Blog

Although the end of our trip is edging ever closer and our reunions draw nearer and nearer, this group of explorers continues to take in every beautiful moment. The story picks up during our stay in Baños. We kicked it all off by walking to the local hot springs just under a gorgeous waterfall. At the base of this waterfall was a tribute to the virgin Mary, a partner to the statue topping the opposite side of the ridge. Both of these sites are staples of this primarily c… Read more

This week we are writing from the Natural Reserve in Cerro Alto where we are beginning to wrap up our wonderful program. This past week was still full of adventure that we are so excited to share with you. At the beginning of the week, we were still working on our service project at the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center. Everyday, we were divided into 4 groups - birds, sloths/deer/pigs, nocturnals, and monkeys. Each group worked with the current volunteers and staff to he… Read more

Pacific Discovery is an organization offering gap semesters and summer programs targeted to students between high school and college. There are a bunch of places you can sign up for such as Hawaii, Thailand, South America and many more all over the world. The purpose of the program is to have hands-on learning experience and to immerse into a new culture by being involved in service work and wilderness exploration. These experiences create an environment to have personal… Read more

We arrived in Jaco on Tuesday and everyone was eager to go into town. We switched up the cooking groups and brainstormed new meals to plan. Leader Courtney took on the role of  organizing who was cooking and when. We headed to the grocery store to stock up on food for our upcoming meals! It’s been great cooking as a team and enjoying the sweet smells of cuisine. We cooked and ate a variety of meals including quesadillas, pasta salad, sandwiches, pancakes, and more. Afte… Read more

The past week has been quite eventful for the Pacific Discovery students. The group continued their homestay with their loving and welcoming host families in the Agato Community, learning more about the Kichwa culture. The mornings would begin with the group giving back to the host community with extensive community service ranging from community cleanups to the planting of over one hundred and thirty trees. After completion of the daily service activities, students met … Read more

Just a few days ago marked the halfway point in our Hawaii Mini Semester adventure! We have been in Hawaii for a little over three weeks now, and I already have so many memories that I will cherish forever. Here are just a couple of my many highlights.  Camping on the beach under the stars at Ho’okena beach park in Kona was beautiful and definitely out of some people's stretch zone but a serene and humbling experience as well. During that week we got to attend surf camp… Read more

This week, the group has been adjusting to and getting to know our homestay families in the Agato Community in Otavalo, Ecuador. Five families welcomed 3-4 of us into each of their homes, and we’ve spent each morning doing volunteer work in the community. Some of the projects have included cleaning up community spaces such as parks and soccer fields, regenerative gardening, and moving debris. We’ve also gotten to experience Kichwa Spring Equinox traditions.   On Sunday… Read more

Read about the adventures of the Thailand Mini Students on their second week of program!   What a week it’s been! The majority of it was spent at the lovely, environmentally conscious organization, NatureMind-Ed. Our homebase was Spirit Mountain, a lush tropical garden directly adjacent to a massive jungle-covered limestone karst. NatureMind is a project that inspires environmental connection and social and cultural sustainability to improve human health and nurture th… Read more

Starting this blog off right by sharing that we successfully completed our 3 day kayaking journey! That covered 25km of Costa Rican, clear crisp and sunny coastline! During this trip we saw a variety of wildlife including monkeys and some very social dolphins that came right up to the kayaks. We were led by our leaders who were up for the challenge, Nathan and Allie. When we stepped into our first campsite we knew it was special. We all enjoyed jumping off the dock, esp… Read more

We’ve just surpassed the one-week milestone in our Hawaii Mini Semester trip, here’s how it went! We began our adventure in the beautiful town of Pahala staying at a Sugar Cane Plantation, full of rich history and scenic views. Natalie and Liz, our instructors, laid out the laws of the land, risk management, and the importance of communication during orientation over the next two days. In between orientation sessions we got the chance to really get to know each other an… Read more