Program Reviews

This summer I traveled to Costa Rica with the help of a partnered organization at my school called Global Glimpse. I had never traveled outside of my country or flew on a plane before so hearing about this opportunity really interested me. It was a two-week trip with many activities planned out for us students. Arriving in Turrialba, Costa Rica, we went to our accommodation, Siloe Lodge, where we would be staying for the entirety of the two weeks. There was wildlife EVERYWHERE. From small insects such as leaf-cutter ants and crickets, to big animals like toads. Before going on this trip, I HATED insects, but after visiting a place where there was great biodiversity, I quickly lost the fear of bugs. If you are interested in taking this opportunity, don’t let fears hold you back, because it truly is amazing and the memories you create will be unforgettable! Some memorable memories from my experience were going to a cheese farm and getting to milk a cow to make cheese, going to a waterfall and swimming in the stream, and our community action project. For our community action project, we painted two classrooms at an elementary school called Eslabón. Though it may sound difficult, together, we sanded and cleaned the walls, then painted and drew butterfly designs on the walls, all while singing and dancing lol! If you are able to, I highly recommend taking this opportunity. Have an open mind, and be willing to try new things. Many memories and new experiences will be made!

Hi! My name is Bridgett Ramirez and I was on the T2A-BAY trip. I want to start of by saying how thankful I am to Global Glimpse for offering these amazing opportunities and being a wonderful program. It was my first time traveling out of the country and I wouldn't change anything about it. Costa Rica is a beautiful country with a vibrant culture. I loved connecting with all the other glimpsers and making friends. I felt a genuine connection with the locals they were very welcoming and made it feel more like home, not having access to technology allowed me to fully soak in every moment and experience. The Global Glimpse staff were always very attentive and encouraging and made it a very enjoyable experience. I will forever remember the people I met on this trip, whether we were visiting the local store or hiking every moment was wonderful. Looking back, I realize how much this trip has shaped me. When I first heard about Glopal Glimpse I was unsure if I wanted to participate because I wasn't going to have access to my phone but to be honest you'll forget about your phone because you'll be connecting with people and enjoying what's around you, It taught me to appreciate the simple things in life and get out of my comfort zone. I'm deeply thankful to Global Glimpse for this unforgettable journey and the incredible people I met.

Hello, my name is Keiry and I participated on a Global Glimpse trip to Panama. As someone who has never traveled far from home especially without my family, I was very nervous at the beginning. Arriving at Panama is one of the best experiences I have, being somewhere new in which I have no perspective of. Throughout my trip, I met many new people and made wonderful connections. The staff was welcoming and took care of us very well through our stay there. We got to learn about Panama's past and what makes them unique, helping us gain our own perspective of Panama. I learned many things like being more independent for myself and going out of my comfort zone in order to join activities and enjoy them. This is an experience I will always remember.

I like how the Global Glimpse staff welcomed me, encouraged me, and made me feel comfortable approaching them. During a pre-trip workshop and my time in Costa Rica, the staff encouraged my group to get out of our comfort zone in order to grow. Furthermore, during the trip, a program coordinator encouraged me to be myself. Global Glimpse staff help build an environment where people are accepted and respected. The adult leaders constantly checked in on my and other students’ physical and mental state. The trip was well-planned and organized to ensure the safety and health of students. For example, the adult leaders had electrolytes, which they were able to administer to many of the students when we experienced diarrhea. Furthermore, Global Glimpse staff is always trying to improve by welcoming us to give feedback mid-trip, end of the trip, and after the trip.

In Costa Rica, I interacted with Costa Rican locals by:
Playing soccer with them
Greeting them (they greeted back welcomingly)
Practicing Spanish with them
making tortillas with a local family

Furthermore, I learned about environmental justice and sustainable development and became more interested in contributing to them. My group painted a school with limited resources in a way that leaves a sustainable impact and protects the environment. (We made sure the project contributed to sustainable development by making sure that the paint would stay on by sandpapering the wall and scraping off old paint that was falling off, as well as protecting the environment by using biodegradable paint so when we washed the paint from the brush, the paint doesn’t go down the drain then harm the ecosystem)

During free time, I enjoyed playing games like Mafia and card games (like Egyptian war and Speed). Overall, I had a positive experience with Global Glimpse.

This summer I experienced the opportunity of a lifetime with Global Glimpse! This non-profit organization allows High School students to travel internationally during the summer of their junior year to a country to impact the designated destination positively. Once I heard about them I was heavily interested not only to travel but to gain new insight and knowledge. Thanks to them and their donors, I could travel with them to the Dominican Republic with Financial help. My group and I had the honor to help a community in Jarabacoa of around 24 families by giving them access to clean water for their daily use through an aqueduct system! We worked 3 days straight, and on the final day, we saw our progress with the community. Seeing the results and the happy faces of the people we helped felt amazing. I was so happy to impact someone's life positively. Throughout the two weeks, we went to other places to learn and help different communities. We went to help a sustainable community in El Sonido Del Yaque with chores and cooking, Learned about the Indigenous people the Tainos, and their culture, and even helped at a coffee farm! We also had fun days of exploration and going to the beach! I learned leadership skills and gained valuable knowledge. It was a powerful life-changing experience which gave me a new way of looking at life. Our parents back at home could see a vlog on the official website that we glimpsers would update daily after our nightly meetings which made us feel close from miles away! I made many tight-bonded friendships in two weeks, everyone got so comfortable so quickly. You think at first that two weeks is a lot but those two weeks go by so fast that at the end of your adventure you don't want to leave. There were times I got homesick but everyone always made sure to be there for each other which helped me a lot. Every part of it was enjoyable and I'm glad that I was able to experience this unique adventure. The Global Glimpse team was so kind to us all and made sure we were always comfortable and safe. I will forever treasure the things I gained from this trip. This trip helped me to become a better person. I wanted to be able to support communities and leave solutions that will stick with them for a long time because the service-learning and experiencing other people's situations made me more sympathetic. It was truly a great experience, and I heartily recommend it to anybody eager to understand different cultures and want to give back to the community!

Hello my name is Janize Ocampo and I was on the trip to Constanza Dominican Republic C2A. One thing that I do have to say is that I have never had an experience like this one, and I am so happy I was able to experience this amazing trip with the people I had on my trip. Everyone made a contribution to making my trip a 10/10. So did our PC’s and GGL’s, Noe was my favorite personally. He interacted so well with everyone single one of the student and always made sure we were all having a great time. This trip has for sure been the best experience I have ever had. Would recommend always!

My trip to Turriabla, Costa Rica with the program Global Glimpse was amazing. The place itself is truly incredible with its beautiful biodiversity. The immersion we had in the nature was truly special; from a volcano in sight right outside our home, to the rich, green, rolling hills we were able to view during every excursion truly added to the enjoyment of this trip. Another one of my favorite aspects of being on this trip with Global Glimpse was the opportunity to experience a vastly different culture at a young age. Exploring outside my own customs, learning the rich history of the area we stayed, eating the absolutely delicious food and sharing the time alongside wonderful leaders, and students were some highlights in this process. I thoroughly enjoyed the connection to the local culture through this program, for example visiting and being welcomed by local families into their homes and partaking in a service project for the community we stayed in. Having the pleasure of hearing from intelligent guest speakers on climate justice opened up some new ideas, understanding, and hope for me as a young person. Global Glimpse is a brilliant program in its ability to bring together different students into such a deepening and impactful one of a time experience. I am forever grateful for my time spent there, the lessons I learned including social, global, and personal ones, the wonderful people I met, the incredible chefs and guest speakers, and the confidence to travel and explore more! I highly recommend Global Glimpse as it remains a well developed and inclusive program- one to either further your travels, or begin them!

This was a amazing trip something I haven't experience before. At first I was nervous about going out the country, but when I got there I felt welcome. The GG Leaders and PC made it ever more enjoyable. The things I learn were great like learning a dominican dance, learning how coffee and chocolate is made, and learning about the culture of the Dominican republic. This wa truly a experience I will never forget. My favorite part of trip was learning the dances and working to help the locals any we can.

I travelled with Global Glimpse to the Dominican Republic in June 2024. The trip was very structured, with each day holding something new and exciting for us. Some days we would visit locals in small communities and talk about various subjects, other days were set aside for activities like going to the beach or shopping in groups.

During my trip, my group learned about immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and were able to go see where many underpaid workers made a living, in these large sugar cane fields. Seeing the vastness of these hot fields where people had to work everyday for very little pay was really shocking and a powerful experience.

At the end of every day we had reflections as a whole group that really helped highlight what we all learned and how we could take what we learned and saw with us back to the US.

Through this experience I was not only able to travel to another country for the first time, but really learn about its history and culture in a rare and exciting way. Through this program I also made lasting connections and memories that I will never forget.

As a student, traveling with Global Glimpse was not only a great way to experience new cultures and explore new places, but also a valuable learning opportunity. The program took me to a completely new environment, allowing me to immerse myself in a different culture and engage with local communities in a meaningful way. What stood out to me about Global Glimpse was how engaging and fulfilling the activities were. Being a student in high school with a small agenda I don't think I would have had the chance to milk goats, plant trees, paint a mural, go behind the scenes in a bakery, visit prominent monuments or meet a famous costume designer if it wasn't for my participation with Global Glimpse.

Personal Impact:
One of the most valuable aspects of my Global Glimpse experience was the opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds and learn from their unique perspectives. Being able to connect with locals, learn their stories, or even just conversate with them at the local shops, was what impacted me the most. These conversations helped me view life from a different perspective and opened my mind to new ideas.
Through engaging activities such as nightly meetings, seminars, and field trips, the students and staff were also able to learn from each other's similarities and differences to ignite long lasting friendships.

Highlight:
The days where we visited local businesses and learned the aspects of running a business in Las Tablas, were some of my favorite moments. On our "working like a local" day, we visited La Finca El Espinal, a goat farm in Las Tablas. Here the owner let us feed and milk his goats, along with fertilize the big goat's food. We spent most the day here asking question, listening to the owner speak, eating goat ice-cream and helping out at the farm. What truly inspires me was his story of the upbringing of his business, how small it was when he started and how much it has grown, this inspires me to pursue any aspirations I have in life with passion and hard work.

Our Impact:
Through collaborative projects we were able to support the local community in multiple ways. Three days of our trip were dedicated to our “CAP” (Community Action Project). This time was spent executing project(s), designed by the students to help a particular organization, chosen by Global Glimpse. For my trip, the non-profit organization we contributed to was Nutre Hogar, a recovery center for malnourished kids. Here, we organized and executed three projects, tree-planting, Netting, and mural painting, which all created sustainable impacts to Nutre Hogar's facility, children, staff, and way of living.

Balanced Schedule:
In addition to visiting many guest speakers, attending program seminars, and required mealtime, there was always a balance between these structured activities and the amount of free time we had on hand. This free time was necessary because it gave students the opportunity to rest, enjoy the accommodation, or even explore the town for a few hours. Likewise, allowing us to demonstrate our responsibility and skills as leaders, along with giving us the chance to bond with the other Glimpsers on our trip.

Inspired:
Before my trip, I had very little knowledge of what I wanted to do with my future, let alone after high school. However, experiencing life at a different angle for two weeks, has sparked new ideas of potential career pathways for me to pursue in the future. Additionally, Global Glimpse has developed a deep passion in me to travel abroad and even dedicate more time to studying Spanish.

Space for improvement:
I feel as time went on, us Glimpsers found ourselves forming into cliques, and stuck with those same people for the duration of the trip. As a result, we missed the opportunity to get to know everyone during our trip. I believe doing more structured group activities or icebreakers will improve how we interact with each other and separate from those cliques.

This experience is the highlight of my High School career, and I would recommend this opportunity to any student willing to step out of their comfort zone and explore. 😊😊