"Smoothies are a big deal in California, and someone had one in the van," Malm says. "He didn't hold it right, and it exploded over everyone in the van."

"We ran down the street with our pants down to our knees because we were in a rush to get to the airport," he says of their dash to change clothes before the flight..

IGP also gave a free performance at San Francisco's Pier 39.

"It was an absolutely phenomenal time," says IGP member Justin M. Krebs '00.

While the Glee Club and IGP performed, HACIA sponsored its annual government simulation conference for high school students throughout the Western hemisphere. The group's focus is Latin America.

"The special thing about HACIA is that we're teaching democracy to a part of the world that needs it so badly," says Program Director Mario J. Garcia-Serra '98.

"Latin America hasn't had democracy for very long and teaching young people about the process is vital to it's success," he says.

The four-day conference took place at the University of Panama in Panama City. There were approximately 200 participants from Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Canada.

Participants play the roles of politicians serving in international political bodies, such as the Organization of American States.

"It's really an amazing experience for all of us," says HACIA President Mercedes S. Hinton '98. "We collaborate with a committee of Panamanian students to make it all happen."

"We also stay in host families, which makes the cultural exchange even better," she says.

Twenty-three Harvard students participated in the conference this year. Next year HACIA will move its operations to Costa Rica.

"The most rewarding part about it is the friends you make," Garcia-Serra says. "It's my third time going, and I felt like I was just going to see old friends and family."