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 JUNE 24
Dear families and friends,
We’re so excited to be joined by our students today! They flew from all over the United States for this incredible experience. After everyone was accounted for and settled into our beautiful home base, we did a walk around the center plaza to see the festivities for Inti Raymi (Peru’s national holiday). Our local director, Mateo, explained some of the traditions and history of the architecture. Students have become fast friends and one more addition is on the horizon (our final student will be joining us at the end of the week). While we anticipate her arrival, we’ll begin our public health and medicine journey. Tomorrow will be a super busy day. Stay tuned to hear more about it!
Cheers,
Courtney, Mateo, & Amber
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 25
Written by Anya Berg (Leader of the Day)
Dear families and friends,
Today was the first day we were properly able to explore Cusco and some of its wonders! After a morning reviewing the GLA Code of Conduct in order to ensure our safety during the trip, the local director, Mateo, made an amazing guide; pulling interesting information off the top of his head to enrich our experience. We also had our first visit to a money exchange, a new and interesting experience for many of us. When we got back to our home base, after an opportunity to warm our-freezing-selves, there was a local Chaman who walked us through a “Payment to the Earth” ritual, or as it’s called in Spanish a Tributo a la Tierra. We got to witness firsthand an Incan tradition that, hopefully, brought us all luck for the rest of the trip.
I won’t bore you with details on what we ate, but rest assured, it was delicious!
Tomorrow we will be seeing the difference between the rural and urban parts of Cusco, something we are all super hyped for. It will overall be a super busy day. Stay tuned for more updates from our team leaders tomorrow…
Hasta luego!
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 26
Dear families and friends,
Today was the second day of activities. After a rough start of the morning due to waking up late (Claire woke us up late), we ate breakfast and left for a reality tour of the areas we will be working in throughout Cusco. On the tour, we learned about how the healthcare and education systems work within Peru. In different regions of Peru, there are typically only a few hospitals with hardly any doctors and nurses, and even less specialists. There are not many resources and these are scarce around rural areas, causing a decrease in the amount of readily available medical attention. This is similar to the Peruvian education system. According to Matteo and Victor from MedLife, students and teachers must travel a great distance in order to learn and teach. Additionally, most teachers live in Cusco, so it takes a great deal of effort for them to get to the schools. The elementary school that we visited was built by the village and has only two classrooms. These two rooms are for the students of the surrounding area. Ultimately, today was a very eye opening experience and hopefully this will help us when we start our service.
Until tomorrow,
Maxwell and Claire
P.S. (from Amber, GLA International Director) I know families would like to see more photos from home base. Students would like to get a group photo at breakfast tomorrow (with hopes of waking up on time) and maybe some selfies in their rooms.
Also would like to explain some of the attached photos. After the reality tour, students had the opportunity to see some of the regional animals at a wildlife refuge. The Andean bear, parrots, monkeys, condors, and the crowd favorite of course, the llama. After a much needed rest period at home base, Maxwell and Claire lead the group in some fun leadership building activities including “The Human Knot”, “Ha-Ha”, and an attempt at flag football in a small yard. They were creative with their problem solving solution, which made for a good laugh session for me.
This evening, we shared our “Roses, buds, and thorns,” the highs, looking forward to’s, and potentially “could’ve been better” moments of the day, followed by a restful evening watching The Emperor’s New Groove. Students were able to point out some of the Quechua words used throughout and relate to their experience in Peru. Excited for more memories this incredible clan will continue to make together!
BLOG POST FOR JUNE 28
Written by Cara and Natalia
Hello loved ones,
Today was a super exciting day, our first day of service!
We began with a 6:30 wake-up call, but some decided to stay in till 7:15 for some extra sleep time (yes, we are looking at you Connor and Max). We ate a delicious breakfast (mostly bread/cheese/ham sandwiches)(thanks Cara and Caroline) and headed out at 7:45 with our new GLA family members, Alejandro and Maya. The bus ride was loooooong and, after many naps (we are looking at you Claire), we arrived in Pisaq. Everyone began the walk to the house, hands full of paint buckets and brushes. After meeting Senora Maria, we got quick to work sanding and painting every wall. By the end of our time in Pisaq, Senora Maria was left with a beautiful new paint job (including a heart-shaped Peru flag and hand-print flowers)(shoutout Emilia and Caroline) and a big smile on her face.
We arrived at home base around 3:00 and quickly got ready to head into town! While walking around Cusco, everyone bought a little somethin’ somethin’ to take home, thus the hat crew was formed! This group ranges from rainbow llama hats to fuzzy wolf heads (see pic below). We also stopped by a cake shop to buy our dear Sofia a birthday cake (HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOFIA!) and some snacks (for our ‘Taste Peru’ vlog segment that is to come).
Upon arrival at home base (again) we had a delicious dinner (spaghetti and meatballs (some just noodles…Auden)) and prepared for the birthday celebration. Alejandro and Maya helped carry out the cake while the birthday girl and Angelina (feel better!) watched as we sang. Everyone ate cake and it was a happy rest of the night!
Covid updates: no recent positive tests and everyone is being very diligent with their mask-wearing!
Until tomorrow- yours truly, Cara and Natalia
