MUSKOKA VOODS!

"Welcome to Muskoka Woods, a place where friendships flourish, confidence grows, and creativity reigns."
-Muskoka Woods Staff Welcome Speech

On May 21st we arrived at what we didn't know was going to be one of the most fantastic places EVAR! From ziplinging to archery to the giant swing we always had the best time no matter what. That wasn't because of the activities we did, it was because of the people we were with!

The staff at the Muskoka Woods Ultimate Tourney

Muskoka Woods was nice because it was like it's own sustainable city! Even though there was some urbanization, there was a lot of nature within the area.

Muskoka Woods is completely open christian camp, and they do not care who knows. They are sponsored by INSIRE with Outdoor Recreation. INSPIRE stands for Invite, Notice, Serve, Participate, Instruct, Reflect, and Evaluate.





Tara and Talyse and MO!


The first week I was able to shadow Tara and Talyse, to what we thought was one of the best weeks ever! This was because the kids were so fantastic, they taught us a dance, and they made us a card in the end! 

All in all, it was one of the best experiences ever, and I will be back there soon!

Etibocoke. June 18th 2012

Jonny, Me, Charles

My Co-op was at the Etobicoke Field Studies Center Just off highway 50.Charles, Jonny and myself were all part of it! My first impression of the place was, wow! right next to the heart of Toronto there is this huge biological reserve that is super diverse in both plant and animal species. I was told that over 109 deer live on the property! and although i never saw one, i always had my eyes open! The most exciting thing i found was a garter snake, it was about 1.5 feet long and when i picked it up it jolted toward my arm trying to rip it off! luckily enough i threw it away before it could sink its teeth into me.

Anyway, now to the job related things. When i arrived, i was shown around the main building by Scott, he was the maintenance guy and knew where everything was, from fire exits and extinguishers, to first aid and food. He took us out to the old wood sheds and told us we could break all 4 of them to put up a new improved one that didn't have any smelly mice in it. Destroying the old sheds was a blast, i even named the sludge hammer "the Persuader" haha it got the job done in no time! Once we had enough space to build the new shed we decided to go get the needed materials, we stopped in to a wood pickup "Drive through" at RONA, it was by far the most interesting experience I've ever had picking up wood. So then the construction started, with a little help from Scott, and Jonny's back ground of construction we got the base laid out, floor put in, side back and front walls put in, roof put on, plywood nailed in and we ended it off with a beautiful door! When we finished we were all super tired from the 2 weeks it took to finish. But most of all we were super proud of the beautiful shed that we had created.

Moving the wood into the shed was one of the two funniest memories that i will take away from this experience. As we finished building the new improved wood shed, we were told to take the left over wood from the old sheds and stack it nicely back in the new one. We used our team building skills and decided that each of us would toss a row (35-60pieces of wood) just in front of the shed, and the other two would stack them in the shed. Me and Jonny decided to get our wood throwing over with and took the first 2 of 3 rows out of the old shed, so it was Charles's time to shine! Just when he was nearing the final few cuts of wood we heard a huge scream and saw him jump back about 7 feet in two seconds! haha we asked what was wrong and he went on for about 15 minuets about how there was a scary mouse in there and he didn't feel comfortable moving the rest of the wood. The second funny thing that took place was the walky talky day. We were sent into the woods and for safety precautions we were issued a walky talky each! What our manager didn't know is that Jonny thought he was a Pilot talking into a mic, I thought i was a truckker, and Charles thought he was a director for a movie, All this just from the second we picked up our safety devises. Im sure you can find the humor in what happened for the rest of that day ;)

That was my Co-op experience at the Etobicoke Field Study Center. I wanna give a huge thanks to all of the people that made it such a wonderful time for me and to all the people that made it possible... This will probably be my last entry for a while into the Geo 2012 Blog. It has been an amazing semester and im really looking forward to the strong finish. Thanks to everyone

Willis.

Steele Street Public School

On May 22nd, I went back to my elementary school taking part in grade two and grade eight again. I very much enjoyed those two weeks being able to sleep in, not a whole lot but a little bit later. As well as only having to walk down the street to get there. Aka, it took two minutes tops, which was super nice.

My favourite part about working with the grade two's was being able to run their "drama" class. I got to work with them on their short stories/plays, and coach them on their acting. I got to show them how fun it is to not just read their lines but add emotion and sometimes over exaggerate. It was a fun time spent with the kids, and encouraging to know I helped make what they were doing more exciting for them. I also loved working along side my reading buddies teacher Mrs. Sclater and learnt so much about her teaching style. I soon learn't how brilliant of a woman and teacher she is when I found out she had taught her students about Titanic and studied Vincent Van Go with them. As well to hear the students even enjoyed it.  

While with the grade eights I got to have fun as well and joke around with them, during track and field and such. But probably my main tasks the second week was finishing up odd jobs before the end of the year. I also enjoyed working along side Mrs. Ellis which was fun, because she is one of my good friends mom which made it super easy to along.

I am quite satisfied with my decision in choosing to do my work placement here. It was a bit awkward at first eating lunch with all the teachers in the staff room. But I soon got used to it and enjoyed getting caught up with all my old teachers. Throughout those two weeks I also realized more of  my passion in caring and talking to kids, as well as how much I love doing odd jobs. That may sound strange, but I do like being put to work, it makes me feel useful. As I said, I enjoyed my stay at Steele Street Public School, I could have stayed longer than the required time and will probably return more often.

Abby Prophet

Angie's Outdoor

My first impression of my two week co-op placement was very positive! The staff was all very nice, and they welcomed me very well. I started by just organizing everything in the store by size, and making sure everything was in it's right place. After that I started putting prices on items and dressing manikin's and setting up displays. I found the jobs I had to do fun, and I did not mind doing them. However, after about 3 days it got old. I was no longer excited about going because I found everyday very repetitive. I began to miss school very much, at least there everyday you do something different. I tried to stay positive as much as possible, but I was definitely not said when my last day came around.

If I were able to go back to when we were picking our co-op placements, I think I would go to a school or camp. Though I didn't have the greatest time at my placement I think that I have walked away with a lot of very good life lesson's that Angie taught me while we were working. She is a women who has very good morals. Overall this adds to my 100 new experiences, and it taught me a very valuable lesson, retail is not my thing.

Alexa Bettcher

Camp Kitchi

My two week co-op placement was at Camp Kitchikewana (Kitchi for short).  I had an amazing time and am so glad that I chose to go there.  The staff at Kitchi were very welcoming and helpful which made us feel very safe to be there.   I  didn't realize how close you would get to them in such a short period of time but I am very glad I did.  I never thought in a million years that I could learn so much about myself in 2 weeks.  Every day there was a chance to learn new things with many opportunities to try them out;  like learning all about the proper way to canoe and kayak, even the ins and outs of kitchen duty.  While I was there I was mainly on canoeing, kayaking, land games, and campfire which mostly took up my whole day.   There was a variety of school groups who came which was cool because you got to meet many different people, from little kids to older kids from an alternative school.   There was such a range of of ages so it was very cool to interact with the younger and older kids.  I was mostly assigned to the younger kids which was fine with me; I loved entertaining and having fun with them.    I was responsible to sit with them at meal times and go around to all the different activities that they were involved in.  I was even given my own group of about 20 kids to do land games.  Now this was a challenge!    I didn't realize little kids could ask so many questions all at one time. We had the evenings to ourselves so we could just relax, watch movies, but usually we were so exhausted, we just stayed put.  I am very excited and happy to go back there when we go on our canoe trip, I cant wait!!!!!  It's such a great island with so much wildlife and things to do!  Get ready for some new camp songs!  

Lauren 

CAMP WAHANOWIN

We all had excellent experiences at our co-ops it seems like, I especially loved camp wahanowin. First of all, its in my lovely home town of Orillia! But growing up, going to camps was one of my favourite adventures so going to camp and being a leader was so interesting! Me and ann got our own cabin to ourselves which was awesome! To actually have a warm shower you had to run the hot water tap for at least 15 minutes (no exaggeration), there were plenty of mosquitos to go around and we had beautiful weather all of the first week! You may be surprised but i did indeed get a bit of a sunburn.... Our first week we job shadowed other counsellors in the area we wanted to lead the following week, I chose enviro (environmental studies) where you led the survival game, which was like predator and pray, and we did outdoor cooking and nature walks. I met so many interesting and amazing people. One person I'll never forget is Joey. He was 23 and led enviro with me, and only in 2 weeks he turned into a big brother figure. He was so goofy and always rode around camp on this squeeky little bike, so if you heard the squeeky bike you knew he was around!  Pete, our supervisor, was so funny and welcoming. I had my own cabin group to lead on the 2nd week, and they were the sweetest kids ever! They were little grade 5 boys and they were so funny and quite mature for their ages actually! But being young boys, they were very energetic and  wore me out quickly! I had no problem falling asleep those few days...

(Thanks, Ann)


I feel like that camp gives you so many opportunities to be adventerous and express yourself freely and no one cares, and thats something that can be difficult to find these days. Everyone there is so close just because its so easy to bond with them!Im so excited to go back and work there for the summer! Like the staff 2012 quote states; "A summer to remember!."



This being my last Geo 2012 blog entry, I just wanted to say i had an unreal semester with each one of you and Ill never forget this semester!


Christy :)

For two weeks I spent my co-op at Camp Couchiching. This was a great experience and I enjoyed it very much :) The staff there were the hardest working people I have seen, and I realized that the day I got there. They work around the clock and put every last bit of effort into everything. Being there I picked up some of there work techniques and tried to help out wherever I could. For the first couple of days I followed around the counselors and watched while they made the kid's faces light up. One of my favorite activities was archery, I liked it because that is where I saw kids come out of their comfort zones. One girl I remember seeing there, she was having a hard time with activities and groups because she did not know how to speak English. That being her case, made her not want to participate and was excluded from groups. In archery the instructions given by the counselor were easy to follow cause you just had to wash and observe techniques. Sure enough she caught on quickly and was getting bulls-eyes every time. It was the best thing to see her face light up and all the older boys look at her with their mouths open. That was one of my favorite memories there :)

The next week I was mostly on the water as it got pretty hot. I was in charge of helping kids with their boats and to help them if their boats tipped over. I definitely  got some muscle while doing that for a week. There were so many other activities that I had he chance to do; kayaking, canoeing, archery, Bic-boarding, arts and crafts and  a lot of others. I wish I could have stay there longer, it was quite the experience and was nice to meet such a lovely group of people and kids :)

Bailee :)

West Bayfield Co-op!

     For my work placement I decided to head over to my old elementary school, West Bayfield, so that I could work with Darren Stevens.  Mr. Stevens was my grade 6 teacher ands he is actually the reason that I wanted to become a teacher.  Needless to say I was excited to get to work with him!  He has been a grade 6 teacher for 23 years straight and each year he puts so much effort into creating new, fun activities for his students.  For example, he and his teaching partner.  Mrs. Hope do a Dragonology unit with their kids which is totally unique and interesting.  Mr. Stevens also extremely values physical education so our personalities matched up very well! 
    
     Everyday I would come into the school at 8:45 and I would receive a schedule from Darren of what the students would be doing that day and also the jobs that he had laid out for me.  This allowed me to plan out what I would do when because if there was ever any time I could help out in the class I would jump at the chance.  I lead gym classes, taught math lessons, helped coach track and field and I assisted the students in the tech room attached to the classroom.  Mr. Stevens personally created this tech room which makes West Bayfield one of the three elementary schools in Simcoe County to have a tech room. 

     I really enjoyed my time spent at West Bayfield, but I did also learn about some of the frustrations of being a teacher.  You have to deal with students that think they know everything, restrictions from the board office, and teachers who can't keep a freaking equipment room clean!!!  The latter issue is something I got particularly "miffed" about because in the first three days at my placement I took everything out, cleaned the room, organized the equipment, took stock of everything, and then put it back according to sport.  However, every time I returned to the room there were buckets everywhere, balls out, and nothing in the right place.  I was not a happy camper!  Although, despite those negatives there were quite a few positives!  I got to work with a great group of kids, connect with my old teachers, coach sports, and learn about the future career I would like to have as a Phys. Ed teacher.  All in all it was a great experience and I would go back in the blink of an eye!

Tyler Rowe

Muskoka Woods

On May 21, I departed to Muskoka Woods camp with Mauricio and Cailean. We left at about 7:20pm and arrived at approximately 8:30pm. When we arrived Theresa Jones met us at the front gate and showed us to our room. After we dropped our bags off, she gave us a quick tour of Muskoka Woods and told us a few safety things. She showed us back to our room, and said we had to be back there at midnight. We stayed in that night, and got settled, played music and cards. The next morning we went to breakfast, and had a warm welcome from the OREC staff! at 9:30 am, we went to the main office to go over paperwork with Melissa Tilley. She gave us a staff manual and asked that we would read it before Wednesday. We had the morning off so we talked to the staff and made friends. In the afternoon, schools started to arrive. Our job was to smile and be very welcoming, while unloading their gear so they could take it to a storage place. After we took all their gear to a storage place, they would eat their lunch and then we would do 3 afternoon activities. We would then have dinner, and then do evening activities. My group for the first week was Aloa. It was their grade 8 trip, and they had 3 different groups. The first week, I shadowed an OREC leader named Kayla. She would lead some activities, and let me lead some activities. She was also in charge of keeping the group together and moving them from spot to spot.

Also there are many different animals throughout the property. One day we saw a bear wandering down one of the roads. It then decided to climb a tree. We also saw a groundhog underneath a bench and we fed it. The day that we arrived we were put into teams: Link, Yoshi, Starfox/ firefox/ cheatfox, and the best of all; Kirby. I was put into team Kirby, Mauricio was in Yoshi, and Cailean was in Link. Every team had duties throughout the week. Every team had to do dishes twice a week, and usually had 1 or 2 closes which included running games, campfires or dances for the school groups. The school groups for the first week stayed all 4 days and we saw them off on Friday. On Friday we ran 3 morning activities with them, then we had lunch, and packed their luggage on their buses. In the afternoon, we had Work projects (aka Work parties) where we would get in a small group and do something around the camp. In my group we had to find and setup 150 chairs in the music hall for a Christian group gathering. On the weekend, I helped out with the Young President's Organization (YPO) which is any self-made millionaire under 40. In the morning we showed them to paintball. I was a ref and showed them the course. In the afternoon we could tag along with anyone so I did zip ladder which is staying on the ground, and taking people off the zipline after they have gone. We had a pirate themed dinner that night, and we mingled with the families and talked. After that the staff threw around a frisbee for a bit and watched a few movies. The next morning I slept in so that I would be well rested for the ultimate frisbee tournament with other camps in the afternoon. Our team did extremely well and won our first game 11 to 3. We came second overall due to some timing interferance with the ref.

The next week we had 1 school group come Monday afternoon and leave Wednesday monring, and had a school group come on Wednesday afternoon and leave Friday morning. After the second school group left, we had a few small work projects, and then Kirby and Starfox were on call for when 800 girlguides plus their leaders arrived. They arrived at 7pm in the pouring rain, and we had to unload 22 buses from 7pm to 10pm. We all got soaked, and we were still on call to 11pm. After we unloaded the last bus, I ran to my room to change into dry clothes and do laundry. We were then called to move some groups who weren't in cabins into cabins because of the rain. The next day we were placed to run certain activities. In the morning I was runnint the zip ladder, and in the afternoon I was running initiatives which are team building games. They camped out Sunday night, and left in the morning. We stayed to the afternoon and helped out and hungout with the leaders. Then we left and ended the best 2 weeks of camp ever to be had.  

- Alex Dunlop

My Coop Experience to Camp Kitchi!

The two weeks i spent at Camp Kitchi was a blast, i can definitely add some things to my list of new experiences. I loved all the new people i got to interact with and meet, every day there was a different kind of group there, elementary schools, alternative school, first nations groups and families. For an entire week it was First Nations week so i learned many new things about what they believe in and their ritual type things. I got to try out smudging, they burn sash and you put the smoke over your ears, eyes, heart, mouth and soul to rejuvenate yourself. I also got to do the Indian blanket toss which was super fun. 

I enjoyed the variety of things to do at the camp, the staff didn't just put us co-ops on dish duty all the time we actually got to be involved with all the programming and games with campers. It was fun to be a part of things and get to know the kids we worked with. I did a lot of canoeing and kayaking but my favorite part was  the campfires, everyone would go to the end of the island, "the rock" and sit around singing camp songs, this always put me in a good mood. I also loved Awesome Time, this was the time that we could do whatever we chose so i would usually go swimming off the docks and the tower!

Camp Kitchi was very welcoming and i got to know all the staff very quickly, they treated us as one of the them and we had a awesome time. With one of the staff members, Katie, we got to watch a turtle lay and bury it's eggs, which was amazing to see. 

I'm so excited to go back there for our canoe trip coming up soon!

Courtney 

Itinerary Costa Rica 2012

From April 17th to April 27th our class called Geostudies was headed to Costa Rica. We did many adventures which everyone else has highlighted in this blog, but how would we of gotten there without the planes, trains and automobiles that connect us all.

Personally I do not like to wake up early but that day a 3 o'clock bus ride to Pearson International didn't feel so bad. The rest of the day consisted of smiling faces, uncomfortable seating (especially if your 6'2) and excitement filled with all.

As we finally arrived we first met our bus driver Jorge, he was going to be our go to guy for the next few days as we adventured the land and travelled to many different locations. The roads were an absolute mess and were a nightmare for a young driver such as myself. Jorge was a very talented driver and and handled all the roads with a breeze.

As we finished staying in La Fortuna our group took a boat across Arenal River (which is man made) to get to the  UGA Eco-Lodge. The boat ride was very peaceful and being in the middle of the lake and having numerous mountains and even Arenal Volcano surrounding you was quite serial. Personally when I thought we got of the boat we would be minutes away from the Eco-Lodge. Well that was not the case we took plenty of twisty non paved roads with smaller buses which was quite an experience. No worries thought we made it to the Eco-Lodge safe and sound.

Our final stop on our tour was the beach town of Samara. Jorge picked us up again as we traveled 3 hours on the bus. It was full of sleepyheads and aliens as we watched "Independence Day." As we took our first step off the nice air conditioned bus into the heat of the beach it felt like you were in the Sahara Desert.

Finally it was time to head home, Our class said our goodbye's to Jorge and hopped on another plane back to Canada. You could already see the memories that we made and how closer we got as a group as we lifted off. Costa Rica was defiantly a life changing experience and is something that I'll always look back on.

Charles ...

Tales From Playa Samara!!

Geo 2012 Costa Rica excursion was a cornucopia of new experiences! There were always new places to see and new people to meet. One of these places was Playa Samara!! In my opinion, it was the numero uno place we visited! 

I think I speak for the entire Geo2012 family when i say we were all looking to the sun, waves, and sand!

I remember that feeling I got when the bus pulled up to the hotel and I could see the vibrant blue water. It was such a drastic change from the other two areas we visited.

My favorite memories from Samara beach include roses and thorns by the pool, kayaking, body surfing, sitting at beach bar and bartering with the locals not to mention our favourite food spot on the beach.. and of course surfing! 

- Kramer

The best lessons are learnt by doing!!

On our way up to the hike up Arenal volcano our guides were very informative on the bus. one of the things they tought us that stuck with me was the pressure craters. these massive craters in the earth and now in a protected area (Arenal National Park) were formed when the volcano erupted and catapolted out pieces of molten hot rock. the rock would come barreling down to the earth and because it was so hot it tould hit the ground and explode leaving now debreee of itself only the craters in the ground to tell their story.


 i have absolutely no clue why i remember this piece of information more than everything else but i find it very fascinating.

 even while on the arenal hike we learned so many things about the way Arenal erupted for example how it started erupting not out of the top but out of the side because that was the weakest point of the mountain. there were also 3 more holes where the lava erupted from. altogether known as craters A,B,C,D.

 theres also this type of tree that grows in the rainforest at the base of arenal and it looks just like a giraffe because in the competition for light amongst the trees this one has found a way to set itself apart and adapt so that it can recieve light. it swerves almost horizontally and then back vertically, held up by shoots, so that it can reach the light through the dense forest.

 when we finally got to our destination we got a beautiful view of Arenal lake which is a man made lake.


 as informative as this hike was it was AWESOME and at the time i didn't even realize how much information we were uncovering (but not nearly enough) because i have never really learned like this before. and what i mean by that is being outside and actually exploring the subject and experiencing it first hand and on our terms! the view was absolutely fantastic, our guide was awesome, the critters were wicked cool, and the knowledge was just a bonus. when i came home and showed my mom all of the pictures i could actually give detail on each picture and give her a mini lesson on what each of the pictures meant. i felt so smart.

Costa Rican Food

 On our trip down to Costa Rica all of us got the opportunity to try many different foods a lot of us never even new existed. For example Yuca, tastes a bit like a potato but a little more dry.

 We also had the privilege of trying Plantains, which I personally did not like one bit. The majority of the food though I believe we've all had before, just not prepared or presented the same way as in Costa Rica.

The food prepared just had so much colour.... so full of life.

....And looked absolutely delicious to eat.

While we were down there we also learnt the proper way to cut fruit. On our river float and kayak adventures both guides cut them the same. One guy (Diaz) even taught me and a few others how to drink the juice out of the pineapple which I found super cool and can now write that down for my 100 new experiences.

A common food a  noticed we ate quite a bit of was rice and beans. Mmmm. I wasn't to keen on it at first, but it soon began to grow on me. I got a good chuckle one night though, because as I was just about to leave my room for dinner in Monteverde, Laura walks in and says "you might want to break out your safety food tonight, there's like only rice and beans." (above picture was our meal, clearly not just rice and beans... haha) Then as I walked outside I saw Jonny and a few other guys digging into the peanut butter on the front porch. So I don't think they had a full meal that night.    

I believe this picture captured my over all trip to Costa Rica  because it portrays all the beauty, fun, calmness, excitement, and memorable experience I had. As well I think almost every one of us at some point purchased a coke in one of those glass bottles because they were so neat and refreshing. But now, for me every time I see a coke like that it will remind me of Geo in CR. 

As good as the food was out in Costa Rica, I think it's safe to say everyone was happy to step foot into the food court at the Atlanta airport, and couldn't wait for a home cooked meal. 

It's been such an adventure being in Geo, and I thank the whole family for making it as fun as it's been. 

Geo Mama.

La Cultura de Costa Rica!

Our trip to Costa Rica opened up a lot of new experiences. One of which was the culture there. Our expectation for the culture there was much different ffrom when we got there and actually saw the culture.

Expectations before:

• 3rd world country?
• Only spanish speaking
• No school for many
• Tacos for dinner EVERYDAY!

I'd say that two cultural experience really stood out, and we learned a lot about them...

• Agua Azul Escuela
• The Familly - Family Visit

For those who had the chance to experience the "escuela" really learned a lot about how we take for granted alot in countries like Canada & USA. When we were playing the English-Espagnol games, the simplest game and the simplest things allowed them to have the best time EVER! And we could definately see it in their eyes. While talking to the director of the school she said that,"Yes, this may not be the biggest school, this may not be a private school, but this is what the kids look forward to every single day," and that just goes to show that we don't appreciate what we get for free every day.

As I've said before this was not a physical adventure (even though the walk back in the rain was) but it was an emotional adventure; and something that we won't forget. The 19th of April is a day we willl remember forever!

The second was the familia a familia visit. Where we were given the chance by UGA to visit an actual Costa Rican family, and it was really cool. The Kat extended family travelled to a house, on a cliff :O! The house's walls were made of cement and their roof of steel. It was great to try the food, what was really interesting about the food was that every single thing had not come form the market but a different home their neighbourhood. She said that's how things work here, you can trade things for something in turn and that's is how we make a lving instead of spending money to buy food. We also noticed their generous attitude, and not just in the homes but everywhere we went, everybody said,"hola."

-Mauricio Diaz

Lovely Looking Landscapes

Every thing I experienced, or saw in Costa Rica either surprised me, or exposed me to something brand new. Even though I have many experiences I could talk about, it's really the first thing I saw coming in to Costa Rica that made me understand the beauty of this place.

As our plane began its gradual decline into Costa Rica the first thing I noticed was how beautiful it was. I have never seen anything quite like it before. The landscape that this area is built upon is spectacular. There were mountainous areas, rivers, and of course the volcanoes. A landing like this does not even compare to what you see coming into Toronto.  Already I could tell this was a place of beauty.

As we continued to our first few area we saw the impact the landscape has taken due to past volcanic activity, we got to take a raft to explore the differences in our water sources, and fly above the trees over looking a huge rain forest. I honestly could not believe how extremely different our landscape is from a place like Costa Rica.

During our travel time was another time the vast differences stood out. When we were on the boat when you looked around the mountainous area was beautiful. It was none stop and seemed to be completely surrounding us. Also, while we were driving the roads of Costa Rica the winding and bendyness of them amazed me. It truly did feel like a ride at wonderland sometimes!

This sort of environment defiantly takes you away from the world of technology and busy streets. I think it really does open people eyes to the beauty our world has. It showed me great differences, and allowed me to realized that not every part of the world is covered with cement. However, in Canada it really feels like there is no green anymore.

Certain areas of the world have used and abused the natural beautiful landscape we had, and replaced it with buildings, and pavement. Costa Rica's landscape gave me a realization that I will never forget.

(For the record I did not take these pictures. I am having trouble taking my pictures off of my camera :$)

Alexa Bettcher

Simms' Fam Jam

Just before we left for Costa Rica, our class split up into three families to make it easier to travel, and to have an easier time while we were there. I was in Simms' family along with Alexa, Bailee, Lauren, Megan Stev, Will, Thomas, Ann- Marie, and Simms. We all got matching Buffs before we left to be able to easily see our family members, and because they look cool.

After we arrived in Costa Rica at our Eco Lodge in Arenal, we had family pot lucks, so everyone in the family pitched in either food or money, and we went to the grocery store to buy some items. We had Mr.Noodles, along with pepperoni sticks, cheese, bread, sardines, and nachos. On the last night in La Fortuna, we again split up into families and went into town to eat family meals. My family went to a local restaurant, with Kat and Jorge the bus driver, and had a fantastic meal. We waited and played games and were the loudest people there by far.

The next day, we travelled in a van with our family for about 4 hours. During which we played many games such as hand seed ball, music artist, and had an eating competition. After we arrived in Monteverde, one of the nights, we played "Minute To Win It". Our family placed second overall losing by about 2 points to the first place team. In Samara, we were not really in families, but in groups. The family aspect was an awesome addition to the trip, because we had a small group of people that we could rely on, and we grew as a family throughout the trip. 

Thanks for a great trip Simms!

Alex Dunlop

100 New Experiences

Each one of us traveled to Costa Rica thinking of all the new things we were about to try. But none of us ever thought of the effect it would truly have on us. Ziplining over top of the cloud forest, river rafting through a river in the middle of the rainforest, catching the perfect wave on a surfboard, paddling on a kayak through the ocean, snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean...these are all experiences people dream of doing and you have them checked off at 16! It is crazy to think that Costa Rica has already come and gone and we are back in the classroom but the stuff we accomplished and succeeded at over those 9 days in endless, and the way it made us feel is priceless. Sure we might not be able to tell everyone we went surfing but each one of us knows how truly awesome it was to experience that. For me surfing has always been near the top of my bucket list and it is still crazy to think how easily the opportunity arose. Just simply on a school trip and we decided to rent some surfboards along the beach and next thing I knew I was up on the board surfing! Actually able to come home and say that I did it. No one can ever comprehend what each of us felt over the span of those 9 days but we will always remember.

- Megan Stevenato

Prep for Costa Rica 2012 !

Hola GEO !

Remember when we first started our Costa Rica countdown? (thanks Christy!) I know I had my own countdown from around 200-something days! Every time I checked it I would get more and more excited each time. It seems like Costa Rica was so far away, and as the days got closer, it felt even longer till we left !

Once April came around, and only 17 days were left, I knew everyone was getting super pumped, but we still had a lot of preparation before we left!

I know that one of my biggest fears for this trip was forgetting something that I would need while in Costa Rica, so I started my preparation as soon as possible. I made many lists with stuff that I'd need, which included what clothes I would wear (taking in account for theme days), what kind of shoes that would be appropriate, and all the extra stuff that would help this trip run smoothly. Going to the stores to buy stuff like sunscreen and bug spray was weird because it finally started to feel like this trip was actually going to happen (and not get "cancelled", thanks to the seminar group for that scare).  

But when we were put into our families, it seemed even more realistic that Costa Rica was just around the corner! Preparing for our family pot-luck and coming up with gift ideas for our extended family also made the time fly by. The prep we did for our family pot-luck was definitely worth it because our dinner was delicious (in the Glass family at least!). 

In the Andrychuk extended family was Alex, Tom, Alexa, Megan Stevenato, Laura (adopted ;) ) and myself , and our Costa Rican family was amazing ! I'm so glad we planned before we left and brought them some great gifts. It was so heart warming to see the youngest boy, Miguel, light up when I handed him the soccer ball we brought them because I know how much soccer means to people in certain countries (including Costa Rica). Also seeing Tom teach him how to use the Badminton rackets was awesome because it was a sport that he never knew about and it was something new for him to learn.

 (Miguel is missing cause he fell asleep)

April 16 was pretty exciting because it was gear check day! To be honest, I thought it was going to be more intense, but I felt beyond prepared anyways. From the itinerary test, to the document check I think everyone passed with flying colours (atleast I hope!). But when we received our GEO shirts, and our family buffs it felt like the final touch was added and we ready to go on the trip of our lives.

I can't believe after all this preparation and anticipation for this trip, that's it's already over, but I'll never forget all the amazing things I experienced and all the memories that we've made as a group. 

Thanks for the time of my life!
Emily Phillips :)