Over the years in Costa Rica and now in Panama and Ecuador, our Safari Surf team has hosted several student groups. Whether these groups are sports teams, youth groups, school programs, or just school friends traveling with a chaperone, we’ve noticed that the students who arrive are not always the same when they leave. We don’t mean they physically change. Other than a minor sunburn or a newfound level of paddle endurance, the students are physically the same when they leave. Emotionally, however, travel seems to change the students who visit for the better. We’ve heard from enough parents to know that travel positively impacts students, and we thought we’d take the time to outline precisely why. Continue reading below for Safari Surf Presents the Benefits of Adventure Travel for Students.
Students Who Travel Learn to Communicate
Students who travel are forced to communicate across language barriers. When our student groups head to the beach or dinner, they must practice Spanish or learn to communicate effectively using their body language. In a world where we often type more words in a day than we speak, putting the device down, looking someone in the eyes, and communicating is a lost art.
Students Travel Introduces Kids to New Cultures & Customs
Beyond working on their Spanish, students are introduced to Costa Rican people and their culture when they travel to Safari Surf School. From learning the true meaning of Pura Vida to understanding how other cultures live, work, and exist daily, there’s real value in this exposure. At the end of the day, the students come away with an appreciation for the slight differences between Costa Rican culture and their own, but ultimately, a deeper understanding that we are all more or less the same.
Student Travel Teaches Critical Thinking
Travel, even from point A to point B, is never easy. Something always goes wrong, and the unexpected always seems to occur at the worst possible time. Students who travel are often forced to think on their feet, exercise their patience, and problem-solve in real time. In situations where the answers are not immediately at their fingertips with the click of a button or tap of a screen, students learn to think critically.
Students Who Surf Learn Perseverance
Anyone who has visited our Costa Rica Surf School or has paddled out into the ocean to surf knows that surfing isn’t easy. Even with the best surf coaches in the industry, learning to surf takes enormous willpower, patience, and perseverance. For starters, surfing is 90% paddling, 9% waiting, and 1% wave riding. However, the sensation of wave riding is so euphoric that we put up with crowded lineups, strenuous paddle outs, sets on the head, and more for the precious time we get gliding across a wave’s face. When students learn to surf, they know patience and perseverance are rewarded. We’ve found that students who learn to surf are able to transfer the skills they’ve acquired to other aspects of their lives, be it school, home, or with their friends.
At Safari Surf School, our mission is to introduce our guests to the power and joy of surfing. We’ve found that we, and our guests, get so much more out of surfing than what we put in. If you’re considering learning to surf, head to our website to start your surfing journey in Costa Rica.
