Glenn Speaks at ROC Your Global Future – Lessons From Abroad Rochester Area Study Abroad Returnee Conference 2017. His keynote speech, “Being a Global Listener,” invited Study Abroad leaders and students to set their screens aside and think deeply about their travel experiences. He gave them practical tools to build intercultural competence in their careers…
Every year for the last four, I have taught Humanities to college students for a month in El Sauce. I have lived in a variety of hotels and apartments but, regardless of the accommodations, El Sauce makes me feel at home year after year. El Sauce is a small place that has welcomed me…
Four years ago, my god son Jonathan Canning stood beside me on a stage in El Sauce, Nicaragua, facing over 1,500 people. The most famous musician of Nicaragua, Carlos Mejia Godoy, called out to the crowd, “Because Glenn and Jonathan are here singing with us, it proves that whether you come from the US or Nicaragua, from Cuba, Canada, or Brazil, we are all brothers and sisters of America!” With a roar of applause, we launched into one of Carlos’ most famous songs, Nicaragua, Nicaraguita while every voice rose up with ours.
The rainy season of Nicaragua brings sun in the morning, creeping clouds soon after lunch and short-lived, pounding rains in mid-afternoon. The next day, we start all over again. Rarely do we enjoy a gentle warning of tiny drops, announcing the arrival of their louder, more aggressive counterparts. There is only one volume setting on…