{"id":15278,"date":"2017-05-11T14:35:16","date_gmt":"2017-05-11T14:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/?p=15278"},"modified":"2024-01-30T11:59:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T16:59:05","slug":"bonaire-study-abroad-adventures-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/bonaire-study-abroad-adventures-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonaire Study Abroad Adventures continue… Best Birthday Ever!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting the opportunity to participate on the Bonaire Study Abroad program is such a blessing, but waking up in Bonaire on your twenty first birthday is the best it gets! I woke up this morning and enjoyed breakfast on the water with some of the best friends I’ve made. As the past few days have been action packed and so amazing, I knew we had to be in for a treat today. We left the resort a bit early to\u00a0 <\/span>head out for our morning dives and all I felt was the rush of happiness and bliss fall over me endlessly.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew the Lord was with me starting the first dive when we spotted a LARGE mature male loggerhead passing in front of the group, as sea turtles are my favorite, and I have been dying to see one during the trip. Later we saw a green sea turtle as well, and finished our second dive by following a spotted eagle ray on our way back up the reef. Absolutely amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n

After diving we went back to the resort to freshen up and get some lunch before our next adventure. I was walking out to the beach where the group was sitting to join for lunch, when all of the sudden everyone starts to sing happy birthday to me. I notice what’s going on and I am just filled with joy. As the song comes to a sweet end, Professor Fernandes whips out a beautiful classic Dutch cake to treat me with, and Dr Miller explains that everyone wanted to make my 21st birthday special, as it is a big day and this is my first trip out of the country. He presented me with the most perfect gift picked out by all my friends! They got me a hand painted plank designed by an artist who stays at or near Buddy’s. It featured the line “No Hurry, No Worry – Bonaire” accompanied by two beautifully painted sea turtles. It was hard not to bring out the waterworks, as I was just astonished at the love these people have showed me today to make sure my day is special.<\/span><\/p>\n

For our next adventure of the day on our Bonaire Study Abroad program, the crew traveled to the south eastern side of the island to do a trash clean up. Some people may have thought this would be the last way I want to spend my birthday, but to be blessed the way I have been by coming here and having loving friends… it’s the least I can do to give back for what Bonaire has already given me in four days<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our group collected 15 duffel bags full of plastic off the coral rubble wash-up of the SE beach. So much collected, and yet so much left to collect after filling our trucks, felt bitter sweet. We were doing a nice thing but I still felt a little defeated at this moment by the human footprint. But then I felt a peace come over me as I realize it is this small change that influences more small change, and more compassion and care for the environment. We dropped the trash of at a local plastic management site that we were working with and were on our way. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that it feels better knowing that the beaches are 15 bags less of trash.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming to the end of the day, I feel truly blessed to be able to experience this Bonaire Study Abroad program and all the amazing things we are doing here. I can’t wait to bring all my information learned home and share with my friends and family. And hopefully one day, I can use it to put me where I want to be in my career to make an even bigger change on the environment and society.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now to get ready for my first night dive ever!! This birthday can never be topped!<\/span><\/p>\n

To learn how to participate in an experience like the Bonaire Study Abroad program at SPC, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting the opportunity to participate on the Bonaire Study Abroad program is such a blessing, but waking up in Bonaire on your twenty first birthday is the best it gets! I woke up this morning and enjoyed breakfast on the water with some of the best friends I’ve made. As the past few days have … Continue reading Bonaire Study Abroad Adventures continue… Best Birthday Ever!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1024,"featured_media":15286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bonaire","category-study-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1024"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15278"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22373,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15278\/revisions\/22373"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}