College Conversations S1 Finale: Third World Travel - The Ultimate Learning Experience
Episode Synopsis
In a special episode recorded during a break from filming The Institute’s feature on The College Tour, Gregg Garner, Jeff Sherrod, and Laurie Kagay are joined by show host Alex Boylan. Alex, an avid advocate of higher education, travel, and adventure, shares his perspective on why spending time abroad is an integral part of a student’s education. Tune in to learn about the unparalleled learning opportunities that travel offers and why it's a must for students seeking a well-rounded educational experience.
About Alex Boylan
Alex Boylan, an American TV host, producer, and adventurer, gained fame on "The Amazing Race" Season 2 in 2002. Known for his adventurous spirit, he hosted and produced shows exploring diverse locations, cultures, and challenges. He served as CBS's National Ambassador on the "CBS Buzz Tour" and hosted 100+ Travel Channel segments. Boylan circumnavigated the world without money in "Around the World for Free." He created The College Tour to address the financial challenges of visiting multiple colleges, inspired by helping his niece choose a college.
Watch The Institute for GOD Episode of The College Tour here, or catch it on Amazon Prime when it releases in February 2024!
College Conversations Season 1 Finale: Third World Travel - The Ultimate Learning Experience (Podcast Transcript)
Jeff Sherrod 0:00
Hi everyone, welcome to College Conversations where we discuss the latest trends and ideas in Christian Higher Education. My name is Jeff Sherrod. And I'm joined today with our Vice President of Enrollment, Mrs. Laurie Kagay high and President of Global Outreach Developments International and the founder of The Institute, Mr. Gregg Garner, you're ready. We also have a really special guest today, Mr. Alex Boylan. And so we're excited to hear from him today as well. But Alex, thanks for being here with us.
Alex Boylan
Thank you for having me, everyone.
Jeff Sherrod 0:38
So this week has been I mean, it's been a lot of cameras and mics on campus. Because we are being featured on a television show called college tour, which is hosted on Amazon. So we've been, you know, telling the stories of current students, and some alumni, even President Garner, just kind of going around. It's been a wonderful week for us to be able to do this. We got Laurie actually got an email from the college tour saying, Hey, we heard about you from another college president. And Memphis is doing some cool, kind of like business and or work, learn kind of stuff. And he was like, Hey, you should check out what President Garner and the Institute is doing in Nashville, I think they'd be a really great match. So they reached out to us and kind of took it from there. And this whole week has been filming week or so it's been a wonderful time, just to have everyone from your guys staff on campus. And, you know, for us to be able to hear all the stories from everybody. But you're the you're the host of the college tour. Yeah. So host I mean, if we were to kind of give you a short introduction here, host, producer show creator been doing this for about 20 some years. Yeah.
Alex Boylan
My background. I've been in the television business for 20. Perfect. 20 years. Yeah. I don't know how far back do you guys want to go? But yeah, I got I got cast on The Amazing Race. So my life took a right hand turn after that. And there's been very fortunate to host…
Gregg Garner 1:57
And you won it, right?
Alex Boylan
Yeah, I mean, so funny. Yeah, I could go. But and there's a lot of things that led up to that moment.
Gregg Garner 2:07
I actually saw your season. Your season is the only it was the second season, right? Yeah. It's the only one I've ever seen in history.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, that …. foot race to the end.
Laurie Kagay
I gotta go watch it.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, but remember, if you watch this, okay, please remember that I am 22-23. Okay, yeah, I just have to give that caveat. But yeah, and so I've been very, very blessed to spend most of my career doing travel adventure shows around the world and I filmed about seven different countries 70 different countries and yeah, pre pandemic four years ago ish. My niece was trying to figure out where to go to college and through the turmoil of a her not having the finances like 99.9% of students out there to travel every school or institution they want to look at between that and helping her guide this. I was like, the college tour was born. And yeah, we're done over 100 episodes. You know, we we just really pride ourself of just trying to be like, just showcase as much diversity as possible. I always tell people, it's like, we do we showcase everything. We want that because there's so much higher education looks different for everybody. Yeah. So anyway, as you can see, I'm passionate about this and excited to be here. And it's really cool. You know, my dad was, you know, my dad was the pastor of the Byfield Parish Church for you know, first independent Christian church in America for 50 years. He still Pastor Emeritus for 50 years so I grew up my you know, being a hero at a Bible college like I grew up you know, I my my upbringing was not going to Disney World the sea world it was like we're gonna go help feed the poor in Izmir, Turkey. So I know the world I know this world. Yeah, well, which is really cool.
Jeff Sherrod 3:42
And then obviously form some of your background for even doing travel adventure. I like Yeah,
Alex Boylan
yeah, I don't I don't I was, you know, it's funny. Yeah. All and I'm one of four. Okay. It's funny, because we all ended up in storytelling, which want to think about it. What do we do to my dad tell stories every Sunday? Yeah, so as I it's a cool connection. Yeah, it took me a while, honestly, in the last few years that I put that all together. I mean, my brother's a writer. My sisters are The Boylan Sisters. They do all the faith based films. And then I you know, I've been in travel adventure.
Gregg Garner 4:16
That’s your family?!
Laurie Kagay
I had no idea!
Alex Boylan
That’s my family! Yeah, and so we're just it all, but as I look back on it, I never I mean, I was a business major. I never thought I'd end up I kind of got chucked in here with amazing race. And then things worked out for me. I was really blessed. Like, the right people came in and wanted me to host shows and then I really fell in love with producing shows. And then I created around the world for free and just kind of snowballed from there. But as I look back and as you get older, yeah, yeah, I'm getting in the upper 40s. Now and as you look back and like we all grew up my dad's amazing storyteller. His knowledge of history is not you know, doctrine theology, like he pointed to I can remember as a kid, like walking through Ephesus, and I'm gonna butcher the story. I can remember like people following my dad and my dad being able to articulate like, oh, he goes Majan the water here must have receded like a mile because, you know, David or whomever he's talking about in the Bible was walking along this path, like his knowledge, he can put it all together. So growing up with that. Yeah, it's funny that we all ended up in the, you know, yeah, we're all telling stories. Oh, yeah.
Gregg Garner 5:21
So cool. Yeah. That's up. And so let's let's talk young Alex. Here. Yeah.
Alex Boylan
I don’t know if we want to do that…
Gregg Garner 5:35
It’s whatever we wanted. Because I mean, you you did go to Jacksonville. Right College. What's the name of it? Jacksonville University?
Alex Boylan
Jacksonville University and on soccer scholarship.
Gregg Garner
Yeah, yeah. Right. Where did you play on the field? Well,
Alex Boylan
It depends what time so yeah, soccer was a huge part of my life moved to Brazil when I was in high school to play soccer. Sounds good to me. Yep. And so I ended up a Ju. I was recruited more as like a senator mid forward, but okay. Our team was progressively. You know, we were one of the best teams that we've lost. And I mean, we're a very top team. So the team got better. I got bigger. I was more built like a football player. My dad just didn't want me to play football. And soccer. So I kept getting pushed to the back of the bus. So I ended up becoming like a marketing back for most of college. too big and slow.
Gregg Garner 6:23
You went to Brazil in high school? Yeah. Did you study there? Yeah. I
Alex Boylan
had to go to I had to live with a host family go to high school there played for company nasty the junior team for company. That's it? Yeah. moved there when I was 15. Wow. Yeah. But as we talked about the upbringing of like, you know, there was a trip my parents took us on. And like I say, we grew up with no money, pretty much right, very limited money. But they knew how to travel and they had missionary friends around the world. That is like why it's just it was just different than the average person's upbringing. But there was a summer, not summers, this school is still going on. They're all once again, I'm one of four we all would be under one roof. It was a last year, my older sister was going off to college a couple years later than my older brother than me. And so they pulled us all out of school. And we went on a trek from I don't know, some Istanbul through Greece, like just backpacking for a few months, with like, gotta give up to my parents, right? Yeah.
Gregg Garner 7:17
So, Around the World for Free was based on your child?
Alex Boylan
always say my parents are doing Airbnb before Airbnb was ending, and they said friends, and they just were and I remember, like, it was like, Oh, we're gonna have to keep all the kids back and my mom going to the school board be like, No, Mike, we're gonna show him the Acropolis. Like, touch this stuff like, no there. And so anyway, that I was probably 1314 very impressionable age where I think my older brother and older sister, boyfriends, girlfriends, like they were just in a different place of their high school journey. My younger sisters still a little young. I'm like, we don't have to go to school. I got to go, like, you know, I mean, everywhere we went, my parent, my dad would always like try to find some old soccer team to play for somebody. So I was like, this is the coolest thing. So I think that was a very impressionable trip and experience for me, and just gives you the confidence. And I was very fortunate parents that just weren't scared. And yeah, I think Gen X kids, we all were a little bit of feral children. Were our parents, like, you just got to raise yourself. But yeah, all of a sudden, I got this opportunity to go to Brazil. My mom's like, it sounds good. And you know,
Jeff Sherrod 8:20
because you didn't travel with your family at all.
Alex Boylan
My parents never get my parents called me once a month. That's all we can afford. This is not a joke. Today's idea. From America, you know, expensive that is back then. And so no, they called me one. Hard to do with his calling card. Oh, yeah. And there was a warranty. Yeah, and I didn't, you know, didn't see them for, you know, six months, six, nine months. Yeah.
Gregg Garner 8:47
And so did you end up speaking Portuguese at all? Yeah. You know, how many languages can you speak? Not
Alex Boylan
done really well. But I would say Portuguese, probably the best just because where I was living Campina Grande is in the northeastern part of the country. So and especially back then this is 9394. So, I mean, the English teacher in my high school did not speak English, just to put it in perspective. So the soccer team, the family I lived with school, like no one really spoke English in that area of the country at that time. And you know, so you've learned pretty quick. I will say that I've moved to Germany when in college, but the same thing happened both times within a month. At least for me, I started dreaming in the language. Wow. And that just shows you that the brains remembering Yeah, I remember waking up being like that whole dream was in Portuguese. Well, I can't but I couldn't speak it but it was like I can remember everything in the dream. Yeah, your brains working
Gregg Garner 9:44
with everything you're saying. Because travel is really important to us. You know, like this, this this whole world. There's there's so much beauty in it. There's so much to see and and we sometimes get a myopic vision as to what could be just because we never get outside our own bubble. And so I want to hear a little bit more from you about just how you think traveling even at a young age shaped you, it's
Alex Boylan
everything. Honestly, it is so much and we go into, from when I was young to Brazil to Germany to move to the Caribbean after college for a little bit. It is everything. And I've been trying to get it's unsuccessfully trying to get my nephews and nieces. I was like, I think every kid in high school should go study abroad, right. And at least once in high school, and once in college, because of the impact it will have on and I'm just, I'm proof of it, where by the time I was coming out of college, compared to the average student, not saying this in a cocky perspective of blue collar get from the boss of I tried to, you know, but I, I was in a whole nother what I thought was possible. What I understood and appreciated of this country and the family and what I had, every little piece was because I know, I know what it's like in the northeast, you know, I had to walk through a, you know, Barrios to get to my soccer practice. I know what that looked like. Yeah, you know. And so, when you see that a young age, and you feel it, you just there's different appreciation, right, which you have, and for? Yeah, it's everything,
Gregg Garner 11:12
man. And as you intimated earlier that like that, that was like those type of permissions for Gen X, were definitely more feasible. But today with these Gen z's, like in the way that parents are, I know, for us, it's really hard to get kids to go anywhere out of the country. Like there's there's a lot of fear. And I'm not sure people know, the benefit. And I appreciate what you've just said, Because isn't that what we want for our kids, we want them to be young people who are confident, who can see possibility where others see a closed door. And for you to say that travels, what ignited that in you and then to have the kind of success you had? Why this is a testimony as to why young people need to travel.
Laurie Kagay
And I love when you said you grew up with parents who are not afraid. Like what what a gift that is? Yeah, that's true. Yeah. To the kid. To have.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, totally. And, you know, it's funny, because this, you know, I think every generation, the next generation is not as good as them. And but this generation, I would say in Gen, Gen. Gen Z now, yeah, Gen Z, Gen Z. They talk more. And I think, honestly, it's in the heart more to like change the world for the better. They think, yeah, that's, I mean, more than, you know, where I was when I was coming out of college was in my brain can be like, I think on average, you talk to the fact that they want to do they want to make the world a better they spend like that? How do you do that without seeing it? Right? Without touching it without really understanding what it's, I mean, I literally create a whole show called around the world for free. Yeah, to do that to like, see what it's like to be a local everywhere around the world. Because the perspective you'll have and the confidence, all these intangible kind of skill sets. I could not I mean, literally my life is been is where the key foundation of who I am as a human is because of the travel experiences. Now. That's, that's hands down without question. That's
Alex Boylan
Great. Yeah. And so a little bit more about around the world for free. The premise.
Alex Boylan
Yeah. Okay. So.
Gregg Garner 13:15
And is it streaming anywhere, could this be watched?
Alex Boylan
Not, I don’t think, right now. It was it was an online interactive. It was a first interactive, real time interactive show. We did this with CBS. Okay? But we did repackage it…
Gregg Garner 13:28
Alright, and you were a CBE correspondent did that get birthed out of this?
Alex Boylan
Well, so the Amazing Race started my relation with CBS. And then I've had a very long in and out of doing stuff for CBS cash was dropped a ton for CBS. Okay, I'm going to give the prelude to how this came to be. Is that cool? Yeah. Because I'm down in El Salvador. Right, which I would say in for Central America, one of them tougher Arab countries doing a surf documentary, because there's a long time ago. And during this that they the country didn't want us fill me without full time security. That's how you know, they're saying, although I don't so was this like 90s early 2000s This has been to after amazing right? So let's just say we just got four files in four or five years Yeah. While we're there. A volcano erupts hurricane hits the coast like all hell breaks loose in El Salvador while we're filming and if you know the country there's a town called la libertad. That sounds like Right. Yeah, and we're right outside of there are right in there. And they're like, You guys gotta get into this hotel. We need to take like your security because security is like all this stuff's going on in the country. Like okay, fine. Like don't leave your hotel and oh my god, geez, like they don't know who they're dealing with, but like fine and so we're sitting there and after a couple days everyone's getting anxious. We got like five surfers they're supposed to be cruising everyone's just like it but it's been raining nonstop, anyway, Jolt (Chris) Luca who's a massive part of Around the World for Free, which I'll get into in a second.
He's kind of directing shooting and we're sitting there. And everyone was like don't go up into barrio above our hotel, like don't go up there and like walk there like you'll die. I'm like I'm gonna die. And so Jolt and I would joke all the time, like, I'm just gonna. And so he's like, why don't I just get the camera? Let's just see if he can walk to the top. What's the worst thing to happen? I'll die. Yeah. So in this tougher I would say even if someone traveled all throughout Central America El Salvador is a little tougher than the average Central American place and this barrio Joe grabs a camera, we have no plans except for I'm gonna walk to the top of it. That's it. And so we just started following me and what do you think happens? People are like smiling, waving inviting me into their homes, they have nothing, but they want to share it with me.
Yeah, so if you look at this, we have this footage somewhere. And so all of a sudden now I mean, it's like a trash cans cut in half. And that's their oven. And I'm sitting around with the whole family inside this, you know, makeshift house and says labyrinth of places. And this is a place everyone thought I'd die in. I'm having like, honestly, it's the best experience I've had since I've been in the country. Yeah. And then that is that is the birth of around the world for free. Because it was just like, how cool is it to live like a local? Yeah. And so that was the whole idea was okay, can we strip myself strip of everything, no money. And the whole idea was to be like, I can't go to a hotel. Yeah, I can't I can't be alone. Basic. I need to be with a local every step of the way. And it was back then this is, you know, Facebook's not out yet. And YouTube's just coming out.
So when we were Burton Roberts, who's an executive producer on the show, Jolt’s part of the show, like, we were going around pitching this, it's gonna be real time. We're gonna do three minute episodes every other day couldn't get it home, man. Do you know how much it was cost us to build the website to have internet, you can do this on Facebook page now, like 10 times more functionality back then it was $100,000 to build a website where you could go on and write a message to us. Well, and so just how far we've come.
Yeah, so anyway, that was it. The idea was, let's circumnavigate the globe. At least we got a nice hook of can we do it? Right. And so there's that but yeah, so I know, we got CBS to you know, there was a we just there's so many stories upon stories upon stories of bringing the show to Marcus was so out of the box. Everyone had told us No. ventually is a good friend, and O'Grady who was who was running marketing for many years at CBS gets us a meeting with the CBS Early Show.
Remember Harry at the time, like and I'm sitting there with the executive producer. It's kind of like stepping back in time anyway. He's got, you know, when he used to be like smoke, stovies inside offices, there's a stove. There. I got this meeting. And so it's Burton and I were kids. I mean, I'm still in my 20s. And so we do the whole dog and pony show I'm gonna go around the world I got no money cameras gonna be with you. 24/7 We're going to edit in the field and deliver it in like real time. I'll never forget he's never been stung. I don't like kid you got the CBS Early Show. That was really the tie that because everyone had said no, CBS is kind of interested. When the CBS Early Show is like you get we're gonna You can launch live on the show, which is a massive show at that time. I will check in with you once a week you want. I mean, you got basically our audience, and that helped launch that hole. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, and there's nothing like, you know, I mean, my season, we were trying to figure out the show if it was impossible, we're not there. But imagine through down the East Coast, East Coast to the US through the Caribbean, into Caracas, Venezuela, the west coast of South America, of the east coast of Africa, across Southeast Asia, and then across the US all living with locals every step of the way. Yeah, it's insane. Yeah, man,
Gregg Garner 18:35
I think I think you you you would have traveled well with us. Yeah.
Alex Boylan
I hope! We were talking off the record, we were like, you know, I'd love to join you on a on a mission. You've seen
Jeff Sherrod 18:43
You were saying of all the places that we go, what was it — Uganda— is the only place you haven’t gone yet?
Alex Boylan
Well, I just said I've always wanted to. I was talking about where my wife's anyway, we heard to her family was living in Kenya for a while. Yeah, I've never been to Uganda. Yeah, I filmed a lot throughout Africa. But I've been there. Yeah.
Gregg Garner 19:01
What would you say? Just one last question on the channel thing. Top three places that you've been in, they could change at any time, but for right now in your memory. Okay.
Alex Boylan
What would you say is you know, totally, because it's such a, I get that question all the time. Sure. And it's such a hard one to answer because the way I look at it is almost what advice Am I give me so what's what's for me, the average person is probably not going to like it. Because I like to go super deep and super off the grid like so. So it really depends on if it's someone who really wants to start traveling. So my answer is I who might, you don't? I mean, yeah, I can kind of really wrap my head around.
Gregg Garner 19:45
You’re talking to people want an adventure?
Alex Boylan
Yeah, so I would say if you haven't traveled outside this states much or you want to, I think going to Southeast Asia is a good start. Because you're going to feel it's like another culture the You know, if you're if you're in Thailand, the culture is busting all around you. You can't get out of the culture. It's beautiful, but they're gonna speak English. It's safe. You don't I mean, it's kind of like exotic travel light. Yeah. And so that's why I love Thailand. I love I think that's a good if you're like, oh, man, I really want to start traveling. But I'm only you know, that's a good place to start. Because that's going to feel like a massive adventure to you. Right?
Gregg Garner 20:26
So let's go on this trajectory. to level two, what's your level two? And then your level three, level three being the, it's going to require some experience? Okay.
Alex Boylan
Level two would be probably. I'm sorry to say, I mean, because there's so much to see in the world. But I would say like, the country or Guyana, okay, northern part of South America, you know, two thirds of its rainforest, they the largest single drop waterfall in the world, catch your falls, like, catch your vault, look that up. It's amazing. And but you're still safe. You know, it's gonna be a trek, it's gonna be, I don't know, that might be level three. Hard to get there. Then I'd say the next level of this, like the hardcore where I always tell people it's like to trek through Haiti. He's tough to play. So we film we did a story around them for free. And we got into the Red Cross of Dadaab, you know, it's the largest refugee camp in Somalia. You're just getting into a whole nother ball of wax of danger, security, like all kinds of other variables. I personally love that stuff, you know, and so I'm in but like, you know, where do you big extreme? Yeah. So we're going to the South of Thailand, or we’re going to Somalia.
Gregg Garner 21:40
Man, I'm telling you, there's some ways you and I can relate, let me tell you a quick story about how we got to what is now our campus in Uganda. So I was I was in Kenya, doing a pastors conference. So I have like 40 Different pastors from all over Kenya, and just trying to teach them and to expand their vision beyond the gospel being merely getting people to make a confession, but that there is a community development aspect to that changing people's status in terms of the aisle, they fit into the economy. Like, that's all part of the transformation. Anyways, it was it was sinking in for some of them, but I knew that what they needed was to travel. So I got a bus rented. And I brought a lot of them with a team of Americans onto this bus. And I said, guys, we're gonna go to Uganda. Now, I'd never been to Uganda before. In fact, this was this was 2004. And you know, there was no way to look up anything maps or any of that.
So I found a guy actually from Tanzania named Saiid. And I said, Do you know where Uganda is? And he goes, kind of, as I said, that I go, where's he goes that way? I was like, let's go. So we ended up going on this three day journey to Ghana. It shouldn't take three days, by the way, I learned that later. But I mean, we're so we get to the border. Finally, we get to the Ugandan border. And the all of a sudden, the military, you know, it's highly guarded, barbed wire fences, guards with AKs, you know, just strapped on and, and they're like, all these people need papers. And sounds like they're like, you can't go in. I was like, Man that really messes with what we're trying to do here. It's like, I thought this was the East African Community. You guys are all friends. No, all of us Americans got our passports. Just like you know, let them go. These are not the droids you're looking for, you know, like, let's go in, and they pull me into the back room. Then they like start interrogating me white light, all the stuff in the back room of the customs area in Uganda. I just keep telling the same story.
And then I just bring up God, I'm like, Look, I really think God wants us to get into this area. Because we want to help some folks we want to help your country. I've got to help these guys from your neighboring country Kenya understand that the world is bigger than their world to help us do this. And then the next thing you know, they're like go back to your vehicle. I go back to vehicle I go or care but he lets go they open the gates we pass through. Yeah, what a Cool story, bro. Listen, so So now we don't know where to go. We don't know where to go at all. I don't even know where anything is. You know? And, and, again, we have like, maybe I don't know, there's maybe 15 of American college students are with me.
And on this trip. I just happen to take my dad as his first trip, go with me. And he's just like, son, you're losing your mind. We can't do this. This is not good. And so him and the other elders are having these backup plans as to what they're going to do and because they're I'm like getting buying tents, getting machetes for you know, not not people protecting wild animal protection. And I'm like, I don't know where we're gonna go or stay. So we just ended up going back to this area and somebody goes, you can buy these types of machetes in this little town. I was like, let's go to that town. So we go to the town and the town is just bustling. It even it has you know the little vendors coming up to you with with you know the The fried bananas or whatever it is, you know, the pork on a stick. And then there's these tax collectors in this area like, and I'm like, this is like Bible times, man, this is a crazy little area.
And we meet this guy named Bukhari, who's a Muslim gentleman. And I just tell them, Hey, man, I think we need to go visit your house. And he's like, okay, let's come on. And so I said, Great. But he goes, let me prepare it, though. Let me let me talk to my wife. So no problem. So we drove a little further down, hung out, came back. And then when we got to him, he says, Listen, I don't know if you know this. But Christians don't go around Muslims. I go, Oh, not as Christians. We're cool. Like, like, let we, you're the guy would hang out with you guys. That means so much to me. But the community won't accept that. You need to go around other Christians. I go, come on, man. He goes, You don't you don't mind being around me? We're not unclean. I don't know why, what? Come on, and I go get on our bus. So he gets on our bus. And he ends up saying, well, listen, if you're going to come into our community, you have to go check in with the police department. So I have a whole bunch of people, right?
So I go in, and they take us to the police department. And I go inside of their little did I know, outside some of the Kenyan guys get out. And they're playing with kids. And one of the guys takes out a real one of the machetes. And he says he's going to chop down some fruit off of a tree, he ends up, like, scaring the children. So now, the police officers who are already freaked out by the fact because we're about we didn't know at the time, we're about two hours off grid of Kampala, like we're, we're towards Gulu and the police then all of a sudden concern me a threat. And now they put me in containment.
The whole team is in the bus still don't know where I am. Some of the elders who are really upset are like, see, this is what happened. He's not coming out. Something's going bad. We need to get out of here. And they they end up interviewing me with the chief of police coming in. They're like, why are you here? What are you trying to do? And I said, I just told the truth. I got these guys from Kenya, I want to expand their vision. We want to do good stuff. He's like, do you expect me to believe this? You have people out there with weapons? And I said, No, there was to protect from animals. We also have tents. I didn't know where you're gonna stay. He's like you, you came to Uganda with undocumented people? Because apparently, they went and checked out their documents, and weapons, and you think that we're going to believe you're coming here to do good?
I said, Yeah, you know, I'm sorry. That's what it is. And for whatever reason, oh, he brings up and he says, you know, this is a Muslim area. And I hear you're Christians. I go, Yeah, but like, God loves Muslims to, like, come on, like, let's do something good together. And I'll never forget this guy. He just looked at me said, Well, can I be a part of it? I said, Yeah, let's do it. So they let me out. All of this was waiting, I was behind all actual bars talking to the guy. They let me out. It's like, several hours later, it's dark. Everybody's mad at me on the outside, and they see me come out. And I'm like, Hey, guys, let's go. We ended up driving down the road in this bus. And I'm not kidding, we get out of the bus. And like 200 kids come out of the woodwork. Long story short, several, maybe four years later, we would rebuild that whole area. Give them what they call is the strongest building in that that whole area where they do now, education and training. And it would be just a little bit down the road where we would build our what is now our 12 acre campus that has an institute for God location and students who go there. But that's how we got we got there. Yeah, that's unbelievable.
Alex Boylan
And fun, man. I mean, life's an adventure. And yeah, you need that spirit to kind of let so much but that is awesome. I mean, a just the advice. I just feel like you get it 100% Get it all the way to the point where you're just talking about the you know, the Muslim community. Like, you know, it's funny, I remember back, you know, when I was with my parents on that trip, I remember being in Istanbul, Turkey. My parents not worried about you know, I'm Yeah, I'm a 13 ish, but like, I would be gone. They were like, no one has to worry. Here. I remember like my parents, like, I mean, in a city gone all day long plan soccer run around there, like, no one ever touch a kid there. You know, and then I like feeling very safe. And then I remember like my dad and an Ima, like in like, yeah, that's it. Like, hey, they'd be bold talking together. I mean, like, finding commonality. Yeah, merging things. And like, we just need more of that because this world is getting so divisive. Yeah. That's what we need to you know, so it's like you need like, be a rebel and just… “We’re going to Uganda!” I love it.
Jeff Sherrod 29:48
Yeah, and so, because Gregg has been, you know, leading high school and college kids around the world for decades as well. And I was one of those kids that was you know, on this trip and learning all this. I wasn't on that. She wasn't on that trip, but I was on the hour as well. both Yeah, you're on the one. Yeah, yeah. But you know, similar kind of experiences where I think that like, even the barrier of experience, like, if you go up there, you're gonna die. Yeah. And then you didn't, you had a great trip. But it's like, you know, we had there is this like xenophobia, right? It's like, they're not like us, there must be something wrong and therefore dangerous. And that can creep into all areas of life. And travel does something. And it's like, why God, even throughout the Bible, he does, you know, he displaces people like, go to Atlanta, I'm going to show you not this land, land that you don't know, you know, and then something happens to people. As they do that they meet people that are like, Alright, these people are people, and they love people, and they love you know, the whole thing kind of goes out, and it does open up your mind and be like, man, God has a vision for us.
Gregg Garner 30:45
It’s really easy to cast people that are foreign from you as enemies. Yeah. So whatever it is that you think you're supposed to do are supposed to go and, and to actually be in proximity to those folks and realize, wow, you know, at the most basic level, they bleed like we do, right, like we do, but on that more complex level, they have hopes and dreams and, and sometimes need help. Yeah, it is. It's quite beautiful. Yeah.
Jeff Sherrod 31:10
And it's a gift, I think that we're able to give our students through our Summer Internship program, which is kind of like kicks them off after they're either before they start school or the year after they they they finished their freshman year and we have an immersion program that kind of does what you were talking about to like, how can we stay with locals and stay in the community eat the foods to be playing, the whole thing…
Gregg Garner 31:29
That’s a real thing for us. Like that's like we just talked about Summer Internship, they get five to seven weeks abroad in both hemispheres. And they get exposed to all kinds of different environments. It's just an exposure experience, where the when you say, well, immersion, they are like assigned to stay with a family, they have to meet certain criteria in terms of writing public transportation, and getting from point A to point B, and we don't instruct them on it. It's just like, give them the tools, figure it out, guys, you know, like, and then their next immersion after that is even more, it's even deeper into that because they get attached to some profession, like, like, Elise followed a midwife in El Salvador and just hung out with her lived where she was went to village births. Even though the government is not for Midwifery, they still practice it in those communities. So like, there's, there's a little bit of subversive element to getting involved in the lives of people because they're poor. They can't afford the legitimization by certain entities to do what they do, but doesn't change the fact that they're alive. And they're still having to make life happen. Yeah.
Alex Boylan
So, so awesome. Everything. It's like I say this a lot with kind of what you're all saying. It's like, The Art of Learning to be, get comfortable being uncomfortable. I think it's like a art that we're losing in our society here. It's just because we're ridiculously blessed in this country. Right. Same people we all have different backpacks on and some people are super rich. And so we were super poor. And I, I know that but in general, yeah. Robust in here. Yeah. And comparatively, and when you step outside there, and that's I, you know, to just come in mind, listen to you all talk. It's just getting it. You know, just getting comfortable. You know, being weird. Like, I know what it's like to sit in front of a kitchen, many tables, and not built to speak the language like yeah, it's good smile goes a long way. Yeah, smiling away. So he's joking. I used to sit around with free all the time, a smile and wave more than anything else in life. Yeah, that's awesome.
Gregg Garner 33:33
Yeah, that's awesome. I love how you said that getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. When I was younger, I remember making this brochure to invite young people on these types of trips. And back then I was a little less tactful with, with how I did recruiting and one of the big key themes and can you imagine being a parent who gets a brochure that says, We facilitate suffering? Because that's what my brochure said.
Laurie Kagay
Good thing it wasn’t Gen Z.
Gregg Garner 34:02
We said “we facilitate suffering.” Yeah, it's, you know, in my mind, it was like, we're gonna give you all the safe parameters. But like, you might find yourself, you know, sleeping on the ground, waking up with the sun, going to drag water from a river, five miles. And but to me, that's, like, beautiful, and then you learn so much, and you change and you grow. But for a lot of people don't do it. It feels like suffering. It's uncomfortable.
Alex Boylan
It is uncomfortable, and it's okay. It's I you know, I think, and even sometimes mission trips, I can remember this and, you know, I love my sister, Andrea, if you're listening to this, I love you. And I remember when she was in college, she went off on a mission trip at this point, or maybe it was even after she's college because she was a little older than me. But I remember at that point, I lived in Brazil, like I and I just remember being like, you know, they went to Honduras for a week and it was just like this major analysis and I was like “Man, you’re staying in a hotel, you’re eating food.” But you gotta walk the shoes. If you really want to experience it, you gotta walk the shoes, like if you really want the experience and whether that's suffering or thriving for someone else, everyone's gonna have a different experience.
But living like the local, man. It's a powerful. It's a powerful moment. Yeah. And there's no way. When you do that, you'll come back the same person. No way. Yeah, no way. In a positive way, you might say, I never want to do that again. It's okay. But you have that. And it's so different. And I've done shows differently, like around the world for free. I was really with the locals. I did another show called Missions in Action. I mean, we literally partnered with Compassion International, World Vision, Child Fund. And it was it was stemmed off around the world for free, because some of our best stories were being with NGOs, being with missionaries, and with whatever it's like these were in our because it was this online interactive show, the audience would come alive, because we're like, where are you? Yeah, how do I help? Right? So we were like, oh, let's create a show based on what we just saw happening around the world. So we worked with these NGOs that could get us like deep in there, right? And they definitely allowed us I always say like, these are big organizations World Vision, right. But they, they were open to not telling us how to tell the story. They were given us access, what happens when you buy a goat for a family who needs it in Sri Lanka, right? We dig into these, like, on the ground trenches, stories, right? What happens when you check all the way down to what we're doing this for? Yeah. And anyway, on that series, just the nature of it, I wasn't hotels, it wasn't around the web. It wasn't with locals. It's different show. Right? And I remember, I remember being there. And it's like, it's a different experience. Like it's a different experience and going in and stepping foot for a second and coming back to your creature comforts, than forcing yourself to be there for a while. You come back, you will, you will change in a different way. Yeah. When you know, when you're really living with someone and you really do, especially in Africa, where water is such a tough issue where it's like, I gotta go watch this. I gotta walk for the next like five days, three miles just to fill up that water and bring it back here. Unless you do that not I watch it for two seconds. Right, right. Until you do that for a few weeks, you won't understand what this person is doing their whole life.
Gregg Garner 37:14
Yeah, anyway, yeah, that's legit. So all this talk to you is just reminding me like for me that that approach came from the Bible, it was curious to me that Jesus was like, Okay, I want you guys to go out. And I don't want you to carry anything with you. I don't want you have a staff. I don't want you have an extra bag, don't take any money with you. And whatever is placed in front of you, I want you to eat it. And I want you to find somebody that's peaceful and stay with them. That's was my impetus for all this. And that's where I got it from. And that's what I did. Like I any of the places where we have a hub, I there was never like some formal connection in advance or anything like that. It was always just like, where are we going to go? Who are we going to meet in this area? Can I stay at your place? Can we talk and then developing that relationship and eating whatever's there. We there was this one experience it this is an Africa again, but that did I don't know why I came to mind. But as in Tanzania. And I got to the this place of a woman was running an orphanage and I didn't know it was an orphanage. I just heard from others. Like you got to meet this lady. Her name was Winnie. And she was just a sweetheart and totally overwhelmed by the challenge that she was having to go through, but stopped everything to just give us some hospitality. And then at one point, she goes, I want to share with you my favorite food. And I was super excited. And she brought it out and open the pot. And it was boiled crickets now now some of them were still alive. You know, like, like, they somehow survived the boiling their movie get there. And I had some people with me and immediately they were and I just but for me, I was like, this is such a great moment. Oh, yeah. And I'm just thinking how cool is your show? You had a camera there the whole time for a lot of these things, man.
Alex Boylan
That’s just I know, it's like you're it's funny your your journey through this and building this and what you're teaching. It's so similar to around the world, like kinda you want me? Yeah, but it's like, our favorite moments of jolt. And I, which our show wasn't just to like walk down any path. It was for people to write it. Yeah, and I mean 99% of time it's like, oh, man, this person sounds cool. And they got something cool to go you know what I mean? We're gonna go explore what have you. But there's these moments where you got nothing because you're just out there in the world. And one of them was going from Thailand to Cambodia. It just reminds me of all your stories because yeah, you're you're definitely like yeah, we're going and it was we we got a ride to the border. walked over the border and like going from Thailand to Cambodia you will especially when whenever we did this and doesn't it you will know the difference right is like you know, it's going from like modern world like stepback in Tallinn. dirt roads like dusty roads, just bored. it and I mean literally just millions of people on us like who are these two guys with cameras? And what are they doing? Yeah, and we had nothing like our phones wouldn't work. Right response rates, right? We have like computers that connect us to everything. Nothing's working. And we literally like what are we gonna do here and just we just literally just, this sounds good let's just walk down the street. I just want to get away from these people. I'll get ripped off here and like we're just like, let's just walk down the street and there's two monks sitting in a hot invited us in we end up living with these monks for like a week and a half.
Like literally I slept on the floor. Yeah. Yeah, and that's that's like you talking about Jesus and what he's preaching the sense of go with nothing. I honestly have anywhere like, so much I'm thinking about in my head of my journey and my passion. Yeah, some of that's because it's there's there's something so that's the way to do it. They it's not easy. And this is not the easy way to travel. And every once in a while honestly, it's been a while since Rama free I miss it.
Gregg Garner 41:03
Bro, you’re gonna love this because you're right on Jesus's analogy. This is where the analogy, the the there's a broad way in a lot of people go on it, but there's a narrow way and it's hard, but that's the one that leads the life. That's exactly what he was talking about. And then a lot of people take that because they hear distraction and like, oh, hell and heaven. But the text is really about Jesus wanting us to experience life. And there is a journey and there's a way to go about it. There are paths that take and I'm sure in Cambodia when he found the weight of those months. I was that was on a narrow path. I bet I bet probably no white guys have ever gone to those guys place and slipped other ground ever since. Yeah, yeah, totally. Man that impressed on you. You know? Oh, yeah.
Alex Boylan
Well, I just think the those times when you do have nothing, you're relying on humanity at its core essence. Right? It always works out with the right idea. It always works out and they become the best experience. Anyway. Yeah. And so you know, yeah. Oh, man.
Laurie Kagay
When we go to Uganda. They call us “the poor mzungu.”
Gregg Garner 42:11
Mzungu is white. So they’re saying, these are the whites, but they call us the poor mzungu.
Laurie Kagay
But they call us the poor mzunugu, because they're like, “I've never met ones that stay with us, like do not have another place to stay?” And why are you eating this food? Like all of it is like, we've never met, you know, mzungu Like you guys.
Gregg Garner 42:27
Yeah, it's a lot of a lot of fun. Yeah, there's, there's, there's so much learning that is outside of the classroom, that educational venues have to figure out how they can better facilitate, right because we weren't, we weren't made to just sit in doors and, and read about people's exciting lives, like we were created to live those exciting lives. Right? And, and to give people those opportunities or windows into that, like you've been doing with your shows is just fantastic. Because there's just so much to learn. Yeah, and we'll learn the best lessons from the Living books that people are just hearing him talk and, and so many, so many good things coming to mind.
Alex Boylan
And, and honestly, as we're talking about all this, it's a skill. Right? And it's like, you gotta be exposed to it. And then you gotta like, how it's like anything in life. You gotta like, work at it. You gotta. And you, you know, you gotta do that while you're young. It's only gonna get harder. Right? Yeah. You know, because how many people are older? It's like, oh, man, I wish I did a little different. I wish I was a little different, I wish I was more more adventurous.
Jeff Sherrod 43:39
Or they’re retiring and they’re ready to travel, it’s like “uhhhhh…. it’s too hard.”
Alex Boylan
Yeah totally, it’s just if this is, you know, like, “Oh, I'm excited by this.” It's like, how cool to be exposed at a young age. Yeah, again, going back to the beginning of this before we were having this conversation diving into all this. That's literally what I've told my nieces and nephews. None of them have done it yet. Hopefully one of them will. And I've always been like, you're not getting out of high school. You're doing an exchange before you're done. You know? I'm always like, in college, you gotta go do it. Because you will have a different perspective on life. If you can just get out there. So kudos everything you're doing and putting because I'm sure I want to be a fly on the wall. Because what's it like? Do you I assume you have students that haven't been out of the country? Or haven’t been on mission?
Gregg Garner 44:23
We have a few.
Laurie Kagay
A few more right now. Because of COVID. We were a little more restricted.
Alex Boylan
Ok, most of them? Yeah. Okay. Okay. So that's what I mean. Yeah. Okay, so they're coming here because they want this experience. Yeah. Okay, so yeah, but they haven't seen it yet. So you guys must have a million stories. I would love to be able to take young people and know how their everything's gonna change.
Gregg Garner 44:51
Oh, man. Is it mean I have to tell people that I have to tell them Hey, guys, I want to let you know that even we have some summer interns here right? Now we're about to, we're about to head out. And in a little bit, we don't tell them when anything's happening. So in case someone's listening, and so they're always ready or yeah, there are a great way to try to get residents to take away their phones and watch, and they have to learn to be present.
Alex Boylan
Okay, there's so much we need to unpack, okay? They don't know when the students don't know when they're gonna go. (No.) Like, how much time do you give them? To do what? Okay, you're going we're going to
Jeff Sherrod 45:27
They know when the trip starts. And when the trip ends? Yeah.
Gregg Garner 45:30
They just know when we get here. And then when the whole thing ends at the end. They know nothing in between.
Jeff Sherrod 45:35
So like when they're when they're walking around, like even campus right now. They're bringing everything that they're going to carry all the time.
Alex Boylan
So then, Well, the time when, like, they don't know when they're going to leave for. Until when, like, 12 hours beforehand?
Gregg Garner 45:48
Oh, no, sometimes I go within the half hour. Yeah, of going to the airport.
Alex Boylan
Oh my gosh! Unbelievable!
Gregg Garner
Because again, it's trying to get them …
Alex Boylan
I get it. I get it! But you should probably explain it to the audience…
Gregg Garner 46:03
I mean, many people live…
Alex Boylan
I mean, that is like Oh. My. Do their hearts, like …?
Gregg Garner 46:08
Oh, yeah. Oh, one time one time they thought they were wise to it. This was a couple years ago, they thought they were wise to because other people tell their testimonies and tell their stories, right? And they're like, and then Mr. Garner did this, or whatever. So they're real wise to it. And I got him up. I don't know, what was it like real room. Let's go three or four, three in the morning, we head to the airport, I get him there. They're like, “I kind of had a feeling.” And I was like, “Alright, guys, we're going back now. There's no flight today.” Just go get ready there. Oh, let down.
But then, you know, that just made them even more like, Oh, great. When are we going what's happening and, and then yet, but we do it even because typically, we have routes that have them in one country, go to another country and go to another country. So it's the same thing in all those places. But the idea is like you, you've got to develop the kind of presence that necessitates flexibility, because that flexibility is a gift. And you have to develop it, we don't nap we're not naturally flexible. That way, you have to keep stretching. And by the end of the summer, these guys are very flexible. Yeah, they can start a conversation with anybody. They come in, like, you know, with lacking, like basic social skills to start a conversation. By the end, they feel super good to just like talk to somebody and find commonality, right? But but they went before because they go to their phone.
Alex Boylan
Ok, because there’s another — do you know how similar our lives are?
Gregg Garner 47:31
All your producers said this would happen.
Alex Boylan
Ok, so when when you take that Alright, so when they go, you're you take away their phone? Oh, yeah. Okay, do you know we did— Lisa Hennessy, Burton, who are all part of The College Tour and Amazing Races, we created it, we did this kind of social experience. This is probably out there somewhere. I can't remember what network we did, I think Outdoor Channel but it was called “A Digital Detox in Pardise.” No wait, “Escape: A Digital Detox in Paradise.” And what we did was we took five millennials, right? We kind of did this in collaboration with Thailand, filmed a lot. We knew the tourism office, people over there really well. So we were always trying to come up with something clever to you know, yeah, there's the story of Thailand different way. But we took five millennials. Okay, pull them out. We didn't even… Okay, all we sent them was they knew that they were casted. We sent them a box which is going to have some like Thai bot in it. We told them to start filming themselves. Okay, an address in Thai, their plane ticket. Right? And so we we map this whole, we mapped this whole thing out so it was produced exactly how you guys are doing right? It's all produced? Yeah.
But they don't know what's happening. So they know we're bringing to this like old school youth hostel in Bangkok. And so they all find their way there in different ways. And they're kind of filming themselves or we pick them up, right? And then when they're checking in the guy who's checking the man that the the desk is gonna be like, Hey, have dinner is going to be ready. And then we, you know, please be outside at eight o'clock. So we have locals planted to tell them what to do next, basically, yeah. And then while they're at dinner, we a little tuk tuk driver combined, like tell these guys be here tomorrow at 6am We go to the train station anyway at the train station the next day, in order for them to embark on this, like we're gonna go deeper. They had to give up their phones, their computers and all this stuff. So we thought that was going to be like the social experience. Yeah, like this was going to be asked me crazy this morning. I was gonna go nuts. Right? They did. They were so like, they were so pumped to give up all their stuff. They were so it was interesting watching they all stay in the same room. Like watching a little bit but it was like, Oh my gosh, these guys aren't we thought they'd be like freaking out. Yeah, so we had to change the whole concept of the show up like after we kept bringing them farther and farther. And they were like, I don't want my phone. Right.
Jeff Sherrod 49:47
Exactly. Like they gave up a burden.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, really. It was like so different. And so we had we it was this was Lisa she like just I remember sitting in Riley Beach and she was like, "This ain't working… This is too easy. It's like it's a fun adventure but it's not enough for like, yeah, the hook on what we need for TV.” So the hook that we needed for TV was like, we got to give them the stuff back. And that becomes the best. I mean, there's an awesome adventure to watch these kids. You know, I shouldn't say kids but people go on, but we send them we call about the last place they're supposed to go sent them back to the youth hostel and had all their devices on their beds, and then film that and that was like a, you know, a fishbowl, like just watching, like, be like, I don't want to turn that back off. Like people started to have heart palpitations. Alright, so anyway, that's really funny. Yeah, it's so cool. Like, yeah, there's some it is I do die all the time. Yeah. Like, I'll shut my phone off for like three days and be like, Listen, do you want you know, and I threaten everyone. On the weekends? I bought an old Nokia remember those? Yeah. Late 90s. Early two. I haven't those. I'm like, I keep threatening everyone on the weekends. Like you want me call me. I don't mind jumping on a call. But like, a lot of communication channels. Yeah, yeah. And yeah, there's a lot that's a really a lot buzzing around 24/7. And like, it's I don't know if this is healthy for the brain. Yeah, we
Gregg Garner 51:03
I think we can all conclude it's not.
Jeff Sherrod 51:06
I think that's yeah, the experiment was putting the device in the hands of the kids in the first place. Right. I'm like, well, let's see what happens with this massive social experiment of just giving kids social media.
Alex Boylan
Too much info. It's too much. It's too much for me. Yeah. It's too much ever. It's just a lot. There's a lot out there.
Gregg Garner 51:23
It keeps people from living and doing Yeah. Because I've noticed that with a lot of these kids, you you brought it up earlier, like when you chose you said when you were choosing to go to college, you just pick something like international business because you wanted to travel and you like travel. You're like you picked it even before you got to school where because you said it to me, it was like, “I didn't know anything. I didn't have the internet.” Which is so true.
Alex Boylan
Because we had National Geographic magazine. I was fortunate because I got to travel as a kid a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. No internet.
Gregg Garner 51:54
Which is true because for today kids, though, they feel like they know things because they know answers. So they can like ask Alexa. Right? Like, what's the what's the capital of Thailand? Right? And then they'll know the answer. But that's not knowing. Like, they don't actually know anything about Thailand. They just know. So there's this like, what what media has done along those lines in terms of like being an information database? It's kind of confused people into thinking they're living by acquiring answers. Yeah. Rather than actually experiencing life. Right. And I think a digital detox will realign you in a really great way.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, my whole family did one was my mom turned eighty last year. And we there's this island off the coast of Maine, and that's remote anyway, we all for like four days. Just the kids no grandkids, no wives, husbands, just like the four kids. Oh, wow. to relive what that was like when she was you know. So we hadn't been just that family, like the core family together. Yeah. And so we did and during all that, we all like, let's all shut our phones off for three days and it was magical. Reliving, going back to like, you know, just playing cards and sitting around talking and this day, I've always dreamed of having like a little surf resort somewhere. Like a little, like Bar Restaurant, like Yeah, casita is, is kind of like my, you know, exit strategy. But anyway, in that I've always said, like, I would create a policy that no, no devices in public. And I think that needs to start becoming a thing, right? That makes it as a society, we need to frown upon it, where it's like, if you're gonna sit at the bar, or the restaurant or the coffee shop, whatever, like, put the phone down. Yeah, never gonna, like connect with people. I think all this divisive knit that's happening. It's because we're all just looking down all the time. Looking up. Yeah, we're not having these conversations, right? We don't know. And so anyway, I've always dreamed of like, that would be the policy. It's like, you need to do work. I got we gotta we gotta work. Cool. Go into your go into your room. And listen, we're out. In public. Yeah. Yeah.
Gregg Garner 53:53
I'm with you. I would move to that city. That's awesome.
Hey, guys. Yeah, what a great conversation. This is Alex, you are you are a lot of fun, man. I feel like we could keep talking for hours. Oh, yeah, I want to go. Let's go. Let's get off grid. Let's, let's let's make an adventure. And I was I was thinking, you … You're, you're a rare person.
Because like, in I often for me in these scenarios, I've had to go by myself, because I could tell like someone who was with me is maybe afraid or, or just the, they didn't know how to negotiate. And what you said earlier that it's a skill that you develop and learn. I don't know if I've ever thought about it that way until you said it. But when I look back, and it's not just that they were uncomfortable or afraid. I think they just lacked that skill. Yeah. And and it just it was it was too new for them that the novelty was overwhelming. But like, you know, so much of what we're able to do that's good. It came on the other side of what looked like a risk. But there's a way to mitigate that risk by developing that skill of knowing people being able to navigate new places. And in get all the context clues that just exists even like the I've been at so many tables where I don't know the language. You're just sitting there and you're smiling and you're trying to figure out what do I eat? What hand do I use? Or am I offending you with my legs crossed or, like you're just picking up on so much.
Alex Boylan
And I think that’s so true. And like, You're honestly you're making me like jealous because it's like, I used to have this life. This used to be my life on like, because we created Around The World For Free. That turned into three seasons. Anyway, just like the type of programming I was doing was this. And I'll give an example of like that skill, like, pre season one, I'm in the height of moving countries, not knowing anyone, I was just, I just felt so comfortable being free. We're in the middle of around the world for free. We're in Peru. We're gonna call at this point in time, we're kind of like self funding this thing, right? We got CBS behind us, but there's no real money. It's just me job making this thing happen. We somehow meet the order make a long story longer. But anyway, the mayor of Cusco, Peru who's like, Hey, I'm gonna get you on a bus to the the border of Chile. At that point, we get a call from WGN America and if you know that, that Chicago station and they want to like, Hey, can you guys take this interactive show, and turn it into a real TV show? So now like for us young kid producers, it's like, oh, man, now we're talking like real money. Like, we're kind of like getting into the big leagues like, yeah, not the CBS Early part of it, but like, Oh, I'm gonna buy this over here. Anyway, so Jolt, like you gotta go back to Lima, which we got a pretty nice accommodations there and like, cut, what would this look like, you know, like this interactive show. I felt so comfortable. Like, I'm going to film myself. Right. And I'm gonna go hitchhike down the Atacama coast of Chile. Right.
Okay, so a million stories within this just trying to make that happen. But I felt so comfortable. Like, I was like, Oh, for sure. I'll see you. You gotta get down there and like, 10 days. Alright, sounds good. Peace out, bro. Like, that's how we were at one point, I gotten an address on a bus. And it's like four o'clock in the morning, I get dropped off in the middle of nowhere. And the bus driver was like, this is you, right? And I have this address. I'm trying to find where I'm like, I don't know if this. I got a backpack. I'm trying to film myself. I don't like at this point. It's anyway, I go up to the house. It's like four o'clock. And I think I'm in the right place. I don't know where I'm at. Knock knock. No one answers. Actually Knock, knock, knock. And all of a sudden I hear this, Alex. Oh my gosh, I'm in the right. I'm in the right place. And I'm exhausted. And she just like walks me into like a bedroom. Or there's a bed. I'm so tired. I just pass out. I wake up the next morning. I have no idea who this woman is. Like, literally Someone has sent me an address basically like, Hey, we got some we got lifeline for you. There's two kids running around. And like they knew like two words in English. I'm sitting there having breakfast. I remember filming myself. But in the middle of this, like so uncomfortable. Where am I? I'm not going to strangers door because I got someone sent me an address. And so it's gonna help next stop sleeping in their beds. I'm so exhausted. I wake up and I'm like, no one's gonna I felt so comfortable in that moment. And I got I wouldn't be comfortable. Not right now. Like, yeah, I am getting soft. Yeah. This this conversations like, bringing me back to like the first 10 years of my career. Yeah. Every second of that. Yeah. But it's a skill and you lose that skill. Yeah, man. I've been losing it my life like I've been my life has been too… you know what I mean?
Gregg Garner 58:43
So like, like, 10 years ago, I really, it wasn't been maybe 15 years ago, I told myself, I said, I wonder how long I'll be able to ride on this India general class train. Like, that was like a metaphor for me as I think if I can stay on this general class train. Have you ever been on the Indian train system? In India? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, how long can I stay in? Because, because, I mean, I've taken people on those trains, and they lose their minds because of the lack of space and proximity, you know, the proxemics. And, and like, the smells and the odors, and all these things, you know, and it's only a few more dollars to go in the first class air conditioned train, so the heated drink, but that became like a metaphor for me too. Because this is where the people are, like sardine can and this general, but you know, you do get older and you're like, Man, I'm a little bit of room. It's like, yeah,
Alex Boylan
It's yeah, yeah, I gotta tell you it's been a it's been a while. Honestly, yeah, I wish it has I got the stories and scars and the skills and all that but it's been a while I miss it good for you all, like, keep sharpening that. I want to jump on a plane right now.
Gregg Garner 59:53
wanted to like go, maybe we'll get to go together. It'd be fun. That'd be great.
Alex Boylan
In the middle of this podcast, are we just going to surprise ourselves and be like “We’re going to Uganda!” We're all going to be thrilled.
Jeff Sherrod 1:00:05
Alex, thanks so much man for podcasts and for the college tour team and just everyone that was able to come out with everyone's been great. So this has been a wonderful time for us the week's been awesome. So looking forward to it. Yeah, bless you guys.
Alex Boylan
Yeah, same here. Yeah.
Jeff Sherrod 1:00:18
They appreciate you guys. Thanks, everybody.
Alex Boylan
Cheers, everyone.
Show Notes
Missions in Action
Compassion International
World Vision
Child Fund
Boylan Sisters
Escape: Digital Detox
Summer Internship
GOD International
Mission Experiences at The Institute for GOD
Institute for GOD
Gregg Garner
Alex Boylan
The College Tour
The College Tour: Institute for GOD
Coffee with the President: Alex Boylan and Gregg Garner
Ask Admissions: Alex Boylan and Laurie Kagay
For comments, questions, or topic ideas, email us at conversations@instituteforgod.org