Just Me, Myself, and I

so-lo [soh-loh]
-noun
1. a person who works, acts, or performs alone
2. a person who performs or accomplishes something without the usual equipment, tools, etc.
-adjective
1. alone; without a companion or partner
-adverb
1. on one's own; alone or unaccompanied
-en Español
1. alone; lonely


How would you handle being alone in the rainforest or on a beach for 12 hours? 24 hours? What about 48 hours or SEVENTY-TWO HOURS?

Ask a Tri-Country course student. They just finished a 72-hour solo in Santa Cruz, only three days before they finish their cross-country hike.

The "solo" is an exercise for all non-Girl Scout students in which they are assigned small adjacent plots of their own, putting them just out of sight of their fellow course mates. Each student is equipped with a whistle, water, a lamp, food rations, pen and paper, a sleeping bag and a tarp. In the event that a student would need the assistance, they can blow their whistle to summon their instructor who stays within earshot of all students. The length of a solo is proportionate to the length of the course; therefore courses of 15-30 days have an 18-24 hour solo; courses 60 days are longer have a 48-72 hour solo.

This is not a survival exercise, but rather a more meditative one. The solo experience leaves a lasting impression on the students. For many it is the first time they will experience this type and duration of seclusion in a natural environment. Some students claim this as the highlight of the course, and for others it one of the toughest.

"It's an oddity, a luxury, and it's scary; all in one," reported a 2009 Multi-Element student.

The result of a solo for every student is astounding and unpredictable. Most don't realize just how difficult it is once the instructor says his/her "good bye" at the very start of the solo. One student said, "If you think about it, never in your life do you get the chance to be completely removed from everything you own, every possession, all technology.... You don't realize how challenging it is to be out of your comfort zone."

During the solos, students journal, do yoga, cook, make up games to play, sleep, exercise, and of course: they think. Thinking for that amount of time with no distractions is so foreign to some students that it scares them at first. What they all get out of it is a new outlook on life. One student even said, "I realized where I was and how awesome my life is."

Many opinions differ, but there's one piece of advice on which they can all agree: bring the bug spray.

Tri-Country: Meet Their Instructors

Eighty-five days is a LONG time. It's a good thing the Tri-Country spring semester students have great instructors to keep them company.

Santiago Lopez Salazar and Heidi Ruckriegle have been leading their semester students for over twenty days now. Santiago, a Costa Rican native, and Heidi, from Colorado, have plenty of outdoor experience and energy among the two of them to share with their ten students.

Let's meet them:


Heidi Ruckriegle

HOMETOWN: Breckenridge, CO
ABOUT: As a Presidents Leader Scholar at University of Colorado at Boulder, Heidi did not let her busy courseload hold her back from the ice hockey team or studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain. She has always loved the outdoors, she enjoys traveling, and she eventually wants to go back to school for law.
READ MORE:
*The Summit Daily News: "Living a Life of Balance"
*The Canopy Chronicle: "New Instructors"


Santiago Lopez Salazar

HOMETOWN: Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica
ABOUT: As one of 18 Lopez children, Santiago (or "Chago" as friends call him) is known as one of the more serious and sincere brothers of the pack. He has been working as an instructor for Costa Rica Outward Bound for many years, during which he has been certified in Wilderness First Responder, First Aid and CPR, Swiftwater Rescue, Whitewater Rescue Technician, International Rafting Federation, Instructor Judgment Training, and SCUBA.
READ MORE:
*Costa Rica Outward Bound: Instructor Profiles
*Costa Rica blog: "Water Adventuring"

Talamanca: Service Project Gold Mine

Looking for community service in Costa Rica? From school improvements and building libraries to water systems and chocolate harvesting, Shawn and Laura found it all.

A common practice of Costa Rica Outward Bound office staff and instructors is to scope out new areas for outdoor challenges, new homestay families, and of course, community service. Last weekend, Community Service Coordinator, Shawn Pendergrass, and Laura Statesir, our Program Director, visited indigenous communities in Talamanca (of the Limón Province in the southeaster part of Costa Rica near the Panamanian border) where they found a large variety of projects for future students.

View a larger map
The area is home to indigenous populations of the Bribri and Cabécar peoples. Because of limited opportunities and limited support from the government, these areas often lack access to good education, healthcare, water and electricity.

Over the weekend, Shawn and Laura met with Peace Corps Volunteers and community leaders to discuss possible collaborations between the communities and Costa Rica Outward Bound to better the quality of life in a sustainable way, encourage the preservation of their unique culture and traditions, and help them get ahead by opening up windows of opportunities for them.

Some of the projects that are being considered include providing books and other materials for schools that have little or none of these things, painting schools, building recycling centers in the villages, micro-financing projects, working with a local women's group that runs a small cacao/chocolate production business, organic farming projects, and installing a new water system to provide an entire village with safe and reliable water.

We here at Costa Rica Outward Bound and the villages themselves are very excited about working together to bring these projects to fruition. If you're interested in bringing a group down to work on one of these projects specifically, please contact Shawn Pendergrass at custom@crrobs.org.

Learning to Surf

"It's a lot harder than I thought it would be."

This is one of the most typical comments of feedback we hear from students after their first few days learning how to surf. And after Calvin College students head to Manuel Antonio to learn this weekend, they will most likely be in agreement.

Physical challenges are most commonly faced in three areas:

1. getting out there: this requires paddling, diving under waves, bringing your heavy board with you (voted the most physically challenging by far)
2. catching waves: quick and strong paddling is necessary to stay in front of the wave that pulls the surfer backwards
3. popping up: similar to doing a push-up, but with extra effort to stand up

Almost every week here in Costa Rica, more Outward Bound students are experiencing this surf workout, and luckily they have some veteran surf instructors to help them beef up, get motivated, and physically assist them in the water. One of them, Carlos "Diablos," is shown in this video instructing the Adult Surf Getaway students earlier this month:



Greg, a long-time surfer from California who works in Costa Rica Outward Bound's communications office, has this to say: "It's hard, but it's worth it."

Ode to Calvin College Patrols

Last weekend Calvin College's patrols flip-flopped courses;
by now their experiences have made them two strong forces.

Patrol 1 is rafting and kayaking on the River Phase,
Patrol 2 is making their way through the rainforest maze.

Patrol 2 has learned to hike up steep hills,
while Patrol 1 has had some fun kayak spills.

A Swift Water Workshop kept Patrol 1 from sinking,
Patrol 2's solos allowed a LONG time for thinking.

Orlando's family welcomed Patrol 2 with freshly-made juice,
Patrol 1 learned knots to stop raft supplies from coming loose.

Patrol 2's Land Phase brings them to the Lopez's today;
tomorrow's waterfall rappel is part of this homestay.

Until yesterday Patrol 1 kayaked Rio Savegre,
and now on Rio General they raft 'til Saturday.

Rivers, mountains, the rainforest and a waterfall,
Calvin College participants are doing it all.