Computer science teacher Liu (Rachel) Yiran was the first foreign exchange teacher to visit Harker this school year from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China.
During her Sept. 15-26 visit, Liu spent time observing and teaching classes (including computer science, Mandarin, Chinese, history, English, acting and debate) at Harker’s lower, middle and upper schools. Reflecting on her observations, she called it a great honor to visit Harker.
“Harker not only provides excellent facilities but also rewarding curriculum, which benefits every student’s overall development. Teachers are professional and creative; they spare no effort in practicing Harker’s philosophy of pursuing excellence. I am deeply impressed by everything in Harker,” she said.
While visiting from Harker’s Chinese sister school, Liu also made time for sightseeing with several Harker faculty and staff members, who showed her such attractions as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Gilroy Outlets, Napa Valley and Carmel/Big Sur. A bittersweet farewell dinner the evening before Liu’s departure concluded her memorable time at Harker.
“Going to our world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium is always a big hit with our visiting teachers. Rachel took so many pictures of the exhibits and the information placards to share with her students back in Shanghai,” recalled lower school teacher Kathy Ferretti, who accompanied Liu to the popular attraction.
Established in 1996, WFLMS is located in the southwest part of the Xuhui District in Shanghai, an area regarded as an important educational location. For many years, Harker has had both a student and teacher exchange program with WFLMS as part of its ongoing effort to build progressive academic and cultural relationships that prepare students to become global citizens.
“I thoroughly enjoyed hosting Rachel. … She observed a large variety of classes and was particularly interested in seeing how our teachers used technology in their curricula. The students responded very well to her and many mentioned they enjoyed having her visit their classrooms. What a wonderful experience for everyone!” reported Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Heather Russell, lower school English teacher, was recently named a finalist in the Next Vista for Learning Super Thoughts video contest. Next Vista For Learning is an online library of useful videos produced by teachers and students. Russell’s video, made after her visit to Japan for this year’s teacher exchange with Tamagawa Academy (K-12) & University, briefly covers some of the things she learned about the similarities and differences between the cultures of Japanese and American students. For example, though Japanese students learn how to read and write English, gather for story time and use computers, they also exercise as a group every day, practice Japanese calligraphy and keep Legos in their desks. “I received a $50 gift certificate and am now going to help my students submit some videos they are making for the next contest,” Russell said.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
The Harker School is known for its unique student and teacher exchange programs with educational institutions around the world. But Harker’s rich global education doesn’t stop in between such visits. Throughout the school year, middle school students keep connected virtually with their foreign pals via interactive video conferences and online forums.
In grade 6, video conferences between students and their same-age buddies from Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, Tamagawa Academy K-12 & University, help build excitement for future visits. And in grades 7 and 8, two separate online forums fuel dynamic conversations between Harker students and their peers in both Kazakhstan and China. Here’s a look at how Harker keeps globally connected through video conferencing in grade 6 and online forums in the older middle school grades.
Grade 6 Video Conferences
In mid-December, grade 6 students enjoyed connecting with their buddies from Tamagawa Academy during a series of interactive, game show-style video conferences, held on the middle school campus.
“After emailing each other this past semester in their computer science classes, students came face-to-face with their email buddies in a ‘Family Feud’-style game show!” reported Jennifer Walrod, director of Harker’s global education program.
“Questions (ranging from discovering favorite desserts to best after-school activities) were generated by students with a focus on interests of middle school students,” said Walrod, explaining that half of the grade 6 students participated in the conferences, with the remaining half slated for next semester.
“Designing an educational yet fun game was a very interesting task. I also had fun at the video conference talking to the Tamagawa students and playing ‘Family Feud,’” said student Sejal Krishnan.
The video conferences set the stage for the grade 6 trip to Japan in the spring.
Grade 7 Online Poetry Forum
Last year grade 7 students in Mark Gelineau’s English class launched an online poetry forum with a school in Kazakhstan. Using the forum, Harker seventh graders connected with peers from the Nazarbayev Intellectual School (NIS) to discuss selected poetic works.
Gelineau created the forum in conjunction with Lauren Gutstein ’06, who works at the NIS school in Astana, one of seven state-funded selective schools for middle and high school age students spread throughout major cities in Kazakhstan.
Through their online postings, students from both Harker and NIS share insights and observations about posted poems. Using the forum, more than 100 students recently read and discussed American and Kazakh poems about winter.
Grade 8 Online World Issues Forum
Where we live and how it affects our perspective on global issues was the topic of a recent grade 8 World Issues Forum with the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai. Other topics covered have included personal choices and the global ecosystem; global perspectives; issues preventing access to the global community; and leadership in today’s society.
“This is not new as we’ve been doing it for numerous years. However, it has really strengthened over the past couple years and the forum now gets hundreds of posts throughout the semester,” Walrod said.
In fact, the middle school’s annual trip to China was originally based around the grade 8 computer science class’ global issues forum. Last year the trip also incorporated the grade 7 historical component of learning about ancient China. Including seventh graders on the China trip was such a success that it will be repeated again this year.
“I really enjoyed participating in the forum with the students from WFLMS. By talking to them, I learned totally different perspectives on some things that I had never even heard before. I also learned a lot about the cultures of China. Now, I have left the class with a greater knowledge of the world than I had before,” said student Megan Huynh.
“It is indeed exciting and interesting to communicate with people from the other side of the world and the discussions are supposed to be diverse and offering an insight on both sides’ point of view,” agreed fellow student Nastya Grebin.
“Adding the online forum discussions to my computer science curriculum has provided a great opportunity for students to combine their technical knowledge to global issues related to the world they live in. The students’ forum discussions have been compulsory to their studies of systems that are the basis for their computer science final project applications,” noted Abigail Joseph, middle school computer science instructor.
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Learning how to make Native American dream catchers was one of many exciting activities students from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China, enjoyed during their visit to Harker in mid-January.
While patiently working on her dream catcher, WFLMS student Liza Xiao looked up for a moment to exclaim, “I’m having an awesome time visiting Harker! And my buddy is really sweet. The teachers are all kind and the classes are fun.”
Xiao was one of 18 students visiting from Harker’s sister school in China. The students learned all about the dream catchers (a generations-old part of Native American culture) before making their own to take home as cherished souvenirs. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect sleeping individuals from negative dreams, while letting positive ones through.
This year, there was an emphasis on deepening the Chinese students’ understanding of Native American culture, according to Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Harker’s unique partnership with the school in the People’s Republic of China began in 2003 and is the first of its kind. The visiting students were accompanied by several chaperones (all teachers at WFLMS). They were welcomed to Harker and introduced at a morning meeting at the middle school before embarking on a tour of Stanford, including a visit to university’s museum to see the Native American collection.
Harker’s middle school students and their WFLMS buddies had been corresponding since the fall. Come spring, a contingent of Harker students will head to China as part of the reciprocal exchange program, which is an annual highlight of the middle school experience for many grade 7 and 8 students.
“This year, the students participated in a wide range of activities where they had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of American culture and the surrounding area. They learned all about football and tailgating, watched American movies, created their own lunch of ‘California cuisine,’ and participated in a walking tour of San Jose,” reported Walrod.
While here, the exchange students observed and attended several middle school classes, including history, art, drama and dance. They also enjoyed a scavenger hunt on the middle school campus and a field trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The WFLMS students’ visit ended with a fun fare- well party – and a promise to see their buddies again in the spring!
This story originally appeared in the spring 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Maruko Ishigami, a visiting exchange teacher from Tamagawa Academy K-12 School & University – Harker’s sister school in Tokyo, Japan – was touched by the warm welcome she received from students and faculty during her visit to Harker Jan. 7-18.
“This has been a very good experience. I am impressed by the children’s artwork here,” said Ishigami, who teaches art at Tamagawa’s elementary school and spent time observing classes at Harker’s lower, middle and upper school campuses.
She also helped teach art classes for grades 2-5, showing the second and third graders how to make traditional Japanese wood coasters and instructing the fourth and fifth graders in various painting techniques used in her country.
Grade 2 students Emi Fujimura, Shayla He and Shareen Chahal agreed that the best thing about making a wood coaster with Ishigami was “building it” from scratch, noting that the process reminded them of putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Classmate Vivek Nayyar said he especially enjoyed having a “visiting teacher” come to the classroom.
“It has been a truly fantastic experience having Maruko here,” agreed Gerry-louise Robinson, Harker’s lower school art teacher. “All the students warmed quickly to Maruko’s wonderful smile and gentle approach. Both grades 2 and 3 embraced this project with enthusiasm and determination!”
Ishigami also observed ceramics classes at the middle school and sat in on graphic arts, stone carving, drawing, photography and other art courses at the upper school.
Because her English is not fluent, Ishigami was aided by several Japanese-speaking faculty members who offered to be interpreters, joining her for meals and serving as friendly faces around campus.
From the moment her plane touched down at the San Francisco International Airport, Ishigami was kept engaged and busy. In addition to spending time observing and teaching classes at Harker, highlights of her visit included lunch with the administration, a visit to the San Jose Museum of Art, and sightseeing expeditions to Monterey Bay and San Francisco.
“I’ve really enjoyed showing Maruko around. She is very interested in everything that we do at Harker and is eager to learn all she can about our school and students. As an art teacher, she enjoyed viewing all the types of artwork our students are doing. It’s been fun seeing the students enjoying showing her their work,” noted Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Tamagawa, a K-12 school and university, was founded in 1929 as an elementary education organization. Secondary education divisions were added later, and in 1947 Tamagawa University received approval for establishment as an “old system” (pre-war) university. As a comprehensive institution (gakuen), they currently provide education from kindergarten to graduate school on a single campus.
This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
This past summer 11 biology Harker history by embarking on an educational first for the school: a trip to Tanzania. Armed with a “world as their classroom” mentality, the group set off for the 10-day groundbreaking trip, called “One Health in Tanzania,” on July 24.
The Tanzanian adventure was the brainchild of upper school science department chair Anita Chetty, who had spent years planning and researching the trip. Head of School Chris Nikoloff joined Chetty in supervising the group of students.
Also serving as chaperones were Dr. Murali Daran and Dr. Alexandra Kamins. Daran (Lea, grade 12; Rohan, grade 10) is a cardiologist and has done extensive medical charitable work in places like the Dominican Republic. Besides serving as the group’s “doctor- on-call,” he inspired the students with a talk on his charitable work. Kamins is a recent graduate from the University of Cambridge whose doctoral work was in Ghana. She has also been on several study programs in Africa; her experiences provided essential support when collaborating on the curriculum with Chetty.
“I designed the trip as though it were a short, college-level type course,” said Chetty, explaining that the trip, while filled with great sights, was not primarily about sightseeing. “The focus was on the educational curriculum … and I was so impressed at how the students rose to that challenge.”
In fact, every aspect of the trip was infused with an opportunity for learning, from game-drives filled with biology lessons to visiting reserves and meeting with health professionals. One highlight was learning firsthand about the current AIDS epidemic in Tanzania. The situation became real to students as they met with health professionals, including a gynecologist and nurse at an AIDS clinic.
Another trip highlight was visiting with the Masai tribe, when the students had the opportunity to personally donate toys to a local village school. It was an eye-opening experience for journalism student Jonathan Dai, grade 10.
“The tribe treated us like family and welcomed us into their homes and daily lives. We played games with their kids, herded goats and cattle, and even played a soccer game against the adult male tribe members,” he recalled.
While visiting with the Masai, students set up an eye clinic, testing tribe members’ eyes and handing out prescription eye glasses they had brought over with them for that purpose.
“One of the most influential moments for me was visiting the Masai. On a walk to and from the lake they tried to teach us some of their native language. For example, they taught us how to count and some basic phrases. Regardless of the fact that neither of us spoke the others’ languages we managed to communicate and bonded really quickly, which was an amazing experience,” recalled Alyssa Amick, grade 11.
Namrata Vakkalagadda, grade 12, said that a very personal memory for her was learning beading from a village tribe healer. “Even though we had an obvious language barrier, the connection between us was almost immediate. She welcomed my curiosity with open arms and continued to patiently guide my hands and hand me beads, until I created a bracelet which I was able to keep for myself. This memento of mine I think might be one that is dearest to me, because I created it with a member of the Masai community and it was a connection that was personal between the two of us.”
The Tanzania trip was such a success that plans are already in the works for another one next summer. In addition to giving the gift of sight by providing eyeglasses, Chetty is also collecting money to buy and bring desperately needed textbooks to the Tanzanian public schools.
“There is nothing like learning that is directly experienced, whether educational or philanthropic,” said Chetty.
This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Several upper school students traveled to Switzerland in June to meet with their friends at Collège de Gambach, practice their French and explore the country’s beautiful scenery and culture. Their first day at Collège de Gambach consisted of a tour of the campus and a board game with German and French speakers.
One of the group’s favorite stops was the Cailler Chocolate factory, where they learned about the history of chocolate and how it is made. They also sampled a variety of cocoa beans and, as expected, the many varieties of chocolate made by the company.
Later, in Lausanne, the students boarded a steamboat to Vevey, where the food company Nestlé is headquartered. There, they visited the Alimentarium, a cooking museum where the students learned about the history of food preparation, cooking utensils and even table manners. Their final day at Collège de Gambach was spent eating lunch and enjoying time with their Swiss friends.
This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Naomi Molin, grade 10, spent a month in Australia from mid-June to mid-July on a trip to further explore her interest in the performing arts as well as to see the many fascinating sights the country has to offer. Another bonus was, of course, spending time with her friends at St. Stephen’s College.
Her fun-filled trip included a dance workshop with two members of the London cast of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which was followed by a viewing of the show. She also participated in the St. Stephen’s spirit activities, which included many aspects of Australian aboriginal culture, such as a dance, face painting and throwing boomerangs.
Molin’s host family even took her on a trip to Australia’s world-renowned Great Barrier Reef, where they explored the area’s islands and towns and viewed crocodiles, kangaroos, wallabies and other animals at a wildlife education center.
This story originally appeared in the fall 2013 Harker Quarterly.
From late July to early August, upper school students traveled to Costa Rica to create and present research projects at the University of Georgia’s Costa Rica campus at San Luis. The students spent their time observing local wildlife in the field and doing lab work on their findings. Some of the topics students researched included intra-species bird calls, hermit crab activity and plankton diversity.
The students later presented the results of their research to an appreciative audience at a symposium held at the UGA campus. During breaks from their research, the students went to a science fair being held at a local elementary school, went ziplining over the Costa Rican cloud forest, visited a bat jungle and went rafting.
Middle school Spanish students have recently returned from Costa Rica for this summer’s Spanish language immersion trip, accompanied by Spanish teachers Julie Pinzás and Susan Moling, who sent email dispatches from the trip that can be read below.
July 29:
What an exciting day we had today! We drove about an hour and a half through the lush Costa Rican countryside to San Luis. There we spent the morning and early afternoon on a canopy tour that featured ziplining across the canopy of the rainforest through a series of 12 platforms. Midway through we went on a “Tarzan” swing and ended our tour using the “Superman” harness in which you lay face down as you ride across a breathtaking canyon for nearly a mile. As you sail along this canyon, a rustling river and waterfalls could be seen amidst the lush forest. It was a definite highlight of the trip so far!
Afterward we returned to the casitas to freshen up and rest a bit before dinner. We enjoyed more of the amazing local cuisine for dinner and then a surprise birthday cake for rising eighth grader Tanvi Singh, who is turning 13 today.
Tomorrow the children will start their clases de español at the ACCE language school.
-Susan Moling
July 30:
Yesterday morning we had our orientation at the ACCE Language School. After a warm reception, the kids all took their diagnostic tests and were placed in small groups of three to four students per teacher. As usual, they impressed the director and their Costa Rican teachers with their Spanish! During the week, students normally begin their classes at 1:30 p.m. and have two breaks before finishing their lessons at 5 p.m. They are provided with a fresh snack and drink such as small sandwiches, cheese empanadas, yucca frita and plátano frito during the first longer break. Following dinner, we had a movie night where the kids enjoyed watching Man of Steel (Hombre de Hierro) while eating palomitas (popcorn). It is such a pleasure to see how the kids have bonded as a group, playing games in their free time with each other.
Today, we set off for the nearby town of Sarchí. The town is very historic because it lies along the old Pan American highway, which connects Central and South America. Sarchí is also renowned for its colorfully painted oxcart wheels and beautifully hand-carved wood furniture and crafts. We went to the Eloy Alfaro factory, which was founded in 1920, to learn about how the wheels are made during a tour of the factory.
Then the students had a painting class where everyone got to learn the basic skills of wheel painting from a local artist, Don William. Students all got a small, white wheel to work with and everyone followed the steps toward creating a beautifully painted miniature oxcart wheel. After the painting class, everyone did some shopping in the extensive gift shop followed by a delicious buffet-style lunch on the second floor of the factory.
-Julie Pinzás
August 1:
Although yesterday morning started off with a bit of rain, it cleared up just in time for our guide, Minor, to treat us to a tour of Grecia. Our first stop was the local post office. Interestingly enough, there are no street signs in Costa Rica. Therefore addresses are more descriptive. The school’s, for example, is “50 metros al oeste de la estación de Bomberos en Grecia centro; segunda planta de Restaurante Galería.” (50 meters East of Grecia’s Downtown Fire Station; second floor of the Galería Restaurant). Our next stop was a local indoor market. Students were able sample passion fruit and other indigenous fruits. The last stop of our tour was Costa Rica’s version of Jamba Juice, Cosechas Grecia. Here students were able to sample a yummy fruit smoothie.
Part of our group then walked to the polideportivo (sports center) where they were able to enjoy some playtime in the pool. The other half of the group went to a local woman’s home where they participated in a cooking class and enjoyed a wonderful, home-cooked luncheon. Everyone helped Sra. Lavinia prepare a sumptuous arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), a traditional Costa Rican dish which features several local vegetables, special seasonings and chicken. This dish was served with fried bananas (plátanos maduros) and a refreshing cas-pineapple smoothie.
Last night, after school, we visited a private K-12 school, Centro Educativo Nuevo Milenio, where our entire group had a chance to participate in the high school’s English Day Talent Show a la “America’s Got Talent.” They all did a fantastic job and impressed our hosts with their talent and level of confidence!
Today in the morning the same two groups from yesterday switched and enjoyed the cooking class/pool activities. Then after school today, we headed off to a local indoor soccer pitch to play with Minor’s son, Christopher, and some of his classmates. Everyone got into the game and had a lot of fun playing an exciting match of soccer non-stop for an hour. To top it off, students enjoyed dinner at a local soda. A soda is a family-run restaurant, similar to a small North American diner. Sodas are a great place to find quick home cooking, usually the stick-to-your-ribs variety – think rice and beans, hamburgers and fries.
-Julie Pinzás
August 2:
In the morning we awoke early to head off an immigrant neighborhood known as La Carpio, just outside of the capital city, San José, and about an hour’s drive away. This area, home to some 34,000 people, is made up of mainly immigrants from the neighboring country of Nicaragua who escaped to Costa Rica for a better life following the civil war there. As a result, most of the inhabitants of La Carpio are extremely poor. One organization, the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, founded by an American expatriate, Gail Nystrom, has accomplished much in nearly every facet of life for these people for some 30 years. One of them is the creation of an affordable day-care for working parents, the Guadería la Libertad.
This year, the organization is focusing on the one of the poorest sections of La Carpio. Our students thoroughly enjoyed painting the outside of the metal and concrete housing structures, bringing a bit of color, pride and sense of ownership to the inhabitants. We then trekked down to the bottom of the river to deliver invitations and hang posters for a health fair the following day. Afterwards, we went back to the Fundación Humanitaria for a simple lunch before heading back to ACCE for their Spanish classes. That evening we went to a local mall just outside of Grecia to have dinner and enjoy some window-shopping.
-Susan Moling
August 3:
Yesterday we got off to an early start for Manuel National Park, about three hours north of Grecia. We took a newly paved highway that supposedly cut the drive down by an hour. On the way we stopped and walked across a bridge to observe Central American crocodiles that live along the Tarcoles River. We were lucky enough to see three pairs of bright scarlet macaws in flight as we walked along the seismic suspension bridge.
Our next stop was the beautiful Rainmaker Park, which is a lush rainforest where we went on a 90-minute hike – this year with a downpour of rain, thanks to mother nature. They got a true sense of why it is called a rainforest! We observed many species of flora and fauna native to the rainforest. Our guide pointed out some green poison dart frogs, centipedes and different plant species, just to name a few. We walked across a system of suspension bridges spanning a total of 250 meters above the forest canopy. Six bridges extend over platforms attached to massive hardwood trees which allow visitors to explore the rainforest from a bird´s eye perspective, such as rushing waterfalls below. We ended our tour with a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo, black beans and rice. We drove on for about another hour, and then settled into our hotel which is located just outside the famed Manuel Antonio Park we will be exploring tomorrow. The kids spent the afternoon frolicking in the beach.
-Susan Moling
August 4:
Costa Rica blessed us with perfect weather today despite forecasts of a possible storm and rain all weekend for our visit to one of the country’s smallest but most spectacular national parks, Manuel Antonio. Once we entered the park, we enjoyed an easy hike through the rain forest as our guide pointed out many fascinating insects, plants and animals. Nothing compares to seeing two- and three-toed sloths and capuchin monkeys amongst the trees in person in their natural habitat.
After the brief hike, we arrived at the long-awaited beach, which looked like it was from a movie set with majestic palm trees surrounding a turquoise bay. Needless to say, the kids were in the water within minutes, enjoying themselves tremendously. After a few hours of satisfying play in the water and on the sand, we headed back to the hotel for lunch and spent the afternoon in the pool.
We enjoyed another of many scrumptious meals for dinner. The kids have definitely adapted to Costa Rican cuisine and all agree that they love the food! It was definitely a memorable weekend excursion for all.
-Julie Pinzás
August 6:
Yesterday, after our drive home from Manuel Antonio, we stopped at la Casona de Maiz, a typical Costa Rica Restaurant, for lunch. Students then dropped off their luggage at the casitas and went to afternoon classes. That evening they had fun watching “Megamente” (Megamind) in Spanish with Spanish subtitles.
This morning we went again to the organization Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, the immigrant neighborhood La Carpio, just outside of the capital city, San José (La Carpio, history). Today the students visited a special preschool created by this organization to prepare immigrant children for entering kindergarten in the Costa Rican school system.
Our students spent their time helping the 25 or so children, whose ages ranged from 4 to 5 years old, with their lessons. They read to the kids, helped them color, sang songs and played with them. We noticed how our group used their Spanish to communicate with the children and how sad the little ones were when we left. Warm hugs were exchanged all around. Their director complimented us on how well our students interacted with hers. She said we were her best group yet!
-Julie Pinzás
August 9:
Sadly we are sending you our last report from picturesque Costa Rica!
Yesterday we had another leisurely breakfast at 8:30 a.m. We then headed off to a dance studio to learn some typical Latin dances. The whole class was taught in Spanish! Our instructor, Carlos, taught us how to do the bachata, cumbia, salsa and merengue. He was impressed on how enthusiastic our students were and their level of understanding and dancing skills. Everyone had a lot of fun!
In the evening our group played another indoor soccer match with local Costa Rican youth. Needless to say, it was an even more exciting match for they scored lots of goals!
Today we set off for downtown Grecia for the “cazapistas” (scavenger hunt). This activity was developed by one of our wonderful local contacts here, Amy Paschal. Students were divided up into groups of three to four and then had to follow the steps on their individualized scavenger hunts in both Spanish and English. The design of the activity was really ingenious – some of the tasks involved students having to find out information from local townspeople; and for others they had to ask someone to take a photo of their group in front of a particular landmark. Everyone did a great job completing their cazapistas.
Tonight we had a lovely farewell barbecue party in the “Rancho” at the casitas where we have enjoyed these past two glorious weeks here in Costa Rica. There was a sumptuous vegetable and rice dish, barbecued meats, black beans and homemade salsa and chips. After eating, some of the teachers from the school presented each student with a beautiful group photo as a memento of their time here.
Everyone is sad to leave tomorrow but eager to get home and tell you all about their amazing experiences. ¡Pura vida!