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Today is our last full day at our home stays. We began by touring the coffee farm behind our houses where we saw animals like pigs and sloths. On the farm we also tried different items like star fruit and mint leaves. We then visited the local elementary school. They performed a few different dances…
Today was our last day in San Miguel with Turtle Trax. Throughout our time here, we have met and learned from many ethical leaders. One of the leaders who has made the biggest impact on us is Juan, who has been with us for every activity this week and also played a lot of soccer…
This morning we went to Jungle Mike’s. He’s an entomologist from the US who moved to Costa Rica over 20 years ago. He showed us around his open-air butterfly farm, and taught us a lot about different bugs in the area. Many of us caught butterflies, and tried eating some termites. He told us that…
The sixth day of our journey started later than the others, with our breakfast being pushed back until 8:00. With this the group was rejuvenated and ready to get after a very fun day. We drove to Playa Coyote where we would finally be able to swim in the ocean. After an hour of driving…
Today we celebrated the anniversary of the annexation of Guanacaste from Nicaragua at the local school. The celebration consisted of listening to traditional Costa Rican music, watching the students perform traditional dances, and learning how to make corn tortillas. We then went on to play a soccer match with the students from the school. The…
At the beginning of this trip i set out the goal to develop the following: gratitude for the experience, humility, and understanding of Bocas del Torro and the people that live here. Gratitude has come to me the most naturally. I am grateful for this experience, for being able to see such a beautiful part…
Our day started with another early morning, our good friend the howler monkey decided it was in our best interest to wake up bright and early at 4:30 this morning. Our cries for help went unanswered and the monkey continued to howl as we gradually arose to come to breakfast. As soon as everyone was…
After two long days of travel and getting settled into our home for the next week, we had our first real day of sea turtle work in Costa Rica today. We started off the morning early with breakfast at the hotel where we discussed the day’s agenda. Shortly after, we left to meet Edgar, the…
Our course instructors have informed us that the group has arrived at the project site. Tomorrow, they will begin working and learning alongside our partner, Turtle Trax. We will share updates from the field as they come in.
The Costa Rica Turtles crew has arrived in Costa Rica and is on their way to the hotel. They will spend the night in San Jose before leaving tomorrow to drive to Turtle Trax in San Francisco de Coyote.
While watching the kids live through their daily lives, I realized how numb I’ve become to my privilege back at home. I talked a lot to a child named Jesus, and as we read picture books together, we were equally teaching each other our respective languages. For me, the Spanish I learned has become helpful…
As our trip goes on, we begin to learn, focus, and practice Learning Service and how we shift our comfort zones. Seeing the group practice to understand Learning Service has been so amazing. Understanding in Cristbol & Basti that we are not here to benefit or change people’s way of being, but instead, learn about…
Today was the first official day of our Panama trip! Despite the heat and humidity, I really enjoyed our boat ride to Bocas Del Toro. I’m really happy that everyone has learned a lot about each other already. My favorite part of today was meeting all of the kids at the Cristobál school. I was…
We just received a message from the field informing us they have settled into their program with Give and Surf. The group arrived in Bocas del Toro this morning and, after orientation, jumped right into supporting the after-school centers run by Give and Surf. They will be staying on Cristobal Island until Wednesday afternoon, at…
After our group came together at the airport, we made our way to cross the border to Tijuana. We ate dinner with our NGO partners, Alex and Maria, and we got to see the Madres y Familias deportadas office. Maria showed us what she does, and how she helps people who come to the office…
I’ll finish the rest of the story later, but one thing that has been really fun is the construction we’ve been doing. To start, we dug a huge ring in the dirt. We brought down bags and bags of sand and rocks. We mixed it with powdered cement & water, and then it became concrete….
Going to a home away from home for one night was not something expected to leave in awe. Solomon was the second oldest brother of the family of seven. The back side of the home was all garden; it was not neat and inorganically planted but was grown in harmony with the surrounding plants for…
So many different experiences and stories have already been made on this trip, so it is not so easy to pick one day. If I had to choose, I would say both days where we hiked up a mountain are top on my list of my favorite memories that I will take home with me….
Two days ago we all went to see the other children’s home that was being built. After a brief tour of the campus and the different zones, we all hiked up the lone mountain looming over us. We started hiking. It was a steep treacherous path if you can even call it that. It was…
Hi Mom and Dad, I hope you are having a peaceful couple of weeks. Enjoying time together and with Myles too. I am enjoying my time here in Kenya. I have a wonderful group of people here that is easy to have fun with and learn. I am enjoying the time away from my phone…
After our church service, I had the opportunity to try playing some of the instruments. The music during the service really touched. While talking to the piano player, he showed me several cords and cord progressions for gospel music. A couple years ago I quit playing piano, but after this I feel as though this…
The sweet Juices of sugar cane flushed our teeth at Momma Joy’s house two days ago. Mama Joy is a wonderful and courageous woman who let my friend Mariam and I spend a night. It was a night filled with song, laughter, and chat; our tummies filled to the brim with chapati, soup, and tea….
This week, I have earned a few new bruises and a few new rips in my previously brand-new pants. Whether it was moving sand from point A to point B, or following “uncle” Silas’s paver pattern, I am always left with a little something. Most often, it’s not a tear or a cut, but a…
There’s a specific allegory that was written by Plato, or maybe it was Socrates or some other old white guy who had way too much time on his hands, either way it’s one killer allegory. It’s called the cave allegory and it opens with three prisoners. These three prisoners are chained to a wall and…
Today we started the day with another rare sight of Mt. Numbur, which since our first day has been obscured by clouds, an affect of monsoon season in Nepal. After a final yummy breakfast and hot milk tea, we left to begin our three day trek which will take us though different villages with hopes…
“Wake up!”, the boys called as they banged at our door. It was a ripe 3:30 am. All of the girls groaned as we slowly opened our eyes into a pitch-black room. We had to be out of the hotel and on the bus by 4. I had fallen asleep on the 30-minute bus ride…
Our final full day in Salleri was one to remember. The day began with a delicious breakfast featuring banana pancakes which tasted like home. After breakfast we were lead on a hike by two local Nepali women who were extremely kind and well knowing of the area. The hike took around one hour and featured…
Today was a special day for the community; they were celebrating San Juan and Humisha. To contribute to the decoration of the Humisha tree, we brought over toys and gifts for the children. In the community, we helped the villagers chop wood with an ax to start the process for creating charcoal. Then, we placed…
I walked into the Miami airport and bumped into a circle of teenagers with huge duffle bags who were dressed funny. I figured – well, this is probably the group of people I’m going to be spending 24/7 with for the next 2 weeks. I observed them for a second and they were playing cards,…
This post is a few days old from when the students first arrived to Meru. I am writing this a day late. Yesterday was an incredible journey as we drove 7 hours north to Meru. The drive was filled with new landscapes and new (to me) ways of life. Driving started promptly at 7:00 after…