Blog 5

In Puerto Rico I will be taking one course that goes towards my major, a course on the history of Puerto Rico, and the rest electives. I will be taking all of these course in Spanish, I did this to be able to perfect my communication skills in Spanish. This will help me in the future when I start working because I am wanting to work for a large international accounting firm in Miami, FL, where I will have to deal with communicating with many hispanics. Since my dream is to play baseball at the professional level, I also will be playing baseball over there and I feel this will help me get better and also will help me become more passionate for the sport.

Blog 1

My goals for when I go to Puerto Rico for my study abroad experience are to perfect my communication with others in Spanish, be able to expand my social network to more of an international perspective, and to play baseball in a different culture. To be able to ply baseball is an experience on its own because in countries like Puerto Rico, the people take the sport so seriously and passionately. I'm excited to learn about their culture and experience their ways of living especially after hurricane Irma which completely destroyed their country. One thing I would love to do is be able to maximize my experience is to hangout and learn from the locals. I believe doing this will help me both learn about their culture and also perfect my communication skills in the Spanish language. The second thing I would love to do is to travel around the country. Although it is a small country, I believe there is a lot of things to do and learn about. Lastly I would love to be able to attend a Puerto Rican baseball game so I would be able to experience the raw passion the people from there have for baseball.

Blog 4

Since I will be working about 30-40 hours a week, I will spend most of my time at work, working directly with many New Zealanders at my job site. This is where I expect to build part of my friend group for the summer. I will have the opportunity to spend my free time with the locals. I want to take the opportunity to explore the natural beauty the country has to offer while learning about its culture by exploring with locals that I meet during free time and soaking up all they can teach me. I am excited to try new foods, experience a new dialect of the English language, and learn more about this uniquely diverse country. I will attempt to live like a local by reaching out to the actual locals to spend my free time with them, and also by observing how locals work in the Outdoor Education field. I plan to avoid tourist areas and immerse myself in the culture as much as possible. I will undoubtedly return to the States as a more well-rounded individual and will be confident facing challenges at home after navigating a summer in an unfamiliar place and making it my home.

Blog 5

I am currently majoring in Outdoor Studies and Tourism with a minor in Psychology. My goal after graduating, and what I am working towards being able to do in my academics, is to work as a wilderness guide and/or group facilitator for a few years. After this, I would like to pursue a Master’s Degree in Counseling so that I can build a career in Wilderness Therapy. Over the past four years, I have worked, through academics and otherwise, to better myself as a facilitator and someone who works with people to make a positive difference in their lives. I believe that going to New Zealand for the Outdoor Education internship and immersing myself in the country’s culture, as well as the culture around Outdoor Ed., will help me further this growth.

In going to New Zealand, I would like to immerse myself in the culture and learn about the Outdoor Education field in a different country, one where it is a fairly successful field. This program is perfect for where I am right now. I will gain valuable people skills from the experience of going to a new country and interacting with people from very different backgrounds than my own. I also hope to reach a new level of flexibility and cultivate my problem-solving skills by traveling across the world independently.