Hey everyone!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since you guys left Costa Rica – I’m sure by now everyone is seriously missing rice and beans for every meal. We miss you all and hope you guys are doing well back home and sharing fun stories from the trip with friends and family.

It’s funny to look back now on our first day in Alajuela as student slowly from the airport. I remember the name game and the initial orientation as well as our first pizza dinner together. That next day we had out walk through the community walk together and think of how much we learned throughout the week. We got to know the Bodhi team really well and also meet people from Bahía Ballena through surfing and service projects.

We hope that you guys gained a lot through the different service experiences. There may be some lollipop moments that you didn’t realize and we hope that you all treasure the bonds you made with the students at Forjando Alas. Watching you guys work through a language barrier to play with and form friendships with the kids was really special. The Surf and Service project was awesome because we were able to give back to the ocean by cleaning the beach and then put our new surf skills to use by giving lessons to the people that showed up.

In addition to the service projects, we had so much fun during activities with you guys. We got to relax and laugh our way through partner yoga with Pilar and watch (fall asleep to) the movies The Fisherman’s Son, Fish People, and Resurface together to wind down after the long day. We wont forget our crazy day of navigating the rapids and getting to jump through waterfalls on the rafting trip. We were also very proud that everyone rallied for the hike toward the end of an exhausting week. We look back especially fondly on that final day of surfing when we made it out to the green waves.

We hope that you are still reflecting on your experience and learning from those moments. We truly believe that learning happens upon reflection and not in the moment. We did a lot of powerful work! Including stories of self, world cup discussion, values reflection, lollipop moments, the appreciation circle, and more. All of those service hours and videos that Travis showed us are good fodder for more meaningful thoughts and discussions.

We’re missing you all and think of our trip often. We hope you’re doing well and that you’ll send us updates about where you end up in the future! We hope you are all feeling happy and healthy! Best of luck with everything 🙂

Some special memories from the trip:
– Pizza night!
– Two truths and a lie: iron deficiency
– Crocodile bridge
– Opening coconuts on the community walk
– Seeing a sloth on the community walk
– Stories of self
– Word assassin!
– Manual labor at Fojando Alas
– First time seeing the ocean
– Painting and helping out at the community soccer field
– Community soccer game with an ex-professional player (remember the bicycle kick??)
– World cup debate and then video on it
– Talking about gap year programs
– Painting the wall of Forjando Alas
– Rafting! and people falling in
– Beach day! With surfing, surf and service, and beach soccer
– Handstands and headstands on the beach
– Facepaint (sunscreen)… making a political statement!
– Surfing the green waves!
– Saying goodbye to surf instructors and giving them necklaces
– Dinner at Carlitos
– Lollipop moments
– Values exploration
– Compliment cards
– Appreciation circle
– Final goodbyes!!! 🙁

¡Pura vida!

Patrick and Jen

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Hey guys!

Just checking in to say hi and that we miss you lots and think of our trip this summer often. We assume that you guys are probably missing the Costa Rican weather and beaches as much as we are at this point. We had so much fun surfing with you guys and hope you all are able to continue in the future. It was so awesome to see you guys get better each day and get really into it. We won’t forget being out there and looking out to the ocean and back at the surrounding islands and trees. We’ll be daydreaming about that for a long time.

We also want you to know that the impact that you had during service will not be forgotten. From having lots of fun with the students at Forjando Alas to brightening up the Parquecito for the whole community to use, it was definitely a rewarding and important experience. I think we all learned a lot about service from Travis and about different cultures and ways of living from the people we met in Bahía Ballena. You guys all have the potential to be great leaders in your own communities and we hope you are putting some skills you learned here to good use back home.

Rafting and yoga were two highlights from the trip as well. We hope you all enjoyed paddling through the rapids together – or at least doing your best to. It was really cool to see how Pilar’s yoga sessions and talks really impacted some of you. We also had fun during the activities together, like creating skits, sharing our ‘lollipop moments’ with each other, and making it up the mountain to see the whale tail. We’re proud of all you guys accomplished on this trip and hope you think of it often!

Here are some fun memories we have from the trip:
-Cooling off in the pool after long and hot days of surfing and service
-Hitting cement blocks with a sledgehammer during service
-When some of us flew out of the raft
-When some of you guys did a room redecoration of the bunk beds
-Singing after lights out
-All the silliness during our World Cup conversation
-Meeting students at Forjando Alas
-Playing soccer with an ex-professional player
-Getting creative painting the tires at the soccer field
-Playing at the beach while taking a break from surfing

Wishing you all the best!!

Supreme Patrick and Yoo Jen

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Hey everyone!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since you guys left Costa Rica – I’m sure by now everyone is seriously missing rice and beans for every meal. We miss you all and hope you guys are doing well back home and sharing fun stories from the trip with friends and family.

It’s funny to look back now on our first walk through the community together and think of how much we learned throughout the week. We got to know the Bodhi team really well and also meet people from Bahía Ballena through surfing and service projects. We hope that you guys gained a lot through the different service experiences. There may be some lollipop moments that you didn’t realize and we hope that you all treasure the bonds you made with the students at Forjando Alas. Watching you guys work through a language barrier to play with and form friendships with the kids was really special. The Surf and Service project at the end of the week was awesome because we were able to give back to the ocean by cleaning the beach and then put our new surf skills to use by giving lessons to the people that showed up.

In addition to the service projects, we had so much fun during activities with you guys. We got to relax and laugh our way through partner yoga with Pilar and watch (fall asleep to) a movie together to wind down after the long day. We wont forget our crazy day of navigating the rapids and getting to jump through waterfalls on the rafting trip. We were also very proud that everyone rallied for the hike toward the end of an exhausting week and got to see the whale tail from the top. We look back especially fondly on that final day of surfing when we made it out to the green waves during that storm.

We’re missing you all and think of our trip often. We hope you’re doing well and that you’ll send us updates about where you end up in the future! We hope you are all feeling happy and healthy! Best of luck with everything 🙂

Some special memories from the trip:

– Everyone falling out of the raft
– Guest appearances by Larry and Sharon during the world cup debate
– Thinking Basa the cat was dead (he’s still alive)
– Coco eating Peper’s whiskers
– Zen yoga sessions
– Students with loud laughs
– Awkward first night
– “Literature” blog posts
– Standing under the waterfall
– Sisters playing soccer against each other
– Leaderships skits

¡Pura vida!

Patrick and Jen

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Hey everyone!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since you guys left Costa Rica – I’m sure by now everyone is seriously missing rice and beans for every meal. We miss you all and hope you guys are doing well back home and sharing fun stories from the trip with friends and family.

It’s funny to look back now on our first walk through the community together and think of how much we learned throughout the week. We got to know the Bodhi team really well and also meet people from Bahía Ballena through surfing and service projects. We hope that you guys gained a lot through the different service experiences. There may be some lollipop moments that you didn’t realize and we hope that you all treasure the bonds you made with the students at Forjando Alas. Watching you guys work through a language barrier to play with and form friendships with the kids was really special. The Surf and Service project at the end of the week was awesome because we were able to give back to the ocean by cleaning the beach and then put our new surf skills to use by giving lessons to the people that showed up.

In addition to the service projects, we had so much fun during activities with you guys. We got to relax and laugh our way through partner yoga with Pilar and watch (fall asleep to) a movie together to wind down after the long day. We wont forget our crazy day of navigating the rapids and getting to jump through waterfalls on the rafting trip. We were also very proud that everyone rallied for the hike toward the end of an exhausting week and got to see the whale tail from the top. We look back especially fondly on that final day of surfing when we made it out to the green waves during that storm.

We’re missing you all and think of our trip often. We hope you’re doing well and that you’ll send us updates about where you end up in the future! We hope you are all feeling happy and healthy! Best of luck with everything 🙂

Some special memories from the trip:

– Dancing in Alajuela
– Coconut chugging at the crocodile bridge
– Climbing all over the Jaco sign
– Rock paper scissors tournament
– Stories of self (an incredible night)
– Drawing pictures of ourselves as leaders
– Hugging each other after compliment cards
– Painting each other at service
– People falling out of boats during service
– Serious sunburns

¡Pura vida!

Patrick and Jen

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Hey everyone!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since you guys left Costa Rica – I’m sure by now everyone is seriously missing rice and beans for every meal. We miss you all and hope you guys are doing well back home and sharing fun stories from the trip with friends and family.

It’s funny to look back now on our first walk through the community together and think of how much we learned throughout the week. We got to know the Bodhi team really well and also meet people from Bahía Ballena through surfing and service projects. We hope that you guys gained a lot through the different service experiences. There may be some lollipop moments that you didn’t realize and we hope that you all treasure the bonds you made with the students at Forjando Alas. Watching you guys work through a language barrier to play with and form friendships with the kids was really special. The Surf and Service project at the end of the week was awesome because we were able to give back to the ocean by cleaning the beach and then put our new surf skills to use by giving lessons to the people that showed up.

In addition to the service projects, we had so much fun during activities with you guys. We got to relax and laugh our way through partner yoga with Pilar and watch a movie together to wind down after the long day. We wont forget our crazy day of navigating the rapids and getting to jump through waterfalls on the rafting trip. We were also very proud that everyone rallied for the hike toward the end of an exhausting week and got to see the whale tail from the top. We look back especially fondly on that final day of surfing when we made it out to the green waves during that storm.

We’re missing you all and think of our trip often. We hope you’re doing well and that you’ll send us updates about where you end up in the future! Best of luck with everything 🙂

Some special memories from the trip:

-yoga with Pilar and all the giggles
-learning about the philosophy of surfing from Gibran and getting to share how we think sports have impacted our lives
-playing soccer and making paintings of the flags with the students at Forjando Alas
-bananagrams when it was pouring rain
-our last dinner at Carlitos and giving each other lollipops to show appreciation to each other for an awesome trip

¡Pura vida!

Patrick and Jen

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.