Program Reviews

This past summer, I went to the Dominican Republic with Global Leadership Adventures. I can honestly say I couldn't be happier with my decision to go abroad with this amazing program. It was such a life changing experience and I owe it all to GLA. I will never forget my trip and the life long friends I made. I learned so much about the lives of the people there and how much of an affect we have on them. It was educational and fun and I couldn't think of a better way to see such a beautiful country. The locals were so welcoming and helpful. Overall, this is such a great program and I couldn't thank GLA enough for all they did for me.

GLA was without a doubt, one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I began the program ignorant of life outside of the the United States and completely oblivious to the lifestyle and beautiful culture that Costa Rica exuded. Everyday, I woke up to my three roommates (now, I prefer the term sisters) and hurried into a small shower in our petite, wooden cabin. The living conditions were by no means luxurious or sumptuous, but they more than enough to sustain us for the preceding three weeks. We prepared for a work day, and headed downstairs, where a deliciously classic Costa Rican dish was prepared--rice and beans with sausage. Afterwards, we all headed to San Bernado, a small town where we planned to work on cementing a new sidewalk and painting tires to make a children's playground. Through the arduous work and the beating sun, I was able to truly bond with not only my fellow volunteers, but also all the people in the community. I was able to exercise and practice my Spanish with the young girls from the local community, who incessantly hugged me and made me feel like a part of their society. Aside from the work, I also learned a lot about the importance of the environment and the significance of water conservation. GLA Costa Rica's Spanish Service Adventure gave me a memorable experience filled with work, excursions, and new relationships but also taught me lessons that I intend on teaching to others in my community.

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to go on a volunteer trip to Guatemala with Global Leadership Adventures. At first I was nervous and did not know how to go about signing up for a trip. The GLA staff walked me through the application process and helped me find the program that was right for me. They also gave my family and I enough background information on the trip that my parents felt comfortable with me going. While there, we volunteered at a rural school cementing and painting its walls. We also had time to play games and get to know the children at the school we were working on. While not volunteering our mentors kept us busy, showing us Mayan ruins, Mayan ceremonies, and really giving us a look into Guatemala's culture. We even got to go on a weekend trip to Lake Atitlan. This trip was the perfect combination of service and fun. I made lasting friendships and returned from the trip a stronger leader than before.

I spent 10 days volunteering in Haitian and Dominican communities in the Dominican Republic. It was a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone in high school. I learned so much about sustainability, politics, and the environment, and am inspired to make a lasting positive impact on this country.

I loved my trip to Ghana. I have been on three Global Leadership Adventure trips and I feel they are amazing. When I went to Ghana we stayed in a small hostel by ourselves in the middle of a small village near the beach. The food was amazing and I always felt extremely safe. Kids would come into the yard and play all the time. The service was extremely rewarding. I helped build a library with cement blocks and helped teach a 1st grade class at a local school. The bonds built through service and the memories I made there are something I will take with me for the rest of my life. In addition to service GLA does a lot of cultural immersion activities. These include language class, cooking class, host families, an island tour, visiting a slave fort, seeing one of the largest waterfalls in Africa, and even going to a monkey forest. The excursion trips always kept us busy. Additionally every night we would have discussions, guest speakers, or lessons that would serve to make us think and teach us about issues in Ghana and around the world. We were always exhausted and in bed by 9 ready for a new exciting day come next morning. GLA Ghana was incredible and helped teach me what I want in life and what I will do in my future.

I went on the Dominican Republic Beach Side Service Adventure trip and I can truthfully say that my life has been changed for the better. My time in the DR taught me the importance of global awareness and how what we do can affect others so profoundly. I feel so blessed to have gotten to be a part of the bottle school construction. We built the largest bottle school in the world in Caraballo- a Haitian and Dominican community. The school has 6 classrooms! We also built a bottle clinic in Las Canas and picked up trash in La Grua. What stuck out to me was all the smiles on the local kids' faces. When our bus pulled up to our work site, they would all come running and grab our hands and we would play with them and they helped us with the work. The kids were always excited to see us and their happiness was contagious, making all of us happy to do the work. There was this one little boy in Las Canas, his name was Juan, and he insisted on helping me spread cement. And when we needed a break, we would hit around a baseball for a little bit. I'll never forget the people I met because they were the greatest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. While the work was fun, it was also hard- so we were rewarded with two off days. The first one we went to Dudu Lagoon where we jumped into a fresh water lagoon that was freezing cold. If you didn't want to jump you could zipline in which is preferable for people like me who are afraid of heights. The second day, we went snorkeling and shopping in Sosua. That was great because I had the chance to buy my family and friends some Dominican souvenirs and also practice some bartering. While I enjoyed the relaxation, I mostly wanted to be at the work sites. That was one thing I would change for the program- more time at the work sites. This program taught me the importance of hard work and also the importance of kindness. Thanks to my experience, I want to continue working abroad doing things like this. Global Leadership Adventures is the perfect experience for teen service and adventure and I really recommend it to everyone in high school!

How to sum up my experience in Tanzania is probably the hardest task anyone could ask of me. I could talk about my trip all day if I wanted to, but I don't think there is any way I could capture my trip by typing letters into my computer. I'll talk about my favorite day of the whole trip. It was the 4th of July, which of course has no meaning to the Tanzanians, but in Arizona (where I'm from) we celebrate the 4th like it's the biggest holiday of the year. I woke up extra early that day so I could wake EVERYONE up by blasting "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus and hopefully start a dance party. I know my GLA friends too well, because at 6am everyone got up out of bed to celebrate 4th of July with me by having a dance party to classic America songs. Then we had a delicious breakfast made my the incredibly hospitable cooking staff who I have come to love. We had Tanzania style french toast which I savored because it was AMAZING, served with fresh juice. Then we got on our bus to head down to Himo-Korona Primary school. Godwin, one of the local staff, had turned all the seats on the bus sideways so it was like a party bus (we officially nicknamed the bus the party bus) and we had a dance party all the way to the school, dancing to our favorite Tanzanian artists that the local staff introduced us to. We arrived at the school and just like every day the local young children, who aren't old enough yet to attend the Primary school, were waiting for our bus to arrive so they could chase us and aim to get a high five from us sticking our hands out the windows of the bus. We hustled to our class rooms and started our lessons. We decided that instead of a regular English lesson, we would learn about what the 4th of July is, and then play hangman. The kids were guessing ridiculous letters such as "z, y, q, x, etc.", letters that are definitely not common in the English language. The kids became playfully angry when they couldn't solve the word "thank you" because on such an inquisitive level, they wanted to know how to use every letter. All of the kids continue to amaze me by their eagerness to learn. They have a fire in their heart for education, one I've never seen before. Then after the lesson we headed outside for recess with the kids. The boys in my class took me by the arm and sat me down on a shady rock to play hand games and talk. Then we started showing each other what hidden talents we have. I showed them how I can make my eyes vibrate, while they all decided to start FLIPPING!! One by one, each of my boys took a running start and would step onto a small rock to give them a little bit of extra height, and flip! Soon a crowd started to form and other schoolboys started flipping as well. It was insane! One boy lined up 4 other boys and flipped over all 4 of them! It was the craziest thing I had ever seen, seriously. After all the fun and games at recess we started our community service by planting thorn trees around the school, acting as a fence to keep the children safe. Then we headed back to home base to figure out the rest of the days schedule. Our group split in half, half going to the clothes market, and the other half staying home to make batik paintings. I went with the group to the clothes market and it's pretty much a giant Goodwill. My friends Greg and Frances walked around with me and as we were strolling along the market, we heard a bit of a commotion going on. I looked ahead and I saw a giant American flag being held by a local with a cigarette in his mouth and music playing behind him in his small vendor shop of cheap clothes. Just above the American flag, though, I could see Mount. Kilimanjaro. It was an image that I will never forget. A torn and dirty American flag hanging just below the impressive peak of Mount. Kilimanjaro. We approached the man and danced with him a little and he tried getting me to trade American flags with him because I was holding a mini flag I brought with me. I refused and continued to joke with him and have a good time. The market was such an incredible experience to see how big of a role this small little gathering played in the economics of their community. Then we headed home and when we got there, Godwin was waiting for us with a HUGE smile on his face (as usual) and had cleared a dance floor for us so he could teach us a traditional Tanzanian dance. Godwin never fails to make me laugh, he is honestly the best person I have ever met. To end the day, as a group we all walked to the local bar to watch a World Cup soccer match and we all yelled and screamed for the teams playing, and in that moment, I felt like I was home.

I encourage anyone who wants to embark on a mission trip to apply to GLA. The Tanzania trip I went on last summer was even better than I expected( and I had high expectations!) If you are thinking of joining the tanzania trip I would say you need to like kids. This is an unbelievable experience to be role models to children and teach the English too. The housing GLA provides is outstanding, now don't get me wrong, it's not a five star resort. It is a clean, well protected( by a cement wall), and colorful . It is really a home, and you'll be calling it that by the third day guarenteed. If you choose to take this adventure you should bring a raincoat, waterproof shoes( preferably chacos :)) and plenty of snacks like cereal( if you can eat it dry), trail mix and something to suppress your sweet tooth. If you take the risk and go on this adventure of a life time you will not regret it!

Over the summer I attended Global Leadership Adventures two week Empowering Rainforest Communities program. It truly was one of the most memorable and life changing experiences of my life. I know it is cliche and that you have read hundreds of reviews saying the same thing, and I felt the same way too. Like how good can this program really be? But after my two weeks in Costa Rica I can honestly say that the program met and exceeded all of my expectations. The way the program is organized provides for the ultimate amount of cultural immersion and fun social experiences. Everyday you wake up, eat breakfast, and then go off to do your designated service in the local communities. The service could possibly have been the highlight of my trip. As a student you are immersed in the local culture and get to meet people of a completely different lifestyle of your own. But what you learn to realize is that they are not much different from you. It is one of the coolest and most eye opening realizations you will ever experience. Throughout the trip's duration Global Leadership Adventures sprinkles in fun activities that allow you to explore this brand new country. For example during my trip, we got to swim and hike along a river littered with waterfalls, climb up to the crater of a volcano, and relax in Costa Rica's natural hot springs. As far as safety goes I understand that it is a huge part when choosing a program to volunteer abroad with, specifically from the parent's point of view. But Global Leadership Adventures does a great job in providing clean housing and transportation and you are always with a counselor or your program director. There was not one time I felt uneasy during this trip. Volunteering abroad sparked my interest in travel and cultural immersion and has inspired me to make a change in my own life and strive to help others make that change as well and I have Global Leadership Adventures to thank for that. I would highly recommend this program to any perspective students.

Last August, I had the opportunity to go the Dominican Republic on a 10 day service trip with Global Leadership Adventures. It was without a doubt inspiring, life changing, and amazing in every way. But there is so much more to the program than just that. I describe it as life changing, but it wasn't just my life that experienced alterations. By doing meaningful service in impoverished communities and changing someone else's life, I know that I made a difference.

My program was a balance of service and adventure. For the service aspect, I got to work on what will be the largest bottle house in the world once it's completed. Built from thrown away plastic bottles, the sustainable 6-room house will serve as a medical facility and a school, among other things. We met the doctor who is going to be utilizing the space for a clinic. He had such a passion about the work that he does. It made me so grateful to be a member of the team, and helped me to visualize the immediate impact my work would have.

I strongly recommend this trip to any teen. If you are considering going on a trip, do not hesitate. Yes, you will have to jump outside your comfort zone, but you will learn to love it after just one day. Go on a service trip to change the lives of others for the better, and your life will change as a result.