THAILAND – Cultural Kaleidoscope – June 23

June 23, 2017

Throughout the day 29 students from Greece, the UK, China, and the United States arrived in Chiang Mai. With droopy eyelids and a lot of luggage we settled into our home base for the next two weeks. There is much to do, see, learn, and eat in the coming days, but first SLEEP! Let the adventure begin!

June 24

We had a busy first full day in Chiang Mai. After some orientation and acculturation activities we left homebase for a massive Thai buffet followed by a tour where we saw the first and the biggest temples in Chiang Mai. We then got a tour of a local food market and took a cooking class. Our culinary endeavors paid off! It was a great way to fight through the jet lag. We can’t wait to see what Sunday brings!

June 25, 2017

Leaders of the Day:

Hunter, Phoebe, and Rhi:

From the perspective of people who have led before, leading our own peers caused us to become more mindful and compassionate. Having more time at home base gave everyone an opportunity to branch out with new people. The encouragement for new people to sit together became an obvious success at dinner. This positively changed the atmosphere and helped those who hadn’t spoken yet open up and become more comfortable. The light-hearted ice breaker activity we ended the day with created a fun atmosphere to end the day on a happy, positive note. Although we all came to be in Thailand it seemed like we all came to be with each other. This is our new beginning, this is our GLA.

June 26, 2017

After a day of experience , our teachers were able to build strong bonds with their students as well as each other. We were able to accurately observe our classes and adjust our lessons to give the students a fun and informative experience with GLA. Following a long day of difficult but gratifying work, we took out our stress rather unconventionally with a traditional Muay Tai class. Despite a few of us having to extra push ups, we were able to connect with friends and family at an Internet cafe. We finished up our day with a couple rounds of broken telephone and learning a traditional Chinese fan dance from our Chinese students. Though we were tired from a long day of teaching and punching we finished the day feeling like celebrities amongst the students signing countless autographs and being surrounded by so much love and positivity. We really look forward to continuing our work with the students as well as out Cultural Exchange tomorrow where we will be performing Party In The USA and The Cupid Shuffle.

Today leaders were Gianna S. Millie and Lily

June 27, 2017

Today was our first day of teaching at school and we faced challenges such as adapting our lesson plans from our expectations to what we had actually encountered. Teaching at the school required patience, creativity and tons of communication. Leadership wise, we encountered the conflict of being split into two different schools and having to adapt with leading large groups of people on our own. Once we got back to home base, our tasks were mostly participation oriented. The group as a whole gradually broke out of their shells as demonstrated in our closing activity in which we had to pass a ball without our hands. Despite only being here a couple of days, as leaders we found ourselves bonding with the group and utilizing our creative thinking skills. Leading was easy with a group that was so respectful and understanding.

June 28, 2017

Leaders of the Day: Jaden, Kendall, Sam

Sawadee ka/krap (Hello)! Today we had a cultural exchange with a local private high school. They prepared a traditional Thai dance with music performed live with traditional Thai instruments. They set up stations for us, revealing their culture. They had stations conveying Thai culture, including traditional Thai instruments, desserts, flower making, and religion. As group leaders, in the past two days we prepared for them a traditional Chinese fan dance, the entire group sang am American song (Party in the U.S.A.) and danced the Cupid Shuffle. We all felt learning Thai culture from kids our own age was very rewarding.

6/29/17

What’s shakin’ bacon? Quinna, Carmo, and Amanda (your leaders of the day) comin’ in hot and spicy from Chiang Mai. Today was out last day of teaching at our schools. We had a squiggalicious time with the kids and we’re for sure going to miss them. Working with the kids has helped us become patient, responsible, and inspirational role models, and we couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.

After lunch we had the chance to learn about Buddhism from a monk. it was a fascinating opportunity to expand our awareness of the Thai culture that we’re been a part of for the past wonderful week. Circle

Later that evening we took part in an activity call the Appreciation circle. It was really touching ( no pun intended) to realize how close we are as a group even though we’ve only been together for a week.

Quinna, Carmo, and Amanda peacin’ out from Chiang Mai, ready for week 2!

June 30th, 2017,

-Gianna R., Crystal, Simon

Today started early, as all of us needed to prepare for English camp, which is an activity for the school kids to have fun with English. Saying goodbye to the people that we spent the past week with was hard and tears were shed, but we know it was for a good reason. We made great connections with extremely kind Thai children and we exchanged small gifts. Our large American dinner downtown afterwards was a nice surprise and it was thoroughly enjoyed. Then we explored the amazing night market, seeing big crowds and beautiful products all around. We enjoyed Thai daily life a little more today. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Hey, It’s Liola, Kevin, and Olivia. Today we were able to cross out riding an elephant off our bucket lists’ at Thai Elephant camp. We started camp off right by meeting and feeding our elephants sugar cane and bananas. we crossed the river on the back of our elephants and took an hour and a half hike into the jungle. Once reaching the top, we stopped for a quick pad Thai lunch while the elephants bathed themselves in the mud. GLA joined the mud party and covered ourselves in clay just like the elephants. The clay is good for your skin! We finished our day by hiking down to the river and giving the elephants a bath. The elephants were so happy they sprayed us and gave squishy kisses. We quickly rinsed off and boarded the vans for home base. Everyday is a new experience and we can’t wait for another one in Thailand!

Sunday, July 2nd

Today was INCREDIBLE! We got to experience a whole new part of Thailand, as we went to the top pf a mountain and visited a tribe village and a stunning temple. Though it took 306 steps to reach the top of the Doi Sutherp temple, the views and the experience were so worth it! we could see all of Chiang Mai from the top. Displaying breathe taking views. Later, we took a short trip to the Hmong Hill tribe village. The village was so homey and small, so we could see how close of a community they were. The traditional dress was very intricate and and an interesting thing to see because often times, we don’t get to see this kind of culture in our home countries. In the evening we went to another night market that displayed many different lands, people, foods, and art. All these different experiences give us more of an appreciation for the trip we are so lucky to be on.

L8r g8rs

July 3, 2017

Leaders of the Day: Grace & Alexa

Today we split into two groups to go on different adventures. One group went to discover the jungle in Ahakha Village and got to eat various foods. The next group went to a food market tour and experience new Thai snacks/desserts. We walked around and shopped a little. After we met up at Art in Paradise 3-D Museum. We were all fascinated by the 3D paintings. Then we went to the one place we’ve been waiting for, Thai massages. Spending an hour stretching our bodies in weird positions, the experience exceeded our expectations. Gathering in the vans we went home where we relaxed and ate dinner.

July 4, 2017

Today was a day that we are sure none of us will ever forget! We had the chance to bond with our friends while flying through the jungle zip lining. It might have seemed a little scary at first, but all of us found a little piece of our wild side. After zip lining, we had the chance to make a positive difference in the world by planting some trees. We finished off our day by getting together as an entire group and learning a little more about the interesting and beautiful lives of our mentors. Although we are sad that we only have one more full day together, we are fully prepared to have the best day so far!

Jack and Korbin

July 5, 2017

Our goal today, as leaders of the day, was to make everyone remember the positive traits of all the people that joined us on this life changing and eye opening experience. Some of us visited the Ahkha Village while others toured the Warorot market. Then we went to lunch at Tesco and were able to re-unite at the cafe, where we did our surveys. The evaluations allowed us an opportunity to think back on the amazing times we spent on this awesome trip. At the end if the day we spent a wonderful time having dinner on a dock and chatting as a group for the last time. Since we had dinner outside of home base, we were still able to do shout outs, which made many of us openly emotional. Overall we achieved our goal of ending this divine trip with an activity that made us all reminisce on the great adventures that we were privileged to experience in the past two thrilling weeks.

-Thank you GLA,

Flora Bourdeau and Angel Lee

July 6, 2017

We bid a bittersweet farewell to 29 lovely students. We learned a lot from them and really enjoyed witnessing their growth throughout the last 14 days. The last two weeks were not without their challenges, and we hope that when students reflect on their experience they will see their curiosity, perseverance, and resilience as skills they can use for many years to come. It was a true pleasure to have them all in Thailand on the Cultural Kaleidoscope program. Safe travels home and get some sleep!

Paz, Gurdip, Jessica, and Max

THAILAND – Cultural Kaleidoscope – June 23 – July 6, 2017

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