All students have arrived in Thailand and are getting a good night of sleep.  Check back soon for a group photo and more updates!

July 11, 2017

After a good night of overdue sleep we have started our Cultural Kaleidoscope adventure. Following orientation and a Thai buffet, we are in to a tour of the oldest and biggest temples in Chiang Mai. Later today we will take a cooking class and visit a local market. Staying busy is the first step to beating jet lag!

July 12, 2017

We started the day off at the spiritual house here at our home base. We asked the spirits past and present to bless us and watch over us. After a mentor group meeting exploring The Danger of a Single Story, we were off to lunch and Borsang, an umbrella making factory. We got to paint our own umbrellas and do some souvenir shopping. Tomorrow is the launch of our Leader of the Day program, so stay tuned for the daily blog written by students! Good night from rainy Chiang Mai!

July 13, 2017

Sawasdee ka from Thailand! Today, we began our day with breakfast in the Great Hall, part of our Hogwarts-themed schedule. We visited Hmong Village in the mountains and ate lunch at a local place. After, we walked through a market filled with handmade goods, ranging from purses to jewelry. Everything there was beautiful and it was also amazing to know how much work went into it all. After this, we drove back down the mountain a little and visited the beautiful Temple Doi Suthep on the side of the mountain. It was 550 years old and beautifully made. Knowing that people built this with their bare hands (including the 306 steps leading to the temple) was also really cool. While we were there, we were able to get our fortunes, be blessed by a monk, and pay our respects to Buddha if we chose. Overall it was a very fun and eventful day and we’re all satisfied.

-Leaders of the Day: Jenna, Lexie, Alex

July 14, 2017

Hey dudes, be quiet, sit down and listen to our adventure of the day. Spoiler alert: bugs may have been consumed. Breakfast started at am , then we split up into two groups. Half of us went to Ahaka village and the other half went to Wororot market. Compared to Target and Walmart, the market was unusual, yet an awesome experience. We ate everything from worms to the king of fruits. Meanwhile in Ahaka village, rumor has it that under the blazing sun, many had to walk millions of miles, encountering wildlife and snacking on plants along the way. After lunch both groups meet up at pottery village for a tour and first hand experience making pottery. As we arrived back at home base many were eager to chill poolside while others took a quick nap before dinner. After dinner we got into mentor groups and played a silly game of night at the museum.
In conclusion, Live love Thailand (heart emoji).

Leaders of the Day: Hannah, Kate, Callie

July 15, 2017

Have you ever heard of durian? Durian. noun. The king of the fruits; extremely smelly; has the consistence of mashed potatoes.

July 16, 2017

Listen up! Dance captains here! AKA Leaders of the *year*. Today was our first day if school! We educated some super bubbly, energetic, Thai kids. It was a great experience, and we can’t wait to continue our intriguing lessons and games. We left after lunch and squadded up with the other group at the Monk Chat. There we were enlightened on the Buddhist philosophy and were given wise words by a super cool monk. We left the chat with a new perspective on Buddhism. Overall a great day.

Signing off,

Kiara, Olivia, Nicole

Heyo peeps in the USA! (or other) Welcome to the GLA Thai life today! We ’bout to tell something great so listen up and get ready to be amazed!

Today was our second day at school and it was a challenging yet wonderful experience. The morning was filed with creative, curious, and happy children. After being exhausted by children, we had an afternoon of amazing Thai culture. We learned the art of Muay Thai! At the end, we were all tired and ready for some free time and then dinner. Dinner (filled with AMAZING Thai food) was followed by some fun group activities, and an early night to bed! See you guys soon!

Leaders of the Day: Eva, Gabe, Kenna

July 14, 2017

Sawasdee Kha from Thailand!

After hours of travel across the globe we have arrived in lovely Chiang Mai, smiles still blazing. Since most of us came on the same flight in the morning, we gained a day of fun activities!

We started off by eating some classic but delicious dishes ranging from pad thai, fried rice and curry to the most famous dish only served in the north, khao soi. Full and eager to see where we were, we ventured to Wat Umhong temple in the forest. We explored the ancient tunnels, fed the fish and birds, and were blessed with good luck by a monk who sprayed us with some water.

We’re headed back to home base now for some relaxation (aka, swimming in our fancy pool) and then on to buffet dinner! Thai people always say that there is only one meal a day eaten in Thailand; and it starts when you wake up and ends when you go to bed.

That’s all for now! Looking forward to welcoming Kharra, who arrives in a few days, to our already incredible group!!

July 15, 2017

July 24th, 2017

Today was our first day teaching. In the morning, when we first got to school, the kids had a ceremony where they played the King’s song while they raised the flag, similar to our pledge of allegiance. After, they had a mass prayer and it was interesting because in America, religion does not mix with public school. But seeing as most Thai people are Buddhist it was nothing unusual. All of us each had to teach two classes with a partner. Some of us taught about animals, colors, foods and many more topics. Teaching was more difficult than we all expected it to be due to the language barrier between us. But after a tiring, but fun, day of teaching, we were all looking forward to coming back. In the afternoon, we went to the “Art in Paradise” museum. A museum consisting of interactive, perspective, illusion paintings. On camera, the paintings appeared to be 3D which allowed us to pose with them and be a part of the art. From the museum we went to an Internet cafe and that was the end of our eventful day.

Day 1

Our group now complete, we kicked off our first full day in Thailand with a tour of the biggest temple and the oldest temple (built in 1279!) in Chiang Mai. We then visited a food market to get an introduction to the food we were about to make at a cooking school. We learned how to make tom yam kung soup, pad thai, and spring rolls. Learning how to make our own Thai dinner was very rewarding… And pretty tasty! We continue to battle jet lag and called it an early night. More adventures tomorrow!

From Leaders of the Day Eric & Katie B.

Sawadeka from Katie and Eric coming at you live from Chiang Mai! Today we jumped off flimsy wooden structures with only two ropes with us… somehow we all survived. We flew so fast we almost hit trees and got some super awkward pictures. All jokes aside, ziplining was a thrilling and fun experience and after our 40 foot descent towards the Earth, we got lunch and planted a tree (saving the environment with one tree at a time!). After the adrenaline faded, we got a good amount of time at home base to relax and reflect on our awesome zipline day. Now we get to set the alarm and get ready for a week of service at school!

Goodnight and wish us luck!!

 

 

 

On the first full day of our stay in Chiang Mai, we started off by exploring local temples. For most of us, this visit to the temples was our first, but most definitely exceeded all of our expectations. Our Thai staff explained in detail about the rituals and customs of the temples and lead us in a buddhist prayer. After exploring, we had an opportunity to chat with the monks and pick their brains about daily life and traditions as a monk. Lunch was at a local buffet, and it was pretty much a unanimous vote that the entire group loved the food, (most of us even started to plan a trip back). Before dinner, we received a tour of the Elephant Parade Museum, where they paint elephant sculptures and sell them, donating 10% of their profit to elephant conservation and rehabilitation projects. After the tour, we all painted mini elephant sculptures and packed them up for home. Dinner was in The Coffee Bus, where the cafe actually had a bus as seating and the coffee was the best we’ve had so far. Today was definitely a great start to a wonderful trip.

It is safe to say that the second day of our 2 week trip was one for the books. We started out at the most popular temple in Chiang Mai, which rests upon a huge hill overlooking the entire city. The ride was hard for some, being very windy and elevated, but the temple was worth it. As a group we took the climb of about 380 steps to the top of the hill to explore the entirety of the temple and marvel over a breathtaking view of the city. We attended lunch in the Boat Bakery and it was a delicious meal, as always. Then, it was on to the school exchange. We went to a local Chiang Mai school, named after the King, and they entertained us with a beautiful, traditional Thai dance. In return, we performed an American classic: the Macarena. At the school we formed groups to play a bunch of games with the Thai students and they showed us some of their favorites as well. No face was left without a smile throughout the entire experience and we did not want to leave at the end; they were truly an amazing group of students. We finished the day at a local market, buying gifts for our families and friends, as well as experiencing Thai culture through food and fish feet cleanings.

August 12th written by Jenna Ryan

We all sat for our final meal at the Imm Hotel this morning before we journeyed out to the Thai Elephant Home. Upon arrival, we reviewed our room assignments and quickly jumped right into our first elephant excursion. Everyone was assigned an elephant with their partner that we would ride and attend to for the duration of the trip.  After getting to know our new friends through feeding them sugar cane, we started our trek upon their backs through the jungle. Elephant riding was an innovative way to experience the beauty of the land as we developed a bond with our majestic companions. The elephants received a mud bath from our group at a local lunch stop, and we created clay masks for ourselves. By far everyone’s favorite part of the day was bathing the river with our elephants. We cleaned and played with them in the water, and in return, they lifted us high up on their trucks; an exhilarating first for everyone involved. All in all, our jungle trek was a great introduction to these beautiful creatures and we’re excited to work with them for the days to come.

August 13 + 14

Over the past two days, we began our service projects to really give back to the local community, (and our elephants). Half of us were assigned grass cutting while the other half were assigned dam building.

The hike to grass cutting was long and tiring under the hot, morning sun and we were all dripping with sweat by the time we reached the fields. We arrived at a field full of tall stalks of serrated grass that we chopped down with machetes, (carefully, of course), and tied up into a pile with bamboo strands. The machetes were very easy to use after our Thai staff demonstrated, and most, if not all, of the group members enjoyed cutting the grass for our elephants to snack on.

Dam building was up top of a mountain, where the hike was a straight incline in slippery mud, but shorter than the hike for grass cutting. The group members chopped bamboo to make walls for the dam and filled up bags of dirt to their heaviest point to support the dam. There was a lot of slipping and rolling down the mountain, but none of us are afraid to get our hands dirty.

Even those both of these service projects were extremely sweaty and required hard work, the results paid off and it felt good to give back to the community.

August 15th and 16th

These past two days our service groups took turns going to the elephant nursery; about a 40 minute drive from the Thai Elephant Home. Each group was able to play with the babies extensively as they roam freely around their nursery. Sunday, a baby girl who is only 8 months old, was most definitely a crowd favorite with her playful attitude and out-going, kind heart.

We hiked through the jungle with the group of babies and, unlike our full grown elephants, the babies just wander around and play in the mud, not sticking to the path at all. After lunch, we were able to join the elephants in the pond. Everyone was throwing mud and playing with the baby elephants, smiles galore. We gave the babies a mud bath as well.

When we weren’t at the nursery the opposite day, we were able to sign up for massages at home base. Almost everyone got a massage and they were a great way to wind down after all the work we’ve done this week. Both groups made “medicine balls” as well for the elephants, packed with vitamins and nutrients.

-Jenna Ryan

Day 1

What an amazing day!  First we spent some time getting to know each other & learning about GLA and our program via orientation. Then we headed to lunch at this delicious buffet and afterward we visited some temples. From there we went to Elephant Parade where we painted our very own tiny elephants – so much fun! Then we celebrated Lindley’s birthday after dinner at coffee bus with mango sticky rice & cupcakes!

By: Kelly Urch

July 24, 2017

Today, we went to see the elephants at the Thai elephant hospital and conservation center. It was a really eye opening experience to see the two different conditions the elephants live in. We then discussed how complicated and controversial elephant living conditions are in Southeast Asia, and left the conversation open to learning and growing in our beliefs. Pondering the complex ethical dilemmas of the Asian elephant crisis, we must now weigh new information against preconceived ideas of right and wrong.

X

Sydney Wallack and Alexa McPhee

Hey friends and family!

Today we had our cultural exchange program with the local Chaing Mai Christian School. We started the day off with an opening ceremony where we saw a traditional Thai dance. After, we presented an acapella performance based on the movie Pitch Perfect. Our song was Cups. Half of us sang while the other half did the cup clapping tune. Following, we learned how to do the traditional Thai dance, and how to make flowers that are cremated with the king.

After a lunch at the school and having met many of the younger students, we went to a museum with some of the students our age. The museum presented the history of Thailand, and the Thai students gladly explained more about their country.

Later, we went back to our hotel and watched a documentary called, “The Last Elephants in Thailand.” Shown in a UN movie festival, the movie explored Asian elephants and the toughness of their situation in Thailand. We discussed the ethics of the Thai elephant tourist industry, and ways to improve elephant lives.

For dinner, we went to a Thai mall food court where we could have whatever we wanted! Lastly, we finished up the day with a trip to a night market. Many of us indulged in the fish foot baths and made many purchases.

We have an early start tomorrow since we leave for the Thai Elephant home.

-Lindley Hall and Sam Cohen

July 27, 2017

July 28, 2017

Today was a great day. We woke up early to clean and feed the elephants. After breakfast, we moved onto our very first day of service. One group started building a dam, and the other group cut grass for the elephants. We also had our very first mentor group in which we discussed our first impressions of the Thai elephant home. We finished our day with pesto and chicken for dinner and a competition game of spoons. 

-lily Rotter and lily Harrison

Today the groups were split for morning service. 

Half of the group went to the jungle to collect and make medicine balls for the elephants and the other half went to an elephant nursery. 

We used tree bark, bananas, sugarcane, herbs, rice, leaves, salt, and other ingredients to make a small compact ball to feed the elephants but it was fun.

At the nursery, we played with elephants under the age of 5. We walked into the jungle, played in the mud, and washed off in the river before returning to home base.

Food was good, miss you families, be safe, peace out, *dabs*, *trips*, *stumbles*, *smiles*, thumbs up.

• Amanda Gang, Natalie Bakwin

7/31/17

After the normal morning routine, we once again split into two groups to round off our alternating experiences in the elephant nursery and the creation of medicine balls. At the elephant nursery, we haphazardly pursued mischievous baby elephants in their ceaseless pursuit of food. We then joined them in a mud bathing pit, which initiated a raging mud war between mahouts and students alike. Back at the village, the other group worked hard scouring and collecting a mish-mash of herbs and various plants, turning them into healthy snacks which will enhance elephant health and demeanor. After walking our elephants to the local reservoir like normal, we had our daily games of Ta-kra (a game played by locals combined of hackey sack and volleyball in ways). We finished up our fantastic day with leadership exercises and bonding games.

From the incredible leaders named

Sam Fuller and Miles Roma