Last Thoughts From Elle

Hello everybody, Elle here!
​ After a wonderful week in Costa Rica at the turtle reserve, we made our way to San Jose, Costa Rica. There we spent our last night in Costa Rica at a lively little hostel. We wandered around in search of burgers; eventually some of us gave up and ventured into the bustling and loud central park (completely packed even on a tuesday). We eventually found yummy food to gorge ourselves on. Most of us crawled our tired bodies into bed at around 7 or 8 since we had to be leaving the hostel at 320 in the morning. We awoke with only some hesitation but were gratefully given coffee just the way we like courtesy of Rodrigo (Riley). While huddling around the coffee pot trying to drink as much as we possibly could, we realized it was 330 and Jess and Mac were both yet to appear. Maggie went to their room to discover they were still asleep! It was a mad dash for them to get all their stuff together and meet us in the vans outside. My, how the tables have turned! 😉 We waited at least an hour in line to get our boarding passes, where I thought Mac’s head was going to explode, before we boarded our first flight to San Salvador. Luckily the flight was only about an hour and a half. From San Salvador we flew into the tiny little airport of Roatan, Honduras. We took a windy and pot-hole filled drive to the West Bay Bed and Breakfast. The girls got the lucky chance of having one big room to fit all five of us, where we immediately pushed beds together in order to be as close as possible for our last few nights together.

On our first full day in Roatan we began our Scuba diving classes. Take a look at Maddie’s blog post to see pictures and to hear about scuba diving in Roatan.

​ On our third night in Roatan we stuffed ourselves full of pizza and nachos in preparation of our third and final culture shock meeting. We squished together in the common area to hear about reverse culture shock and to express our worries and concerns about going back home. The meeting was incredibly helpful and hopefully helped soothe everyone’s worries and fears.

​ I’d like to take the last bit of the blog post to reflect and give some more insight into how amazing these past three months have been. I’ve spent a lot of time this past week panicking about home and the future that lies ahead. I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about our first week in Guatemala. I remember the Earth Lodge like it was yesterday. Everything was so new and unfamiliar. We had just begun, we had no idea what awaited us. We had no idea that we would encounter Sam’s son Anakin, we didn’t know the trek would kick our butts as well as make us laugh uncontrollably as we fell over and over again. We didn’t know Pasac would be filled with a million roosters that like to yell at all hours of the night. (I definitely didn’t know I would be awake at four in the morning pushing them off the outside railing.) We didn’t know Nicaragua would provide so much history and culture for us. We didn’t know Mariposa would be the place of the major gender war where things were stolen, people were chased, ketchup and frosting were both spread across people’s faces. We didn’t know Bona Fide would be so buggy, difficult, rewarding, and beautiful. We didn’t know Playa Gigante would be the perfect beach or that Los Penitas and Leon would be two of the laziest places we went. We definitely didn’t know 9 out of 13 of us would end up pooping our pants. We didn’t know Riley and Lucas would both wear my clothes at the turtle reserve. Or that we would see the entire night sky lit up with dozens of shooting stars. We didn’t know Roatan would make us look back and feel not only accomplished by all that we did, but incredibly sad to see it come to an end.

​ I want to give a big thank you to all of you. To Jenny for cracking me up with her sassy self. For her crazy eyes and whale noises. For finger waves and for always understanding. To Emma for being one of the strongest people I know. For complaining and laughing our way through the trip. To Myles for having kickass taste in music. For making me laugh just by the way he would say things. For sharing the craziness that occurs when you’re up in the middle of the night walking on a beach looking for turtles. To Lucas for being like the little brother I never had. For keeping things light when we needed to smile and laugh a bit. To Riley for being unbelievably supportive. For always checking in on me when I seemed off or was sick, and of course for always eating my leftover food. To Maggie for being one of the most outspoken people I’ve met. For laughing at all the stupid and silly things I do and say, as well as having one hell of a voice. To Sam P for lending an open ear when I needed it most. For helping me achieve clarity with what I want to do with my life. To Jack for being a true trooper through everything. For always being considerate. To Sam S for literally and figuratively picking me up when I was down. For all the mickey voices and singing in high pitched voices. To Maddie for being bubbly and kind. For always bringing a smile to everyone on the trip. To Mac for every single one of his crazy personalities. For not only making us laugh but for truly making himself apart of the group. To Jess for always holding space for us. For making me feel comfortable enough to open up and seek her advice or just someone to talk things out with.

​This trip for me has been one hell of an eye-opening experience. I have laughed the hardest I have in years. I’ve cried, I’ve smiled till my cheeks hurt. I’ve endured Mac Attacks and being dunked countless times by Lucas. I’ve grown in ways I never expected. I have this amazing, fantastic, and beautiful group of people to thank for that. Each and every one of you has given me a different perspective on this life I’m living. You have all been there in the moments I really needed someone, and even in the moments I didn’t. I have gotten the rare opportunity to watch people I care about grow and change and learn in the most incredible ways. You are all amazing. You are all strong, kind, smart, and brilliant people. I haven’t a doubt in my mind that we will all stay in touch. If only to bond over the thought of Cobalt or Mitch’s sass. I believe in every single one of you. Consider this my thank you to all of the group, Mac and Jess, and Carpe, for giving me the best three months I could’ve asked for. I’m no longer afraid of the rest of my life. I’m no longer unsure or cautious. I can never thank you all enough.