Kia Ora from staff training in Portland!
A big welcome to the friends and families that will be following our journey over the coming months. We are brimming with anticipation to begin our journey around the South Pacific with you all in just a few short days! We have been getting excited over the course of reviewing itineraries, exploring maps, and connecting with local contacts in New Zealand, Fiji and Australia. The journey we are about to embark on will push us all in unexpected ways, and will also provide us with countless opportunities to grow as individuals and as a group. Sometimes challenges we face will be external such as long days or physically demanding work, while sometimes our challenges will be internal like opening up to the group or choosing to do what you know is best even if it is the harder choice. We are all coming on this voyage to support each other, accept each other as we are, and encourage each other to become the fullest version of ourselves. Many of you mentioned self care, stress management and conflict resolution, among other things, as areas that you hope to grow and we look forward to doing our best to be a guiding light along that path. Take time now to reflect about who you are now, why you are coming on this journey, and the series of choices and actions you will make over the coming months on your path of growth.
Fitting your life into a backpack for the next 3 months can be a daunting task, but you got this! Think multi-use items and keep it simple. You can always pick up things while traveling, but sending items back home is much more of a chore. A few final reminders….
- Many of you are taking PSU courses and we encourage you to contact the rest of the group (using contact info from your student login) if you would like to share books with anyone to reduce your packing load.
- If you have asthma please get a doctors note stating that you are cleared for SCUBA diving and bring that for the company we work with for our diving experience.
- Lastly, our flight is long so a book, some snacks, your passport and a warmer layer are great to have around. Any snacks left over you will declare at customs in New Zealand.
We look forward to seeing you at the Air New Zealand check-in counter at LAX on September, 13 @ 5:30pm! Look for us in the Carpe Diem t-shirts.
Here's to a great expedition together!
Lolly + Eric
