Program Reviews

My experience with Global Glimpse was the most eye-opening and remarkable experience I’ve ever had throughout my high school years. I knowingly stepped into a new environment with new people in order to make new connections and have new experiences. One of the best memories I have is a sad one, but it doesn’t end sad. During dinner, I was feeling very sad so I went away to breakaway from the group on campus to have some peace. I started crying, but a couple minutes later my friends found me and comforted me. They let me know I wasn’t alone and they were always there for me and vice versa. That was one of the best moments on my trip because I knew that I had met awesome people that I will stay friends with throughout my life. We all went through huge experiences and made great memories with each other in Costa Rica. Overall, Global Glimpse was a 10 out of 10 experience I would do again. Big Love!

I went to Panama for two weeks and it was a blast. I got to meet people who were the same age and I really made some good friendships there. It was a great way to spend the summer and really see what the world was like outside of America. If you get the chance to go with Global Glimpse, I would say to do it. While the idea of staying in a foreign country may seem daunting, you'll really enjoy your time there and you'll always be doing something everyday so it won't feel like you're doing nothing.

Hi, my name is Mikaela and I am a 17-year-old incoming high school senior. Traveling with Global Glimpse to Panama was truly such an unforgettable experience. Going into the trip, I did not have any set expectations and while I knew it would be a valuable experience, I never expected it to impact me in the way it did. It was so incredible to intentionally experience a new country's culture, history, and biodiversity. The most prominent difference between traveling on one's own and with an organization such as Global Glimpse is that with Global Glimpse, forming a global perspective and exploring the different foundations that keep a country afloat (like the locals, the small towns, and the nonprofit organizations) is at the forefront of the trip. As someone who has traveled internationally before, my trip to Panama was so distinct from my other experiences, which is something I did not entirely expect. I felt like I was intentionally seeking out and learning about unique perspectives from the people we interacted with on our field trips. Additionally, not having access to my phone made bonding with my fellow glimpsers and leaders easier and all the more fun. I think it allowed us to form long-lasting friendships with each other that would not have been possible otherwise. Don't let the no phones scare you away!! Overall, forming friendships, having conversations with my program coordinators, and experiencing Panama up close created such a memorable experience! My advice to future glimpsers would be to go into the program with an open mind because that is what allowed me to experience it to the fullest!

My trip lasted 2 weeks including travel and overall was a great experience for personal growth and leadership. Over the two weeks I met peers who inspired me and helped me along the journey, creating long lasting bonds and memories that will last a lifetime. We went on multiple guided tours including the city of Cartago and a local coffee plantation. My personal favorite was when we visited “finca la florita”, a cheese factory, the owner was very sweet and had games and activities for us to teach us about how she made her artisanal cheese while maintaining a light eco footprint. I recommend this to all of my peers and anyone with the chance because it is truly a blessing.

My experience with Global Glimpse was one of the most amazing and fun outgoing experiences of all time. I was selected to go to Costa Rica, it was my first time going to a travel a place out further from home. Within this experience, I had a big growth socially with others around me. I got to build courage for myself to go out there and do stuff out of my comfort zone. I thank Global Glimpse for this beautiful experince, I made friends and built up my leadership skills, and I am grateful. I learned a lot about Costa Rica and its main history it was awesome to learn a new culture out of mine. Thank you Global Glimpse!

If you are a junior high school student looking for a trip to expand your horizons, gain global experience, give back to a community in a different country, meet wonderful people, immerse yourself in a different culture, or maybe learn more about a culture you already know, Global Glimpse is the perfect opportunity for you. I am Manaia Peeler, a rising senior from the Bay Area in California, and this past summer I had the opportunity to attend a Global Glimpse trip to a wonderful town called Jarabacoa in the Dominican Republic. And I can truly say it changed my life for the better. The experiences I had and observed while on this trip were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'm grateful for. While on this trip, I was able to learn so much about the Dominican culture from its cultural dances, traditional food, history, work ethic of its local coffee farmers, first responders and their limited resources, the everyday life of the locals, their immigration issue, and more. Although I learned a lot from every experience I would say the one that impacted me the most would be their immigration system and the current ongoing issue with Haitian immigration. Another one would be experiencing the locals' everyday lives and being able to fellowship with them and see how communal and welcoming they were to us Glimpsers. Additionally, an important aspect of our trip was our community action project, where we started the building of water ducts to supply water to over 15 homes in a community in Jarabacoa. And to see the joy and gratitude of the locals was an experience unmatched. If I could sum up my global glimpse experience into one word, it would be impactful because of how it truly made me reflect on my life and the privileges I have. It also made me want to do more for my community and those in need around the world. 

Overall the trip was fun and interesting because everything we did was something we’ve never done and also the people were fun to be with and the trip overall was such a blast because the team leaders were great and the people were what made the trip more enjoyable because you get to make friends with people that you’ve never thought you’d be friends with and by just that the panama trip made my whole 2 weeks the best weeks ever and also the people we met on the activities we did they were always amazing and super nice to us and helped us if we ever needed help and I wish I could go back one day to panama with everyone that went and just have a good time again because it was so fun the bonding time and the times we’ve had were so happy and fun that this trip is worth going too

My 2024 Global Glimpse trip to Panama Las Tablas was a fantastic and life-changing experience! I was able to learn new and interesting things about a place that I had no prior knowledge about. Of course, I was worried and scared because I had never left the country, let alone California, in my life, but I'm pleased I seized the opportunity when it presented itself, and I don't regret it. Global Glimpse was a wonderful experience for me to step out of my comfort zone and truly comprehend what it means to be a leader. Participating in Global Glimpse also helped me develop new and fantastic friendships with other kids who had a similar background to me in my area. During my journey, I was able to learn about what other countries are struggling with and i’m extremely glad i was there to help make a change in Panama by helping an Organization named “ Pro Eco Azuero “ plants 4,200 trees within 3 days to help the spider monkeys that are nearly Extinct.

I feel so fortunate to be able to go on such a great trip, and I have made great lifelong connections with other kids my age and who live near me. It was also such a fun way to spend my summer!! I would definitely recommend going with Global Glimpse they are a wonderful organization that are amazing at accommodating young travelers such as myself. Some things we did while in country was milk goats and trying some delicious goat ice cream the farm made, we also saw the Panama Canal, learned about the bioculture there along with their growing population of sea turtles too!

I had the privilege to travel to the Dominican Republic, an experience for which I am truly grateful and blessed to have lived. It was a true honor to have been a part of this project and work alongside the friends I made on the trip that are now like family. My cohort fully cemented two houses and started building a home from the ground up. From this moment I felt we were already making such a huge impact and our hard work was paying off. The day before we began our service-learning project, we spent time getting to know the community. We played tag, freeze tag, pato pato ganzo, hide and seek, hide and seek tag, and we also face painted with the kids. I allowed them to wipe my face out in paint; watching it cause them so much laughter and seeing their innocent smiles light up with so much joy was truly heartwarming. We also shared a meal together with all the families! My CAP days were the most beautiful moments that I have lived and it made me feel so satisfied with my work, I learned to appreciate the things I have to another level, made me more compassionate and aware of the different lifestyles we all have but what unites us is the shared love and happiness that are hearts have to express. It is in that very moment where nothing else matters but to have love and compassion for humanity. In the first week, we played baseball with kids from a foundation called Impacta. Impacta is a program for children to play baseball in hopes of reaching the major leagues and becoming professional players. A few days later, we learned about the inequalities and discrimination that occur in the Dominican Republic, especially in the sugar cane industry. We were shown a demonstration on how to cut sugar cane, which is an intense process. Luckily, a foundation called Ascala helps people from Haiti, the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, receive assistance with legal documentation to stay in the country. This allows Haitians to be allowed to work, usually in the sugar cane fields in which they are exploited. There is a system and foundation that are designed to protect people, and they are work in progress. I learned so much about immigration policies in the Dominican Republic and how the governmental leaders are using strategies from the United States to minimize Haitian migration. We had a power and water outage when we were finishing up our nightly reflection. I am truly grateful my cohort made the most of what was supposed to be a bad experience, but we ended up playing hide and seek in the dark, and it was one of the most memorable times of my trip. One way my cohort made a collective effort to keep everyone healthy was having “water fiestas” a fun way to share a moment to hydrate and keep each other accountable. Towards the end of the trip, my cohort and I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Dominican Republic at the beach with a close-out dinner. The friends I made on the trip are people who I admire because of their passion and drive to make an impact. Our trip was filled with a lot of time to reflect, relax, and maximize time together as a global glimpse family. We played a lot of card games, banana grams, and shared pool time together. We had a fun day and free day where we went to local stores to buy souvenirs for our families and friends, we bought a lot of snacks to bring back as well! There is a special ice cream shop we went to at least four times because of how good it was! The dulce de leche was the best. During my time in the global glimpse trip, I realized how passionate I am to help others and to be a leader. This experience only made me so much more confident and motivated to pursue a career in medicine to share and contribute my knowledge, skills, and passions to communities. This was only a global glimpse of my leadership journey, with endless memories that I will carry in my heart forever. Gracias, Republica Dominicana, por abrirme tus puertas con tanto cariño, es un honor haber compartido con tu gente hermosa!