Summer Camps & Programs

Program Description

Global Works

Summer Programs
Costa Rica, France, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Spain, Fiji Islands/New Zealand, Yucatan/Mexico, Central Mexico, Martinique, Argentina, Peru, and Panama

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For More Information, Contact
Global Works, Home Office
2342 Broadway
Boulder, Colorado 80304
303-545-2202
Fax: 303-545-2425
http://www.globalworkstravel.com
E-mail: info@globalworksinc.com

Type of Program: International travel combining environmental and community service, cultural and language immersion, and outdoor adventure activities
Participants: Coeducational, high school students
Enrollment: 13–18
Program Dates: Two to five weeks in the summer
Head of Program: Erik Werner, Director/Owner

Location

Global Works summer programs are located all over the world. Students live in places that include small village homes in the mountains of Fiji, dormitories located just outside the French Alps, and eco-lodges in the rain forest. Several Global Works programs offer homestays with families to increase language learning and cultural exchange. The Global Works home office is located in Boulder, Colorado.

Background and Philosophy

Since 1989, Global Works has been offering exceptional service-based adventures for high school students. Global Works strives to provide high school students with rewarding community service and adventure travel programs that foster personal growth and promote social and cultural awareness for them and the communities they serve. Today’s community- and service-minded youths make a difference in the global community as they live with and touch the lives of the people they serve. Days filled with meaningful projects, travel, and exposure to different cultures are rounded out with just the right amount of adventure, fun, and play.

Program Offerings

Costa Rica: Global Works offers several programs to Costa Rica, with various starting dates, durations, and language learning options and a multitude of adventure activities. All of the trips uncover the country’s many treasures, from 12,000-foot mountain peaks to lush cloud forests and beautiful, pristine beaches. Service projects represent 60 percent of the experience. In cooperation with local community members, participants build health centers, community centers, school playgrounds, and bridges. They may assist in reforestation, help with conservation projects, or perform similar service. Nonproject time is spent white-water rafting, hiking through the cloud forests of Monteverde, swimming at the beach, playing soccer, or visiting new friends. All of the programs to Costa Rica include a ten- to twelve-day homestay with a village family, which encourages serious language learning. Homestays are carefully arranged, allowing participants to experience different customs, traditions, and foods and practice their language skills. All staff members are bilingual.
Fiji Islands: This trip captures the magic of these exotic South Pacific islands. From the welcoming ceremonies of each village to the environmental and community service projects, participants are treated to sun-filled days reminiscent of another time. Traditional Fijian hospitality is unsurpassed. Projects may include constructing bures (thatched huts), building a tree nursery, developing reforestation zones, and restoring community buildings. Participants truly feel as if they are part of each community. Adventure activities include scuba diving, snorkeling through beautiful reefs, hiking, swimming, and dancing. Participants experience island time and a beautifully different culture.
Puerto Rico: Global Works offers several trips to Puerto Rico, all of which focus on service and adventure. One of these trips has the added focus of Spanish language learning and a homestay. Projects always meet a community need and tend to focus on small construction projects. Adventure activities include scuba diving, hikes in the rain forest, snorkeling, sea kayaking, swimming, and visits to Old San Juan and Spanish forts. This is the trip for students looking for service, adventure, sun, and sand.
France: This journey takes students to three different regions of France for service projects and adventure activities. This is also a language program with a ten- to twelve-day homestay. French is spoken 80 percent of the time. Projects such as castle restoration, reforestation, and interpretive trail blazing are cooperatively worked on by both the local community and Global Works members. When the group is not working on projects, time is spent rock climbing, biking, rafting, hiking, and visiting museums, chateaux, and medieval fortresses.
Ireland: The warm hospitality of Irish culture opens its doors to students through community projects. Projects include reforestation, painting playgrounds for elementary schools, and working with peace and reconciliation centers. Students participate in Gaelic football, sightseeing, traditional Irish music nights, hiking, surfing, biking, and numerous other activities. Irish culture is filled with music, writers, warm hospitality, and wit. Western Ireland quenches the eyes with dramatic landscapes, seaside cliffs, lush green farms, and beautiful mountains. Participants experience the magic of the Emerald Isle.
Ecuador: Few countries compare to Ecuador in geographic and cultural diversity. The Andean highlands, mountain villages, dormant volcanoes, thermal baths, and cloud-forest biospheres provide majestic settings for community projects, nature preserve construction, adventure activities, and friendly homestays. Homestays with village friends last ten to twelve days and provide a unique opportunity for serious language learning and cultural immersion. Students travel to the Galapagos Islands to see incredible wildlife and visit Parque Nacional and the Darwin Stations, which are isolated biological preserves with numerous unique and threatened species. Participants contribute to projects assisting local communities and the environment.
Mexico–Yucatan: This is a journey through the Yucatan peninsula that most tourists never encounter. Participants sleep in a seventeenth-century Spanish hacienda; swim in an underground pool, or cenote; live and interact with Mayan families during a ten-day homestay; eat home-cooked Mexican meals; learn traditional dances; work on community projects; and snorkel on a small rustic island. Students experience the warmth of the people, Mexico’s rich history, and the brilliant colors and flavors found in this beautiful country while also contributing to meaningful service projects in small communities.
Spain: Students are invited on a journey through Spain that combines old-world charm; visits to renowned sites; homestays with warm, friendly families; and cultural and language immersion. Projects include working with a self-sustaining community on construction and greenhouse needs as well as helping in senior centers or group homes for individuals with physical challenges. Activities blend water sports, day excursions to the mountains, soccer, sightseeing in Madrid, and day hikes. A four-week college-credit Spanish language course is also offered in Spain, combining classroom language study, homestays, adventure activities, and service opportunities.
Panama: Students enjoy the beauty and diversity of Panama and its island beaches while learning Spanish and participating in community and environmental projects. This program includes a ten- to twelve-day homestay, during which time students improve their Spanish language skills and enjoy cultural exchanges with the host family. Adventure activities include snorkeling, water sports, hiking, sightseeing, and visits to national parks and market towns.
Martinique: Surrounded by the exquisite waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west, this island is a portrait of paradise. The program includes a ten-day homestay, during which students practice their French with warm families while working alongside local youth and taking in the culture and adventure activities available, such as snorkeling, scuba, hiking to waterfalls, cooking lessons, soccer, and much more.
Central Mexico: This program is highlighted by language study at the Cemenahuac Language School, where students spend approximately 5 to 7 hours per day in appropriate-level language classes as well as intercambios with local high school students. Other highlights include an Acapulco beach excursion, exploring the historic district of Mexico City, white-water rafting on the Amacuzac River, exploring the mystical pyramids of Teotihuacan, and more.
Peru: Students should check with the home office regarding the Peru program.
Argentina: Participants experience an adventure that takes them through the buzz of Buenos Aires to the gaucho plains of the pamapas and up to the mountains of the Andes. Students work on projects with local agencies in the historic neighborhood of La Boca, followed by a ten-day homestay in Posadas, where everyone practices their Spanish while staying with local families. An overnight trip to Igazu Falls will amaze, and then it’s off to Mendoza and the Central Andes for skiing, snowboarding, sled rides, and more before relaxing and reminiscing in Buenos Aires and returning home.

Enrollment

Global Works programs are open to participants who are 13 to 18 years old; several trips are divided into age-appropriate groups. Some trips require two years of secondary language study in French or Spanish. No special construction skills are needed—just a desire to have fun, participate, and be part of a community.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Serious language learning is available on the language-immersion programs to Argentina, Central Mexico, Martinique, Peru, France, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, Spain, and Mexico. Global Works also provides certificates of participation after the completion of each program, which documents the service work completed. Students generally receive 40 to 70 hours of service credit.

Facilities

Depending on the day and the trip, students may stay in hostels, university dormitories, lodges in the wilderness, local villagers’ homes, or tents on the beach.

Staff

Skilled, knowledgeable, friendly, mature, and detail-oriented staff members are hired for Global Works programs. Leaders are chosen for their language skills, experience working with youth, flexibility, responsibility, organization, and ability to have fun. At least 3 leaders are on each program; all are over the age of 23, and more than 60 percent of them return each year. This means that every trip has at least 1 experienced veteran. The staff-student ratio is 1:5, and each program has an on-site director who works closely with the home base in Boulder.

Costs

In 2008, tuition ranged from $3495 to $5695 for two to five weeks, depending on the destination. Airfare is additional; a group fare is offered when possible, with staff members accompanying the group.

Transportation

Students are met at and returned to designated airports on the opening and closing days of each program. Staff members travel with students on all international trips.

Application Timetable

A $600 deposit (nonrefundable after March 1 and credited toward tuition) is due at the time of application. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until programs fill. Most participants apply during the months of January, February, and March.