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Location: Galapagos Islands
In the afternoon we went to the Parque Nacional de Galapagos tortoise conservancy that is located inside the National Park. We were divided into four groups, and we each got an iron brush, which we used to clean tortoise pools. The tortoise pools were full of turtle excrement and debris, which we scrubbed and cleaned. Even though what we were doing does not sound fun, it was. Everyone was having a good time, and we were laughing, making jokes, and playing games while we worked. It was hilarious. After we finished cleaning the pools, we went to the Tortoise Conservancy breeding area where we saw baby turtles, and our guide explained their life cycle. It was amazing, we got to see huge turtles and small turtles in their natural habitats, and we learned a lot about how they survive, grow, respond to danger, and what they eat. It was a cool experience that I will never forget.
Before dinner, we had some free time where we got to go around town and buy some souvenirs and eat some ice cream. It was amazing! Eve, Camilla, Ajah, Soo, and I went to several souvenir stores, and we got to see some sea lions by the fish market. Then we had dinner at a restaurant that served crepes. They were delicious! Afterward, we went back to the hotel, and we sat in a circle and shared our highs and lows of the day and gave appreciations.
Then the girls and boys split up for our first separated forum. The girls went to the restaurant area where we had a forum about intuition. The boys went upstairs and talked about “stepping up.” I want to thank our counselors Skylar, Devin and Rob for looking out for us and taking care of us all along this trip. The talk we had (the girls talk) was amazing. Skylar, our counselor, asked us some questions that we wrote in our journals to answer. The questions were along the lines of, what is intuition? When was the last time you used it, and the results were positive/negative if your intuition could tell you anything that would it tell you right now?”
We all felt pretty good during the talk, and we expressed our feelings and bonded. I thought this was a great idea and after this incredible talk we had, we all felt better and happier. This talk inspired confidence in me, made me understand myself better, helped me express my feelings, and helped me understand my friends better. We had a great time, and we got to become closer. We all felt happy and relieved after the talks finished. So once again thank you Skylar, Devin, and Rob for this incredible and unforgettable day. This trip has impacted me in a lot of different ways, and I felt like today was one of the most amazing days of all the trip, which we all enjoyed. It was great! Lifeworks went beyond today, and we all enjoyed all the activities and everything we did!