If you ever feel like life is passing you by and that there are  times that you do not  have enough umph to keep going, take a trip to Central America. The atmosphere, the people and the climate will shape you up in no time.  Going out of the country for the first time can be a very frightening experience. The constant rush and anticipation eats at you until you think you might go crazy. But then it stops, and an overwhelming sense of peace surrounds your being, both physically and emotionally. From the beginning I did not know what to expect, was I going to be lost in a language barrier maze or would I be able to scrape by on the mere basics that I knew?  Was there danger after every turn, or would my eagerness to immerse myself detract unwanted attention? What I did not expect was to feel like I had been introduced to a whole new aspect of myself.  There were times that I felt that this is what I was here to do. this study trip fit in perfectly for me at the end of my senior year.  I think that by coming to these parts of Central American, to places that are not focused on the materialistic aspects of life but instead the sheer simplicity of living, is the perfect way to set up the future of who I will become.  I was completely caught off guard when I found myself being not just very interested in the people we were meeting but also very interesting to them.  Especially in El Salvador there were many times that our group was on display for the people to see, but there was no awkwardness. "Miles of smiles" is an appropriate phrase for our reaction to being gawked and waved at throughout the city of Suchitoto. One of the most memorable things for me was being driven though the city in the back of a truck, basically an open truck normally only used for livestock in the US but that in El Salvador is like an open taxi.  Local kids would yell "hello!" So eager to practice their English.  I think that one of the most important lessons I learned was to acknowledge that we really are privileged, but to not feel guilty or disgusted with yourself, but thankful. I know that in my life I take advantage of things like a hot shower, but now I will try and discipline my mind to be more grateful. We live in a society today where things are made so easily accessible to us and now I know better what an impact that has. Now it is your turn to try and figure it out. So jump in with eyes wide open and hearts a poundin'.  - Sierra Connolly

Final days...

As the final days of this amazing trip is coming to a close, I have a few things to say that really stood out to me.  I will talk about them in cronological order as not to confuse you.  Firstly, I would like to begin with a minute quote from a rather profound and interesting person that we stayed with in our first days in El Salvador.  "God is a mystery." I found that to be extremely profound to me, as it put me in a new light.  As with the many other things that Sister Peggy said to us.  I don't want to sound like a hippy in any way shape or form, but I really digged all of the stuff that she said.  Another thing that I say throughout these days and through some of Sister Peggy's stories, was the strong sense of community that the people had for each other.  In the small town of Suchitoto, El Salvador, everyone seemed to know each other.  Considering all that they have been through together (El Salvadorian Civil War) It must have given those involved some sense of togetherness.  I can see now, how hardships can rip people apart, in more ways than one, but it can also bring people together. These people practically had nothing compared to us with our i-pods and tvs.  And to tell you the truth, I really don't think that we are as happy and cheerful as them.  The people here relish at the opportunity to commune with outsiders.  Afer seeing all that I have seen in this country and all of the things that I have seen in other countries, I thought for a long time.  I mean a really long time.  When we left Suchitoto to the beach of Costa del Sol, I practically spent 4 to 6 hours just staring out at the ocean, thinking.  Yes, I have no life, but it seriously was a relly good time to think about things.  I had about 100 too many thoughts to put into this blog, but I will just say something that I though about.  High society is what I believe is the reason of unrest.  If I go further into this, it would make this blog really, really long, and I think that this blog is long enough already.  Also, the fact that I don't really want to sound more and more like a hippy.        Now moving on to less profound and more fun things that have happened to us during this trip. Well, to start it off, I will begin by saying that you should never, ever, ever eat some of the natural Costa Rican peppers whole.  I don't have any experience in that, you can ask Ben about that, but I had a nibble, and it hurt.  It hurt like a word I would rather not say.  I had that pepper in a farm and hotel/resort that was called Finca Luna Nueva.  It was the most amazing and large garden farm I had ever seen.  Everything in that farm had a use other than food.  Well, okay, maybe not everything, but most things.  I tried things that I never would have had anywhere else.  Now that I think about it, I didn't know in the past what Miracle Fruit looked like.  Oh, and if you don't know, Miracle Fruit makes things that are supposed to taste sour taste sweet.  It works! It is a miracle!  I know that this seems like it is kind of jumping straight from the plant kingdom into the animal kingdom, but I saw a sloth!  It looked like a pile of cloth before I saw it move, but it was a sloth!  I even saw a Poison Dart Frog!  Interesting fact, the frog only gets its poison from the food it eats. So if you feed it food that isn't poisonous, then it won't be poisonous. That place was full of surprises, including spiders.  I hate spiders.      Something that was actually rather recent, fun, and interesting was the host stays.  I did some cool things with my host, who happens to be called Olger, pronounced Olher, not Olger.  We kind of bonded in a way, over the four days  I stayed with him.  It was an odd bond, but a bond none the less.  Now, I definetely did not live in the laps of luxury, but I lived in simple comfort.  But,  all good things come to an end, as we had to leave them today.  I wasn't overly emotional about, but I was a little sad that I was leaving.  I tried to think about how he might come here next year and I will see him then and show him how ugly and amazing America can be, but eh.  When you leave someone who you think of as a friend, you always feel some kind of sadness.  But, life moves on.      If you actually read all of that, then thank you.  If you skipped to the end (probably most of you) and read the ending, then shame on you!  I will leave off with what I say will be some short words that will actually end up being rather long.  See, that sentence alone was really long! Moving on, I will end saying this.  Goodbye, live long and prosper, and may the end of this blog lead you to some other new beginning. - Jay Marshall

    So here we are in the airport. It is currently 2 in the morning and our flight is at 6:15 am, and after almost three weeks of traveling in Central America, we're heading home!! Since i've got so much time, i figured i would write my portion of the blog.      After almost three weeks in El Salvador and Costa Rica. i have learned a lot and experienced many things that i have always wanted to do. I have had many different highlights during this trip. Getting sick, scraping up my foot, zip lining, soccer, etc.      The first week, we were at the Centro de Arte Para La Paz in Suchitoto, learning about the history of Suchitoto and the past civil war that they experienced. During our stay at the center, i learned a lot about what we were studying, but the highlight, for me was bonding with my classmates and getting to know them better. Just being more open with them, weather it's a squirt gun fight, or scaring them in the dark. It was just really nice to know the people i haven't quite hung out with yet.     The second week, we left Suchitoto and were on our way to Costa Rica. We stayed at the Finca Luna Nueva lodge and took many tours of the environment around us. That was my highlight for that week because i've always wanted to go to a rainforest and see all of the exotic plants and animals that don't live in Arizona. I love animals and to say the least, I took a ton of pictures.     This week, my highlights have definitely been the last two days. Previous to these two days, we stayed 4 nights with a host family, and mine was pretty awesome. The stay was great and the people were very nice but it was very relieving to just have these last two days to go on adventures like zip lining and white water rafting. In my opinion, those two events were perfect for wrapping up the trip.       Needless to say, it was amazing and I am extremely glad that I took the time and hard work to go to Central America. Still waiting for my flight, it's now 3am and i am ready to go home!!! - Tyrel Wilder

So the three things that I will be highlighting are going to go in backwards chronological order. While in Costa Rica we had the opportunity to stay with host families, and luckily my host spoke almost fluent English. That doesn't mean I wasn't still challenged with the language barrier, but it did allow for some more in depth conversations. I enjoyed sharing similarities and differences in our lives, prompted by questions I asked in Spanish. One specific thing that struck me, was when my host told me how Nicaraguans in Costa Rica are the equivalent to Mexicans in the U.S. However, Costa Rica doesn't put up a border to keep them out, they acknowledge that they won't do the work and the Nicaraguans could use the jobs. Overall, I really enjoyed my home stay and I really appreciate the patience my host family had when I would try and speak Spanish.  About half way through our Central American trip, we took a "break" and stayed at Costa Del Sol, a beach on the coast of El Salvador. We laid around in hammocks and went swimming in the ocean, as well as enjoyed some relaxed and delicious meals. One of the days we were there a group of students (including myself) and an adult, walked up the beach and past some fisherman's homes to a local restaurant. We ate chicken, fish, rice, and tortillas. This was probably my favorite meal out of the entire trip, because it was delicious and so authentic (at least in my mind). Our time at Costa Del Sol was really the perfect midway break. Towards the end of our time in Suchitoto we met with a guide and hiked up and around Guazapa,(a mountain range and sleeing volcano); an area that holds many stories and artifacts from the Civil War. Just a few days before, we had met with some survivors and heard their personal stories and only began to understand the war. I feel like our hike on Guazapa helped answer any questions I had and brought forth new facts and curiosities. A fact/curiosity that I found interesting was the role of the damn in the war. It was essentially the catalyst of the Civil War. The government blocked the Lampa river with a damn, so they could sell electricity to other countries. By doing so, the government was kicking indigenous and Spanish out from their homes and farms, leaving them to restart their lives completely. I found it interesting that there is talk of the government building another damn, which will most likely have the same effect.  I have thoroughly enjoyed all the history I have soaked up, the new vocabulary, and of course the self growth I will be taking away from this trip. I look forward to sharing my stories with anyone who asks; it's hard to write a limited and concise amount when you have so much to tell.  - Serene Bray

Host family reflection

Four days ago in a galaxy far, far away...okay it was in Costa Rica... The students of planet NELA embarked on a journey to meet the people who would be sheltering them from the disastrous elements of the environment. They were forced to board strange crafts these "Ticos" called carros, they are similar to what we know as "cars" only they had a strange type of music coming from the speakers that these people liked to call "Musica Latina". The music wasn't the thing that was the most foreign, though the way they drove these strange "carros" was fast and at speeds they said were 60-90 "km/h". Once they brought us to their habitats, we began noticing strange dog-like creatures known as "chihuahuas". The people were friendly and inviting, and the food was simple and very good compared to some over things the students have eaten on their adventures such as the notorious thing their leaders like to call "spaghetti". One particular incident did occur on this voyage, however. One student whose name will not be unveiled at this point in time for his or her safety. This said student was taken to la famila where activists in a strange local religion whose name will also not be unveiled at this time for the safety of we, the writers. The particular details of this event are not to be disclosed at this time but we can say they were strange. After all these events the students spent a day at the Costa Rican education system which was long incredibly hot and chaotic, the students were known to get excitable when the teacher was gone, not surprising though where we are from it is the same way. After this day the student returned to the place of shelter to stay another night.  The loding and such habitations of our new families are very hospitable and the food is quite deliciosa. - Luke Sharp

Feliz Cumpleanos!

It's my Birthday! We started our day off with a bitter sweet goodbye to our host families, and departed LEBLA and began on a new adventure to our hostel and a day full of unknown surprises. We were told to wear close-toed shoes and long pants and headed into the jungle. We swiftly began our ziplining training a little wide-eyed and then headed out on a bit of a hike up to some of the longest, highest, and fastest ziplines in the world and completed one of the eleven. The fastest zipline was 40kph, the longest 980 meters long, and the highest was a little more than 400 meters high. The views were some of the most amazing I've ever seen, including seeing a waterfall from above and barely sliding through spaces in between the trees to get to the other side.  Although some of the group was afraid at the beginning, the fears quickly faded after the first line and we quickly began to go down the lines with guides following swiftly behind, encouraging us to go upside down, spin, and backwards. By the time we had all reached the final line we all felt fulfilled but wished that there were a series of at least eleven more.  We unhooked our gear and headed towards what looked kind of like a straw hut. Inside were lots of wooden masks and multiple people dressed in indigenous clothing, or lack thereof, saying "Kapi Kapi" to us as we entered. One of the women spoke to us in her native tongue about their culture and their belief that there is an animal spirit within us all. We spent some time with these people and then continued our journey on horseback. The change of scenery was nice and the ride was relatively peaceful despite the bumps and the horse occasionally having a mind of its own.  We viewed some pictures and then headed back to our 5-star hostel to spend the rest of the day relaxing in the pool while it gently rained and enjoyed some good oldfashioned american pizza. A birthday well spent. - Ben Nord