All students are currently writing their exams and I am reflecting on the past 25 days and anticipating the last day tomorrow as we head home to Canada. There is so much to say about this fine group of young adults but sometimes I have trouble finding the right words. I turned to Google for some inspiration and chose a few idioms or phrases about Rome that can be applied to the journey to this Grand Tour Europe Departure 1 Program.

When in Rome, do as Romans do

On our last day here I am trying to reflect on the last 25 days since we first met, most of us strangers at the airport in Toronto compared to the strongly bonded community we have now. It is truly remarkable to see such strong friendships that have been cemented on our Grand Tour Europe. This amazing group has been willing to try new things and have been asked to be out of their comfort zone numerous times too. The students have taken it in stride and adapted on the fly. This ability to challenge themselves to try a new type of food and room with another student that is stranger are just two examples of ways they have met new challenges successfully. “When in Rome, do as Romans do” is a simple way of expressing the need to adjust to new customs of a new place. Our students have done this so well that when it is time for them to move away from home to a new city and school for post secondary education they will be successful because they have already done it through this Global Summers Program.

Rome was not built in a day

It is safe to say your children are more seasoned travelers than they started on July 1, 2023. In this moment, it is hard to describe the impact that this program had on the students, staff and myself but we do know, when we all have some time to reflect on our journey that began on July 1, we will look back on this opportunity with a big smile on our face.  Our last dinner at a wonderful restaurant was just a short walk to some of the most iconic historical sites in Rome, it was a wonderful evening of celebrating what was accomplished, a great group of young adults that formed a cohesive community in 26 days.

It is remarkable just how well this group connected together in such a short time but also how well they learned to live together with a set of expectations that may be different than home or at school in September. Yes there were bumps in the road or learning opportunities for students to grow.  “Rome was not Built in a Day” but it is safe to say your child adjusted and grew quickly to the expectations of the program both academically and socially. In 26 short days we feel each student’s ability to learn and grow that we can confidently say they will be ready to ‘leave the nest’ of your home and take on the challenge of post secondary education.

To Fiddle While Rome Burns

Your children have a big heart and sound direction on where they are going in life, they are ready for what lies beyond high school.  Last night we had the opportunity to sign their name on each other’s souvenir t-shirt that was purchased by Global Summers and the staff.  Looking around the terrace it was easy to see how well the group liked one another as they all excitedly signed their name on every t-shirt.  This group enjoyed being with one another, for the most part they went from strangers to friends and in some cases, we feel they will be lifelong friends.  A perfect way to end a fantastic program.

Students did this while at the same time completing a university level course that was truncated from a 5 month semester to a 26 day course. “To Fiddle While Rome Burns” refers to the story of Nero, a Roman Emperor, who was said to have played an instrument while major parts of Rome burned. Nero was supposedly ignoring his duties as a leader to save his city to play an instrument, this is something our group of students did not do. I have been on many of these programs where students struggled to find the balance between academics and their need to fit in socially. Students were very committed to their academic course despite the distractions of beautiful cities and new exciting friends.

All Roads Lead to Rome (HOME)

We want to take this time to thank all the parents for raising such great young adults and for the support you gave to me, our staff and your child throughout the program.  I would also like to thank our incredible staff team. Alanna, Eric, Gary, Nicole and Patti, truly were amazing to work with. Our team embraced experiential education with their classes, they connected with students to bring out the best possible outcomes for academic success and they also showed such great empathy and care for your loved ones while on the program. I could not have done this without them, they were always there to support the program for the entire adventure. Their tireless effort and passion for their subject areas and for creating fun activities for them made this program the success it was. Thank you all so much, we hope to work again another time.

This program is coming home today, Wednesday afternoon, but this program will live on, these bonds from this trip will not be broken, these new best friends, this new community, will continue on in Canada.

Have a wonderful rest of the summer everyone.

Sincerely,

Jason Smith – Program Manager

We have traveled through many countries and cities on our Grand Tour of Europe with stays in 8 cities that spanned the countries of Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. After an amazing 3 days in Florence we have settled into our home in Rome at the Cardinal Hotel. Such a beautiful hotel with a POOL! When we first arrived students were able to ‘chill’ and get to relax in their rooms, spacious lobby or the beautiful pool. After some much needed rest students got ready to go to Rome to see the sites for the first time.

We went on a tour of how to use the metro and bus system while visiting sites like The Spanish Steps, The Colosseum and the Piazza Venezia. Students had time to take pictures and refill their water bottles before heading out to dinner at a local restaurant near the Pantheon. We had a wonderful 3 course dinner before students were able to get out there to see the sites of Rome.

On Saturday students did some school in the morning before having free time for lunch. In the early afternoon we met to travel to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Square for a guided tour. Students were battling the heat today but once we got inside the museum with some air conditioning they were content to hear about the 1000’s years of history from our guides.  After our amazing tour, students had some time to shop before dinner. As a challenge on Saturday night we did a Scavenger Hunt with first prize being ‘Gelato on Jason!’ It was fun to get the pictures from the students as they were excited to find the tasks throughout the city while at the same time seeing some amazing sites!

On Sunday, 22 students traveled as an optional excursion to Maccarese Beach. Students traveled to the beach in a coach bus to the fantastic beach club to enjoy the beautiful (but hot) sun while lounging on their comfy accommodations under umbrellas. Students came home smiling and bronzed before heading to dinner at our hotel. Many students chose to stay in on Sunday night to finish their culminating assignments and prepare for their exams. It is amazing to see students make some great choices and finding balance between ‘fun’ and being academic. Well done!

We are home on Wednesday. I am sure everyone is excited to see their loved ones and hear all the amazing stories from our adventure.  I will have more about the airport in my last blog post that will be posted tomorrow.

Have a great day back home.

Ciao,

Jason Smith – Program Manager

We were told it was going to be hot in Florence but as a group we were prepared and loved all the opportunities we had here as a group.  In a short 3 days we were able to really get to know the lay of land in Florence. Quickly, the students knew where to go to get to town or dinner, everyone really was able to explore the city of Florence.

Yesterday, an optional excursion to Pisa left in the morning and returned in the late afternoon before dinner. The short bus ride lead straight to a wonderful lunch with lots of pizza, salad and tiramisu. The energy they needed to brave the sun in Pisa to get some excellent pictures in front of the iconic monument of Pisa. Our guided tour was informative and not too long to avoid the heat as much as we could. Everyone came home with lots of memories and some great pictures to share with home in just a few short days!

We have moved around a great deal all over Europe.  We have stayed in 7 cities and visited another 2 cities for guided tours. The resiliency in this group of young adults has been amazing to witness. This morning at our 7:45am breakfast, students were smiling and excited about our last stop in Rome. Today we are traveling by coach bus and arriving at our hotel after lunch.  This afternoon we will have some time by the pool, before heading out to explore the city and get to know the metro and bus routes near our hotel. Everyone is excited about our last stop but also hesitant because they know this amazing journey is going to end soon.  Our staff are eternally grateful for such a wonderful group of students.

We hope you are enjoying our blog posts and the Instagram account pictures/posts. Thank you for the positive feedback.

Take care,

Jason – Program Manager

Our journey from Munich to Zermatt was an incredible bus trip along winding roads up and down the Swiss Alps. The views were incredible and most students loved snapping pictures and pointing out amazing vistas to their friends. Along that journey we stopped in Liechtenstein, the sixth smallest country (by area) in the world. The country has 40,000 inhabitants and is the richest company (per capita) in the world. Students enjoyed a quick lunch before having a tour of the small downtown of the country. During this tour, students were asking some excellent questions to our tour guides, staff are loving the curiosity of our students as they seek new knowledge about the amazing places we are visiting on our program.

When we arrived in Tasch, a small town below Zermatt, we quickly boarded a train up the mountain (1,500m). Students were tired from the long travel day but once they saw the incredible vistas outside the train station the fog of the travel day lifted. Students were excited about this new opportunity to explore. We found our hotel and we greeted with a well deserved pizza dinner delivered to our hotel lobby. Students ate as many pieces of pizza that they wanted and there was still lots left over. Some students went to their room to rest or do homework but many groups of students decided to explore the little ski village before signing in for curfew that night.

The next morning students woke early for breakfast as we had a hike to do. Guided by three hiking/climbing experts we went up and down the mountain to see different aspects of the Matterhorn as well as the many different peaks, glaciers and yes herds of goats. The goats were a big hit, the half white and half black goats caused a flurry of students taking pictures to capture the moment. It is safe to say that every student, no matter how tired they were that morning, were smiling from ear to ear. The pictures on the blog and instagram account don’t really portray just how beautiful the vistas of the mountain were. We ended the morning with a hike down the mountain through a beautiful gorge that had a thundering river of glacier melt water as a backdrop. The hike was 5 km and capped the end of such an amazing experience.

The rest of the day was spent catching up on school work and checking in with their teachers about next steps as we are heading into our last week of classes and the program. Students had the rest of the next 2 days to explore the ski town, rest and complete some school work. It truly was a relaxing but at the same time exciting place for our program to experience.

Yesterday we made our way to Florence via Milan. We had a short lunch and tour of Milan before boarding the bus to Florence. We had a long stop so students could recharge on some water and snacks before settling into our hotel in Florence. Students were thankful for cold air conditioned rooms last night. We are just starting to explore Florence, our home for the next few days. More on our experiences on Florence to come. 7 more sleeps until home ?

Jason – Program Manager

Throughout the many blog posts and pictures that have appeared in our Instagram account for our program, our staff and I have tried to capture how it feels to be on this program with your children.  We are now past the halfway point and I would like to try and sum up in a few short paragraphs the themes of opportunity, community and responsibility that can be used to sum up our experiences thus far.

It is safe to say that your children have been given an incredible opportunity to visit so many amazing countries and many cities within these countries for this program. Everyone has seen thousands of years of history first hand, been able to learn about buildings, people, events and cultures. Sometimes these experiences are formal, where a teacher or a tour guide is explaining a part of their curriculum that allows them that experiential education that Global Summers Academy provides on every program. Many times, though, it is when students are exploring with a group of friends without any formal guide, experiencing these cities and islands on their own. I have had countless conversations with students about their adventures when out during free time. Students have shown me their purchases for themselves and for their loved ones at home. Because our group has been so well behaved, I extended curfew so students could see the Eiffel Tower’s light show at 11pm the other night. Most students took up this opportunity and a couple students even got to sing songs with a busker. Such an amazing opportunity for Sloane and Mia, well done.

All of our students have really taken advantage of this opportunity.  They are not letting their time in these amazing locations slip away, and are taking every advantage to soak it all in. They realize how special this opportunity is and are taking the opportunity and experiencing it as mature and reflective young adults.  Many parents may be wondering if their child was ready to be away on their own away from home. The students on this program have truly shown that they are ready for that opportunity and are mature enough to take full advantage of what you offered them this summer with Global Summers Academy.

From the first day of the program the staff have stressed the importance of our program becoming a strong and supportive community. The importance of supporting one another academically and socially is vital for the success of everyone in the program.  With parents thousands of kilometers away we need to make sure we are providing the care and empathy as we deal with the ups and downs of being so far away from our loved ones at home in Canada. Again, our students have taken this to heart and have bonded very closely with one another. Today, when speaking with Shannon, she was so surprised how close the students have bonded so quickly. Students are supportive in and out of the classroom, to help one another keep up with the fast paced curriculum that they are experiencing together.  They have bonded as friends, and make sure they compromise when deciding what to do at night or on weekends based on the group’s needs rather than just their own.  When students have missed home, or need help with their assignments, other students have shown empathy and care when helping their new friend work through it. The maturity of the students on the program is truly evident on a daily basis and they have built a strong community of 36 students in a very short period of time.  In the near future, for most of these students, post-secondary education is the next step. I can see that these students, given their maturity and abilities at the moment, will be ready for that independent life of post-secondary education.

Many parents may have wondered about the safety of their child as they are so far away from the nest of home, but I can assure you that your child has been very responsible in following the guidelines that Global Summers Academy has put in place to ensure their safety. When a student has made an unwise choice, it has been handled as an opportunity to learn from it. This opportunity will prepare them for when they truly are out of the nest, which is in the very near future for most of these students. This group has been respectful, and all locations now know our Canadian students are a fantastic group. As staff, we have also commented just how well this group travels. Our ride to Munich was longer than we anticipated. The whole group took it in stride, and when we finally arrived at the hotel students, were overjoyed when we had such an amazing pizza dinner at the hotel. In speaking with Max and Greg recently, they both remarked how well everyone is navigating the transit systems in all the cities we are visiting. I agree, the students sometimes know it as well or better than the adults! They truly have been respectful and adventurous on this program. Thank you for raising such a thoughtful, responsible and respectful group of young adults. Our staff have often reflected just how lucky we are to have this group on the program.

Thank you for reading. We are only 12 days away from coming home. I know students are excited to see all of their loved ones on the 26th but they also are realizing just how much they are going to miss their new friends and miss the opportunity that you have provided them this summer in this program.

Sincerely,

Jason Smith

Program Manager

Hello from Paris! Our feet didn’t stop moving for long when we got here last night. We had an incredible dinner last night that included a chocolate lava cake with some very rich dark chocolate exploding out of the cake. It was fantastic!

Student embarked out into the city last night in groups of 4 or more. Many went to see the Eiffel Tower at night and were so excited to see it all lit up. What a great start to our time in Paris. This morning we had a hearty breakfast at the hotel and took a metro ride (x2) to get to the Louvre. We had excellent guides, so knowledgeable and engaging.  We saw some wonderful pieces of art including: Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Goddess of Victory, aka Nike) and of course, the Mona Lisa! We couldn’t possibly see it all, it would take 200 days, non-stop to see all the art pieces there!  After the tour students had a couple hours to go in groups of four to explore the city and find lunch before each having class this afternoon.

Tomorrow there is an optional excursion to the Palace of Versailles. Other students will have some free time to catch up on work or sleep but most likely they will be venturing out to see beautiful Paris!

Be sure to check out our Instagram Page for more pictures and videos too 🙂

Take care back home in Canada,

Jason – Program Manager

Our short stay in Biarritz was action packed and students took full advantage of the beach, shopping and wonderful food choices. When we first arrived in Biarritz everyone went straight to the beach and learned to navigate the bus routes. After 3 hours of shopping, lunch time and the beach students came back to the hotel to have a class session and prepare for dinner.  At dinner we had a wonderful meal at the hotel before students embarked back into the city/beach area for their first late curfew. I am consistently impressed by the confidence, maturity and reliability of this group of young adults. All groups of 4 came back on time. Such a great group of students!

On Saturday, students had breakfast at 9am, they loved that there were crepes on the buffet for breakfast. After breakfast students left for the beach/shopping again.

On Saturday afternoon,  about half the students came back for our 2pm departure time for the optional excursion – surfing. At surfing, students seemed a little nervous at first but that quickly turned into ‘this is so much fun!’. Here, I saw another common trait with our group of young adults. They all showed a great deal of resiliency when learning this new and difficult skill. Students kept getting thrown about by the waves or unable to ‘pop’ up and ride the wave but they didn’t give up!  Such an important life lesson for everyone, just because you don’t get it the first time or the 25th time you still keep getting up and trying again. This mindset will help them go far in this world. Great job everyone!

Saturday night was another late curfew. Students had a wonderful time in town/beach and all came home again to pack and get ready for our transfer.

We transitioned to Paris today. We took a 5 hour train ride from Barritz. Students were excited that there was wifi and a place to plug in their devices. They also navigated getting their luggage on and off the train, well done!

We are safe and sound in our hotel in Paris. We are heading to dinner soon. Tomorrow we are visiting the Louvre before having class in the afternoon.

Bonsoir!

Jason – Program Manager

We arrived in San Sebastian at 6pm, we hurried to get to dinner and then as a group we walked down to the beach to see just how beautiful San Sebastian was. Some students could not resist the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic Ocean) and jumped in for a swim in their clothes! Students explored the beach area and town before heading home for a good night’s rest.

In the morning students had a hearty breakfast followed by class, some classes headed to the beach for class and were able to take their breaks sunning or swimming in the ocean. Students were very appreciative of their teachers for allowing them such a unique and special opportunity to work on their courses. After class students were able to explore the city for some tapas and then most students came back to the beach to sun and swim. It was a full afternoon of free time for students to explore such a beautiful place.

We headed to a local restaurant for dinner where students had some huge portions of chicken, potatoes, vegetables and fruit. Students were all smiles as they headed out for their last night in San Sebastian. Many students are commenting on how they need to come back for more of this beautiful Spanish city.

Students have been fed breakfast and are getting a quick 90 minute class before bringing all their luggage down to jump on the bus to Biarritz, France.  We are looking forward to another small city with a beautiful beach to enjoy.

All for now.

Jason – Program Manager

We had about half the group travel on day 3 in Barcelona to Montserrat (https://www.montserratvisita.com/en/index.html). There they were guided through a hike of over 22,000 steps with incredible vistas for students to take many pictures and videos. With a packed lunch, provided by our private guide, students were refueled to visit the monastery and museums that Montserrat had to offer. Students came home tired but also very happy to have had that experience. They ate a wonderful hearty meal and went out to enjoy their last night in Barcelona.

Students, not on the optional excursion to Montserrat, had a day to explore the city and shop in groups of 4 or more. I was very impressed by their responsible behaviour, as they all checked-in with me at the time I asked and enjoyed talking about all their adventures they had that day. About 8 students researched and found a vintage clothing store ‘Humana’ to visit and find some clothes. I love that they are not just going to the regular chain stores we see back home, exploring the new environment is always preferred, well done!

We are headed to San Sebastian in the north of Spain. We look forward to seeing this small city’s landscape and world famous beach.  

Jason – Program Manager