Our morning began with a stop at the US Interest Section. It operates under the Swiss Embassy, with the purpose of protecting US citizens while they are in Cuba. They also issue visas (both immigration and visitor). The line for visa appointments was very long this morning. We had a nice visit with our Cuban […]
Tangible poetry: That is what the artists who work there call Muraleando. Our morning began at the “neighborhood of art”. The community was there – the neighbors, the residents – filled the streets as they were enjoying a street fair. Children were dancing, musicians performing. This was a first for me to see this artist […]
“No matter what our differences are, we all look at the same moon.” We are preparing ourselves to leave. That does not mean to pack clothes. It means we are packing memories. We may be discarding ideas or preconceptions we brought with us. But, we leave parts of ourselves with the children, Barlad, our new […]
“To be cultured is the only way to be free.” José Martí For a small country, Cuba has a very large soul. It’s all owing to a culture which is rich, vibrant and immensely varied. At the island’s heart are the Cubans, brought here by the trade winds from all corners of the earth to forge […]
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” -Ambrose Redmoon Today started out with the nice relaxation we all needed: We watched the Aristocats and Cars (In Romanian, of course!) with all the kiddos. We enjoyed watching Liviu and Delia reacting with such surprise […]
“No matter what our differences are, we all look at the same moon.” – Anonymous Today, we met with Dan before our first day of volunteering at the Children’s Hospital. Carolyn, Tabatha, Justin and I were anxious to begin our day and meet the children. Dan showed us around and we left our belongings and […]
Jim Gorski, a Vietnam veteran and volunteer from St. Paul, MN, describes how teaching English to Vietnamese students with his wife Mary Lou enabled him to “pay a debt” to the country’s people. After serving with Global Volunteers in 2014, he and his wife volunteered in Ipalamwa, Tanzania, teaching English and supporting our Reaching Children’s […]
Global Volunteers Ha Noi Monday, 11 March 2014 The day started with the usual welcoming greetings from the staff and local volunteers at Omamori Spa. Tom, Keith and I, joined by our respective volunteer interpreters/helpers, took our stations with our normally assigned “students.” I could overhear Keith and Tom engaging their charges with ever more […]
With a mixture of excitement and trepidation, our Nguyen Binh Khiem high school team of Robert, Barbara and Marilyn lurched our way by taxi through the rainy, chaotic traffic of Hanoi trying to breathe calmly as the cars and motorbikes competed with us for space measured in millimeters. The whole scene was an Asian fusion […]
Another Global Volunteer trip is “history!” I had been to Queretaro, Mexico with Global Volunteers before, but learned of many changes and improvements – and I was asked to go again. It was great with a team of 20 volunteers – half of whom had been on this assignment before – and with a great team leader, who seemed tireless. […]