Today we were asked to write about a life lesson we have learned on this trip and how we will use it to influence our daily life back home. Although I acknowledge the prompt, I am going to stray from it a little in writing about a lesson that has followed me throughout my life…
oday’s morning started off by going to Bocas del Toro’s recycling center where we learned about the different types of plastics, how they recycle each type, and how “Wasteless World” was started. Following that tour, the group went to lunch at “Red Snapper”. The group then split off to either Bastimentos or to Cristobal. At…
Today we woke up early in order to be at the greenhouse on time. When we arrived at the greenhouse, Edger split the group up into smaller groups who would each completely different tasks. One group transplanted trees from small pots to large bags which were reused. Another group fixed the mesh along the greenhouse…
Hi my name is Ellen Cabin and I am a rising senior from North Carolina. Today we had a leisurely morning before meeting with Niel Christiansen, the founder of Give and Surf. Then, in the afternoon we split into our groups and each went to work with our groups of kids. Three highlights today would…
oday we spent much of the day in San Cristobal. The morning was dedicated to learning about the cultivation of cacao in Panama. I was most fascinated by the approach that the people in San Cristobal have to the cultivation and what they use the cacao for. The farm on Cristobal is completely natural and…
Today, our fourth day on our Shoulder to Shoulder excursion to Costa Rica, we woke up an hour later than the previous days in order to recover from our first turtle patrol. For our turtle patrol, we split into four groups. Two groups left the house at 10:30 to do the first hour and a…
Today we woke up bright and early at 6:30 for a delicious breakfast cooked by our awesome chef! We had pancakes and fruit, and then we headed to the hatchery. At the hatchery, we met some amazing researchers who truly care so deeply about the work they are doing. We helped out by splitting into…
Tonight, during our group discussion, we talked about some of the characteristics of ethical leadership. While all eight qualities we discussed tonight are important to being an ethical leader, the two that stand out to me are applying global perspectives and showing a strong sense of empathy. Both of these characteristics allow a foreigner down…
We just wrapped up our first week at the after-school centers. At the beginning of the week we went into the center on Basti Island with a game plan. We soon learned that the game plan we created was just not going to work for many reasons. One of those reasons being the language barrier….
Getting to know people who do not live in the same area as you is kind of hard but at the same time it helps better yourself and because we did not have out phones it made us be able to connect more, also the pressure of looking good is relaxed, the feelings of having…
Even though traveling was really hard we really enjoyed seeing all of the animals and looking at all of the scenery. In addition, we enjoyed bonding with all the girls and getting to know everyone individually. We stopped for lunch(Soda) at a restaurant that had local Costa Rican food and it was our first local…
One student from each center was able to journal today: Andrew M The relationship established between students of shoulder to shoulder and young students of Panama is built on the ability to communicate physically as well as emotionally through empathy and constructive teaching. Our group on Cristolbal has been working on creating a relationship of…
The Turtles I group has arrived safely in Costa Rica. They will spend the night in San Jose before departing tomorrow morning for their field study site.
One of the 10 essential principles of a shoulder-to-shoulder experience is “whenever possible, we work shoulder-to-shoulder with locals…because the relationships we develop and the learning that occurs through them are as important as the project itself.” This is the principle that resonates the most with me. Relationships are truly an important aspect of both our…
Today the group and I went to “Cristobal” and I would describe the first day with the kids as beautiful chaos! The boat ride was about 30 min long and we were all pretty tired prior to our arrival. Nevertheless, the kids’ energy and curiosity was extremely contagious- there was not one dull moment with…
The Panama II crew arrived safely in Panama last night. Today they will explore Panama City to learn more about the context for their Field Study. This afternoon they will be flying from Panama City to Bocas Del Toro where they will meet with the Give and Surf team for the program introduction.
Today started like any normal day. We woke up, ate breakfast, and did our permaculture work. My group finally finished the metal sheet fencing while the other group weeded a bit and finished up composting any beds we did not finish. We then took our group photos with our SStS shirts. Then, we had teatime….
Last night was the long-awaited homestay. I had been looking forward to it for a while and was really excited the day of. I was a little disappointed to learn that I was not with one of my friends and instead with Jim. However, it was a very lovely experience for the both of us….
What is a memory that you bring with you home? I enjoyed the afternoon swims next to the hotel and I learned that there is a type of apple called “marañon”. I loved seeing the reefs and the fish but my favorite part was going back to the centers and developing my relationships with the…
– I saw an ostrich today and that’s enough to make me happy. Oh yeah, and I swam for the first time in 3 years. -We got to swim in the most beautiful oasis that no one would expect to be there! – I really wanted to see a rhino today and was disappointed that we did…
Eight AM consisted of hojaldres and roosters. I awoke wrapped in both blankets and aromas, of the ocean, the humid island air, and, of course, the hojaldres. The smell of the hojaldres eventually pulled us out of our beds and down the stairs to where Louis was busy cooking. “My favorite breakfast” I commented, not…
It has been the greatest of honors to be entrusted with your students this summer. I know you’ve been missing them at home, and soon will have them back with stories, souvenirs and suntans. This was the first year we (Ade and Matthew) worked with SStS and the first year that we’ve met the wonderful…
For the first time in the last two weeks, the group yesterday had a traditional ¨tourist day.¨ We took a boat tour of Marino Ballena National Park and saw the four principal beaches of the park. Along the coast was a stretch of cliffs with huge caverns. Many of the caverns were large enough for…
Today we had pancakes for breakfast. That’s all that really matters but I guess we did other things as well. Doctor K took us to one of her Kach kids who now is an adult and owns a fabric store. It was a tiny little store off of a busy road. All of us who wanted…
We continued our permaculture work today. It’s been amazing to see our progress, turning a blank patch of land into a garden that will have a lasting effect after we leave. Today we worked on fencing the area. We started by stabilizing the pre-existing poles with rocks while another group cleared a bush on the…
Today was an adventure that was unexpectedly unique, we started the day similar to many others with the noises of Caribbean waking us up and leading us to a breakfast of French toast and a variety of fruit. After the usual breakfast routine the group boarded two boats to take us to La Loma cacao…
This day is one that I don’t seem to have finished processing. Although today wasn’t the most eventful, it was filled with reflection. I see it as the end of an experience that I will hold very close to my heart. I woke up with the mindset that I would take in as much as…
The group returned to Urubamba today after an impactful week in the mountains. We worked with school children in Cuncani to inspire pride in their mountain ecosystems and installed a new irrigation system in the school’s greenhouse; and we had the opportunity to harvest potatoes alongside the Cuncani community members who came out to support…
It’s crazy to believe that we are just over halfway through our trip. It has been an incredible trip, and one I am very grateful to be on. I have made so many new connections with people not only in our group, but also the people we have met here in Meru. Today we went over…
Today we were invited to the talent show of the school of Rancho Quemado in which we saw and enjoyed a lot of wonderful and adorable performances from the children. We even went up and sang a song in German that our fellow traveler Lucas had taught us. It was a super fun experience learning…