Hi there family and friends!

Im gearing up for another semester with The Traveling School! For those of you that may not know much about this incredible program.... we provide semesters abroad for high school girls.  We pack one large backpack full of our essential "stuff" and one school backpack full of all the books and information we need to teach and learn.  The girls stay caught up with their schools back home in the US while learning in a new environment: the world is our classroom.  The curriculum is based around the traditional classes you would find in any high school, it just takes place in the mountains, on the beach, in a truck, under water and all classes are focused on the areas we are immersed in, the people we spend time with, the animals we see and the environments we play in!  Along with schooling and weekly travel from hostel to campground, boat to bus, hacienda to home stay each semester engages in SCUBA diving or snorkeling, ice climbing or trekking, hiking, camping, running, biking, surfing and more!

After three and a half months traveling through developing countries, students and teachers question every thing learned from our past, the evolution of growth and awareness ebbs and flows throughout each day and passing week.  We encounter instances of hardship, situations that don't make sense to us, might scare us momentarily or shock what we know to be 'right', 'moral', 'ethical' or 'fair'.  Through this process we delve into very honest and authentic discussions as a group, we strengthen our bonds with one another and create trust as we travel together, we also learn how to hold space for the transitions through new cultures and languages, and accept and standing witness to the gray area of global politics, human rights, environmental struggles, poverty, discrimination... and the list goes on.  The experience is righteous, rejuvinating, inspiring, existential and humbling.

This semester we are headed to Ecuador, the Galapagos, Peru and ending in Bolivia.  Our group of sixteen girls and four leaders will be gone for three and a half months and we take off on the second of February.  I feel blessed to be able to be apart of this semester and Im excited to be sharing our adventures and queries with you all here! I have always sent my writings out while traveling, although this is my first experience with blogging! Please feel free to pass this on to others who may be interested or have thought about adventure travel and experiential education!

With love and respect,
Jenae