Becca-
I remember the first Junior High Class I worked with at North Huron and one of their assignments being to research a plant, of their choice, and answer certain questions. Immediately students grabbed their cell phones and began asking Siri for assistance. The one that sticks out the most to me was “Siri, what’s the scientific name of a lemon tree?” I was astonished that the first step wasn’t even Google, but this is the reality that we live in and each generation after becomes more connected through technological advancements. Personally for me, I was looking forward to the disconnect as it is hard to have a work/life balance being completely connected all the time — going off the grid for a week sounded like a dream, to me. We almost did not make it to Costa Rica because once we got off our first flight at Fort Lauderdale instead of finding our next gate we stopped, used restrooms, got snacks, and lastly switch phone SIM cards. Before we knew it Mr. Ankley had a phone call from the airport saying that we had three minutes to get to the gate before the jet bridge closes. After a short run, and a couple falls, we made it and our journey continued. If you’ve kept up on the blog post so far you’ve read about our expeditions here in Costa Rica. We have experienced a lot of the Costa Rican culture and have embraced the common phrase “Pura Vida,” you can think of it as Hakuna Mahtata. Until Wednesday we had WiFi at all of the places we stayed but that night was spent in a jungle lodge, completely disconnected from the outside world. This was what I signed up for when Mr. Ankley asked me if I’d like to attend back in November. In order to get here we took a drive to a path that lead to the river. On our drive over, Edgar, our guide, explained that with the constant pressure to do more, meet deadlines and exceed goals a lot of us suffer from the same disease, stress. By disconnecting we would be able to completely disconnect from our social media accounts, e-mail, and really everyone else back home. Going back to the river’s edge in order to get to the jungle lodge we had to raft the Pacquare Canyon. The first thing we did when we arrived to the lodge was check into our rooms, change out of our wet rafting clothes and had lunch before heading the the Tarzan Swing. The rest of the night was spent enjoying the company of one another playing games and truly reconnecting with one another, being present and in the moment. The rest of the trip was similar with a WiFi signal every now and again but everyone on the trip seemed to latch onto the idea of being present in the moment at hand. At Fernando’s Project, the Chocolate Farm we stayed at for a couple nights we were taught another important lesson on overcoming stress. While we were learning about the medicinal uses for many of the plants he grows our guide and host, Fernando discussed how “he is not afraid of anything because as soon as you admit you’re scared you give whatever the object is power over you. Sometimes the fears we hold onto hold us back and cause stress in our lives. At this farm a major fear of a couple of ours (again myself included) was snakes and we were ending the evening with a night walk to find amphibians of the rainforest. The zip lining and Tarzan swing from earlier in the week challenge most of the group and ended up being a highlight for most. Our Costa Rican Adventure was a great experience for all of the participants. For some it was their first flight, others (including myself) our first time abroad, the activities we participated in took everyone out of their comfort zone at one point or another, and we all learned something in terms of Costa Rican Culture, sustainable agriculture, or remembering to take a break from the constant pressures.
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The UpdatesEach week there will be a new post to the blog, that will highlight our students and there projects. It will also give weekly announcements. Archives
May 2019
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