TIME CAPSULE LETTER
Written by Isadora
Dear students,
Do you remember all that we’ve gone through? We spent just two weeks in Thailand and we’ve all grown so much. Do you remember all that we experienced together? We spent time learning a new culture, enjoying the wildlife, connecting with new friends and of course, becoming better leaders.
We are wondering how you are all doing? Months have passed by and we came here to remind you of the huge positive impact you’ve had in Chiang Mai and on the community there. You made such beautiful connections with all of the kids who had the opportunity to learn more of the English language from you! Thanks to all of you we were also able to contribute and donate to support and improve Thai Education!
We bet you all miss feeding and bathing elephants, going out for thai teas, shopping at local street markets, exploring temples, being treated like rock stars, eating pad thai, having fun with all the friends you’ve connected with…and of course, the really hot weather and cutting grass! Hahaha just kidding. I know many of you don’t miss that part, but we all learned that taking care of elephants for sure isn’t an easy job! We are all glad we had the unique opportunity to learn and contribute to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary and its very welcoming community.
Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
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.
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 after activities are completed to have with them through the night. Actual tech times and regularity will vary greatly by program location and time zones. 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.
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 19
It’s been a packed full first day for us! We started this morning with a delicious breakfast followed by a small intro about the staff team and the entire group, where we learned more about where everyone is from and why they chose this program. Afterwards, we had a program orientation to review the rules, schedule, and learned more about the local Thai culture. Mentor Taylor led us in an evolutionary rock paper scissors tournament as well! And this was just the beginning of the day!
For lunch, we ate a hearty meal of Tom Ka soup, fried shrimp, rice, fruit, and stir fried vegetables.
Next, we went on a walking tour around Chiang Mai where we learned about the history and visited a variety of temples. Of course, we made a stop for Thai tea along the way.
For dinner, we got to cook our own food at a local cooking school! Each one of us got to make our own stir fry, mango sticky rice, curry, and soup! It was a delicious way to learn about the culture and experience the local ingredients. It was a lot of food, and we had so much fun!
After that we were just sooo ready for bed!
We will keep you guys updated!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 20
Written by Brooke, Mia, Jake
Hello GLA family and friends! Today we started our day by eating breakfast then going to off pray to the spirit house (a dedicated structure to honor the guardians of the land and to protect the house from any harmful spirits). After the spirit house, teacher Todd taught us strategies for the Thai classroom, and fed us Thai snacks 😌
Then we hopped in the vans to go a lovely Thai noodle place for lunch. Next we took the bus to visit the local elementary schools we will be teaching in, and saw all the excited kids and the Thai schools.
We then returned home to work on our lesson plans for tomorrow and enjoy some free time by the pool. We ended out day with a yummy dinner and an introduction to our mentor groups. Tomorrow we look forward to our first day teaching and a Muay Thai lesson!
From,
The leaders of the day – Brooke, Mia, Jake
BLOG POST FOR JULY 21
Hey everyone!
Today was a packed day with our first day of teaching. We got up bright and early to eat some breakfast. After a hearty meal, we made our way to the schools.
Once we got to the school, we were able to watch the opening ceremony that the students do every morning. We then split off into our teaching groups to teach English lessons.
After all of the hard work, we let off some steam by playing games with the kids and ate some lunch!
Then, we headed over to a Muay Thai studio where we learned the true craft of Thai boxing. It was a lot of hard work, but a great workout!
After we finished, we made a quick stop to grab some refreshing boba! Then, we headed back to home base and relaxed in the pool. We had some dinner and planned our teaching lessons for Monday. We also got to dance in a rain storm!
Stay tuned for more exciting Thailand adventures!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
Written by Charlie, Talei, and Sienna
Hello Everyone!!
We started off the day today by going to the first elephant hospital in Thailand. We got to learn all about the injured elephants and what the hospital has done to help them. One specific elephant, Mosha, had the first ever prosthetic leg for an elephant. We got to see where all of the fake legs were made to help all of the amputee elephants.
Later after the visit we went to an interactive museum showing the evolution and uses of the native elephants. After a brief lunch, we went to go feed and touch the first elephants of the trip!!
When we got back to homebase, we were all super tired, but once we heard we were going to the night market, we all got excited. The night market was filled with tons of delicious food and Thai collectibles. Elephants pants were a very popular item people bought. Everyone had such an amazing time and we were all so excited to come back and sleep. Overall this was a very active and exciting day!
-Charlie, Talei, and Sienna
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
Written by Lauren and Anessa
Yo Everyone,
We are back again from Thailand. we had a phenomenal last day of teaching with the amazing students. We played games and performed dances all while celebrating our fantastic teaching experience.
After school we made our way to the Warorot market. We experienced authentic foods and clothing. Some of us even bought baby turtles that we then released into a pond (their fate with the koi fish is unknown).
Back at home base we had a fantastic fruit party prepared by P’ Aun where we got to try things like dragonfruit, mangosteen, and passionfruit! We ended off the night with another yummy dinner and some time with our mentor groups.
Tomorrow we are headed to the elephant camp! Wish us the best of luck!
Lauren and Anessa
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
Written by Layne and Sam
Hello All!
Today was a great day! We started out with breakfast at our home base at 7am and finished getting all packed out and ready to transfer home bases! We started the short road trip to our next home base at the Karen Eco Lodge. We made a quick stop at a 7/11 where everyone got the options to buy snacks and treats for the next few days adventures.
We arrived at the next home base around 11:30 where we got roommate assignments And unpacked a little. We then headed to the elephant camp where we had some lunch and got to learn all about elephants from a vet: like what they eat, how tall and heavy they are, and all about the differences between Asian and African elephants. We then made our way back to the new home base where we got a rest hour until our first group activity.
Later, our next activity was talking about leadership. Everyone defined leadership among their own words. After some ping pong, we had dinner. Sitting and gazing at the mountains was peaceful to say the least. We are truly appreciating this experience!
After our daily “chow circle” we ended off on a tired note, having a tiring but, exciting day. We are ready for more excitement tomorrow!
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29 & 30
Written by Dayne and Julia
Hey everyone, today was a very eventful day! We went back to the elephant sanctuary and learned how make nutritious supplement bowls to help aid in the elephants digestion. After we made the supplements we fed it to them. Everyone enjoyed the elephants noises of excitement. Soon after we fed the them we hiked over to a small pond where we bathed them. We also had some fun by splashing each other. After the bath we went over to the mud pit and slathered the elephants with mud as well as had a mud fight. After all of that we took a break to rinse off and eat some delicious pad Thai.
After lunch, we drove over to a river where we bought souvenirs, swam and relaxed by the water. It was a much needed break from the heat! As we were headed back to home base, the local staff surprised us with a trip to a coffee shop! Soon after, when we got home, we relaxed for a bit and played hide and seek.
As we only have a few days left with our new friends, we’re making the most of every activity! Thanks for reading!
Written by Gabi & Kaycee
Hey everyone,
We started off the day at Karen eco lodge and had a late breakfast which we all loved. we packed out bags and went to go say goodbye to our elephant friends and the mahouts. we fed the elephants their favorite snack (bananas) and then we were on our way back to our home in Chiang Mai (chotana). we all un packed our things and wrote our letters of affirmations for each other, then got ready for our goodbye dinner.
once we were all ready we celebrated Lauren’s birthday and then went to the boat to have our goodbye dinner. we had some delicious food and made amazing memories. we went home and and played some games and exchanged our letters of affirmations. we all jumped in the pool (some of us still in our dresses) and had the best time.
Til next time. we will all miss Thailand, we made the most amazing memories and can’t wait for the next GLA adventure.
