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Tuesday July 17, 2018

All students are here and ready for a great time! They’re so excited to snorkel that they’re already wearing their life jackets!

Thursday July 19, 2018

Today we started out our morning by going to volunteer at the tortoise sanctuary by restoring their habitat. During this time we removed stumps and boulders from the ground, and afterward we drank fresh squeezed orange juice from trees on the property. We then played a game of soccer as a group. In the afternoon we headed to the beach where we snorkeled in the lagoon and kayaked out to open water. We saw many animals such as sea turtles, stingrays, penguins, and sea lions. I like the animals. We then went back to the hostel for dinner. Finally, we prepared for the next day and then walked down to the beach!

-Julian and Audrey

Friday July 20, 2018

Our 5th day was filled with adventure and excitement! We started our day off right with some tasty Ecuadorian pancakes, which fueled our morning at the local school. There, we sanded and painted the walls (blue) and shares games and giggles with the students. This was all followed by a really long and really gorgeous hike. We walked along the shore until we came across cactus covered trails that led to mangrove lagoons where we all almost sank into the sand and lava tunnels of molten rock. After the tiring and rewarding day we settled down for DELICIOUS icecream before dinner (dessert deserves to be first sometimes).

-Ava and Matt

Wednesday July 25, 2018

Today we woke up early and had a breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs, and juice before heading out to our final day of service. We took a bus to one of the greenhouses in Galapagos National Park where we learned about Scalecia trees (the trees we’ve been planting here in Galapagos). In the greenhouse we split into groups and some of us helped to clean the soil around the baby trees, some of us filled new trays to in which to plant seeds, and others helped arrange the trays we filled in other parts of the greenhouse. For lunch we took the bus to El Chato 2 to drink organic Galata coffee and eat a big lunch at a long table together as a group. Then we walked with our guides around El Chato 2 through two lava tunnels and to a big mud pit where many tortoises were relaxing. After the hike we jumped on the bus and drove to los Gimelos (the twins). We hiked with our guides around the two huge sinkholes and screamed over the edge so we could hear the echos! After the hike we headed back to our hostel for a quick break before walking through town to find icecream and buy some snacks for our boat ride tomorrow. Finally, we had a big spaghetti dinner and reflected on the day before heading to bed. It was a good day.

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Saturday June 30, 2018

Good morning from Quito! All students have arrived and we are en route to the Galapagos!

Sunday July 1, 2018

Today, we walked on the beach, and it was so pretty! We found many crabs and iguanas. After that, we hiked to an inlet called El Estero. There, we saw Blue-footed Boobies and a sea lion who was so adorable!
We hiked back to the hostel and got ice cream along the way.

After lunch, we had our first service day at a tortoise preserve! We finished our service with a soccer game before returning to the hostel for dinner and our nightly activity.

-By Mariana & Matthew

Monday July 2, 2018

Hello families! Blogs have been delayed due to internet connectivity on Isabella Island, but we’re catching up on last week’s recaps!

Monday we started by going to the beach where we split up and snorkeled and kayaked. While snorkeling we saw multiple sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, and different types of fish. While kayaking we encountered numerous waves as well as a few penguins! On land there were many sea lions and one even climbed up on our bags and pushed them over! We had ice cream on the beach before heading back to homebase for lunch. After lunch, we headed to Campo Duro, where we continued yesterday’s work of removing rocks and roots in the tortoise habitat. After sweating a lot we had some yellow oranges and passion fruit. Before heading to base we played a quick game of soccer where our guide, Fernando, scores a “3 point goal”. At homebase we had dinner and finished sharing our stories before going to bed.

-by Vishal and Abby

Wednesday July 4, 2018

We started off the day painting the basketball court for a local elementary school. It was so satisfying to see the big grins on the kids’ faces! After painting we headed to the tortoise breeding center where we saw some adorable baby tortoises and learned a lot of cool facts about them. We then had group bonding time and headed over to the beach, where we ate empanadas, ceviche, and ice cream. Some of us went for a swim and picked up the litter that we found in the ocean. Others played soccer on the beach with some local kids. It was a great last day in Isabella Island!

-by Zara and Asher

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today we woke up early to prepare for our day of travel. We took a boat from Isabella island to Santa Cruz island which took about two hours. The boat ride was wet and wild. After arriving in Santa Cruz, we quickly unloaded at our new hostal, Arena Negra. For lunch, we ate a yummy bowl of ceviche and rice.

At our service site, we cleared boulders/rocks and planted trees to combat the invasive species. We were surrounded by 20 – 30 tortoises the whole time which was super amazing to experience. After volunteering, we ate some cheese empanadas as a snack and came home to some chicken and rice for dinner. Our evening activities included getting ice cream in Puerto Ayora as well as looking at a TON of sharks and sea lions that we could see right off the dock. We are very excited to continue exploring the islands. We love the Galapagos!

-by Jason and Erin

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Wednesday June 13, 2018 

Arrived at the airport yesterday and waited for all students to arrive. Got back to hostel after midnight and received our roommate assignments. We went right to bed. Today we had orientation and an activity overlooking the Andes mountains after breakfast. Now we’re getting ready to explore the Old Town of Quito after lunch!

Thursday June 14, 2018 

Yesterday we took an excursion to Quito! We traveled to the statue of the moon and the statue of the sun. We also visited the largest church in Quito, and even went inside a church with gold, decorative walls. We also learned about how chocolate is made in Ecuador. After we toured through the city, we went shopping at the supermarket where we bought snacks for the plane trip. As a group, we are already close knit and we are also excited for the remainder of the trip!

-By Ava & Yobany

Saturday June 16, 2018

Today we woke up and ate a fresh breakfast. We already had our bags packed from the night before because we needed to take an early morning boat from Isabella island to Santa Cruz island. It was a 2 hour boat ride and a lot of people slept. Some people sat in the back and  got completely soaked by the waves!

We arrived and took a bus to our next home base where we settled in and ate a delicious lunch of ceviche , soup, and rice.  After lunch we took another bus to our second service site (which was a tortoise ranch!) We got to plant endemic trees called escalacia trees. We learned tnat there are 15 types of these trees and they are only found in the Galapagos! We worked really hard and planted 200 trees and then surrounded the trees with big lava rocks so the tortoises wouldn’t walk on them and break the stems. It started to rain, but we kept working in the mud!

We worked so hard that the directors let us make a stop at a local store to buy snacks before we walked back to the home base for a nice dinner. (Soup, chicken, rice, and veggies along with fresh juice). At the end of the night we did an activity called “celebration circle” and it brought the whole group even closer together. It was a long, but very great day!

Thursday June 21, 2018

Today we woke up at 6:45, ate breakfast, and took the bus to the national park greenhouse for service. We worked until 12 and then went to the tortoise ranch. The food was muy bueno! We then walked around a bunch of lava tunnels. We then went to some sinkholes called los himelos on the island. Very cool! We then went shopping, ate dinner, and went down to the harbor to look for sharks. Very eventful day here at Galapagos!

Sunday June 24, 2018

For our last day in Ecuador we started out by visiting the equator – the actual line! There, we learned about indigenous cultures of Ecuador, about the process of making chocolate, and all about the equator. We even got to take turns trying to balance an egg on the head of a nail. Those who could do it received an “eggmaster” certificate.

We then got to take a salsa class! When we had worked up an appetite from dancing, we got lunch at a crepe and waffle restaurant and we treated to ice cream.

Lastly, we went to the central market in Quito where we got to shop for blankets, panchos, backpacks, and more!

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Saturday July 21, 2018

Bula bula!

This is how Fijians welcome us to the country of coconuts and paradise beaches! Big bula smiles and some very excited GLA staff members guided us through the early arrival.

No resting though.. The program kicked off with a traditional Kava ceremony. Basically those ceremonies are important to locals as it is a form of respect to the village. Staff was invited to drink some of the liquid Fijian gold, which is a grind of pepperplant mixed with water. Apparently it tastes like mudwater… We get to try this magical stuff later on the program as they will be more ceremonies. Anyhow, this is where the chief and the village warriors will celebrate their guests and take the time to get to know eachother.

And so we did! With some namegames and plenty of fun interactive teambuilding we are already bonding pretty well. Things did get muddy at one point… At the mudpools that is ofcourse. All 26 of us ( we have one more student coming tomorrow morning), went ahead and treated ourselves to a natural spa day. Ready to get some soft skin, we wrapped ourselves in mud. We had enough time for more games whilst drying the clay out. In a relay competition we tried scoring in egg throwing, ball passing, balloon duo-running and an ultimate dance off. By now we know who has got the moves and who has got the good tunes to dance on! We even managed to squeeze a massage in and buy some souvenirs.

Back at homebase in Nadi Bay, we did the official introductions and played some games and hopped in the pool for some relaxing time. After that we gathered for our first CHOW CIRCLE. This is were we have a talk about the day. We go over the schedule for what is yet to come, and do shoutouts to what we loved during the day. The student leaders of the day get to introduce everyone to a quote of today and some local Fijian vocabulary. After chow circle we always get into the food!

Pineapple, papaya, bananas all the way for local fruit. Hurraaaaay! That will keep our energy level up. For now let’s get some sleep. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

-By Valerie

Monday July 23, 2018

We woke up early today to get onto a 4 and a half hour journey on a ferry to the Oarsman’s Bay lodge. When we arrived we were greeted with flowers and coconuts to drink. We were assigned to our bungalows and ate a traditional Fijian lunch. We had a tour of the land and finally got into the water for a swim and snorkel session. We then had a nice break and had tea time. We watched the absolutely beautiful sunset and played some beach games. After dinner we had a workshop about setting SMART goals. We finished our night with getting into small mentor groups. Tomorrow we will be visiting the billiard for the first time!

Tuesday July 24, 2018

Yandra!
Today was a very productive day. We woke up and had breakfast before we took a short boat ride to the local village. We introduced ourselves to the the Chief after getting his permission to serve in the village. We did this through a traditional kava ceremony. After this, we got a tour of the village where we visited the church, the local houses, and many more of the building. We gathered around for tea time and ate coconut and papaya before we learned how to weave baskets from coconut leaves and scraped coconuts. We saw and interacted with many of the locals.

After we got back to our home island, we snorkeled around the reef and began searching for fish in order to begin keeping track of them. After an hour of free time playing volleyball, swimming, and relaxing by the beach shore, we gathered for dinner and broke into small groups to talk about “the danger of a single story,” the TED talk we watched. Then we all headed to bed excited for what’s in store for tomorrow!

Moce!
~ Eleanor and John

Wednesday July 25, 2018

After breakfast we had a marine animal presentation. We learned the different types of animals that we will find. We spit into 2 service groups. My group planted coral and collected the invasive species, crown for thorns. We saw a lion fish and a sting ray. When we came back we had tea time and relaxed until dinner.

In my group people were assigned to different species of fish and count how many we see. For lunch we went to the village and the women there gave us tea, papaya, and baked goods. While we were there we played with the dogs and the children at the village. After that we went back out to the reef and came back to the lodge to rest and have tea time before dinner.

-by Colleen and Luke

Thursday July 26, 2018

Yandra! (goodmorning!) We split into two service groups today. One group went to the reef to count fish, so we can empower the marine protected areas. We looked for parrot fish, butterfly fish, surgeon fish, goat fish, rabbit fish and luckily found plenty. It was a successful day of collecting data. Eventhough the ocean is colder than we expected it to be, our heart is always warm as the love is a light that never dims. A quote JackJack came up with for today! We are dealing with some romantic souls over here 😉

The other group worked on the coral table by collecting coral pieces and ziptying them on the coral table to then put it back into the sea. It will take about 5 months to grow into branches that can thrive by themselves.

After we got back from service we listened to a inspiring presentation about the meaning of service and why working with the local communities is so important. We work our hardest to make sure that as one united team with the locals, we can impact for the better.

By Zoe and Jack

Friday July 27, 2018

Hey it’s Kennedy and Brecker! Your leaders of the day!! Here’s a brief rundown of what we did!

We spent pretty much the entire day planting mangroves after learning that they help the environment more than rainforests by collecting more carbon. Coral safety is also a big issue which we learned from a coral song. We got superrrrrrrrrr muddy and couldn’t see our feet while planting mangroves, although we did get sidetracked by having a big mud fight that turned some friends to enemies. The boat ride back was super relaxing and some people fell asleep until we saw a leopard shark swimming really close. None of us got clean until the 5th water activity including a shower. The game of telephone-pictionary did cause some disagreements that came sprouting out of nowhere. Today was Lovo day and that meant that all the food was cooked out over a open flame. To wrap it up today was a pretty awesome and muddy day! Halfway through the trip and loving it!

P.S- See mom I told you I would make it ~Kennedy

Saturday July 28, 2018

Weekend Time! We were separated in to two different groups.Hiking was the first activity for group 1 And for group 2 went cave snorkeling in the Sawailau Caves. The local guide said we haven’t been to the Yasawas until we’ve been to the caves! . For the groups that went hiking, we walked around 2 miles up to the tallest peak on the island. There were amazing 360 views of our island and surrounding islands. It was extraordinary to see all the wonderful teamwork as the GLA leaders gave each other a hand and saved one another from sliding down the cliffs. This would be a painful thought to image that kids do this hike every day to school. Hard work for sure to get there but rewarding with a view of the coral reefs and aquamarine water. During cave snorkeling, we saw where a scene “the blue lagoon” movie was filmed. There were two chambers. The first one had an open top so there was light.

The second chamber was dark but incredibly cool to explore even though it was dark. The guides had underwater flashlights so we could see the structure. This went all well until an eel in a curvature manner guiding himself along the cave as all the adolescents were completely exposed waiting to be eaten.(the creature was only 12 inches long) After another delicious dinner (we’re all eating so much home cooked food) there was a monstrous celebration involving practically the entire island for our rather enthusiastic Sam. We exhausted our energy in creating a fabulous card that celebrates the day of her miraculous birth. We then forwarded our attention to the movie screen as we munched obnoxiously on popcorn and various other mediocre snacks. Our bodies decided to give out and we had a slumber fest as we all cuddled together for warmth and fell asleep during the movie. We were shortly awoken by abnormally loud snoring and we all headed to our beds. This ended the day in phenomenal fashion and I felt content as a anchored my salt water engulfed hair into the nice mushy pillow. I hissed in the same way as someone would when the click open the can of a refreshing soda pop. A small smirk filled my face as my eyes closed in a fulfilled manner.

Peace and Blessings,

Alex and Allison

Sunday July 29, 2018

Hello parents!!

Today was another relaxing weekend day in Fiji! We woke up this morning and went to an island that serves as a kind of park for Fijians. While we were there, we played games, sunbathed, snorkeled, and played beach volleyball and rugby. We also competed in an “amazing race” where we had to finish Fijian tasks like basket weaving, scraping coconuts, and planting coconuts (Alexandra and Evan’s team killed it). After the race, we went home and had a presentation on “lollipop moments”, or small moments that can make a big impact in someone’s life. It was another fun day in Fiji and we are all looking forward to continuing with our service tomorrow!

– Gabe and Julia A

Monday July 30, 2018

The blog is by Amanda and Will:

What an awesome day it was! We went to the village to do waste management service. We split into two groups and each group was assigned a different task. One group created trash bins out of recycled water bottles while the other group went around to each house in the village and surveyed which households needed grey water filtration systems.

To make the trash bins, we cut pieces of wood, nailed them together, and painted them red. We used empty plastic water bottles to make the sides of the trash bins. The garbage bins are important for keeping trash out of the ocean. There’s over 270,000 tons of trash in our oceans and it causes so much damage to our ocean ecosystems.

Our director Sam did a presentation about plastic and how it is absolutely destroying our planet. Reduce/ re-use/ recycle! So yes, putting our new plastic knowledge to work.

The trash bins make it easier for the villagers to transport trash instead of throwing it outside and having it end back up in the ocean. The group responsible for surveying and making the water filtration used old gasoline tanks, cut off the tops, poked holes all around, and filled it with dead coral and sand. The dead coral and sand acts as a natural filter of the waste water. The filtration systems are very important to ensure the well being of the ocean. If there were no filtration systems in place the grey water would drain into the ocean and pollute it, thus killing animals and their ecosystems. After we had lunch in the village, the two groups switched activities. Once both groups finished, we started a beach cleanup which entailed going around the island and picking up trash. We collected sooooo much of it!

Today we have put a lot of effort into our service and we could all agree it was an extremely successful day. All the little kids of the village came up to us to play around. The village and the little kids were all so thankful for our help and its so rewarding to see how happy everyone is. It’s an amazing feeling to know that the littlest things can put a smile on someone face for eternity.

Tuesday July 31, 2018

Bula!

Today was an emotional last day in the village. We started out by helping the villagers prepare and cook a traditional Fijian meal called Lovo. We then presented what we have learned about coral, climate change, waste management and mangroves to the villagers and finished by singing the coral song. The villagers then entertained us with traditional singing and dancing and pulled us in to join the fun. It then hit a lot of us that it was our last day in the village and a lot of us shed some tears in hopes that we wouldn’t have to leave. Afterwards we bought souvenirs from the local villagers and the money that we spent would go straight to their local economy. We then headed back to base to finish the day with a big bonfire!!

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Thursday July 5, 2018 

Bula from Fiji!

Our new Fijian home welcomed us with traditional kava ceremony. In silence we were watching and listening to men preparing this national drink and sharing with GLA staff team.

It’s 24 students all together in our group. Some of us met at LAX, others at the Nadi airport in Fiji’s During many activities today we managed to get to each other names and our background.

We had a lovely walk to the local beach. We passed a lot of green fields and palm trees. We can’t believe it’s so green out here! While walking on the beach some of us spotted crabs somewhere between the rocks.

Fijian staff from the hotel prepared a traditional lovo for dinner. It’s a dish baked underground. We had meat, fish, taro (a type of root plant, similar to potatoes), spinach and some fresh salad.

We are all tired after long travel to Fiji and very excited about next 2 weeks!

Friday July 6, 2018

In the words of Alexander Von Humboldt, “The most dangerous worldview is the worldview of those who have never viewed the world.” This was our quote of the day and also an unofficial motto that encompasses what our goals for this trip are. We started our day with a Chow Circle where we went over our agenda and created goals that we hoped to achieve by the end of the afternoon. We all agreed that we wanted to completely immerse ourselves into the culture and so everyday we have committed to learning a new word. The words of the day were Bula, which means hello, and Yadra which means good morning. At this current rate we hope to be fluent by the end of the trip.

After Breakfast, we learned all about Fiji’s rich history. We also learned about the kava ceremony and about this traditional plant. It was very cool to learn about the various cultural customs that are practiced over here. We learned how to properly sit, tie our Sulus and excuse our selves. It was a blast!

We then embarked on an adventure that included volcanic hot springs, games and lots of mud, but it all started with the best fish and chips in Fiji. After this amazing lunch, we went on a beautiful hike and got an opportunity to appreciate the gorgeous vistas. We then went to a spa where we rubbed mineral rich mud all over ourselves and play very intense team games.

Overall, the day was super fun and informative. Tomorrow there will be a change in scenery and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are excited to see why will come next.

Bula!
Kaden and Itasca

Saturday July 7, 2018

24 sleepy-eyed GLA-goers eagerly awoke at the civilised hour of 5.30am to prepare for our departure for the exotic island, Nacula. We began the day with our daily Chow Circle: to remind the group of the adventures that were to follow and the crucial kit that was needed for the day. After a quick breakfast of papaya, pineapple and scrambled eggs, we lugged our extremely oversized baggage into the coach and set off for the ferry port, just in time to watch the sun rise and illuminate the Fijian islands. We swiftly arrived at the port with just enough time to buy even more unnecessary snacks and coffee. What then entailed was a 5 hour boat ride to the island which consisted of 2 hour monopoly games, much-needed naps, ice cream and some sunbathing on the roof.

We passed dozens of beautiful islands and just about managed to sing through every Mamma Mia and Shrek song. The 5 hour journey flew by and before we knew it we were being greeted on our tropical island by friendly Fijians waving and shouting BULA! The island was breathtaking, and we all stood on the beach taking in our surroundings. Next we were assigned our rooms. Our rooms are blue huts that are comfortable and cozy. We also have a porch and a hammock that has proven to be a fun hangout spot.

After we got our rooms we had or lunch, which consisted of local Fijian foods. As the afternoon progressed, we gathered on the beach and we were split into three groups that rotated through three different stations. The first was a swim assessment, the second was an intro to snorkeling, and the third was an intro into marines sciences. We then had some free time in which many of us spent more time on the beach and getting aquatinted with our new home. During the early evening we all met on in the beach and played games that helped us bond even more.

The beach was filled laughter and smiles. It was amazing because when we had free time, we continued to play games on the beach as the sun was setting. In that moment it was clear hat we had already become so close even though it has only been three days. We then had our evening chow circle in which we reflected on our day. After dinner we then split into three groups and we discussed our goals for the trip and what we were hoping to get out of this experience. We ending the long day by sitting on the beach and staring at stars that are lighting up the night sky.

Sunday July 8, 2018

Bula! Goodmorning after our first night on the Nacula island.

We started the day off by learning some Fijian words from our local guide, Gabby. With the local slang on our minds, we husked some coconuts and learned how to weave coconut leaf baskets with captain Bill and Mosese. Our captain likes to share his wisdom and told us to be like a coconut tree – be good like a coconut and be useful like a coconut- as everything from the tree is pure and utilized in Fiji.

The afternoon was filled with coral ( or in Fijian: Lase-) adventures. We went snorkeling to pick up dead coral and made fish houses out of them. We used cement to stick the pieces together as true ocean architects and decorated them with shells. Later this week we’ll put these back in the water so that they can be used as a new flourishing habitat for marine life.

There was free time to do sunbathing, ride on kayaks and play games. One could say we had plenty of fun! A very inspiring Ted Talk named “single stories” led us to sharing our perceptions on only having one side of a story. A moment to reflect at sunset.

By Sophia Chulack and Dylan Bender

Monday July 9, 2018

Today we started off the day by taking a beautiful morning boat ride to the village on the other side of the island. We visited the school where we listened to the young kids sing traditional Fijian songs and afterwords had a fun time playing games with them such as duck duck goose and tag. After the school we went Into the heart of the village where we got to meet the chief and take a tour of the area. We had snack and lunch in the village as well. After lunch we took a boat ride back to our home base where we then changed into our swim wear and went for a cooling afternoon snorkel. When we were done snorkeling we had time to relax on the beach or kayak. To end the day we played some games and then had dinner. I would call this another successful day on the beautiful island of Nacula!!

– Jerry and Gabby

Tuesday July 10, 2018

Today we split into two groups, one group which worked with locals to help replant corals to areas which suffered from coral bleaching. The other group which we were in went out on a boat with locals as well and we did reef checks which involved counting fish and other sea organisms to help gather data to compare and make sure the reef is still healthy. Each group snorkeled for around 2 hours and had lots of fun. Our group in particular got to see 2 sharks, a small shark, and a leopard shark. I’m addition, we saw two eagle rays swimming together and then rested on a beautiful island which had goats as well.

Bula!

By, Audrey and Teja

Wednesday July 11, 2018

Today everyone was split into two groups. This time service group 1 stayed at the home base doing the works of coral restoration. The work consisted of implementing cookies (not the ones you eat) made of cement and used collected coral tied to it and set that down 5 meters deep during low tide for the growth of new coral to grow.

While service group 2 took a bleat ride to a separate island and did a reef check, each pair of students counting the number of a certain species of fish. After tea time everyone spent their 2 hours catching up and bonding through bracelet making, volley ball, and watching the sunset. After dinner we all watched Moana on our movie night. All in all it was a very successful day.

Thursday July 12, 2018

Already halfway the program?! Time just flies by when you are having fun. Today was all about climate change and how it affects our blue planet. After munching away our breakfast, we went straight into a mangrove workshop with our Fijian marine and climate expert Gabby. Moving forward by taking actual steps in protecting this local area. We planted hundreds of mangroveseeds and gave them a chance to grow and protect the Nacula island. Mangroves are the most wicked plants on earth. Think nursery and cyclone protection and shelter for tons of animals. It is important to keep them around.

Working on the beach was much fun though we faced some challenges. The burning sun and incoming tide were against us. Because of the limited resources we had the put the legs to work.
« When men are of one heart, they can move mountains. »

And we created a rock wall that enquired manpower. This wall will keep the sediment and sand in the harbor and will slow down the process of erosion. But are we feeling the muscles! The crabs and other marine creatures hiding in those rocks got a new location. Bet they are having housewarming tonight. Even though we are tired after the work, the results are so rewarding. We celebrate with a dance party on the beach tonight.

-By Violet Kaufmen, Qingtian Shi

Friday July 13, 2018

The day started off quiet and chill. Each group played games and tried to sort out something to entertain themselves as they awaited the boat. The day was filled with new and exciting projects; building trash bins out of recycled material and digging a deep pit for trash management for the village. Once on the island each group split and started their projects. The children greeted them with loving smiles and admired them from their colorful classrooms.

The groups grabbed shovels and rigorously started digging the pit. Giggles ruptured and even a race started against one another to fill up the basket the fastest.

The other group grabbed used Fiji water bottles and strung wire through holes and formed a wall for the trash to go into.

After a long day of hard work, everyone came back to camp relaxed and even had a large bon fire and danced the night away.

-by Eliana and Timothy

Saturday July 14, 2018

Weekend Time!

Saturday started with a bit of an early start because we had a full day of fun ahead. We were separate in to two different groups.Hiking was the first activity for group 2 And for group 1 went cave snorkeling in Sawailau Caves. The local guide said we haven’t been to the Yasawas until we’ve been to the caves! . For the groups that went hiking, we walked around 3 miles up the tallest peak on the island. There were amazing 360 views of our island and surrounding islands. It was amazing! Hard work for sure to get there but rewarding with a view of the coral reefs and aquamarine water.

During cave snorkeling, we saw where a scene “the blue lagoon” movie was filmed. There were two chambers. The first one had an open top so there was light. The second chamber was dark but incredibly cool to explore even though it was dark. The guides had underwater flashlights so we could see the structure. After another delicious dinner (we’re all eating so much home cooked food) there was a presentation about ‘lollipops moments’… which is a type of leadership that involves everyday little magical moments that might impact the people around you… and you might not even know it! Overall our quote of the day, which was “it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop” by Confucius, really for in well to today’s activities. Moce! (Goodbye/goodnight)

Jerry & Victoria

Sunday July 15, 2018

Here is what day 12 looked like in the eyes of our students:

What a memorable day it was. One that will always be in our hearts. We arrived early morning in the Nacula village to present work we did on the program. We provided entertainment first though. The coral song was definitely a hit at the school. We proceeded to inform the children about our new knowledge on trash, climate change, and mangroves.

Presenting our work and results to the village board that includes the mayor and chief was impressive. The data we gathered will be used to protect the marine area and makes sure the village interests are at heart as it will be included in governmental studies. We all realize how important our volunteering work is to the community. As they keep saying: “The first day you are a guest, the second you are one of us. ” We then had the privilege to cook our lunch with the locals. A meal you prepare in coconut tree leaves and will be cooked in a pit in the ground.

After the delicious “lovo”, we also had the amazing opportunity to try kava during the traditional ceremony. Kava is a drink made from the pepper plant and sometimes numbs your tongue. Although it was nothing like soda, it was still a very exciting experience… ( read: it tastes like dirtwater with liquorish flavor)

We then had to say our final goodbyes to the community and headed back to home base having our last dinner together on the island. We dance the night away as tomorrow we hop on the ferry back to the mainland.

Vinaka Nacula! You were pure bliss!

Monday July 16, 2018

We were fortunate enough to have another a precious extra hour of sleep before our chow Circle at 7.45. After a delicious breakfast of coconut pancakes and peanut butter we jumped into the boat, driven by our favorite captain Bill and made our way to a beautiful private island. We had a relaxing Sunday morning which consisted of intense volley ball matches against the locals – star players including Sophia C, Violet, Jerry Lee and Paige. We also went snorkeling amongst the friendliest fish who seemed to chase us rather than us chase them. We then all sat down for a humungous lunch on the island cooked by the Oarsman staff and barbecued by our very own Jerry and Jerry!

After eating far too much we began to mentally prepare for the Amazing race that was looming on us.

We began the race at 2.30 and we were split into 3 teams. The race included traditional Fijian skills such as basket weaving and coconut husking. We finished the race off with a competitive kayak race to the buoy and back which was won by champion kayaker Anni. However it was a close call and the final prize, a traditional Fijian staff was won by Paige’s team, thanks to Paige’s agility and flexibility.

After the race we cooled down with a refreshing swim in the sea and a Hercules sing off. We returned to home base via the boat after an action packed day and a break from service. We arrived just in time for tea and started to prepare our presentation on our service projects for the villagers. We learnt the coral song which we will perform to the kids tomorrow and learnt some professional dance moves thanks to Kaden’s mastery.

-Written by Anni Paradise