What is 31,397?!?! 3.5 Years of Community Service in One Summer!

Alaska Community Service, Barcelona PCE, California Community Service, China: Ancient Empires to Modern Wonder, Costa Rica Combo, Costa Rica Community Service, Ecuador/Galapagos Community Service, Hawaii Community Service, Peru Community Service, Peru Language Immersion, South Africa Community Service No Responses »

Nov 162011

31,397?!?! Is that … how many gumballs are in the world’s largest gumball machine? How high the tallest mountain is? How many miles to travel around the world?

Guess again!

We are proud to announce that Westcoast Connection / 360° Student Travel travelers completed 31,397 HOURS of community service in 2011!

What an incredible impact the Westcoast Connection / 360° Student Travel travelers have made! From Hawaii, to Peru, to Alaska, to China and beyond, our participants have truly made a lasting impact on the communities they have worked with and learned so much in the process. Let’s take this opportunity to highlight some of the amazing projects that our trips have been involved with in the last few months…

In California groups had the opportunity to work with Habitat for Humanity and build and construct alongside the families that will be moving into these homes in the future. Whether it was lending a hand with painting, caulking or hammering, our trip members didn’t hesitate to pitch in and help the community they became a part of.

Last summer on our Community Service elective on our Pre-College Enrichment program in Barcelona, 14 of our trip members worked at the Juvenile Center with children aged 5-9 years old. It was an incredible opportunity for our participants to interact with disadvantaged children to bring smiles to their faces while teaching English and practicing their Spanish.

Our summer in Costa Rica was a very special one. With Habitat for Humanity, all of our Costa Rica programs together help construct 3 houses in San Ramon. From the initial groundbreaking through the laying of foundation, floors, and putting up walls we did it all. An incredible accomplishment! We also worked with the Costa Rica Humanitarian Foundation building a brand new classroom for a school. The final group was able to hand the keys over to the teachers.

Our programs in South Africa had the unique opportunity to volunteer with the Morhotso Clinic where we spent an evening cooking a huge soup for all of the orphans and children. The next day our groups were able to play with and serve our soup to the children who were either orphaned because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic or whose parents were being treated at the Clinic.

Heading down south to the Amazon Jungle on the Ecuador & the Galapagos Community Service program, our trip members spent time clearing a soccer field for the Quicha community. We spent time with the local community playing soccer and practicing each other’s languages.

Congratulations to all our travelers who contributed to some amazing community service projects around the world. An outstanding accomplishment that works out to be 3.5 years of community service in ONE SUMMER!

Kia Ora, Welcoming New Zealand & Fiji for 2012

New Zealand plus Fiji No Responses »

Oct 252011

While most of us were sleeping snoring away at 4 am on Sunday morning, likely resting up for a day of watching NFL, doing errands or preparing for the World Series Game 4, a lot of the world, at least the non-North American Western World, was gathered together for a huge moment in sports.

Every 4 years, the Rugby World Cup is held, more often than not in a British descended country. Although many North Americans may not know much about the sport of Rugby (present author excluded … I’m a big fan!), for many countries it is their number one sport of choice.

The world revolves around the prep school “civilized” sport of Rugby Union. The movie “Invictus” with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman portrayed the incredible, unlikely victory of a newly formed South Africa over the mighty New Zealand All Blacks team back in 1995. This was one of the most unifying moments in South African history and a focal point for the country in its efforts to unite racial divide. It’s an incredible sports moment and something that is certainly a true life moving story – (you can learn about that moment and South Africa’s incredible history on our South Africa Community Service program).

This past month however, the World Cup was held in the magical land of New Zealand… an adventurer’s paradise and a destination that 360° Student Travel is proud to announce we will be going to this summer. Our program will be an incredible and complete experience of the whole country that takes in the best sights and activities. From the most adrenaline pumping white water rafting trip ever, to one of the best treks in the world; from Zorbing to a glacier experience like no other – this is an incredible adventure.

New Zealand plus Fiji Whitewater Rafting

Rafting the Kaituna River ... 13 Major Drops and a 22 Foot Drop Over Tutea Falls

Glacier Mountaineering the Franz Josef Glacier

This summer will be an awesome time to visit as the country will be riding a high; the Kiwis, had not won the World Cup since 1987 despite being among the favourite teams at almost every tournament. Last week they met their arch rivals, the Wallabies (Australia’s National team) and handily beat them 20-6. In the other semi, France overcame Wales 9-8 and the stage was set for Sunday’s final game … a rematch of the 1987 game.

The All Blacks (named for their trendy and cool black Jersey’s) scraped by and after 80 minutes of play managed an 8 to 7 victory. For a Nation of 4 million people who live and breathe rugby, this was the success of a lifetime. All in all, the spectacle was incredible and the world was awed by the show put on by the team from one of the most magical of travel destinations anywhere in the world.

Hopefully you managed to catch a game or two; if not we hope you manage to at least have seen the All Blacks perform the Haka, a traditional Maori war dance. The dance is effectively a challenge to an opposing “team.” It is something that has been performed for centuries and it is amazing to see on the sports stage.

Our groups will learn the Haka firsthand this coming summer from an indigenous Kiwi and be able to show it off when we experience a traditional Maori village experience. Check out the Haka from the Final above or see what the Wall Street Journal had to say about it last week.

You can check out our New Zealand Program (and its extension in Fiji) on our website which has just been updated!

The Westcoast Blogger

Anna Put Her Hand in Jessica’s Mouth …

South Africa Community Service No Responses »

Oct 182011

Don’t worry, Jessica wasn’t a Trip Member on Anna’s Africa Community Service program, Jessica is a 10 year old female hippopotamus who lives in South Africa.

Everyone is Smiling!

When our groups visited Jessica last summer, she was quite hungry! Some trip members fed Jessica tea while the other group fed her sweet potatoes. According to Trip Director Anna, “We would place the sweet potato on her nose and then place it in her mouth – a pattern that she is familiar with. In between, you could pet her nose and her face. She drinks a CRAZY amount of tea and she loves coffee, but they cut back on coffee because her doctor said it wasn’t good for her!”

Feeding Jessica

Petting Jessica

Hippos are known to be aggressive, but not Jessica. The scientists studying her if she considers herself to be a human or if she sees her human visitors as hippos.

Check out the clip below to learn about the South African couple who adopted her and watch her behave very much like a house pet! Also see the Animal Planet clip about her here.

The Westcoast Blogger

Anna & Jessica

Majestic Victoria Falls – Africa Community Service

South Africa Community Service No Responses »

Jul 212011

Hello family and friends!

Time is going by so quickly, hard to believe that we are already in Botswana!

To keep you truly up to date with all of our adventures, we must start back at last Tuesday morning, a morning where we all woke up excited, as it was our first day of service. Riding into Acornhoek on a bright and sunny morning we met the chair of
the education board and the principal of the primary school to discuss our service projects. The morning went by quickly as we gathered supplies and planned the work for the week. In the afternoon, we had the chance to meet the wonderful school children. We can’t even begin to tell you how friendly and happy they were to see us. Their bright smiles lit up our group. Sam and Gabe joined some boys playing soccer in the field while Dani, Jenny and Sabrina taught and even learned new games with the girls.

Wednesday was our first full day of community service and Remi, Meagan and Ally were excited to get a start on repainting the welcome sign. It needed a fresh coat of paint as well as an artistic touch up – a creative challenge these girls looked forward
to tackling. Meanwhile, Nathan and Jessica were working hard on painting the principal’s office and green-thumbs Kate and Jamie were planting spinach, beets and onions. That afternoon we stopped in to visit our newest African friend: Jessica the hippo! We fed her snacks and gave her some South African rooibos tea as we got our pictures taken with her. Jessica especially liked Alex who bravely fed her snacks of potatoes.

At the end of last week, we wrapped up our service projects in South Africa and truly, words can’t express how difficult it was to say goodbye to the children and administration of the primary school. Though we will miss them, we are proud of our accomplishments and are pleased knowing that our hard work has provided a new vegetable garden, a freshly painted school office
and a colourfully updated welcome sign.

Our last night in Kruger was a treat as we enjoyed a wonderful sunset safari outside our lodge grounds. All evening we spotted giraffes (Melissa’s favorite), cape buffalo, impala and even a rhinoceros! We had our first opportunity to see a truly uninhibited African sunset from a hilltop and it capped off a great week.

Saturday began with us preparing a soup lunch at the medical clinic in Acornhoek; a service for children with HIV and/or orphans. It was an emotionally moving experience but a great one nonetheless. Gabe played soccer with a young boy and then became particularly touched when the boy shared his story with him. This young boy’s dad is sick with AIDS but his aspirations are to get out of poverty and become an electrical engineer. His was just one story though all the people we’ve met and all the stories we’ve heard are just amazing. After serving lunch, Kate and Meagan passed out toys and stickers to the children. As we left they ran after us wishing us well and saying goodbye.

It has been great staying at our lodge: we’ve had amazing dinners, cozy bonfires and a chorus of hyenas and cheetahs every night. Sunday morning meant we had to leave the Kruger area behind us but not without the scenic stops at the Three Rondavels
and Blyde River Canyon. From Johannesburg we continued onward to Livingstone, Zambia and spent our first afternoon on a spectacular sunset cruise. Jamie and Dani loved relaxing on the boat deck and the two girls grabbed some great pictures of an elephant taking a dip in the Zambezi River.

Day two in Zambia brought us to the majestic Victoria Falls or “the smoke that thunders” and it was everything we hoped it would
be! Sam, Kate, Ally, and Meagan wore ponchos for the hike down while Jenny and Melissa braved the heavy rainfall around the falls. After a quick lunch back at the safari lodge, we spent the afternoon getting to know elephants up close and personal. We got to touch, feed and ride elephants and learned more about the ivory poaching threat in southern Africa. The ride was absolutely incredible! Larger than you can imagine, elephants are incredibly elegant animals with distinct personalities. Nate and Jessica rode Danny (the oldest elephant of the family) and led us on the afternoon walk. We had a phenomenal time in Zambia and are
happy to say that we have arrived safely in Botswana and are looking forward to our upcoming days of community service!

Sending much love!

The Westcoast Blogger

The Many Sounds of the African Bush – Africa Community Service

South Africa Community Service No Responses »

Jul 122011

Dear family and friends of Community Service Africa,

First up upon arrival in Johannesburg (after we stretched our legs and had a delicious lunch) was a trip to soccer city and the apartheid museum. Seeing a world cup stadium site was amazing! We were able to see the players’ change rooms and the VIP suite, we got to sit in the stands and we were even lucky enough to step out onto the pitch where the championship game was played – shhhhhhh….don’t tell the manager.

Next we were off to the Apartheid Museum where we all had the opportunity to learn about Nelson Mandela’s journey and role in ending apartheid. The museum offered us a look into important historical events in South Africa which gave us insight into the culture as we begin our travels.

The next morning, we were off to the Kruger area! After a fun filled game of pictionary telephone, Sam and Danielle told us some perplexing riddles. Melissa and Kate kept an eye out for African wildlife but it wasn’t until we arrived at our Lodge that we spotted animals and were even greeted by warthogs and impala! That night, along with Babysitter (the momma warthog at the lodge) we enjoyed a campfire and played games in the thatched-roof dining area. We kept our eyes out for the leopard that supposedly likes to visit our Lodge and fell asleep listening to cheetahs howling as well as the many other sounds of the African bush.

Yesterday, we had a day of high ropes and white water rafting. New heroes emerged in the group after the high ropes activity–Meaghan and Sam, who dared to go first; Alex, who navigated the suspended cable with impressive speed; and Jess, who overcame her fear of heights and made it to the very end.

After a delicious lasagna lunch, we grabbed the river rafts and headed out onto to the Sabie River with our guides Oscar and 54. The afternoon was beautiful and we enjoyed the water and the sun as we conquered rapids. Kate, Jenny, Jess and Gabe were the first to head down the river, Ally and Remi were mysteriously always traveling backwards and sideways (anyway but straight). Splash wars ensued, iguanas were seen–all in all a great day!

Until the next update, Afri-later!

The Westcoast Blogger

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