Idaho Expedition Reflections

This week, Alzar School students returned from their first block of expeditions! They carried belongings on their backs through the Gospel Hump Wilderness and paddled their hearts out along the Salmon River. Upon returning to campus, students were excited to dry their clothes, warm their appendages, and sleep in their beds. Although some students, particularly those living in Salmon Yurt, returned to campus insistent upon replicating their time in the outdoors by sleeping on the floor.

As students have been catching up on sleep and comfort food, it has been clear that their experiences in the wilderness have been transformational thus far. Here are some quotes students chose to share regarding their experiences:

• “When life gives you limes, rearrange it to spell SMILE.”
• “Oh my goodness.”
• “Huck and pray.”
• “Keep calm and carry on.”
• “Don’t shove me off the paddle raft again” 
• “The rain clears smoke.” (literally AND metaphorically)
• “It’s always full send Friday.”
• “10% is what happens, 90% is how you react.”
• “Sand. It’s coarse, rough, and it gets everywhere.”
• “We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We are going to live on, we are going to survive.”

And a word cloud depicting choice words students selected to describe their experiences in one word:

Next, Alzar School mentors will work with each of the Fall 2020 students to set personal goals and to discuss both successes as well as points of growth in terms of contributions to their expedition community. Students will have the chance to apply feedback and strive for new achievements during the second block of expeditions, which is just around the corner! Stay tuned.