Like No Other

I came into the program at Peru believing I would spend time volunteering abroad, meeting locals, and hiking a trail to Machu Picchu. Well, I was correct. But to state that those actions were the bulk of my adventure would be an insult to how much Global Leadership Adventures has impacted my life. We did build a greenhouse for a local school, we did visit an orphanage and help locals sort quinoa, we did hike a 15-mile trail full of wonder, only to see more wonder at the place of the ancient Incan civilization. However, I came back home with so much more than an experience to culture and beauty. Global Leadership Adventures has completely turned my life around- no longer obsessed with success or achievement, but obsessed with passion and wonder for the world. Being able to see the faces of the young schoolchildren when we played soccer with them, or gazing at the Milky Way at our campsite to Machu Picchu, I could not have been more overwhelmed with joy. I still tell my friends every day about Peru, and it has been 4 months since the program ended. I still read the 50 pages of my GLA journal full of scribbles and crude sketches, I still talk to the wonderful people I have met in the journey, I still can't stop thinking of my experience everyday. GLA made sure we were safe; they take a lot of precaution and stick to their 5-Point Safety System. I am a vegetarian, but the food at home base could accommodate my needs perfectly. This really is the program that changed my life, and I will never forget it. I am forever thankful to Global Leadership Adventures, my mentors, and all the people I have met along the way.