The Young Leader

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Preserving Nature’s Wonders – Letter to You

To my dear friends from Preserving Nature’s Wonders in the Galapagos this summer,

I can’t believe it’s already been a few months since our adventures in those magical islands ended. I can still taste those sweet, fresh oranges we ate off the trees by the dozen in Campo Duro as well as the delicious flaky croissants America brought us from the bakery every morning on Isabela Island. Every time I see the moon start to get full I’m reminded of our nights spent on San Cristobal Island lit only the moon and stars (and then I here Scott’s campfire stories….ring…ring…)

This past summer was truly amazing. The natural beauty of the islands far exceeded my expectations; swimming with penguins and sea lions, sunbathing with marine iguanas and fending off the “Beach Master” are memories forever imprinted in my mind. And all the hard work of our students went directly to preserving that natural habitat. Our digging, weeding, and cleaning at Campo Duro, though at times tedious, proved more than fruitful as the first ever giant tortoise nest was laid by one of the resident tortoises! Wilfredo and the staff at Campo Duro were more than grateful for GLA’s hard work. Wilfredo decreed that all GLA students will be the godparents of any baby tortoises that come out of the nest at Campo Duro.

The hard work that every single student put in this summer reflected a labor of love of our natural world. The endemic plants we left to grow up in the highlands of San Cristobal will remain as a testament to the impact of our work to preserve the Galapagos’ natural state. We were able to experience life in the Galapagos firsthand through massive rainfalls, rough seas (those boat rides!), the long walks, and even water shortages helped us all to understand true day to day life of Galapaganians and appreciate the conveniences in our own lives at home.

You should all know that you left the Galapagos Islands a better place than when you came and I think it could also be said that many of us experienced a life-changing experience from our trip. Thank you for helping me make awesome memories in a wonderful place. I will never think about the Galapagos without thinking about Hakan, Fabricio, Crystal, all the other wonderful local people we met and stayed with and also each of you.

I hope you all are adjusting back into school and life at home and I hope that you’ve been able to share your memories and photos with friends and family at home.

 

Thank you for all the wonderful memories,

Liz

Galapagos 2014: Preserving Nature’s Wonders

 

Don’t just relive your summer abroad. Experience GLA in a whole new way next summer, in a country you’ve never been to before. Then check out Liz’s favorite memories below.

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Liz’s Recollections:

  • The view from the top of the Sierra Negra volcano on Isabela Island
  • Being covered in volcano mud on the way down from Sierra Negra
  • Making homemade marmalade over an open fire at Campo Duro
  • The drastic improvement of my soccer skills over this past summer thanks to all the practice
  • Our circles of trust and sharing while out on the islands
  • The roughest boat ride EVER and all the pukers!!
  • Planting my own baby tree on the highlands of San Cristobal
  • Fabricio’s scary stories….
  • The amazing food from our beach barbeque

 

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Building Healthy Villages – Letters to You

Dear GLA-ers,

I hope you’re all doing well and missing Ghana as much as I am… it feels like an age ago already!

It’s for times like now that I wish I’d kept a diary. Those good intentions soon went out the window once we got stuck in and busy, but there are definitely some amazing memories which will always stay with me. Most of all, I remember meeting so many passionate individuals who got stuck in every day and made my job one of the best around.

This doesn’t even begin to capture all of my highlights, but here are just a few:

* “that is not GLA approved”
* “you’re crying as you’re filming it happen”
* Richard the goat
* Star-gazing during mentor groups and capturing those elusive shooting stars

* Dance-offs and the total take-down of (I mean friendly competition against) Children of Africa
* Shaking your bum-bum
* Epic volleyball competitions…as long as I was on the sidelines

* “Psychologically, emotionally, emphatically”….you guys remember the rest!
* The World Cup complete with vuvuzelas and face paint
* “What makes the grass grow? Blood, Blood, Blood”

* Massage circles
* The most epic Capture the Flag game in history. Fact.
* Brett’s extraordinary and rather premature death
* The Ghahaca and Kesha face paint at the football tournament

* BOB! ….and Bobby and the Shelbs
* Afika beach ale? (Ewe for ‘which way to the beach?’)
* “Every body sing Hallelujah!”
* Completing six toilets which will offer over a 100 people access to improved sanitation facilities.

Thank you once again for such an incredible summer. Not sure how anything else is quite going to top it!

Much love and plenty of clicking handshakes,
Charlotte, International Director

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Don’t just relive your summer abroad. Experience GLA in a whole new way next summer, in a country you’ve never been to before. Then check out Local Director Dougal’s letter below.

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To my dearest friends from the Building Healthy Villages programme,

I hope you are all doing well and your muscles are still bulging from all that building work you did with us! It has been so quiet at Meet Me There since you guys left us, the energy and the buzz you all brought was truly awesome and greatly missed!

I’m sure you will all be extremely happy to hear that all the toilets you helped us build are all being used very well. Baloteli and Jasper are currently even building two more toilets but definitely not at the rapid speed it took with you guys assisting us!

Getting to know you all on a personal level and seeing what incredibly intelligent, passionate, caring individuals was definitely the highlight for me personally! I know you will all go so far in life making such a positive impact on the world we live in. Seeing you grow and settle in to our community and way of life so well was also very cool!

I am so please that some of you have already started helping us with fund raising ideas and spreading the word of our work! This is the whole idea and vision for Dream Big Ghana, you are not just guests that come and go but you are family who will be for ever welcome to stay at our home and be part of our work!

Any way, I hope school is going well and you are enjoying life hopefully with a bit of a new perspective on things! ! Remember to stay up to date on our work and progress through our facebook page! I wish you all the best for the rest of the year and hope to see you all soon! Meet Me There is always here for you!

 

Big love and stay strong!

Tigo/ Dougs

 

Don’t forget to experience it all as if it was the first time with a new GLA summer adventure! Then check out Tigo’s favorite memories and relive the experience all over again.

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Dougal’s Recollections

  1. Lying on the beach watching the magical shooting stars
  2. Tricking everyone nearly every meal time on what was being served! You are all far too gullible!
  3. Watching the Ghana vs Germany game and getting far too excited with some very creative face paint on! Franks was definitely the best!
  4. Seeing you all looking so cool in your African finest on the last night!
  5. Seeing friendships blossom between you and our incredible staff!
  6. Watching everyone getting soaked when carrying water on their heads!
  7. Charlotte’s malicious head butting challenge on me in the football tournament.
  8. Seeing you all grow in so many ways as the trip went on.
  9. The dance off and John shaking his up his bum bum!

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