Leaders in Action 2016 — St. Vincent & The Grenadines
Dear parents, family, friends, and Global Routes fans:
Hello from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines! This is truly a fantastic crop of LIAs (“Leaders in Action”), who have already hit the ground running with their positivity, communication skills, and readiness to adapt to island life. We’ve been staying at the lovely New Montrose Hotel in Kingstown, St. Vincent, where we’ve been spoiled with real beds, air conditioning, and huge breakfasts. We spent yesterday exploring Kingstown with a challenge called the “Magical Mystery Tour,” which prompted the students to ask questions of people they met in Kingstown. This allowed them to learn more about the island from its citizens and residents. Our group was polite yet enthusiastic, and had some great conversations with new friends as as result — throughout the streets of Kingstown.
Afterward, we filled ourselves up with flavorful island fare at every opportunity. We tasted breadfruit, new sodas, and dishes with mouthwatering sauces! We spent our afternoon on a lovely and fascinating tour of one of the oldest Botanical Gardens in the Western Hemisphere, planning our meals for the next week, and grocery shopping accordingly.
After a big dinner and meaningful nightly group meeting, we all went to bed ASAP to prepare for our big day today: moving ourselves, our luggage, and our groceries to Lauders where we will remain for the next two weeks to immerse ourselves in the real reason we came here: to provide an incredible experience for the local children by facilitating the Friendship Camp. The students are looking forward to the end of the orientation period of our time together and jumping head first into our real purpose here in Saint Vincent. Working with these bright young people has so far been a true pleasure, and we’re looking forward to everything yet to come.
Sincerely,
Ali & Max
Ps — here’s what each of the students had to say about their first few days of LIA Grenadines 2016:
Charlotte Emerson – “So far in St. Vincent we’ve gone on a magical mystery tour, visited the Botanical Gardens, and went grocery shopping. The travel day was long but worth it. After 16 hours of plane rides, we finally landed and a huge relief was lifted off my shoulders when I laid in a real bed.”
Lauren Kerzhner – “People here reciprocate your kindness. Each building is a different color and it’s so beautiful to look at. I’ve seen many goats. Give Polina a kiss for me. Love you, Lyba.”
Elijah Manning – “I’m finally in the Grenadines and I love it! It’s really fun here and today we went on a magical mystery tour. On the tour I met a lot of new people from St. Vincent and had lots of conversations. I’m starting to see how this trip will be life-changing.”
Olivia Weiss – “I am having an amazing time on the LIA trip. Today we went on an MMT and I met so many great people. I can’t wait for Lauders and the Cupids!”
Ari Contente – “So far I am feeling really good. The island is very pretty and I’ve made a lot of new friends. The hotel has been a blast and the food has been delicious. Also, it was really interesting to be able to talk to the natives here and get to know more about the culture in Kingstown. I’m really excited to go to the Cupids and start the camp.”
Marybeth Ehlbeck – “So far I’m so in love with the island. The people are so friendly, and the food is delicious. St. Vincent is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my summer here.”
Alex Van Biema – “The exploration of Kingstown today was equally exciting and exhausting. From the vibrant colors that make the architecture of the buildings protrude, in an eye-popping fashion, to the gorgeous vistas that serve as a wondrous backdrop to all the buildings – everything is indubitably bursting with an immense amount of life. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to explore and immerse myself in the culture, and general milieu of St. Vincent, so far and I can’t wait to experience all the wonderful and interesting things that are yet to come.”
Nora Haynos – “I am having a lot of fun. The culture here is very different from American culture! Today we did a Magical Mystery Tour and went to a botanical garden. Can’t wait to drive to Lauders tomorrow and start the camp.”
Blair Carpenter – “Everything is going swimmingly – except for us. They haven’t let us swim yet. In all seriousness, this is a great crew with fantastic leaders and I’m having a great time. We’ve done a lot, seen a lot — it’s great. I want to see a shark or a snake but I’m starting to question whether these priorities are shared among the group.”
Anna Svenson – “We woke up and had breakfast, then went and talked to people in Kingstown. Then we went to the Botanical Gardens which was amazing. I am doing well and I am excited to start running the camp.”
Alex Adelman – “We woke up and had an amazing breakfast and heard about the cooking/culture and ate some great food. We went on a nice little tour of Kingstown and met some cool people. When that was done we ate at a police canteen and then went to the botanical gardens and then carried our groceries to the hotel. It is extremely humid and we all sweat and smell — no matter what we do.”
Ben Bailey – “St Vincent is an extremely beautiful place. The people are super nice and really open. The 16 hour trip was tough on my body and mind but I pushed through and I’m now having a wonderful trip.”
My Phan – “When I first landed in St. Vincent, I could feel the flaming hot breeze in my face. The plane ride drained all of my energy, but once I saw the beautiful island it helped me gain my positivity back. I’m looking forward to helping the kids find their happiness in playing “the beautiful game” (soccer). I want to share how the beautiful game impacted my life and hopefully make their lives more enjoyable to live in this world.”
Jasper Stoch – “There was only so much traveling my body could take. I was passing out pretty much every chance I could. The next day was rough. I was exhausted, making the day that much harder. Though throughout the day on long hot walks I was able to wake up a little bit. Our group went to the botanical gardens, the supermarket, out to dinner and a walk through town to meet locals. The local people were incredibly friendly, asking to play soccer with us and telling us about themselves. It was really interesting.”
