLA Guatemala, we hope that you are all doing well and going the extra mile in whatever you are passionate about. Keep up the good work!

Some highlights of our trip:
-zip-lining across a waterfall
-talking with Willie  (Red Kat Kafe) and asking him to write a book about his life and philosophy
-ordering McFlurries from McDonalds during movie nights
-Julio’s jokes/pranks
-The boat ride across Lago Atitlan
-laughing with one another all the time and creating special bonds that made us cry at the end of the trip

-Nicole, Ana, Brian + GLA Guatemala staff


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For some of you your trip to Guatemala might feel like a distant dream, something you still can’t believe actually happened and for others the trip in Guatemala is very present everyday in your lives, constantly reflecting and moving forward in being the best global citizen you can be. Our trip to Guatemala was absolutely incredible and the bonds that we shared with one another are the true champions of the experience! Nobody else can understand our time in Xela like we do and I’m so glad that I got to spend my GLA summer with you all, learning, growing and laughing along the way!

My favorite memories come from my conversations with you, getting to know you all and helping you conquer some serious fears-from zip-lining , to ‘extreme bathroom usage’ at the weaver’s house in Momostenango, to confronting the awful realities of the girls in the ‘hogar’. I’m so proud of each and everyone of you who stared difference right in the face and just rolled with it, even when our own life experiences, ideas and opinions were very different from those around us. You ladies are a 10/10, picture of greatness!

I LOW-KEY learned a ton from each and every one of you and just want to tell you, you’re A-1 students. Nayo still wears his GOAT t-shirt and is working hard to maintain great relationships with the school, Pacaja, so that GLA can continue to work there on future projects! The newly painted green desks are a showstopper in the classrooms and the kids continue to study hard without having to look at those poorly chosen words etched into the tops. The newly painted kitchen caught the eyes of the teachers  and the classroom that you helped plaster is nearly complete! Hopefully we’ll have paint and desks in there soon!

Brian continues to wear his ‘jorts’ and socks with flip-flops, in true dad fashion but laughs anytime someone mentions it since you ladies loved to tease him on that! Ana continues to insert random Spanish words into her speeches, because you know, nothing is complete with a random “bien” thrown in there! Nicole has left her nursing duties but her time with GLA has definitely given her some new medical experience!

Some amazing memories:

-Temblor!!!! (AKA mini earthquake)

-zip-lining over a waterfall, and getting eaten by all the mosquitos there…that’s ok, worth it!

-The wedding ceremony on our first day-there’s no better first day bonding than that!

-10/10 picture of health

-drinking the suero (hydration packets) even if we didn’t want to

-random dance party in the living room!

-playing with the kids at the daycare center and singing songs while in the classrooms teaching

-Wal-mart shopping, where the ladies went crazy and bought almost everything in sight.

We all hope that you are doing well and adjusting to your new schedules, school, jobs, classes or whatever it may be. Do good, continue with community service at home and remember that Guatemala loves you!

We appreciate you,
-Nicole, Ana, Brian + GLA Guatemala Staff

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Hello to Session 2 of Ghana: Children of Africa at the Pin Drop Hotel Home Base in Anloga!!!

We hope you are all doing well! Time has flown by since we said our last good-byes at the Accra airport. While we all eventually made it back to our homes and returned to our normal lives, we will always have the memories from an incredible three weeks together in Ghana. This ‘Time Capsule Letter’ is a great way to look back on the people we met, the places we saw, and the experiences we shared during our time together. Hopefully all of you are able to think back to your time making one of the 2,707 bricks our group collectively made, or one of the classes you taught at Avete, Hafiakor, or Zico Schools, or the relationships you built with the local community, the boys from Father’s House, the Ghanaian school children, and each other, and you are able to smile, laugh, and appreciate our experiences in Ghana.

Your group will always hold a special place in our collective hearts since we were able to spend three full weeks together. Being thrown into a situation where you spend so much time with a group of people that were mostly strangers before coming together as a group means you learn a lot about the other people on your trip in a very short time. It happens on 10-day trips and 14-day trips, but spending a whopping 21 days together in Ghana in the middle of the summer is a whole different level. We were incredibly fortunate to have such an interesting group of people that supported each other and brought such a variety of unique personalities and perspectives.

You guys were all awesome and it made the experience so much more rewarding to have been able to share it with so many other great people. That’s not to say everything was wonderful sunshine and rainbows all day, every day. There were mosquitos (lots of them); there were classes where students didn’t listen; there were upset stomachs and other illnesses; there was a whole lot of delicious food (especially all the cereal and choco/peanut butter goodness); there were schedule changes and long van/bus rides and nightly curfew checks. But that’s all part of what makes traveling to new countries and experiencing new cultures such a rewarding experience: you never know exactly what you will get. It’s all about making the most of those experiences while you are there, and you were all great at that.

GLA programs can be exciting, a little overwhelming, and a whole lot of fun, but one thing GLA hopes to stress is how the experience you have while in Ghana, Peru, China, or wherever else you may travel with GLA can be an opportunity to learn about a new culture, become more informed about how interconnected the world has become, and reflect on ways you can make a positive impact on the world around you. In addition to being an opportunity to travel and learn about what life is like in a different place and culture, a GLA trip can also be a valuable opportunity to grow and learn more about yourself, about your strengths and values, and about what motivates you to be the best person you can be.

So as you make your way through your high school classes, or as you settle in to your new surroundings on a college campus, or wherever life takes you this fall, winter, and beyond, remember to think back to your experiences and the relationships you built last summer in Anloga, to cherish them, and to use them as a part of what makes each of you unique. And then go out there and keep being awesome!

Before we wrap this up, here are a few of our favorite memories from Session 2:

• Solomon and Eli filling up on stir fry upon arrival in Accra
• Learning Euchre from Barrett and Elena and playing so many great card games (shout out to Maddie!)
• Playing ‘Birdie on a Perch’ and ‘the Wedding Game’, followed by the best dance party ever
• Hearing children yell “Yevu! Yevu!” all the time
• Meeting Jeremiah and all the boys at Father’s House
• Kaylee, Yunah, and Madi’s reaction to Keith laughing about Solomon’s attempts to sabotage brick-making and prevent a new P.R.
• All the Chow Circle shout-outs for sharing pants
• The unexpected choir performance request that led to a beautiful rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Lean On Me’ at church
• String bracelets catching on like wildfire
• The Kan-Jam tournament orchestrated by Miles
• Addie’s long-awaited ascension to becoming leader of the day
• All the fun we had playing volleyball, swimming, and canoeing at Meet Me There
• Playing games and riddles on the bus ride to Ho, including eventually figuring who actually had the ball (Paige), and playing ‘Contact’… 😉
• Yunah laughing at everything
• Stephen trying (and failing) to throw the volleyball from one boat to the other during the river tour
• Eli’s intrepid bravery around monkeys
• Being blown away by the pure power of the waterfall in Wli
• Getting up super early to walk to the beach for the sunrise
• Solomon’s impressive performance as Keith, and Madi’s spot-on impersonation of Solomon (sooooooo lit!)
• Seeing all our students run to welcome us every day and saying our heartfelt good-byes on our last day of service

Finally, from all of us that had the pleasure of meeting you guys last summer – Thank you again for being such a great group and we wish you all the best in wherever your future takes you! Keep doing amazing things!!!

-Dodzi, Stephen, Wisdom, Seyram, Ariel, Ashley, James, and Keith

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Hi everyone!

To all of the fantastic individuals that made up our first Ghana: Children of Africa group at the Pin Drop Hotel Home Base in Anloga, we hope you are all doing well! It is a little crazy to realize so much time has already flown by since we were fortunate enough to spend an incredibly memorable three weeks together in Ghana. This ‘Time Capsule Letter’ is a great way to look back on the people we met, the places we saw, and the experiences we shared together.

Hopefully all of you are able to think back fondly on your time building one of the 2,670 bricks our group made, or one of the classes you taught at Avete, Zico, and Hafiakor Schools, or the relationships you built with the local community, the school children in Anloga, and each other, and you are able to smile, laugh, and appreciate our shared experiences in Ghana. As you all know, your group was the first of the summer for our Anloga staff team, and we couldn’t have been happier with how great it turned out!

We were incredibly fortunate to have such an interesting group of people that supported each other and got along so well from the very beginning of our time together. You guys were all awesome and it made the experience so much more rewarding to have been able to share it with so many other great people, and it made our job that much easier. That’s not to say everything was wonderful sunshine and rainbows all day, every day (but we did have a rainbow waiting for us upon our arrival at Home Base!!!).

There were mosquitos (lots of them); there were cold showers; there were upset stomachs and other various illnesses; there were schedule changes and long van/bus rides and nightly curfew checks. But that’s all part of what makes traveling to new countries and experiencing new cultures such a rewarding experience: you never know exactly what you will get. It’s all about making the most of those experiences while you are there, and you all did a great job of embodying that.

GLA programs can be exciting, a little overwhelming, and a whole lot of fun, but one thing GLA hopes to stress is how the experiences you have while in Ghana, Costa Rica, Thailand or wherever else you may travel with GLA can be an opportunity to learn about a new culture, become more informed about how interconnected the world has become, and reflect on ways you can make a positive impact on the world around you. In addition to being an opportunity to travel and learn about what life is like in a different place and culture, a GLA trip can also be a valuable opportunity to grow and learn more about yourself, about your strengths and values, and about what motivates you to be the best person you can be.

So as you make your way through your high school classes, or as you settle in to your new surroundings on a college campus, or wherever life takes you this fall, winter, and beyond, remember to think back to your experiences and the relationships you built last summer in Anloga, to cherish them, and to use them as a part of what makes each of you unique. And then go out there and keep being awesome!

Before we wrap this up, here a few of our favorite memories from Session 1:

• G-B-T-C… (with the z-snaps, of course)
• Meeting Grandfather, receiving our Ewe names, and hearing our stories of birth (Grandfather knows all!)
• Koko’s intensity while playing spoons (cover your ears!)
• Nat leading “I Get Loose…” (1-2-3, feet!)
• “Oh, boy.” –Remy
• Every time we heard “…because I’m young and I’m rich and I’m handsome…” Oy-ye …Shake body!!!
• Zico’s P6 classroom mayhem, and Nathan and Bella seeing the shovel-boy
• Ava attempting to teach her students how to pronounce “water”
• Hearing children yell “Yevu! Yevu!” all the time
• That time it started pouring and everyone ran outside to dance in the rain, which led to Lincoln getting dragged through the puddles and Remy seizing the moment by grabbing some shampoo to lather his luscious locks
• Singing and dancing at church… Hallelujah!!!
• Meeting Jeremiah and all the boys at Father’s House
• Opening up during the ‘Stories of Self’ mentor group sessions
• Penguins in the pool at the hotel in Ho
• The most epic game of manhunt ever. Especially when Nathan blasted through the bushes in an attempt to get to safety, and when Parlin and Brooke kept playing for an extra 15 minutes. Ha.
• Feeling the pure power of the waterfall in Wli
• Mangoes
• Koko, Nathan, Lexie, and Lexi getting drenched in celebration for their birthdays
• Cole and Nam’s commitment to their group’s ‘Bust a Move’ performance
• The duet of ‘Little Talks’ by Matt and Jess (hey!) and Vera’s rendition of ‘Waiting on June’
• AJ starting the riddle domino effect with “Who has the ball?”
• Seeing all our students run to welcome us every day and saying our heartfelt good-byes on our last day of service

Finally, from all of us that had the pleasure of meeting you this past summer – Thank you again for being such a great group and we wish you all the best in wherever your future takes you! We miss you and you are all superstars!!!

-Dodzi, Stephen, Fafa, Wisdom, Ashley, Ariel, James, and Keith

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.