I think about Peru every day, and i left 5 months ago....

Hello everyone , I am Max Bone I'm a sophomore in High School from Detroit,Michigan. This past summer i had the amazing, life changing experience to travel to, and live in Cuzco,Peru for three weeks with an amazing organization called Global Leadership Adventures. I know it may sound a little " Over Exaggerating" when i say this, but those three weeks changed my life, my views, and the overall person that i am forever. For all of you parents who are reading this, trying to decide weather to send you're child on a program to a foreign country, all that i can say is you wont regret it! I understand that it is a scary thought, waking you're child up to the security gate, saying your goodbyes then sending them off to a foreign country for an extended amount of time. but i can assure you , that you will be glad you did when you're Son/Daughter walks down to baggage claim a few weeks latter and you receive a tired, but smiling kid who is so excited to talk about there amazing experience that they just had and there how much they were changed. GLA does this through three main ways which are : Community Service , Leadership Activity's , and Cultural Exchange Activity's. The community Service obviously changes from country to country, But out of all of the people i have talked to who have been on 10 different Global Leadership Adventures programs in 8 different countries, They have all loved the work that they were doing, felt a strong connection to the work they were doing, and felt like they were making a HUGE difference on there host community. I am going to use my program for an example. My group was building a Green House out of adobe bricks in a small mountain community to help combat the highly increasing malnutrition rate among the youth of the Cusco region of Peru. It was amazing knowing that the work that i was doing will make a huge impact on this community for years to come, and change there way of life , and diet for the better. Seeing all of the hard work that we were putting in pay off and finish 70% more than we were expected to felt so good, And rely helped me realize how important hard work is and how much it pays off. The gratitude that the community expressed for our hard work can not be explained in words. The next way that Global Leadership Adventures will do this is through leadership sessions and mentor groups. This is something unique to Global Leadership Adventures that no other organization that i have seen does. These sessions focus on taking all that you are learning and experiencing and applying it to your life, and what you will do with it when you return home. These sessions also include talking about important quality's of leaders and aspects of life such as empathy, How one must hit rock bottom to make it to the top, Humility, Service, How to communicate with different groups of people, and decision making. As well as discussing current events. These sessions take place in large group settings, as well as small group settings. I truly miss these sessions, and they are one of the things i look forward to most when i return to Global Leadership Adventures next summer. The staff that Global Leadership Adventures has put together is also fantastic. They are all amazing, talented , smart, and inspiring individuals. I was able to get to know all of the staff rely well. From the cooks at home baser, to my personal mentor. There is also a large aspect placed on cultural activity's and fun. These included everything from getting my fortune told by a traditional, practicing, Inca shawman, to hiking and camping the Inca trail, to visiting Macchu Picchu , to learning about traditional Inca medicine, to getting to dress up in Andean attire and perform a traditional dance ! These activity's rely have given me a better understanding, and made me feel connected of the Inca culture, instead of just having knowledge of it. Global Leadership Adventures also does an amazing job with safety. There was not a single time during my program when i did not feel safe. GLA has a 5 point safety system that they fallow during everything that includes: safe and secure lodging ( The home base is ONLY used by GLA students and staff ) , caring supervision, Healthy meals and pure water, Expert local knowledge, and safe and comfortable transportation. Overall my trip to Peru last summer was a fantastic , life changing experience. And all that i can say to you, is GO,GO,GO,GO you will come home changed. if you have any questions about Global Leadership Adventurers, Or there Peru program please let me know via email at maxbone55@gmail.com . If you would like to see photos from my trip, please email me and i can share with you my Facebook page where you can view them, and if your parents would like to hear from a parent whose child has gone on a GLA trip, and who is trusting them again with the safety of there kid ( This time in Africa ! ) please shoot me an email and i will be more than happy to put you in contact with my parents. Thank You for your interest in Global Leadership Adventures ,and i am so excited for you to embark on a life changing journey !