Wrap-up...

I hope that everyone is well-rested and has adjusted to the comforts of home!  Hopefully everyone received their luggage yesterday... and got their laundry started right away...

I'm currently working on uploading all of the pictures to a Snapfish account.  I'm trying to keep the best resolution, so it takes some time.  Once that is done, I will go through and edit- crop, rotate, delete.  I will e-mail the username and password to you, then you can create your own album and upload the pictures you would like to share.  Some of you got fantastic shots that we didn't (i.e. the toucan, howler monkeys, sea turtles, etc.), so please get those in an album!  I'll start working on designing a photo book early next week.

Don't forget to check out some of the pictures that were tweeted as well.  I tried to use #cf2cr as much as possible.  Or you can search for my Twitter account: @CFCoachBA.  I didn't use it much after the first 3 days, but there are still pictures there if you want them.

Students- please share your experience with your family and friends!  The blog can only do so much.  They are curious about what YOU saw and what YOU learned on this trip.  Please use this time to reflect on everything that you did.  If you enjoyed your travels and meeting new people, then do something about it!  Don't let yourself get too comfortable being back in Chagrin- if you feel like this trip changed you, then continue to challenge yourself every day.  Don't fall back into old habits!  It's hard for everyone, even the most experienced travelers.  Take time to be "off the grid"- get off your phone and connect with those around you face-to-face!  Try to make the most of every day and do something to help others.  Don't forget your time with the families in Uvita- remember how welcoming they were and their positive outlook.  Don't forget conquering your fears- heights, spiders, etc- remember how rewarding it felt to face them.  Use this experience to make your life- and someone else's!- better!

I'm open to any feedback from the trip- just let us know in the comments or via e-mail.  A big thank you to Rustic Pathways at home and in Costa Rica (Chris, Matija, Ricardo, Mauricio, Edguardo, Yendrey, Carolyn), our phenomenal bus driver (Jorge), the great guides/instructors we had during all of our adventures (Diego, Jesse, Cesar, Wayne, Brian, Johnny, Enzo, Jose, Kristen, Brian, RJ, Gonato, Gato and others), our administrators and school board who approved the trip, the teachers who helped to promote the trip (especially Carole Fahey and Lisa Salyers), the parents who helped make the trip of a lifetime possible for these students, Mrs. Wooden, a great friend and laidback travel buddy, and, most importantly, the 20 students who brought the energy and personality to make this trip a memorable one: Alex, Daniel, Garrett, Matt, Patrick, Rem, Peter, David, Allie, Molly, Lou, Victoria, Ryan, Katy, Kayce, Katie, Ali, Morgan, Anne, and Pearson.

Pura vida!!!!