PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Austyn & the Hawaii Team
Hello to all of our favorite GLA Hawaii girlies!
It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since you all were waking up in your cabins to the sound of crashing waves, roosters crowing and Abbie squealing at Camp Olowalu. We had such an amazing time with you all swimming in the ocean and waterfalls, playing beach olympics (where you all got impressively competitive!), diving into the bluest ocean water and watching those dolphins give us a show, learning about Hawaiian culture from all of our amazing speakers and service partners like Ua and Auntie Nettie, and crushing it at the Kipuko Olowalu, Habitat and Lahaina Resource Center service projects! You all brought so much enthusiasm, curiosity, compassion and love to each other, the staff and all of the people you interacted with in Maui, and we are so lucky that we had each of you as a part of that magical group of students. We hope you carried all of the perspective you gained from this beautiful island back home with you, and that you are continuing to grow into your full leadership potential each day. Remember-change is made through intentional, small actions and engagement in meaningful relationships over time. I can’t wait to see how you all continue to make real change in your own unique ways. Keep spreading your Aloha and know that I am cheering you on always!
-Austyn/mom
Hey Abbie, Audrey, Cynthia, Elizabeth, Ella , Giselle, and Schuyler
How’s it going gang? I can’t believe how much time has passed since those amazing 10 days in Maui! I hope you have brought all the lessons and memories from the trip into your everyday life. Now that some time has passed I want you to think of the biggest takeaways from our time together. I also hope that you all are working towards the group goal we had set on our final day together in Maui. I wish you the best of luck in all your future adventures and continue to live your values to the fullest!
Aloha,
Charlie
Heyyyyyyyy Lucy, Chloe, Lexie, Genesis, Cayla, Allie and Jay,
It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since our unforgettable days in Maui! Reflecting on that time fills me with immense gratitude for the experiences we shared.
I encourage each of you to take a moment to contemplate the journey you’ve been on since then. What insights have you gained about yourself as a leader? In what ways have you positively impacted your community? As we move forward, what aspirations and goals are you setting for the future?
I hope you are all doing well. I miss each and every one of you deeply and hope the impact of our time together is still alive. May you continue to channel that energy to do good in your communities! May your paths be filled with success, growth, and fulfillment.
With Lots of Love,
Tori 🙂
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
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
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BLOG POST FOR JULY 21
Today we woke up and got together for breakfast. After a lovely meal from Jake, we piled into the vans and headed to our hiking spot. We got out and had a great hike through the Forrest/jungle and traversed a small river. We eventually ended up in a clearing where we all picked tea plants and watched as Ua made a ley for us with some ferns. After we took pictures with the fern crown, we all lined up to do some hula dancing. We learned a few different moves that we will be using on the luau night! On the way back we stopped by the river and some of us got in and used a special plant to clean off the dirt.
After that, we went to a park and sat down for some caesar raps (thanks jake). Then we got back into the van and blasted some great songs on our way back to the grounds. Once back, some of us took a swim test and then the rest of us joined for a swim afterward. Before we swam though we played a few name games and did our shout outs and announcements. We all showered after swimming and hung out making bracelets and walking the beach until dinner and then we had groups to discuss leadership and what a leader is.
-Schuyler & Lexie
BLOG POST FOR JULY 22
Today we went to do service work & learned so many cool new things! we helped remove invasive plants to make room for new ones we will plant later and learned about a lot of plants. how some water themselves during the night and othered the leaves turn red and that shows the sharks are nervous. we even had a chance to learn how to make leis to take home with us. we also had a guest speaker who talked about how we may think of the time we are in now as bad but people also thought that during their time and how we grow over time. we needed the day with a awesome activity talking about how important the land is to the natives.
-Lucy & Cynthia
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Written by: Giselle and Jay
Today was a full day! We started off with breakfast of 7am and then headed off on The Road to Hana. Our tour guides Kea and Gus/Gustavo, drove us to Hana, making stops at cool places along the way. During our first stop, we did a bit of sight seeing where we saw the ocean waves crashing into rocks and many sea turtles we initially thought were rocks! Some of us even got an up-close look at a sea turtle on his own sunbathing!
Our second stop was Auntie Sandy’s for some fresh banana bread straight from the banana plantations. Everyone got to get a taste and most everyone went back for seconds, thirds, and even fourths, it was so good! There were more crashing to see as we ate our banana bread at rest stop. There were also a few local vendors.
Our third stop was a bit of a surprise stop at a small local jewelry shop. Everyone checked out the jewelry and many of us got rings, bracelets, and necklaces.
We continued on to find a waterfall which was our fourth stop. It was freezing! It also started to rain and the rain was freezing as well. We got a chance to swim behind and around the crashing water. The cold was honestly refreshing.
We got back into our vans with wet clothes and continued on to our next stop, the Black Sand Beach. The name was a little misleading as the beach was black but there was a lot more rock/stone than sand. This one was the group’s favorite stop! The waves were huge and the water was so salty.
After the beach we headed back to the vans and stopped at a chocolate farm.
We tired some handmade fresh dark chocolate and saw a fat pig named Chanel. And got to give her some snacks before it started to rain. After this we started to head home on our long car ride and we went through the 356 turns on the road of Hana. Some also napped on the long ride home.
After this adventure we showered and had some Chinese food for dinner and ended the night with some trivia on the things we learned today.
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
Starting off the day, we had pancakes, eggs, fruit, bacon and yogurt for breakfast. Shortly after, we went on a drive to a Habitat for Humanity house to prep for painting by filling in holes and putting in the flooring. The house was to be given to a native family of five who needed the extra help affording a place to live. We then ate lunch at the scene and chatted about our day. At 3:00 we left to go back to camp where we showered off a hard day of work and got ready to relax. Shortly after we reflected on our day in a “chow circle” and ate a dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad, and bread rolls. To end the day we played trust games with an engraved message surrounding healthy communication skills.
-Cayla & Abbie
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
This morning we woke up at 6:30 and went to breakfast at 6:45. We had acai bowls with granola bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and honey. We left to go onto the bus at 7:30 to do service across the street where we picked weeds and planted seeds. We ate lunch at the creek where some of us went swimming! We then stopped at the convenience store and bought snacks for our movie night later tonight. We stopped at our home base to pack for our hiking trip which was the Hoapili trail. It was 5 miles roundtrip, we saw the ocean views and lava rocks. We then went back to home base where we ate hamburgers, hot dogs and Mac and cheese for dinner. We ended our night by watching Moana on the big screen.
-Allie & Audrey
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
This morning we got up and went to the Ritz Carlton and watched a documentary on Hawaiian history concerning colonization and the annexation of Hawaii. We learned about the continuing decline of “pure Hawaiians”, how natives are forced into poverty, and the integration of western culture with the spirituality of the Native Hawaiians.
After the documentary, we were allowed to ask questions to Uncle, the supervisor and showrunner of the documentary. We learned that most pure Hawaiians now come from Ni’ihau, a private residential island, and that by 2044 it’s predicted that no pure Hawaiians will exist.
After our education exploration with the ritz Carlton, we retired back to our campsite and indulged in our cook Jake’s delicious lunch which included salad, chips, and barbecue (thanks Jake!).
Then, we set off for the Lahaina Recovery Center, where Aunty Nettie orientated us on what we were doing which involved moving boxes, labeling, setting up showrooms, etc. These items were donated to help families that lost everything in the Lahaina fire last year.
We helped those like Uncle Jojo move toiletries, chandeliers, extension cords and more during our time with the recovery center, which we participated in for the next few hours.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a pizza night, then to close the night off we met with our mentor groups to discuss the different leaders and organizations we’d done service work with, their different leadership styles, whose were most effective, what we learned, and our overall thoughts of the experience up to this point. Then, we called it a night, and everyone’s excited to go snorkeling with each other tomorrow!
-Elizabeth and Chloe
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
We started off the day with getting ready to go on the catamaran which we had breakfast on. When we got to our snorkeling destination they taught us how to put it on and the signals when we’re out on the water. As we sailed through the ocean we stopped somewhere to snorkel. We swam over a sunken pier and discovered a multitude of sea turtles. Everyone hopped back on the boat for some sun bathing at the front and sightseeing. Soon enough we stopped again to jump into the Pacific Ocean. We were able to open our eyes under water and see 150 feet of nothingness underneath! As we were sailing back, a pod of dolphins was swimming right next to us. After many videos and photos were taken, we finally returned to home base.
The next activity was beach olympics! Three teams were made and the fun began! Competitiveness ran high as we played many fun games, one of which included building something to represent what takeaways we have from the service we did.
Lastly, we went to the luau! They had all included four course meal and any drink on the menu, my favorite was the pulled pork. Our waiter Uncle Tim gave us surprise drinks if we asked. As we ate they had live music and dance. The dances were recreated stories of Hawaii, like the beginning of agriculture and the fire goddess. Some dances honored the past kings and queens. We also had a moment of silence for everyone who lost everything from the fire. They’re using the money from the luau to donate towards helping to build back what was lost from the fires. At the end we had a farewell dance which they hoped we come again.
Ella and Genesis 😘
