Goodbye Easter Island

The amount of gratitude towards this trip is inexplicable. All the things we wished to accomplish, were accomplished. As a group, we grew close and got to know each other. Every single one of the faces in the picture, can in some way portray what the trip was for us, and how every one of us got to enjoy it in a different way. We were all eager to return home to our beds, but at the same time extremely dispirited because the trip was then going to become a memory we leave behind to remember, not an experience we have yet to live through. However, we took advantage of it as much as we could, and there is no other way we could've enjoyed more. 

Anakena Beach

The beach there, was about 200 meters long and at the same time one of the most beautiful beaches on Earth. So many incredible experiences were offered by this trip, it made each of us more complete. 

The Camping Experience

Camping Experience:

•  Five girls in one tent (the one in the picture above).
• Common bathrooms for 40 students.
• Snoring in tents beside ours, very audible.
• Mosquitoes and insects inside our tent every day and night (cockroaches!).
• Mud and grass inside our tent from the raining. 

However...

• I got to share a week with five of my best friends. 
• I could experience a new way of living, and it taught me many new things about myself. 
• Living in a island isolates you, making you connect with yourself and others, realizing all the things you've got to appreciate. 
• One of the best learning experiences I've ever had!

In synthesis, the camping experience taught me so many valuable lessons, the good and the hard way. There were hardships to overcome and adjust to, but none of it was impossible; it was more like a challenge to step out of our comfort zone as we enjoyed a new experience. 

The cemetery...

This was the cemetery that was right next to the town, and we passed by it often. Having it right there, next to the space everyone proceeds with their daily life was unnerving and breathtaking. Walking by cemeteries, will always have some sort of effect on everyone, whether it is a gratifying one or a sorrowful one depends on the person and their induced values. Either way, it is a unique moment that in this island was specially interesting because getting to observe their creation of a graveyard was astonishing. 

Smile

  Interaction   Love   Joy   Age   Memories   Simplicity   Nothingness   Core   Beauty   Swings   Innocence   Meaning   Barefoot   Equality   Essence   Care                                                              

Smile. 

Sunset

 This evening can be portrayed by these three simple images. Emotions evoked are to many to name, yet the happiness is one that filled the environment and made us come together as a group. We were told to sit down, watch the sunset in complete silence until the sun was down. A simple thing like a sunset, drove every single one of us into deep thoughts such as how important a sunset is; they're what keeps our days going. We took 5 short minutes, to observe this scenario and realize what we really need in life instead of what we just want because of greed. 

These people from Rapa Nui came to play the guitar that same evening along with the fire place. Simple things like this one, resulted in one of the most emotional times one could have. In a way, it purified everyone of us and that was accompanied to the fact that everyone could really connect with their inner self. Those are the times one can remember who one is, and what it is that really matters. 

Lifestyle

Seeing this on the dock of the town, the way people use their free time and enjoy it more than anything we would enjoy, was gratifying. It felt warm to see moments like this that would naturally bring a smile to our faces, because they reminded us that there is more to life than material things. The things we see as less significant, are the ones that will make us the happiest. 

That kind of view...

During the day, we traveled through the island and this is the typical landscape we would see everyday. Not extremely green, nor blue. This wasn't that kind of view that was so special and incredible because of its features and colors, but the one you come to appreciate because of the beauty in its simplicity.

We need to look outside of the box!

This picture merely shows the amount of mystery that the island has to offer. Erosion has covered the moais so we can only see their heads, this is just a parodied image to illustrate the conundrums of Rapa Nui.

A little bit of background...

For "us", the foreigners.. it is Easter Island or Isla de Pascua. However for the natives, it is Rapa Nui which means the "land's end" or the "navel of the world".



It is a unique culture in the world; a week of  getting to live with such a lifestyle makes you realize many things...