DÍA 13: Reflection Day

It was a very hot and humid morning here in Aracari house, in Santa Rosa, in Turrialba, in Cartago, in Costa Rica, in Central America. The beautiful hills and nature surrounding us were stunning. We woke up early for our wake-up call. This song was “It’s the End of the World”. The perfect song for the somber day ahead of us filled with goodbyes, hugs, and reminders of our time together.

We had our last breakfast served by our amazing Emilia and Diego. They served us delicious banana pancakes, eggs, and fresh fruit – also granola with yogurt if people wanted it.

Then we did our final reflection with Mila and Daniel. We took time to reflect, think back, and spend time. There were a lot of tears being shed which was amplified by the sad background music. (Shoutout to Dani for the fitting Spotify playlist.)

(1) First, we took a moment to reflect on our journey with Global Glimpse, from the start when we filled out applications to attending info sessions to preparing for the trip to being here now. We drew a journey map with 5 (or more!) significant moments along the way and shared in small groups what we decided to include. We also discussed the greatest lesson we learned about ourselves, the greatest lesson we learned about leadership, and 1 person we’ll always remember from our trip. (2) Next, we stood in a circle all facing outward with our eyes closed. In the middle of the circle were 4 students that Mila and Dani chose who had their eyes open. Mila and Dani took turns reading off statements such as, “Tap the shoulder of someone who taught you something,” “Tap the shoulder of someone who is beautiful inside and out,” and “Tap the should of someone who you want to get to know more.” This was a beautiful exercise to show anonymous warmth and appreciation, especially as a wrap up to the 13 days we’ve spent together. (3) Nearing the end of the reflection journey, we considered how this trip would impact our future selves and actions, with each of us listing one thing we wanted to Start, Stop, and Continue upon returning to the United States. Many of us wrote things involving adopting more sustainable practices, spending less time on social media, and continuing to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. (4) Finally, we once again sat in a circle and shared our last rounds of “Big Love” as a group. Each person received a paper with an oval in the middle in which they wrote their name. Once we started, we had 30 seconds to write notes of appreciation before passing the paper to our right. We repeated this 24 times (with hands cramping up!) until every paper had Big Love shared from everyone on it. When we received our papers back, it was sweet to read back the traits people noticed in us and the things that stood out to them. All the students seemed to really appreciate and enjoy this final seminar dedicated to reflecting on the growth and learning throughout this trip.

For lunch, aka our last meal at the Aracari house with Diego and Emilia, they cooked us an amazing plate of casado, which is beans and rice served separately (but can be mixed together after) with sweet plantains, veggies, and salad on the side. It was a bittersweet meal, but we enjoyed our time together and all the yummy flavors.

We said goodbyes, took too many photos, gave hugs, said goodbye to Simba (the house dog) very tenderly, and we looked back at the house for the last time. The place where we spent the last 2 weeks through the rain, fog, fun games, monopoly, nightly meetings, card games, and the fun talks.

We then got on the bus and headed for the long journey filled with beautiful views to San Jose, Costa Rica.

There were a lot of laughs, smiles, and fun conversations with a few interesting people outside of the bus with very interesting greetings.

We stopped for a quick stop at a gas station to freshen up and stretch our legs.

We finally arrived at the hotel after a very tiring ride.

After freshening up we had dinner at the hotel. Shortly after, we had our last and final nightly meeting. The torch was for the last time passed on to Nicole and Susana. ?

The last word of the day for our unity clap was “Familia” which sums everything up.

It was a very fun and amazing journey. Though we didn’t know each other at all just 14 days ago we really bonded like family. The new experiences, the new things we learned, stepping out of our comfort zone, and the fun memories we made are something we all will remember for the rest of our lives. It’s not every day you cry when you say goodbye to people you just met 14 days ago. This trip was magnificent. The path we walked together for 14 days was amazing. We have to say our goodbyes and go back to our lives and continue on our own paths. We will always be in each other’s hearts. We also have 5 TB worth of pictures to look back on! Loggin’ off for the last time!

Pura Vida!

Elvis & James

T2B2 Group