Uncategorized

November 15, 2022 by Ashley Welter

Son of a Saint – Ghana Custom Group (November 16 – November 25, 2022)

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

Here are a few things you can expect:

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.
Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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.

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

-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team

BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 17

Day 1 has been amazing! Despite the long flight and jet lag the boys embraced their new environment. After we got to the home base they learned a bit of the culture and some unique things about the Odumase Krobo area. In the afternoon then got time to settle in and get their bearings, take showers and adjust to the climate. They met children in the community who came over to welcome them and they played some football in the compound. As evening approached we walked through the neighborhood so they could get oriented to their surroundings, greet people and take in the shops and goats and homes and friendly faces. After dinner we discussed a few ground rules and sent them off to bed!

They have reflected on how open and warm the children are, how similar and different life is like and are absorbing and observing everything. They’ve maintained a positive attitude. It’s been a great start to this life-changing experience!
More to come.

Debra, International Director

BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 20

Here are some photos from this weekend in Ghana!

BLOG POST FOR NOVEMBER 24

Here are some more photos from this last week in Ghana!

June 8, 2022 by Ashley Welter

Utah: Arches, Canyonlands & the Colorado River (July 8 – July 17, 2022)

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

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

Here are a few things you can expect:

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.
Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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.

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 throughout the program during designated spaces of time we call ‘tech time’. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location. 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.

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

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 8

Greetings GLA friends and family!

We’re here, saying hi, from the ruddy beauty of Moab, Utah! With all of our students having arrived safely, we are excited to get things up and flowing in a few days. Jack (our talented staff member who is finishing up his graduate degree in science education and acting in the role of Mentor), Diana (the International Director who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker from Colorado who primarily works in the wilderness therapy realm) and Mollye (our Local Director who is representing our partner organization, Canyonlands Field Institute) have been hard at work for the past few days organizing logistics, planning curriculum, and prepping our rafts and home base for a great time for our Global Leadership Adventures participants! Everyone here is looking forward to providing service to the community in the form of trail maintenance in the Manti-LaSal mountains, just outside of Moab, followed then by learning more about leadership skills in white water settings! With a staff of 4 professional river guides from CFI who will be teaching us all about paddle rafting, oar rigging, Leave No Trace camping policies, and the intricacies of water rights on the Colorado river, we have so many educational and fun adventures ahead of us. Onwards to fun in the sun!

– GLA students, Diana, Jack, Mollye, and the staff at Canyon Lands Field Institute

BLOG POST FOR JULY 9

Written by By Jared Hobgood II and Chloe Schweizer

Everyday there is a different leader of the day, and every day they wake around 6:20 to wake up the other campers to get ready for days activities. At 7:15 we gather around to wash our hands and eat delicious breakfast. Today was homemade pancakes, bacons and potatoes. Then at 8:15 it is “Wheels up” which means we have to be in the vans and driving off to our destination which was the mountains. As soon as we got there at 9 we were briefed on safety and our tools which were going to be used to clean and clear the hiking trails. At 12:00 we stopped for lunch and looked at the beautiful view.

As soon as we finished lunch we went right back to work. When it hit 2 pm we gathered together and hiked down to a waterfall where we had a 20 minute break. After then we had the troubling hike back to the top then backtracked through the trail, back to the vans where we deposited our tools and then headed back to our hotels and yurt. We had an hour to decompress, then we had a wondrous dinner of pasta and meatballs with a side of leafy greens. Afterwards we played a “get to know you” activity which brought everyone together and more comfortable with each other. Finally we got together for an orientation where we had our questions answered by our staff afterwards we had “lights out.”

BLOG POST FOR JULY 10

Written by Ayaan and Kyan

It was bright and sunny at 6:30 which was good since that’s when I woke everyone up. Breakfast was a hit with everyone as we had breakfast burritos and cantaloupe. As soon as we had all made our lunch (bagel sandwiches). We piled into our vans and headed up and into the Manti LaSal Mountains where we met with a local forest ranger. We then split into three teams of about 6 and set out to clear the brush and widen some trails. While the work was satisfying it was hard and I think it’s safe to say everybody was beat on our way back to camp. After tech time we gathered for dinner which was another hit, (burgers, roasted potatoes and slices of watermelon). As soon as we finished our dish line we partnered up and made some skits about the code of conduct. We finished the day off with our first mentor group meetup where we got to play some games to get to know each other better. All in all it was a fun, tiring and, activity filled day.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 11

Written by Harper and Erik

Today we started off with a very rewarding activity of clearing the local trails for bikers and hikers. We have felt very proud and accomplished when doing our community service hours. Today we completed the final stretch and ended up working as a team in the end even though we had split off in groups before. I have really enjoyed being able to work in different group variations as I have met a lot of new people and had a lot of new experiences. I have really enjoyed being able to help out the local community and learn more about new environments and cultures along the way. After completing our final stretch of service hours we got in the car and drove to the gas station where we were able to spend our pocket money on really rewarding snacks and other good food.

After our incredibly refreshing gas station experience we loaded back up in the car and drove to Arches National Park where we started our hike. We got to learn from one of our Canyonlands Field Institute guides, Brandi, about indigenous/tribal experiences and hear her speak in Navajo. She is fully Navajo, or Dena'ina, as we learned when looking at petroglyphs from 200-400 years ago that were likely made by the Northern Ute tribe. The hike was really draining at first but soon we made it to our final destination which was immensely beautiful and rewarding after the hard work we had put in. Lastly, we ended the day with a picnic at the sunset in the canyons to celebrate all that we had accomplished during the day. Today we put in a lot of effort but at the end of the day I feel very proud for the work that we have accomplished.

We are off bright and early to head to the river. We will be floating from Westwater (aka Loma) Colorado and spend many days floating into Utah. We won’t have cell service or any access to technology during this time, so don’t plan to hear from us! Trust we’ll be having a great time with our GLA and CFI guides and will share a new blog post when we return 🙂

BLOG POST FOR JULY 17

Well, we did it! GLA staff here reporting a successful (and hot) program from Moab Utah. From clearing trails with the USFS in the La Sal mountain range to 5 days of rafting the Colorado river, we had a blast getting to explore some of the natural beauty of southeastern Utah. We cleared brush on some multi purpose trails and had the chance to hike down to an awesome waterfall on one of the last days.

Our local partners at the Canyonlands Field Institute took us through Westwater Canyon which gave us the chance to take on some class 3 and 4 rapids. After that, we spent the day on a few more flat stretches of river that gave us the chance to enjoy some beautiful scenery-cliffs, canyons, and mountains. We reinforced some camp signs along the river and cleaned some beaches of trash as well as another form of community service.

All great opportunities to give back to the people and places that gave us the chance to enjoy the Colorado river. The balance of service and adventure made for an awesome experience for everyone involved, and we're all so grateful to have had our awesome group of students.

Until next year! Thanks from Diana, Jack, Mollye, and the staff at Canyon Lands Field Institute.

Full photo album coming soon!

June 8, 2022 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Island Marine Excursion (July 9 – July 22, 2022)

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

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

Here are a few things you can expect:

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.
Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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.

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 9

Hi GLA families!

We are so happy almost all of our students have arrived safely in Thailand! After very long flights, and navigating new places alone, the students are with us and ready for the adventures and learnings to come.

We welcomed 5 students on Saturday morning (Amelia, Alexis, Allie, Phillip & Teddy) and a further 3 students (Tyler, Elliot & Max) in the afternoon. After a freshen up at the hotel, together we had some Thai food, changed some dollars for Thai baht and had a swim in the hotel pool. We received Alex in the afternoon and some of our students arrived in the evening (Chloe, Ella, Jason & Katie), with 10 students arriving close to midnight! (Matthew, Jared, Bianca, Allie, Charley, Sophia, Molly, Rose, Gabrielle, Gemma). Although tired, they showed positivism and enthusiasm towards the upcoming days! We now only have one student (Aidan) left to come and he will catch up with us in Koh Samui.

Today we had a little time in the morning to start our orientation and learn about Thai greetings and culture before we flew to our first island, Koh Samui! The group has started to bond with each other and share their expectations and hopes for the upcoming days.

We feel excited about having our second student group of the season here, and can’t wait for the adventures, lifelong memories and deep friendships that await.

Warmly,

The GLA team

BLOG POST FOR JULY 11

Written by the leaders of the day: Alexis and Katie

Title: Learning what Koh Samui is about

We started off today, waking up around 6:30am, heading to breakfast at 7:15am. We had a wonderful buffet breakfast and shared a fun morning together before heading to a local school.

We spent a couple of hours teaching English to kids aged 8-12. At school we received the last student, Aidan! It was very eye opening getting to spend this time with these students, and learn how they spend a typical school day. We will hold onto these memories for a long time, as we all shared many laughs, and exchangings of our languages. We wrapped up the school day, saying our goodbyes and going back to the hotel to enjoy some beach time.

Later, we grouped together and planned out our plans for the following day (for the cultural exchange with another school). We then walked to the local market where we ate some great food and did some shopping.

Overall, it was a great second day. We all got to know each other better, and were looking so forward to what the rest of the week has to hold.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 12

Written by the Leaders of the day: Gabby and Chloe

Title: Immersion into Thai Culture

We went to the public high school on Koh Samui immersing ourselves in Thai culture through the local students our own age. At the school we watched a traditional dance performed by the students: Manora, which focused on the dancer’s theatre-like movements, as well as the unique instrumentation. Along with that, we were able to perform our own dance to show the Thai students a bit of the American culture, not quite as impressive.

Following the performances we split off into smaller groups, consisting of a mixture of Thai and GLA students, in order to recognize similarities and differences in our cultures.

This was a fantastic opportunity to realize that although we may live on two opposite sides of the world, we can offer each other so many valuable lessons applicable to our everyday lives.

Even through such a short amount of time, as GLA students we were able to make deep connections with the other students, outlining that in the end we are all just high school students looking to learn, challenge ourselves, and just have a good time.

After we said our farewells to the Thai school, we returned to our hotel where we got to learn about the issues of child begging in Thailand through a debate style. We grouped up and took roles as the Thai government, tourists, and a foundation protecting Thai children rights. This experience broadened our perspective on the responsibility that us as tourists take in protecting Thai children while visiting.

We finished off the day swimming in the ocean, dinner, and simply spending time together. We look forward to going to Koh Tao tomorrow and continuing our adventures.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 13

Written by the leaders of the day: Elliot and Phillip

Title: Koh Tao, Wow!

So, our day started around 6:15 where we grabbed our luggage and gathered around the lobby to drop it off in our hotel on Koh Samui. We then ate a light breakfast knowing that we had a long, treacherous, two hour ferry ride to Koh Tao ahead of us. Due to high winds, we had to wait around an hour at the harbor before our boat could arrive, so we all took pictures, conversed, and even bought snacks from Thai vendors.

Once that hour passed we all boarded the ferry, prepared for the rough ride ahead of us. A lot of us sat on the upper deck where we enjoyed the beautiful views of neighboring islands and talked to other passengers. Others unfortunately had a journey with some sea sickness.

We took pickup trucks to our new resort. In-touch resort is next to a beach and a short walk to a local convenience store. After we got to the resort we ate lunch and then we had a rest period to settle in. After our nap we took to the beach. We saw some cool rocks on the beach but the glass and loads of trash plundered our experience.

Before dinner we split into mentor groups and learned more about each other. After dinner we all took a trip to the convenience store to stock up on snacks. Before bedtime we all went up to a roof to hang out. The views and conversations up there were great and it was the perfect end to our long day. We are all looking forward to learning about marine conservation tomorrow.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 14

Written by the leaders of the day: Tyler and Allie Smail

Title: Big Blue and Big Beach Clean up

We started our second day on beautiful Koh Tao with a delicious breakfast. Once everyone was fueled up and ready for the day of service ahead of us we began our walk to Big Blue Diving Center.

There we met 2 very talented marine biologists and conservation activists, Jade and Ciara. They taught us all about their passion for the environment and for scuba diving. We learned so many things about pollution, diving, and the effects we have on marine life.
After the presentation we ate a big lunch together in the diving center and some of us walked across the street for ice cream. The taste of it reminded many of us of home. Fueled up again we headed for the beach, biodegradable trash bags and gloves in hand. We all took to the polluted beach and picked up trash until our bags were full.

Then the marine biologists helped us organize and categorize the trash into different groups. This way, the center could learn about the types of trash from fishing gear, to styrofoam, to plastic fragments. The bottle caps of bottles we kept to take to a local recycling plant to be made into jewelry. The whole service adventure was very educational and effective as we cleaned thousands of pieces of debris from the beach. After restoring the beauty we properly disposed of the trash and headed back to base camp.

There we showered, and in our mentor groups we discussed the benefits of leadership working with everyone’s specific personality. It was a super engaging experience. I got to learn about my own strength and weakness with my leadership and how we all compliment each other.

Overall it was a very productive day that ended with an incredible dinner and with everyone hanging out on the roof of the hotel.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 15

Written by Molly, Ella, and Milly

Title: Scuba Diving Ko Tao Day 1!
Leader of the Day: Molly

Today in Ko Tao, Ila’s mentor group got the opportunity to scuba dive in two beautiful locations off the coast of the island: Mango Bay and Lighthouse Bay. Firstly, we were split into two groups of 4 to receive a beginner’s course on how to scuba. There we learned how to breathe underwater with the regulator, share a regulator if it runs out, get water out of the mask underwater, equalizing, and how to descend and ascend. Afterwards, we took our skills to the open water where we participated in 2 dives reaching a maximum depth of 12 meters. Following the dives, we jumped off the top of the boat and swam around the picturesque water surrounding Ko Tao. The day ended with a beautiful celebration of Alex’s 17th birthday. A wonderful day in Ko Tao!

Title: Reef Nurseries and Waterway Clean Up!
Leader of the Day: Ella

Today Luismi’s mentors group took part in two service projects; building reef nurseries and participating in a local waterway clean up. We started the day learning about artificial coral reefs and their importance to the local biodiversity. We built the structures used to transfer juvenile coral to a more permanent home. Afterward, we hiked down the coast though abandon hotels to reach a variety of beautiful beaches covered in trash. For the remainder of the day, we restored their natural beauty. We even had some extra time to swim in the beautiful waters of Ko Tao!

Title: Free Diving Ko Tao Day 1!
Leader of the Day: Milly

To begin the day, we ate breakfast at the In Touch restaurant by the beach. We then walked down to the Big Blue hub and this is where we did an hour’s freediving theory with Mark. It was fascinating to learn the activities history, which started 10,000 years ago, where diving was the job of hunters and bankers. Modern freediving however is a sport, the record being 131m down. We tried various breath hold techniques and tested them in the pool. Alex managed to last the longest at 3.30 minutes, which we were all very impressed by. In the afternoon we took a very bumpy ride to a local beach and snorkelled in the turquoise waters identifying fishes and corals. I loved seeing the underwater world and getting closer with my group. To finish there was a pizza party to celebrate Alex’s birthday, an overall beautiful day!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 16

Written by Charley, Rose, and Bianca

Title: Scuba Diving Ko Tao Day 2
Leader of the Day: Charley

Today, we went scuba diving!! We started our day off walking to Big Blue diving where we learned how to do the proper scuba diving procedures. After lunch, we headed to the beach where we took a boat to the diving area. We had a beautiful day on the water where we saw so many beautiful fish and spent an amazing time together. After getting back to the main land, we had dinner and went shopping. This was certainly a day to remember!

Title: Free Diving Ko Tao Day 2
Leader of the day: Rose

We started of our day with a nice breakfast. Then we walked down to Big Blue to begin our day. Luismi’s group was free diving and snorkelling today, so once we got there and bought some t-shirts from the dive shop, we went down to the classroom to start our lesson with Mark. He taught us good strategies and breathing techniques to increase our static breath hold starting in the classroom. Then we used those skills in the nice refreshing pool. We all practiced and improved on our times. Then we met up with the other groups in the restaurant to eat food to be fuelled for the rest of the day. We then took a taxi with Jade and Ciara to a gorgeous beach where we snorkelled and practiced some of our free diving skills while we surveyed fish and the coral. Then the rest of the time at the beach we either lay in the sun, got smoothies, or kept enjoying the beautiful water. After we got back to the hotel we rested up for a while and ate dinner while the sun was setting which was awesome. At night we split up into groups with a mentor and went shopping!! My group was with the new mentor Margarida and we enjoyed looking for bracelets/jewellery and eating some sweet treats. Awesome day on Ko Tao!!

Title: Reef Nurseries and Waterway Clean Up
Leader of the Day: Bianca

Today was hiking day. We started off the day with breakfast then took off for Big Blue. We put together some pretty cool artificial reef structures and learned about coral and the struggles Thailand and Ko Tao in particular face when talking about marine life. After lunch we set off for our hike. The hike was tough and long but once we made it to the pretty water and cool snorkelling it was all worthwhile. After our hike we took a taxi back to our hotel where we all got ready for our massages. We all got 30-minute Thai massages and then headed back for dinner. Dinner was delicious and following that, we went into “town” where we shopped around for snacks and souvenirs to end our day.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 17

Written by Sophia, Jason, and Gemma

Title: Free Diving Ko Tao Day 3
Leader of the Day: Sophia

Today we started off by going to breakfast and then we set off on our walk towards Big Blue. After that we learned about the physiology and mental ability of free divers and we learned breathing techniques to help us hold our breath longer. Our instructor brought us to the pool and we practiced the new techniques we learned during static free diving. Once everyone was finished recording our time, we enter the café where we had delicious burritos. Then all the groups disbursed and we began our journey to the beach where we snorkelled. We saw a lot of cool fish, a baby shark and beautiful coral. Snorkelling is so fun! We went back to the Hotel, had a great dinner and played some games. It was a great day!

Title: Reef Nurseries and Waterway Clean Up
Leader of the Day: Jason

Today we went hiking along a beautiful trail that led us to two deserted resorts along the beach. Here we learned that the two resorts were sadly closed down due to the struggle to keep up with facilities during covid. In the resorts there were many breath-taking views of outlooks of the horizon. While at the beach we went for a little swim accompanied by our dog friend Rusty who joined half way. We also picked up lingering trash that had washed up on the beach and left. There were also many cool rock formations we were allowed to climb. While walking we could see many things such as crabs, fish, and coral. To wrap up our day we went back to home base showers up and enjoyed relaxing messages.

Title: Scuba Diving Ko Tao Day 3
Leader of the Day: Gemma

Today in Koh Tao, Luismi’s mentor group went scuba diving. We started our day with breakfast at 7:30am at the restaurant in our resort. We then made our way to Big Blue where we participated in a scuba theory lesson and skill session in the pool. After lunch, we loaded onto the boat and set off for our first dive spot. We did our first dive at Mango Bay. We dived for approximately 40 minutes before going to our second dive spot where we did another 40-minute dive. We then took a short boat drive back the main Island to have dinner. We had an amazing day of diving!!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 18

Written by Leaders of the Day: Allie and Aidan

Title: Last day at Big Blue on Ko Tao!

We started our day at 7:30 am with a big breakfast provided by our hotel InTouch Resort. Then we made our daily walk over to Big Blue to partake in our last conservation activity with them, a micro plastic survey of Sairee beach.

Once at Big Blue, we immediately headed over to the beach with our shovels, sieves, buckets, and quadrats. The plan was to fill the bucket with water and dump the sand we dug up into it so that any micro plastics would float to the top while the sand sink to the bottom. From there, one person would skim the top of the water with the sieve to catch the micro plastics which would then be recorded on our paper. Everyone was split up into our three mentor groups where each group did the process at three different intervals, 15 meters apart.

After our survey we walked back to Big Blue for an information session, given by Ciara and Jade, on how to continue diving in the future and how to use our social media to further causes we believe in. We ate a delicious lunch at (I don’t remember the name of the cafe), then headed back to the home base for showers and free time.

Once everyone got ready, we began our journey to Nang Yuan Island. We took a quick 10-minute boat ride. Upon arriving, you could instantly see the stunning coral and glimmering ocean waves. Getting off the boat, we set straight for the beach; hoping to successfully see some big fish. Each person had their own snorkel as we all prepared to submerge into the underwater world. The water was filled with electric bright coral, neon fish swerving throughout the rocks, and multiple groups of small fish clustering together. The magical underwater world was breathtaking for everyone. We stayed at Nang Yuan Island for a few hours more to enjoy the beach and the water.

After we left, we were given some more free time to relax and get ready, as we had a big barbecue celebration coming up. Once we were all ready, we left at 6:30 to our bbq dinner as we walked down the beach, taking in the scenery of the setting sun reflecting off the glistening ripples in the passing waves. Walking down the beach, we soon found ourselves having arrived. The music was loud and heavy with rap and a surplus of bass. Still disco lights illuminated the entire area as we sat down waiting to eat. We were quickly given the okay to eat as we were pleasantly greeted by the familiar faces of the big blue diving staff. We all sat down enjoying the food as infectious music continued to blast. After the meal, we were shown a 10 minute video of all recorded footage of our three-day marine adventures. Afterwards, everyone in the room clapped triumphantly as the staff thanked us for our service. We soon headed back to base for a long nights sleep.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 19

Written by Teddy and Matthew

We woke up in Koh Tao for the last time and had our group breakfast before heading for the boat ferry back to Koh Samui. The boat ride this time was a lot smoother and no one threw up this time. We docked two and a half hours later and drove straight to the Elephant sanctuary.

When we arrived the awesome staff at the sanctuary greeted us and shows us the amazing creatures. We then sat down to have lunch and talk about how we can save these elephants from people who take advantage of them. We then were taught how to make there food and feed them. After that some of the group jumped in the mud with the elephants to clean them off and hangout in the mud with them. After all that was done we showered and packed all of our stuff up to head back to the hotel.

Everyone settled back into our hotel after a great day. We all had dinner at 6:30 and after that we participated in a fun activity in our mentor groups. Lastly, everyone had 30 minutes more of free time before going to bed.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 20

Title: Visiting the Temples and Pig Island!

Written by Alex, Max, Jared

We started our day with a delicious 8:30 buffet breakfast . After our meal, we all got ready to head to our first of two temples. The temple had an outlook of the city and multiple Statues and symbols of Buddha.

After learning about the temple, we went to a second one consisting of the Big Buddha (a massive statue of Buddha). The temple also had outlooks of the city. Also, with a variety of shops nearby, the mentors allowed us to go shopping in the local vendors. Many of us bought delicious ice cream and/or smoothies. But there was also a wide variety of things from jewelry to clothes.

After finishing up the second temple, we are all exited to have our mentor, Emily, back with us as well as a student, Elliot. We are glad that they are back with us and healthy.
After picking them up, we all went back to the resort for a quick lunch before getting ready to go to pig island. When arriving, we were greeted with many mama pigs and their babies. After an hour on the island we participated in some team games before leaving the island.

We then got ready for dinner and then ate. Following dinner we went out into town to exchange money and do a little bit of shopping. We were all very tired after a long day so we went strait to bed after.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 21

Written by Bebe

We woke up early in the morning, grabbed our last breakfast in Koh Samui, then headed off to the airport. Our flight was delayed but we finally reached our hotel in Bangkok, then headed off to see Bangkok’s biggest reclining Buddha temple. Afterwards we headed off to our goodbye dinner at a delicious restaurant. Following the dinner we did a closing activity and started to say our goodbyes.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 22

Our last day of the program arrived.. Today and yesterday we said goodbye to our amazing students!

We hope all students have a safe trip home and continue on with a fulfilled life of learning and commitment to make a better world!

We will miss you,

Margarida, Luismi, Emily, Ila, Mai & May – The GLA team

June 8, 2022 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Island Marine Excursion (June 23 – July 6, 2022)

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

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

Here are a few things you can expect:

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.
Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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.

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 23

Hi GLA families!

We are so happy all our students have arrived safely in Bangkok! After very long flights, and new experiences of flying alone, all students are with us and ready for new adventures and learnings to come.

We welcomed Emma early in the morning, and explored a little bit of Bangkok, had some Thai food and walked to a nearby temple. The rest of our students arrived late. However, they showed positivism and enthusiasm towards the upcoming days!

We had an early start today, as we are flying to the first island: Koh Samui! At the airport the group started to bond with each other and share their expectations and hopes for the upcoming days.

We feel grateful about having our first student group of the season here, and can’t wait for the adventures, learnings, lifelong memories and deep friendships that await.

Warmly,

The GLA team

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 24

After an early start today, and despite the jetlag, everyone was more than ready in the morning to fly to our first destination: Koh Samui. In Thai, the names of islands are usually preceded with the word koh or ko, the Thai word for island.

As soon as we landed in Koh Samui, we enjoyed the warm breeze and went straight to our home base to start Orientation Day. After some icebreakers to start getting to know each other, we went over the GLA rules and policies, explored the home base and had the first meal all together: pad thai on the beach. Everyone loved it!

During our afternoon, we had a great Thai culture class with May and Mai, our local directors. We are very grateful to have them on program! We learnt some phrases and cultural norms, which for sure will be very useful the next days. We practiced our communication skills while playing and drawing. Students got excited about the famous swim test, everyone was ready to get into the water! and after passing it with flying colors, we enjoyed some beach time.

When we asked the students about their highlights of the day, they mentioned: trying “authentic” Thai food, learning greetings and phrases in Thai, trying new fruits, having dinner on the beach, starting to know each other, having fun during the activities and games, and of course having a good and deep sleep.

We wrapped the day with a nice night beach walk.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25

Written by our first leader of the day: Jack

This morning we left for a Thai school to help teach the kids English. (A very new experience to me which made us nervous to start)

When we got there, the kids were all sitting down waiting for us to arrive, we like to think they were also nervous for the activities we had planned. Our time there was well spent and we really enjoyed seeing the school and playing games with the kids. We also learned that we, in the United States, are seriously missing out on our school lunches!
After we got back to the hotel we were all praying for AC rooms to cool us off, but first we did another activity to help us connect as a group. We shared objects that were important to us and the influence they had in our life. It was super interesting to listen to those stories and get to know the people around us just a little bit more. My personal favorite part of the day, beach time came next/ The water is so warm here we could stay in it for hours.

We all got to go to the night market tonight to buy food and some gifts for friends, family or ourselves. We loved seeing all the shops and food vendors. There were so many new kinds of food, some that I would think about trying and others that I might have to be paid for. Overall, it was an amazing day and we cannot wait for the rest of the trip.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26

Written by the leader of the day: Mara

This morning we got to sleep in before congregating at the breakfast area.
After enjoying a nice breakfast together, we grabbed a cups of joe and gathered to have a debate. After a riveting debate, that went longer than we should’ve, and cleaning up, we headed to our rooms where we changed into our swimsuits for a day of swimming at Pig Island and touring some temples.

We visited two beautiful Buddhist temples and learned about their religion! Then we made the journey to Pig Island taking a one hour car ride and a boat ride to the island. There were a bunch of very small baby pigs there and also massively fat pigs as well.

We swam until a storm rolled in and then got smoothies while we waited for it to pass. The boat ride home was….. wet to say the least. The wavy water splashed up the sides of the boat and sprayed everyone in the faces, drenching us and our clothes. Everyone was soaking wet when we got off except for Kai, Ben, and Jack who were sitting on the front end of the boat. When we got home it was 6:30. Everyone had an hour to shower and change for dinner where we did our reflections on the day and had a wonderful dinner (as always).

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 27

Written by the leader of the day: Ben

We started our day by waking up a little earlier than usual to make our way to the Koh Tao ferry. After arriving on the island we got a ride down to our new rooms and did a short group leadership activity. For the activity we were told to choose 10 core values and then narrow it down to our 3 most important ones. Afterwards we all had cashew and pineapple fried rice for lunch. Next, we took a small boat to Ko Nang Yuan, a tiny island to the north of Koh Tao.

On the island, there were three small land sections, each connected by a single beautiful sandy beach. The first thing we did when we got to the island was take a short hike to the top of one of the hills. By the time we got to the top everyone was soaked with sweat but I think I can speak for most people when I say it was worth it. Standing on top of some rocks gave us an incredible view of all of Ko Nang Yuan and the bright blue ocean.
Once we made our way back down to the beach we finally got the opportunity to snorkel in the water. After around 30 minutes of snorkeling we heard there was a small harmless black tipped shark in the water. Most of us saw it in the water and a few followed after it. Around 30-45 minutes after that it was time to leave the island so we took a boat back to Ko Tao.

We were greeted with delicious fruit smoothies and waited on the beach until dinnertime. After dinner we did another icebreaker group activity and most of us ended the day by hanging out on the beach and listening to music.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28

Written by the leader of the day: Kai

We began the day with a much later wake up call than what we’ve been accustomed to lately and I think it was a very welcomed change by the group considering how quickly the conversation began at breakfast compared to the other days.

After getting prepared for the first day of our conservation efforts with Big Blue we set off on our way to the facility just down the road. On the way we got to observe the various shops and their animal staff members that dotted the island while also dodging the oncoming traffic which consisted of only mopeds.

Once we arrived to Big Blue we were given a tour of the facility by Jade the marine biologist who ended the tour by ushering us into a small classroom with AC to help us all cool down. She then went on to explain the program and its many goals of ocean conservation, research, and education. Once the lesson was over we went to the cafe that was literally 10 feet away from our classroom for some lunch. Once our stomachs were full and our shopping needs from the merch shop were met it was time for the real work to begin. We set out on our beach clean up determined to fill up our (incredibly large) trash bags with unwanted plastic that had been abandoned. After much time and many liters of sweat we were satisfied with the amount of trash that we had collected. Once we returned to Big Blue we found out that we had collected 56 pounds of trash in just the short amount of time we were out there.

With this accomplishment in mind (and a well deserved AC break) we headed back to the hotel to get some personal time followed by a dip in the ocean. Finishing off the day with a delicious dinner and a bit of high wind and rain, I think it is safe to say that it was a very fulfilling day.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 29

Written by the leader of the day: Devin

Today started on a good note with a well earned rest after yesterday’s big day of beach cleaning. After a delicious breakfast which consisted of many American and non American dishes we headed for big blue dive school. After a quick walk and many stops to look at the scenery we arrived.

Once in the air conditioned classroom we met a soft spoken man named Mark. Mark is the freediving instructor and even though big blue is a scuba based conservation program Mark taught us everything he knows about free diving, even without the help of a flat screen TV. We learned many breathing techniques and safety measures to keep us happy and healthy whilst diving in the open ocean.

After an hour in the classroom we were set loose to get some hands-on experience. After a brief moment of bliss in realizing we were about to get in the pool we focused on remembering everything that Mark had taught us. Many of Mark’s lessons were centered around relaxation and focus. After 3 rounds of timed breath holding, 3 of us were able to safely hold our breath for over 2 minutes.

After our exciting training session we headed over to the cafe for a mouthwatering lunch which included potatoes, meat curry, bread, and rice. After about an hour of jumping between eating and debating if the kitten that wandered into the cafe or Mrs. Woofington was cuter we headed back to the classroom.

After a quick lecture on different types of fish, turtles, and sharks we headed out to a beach on the other side of the island. Whilst there we got to practice what we had learned with Mark. While diving we saw many different types of fish including angel fish and a spotted eagle ray.

One of the most exhilarating experiences was being able to swim with baby black tip reef sharks. The puppies of the sea.

After quite a few hours out in the water and some amazing pictures we headed in and had a quick snack of bread and peanut butter which we learned is considered a delicacy here in Thailand.

After our snack and a quick ride back to the hotel we did an activity that helped us to learn our strengths as leaders. After our informational activity we had many options of Thai style pizza. The night ended with shoutouts and a reflection question. We are now onto a good and long night’s sleep.

BLOG POST FOR JUNE 30

Written by the leader of the day: Eva

This morning we were back to our regular earlier breakfast. Then we warmed up for our hike with the usual 12 minute walk to Big Blue.

There, we met with two of our Big Blue mentors and got into trucks that took us to our hiking destination along the coast. We started along an abandoned resort with a very quiet beach. After bouldering on some voluptuous rocks, and exploring the paths around the deserted rooms, we continued hiking. We stopped at a few different small beaches throughout our hike, and got to see very nice views while walking.

We got back to our home base just after 11am and had an hour of free time before walking back to the restaurant next to Big Blue for lunch. Many of us made friendship bracelets while we sat, and then we were served scrumdidlyyumtious thick burritos that made us extremely energized when we went into the chilly classroom where Jade taught us about scuba theory. She talked over the basics of scuba as well as an overview of coral and how to identify it while we dive tomorrow. Before we left, we slipped into some scuba vests and flippers to find our sizes.

After our lesson, 5 of us went to get a relaxing Thai massage while the other 4 of us got ice cream and had some free time together at our home base. We ate dinner and then did a reflection activity about where and what we’re from. We ran into a humongous pregnant huntsman spider on the sidewalk to our rooms. Then, we were let go pretty early tonight to rest for tomorrow’s scuba diving, which we’re all pretty excited and nervous for.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 1

Written by the leader of the day: Skyler

This spectacular day began with our usual early breakfast. Shortly after, we took a short walk over to Big Blue to meet our diving instructors, Fiona, Rob, Bucky and Jade. They then led us through an introductory diving course in the small outdoor pool. In the pool our instructors showed us how to use our diving equipment and some necessary skills. After learning the basics and getting used to the buoyancy, we all went to lunch.

When everyone was finished, we set out for the beach. There we would take a small boat to the much larger diving boat (Enzo). From there it was a short (although rocky) ride to mango bay, our first dive site. On the boat, our instructor, Jade briefly showed us some of the different fish we would encounter during our dives. She also showed us the hand signs to use for not only the fish, but to give us instructions and directions. One example being a thumbs up in the water and that meant to ascend. We learned that communication when diving is essential for numerous reasons. Among those reasons are safety and enjoyment. Those were our main two, as most of us were first time divers.

As soon as we reached Mango Bay, the group began to prepare for our dive. We put on all of our equipment and checked our dive partners equipment as well. After these checks were completed, it was time to get In the water. All the first time divers were a bit nervous, but I think it’s safe to say our excitement overpowered any worries.

The dives were absolutely stunning. It felt as though we had stumbled upon an entirely new world of coral and sea life. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful under the waves, a welcome change from the chaotic waters above. After our first dive we were surprised with the opportunity to jump off the top of the boat that all of us took. Following our brief swim break, we were taken to our second dive location (Japanese Gardens) which was just as beautiful, minus a bit of visibility.

When we returned to our home base after a day of diving, we were greeted by our new mentor Emily and had a delicious dinner. We then finished off the day with a short reflection and some well needed sleep.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 2

Written by the leader of the day: Emma

We started the day with a tasty breakfast at 7:30 am. We headed back to our rooms to pack up and get ready for the busy day. We then walked to the Big Blue building and reviewed some eco reef theory. Jade, our instructor, taught us the importance of building new reefs. Then we all broke up into groups to build reef trees out of pipes. These trees will be placed in the ocean to stimulate reef growth.

We then took a much needed lunch break. Most of us tried out smoothies and yummy desserts while making friendship bracelets and chatting. Our next activity required the groups to create and present infographics advertising shark conservation. Big Blue hosts an event called Swim for Sharks every year to raise money for sharks in danger of finning, bycatch, climate change, overfishing and more. Our infographics will be shared to educate the public about the consequences of human activities on shark populations.

Next we went on shopping sprees at the market to buy presents for friends, family, and ourselves! We all had to take advantage of the cheap prices and variety of clothing styles. We all gathered back together in the afternoon to see our upgraded rooms. We relaxed for about an hour then regrouped for a special goodbye dinner with the Big Blue members. Jim was one of said staff members and he had filmed us throughout the week. Tonight, we finally got to see the final, edited vlog after dinner.

To wrap up the day, the gla group walked back to our base and did a fun reflection activity. First, we taped paper on our backs, then everyone wrote one verb on each other’s back to describe how the recipient has been a leader. This activity helped us understand that different people may perceive different sides of us. It also taught us our personal strengths and areas we can improve in as leaders.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 3

Written by the leader of the day: Aiden

Today started with another early breakfast. It would be our last day on the island of Koh Tao After shortly eating breakfast, we hopped into trucks and drove back to the pier.

Shortly upon arriving at the pier, we all waited to board the ferry. While waiting, we enjoyed our last views of the island of Koh Tao. After getting on the ferry, our group sat on the top floor. The only problem was the incredible loud horn that was only a few meters away from our faces. After ensuring none of us would ever hear again, the journey began. Overall, it was quite uneventful. Some of us read, talked, or listened to music together while the wind tried its best to knock us off the boat.

When we arrived at the island of Koh Samui, we jumped into vans and drove over to our hotel. We had to go quickly, because we were supposed to get to the elephant sanctuary shortly. This meant we only dropped off our stuff, then got back into different vans to go see some elephants!

When we arrived, the sanctuary provided us with a wonderful lunch. While the people working there gave us lunch, it was up to us to give the elephants lunch. We used our hands to squish together various fruits, rice, salt, and other beneficial ingredients for the elephants. After constructing their lunches, we got to go feed the elephants. We fed them many buckets of watermelon and I personally didn’t think they would ever get full. Eventually, we ran out of food for them. As was customary, after lunch the elephants took a walk. We got to watch the elephants strip leaves off branches while on our walk.

After this was our favorite part, the bathing. In order to help keep the elephants cool, they had to wash them quite often. Today, we got to help clean two of them. We first grabbed a hose and sprayed the elephants while working to cover them in mud. The mud would help cool them even more. After that, we moved to a deeper pool and swam with them. While they were swimming, we sprayed each other with the hose, mostly on accident, and used brushes to clean off the elephants. All the while the light Thailand rain fell from the sky. I can say with quite certainty all of us will remember this day forever!

After all that excitement, we went back to our hotel and new rooms. All of us took showers and prepared for dinner and the shoutout circle. This only left one activity/reflection about our service before we went to bed. After another long yet fun day, we all retired to our beds to get enough energy for tomorrow.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 4

Written by the leader of the day: Skyler

This day began with our usual early breakfast. Not long after some great food we were driven to a Thai international school for a cultural exchange. At the school, we played sports and chatted with the year 10 students about our day to day lives. It was super interesting to learn from kids our age about their unique experiences living in Thailand. Although just getting to know them was fun, we also played both soccer and basketball. I think it’s safe to say they crushed us in soccer, but we got them back in basketball. We all had an amazing time even though it started raining. Actually, we might have had more fun when it started raining because it was a welcome break from both the sun and the heat. To finish up our time with the students, we all ate some well deserved pizza.

After we said goodbye to the students, we came back to our home base and had a quick swim break. Since we couldn’t decide on hanging out in the pool or swimming in the ocean we just split our time between the two. it was a lot of fun!

Next we all took some well needed showers and met back up to discuss our pledges. These pledges are goals we set for both ourselves and for the group. Together we decided that we would stop using plastic bags and plastic straws, in favour of reusable bags and metal straws. Our individual goals ranged more, but everyone seemed intent on keeping their pledges.

To finish off our day, we ate dinner and did a short beach clean up. Since it was night time, we brought out our flashlights and headlights. Although our clean up was short, we filled all of our bags with trash (at least 8 bags). After finishing, we were all super tired and went up to our rooms to pack and sleep In Preparation for the next day.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 5

Written by Emma

The early risers of the group were in for a treat this morning with a 6:45 wake up call. Though our call time was 6:45, many of us woke up much earlier to pack up our things for the trip back to Bangkok. After dropping our things at the lobby we headed to breakfast.

Once we finished a filling buffet style breakfast we hopped in the vans and headed for the airport. At the airport we checked in and headed to our gate. We were greeted with a pleasant surprise which consisted of iced hot chocolate, coconut cookies, mini meat pies, and other delicious snacks/drinks. After waiting for a little bit we boarded the small plane on route to Bangkok. After an hour we touched down safe and sound in the BKK airport.

Once we collected our luggage we went downstairs to a small area of the airport which looked like food courts you’d find in an American mall. We explored for a good chunk of time and once we had decided what to buy and found a table we took our time eating our delicious, yet very spicy, meals.

After our lunch, we drove for a couple hours to Bangkok and explored a popular temple. We learned about its history through its large murals and statues. I’m sure we all loved the unique architecture and the decor displayed. When we finished the tour, we had a long drive to our hotels with a lot of singing.

Once we arrived, we got ready for our fancy goodbye dinner and had a tasty meal together for the last time at a local restaurant. We then drove back to the hotel in our VIP vans and did a leadership activity to show our appreciation to each other. We socialized for a bit before saying goodbye to Aiden who left earlier than everyone else. Then we all went to bed to get a good night’s sleep so we would be able to wake up early the next day at around 3:30 am.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 6

Our last day of the program arrived.. Today we said goodbye to our amazing students!

It has been a wonderful experience for all of us!

We hope all students have a safe trip home and continue on with a fulfilled life of learning, values and commitment to make a better world!

We will miss you,

Emily, Ila, Mai & May – The GLA team

June 8, 2022 by Ashley Welter

Thailand: Elephant & Education Initiative (July 17 – July 30, 2022)

PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM

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

Here are a few things you can expect:

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.
Blog updates sent on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
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.

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

Sa Wa Dee Ka (Hello) from Bangkok!

As the sun was just rising this morning, we were on our way to Suvarnabhumi Airport – excited to finally meet our brilliant students! They have already proved themselves to be courageous and intrepid young leaders – travelling all the way around the world to make it to Asia – and we’ve only just begun. We’ve certainly got a brilliant 14 days ahead of us!

First to land was Shayla, bright and early, and followed not long after by Anastasia. Later on in the morning, we were joining by Meredith, Isabel and Tatum – and with the morning group complete, our early arrivals checked into their rooms and headed out to try the local fare in a mall next to our hotel. First authentic Thai food (and yummy Thai tea!) In the afternoon, both Pce and Alexis were dropped off to the hotel by their families, who are travelling in Thailand whilst we are also on our program! This evening, we met Alexa, Serena, Shaina, and Kerri – who were all equally excited to tuck into a tasty Thai supper before bed – and finally, our night owls made it! Maya, Jack, Sam, Margot, Deidra, Courtney, Ellie, Cameron, Isabelle, Bodhi, Aaron, Toby, Chance, Sadie, and Julia, came through after midnight, and were very happy to make the short drive back to the hotel for some much-needed rest!

And with that, our team was complete! We head back to the airport tomorrow morning after breakfast, ready to make the journey to Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand, where we will spend the next coming days getting to know our peaceful leafy-green surroundings, and importantly each other.

Thank-you, parents and families for entrusting your amazing students with us. We cannot watch to watch them build friendships, grow their leadership potential, and be agents of positive change within Thai communities over the next coming weeks. Stayed tuned!

Khop Khun Ka (Thank-you)

Caroline Jane Green – International Director

BLOG POST FOR JULY 18

Greetings from Chiang Mai,

Sabai Dee Mai? (Hope you are well?)

It’s Day 2, and adventure awaits! Today, we continued our journey, and made our way to the North of the country.

We said goodbye to our Bangkok hotel, and travelled in a convoy of four vans (three for students and staff, one for luggage!) back to the airport. After checking in for our internal flight and heading through security and to the boarding gates, we flew into Chiang Mai, and landed just before lunch. Chiang Mai is famous for its beautiful ancient temples, old walled city and striking mountain ranges that envelope the area. Centuries back, it was part of the Kingdom of Lan Na (which translates as “Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields”) which is now present-day Northern Thailand. We are so excited to be exploring our new surroundings over the next few days!

After a delicious lunch of dim sum buffet (a real brunch favourite across the region), we travelled to our beautiful Homebase to get settled in. The afternoon was spent kicking off icebreakers and group games – helping students to get to know each other and establish friendships, – and running through all of the GLA essentials that will enable our group to stay safe, happy and healthy whilst on program. A fantastic cultural immersion followed, led by our Local Director Natchanan “Kate”, Chanisara “Pare”, and Game “George”. Our brilliant Thai team and mentors guided the students through one of the most interesting and crucial aspects of the day during the orientation – understanding the culture and customs of Thailand. In particular: helping students practise how to do a Thai greeting called a Wai to other people – with hands together in prayer position and head slightly bowed – and also how to speak some key Thai phrases!

Kate, Pare and George took us all to dinner in the evening…and it turned out, students were in charge of cooking their own and the cooking school! After being introduced to the concept of 5 key taste flavours in cooking – sweet, salty, sour, spicy, bitter – and how to achieve balance between all of them for maximum deliciousness, students threw themselves into tasting everything new and mastering their skills in the kitchen. We cooked up a storm, with a welcome snack, spring rolls, sti-fry, Thai curry, and fried banana. Families, definitely get your brand new masterchefs to cook for you when they return home!

With bellies full, we drove the short distance back to the homebase, ready to debrief the day and head to bed, to dream of more delicious Thai snacks!

Day 3 awaits – our dive into the culture continues tomorrow with meeting the schools our students will be teaching English at, along with a market tour, and our education service-learning preparation. Look out for more stories and tales from Thailand!

Wai jur gan, (take care)

Caroline Jane Green – International Director

BLOG POST FOR JULY 19

It’s Day 3 – but it feels like we’ve been here for weeks already!

Feeling refreshed after a proper night’s sleep, students were up early this morning, ready to learn more about what’s in store for education – and elephants! – on our program!

We kicked the day off with activities for students to get to know their peers, by exchanging their thoughts on what their hopes and expectations are for the program, and what they are most excited for. We introduced students to the mission of GLA and vision for building young leadership potential, and the importance of service work within the communities we are lucky enough to be guests of.

Later we were greeted by Todd Cikraji. Todd came to Northern Thailand as a US Peace Corp volunteer, and loved his time here so much that he never quite left! Todd is deeply rooted in Chiang Mai, fluent in Thai, and works as a teacher at an International School. Todd is also the founder of friends for Asia, an organisation that specializes in ethical service learning and volunteering opportunities for foreign volunteers – he and his team are instrumental in facilitating our cultural activities and enriching connections with the local communities. Todd gave our students a deep dive into the world of teaching – helping students understand the skills needed to educate others in a foreign language (as well as how to tackle challenges of classroom management!)

Next up, it was off to Warorot Market, a famous morning market in Chiang Mai filled with delicious food (of course), herbs, spices, and flowers! Students toured around in groups, sampling new tastes, textures, and flavours – whilst flexing their newly-acquired language skills to buy souvenirs and presents.

This afternoon, we dressed in our finest attire (to make a great first impression!), and visited the local public primary schools that our students will be teaching at over the next three days. Taking time to tour the campuses, meet educators, and understand the curriculum the Thai children are currently learning was incredibly helpful to put everything into context.

It was back to Homebase in the afternoon for rest and relaxation – including, after our swim tests, a much-needed rejuvenating pool dip. After dipping into a delicious buffet of Northern Thai food for dinner, students continued to plan for their upcoming lessons; prepping resources, and practising their activities and lessons. All in all, another busy and enriching day.

We’ll officially be handing over to the Leaders of the Day from tomorrow! They’ll be taking charge of coordinating and motivating fellow peers, as well as writing back home to you all. We are looking forward to them sharing their stories about life in Thailand!

Laew jer gan (see you soon)

GLA Thailand Team

BLOG POST FOR JULY 20

Written by Shaina Belle (one of the Leaders of The Day)

Hello families! We had an eventful day today. First, we went to a local primary school where we taught the kids different things such as colours, clothes, and animals! The kids were very happy to have us and so full of energy! We got to play with them for a bit during recess before going to our next destination.

Our next destination was a Thai international school. They performed a traditional Thai dance for us and we performed a short dance to the song; “Party In The USA”. We got to make different traditional Thai crafts out of banana leaves, dress in traditional Thai clothing, try different Thai food and even learned a traditional Thai dance. The students at the schools were so very kind and fun and showed excellent hospitality towards us. We made a lot of new friends at the school and had an awesome time!

Afterward, we headed back to the home base and did a group activity to discover what type of leader we were. After that, we did a few more group activities and prepared ourselves for teaching the next morning. This was definitely a fun and interesting day and we all learnt a lot.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 21

Written by Alexa Scarlett (one of the Leaders of the Day)

Another great day spent in Chiang Mai here with GLA! Today, we had an early morning spent back at our designated schools where we taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. After a well-spent morning, we had the chance to head back to home base where we got ready for Muay Thai boxing. The class was a great energizer that left us ready for a calm evening spent back at home. After plenty of swimming, planning for the next school day, and relaxing, we had a chance to reflect on our day as a whole before some last-minute planning and downtime. Overall, it was another wonderful day here in Thailand and we hope you have a chance to look at some pictures!

(note from GLA staff team – our final arrival Carson Rein also made it out to join the team, a few days later than planned but exciting nonetheless. Welcome, Carson!)

BLOG POST FOR JULY 22

What a wonderful day today in Chiang Mai! After an early start and a delicious breakfast, the team split in two and headed off in the rain to our respective schools. There, in groups of 3 or 4, we created different stations for groups of the students to attend. In these stations the students played various games like Red Light Green Light, and Duck Duck Goose with an educational twist, while also connecting and bonding with our GLA students.

After nearly 3 hours of this (plus a break for lunch and AC) we demonstrated how to make sandwiches for the school, and taught them some sandwich-making vocabulary. Then it was time for a heartbreaking goodbye (with more than a few tears shed from myself and others), and we were yet again shocked with all the love and positivity the kids brought to our interactions.

We arrived back at home base for an afternoon of relaxation and fun, swimming and chilling, and lots more. After dinner we reflected on the part 3 days of teaching and the incredible impact we had on the childrens’ lives.

Later, our INCREDIBLE leaders of the day (Toby, Deidra and I) organized Toby’s amazing idea of a name game to make sure we’re all connected and know each other’s names. Then it was tech time and lights out to the end of the day. See you next time!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 23

Written by Cameron Epps, Sadie Smith, and Margot Hartley, (Leaders of the Day)

Today everyone awoke to their shoes scattered around home base and an enthusiastic musical wake up call. Breakfast was served and we headed out to see some elephants for the first time! We met with a vet and learned about Mosha the elephant (she’s famous!). Then we went to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center and visited their museum where we did a fun “scavenger hunt.”

Lunch was next! We had Khao Soi and Italian Soda. After that we went to the elephant parade and painted our own elephant sculptures. From there we went straight to the WuaLai Walking Street market. We could buy our own dinner as well as some great souvenirs. But, surprise! It started pouring rain. Everyone had to take immediate shelter and throw on their raincoats. We all made it back to the vans and made our way to home base for the night.

Tonight, we have to pack to go to the Karen Eco Lodge in the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Miss you all but not really because we are having SO much fun!

Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don’t let the mosquitos bite 😉

BLOG POST FOR JULY 24

Written by Maya Bateman and Julia Cohen (Leaders of the Day)

Today we left homebase and drove to the elephant sanctuary in Mai Wang. We stopped at 7/11 on the way. Once we arrived at Karen Eco Lodge we unpacked into our new rooms. We proceeded to a delicious lunch with a beautiful view of elephants. Afterwards we took an offr-oad ride to the elephant sanctuary. We had fun blasting music in the trucks. At the sanctuary we learned all about different species of elephants. We got to interact and measure the elephants. We then created posters and presented what we learned. Before leaving we got to feed bananas to the elephants. So fun!!

Once back at Eco Lodge, we got some free time to explore the area before dinner. Dinner was a mix of rice, chicken, pork, assorted vegetables, watermelon, and fried bananas. After dinner we did some leadership activities. We took initiative and created a trio acro yoga challenge. Everyone enjoyed attempting to recreate the moves. We ended our night excited for another day with the elephants!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 25

Written by Courtney Urbanek, Pace Jenkins, and Ellie Viemont (Leaders of the Day)

At 6:30am some of us kicked off the day with a morning run. Then we all met for breakfast before we left for the elephant jungle sanctuary. Once we arrived, we walked with the elephants around the large grounds of the sanctuary. Afterwards, we did a short hike to a waterfall and then headed to lunch.

After lunch we crossed the river and split up into small groups to plant Napier grass for the elephants. One person on a team dug a hole, another planted the grass stalk and another buried. We did this for a couple hours before trying some fresh star fruit and heading back to homebase.

We finished up the night with team building games, free time, an elephant documentary, and some of the group went on a walk to look at the stars before turning in for an early night.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 26

Written by Anastasia Wood (one of the Leaders of the Day)

Today was a more relaxed day with the elephants. After having breakfast, we walked down to the nearby area where elephants live. We were given wool shirts, and fed the elephants with three big baskets of bananas. Once the baskets were emptied, we spent a while walking around with the elephants, watching them eat and taking pictures. Once lunchtime came around, we had spaghetti, fries, and fruit, many of the students were very happy with the choice of food.

Afterwards, we mashed up fruits, salt, and leaves into balls full of nutrients for the elephants. Everyone took one of the balls and fed them to the elephants. Then, it was time for the elephants to go into the river. Everyone (including the elephants) went into the nearby river, and the students were given buckets to throw water on the elephants. It ended up in everyone getting splashed. To our surprise, we then had to go into the mud pit with the elephants to toss mud on them. It was pretty gross. Everyone washed the mud off in the river first, and then we went to the showers to better clean ourselves. Sadly, this was the last time we’d be at that elephant camp, so we walked back to homebase.

We had free time for a while before we were called. We watched an informative video on captive elephants, and later we started doing more research in preparation for the debate that would come after dinner. The debate was on what the best solution to the current issue of how we should treat captive elephants, and everyone was assigned a different position to argue for. The debate lasted over an hour, and many good points were raised. After that, the day was over.

BLOG POST FOR JULY 27

Written By Izzy Linder, Bodhi Nelson, and Alexis Walker (Leaders of the day)

Today we woke up at the Karen Ecolodge and packed our bags to head back to Chiang Mai. After feeding the elephants for a final time, we drove to 7/11 for a much-needed snack run!

We visited two temples and learned about Buddhism. A bunch of group photos later, we travelled back to our original homebase (Chotana Villa), got new rooms, and settled in for the next few days. Dinner was pizza which everyone went feral for and may have been the highlight of the day. Finally, we played “finish the song lyric” and had some free time before bed. We’re looking forward to the final memories on our trip. See you soon!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 28

Written by Serena Belle, Kerri Campbell, and Carson Rein

Our final day in Chiang Mai was definitely one to remember. Everyone awoke to the sound of Christmas carols in the middle of summer!

After a typical breakfast we filled into vans and headed to an intuitive and insightful conversation with a Buddhist Monk at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University. Following that, students embarked on a riveting adventure to Doi Pui Village where students were given the best lunch ever; Khao Soi, and provided time to do some last-minute shopping at a local market. Then the students got their steps in… quite literally because they walked up a whooping 306 flight of stairs. At the top they were rewarded with a magnificent view of Chiang Mai and the stunning sight of Doi Suthep. After that they simultaneously stumbled down the steps (not literally) and proceeded to do more shopping before climbing back into the vans and heading back to home base.

They went in the pool, played games, had a coordinated dance party, and then participated in an appreciation circle. In the circle the young leaders were able to reflect and thank their peers for their existence. What a wonderful day that was.

Your finale leaders of the day,

Carson, Serena, and Kerri

BLOG POST FOR JULY 29

Written by GLA Team

After a big day of sightseeing in Chiang Mai, students said goodbye to this wonderful city and their homebase of Chotana Villa. They boarded a flight to Bangkok for the last leg of their journey. Once they were settled in the hotel, students got lunch at the Robinson Lifestyle mall and got some last minute souvenirs. They then traveled to the heart of Bangkok while admiring the skyline along the way.

Students explored the magnificent Grand Palace while learning about it’s storied history. Afterwards, they visited the wondrous Wat Pho and it’s incredibly large lying Buddha. The night ended with a rooftop dinner overlooking the Bangkok skyline as the sunset on another great day!

BLOG POST FOR JULY 30

Written by GLA Staff Team

It’s departure day…. we can’t quite believe it! The Land of Smiles is certainly feeling bittersweet. We are smiling from time spent with these wonderful students, sad to see them go, and excited for their incredible next steps in the world.

From 3am starts, to parents collecting students in Bangkok,all the way into the evening with our last airport trips at 8pm, it’s certainly been a busy day of meals, check-ins (and some mega long baggage queues!), not to mention high fives & hugs goodbye. Safe and smooth travels, everyone!

14 days ago, our students arrived…excited, nervous, tired, perhaps a little apprehensive, and maybe even unsure of themselves. Today, our young Leaders are forever changed by the incredible experiences they have had, and the positive impact they’ve made within communities here in Thailand. It may have only been two weeks – but they’ve made memories that will last a lifetime. Thank-you for bringing your full selves to this experience – as well as your dedication towards service projects, and not to mention so much laughter and joy. The best of luck for your next steps, everyone…. we can’t wait to see you BE THE CHANGE!

From Caroline, Kate, Neha, Pare, George, Connor, Margardia, & Matt