I had no idea what to expect on the first day of the New Zealand excursion. Many of us were sleep deprived from the plane and I personally knew I was not feeling my best, and I am quite confident others felt the same. Despite any notable roadblocks to our immersion, we all kept an incredibly positive and uplifting attitude the whole day.
With a group size of 18, it can often be hard for such a positive vibe to maintain, but for this group, it was almost impossible not to be smiling ear to ear, as one group member told us absurdly funny stories about her flight experiences.
I wondered what could possibly be playing a role in this. All of these people are wonderful of course, but when you put 16 sleep deprived/ hungry college students in close quarters can often be disastrous.
After our first debrief this evening, my question was answered.
Gratitude.
Tonight, each and every one of us shared one thing that we were personally grateful for since beginning the trip. Every person’s answer differed slightly, of course, but the main takeaway was that we were all happy to have each other to lean on for pep talks and positive vibes. Some of the group had a spontaneous trip to the beach where they all hiked down together and played in the gorgeous ocean water that the New Zealand beaches had to offer. Others gathered in a group teaching others card games and playing them, bonding and getting to know each other even better than we had before.
And this is only Day 1!
We have 27 more days together and I can only see it getting better from here. When you step back from all the stress of international travel, there is so much gratitude that is to be had by the people you are spending your time with.
