A little bit of training and a little bit of the holidays

This past weekend saw some intense action here on the Costa Rica Outward Bound base. As the remainder of our semester programs wrap up their time in Panama, a large portion of the staff went through training on a variety of topics ranging from conflict resolution to more advanced strategies for teaching while on course. In addition, the group took a trip to downtown San Jose to expand the group’s combined knowledge of the city and some of the locations that do not get as much attention. Other activities included a group trip down the local waterfall near the base, in order to get additional staff prepared for one of the more popular activities offered here, the waterfall rappel! Finishing up the weekend was a festive staff holiday gift exchange and a delicious staff dinner, capping off what has been another amazing season for Costa Rica Outward Bound. Although a busy weekend for the staff here, everyone is excited and ready to go for the 2012 season, which starts off with groups just 2 days after New Years!

Looking down sometimes does not help

Link Roundup!

Although there is a severe dearth of snow and skiing opportunities in Costa Rica, there is a large amount of bamboo. Perhaps the bamboo ski pole is a way Costa Rica can get into winter sports? Story here.

The Central American surfing games are currently underway in Costa Rica, making the best out of Jaco and Playa Hermosa. As our students certainly can tell you, there’s very good reason why the world comes here to surf and compete! Story here.

Although our rivers prove to be some of the most exhilarating in the world, Washington State looks to gain one more river to raft with the destruction of a 100 year old dam.

Feliz Accion de Gracias!

Life in the Costa Rican Rainforest is a fantastic cultural experience for the expatriate staff at Outward Bound. However at times some of the foreign staff here will bring over their own cultural traditions. And with the larger number of American staff, so comes Thanksgiving along with them! Although only attended by a smaller international group, the official Costa Rica Outward Bound Thanksgiving was by all accounts a massive success here on base, complete with numerous dishes and a hearty display of cooking prowess by the organization’s very own Donna White. A true Thanksgiving by all standards, the evening showed all the tell tale signs of a successful meal as no one was able to move for 1-2 hours after finishing their food.

Donna does her thing!

The final product, and yes, it was delicious!

Resume Boost: 5 Ways to Market Your Outward Bound Experience

So you've taken a Costa Rica Outward Bound course or something similar. Now what? A lot of students wonder how they can market themselves for future jobs and/or colleges after going through an experience that distinguishes them, both personally and professionally. The difficult part is communicating the impact of a course experience and effectively transferring it to a resume or personal statement. When looking for a standout factor, employers and acceptance committees alike want to see how applicants can add value to their organizations -- so let's look at five ways you can boost your resume and market your unique Outward Bound experience.

 1. Teamwork - In terms of overused buzzwords, "teamwork" sits pretty high on the list; however, an Outward Bound course takes the otherwise subjective concept and makes it significantly less biased. Sure, working with a team to complete a project or meet a deadline is valuable, but being able to say that you literally spent 24-hours a day with a group of unknown peers to belay each other down a cascading waterfall or stay motivated to hike across an entire country awards you a lot more points in the teamwork category. Considering that many companies are shifting towards more collaborative work environments, they'll love the assurance that you can truly perform as a team player and furthermore, that you can prove it.



2. International Experience - Costa Rica Outward Bound students are immersed in a foreign culture and spend time learning a foreign language every single day. As organizations stretch their operations across borders more than ever, being able to cite specific examples of cultivating genuine cultural awareness can increase your chances of getting hired or accepted into a higher education program. All of our alumni can highlight personal interactions with Costa Rican families, what it's like to cross international borders, and how they learned enough Spanish to successfully navigate a local market -- they might not be fluent, but they can problem solve and figure out how to communicate, a beneficial skill not every candidate can claim.



3. Certifications - Many of our courses offer multiple certifications that are internationally recognized. Depending on what type of work you're looking for, being able to list these can potentially be the difference between "We'd like to offer you the job!" and "Unfortunately we're looking for someone with more experience." The Leadership Semester program is designed specifically to avoid the latter response (especially for jobs in the outdoor industry), allowing students to earn up to 7 certifications. The main point is that you should take advantage of the opportunity to beef up the "Additional Experience" section of your resume with items like CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer or First Aid (America Red Cross). It shows that you're competent in other fields and have unique interests. *By the way, any time an acronym is used, be sure to spell out what it means in order to avoid any confusion.

4. Community Service - A lot of universities are taking a more holistic approach to their admissions criteria these days. While grades and standardized test scores still reign supreme as determining factors, well-rounded students with diverse experiences but less-than-perfect GPAs are beginning to find themselves on university campuses more consistently. All of our courses have a strong service project component that takes students into remote villages to paint local schools, build medical clinics, and install safe drinking water tanks. Be sure to mention what the specific project was, but more importantly, what you gained from it and how it applies to other areas.



5.  Leadership - Alright, this one can be tricky. How can you make it clear that your "strong leadership skills" don't get the same amount of attention as everyone else who has written a resume in the last 300 years, which is to say, very little. Being able to say that you've developed and refined your own personal leadership style during an Outward Bound course carries a lot more weight. Are you a participating leader? Maybe your approach is more democratic or perhaps you prefer to delegate? If you're a Costa Rica Outward Bound alum, think about the leadership wheel -- which direction did you identify with?

While these suggestions will hopefully build a solid foundation for starting your resume or personal statement, the most powerful way to separate yourself from other applicants is to be honest about what your Outward Bound experience meant to you. If you have a course memory that changed who you are or the way you think, don't hesitate to focus on it (requesting a letter of recommendation from instructors can also have a positive impact on your chances of landing a job). So good luck out there, students! Boost those resumes!

Link Roundup!

National Geographic recently put up the new 7 wonders of the world. As you can see, Costa Rica did not make the list. Which is a real bummer, but we still think this place is wonder. Story here.

Anyone who follows futbol/soccer might have seen the thrilling game that Costa Rica played against world champion team Spain. Leading the game 2-0 into halftime, Costa Rica was not able to hold onto their lead and finished the game with a tie. Story here.

La Ruta de los Conquistadores finished up last week, with American Todd Wells winning in his first attempt. Well done to Todd, as well as everyone who finished! Story here.

Many have noticed that Google maps are becoming more and more comprehensive when it comes to mapping out Costa Rica. Apparently the same is happening for other countries, including China, which has had some of their weird Alien/Military/who knows what captured by the Google eye in the sky. Story here.

Staff Biking Adventures!

For the past two weeks some of the staff at Costa Rica Outward Bound had been planning to head out on a nice, relaxing ride starting in the town of  El Empalme, traveling down to the coastal town of Damas (right near our beach base at Manuel Antonio). After several delays due to rain and washed out roads, the ride was finally able to occur as the dry season started to approach. Following along an approximately 90 km route, the adventure starts in the cold mountainous terrain and drops down into the warmer coastal mountains, then to the hot coastal hills, finishing up on the tropical coastal plains. In all the ride proved an adventurous endeavor; many flat tires, several mechanical issues and even a broken drive-train meant some occasional delays. Unfortunately some riders had to literally be pulled to the finish line, however it was all part of the adventure. Needless to say, we are all ready for the next epic ride!

Take a look!



a Damas from painfullyvanilla on Vimeo.

Link Roundup!

Looks like it was a busy season for wilderness rescues in the Tetons. If any additional WFRs are needed, we can supply a great group out of this semester’s leadership group. Story here.

Sometimes students can struggle with life in a remote region. Imagine spending 520 consecutive days in a sunless environment designed to find out if mankind is psychologically capable of traveling to Mars. No thank you. Story here.

National Geographic’s extreme photo of the week is always a crowd pleaser. This week’s, as well as the ability to see past week’s photos, are a true treat. Story here.

It is unclear how or why these birds are doing what they are doing here, however it is simply amazing. Take a gander.

WFR Scenario for Fall Leadership 2011

Practice makes perfect, and that is exactly what our fall 2011 leadership students did this past weekend. The leadership class took part in a simulated emergency scenario, where every student had to put their Wilderness First Responder skills to use. The Wilderness First Responder, or WFR, is a serious certification required of nearly every outdoor professional, including our own staff here at Costa Rica Outward Bound.  Walking up the hill as darkness fell on the base campus, the group was confronted with a remote accident scenario involving two cars, four hysterical and injured passengers, numerous distracting bystanders as well as a severely injured and inebriated cyclist. All this was set to test the medical ability and personal nerves of our WFR students. The students were required to immediately set to work, managing a hectic situation that tested everyone’s knowledge of medical scenarios as well as their ability to act under pressure. After assessing the situation, students went to work treating major injuries, deciding which people were the priorities for evacuation, as well as managing a slew of distractions designed to prevent them from accomplishing their tasks.

In our de-brief, many students commented on how even though a simulated emergency, the scope of the accident, the stress of managing so many different injuries and the numerous distractions made it difficult for some to focus. Furthermore, having to evacuate several victims proved to be a difficult task, as multiple trips up and down the hill is enough to make the most athletic person require their own medical attention. In all, the scenario was a great opportunity to practice skills as well as experience a sample of the stress one can feel in the field!

Link Roundup!

Surfing is an activity you can do at nearly any age, a point to which Costa Ricans are aware of. Check out how Costa Rica won a part of the Masters World Championship Surf Competition. Story here!

It’s definitely not a very popular sport here in Costa Rica (YET!) however back in the states, the cyclocross season is heating up. This weekly video blog follows one of North America's most famed cycling personalities as he travels from race to race working towards the World Championships later this winter. Story here!

This video of a cat facing off with a mountain lion certain makes you realize how wild some parts of the world still are. We are not sure what the Costa Rican equivalent of this would be, but let’s hope for our on-base pets sake we don’t have any run ins. Story here!

Sometimes visits to Costa Rica inspire more than a couple good photos. Check out how. Story here!

It’s been a couple weeks, but the results are in! Check out the individual event results as well as the overall results. Story here!

Two Men, Two Beards and Lots of Miles

It feels like only yesterday (it was actually a week or so) that we were sitting here writing about our board member Laura Avila Bolanos and her cycling adventure around South America. No sooner did we press the ‘publish’ button on our blog did we meet two American gentlemen riding their bikes all the way from Canada down to Chile, spanning both North and South America. The two gentlemen, Bret and Ryan, have spent many months on the road, documenting their adventures meticulously.

Meeting some of our traveling staff in Guatemala, Bret and Ryan reunited with Costa Rica Outward Bound in Manuel Antonio and traveled up to our rain forest base in San Ramon de Tres Rios. Spending a couple days exploring the local features around the base as well as enjoying a few days off the bike was certainly a well earned treat for the traveling duo, whose ability to drink coffee and pull off some very serious beards is next to none. The pair of traveling cyclists will now be heading down to Panama, and then onto where ever the road takes them. Good luck Ryan and Bret!

Looking good gentlemen!

How the World Rafting Championship makes students cooler

Ezequiel Becerra / AFP - Getty Images

The 2011 World Rafting Championships were held in Costa Rica this year on the famous Pacuare River. Teams from 32 countries paddled the same rapids many of our students learn to guide rafts themselves. I could end this post right here and its title would already make sense, but let me explain just to make it clear.

The fact that our students get to experience the exciting world of whitewater rafting on a river deemed worthy of hosting the World Rafting Championships is equivalent to learning how to play soccer at Soccer City Stadium in South Africa (that's where the FIFA World Cup took place, just as a reminder). So maybe the sport isn't quite as popular, but needless to say, it does make our students way cooler.

The event consists of four different competition styles: the Head to Head, the Downriver, the Sprint, and most technical of all, the Slalom. All are injected with whitewater adrenaline, but by the time I made it to the river the only one remaining was the Slalom. Never have I seen such a higher density of athletes speaking foreign languages, inflatable rafts, and bulging forearm muscles in one place. The atmosphere was great, especially considering that I was watching directly from the river bank accompanied by the secondary team from Croatia - they explained the history of a sport sliding more and more into the mainstream, its significance to them as raft guides, and how judges score the complex maze of slalom gates. Below, the American team paddles through the middle section of the course (I learned that the man proudly waving the flag is the father of one of the members).

As I watched the representative teams from so many different countries impressively navigate their ways through the course, I couldn't help but be reminded of the time spent on the river with previous Leadership Semester students on the same stunning river. We would joke about how we were waiting for dinosaurs to storm their way to the water's edge because clearly this was Jurassic Park we were paddling through (naturally, anyone who didn't play along would be the first victim).

The Leadership Semester students scout a rapid on the Pacuare River

The Leadership students were on the Pacuare not to learn how to avoid Hollywood reptile encounters, however; they were on the Pacuare to learn to how to apply their Whitewater Rescue Technician (WRT) training and guide the boat through some less-than-taciturn rapids. Upon wishing my countrymen good luck in the upcoming heat, they admitted their jealousy -- the American team admitted that they were jealous of the Costa Rica Outward Bound students for getting to develop their guiding skills on such an amazing river.

If you're interested in following the current Leadership students' adventure here in Costa Rica, including their training on the river, be sure to check out the regularly posted course updates. Also keep in mind that our brand new Tropical Challenge Semester course offers the same guide training on the same river.  

Link Roundup!

It's Friday and we have got some awesome links!

Many people know about La Ruta de Los Conquistadores. Last year’s 2nd place overall finisher Alex Grant of the United States recently updated his blog with his latest races and adventures. Seems like Alex has been keeping up with the good results! Story here!

Many times it feels like the official car of Costa Rica is the Toyota Hilux. This capable 4 door pickup can be seen nearly everywhere, including on the Costa Rica Outward Bound base. Maybe its popularity can be attributed to the sensations felt by the gentleman in this Toyota commercial.

National Geographic is always a winner when it comes to good content; take a peek at these two links. One is about adventure towns, the other about some new styles of adventure sports. Story here and here!

With the extreme terrain of Costa Rica, it’s often fun to imagine what imaginative sports we could create. The epic hills and mountains often inspire thoughts of extreme hill rolling, however the excellent blog Adventure-Journal has done the leg work for us, by presenting downhill tri-cycling. A sport we neither encourage nor think is a particularly good idea. Story here!

And you thought your last trip was hard…

It’s always interesting to learn about an adventure that makes one quickly realize there is a lot to learn about suffering and adventure. Such was the case for some of the Outward Bound staff as they visited a local art exhibit featuring photos, stories and equipment from a cycling trip that circumnavigated South America. Spanning from May of 2009 all the way to December of 2010, Costa Rica Outward Bound board member LAURA ÁVILA BOLAÑOS and her traveling companion WAGNER CALDERÓN RIZO traveled by bicycle around the continent of South America, encountering enough peoples and locations to fill a lifetime of memories. Capturing these images was done with great skill, and can all be viewed here. 

Laura and Wagner taking in the sites

Spanning over 13 countries and 17,602,462 kilometers, Laura and Wagner peddled their way through an adventure to remember. Ever since Wagner was a teenager, it had been a dream to accomplish a task like this. This dream to conquer South America combined with the need for a break from the regularities of daily life were the perfect motivations to put the day job on hold and take part in an adventure that would take over a year. As said by Laura and Wagner, life is not only for working, but for living also. And what better way to live than to experience an entire continent by bicycle!

Take a look at their awesome web site!
http://suramericaencleta.com/

Costa Rica Outward Bound keeping busy!

Even in the off season, our instructors are keeping busy with educational programs and professional training. Recently the base camp at San Ramon de Tres Rios played host to representatives from schools involved in the International Bachelorette (IB) program, helping to teach team building skills and emergency preparation skills to educators from around Costa Rica. Following the model of CAS (creativity, art and service) the Outward Bound staff helped lead activities such as a tree climb, group management training and first aid instruction. All in all it was a fun weekend of learning, with educators getting to experience a taste of what our students take part in every spring, summer and fall! 

On base activities with the IB program

Further training took part in Iztaru, a local Boy/Girl Scout reservation near our base here at Costa Rica Outward Bound. Our staff helped to train the instructors at the reservation on first aid, CPR, technical ropes know-how as well as general climbing wall procedures.

Training with the Tico Scouts!

Link Roundup!

Another great Monday is upon us here at Costa Rica Outward Bound headquarters, and it is time for some our favorite links!

White water rafting is a big part of our activities here in Costa Rica, and it is also the home of the World Rafting Championships. Story here!

Costa Rica is home to numerous volcanos, some of which are more active than others. Story here!

It is really no secret to us, however here is an interesting article about how exercise can strengthen the brain. Story here!

The Ticos are always very creative with their construction methods, and Bamboo is certainly a great medium to work with. Story here!

Scoping Out New Rivers!

As a local organization, we here at Costa Rica Outward Bound are always looking for opportunities to help the communities in which we work. One of our strongest community relationships is with the local Costa Rican scouting association.

Recently the association acquired a new property near the warm river climate of the Sarapiqui River. They want to expand their team building programs for Costa Rican boy scouts and girl guides, as well as offer new programs focused on swimming and building and testing hand-built rafts.

Some of our river staff took a trip out to the association’s property to help scout out (no pun intended) its river access and ensure it was safe for the proposed activities. Costa Rica Outward Bound will also help in river program development to support the association’s efforts to provide opportunities for Costa Rican boys and girls to develop leadership skills and team building through scouting.

The best tool  for scouting rivers, Duckies!

Tent Update!

Our second installment of our North Tek Gear review is here! The group just returned from Nicaragua and had a lot of great things to say. Let’s break them out here;

Positives: The tent was very dry, even with the rainy season being in full swing. This is a good result of the rain shell being so robust. The extra rain coverage did not make the tent overly hot, with good ventilation throughout. The set up was breeze, with only two main support poles. The tent was used by two of our instructors as well as a week’s worth of equipment, which still yielded a spacious and comfortable interior. The mesh netting in the tent was great for storing extra gear, and proved a perfect spot for lights and loose articles.

Suggestions: The instructors felt that the tent might be improved with a more durable fabric for the base of the tent.

Overall feedback was resoundingly great, which is great because these tents are going to get put through some very serious tests! Stay tuned for more as our new tents experience life in Costa Rica.

Nicaraguan tent action

Link Roundup!

It’s Wednesday here and for some reason we have been finding some very interesting stories on the internet. So interesting in fact, that it makes sense for us to share these with as many folks as possible,

It’s always fun to read about surfing, especially when there are traditionally male competitions allowing women to enter. Story here.

Everyone knows that traveling can be a little bit stressful at times, but the fact remains that certain generations had more concerns about mythical monsters than airport check-in lines. Story here.

Although Friday tends to be a great day for just about everyone, make sure you are not the one person in the 1-3,200 chance someone gets hit by a falling satellite. Story here. 

Depending on the type of course here at Costa Rica Outward Bound, there’s a small chance you might be able to spot a dolphin. Based off of this article, you should practice your hybrid human-dolphin language, because chats with dolphins are just around the corner. Story here.

Beach Tour 2011!

Sometimes a good old fashioned beach trip is just what the doctor ordered; and this was certainly the case for certain Outward Bound staff this past week. A recent trip saw travels to Montezuma, Manuel Antonio, along with a sweet boat ride and zipline trip thrown in for good measure. Take a look at the documentation below!

New Gear for Costa Rica Outward Bound!

Having good equipment is an important part of having a good time in the outdoors. Nobody wants to have a trip ruined by malfunctioning or poorly designed gear. At Costa Rica Outward Bound we are always on the hunt for tools that work well in the often extreme environment of the tropics, while also handling the abuse caused by our rigorous course schedule.

Fortunately for us, we have been afforded the opportunity to field test and use some brand new, shiny tents from North Tek Gear! This start-up outdoor gear company based out of Ohio has generously donated six 3-man Orion tents to Costa Rica Outward Bound. We sent some to Nicaragua with our Tri-Country Semester students and will report back with their feedback.

But, patience isn’t always our strong suit. The base staff couldn’t bear to leave these new additions to the Costa Rica Outward Bound arsenal in their stuff sacks! So, we set one up. Our initial thoughts:

Set-Up

The Orion is a rather unique tent in that it does not have a traditional rainfly. The two main support poles run through the fly (rather than the tent body), with the main tent body suspended within by a system of small bungee cords. The Orion’s clever design allows you to disconnect the main tent body and set up just the rainfly as a kind of canopy-shelter with a floor (similar to a footprint setup that most tents sell separately)– lending tons of ventilation here in the damp but warm climate of Costa Rica. Though, the tent itself has a solid ventilation system at the top and in the corners. The other advantage of this suspension design is the additional space between the fly and the tent, meaning less rain will find its way inside. And, set up and break down is a breeze!

Storage

We love the healthy-sized vestibule for shoes or other gear needing a dry home (outside!). Inside, there is good storage space in corner pockets and mesh netting at the top – useful for placing a headlamp to brighten the interior.

Size/Weight

The single door and 2+ tent pole setup keep the weight low. And, the unit comes with a nice compression sack.

All in all, the staff here is eager to grab a pack and test Orion’s unique design features in one Costa Rica’s more remote locales! Over the coming months, we will be checking in with updates, adding to what will be a long-term review of North Tek’s Orion tent. Stay tuned for more about the Orion!

The Orion 3 man

The gap between the rainfly and tent can be seen here, as well as the great side vents

The good sized vestibule is perfect for stowing gear