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