Program Reviews

I went on this trip not having any clue as to what to expect. It was the first time this program (Spanish & Service in the Osa) had ever been done before. How could I have possibly known I was about to have the most incredible experience of my life? Everyone on the trip was lively on friendly, including the mentors. Their role may have been mentors but we were all enjoying the new and exciting scenery and adventures equally; as it was their first time seeing all of the things as well. The people in the town welcomed us with open arms and were very understanding of our developing spanish skills. Enjoying the culture of Rancho Quemado and eating the local cuisine was one of my favorite parts. Our time doing community service made me feel helpful and put me in touch with some of the needs of smaller communities. In addition to our everyday community service and tours to parts of the area, we took a weekend excursion that was amazing! We kayaked up a river, swam to our hike, hiked to multiple waterfalls, and then it began to rain making the experience a thousand times better. Being in the rainforest in Costa Rica, standing next to a waterfall while water pours down is what I consider a perfect moment.

GLA allowed me to have a rare life changing experience; the two weeks I spent in Costa Rica were the most amazing and genuinely unforgettable weeks I have ever had. My eyes were opened to another country and I was totally immersed in its culture and language. We actually got to know the locals as we helped rebuild their schools and reforest their land, forming real relationships with them. The service projects we participated in had remarkable effects on the community and feels so good to know that we had a positive impact. At the end of my program, one man spoke to a group of us and generously thanked us for everything we did; it was a heartwarming experience I will remember forever. I also formed strong friendships with all of the other teens who were in Costa Rica with me. In fact, we still talk almost every day. Within only a few days, it felt as if all of us had known each other for weeks. Without GLA, I never would have met such strong leaders who helped challenge me to develop my own leadership skills. Our mentors were also one of the highlights of the trip. We talked daily about how this experience affected our previous beliefs and we were given a great amount of instruction, advice, and guidance from our mentors.
From playing on the beaches to zip lining upside down through the rainforest to planting hundreds of trees, I learned myself as well as our planet while in Costa Rica and these experiences have affected my life in more ways than I ever though they could. I am so grateful I had this opportunity and wish I could relive the entire experience!

After going on three adventures with GLA (Guatemala, Galapagos and Costa Rica), I can say that if you’re looking for a physically challenging, rewarding and purposeful program, the Galapagos adventure is the one for you.

Galapagos was the most culturally immersive program and I got so much out of it. The local guide was very knowledgable, and I not only learned about the Galapagos Islands and their history, but also that of Ecuador as well.

At the home bases, I truly felt welcomed. Everyone always had a smile on his/her face, and it was a great start to every day. The food was amazing everywhere! We snorkeled at some pristine locations where nothing could’ve made my experience better; we were lucky enough to even see a sea turtle lay her eggs!

The service on this program was pretty tiring, yet so enjoyable that I was always motivated to keep going further than our goal. The best thing about the service was when the locals would join us and help out, demonstrating just how close a community these small islands are. When leaving the islands, I felt like I just came out of a dream. I couldn’t believe I was able to bike, kayak, hike and swim next to all of these exotic animals and gorgeous landscapes.

After the program, I definitely felt changed and more confident about myself. Many times I thought that I couldn’t handle something, but I was able to overcome my fears. I made many strong friendships with people around the world from this program, including the mentors, directors and locals, who were a big part of my experience and truly made it the adventure of a lifetime for me.

It is very hard to summarized 3 weeks in to a paragraph, it is hard to believe but this trip has made a huge impact on how i viewed the world. I was very nervous and anxious before the trip because it was my first time ever leave the country alone. I was hoping that a member of GLA would somehow purchased the same flight I had but it did not happen. However, I was glad that I was by myself on my flight to Peru because it made me more confident and I even made friends with people. One thing I wish I knew was that I need to pick up my luggage when I arrived in Lima airport; when I landed in Cuzco, I found out that my suitcase was stuck in Lima and it would take 2 to 3 days before I could get it.

Flash forward to my arrival, I was the first student in my group to arrived. I was greeted by my mentors who made me felt right at home. When my fellow student arrived, they were so nice and sweet that I fit right in. The view I had of Peru when I got there was already amazing, but with the people whom I spend 3 weeks, I will never forget it.

The mentors were so friendly and sweet that our group eventually call them our dad, mom, and bigger sister. The locals were so sweet and amazing. The people i volunteer for treated us with respect and teaches us new skill;, they never made us feel uncomfortable at all and trusted us with all their heart. Even though the local live in poverty, you can never find them without a smile on their face. I have learn to be grateful for the privileges I have because the people in Peru always enjoy the little things in life even when things were rough.

The most unforgettable event that I will always treasure is when I learn how to knit with the women. It was the second to last week of my short trip and I promised my self I would learn how to knit, so I went to a workshop at the place I volunteered at and asked the women to teach me how to knit. Between my limited knowledge of Spanish and the women who couldn't speak English, they agreed to teach me. I spend an entire day learning how to knit in different patterns. The women were very gentle, they showed me the right ways when I was wrong, then eventually they allowed me to knit my first beanie. Leaving the women there was the hardest; they cried when I said goodbye. Even though I only knew them for a short period of time, tears didn't stop flowing out of one of the women's cheek. I promised her and myself that I would study hard and one day I will return and visit here and the people there.

Where do I even start? How do I explain the most amazing three weeks of my life? On the last day I was definitely not ready to go home. I could live there forever in all honesty. Our GLA group truly became a family. One student I became very close with through working with her separately and she, too, became a sister to me. The students are all so adorable. All of the people there are so friendly and loving--even if you've just met them. I daily miss being called "mzungu"(white person) walking down the road and random children running up to us to hold our hand. Beside the family, friends, and home I gained, we hiked to some gorgeous waterfalls, spent a day with some incredible Maasai in their boma, and got to see elephants, lions, and other safari animals in their beautiful homes which we call Tarangire National Park and Ngorogoro Crater. It really was an unforgettable trip. The truth is, I can't explain those three weeks there. I can't explain my love for the people, school, and even the town itself. I can try my best, but the only way anyone could understand is by experiencing it for themself. Don't miss out!!! You have all of this and more to look forward to.

This summer, I visited Ecuador and the Galapagos for 2 weeks with GLA. It was a truly rewarding experience- I met so many amazing people that I bonded with, and I did a lot of things (such as volunteer in a giant tortoise preserve) that I could not have done anywhere else in the world.
A highlight of my trip was swimming with sea lions. In the Galapagos, wild sea lions would approach us and swim circles around us while we were snorkeling. Even though it happened pretty frequently during our snorkeling expeditions, playing with wild sea lions never stopped being amazing.
Going through this program is a great experience, and I would recommend it to everyone. The Galapagos is beautiful and wild and completely unparalleled, and this program allows us to experience it to the fullest.

I had the time of my life in Ghana this summer building an eco-compost toilet for one of the local villages! I came home wanting to go back and I truly miss it every day. The lively spirit and the welcoming nature brought a smile to my face every single day that I was there and I made the most incredible friends of whom I still talk to all the time! If I could have spent my entire summer in Ghana I definetely would have and I hope to return next summer, as do some of the students from my trip! Everywere you go when you leave the home base you recieve warm welcomes and I have never felt so happy to be somewhere. I found wholesome comfort in a situation where I least expected it and I truly wake up every morning wanting to be back. We learned the local language there, "Ewe" and picked it up pretty fast so that we could communicate with all of the kids and people outside the village, which I thought was so important. Coming back to America and knowing the basics of Ewe after two weeks felt incredible and I was so excted to teach some of it to my family. The part of this trip that meant the most to me though was how much I was contributing to a community. You get to meet the people and play with the kids of which will be benefitted by his toilet for decades. I think before going on this trip I knew that public health was a huge issue, but seeing it firsthand absolutely changed my life and I plan to actually study public health and work on projects similar to this in my future. This was the most incedible experience of my life and everyone around me can see the change it made in my life. I hope everyone who is considering going on this trip next year goes for it- you'll be so happy you did!

This past summer, I went on the Thailand Cultural Kaleidoscope Program with Global Leadership Adventures and had an absolutely amazing two weeks. We were able to experience so many different cultural experiences in such a short amount of time, hence, I felt like we got a lot out of our time there. We went ziplining, tried and cooked local foods and dishes, bamboo rafted, explored Buddhist temples, hiked through hill tribe villages, rode elephants through the jungle, and bathed elephants in a local river. Along with this, one of the main focuses of our time in Thailand was going to a school and teaching English to the Thai children. It was an absolutely amazing experience unlike anything I had ever done before.
The GLA staff really made the trip what it was. They were knowledgeable about the country and made us feel safe at all times. Along with those important things, they were also very fun, funny, and easy to relate to.

GLA Costa Rica sports adventure trip was one of the best trips I have ever taken. The program provided top of the line housing and staff. I met so many people that I know will be life long friends. Experiencing the culture and meeting the locals was life changing. It changed my whole perspective of the world.

My adventure in Costa Rica was, without a doubt, one of the best experiences in my life. The three weeks were a perfectly constructed concoction of work, education, and fun(don't worry, they were mainly fun). Almost every weekday involved work early in the morning with the community. Sometimes the work was hard, but it was extremely fulfilling and it was never boring. We planted coffee plants, fertilized the land they were grown in, made bokashi(manure), mixed cement to make sidewalks and stairways, and stuffed eco-bricks. Every day, after lunch, the moms from the communities would make us delicious, authentic Costa Rican food. Usually we would return to home base for Spanish lessons- and several times these were held in the city, so we could unleash our newly learned Spanish skills on the natives. There were group activities every night that made sure we were introduced quickly and were all close friends within days. Every weekend, we were given a break from Spanish lessons and the community work and were instead taken on awesome excursions. The trip definitely changed my view on the world and was a great way to spend part of my summer, I wish there had been a way to extend my stay.

My only regret about the trip was having to leave all of the people I had grown so fond of during my stay and knowing I wouldn't see many of them again.