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– 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…
I felt more connected to the community of Rancho Quemado today, more than ever before. We started the day by laughing out loud when the itinerary stated that WE would be teaching local kids soccer, but of course it would end up being the opposite. The kids were so accepting of our questionable soccer skills,…
On Day 6, we helped out at an urban farm in the upper ninth ward named Farming NOLA. They grow fruits and vegetables for the community and provide donations to Common Ground Relief for their food bank every Saturday. At the farm, we helped Josh and Scott water plants, pick figs, pull weeds, and clear…
In today’s blog I, Athziry, will be talking about the wonderful hard working people in this rancho. Everyone is dedicated to their own roles of helping the community and maintaining this biodiverse ecosystem. The first person that comes to mind is a kind elder Felix. We have probably spoken about Felix before, but he is…
Today, we spent most of the day at the Common Ground Relief(CGR) nursery planting baby cypress trees. It took us about 3 hours to finish all of the work which was very quick, and we planted over 300 Cyprus trees. After our work, we went back to the clubhouse to get ready for the Juneteenth…
Around 8:30, we drove rental cars 30 minutes to the Border Wall, near Chula Vista and Tijuana. Before reaching the Border State Park, we read an article titled “Desecration” by Paulina Velasco. It detailed issues surrounding the history of Friendship Park, its Covid-19 closure, and its recent destruction by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Valasco…
Today we started off with a very adventurous morning that consisted of a jungle hike to Up In The Hill. We learned a lot of interesting facts about Javier and Jeanettes farm including that bamboo grows about 1 foot a day and that pineapple grows in bushes! After learning about how the owners created their…
Summary by Kevin and Alondra based on group reflection… Today was all about food! This community lives and eats in ways that are closely tied to the local environment. Most of the foods that we have eaten have come from the area. We began the day with a visit to a small dairy very close…
Greetings from Costa Rica! Last night, the group that went on turtle patrol found two turtles. Unfortunately, one of the turtles was a dead male turtle who had washed up on shore. However, the other turtle was a female who dug a nest and laid 109 eggs! These eggs were also the first batch to…
Hello all! Today we had an exciting day of touring a cacao farm and medicinal plants in San Cristobal followed by volunteering at San Cristobal‘s community center. We started off our tours by meeting the Ngobe ladies who ran the farms and our translator Sergio who helped with the Ngobe to Spanish translations. Although I…
Today was a relaxing day in Panama! We had a beach day that started off with a 45 minute boat ride followed with snorkeling adventure. While in the water, I noticed that the ground I was standing on was all dead coral. This made me realize the dangerous condition our oceans are in. We relocated…
Hey! It’s Elsie writing to you from our 5th day on the Southern Nacoya Peninsula. Today, we started our morning with a beach clean-up along Playa San Miguel. We spent a little over two hours picking up trash of all sorts along the beach, that ranged from plastic water bottles to Cars-themed crocs. To be…
Today was a beautiful day in Panama! Our group started off with a short beach hike where we quickly became friends with three local dogs. We swam in the blue water which we all really enjoyed. The beach swim was followed by a group reflection in which we talked about our presence on Bastimentos….
Today we woke up at around 7:00 and got ready for a day of hard work, but lots of fun. We walked outside to find that Maribeth had made us delicious scrambled eggs, rice and beans, and of course accompanied by Costa Rica’s famous Lizano sauce. We took a short bus ride to Coyote where…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experiences while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each group…
Today was one of the most memorable days that I’ve experienced so far on our trip. We walked along the border in the desert. There, we saw a couple of border patrol officers, and deep down, I had fear of them coming up to us and ending our journey. With each step we took, I’d…
Life sprang onto the concrete jungle. Vibrant colors entangled the concrete pillars that supported the frantic highway above us. A noble Aztec adorned with gold armor was immortalized on one pillar while Chicano women held the clouds up on another. On every pillar was a cornerstone of Chicano culture, a reference to history, or a…
Hi all, today we embarked on an expedition to explore the border wall as close as we could, sometimes getting within 15 feet of the fence itself. On our trek towards Friendship Park, a place where families on both sides of the border can meet, we met with two of our guides, Alex Gomez and…
Today was our last day at San Cristóbal. Two of our leaders let us have a last hurrah with the kids. They provided us with a piñata. The second we got off the boat with the piñata all of the kids started rushing to the community center. It was a really special moment being able…
Everyday that we have been in Bocas Del Toro, two of my group members and I have spent an hour at a local restaurant in Cristobol teaching the moms who own the restaurant English. We spent our time teaching them common restaurant phrases such as what would you like to eat, my name is, and…
Working in the community center for the past couple of days has definitely been a change from the active soccer games, piggy back rides and tag that were ever present in the first week of working with the kids. It has taken some getting used to, but having my leg contained in a cast has…
The past few days we’ve had the chance to explore the local sites on Bocas. In the midst of our journey we came upon a man by the name of Polo. An eccentric man, Polo has lived on “Polo beach” for 55 years, aptly named after him. Once a millionaire, he blew all his money…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today, we had a big morning storm and all ended up teaching and playing at the community center in Bastimentos. There were so many fun activities happening today, but the highlight of my day would definitely be skateboarding with a group of local kids and fellow group members. In the back of the community…
Students had the chance to meet with and work alongside the Executive Director of Give and Surf, Neil Christiansen. Look out for more student posts coming this week and follow along with our pictures and video each day on Instagram @studentsshouldertoshoulder
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]After getting off the shaky, 13-row plane we adventured through the streets to get to our water taxi. It had rained this morning so the streets were flooded with water. We held our bags up as high as we could and tried to avoid splashing each other at 7:30 in the morning. The somewhat…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experience while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each…