Welcome to Texas, Stella Matutina!

It's a new school year and we are excited to welcome our new friends from Stella Matutina Girls' High School in Taichung, Taiwan. This delegation is the first to visit UA this year. It is also the first time that Stella Matutina has had an exchange with a school in the USA. the group arrived today at DFW Airport and, although they were tired after the long flight from Hong Kong, the students were overjoyed to meet their UA hosts.

Highlights from GYLI Year 2, New Mexico

Today our GYLI Year 2 travelers are headed home after a wonderful adventure in New Mexico. It seems that all survived not only the rustic natural environment but also a big storm where one tent was destroyed by hail (no injuries to report thank goodness!). All are happy to return to the comforts of home but are grateful for the experience, the lessons and the friendships shared this past week.

Highlights from Costa Rica

As our group prepares to leave Costa Rica tomorrow, we have received a few photos highlighting their time in beautiful, tropical, Central America.

One activity that was special was making chocolate during the homestay - Ms. Clark described it below:

Our neighbors (other GYLI students) joined us at Finca La Virgen to make chocolate.  Dona Chepita taught us the history of chocolate making and showed us the entire process from cacoa pod to hot chocolate.  We even learned a new song! "Batte, Batte, Chocolate!"

All of our GYLI students will wrap up tonight with a meeting and reflection called a "Closing Circle" before heading home to Dallas tomorrow. We are excited to hear more from each group and to hear how they want to incorporate their GYLI experiences into life back at UA.

GYLI Updates

We have heard a bit from all of our traveling GYLI groups. The internet access has been limited but our chaperones have checked in with bits of news when they have had wifi. Here are some highlights:

GYLI Year 3, Costa Rica: All have returned to EARTH University from their short homestays and all had a thrilling time white water rafting today. The students are safe, in great spirits and still hoping to see a sloth in addition to the giant iguanas. We are waiting for those photos!  In the meantime, here are some photos from Mrs. Clark's homestay:

GYLI Year 2, New Mexico: Our students have had some very active and rewarding days in a beautiful mountain environment. They had a day of orientation and ice-breakers upon arrival followed by a day of gardening and community service near Tao. Today they hiked and have sent us a photo of the whole group near the Rio Grande river.

GYLI Year 1, Connecticut: Our Year 1 students had some challenging moments at first as their luggage did not arrive with them in Providence. They were, however, very cheerful and upbeat until it arrived the following day. As luck would have it, their on-land accommodations were lovely and typical of New England. Yesterday, they set sail with their group and they are "at sea" today, making friends and learning all about collaborative team work.

 

We can't wait to hear more from all of our Global Youth Leadership groups!