6/18: Pre-trip curriculum week, Lakeside School
Hopes:
- I hope to become fluent en Espanol
- I hope to come back fully cleansed & inspired to live a healthier lifestyle
- I hope to make new friends
- I hope to have stimulating conversations & learn new things
- I hope to see a new part of the world and feel comfortable in it
Fears:
- I fear altitude sickness
- I fear my knee injury slowing me down
- I fear being away from my wife/home/work for a month
- I fear being rejected by the group/mutiny
- I fear not wanting to come home/continue on this current life path
5 things to stay rad:
- Take alone time
- sleep
- read/reflect/write
- stretch
- hydrate
6/23: Ecuador bound, United flight 1370
After a week of pre-trip curriculum that culminated in a large group presentation I was asked to give about ‘the environment’ (presumably because I have long hair), Saturday came too quickly & my ‘to do’ list was out of control. Clara had hopped in the Suburban with Breanne Friday morning to join her “Nails Across America” adventure for an indefinite stint, so while I was sad to have slept my last night & woke my last morning all by my lonesome, it meant no distractions and the potential to knock it out.
The hangover didn’t help (thanks Dana), but I got it all done and crashed around 1am to grab a couple Zzz’s before a 3am pick-up. The flight wasn’t until 6am, but when 12 highschool kids are involved, the policy is to err on the side of waiting at the terminal. Thankfully, Catie had overslept and was running late, because I too managed to snooze through my alarm. I woke with a start at exactly 3am, some internal rooster pulling me from Nod.
Catie had agreed to chauffeur both Lizzie and myself, so the entire leadership team was late to Seatac, and wouldn’t you know it, the entire group of 12 students plus their parents were there to greet us. An auspicious start? Only time will tell. Already though, I can tell that this experience with rising junior and seniors will be different from my past ‘Global Service Learning’ trips with rising 8th & 9th graders. Even the difference between juniors and seniors is apparent. Some of these kids are practically adults; they can more or less take care of themselves?
Leaving me to ponder what my function is going to be for the next month, and what exactly happens at this pivotal age for a child to transform into a pseudo-adult. Perhaps we shall find out. Or perhaps their seeming maturity is a front and when shit hits the fan (when they’re outside of their comfort zone), they’ll Benjamin Button back into 8th/9th graders and need me to hold their hands. But likely it will be a little bit of both. Regardless, I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’ve got my game face on and I’m raring to go. Look out Ecuador, here we come.
