PROGRAM PHOTO ALBUM
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 posts 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 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 22
สวัสดี! ยินดีต้อนรับสู่เชียงใหม่! (Hello! Welcome to Chiang Mai!) 🇹🇭
Our arrival in Chiang Mai was filled with excitement and warmth. The staff (Kasia, Zak, Fai, Keds and Meen) greeted and welcomed the students at the airport with traditional flower necklaces called phuang malai kala kala. We then traveled to our beautiful hotel, which was adorned with golden elephant statues. After settling in, we enjoyed a delicious lunch featuring green curry, stir-fried mixed veggies, spring rolls, rice, and dragon fruit. It was our first taste of Thai food, and most people enjoyed it!
In the afternoon, we visited the Firefly Factory Cafe, a fun coffee shop with immersive digital art displays. The colorful and interactive artwork added a unique touch to our coffee/tea break, where we enjoyed coffee/tea and slices of cake. The cafe was a great place to relax and chat before heading back to the hotel for a rest. Dinner that evening was another tasty Thai meal, and we were excited to pick up our last student from the airport, completing our group.❤️
We ended the day with a group picture and a name game to start learning each other’s names. The excitement for the upcoming adventures was clear, and we were happy to have everyone together. Tomorrow, we’ll kick off with our orientation, and from then on, the students will be sharing their experiences through this blog. Stay tuned for more from our trip in Chiang Mai!
With love🥰,
Kasia & Zak
BLOG POST FOR JULY 23
วันผจญภัยครั้งแรกของเรา! (Our first adventure day!)
During the morning, we had a rich breakfast with many different options. Some students slept in but eventually everyone got to enjoy the selection of high quality rice, watermelon, freshly baked bread, the famous Pad Thai, sausage and a delectable soup.
We had orientation to go over the program and get to know each other better. We learned some Thai in order to help converse with the locals and the yes’s and no’s for cultural etiquette.
After orientation we visited an award winning restaurant with the best food imaginable, with unique drinks and mouth-watering food. After eating, we took pictures and then left to visit the famous ancient temples that even the royals use. We prayed to Buddha, took photos, learned about the religion, admired the scenery, and visited three different temples.
Later, we had a rest at a café where we socialized and enjoyed refreshing drinks. Then, we proceeded to our cooking class. First, we visited the markets to choose the herbs and ingredients, and then individually cooked our delicious meals. We each had our own options to choose from for three different courses and were guided step by step through the recipe by Sue, an excellent chef. Some people touched their face with chili on their hands and faced the dire consequences of pain and sorrow while they desperately and dramatically experienced a burning misery (this is an extreme exaggeration, everyone is ok.) 😛
Finally, we drove back to home base and got some rest. Tomorrow we will see elephants for the first time! Good night! ราตรีสวัสดิ์
Sincerely,
Milly😛 & Elijah☺️
BLOG POST FOR JULY 24
บทนำเกี่ยวกับช้าง (Intro to elephants)
Sawadeeka!
We started off the morning with an amazing breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, ham, fried noodles, stir fried chicken with roasted chili paste, rice, and an assortment of fruit. We then drove around an hour to the world’s first ever elephant hospital where we learned about their mission, treatments, and facts such as they have treated over 6,000 cases both impatiens and outpatient!
Next we headed over to the elephant conservation center where we had the amazing opportunity to feed some of the elephants (corn, grass bundles, sugar cane, bananas).
For lunch, we went to a restaurant right inside the conservation center. The food consisted of an assortment of Thai noodles.
Shortly after, we headed over to an organization called “elephant parade” whose mission is to create more funding for the asian elephants in need specifically around Thailand. They way they do this is by hand painting and selling elephant ceramic pieces and putting displays around Thailand of their most special pieces to raise awareness. We were able to paint our own elephants and all of the kids are excited to show you guys their own versions!
We ended the day with going to the store, eating dinner at the hotel, a fun icebreaker, and two activities (“Live your values” and “social sync leadership activity”).
We are so excited to head over to the elephant sanctuary/camp tomorrow to start our service!
Farewell from Thailand,
Priya and Ana
BLOG POST FOR JULY 25
สวัสดีช้าง (sawadee chang)- Hello Elephants! 🐘
Hello from the elephant camp,
To start our journey, we woke up for a delicious but early breakfast before hopping on the bus to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. On the bus we enjoyed karaoke, games, and long naps as we drove through the mountains.
Arriving at camp, we settled in to our non air conditioned rooms and played some ice breakers like detective and poison dart frog. Then we hopped back on the busses for a short drive to Elephant Camp 1, where we would enjoy lunch.
After lunch, we learned the differences between Asian and African elephants such as their ear sizes and amount of toes. Next we enjoyed feeding the elephants watermelon and accompanied them to take their baths.
Soon after, we got into groups and collected information on the elephants names, typical food, and body measurements. Then we created posters to share this information with the other groups.
Thankfully, after leaving the camp, we stopped at a coffee shop where we got delicious drinks to recover from our day. After reenergizing, we headed back to our accommodations for dinner and a fun activity where we learned more about each other.
Overall we had a great day and are so excited to be at the elephant camp and for our work tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Evy and Royce
BLOG POST FOR JULY 26
ทำงานหนัก! (Working hard!)
Sawadee-ka!
This morning we slept in and we ate eggs with tomatoes and onions, toast with jelly and sausage for breakfast. After breakfast we took a ride to the grass planting fields in the bed of a truck. At the fields we got into groups of 3 and plowed, planted and covered Napier grass for the elephants. It was raining and there were thousands of dragonflies, no one could tell the rain from their sweat. We spent two hours planting the grass with the help of the local staff who were super cheerful and made the time fly by.
We then came back to the home base for lunch where we ate Pad Thai, watermelon and fried chicken pockets. After lunch we drove up to the base of a waterfall where we had a steep uphill walk, played music and had fun. At the waterfall, we took a swim test to make sure we all could swim and then we swam around and went down a rock slide. There were also elephants bathing in the lower part of the river and the caretakers were throwing the poop down the river. We spent a few hours there splashing around and sunbathing on a rock before coming back to home base.
We had an hour to rest and then we played blind karaoke where we tested our musical knowledge and then did an activity called 36 questions to get to know each other better. At dinner we had chicken, curry, and tempura vegetables and talked. After dinner we played an identity game and took the night to rest for the next day!
Tomorrow we will be working with elephants! Stay tuned!
Love,
Leo and Lauren
BLOG POST FOR JULY 27
เดิน ให้อาหาร และอาบน้ำช้าง! (Walking, feeding and bathing elephants!)
Today was filled with elephants, laughs, and lots of mud. We started it off with a lovely breakfast at 8 am. This consisted of bread, boiled rice, boiled egg, and fruit. Afterwards , we went up to our rooms to get ready for elephant camp.
At 9am we departed to go see the elephants. When we arrived at the camp we met and fed six elephants ( boon-ca, nun-jing, Mae boon Sri, Boon-si, Si-Cau, and cam pon) bananas and watermelon. the elephants loved their deserts and warmed up to us quickly, which helped when we went to hang out with them after.
Then, at 11 am, we took the elephants for a walk and made nutrient balls for them on the trail. These balls consisted of banana, salt, Napier grass, tamarin, rice, and probiotics. We mushed all these ingredients together in a wooden bowel and rolled it up into balls to give to the elephants.
Following the nutrient balls, we returned back to the camp for lunch at 12. This lunch consisted of garlic rice, chicken, cucumbers, and fruit. The chicken and rice were absolutely delicious after the tiring work we did that morning.
After lunch, we took the elephants to a watering hole, where we bathed them using buckets. We splashed around and had fun in the water, soaking both the elephants and ourselves. Then, we walked back to camp where we gave the elephants a mud bath, covering their backs to protect them from the sun and other things.
After the mud bath we washed off as a group in outdoor showers and departed the camp, returning to our home base. At the base we were able to rest for about 3 hours before meeting our staff, Kasia and Zak for an elephant debate. During this debate, we were broken up into pairs and each one was fighting for a certain organization or group. We debated how elephants should be treated and what the regulations surrounding elephants should be.
After the heated and passionate debate, we sat for a dinner (6pm) of spaghetti, spring rolls, and fruit. After dinner we all met up again for a mentor group at 6:45. In the mentor group we discussed our rose, thorn, and buds of this trip. We were also given our roommate assignments for when we return to the first home base tomorrow.
We were then left to have our own free time until lights out at 10pm. Some people played cards for this time, while others sat down to bond over a man episode of love island. 🏝️
This was an amazing day!
Love,
Gaia and Neve
BLOG POST FOR JULY 28
บอกลาช้างและชอปปิ้งที่ตลาดกลางคืน! (Saying bye to the elephants and shopping at the night market!)
Today we woke up at elephant camp and ate a great breakfast. We collected our packed bags into the baggage vehicles and boarded the trucks. We stopped at Elephant Camp 6 and Ab gave us the rundown for our last partial day with the elephants. He explained how thankful he was and how unique our experience was.
After this, we got to pet, feed and take pictures with the elephants. We got to meet the special elephant, Ricky. Ricky is the youngest elephant (only 8 months old!) in the camp, and he’s known to be very naughty. He got under the wood structure holding the elephants and ran to the bucket filled with watermelon. Everyone gathered around him to take pictures. We could only pet him for one to two seconds to make sure he doesn’t get violent or try to play with us.
Next, we got to walk around while the elephants fed on grass. Ricky was running around whenever he didn’t get food and he was definitely the main attraction of the day :p. When we came back from petting the elephants, we sat down at the tables. Then the staff came in happily singing the birthday song for Ana. (PS HAPPY BDAY ANA ✨ HAPPY EIGHTEENTH- ¡Feliz cumpleaños a ti linda!🥳🎂🎈🎉)
Next, we sadly had to say goodbye to the local staff and drive off with the trucks. We stopped at a café and got drinks. Once we all got our drinks, we hopped into our trucks and drove to the hotel. We got in our new rooms with new roommates (for the girls) and unpacked. Once we walked downstairs, we got to draw and design our room number papers with our names, and some groups added stars, flowers and even elephants on their signs. Once everyone came down, everyone completed the pulse check #2. After we all filled out our pulse checks, we started our activity, which was speed dating. We each got 1 minute to talk to the person who sat in front of you and switched to a new person after the minute was up.
After this activity was done, we all gathered in the front of the hotel and got ready to go to our favourite nearby store, 7/11. Once we got there, we bought snacks, makeup, utilities and even toys. Once we were done purchasing tons and tons of stuff (over exaggerated, don’t worry parents, your children are responsible with their money ✨), we walked back and got 2-ish hours in our rooms to unpack, relax and get ready for the upcoming night market trip.
After we were done with this, we gathered downstairs, everyone was ready and dressed up for the night market. Kasia set some ground rules for the night market, and we used the trucks to drive to the bustling Chiang Mai Walking Street. There were posts and stands set on both sides of the streets and street performers around. The food market was filled with people, and the food varied from Pad Thai to chicken feet to lychee shakes :).
Everyone went on shopping sprees and got hauls of clothing, trinkets, gifts and so much more. We all gathered at 8:00 in the meeting spot and waited for the vans to pick us up. We had an embarrassing moment where we waved to the wrong van overexcitedly but we don’t talk about that….once we got in our vans, we drove back to the hotel. Tomorrow is our first day to learn about education, and we are all excited to see what the day has in stock for us! 😀
Love,
Felicia and Eddie
BLOG POST FOR JULY 29
ปฐมนิเทศและการเตรียมตัวสอน (Teaching orientation and preparation)
Sawadee ka!
Today was an amazing day filled with some laid back activities before we begin teaching tomorrow!
We started the day with breakfast and teaching orientation with Todd! Throughout the orientation, Todd introduced us to new Thai snacks while also giving us a whole rundown on what teaching will be like and how we should prepare.
Shortly after, we left for a buffet lunch at the Grand View Hotel that had countless options to choose from! Everyone liked the vanilla ice cream. 🍨
We then headed to a nearby swimming pool where we spent time swimming and laying back for some down time. The swimming pool was located on a rooftop of one of the oldest hotels in Chiang Mai!
After the swimming pool we headed back to home base to change and hangout before we spent an hour in our groups getting our lesson plans ready for the students tomorrow!
We finished off the day with dinner, a fun icebreaker, and 36 questions to get to know each other better! We are so excited to start teaching tomorrow and can’t wait to share with you all of our memories!
Farewell from Thailand! 🇹🇭
Priya and Milly
BLOG POST FOR JULY 30
วันแรกของการสอน (first day of teaching)
Sawadee ka!! Today marked our first day of teaching. We started our day off bright and early for breakfast at 6. We were all jittery with nerves but also very excited to meet the cute kids. We finalized our lesson plans and around 7 we hopped on the bus and headed to Wa Maeng school.
When we reached the school, we were greeted with lots of waves and stares from all the kids as they did their morning routine. The kids recited words, sang, and raised flags all while sneaking glances at us watching in the corner. Then the principal gave us a small tour of some of the classes and left us to set up in our first class.
We taught the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders about jobs, animals, and food which ended up being very difficult due to the fact that the kids know very little English. To solve the language barrier, we made sure to use extravagant hand signs and speak extremely slow. In the end, we each felt at least partially confident in their learning.
Before heading back to the hotel, we had a delicious lunch of pad thai in the school. At the hotel we rested and showered for about 3 hours and then met downstairs for a 7/11 run. After refilling on snacks and drinks, we planned our next lesson for the day and headed to the busses again to go to dinner. Our leaders surprised us with a delicious pizza dinner. Italian food was very refreshing after eating thai food every day for every meal 🙂
After dinner, we played an ice breaker, had our mentor group, talked about our dance for the cultural festival exchange, and chilled before heading to bed to get a good nights sleep before our second day of teaching tomorrow.
With love,
Evy and Elijah
BLOG POST FOR JULY 31
วันสุดท้ายของเดือนกรกฎาคม และวันที่สองของการสอน! ( Last day of July and second day of teaching!)
Hello from Thailand! We started off the morning with breakfast that was prepared by the local hotel staff, which contained protein, vegetables, and some local fruit. It had everything that our bodies needed to have a healthy start to our morning. Then, our mentors gave a couple of minutes to let us prepare everything that we would need for the market and teaching.
After gathering the supplies, we began the bus ride to one of Chiang Mai’s local schools. This was our second day of teaching English to the local students, so the majority of our lessons consisted of reviewing our previous lesson and adding more content to the lesson. After a couple of hours of teaching, we had lunch at the school, which was rice, curry and chicken wings.
After teaching, we began to make the drive to our next activity: the fruit market. The market we went to was one of the biggest markets in Thailand. At the fruit market, we got to taste some of Thailand’s well-known local snacks and got a tour of the market by the local staff. We got some time to experience the market ourselves by exploring the options available of fruits, vegetables, candy, trinkets and even clothing.
We then went to a Thai “Walmart” (Lotus) that is located here in Chiang Mai, Thailand and after visiting it we went back to the hotel. Then we had an hour of rest before our fruit party. The fruit party had many different fruits for us to try some of those being rambutan, mango, pomelo, persimmon, custard apple and an other variety of fruit.
After our fruit party, we had our third pulse check and were give an hour of lesson planning. So everyone could be prepare for tomorrow teaching. Then we had dinner.
Finally to completely our day the we had mentor group which consisted of preparing a dance that we would have to perform at the culture exchange. And in the end we were dismissed to our rooms to rest from our fun filled day here in Thailand. Tomorrow we will be trying Muay Thai right after teaching! 🥊
Good night!
Warm wishes,
Ana and Royce
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 1
การสอนและมวยไทย! (Teaching and Muay Thai!🥊)
Hello!! Today we had an early start at 7:15 AM to eat breakfast and get ready for our last full day of teaching. We arrived at the school and started with our first class of the day and began teaching english to the students. We played games like catch the bacon or slapper to engage the students with the subject they were learning. The language barrier makes it difficult however it makes it even more rewarding.
We taught two more classes and ended with a delicious lunch at the school.
We then left to our Muay Thai class where we learned the different positions and types of punches and kicks. We trained with Muay Thai professionals and had an intense workout.
We then came back to the hotel to rest for an hour. After, we took our last trip to 7/11 to get some snacks and ice cream! When we came back to the hotel, we prepped for our last day of teaching and practicing our dance for the cultural exchange tomorrow.
We finished off with a yummy dinner at the hotel and an activity where we gave each other music recommendations based on each other’s personalities and inside jokes. Today was an amazing day and we are so excited for tomorrow!!!
Love,
Leo and Gaia
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 2
สอนแลกเปลี่ยนวัฒนธรรมวันสุดท้าย! (Last day of teaching and the cultural exchange! )
Today we woke up in our hotel and ate a wonderful breakfast, including longan, noodles, rice and some other fruits and foods. We got in our clothes for school, and packed our clothes for our later dances. We then boarded the vans and drove to the school, where we were warmly welcomed by the students and the principal. We had five minutes until the first class started, so everyone started getting ready and set up the classrooms. Since it was the last day of teaching, we got to hand out candy, erasers and adorable little prizes to the kids, which they enjoyed very much.
After our hour of classes, we walked downstairs to be greeted by grades 1-6, ready for the show. The first performers were from another school, and they presented their Muay-Thai-based dance. We were all star struck at how coordinated and fast they were. The next performance were girls who danced a traditional Thai dance in dresses. We then presented our “Wave Your Flag” dance in front of the children.
After we took pictures with the group, the school presented us with some games, which we participated in. We then got to explore a few stands of hand-made crafts made by students. There were lanterns, bracelets, cup holders, keychains, some made out of wool, some were carved metal. We got to make some of these ourselves and got to buy the pre-made ones. The students were very thankful, and some teachers got gifts from some students for free.
After this, we had some rice, chicken and curry for lunch at the school. We then boarded the vans while waving goodbye to the students. We drove to Dara Academy, a more advanced and bigger school. We were partnered up with a high school student and led to the museum for a tour. We got a tour about the history and the king and queen who founded Dara Academy. We then made some flags that looked like jellyfish🪼. Grandma and Baby Jellyfish for the win 🏆.
Afterwards, we walked to the gym. We got presented with a dance from the dance team of Dara Academy. It was paired with a mashup of multiple English songs and such a good dance just speechless. Then we had to do our “Wave Your Flag” dance again. (W Eddie for his solo ✨)
After this, seven people played Chairball, which is basically basketball but with someone carrying an actual laundry-type basket while standing on a chair and moving the basket around to catch the incoming ball. Priya was the hype of the team bfr 🎉🎉🎉. We won because of Priya’s energy, Royce’s defence, Leo’s catches, Neve and Millie’s commentating, Eddie and Elijah’s passes, Lauren’s shots and the other’s yelling and cheering 📣.
Next, we sadly had to leave, but the students at Dara took so many pictures with all of us and got our contacts. We then boarded the vans and drove to the hotel. We had a few hours to relax when we got there. Then we had a dinner, which was going to be sadly our last dinner at the hotel 🥲. We had fries, fruits, rice, chicken, etc. After dinner, the people who wanted to go to 7/11 went to 7/11 from 6 – 6:30.
At 6:30, everyone met downstairs to do an icebreaker and reflection activity (SMART goals Part 2). Our icebreaker was rock-paper-scissors tournament (Shoutout to Leo for being ultimate rock-paper-scissors champion :D) and then we got to our reflection activity. We reflected on our experience, how much we changed. We got the letters we wrote on the first day of elephant camp (two weeks ago!! :p) and we reflected on that. We also set some personal and group (OMG) goals for the next 12 months. When we were done, it was free time. See you tomorrow, stay positive and party 🎉. Oh and stay tuned for mountains and monks 🤫.
With Love,
Felicia and Neve
BLOG POST FOR AUGUST 3
อำลาประเทศไทย! (Farewell! Goodbye Thailand 🇹🇭)
This is our final full day in Chiang Mai! This morning we woke up bright and early and ate rice, chicken, and fruits for breakfast. We then all got into the buses and drove to the royal temple and looked around. After that we had the opportunity to talk to a monk and he taught us about Buddhism and meditation. It was very interesting and we learned so much.
After that we drove up to the mountain and went to another temple where we were blessed by a monk. There was a 5 minute uphill hike to get to the temple. After that we walked down to the bottom and drove to a monk village in the mountains and ate lunch.
After lunch we walked to a coffee shop with a beautiful view of the mountains and small village. On the way down we did some shopping in the local stands.
We then drove back to the hotel and got ready for the final dinner which is a cruise on the river. We all met in the lobby and shared our favorite memory from the trip before getting back on the buses and going to the cruise. We got on the boat and ate French fries, Caesar salad, and fried shrimp.
Soon after we all got drinks and ate dinner. We spent the rest of the boat ride taking pictures and spending time with each other. We then drove back to the hotel and did the GLA tradition of appreciation circle and shared lots of bittersweet tears. Good night for the final time from Chiang Mai, 2024!
By Lauren & Eddie
