Honestly, DP orientation wasn’t my favorite. Leading up to it, there wasn’t much excitement I felt since the 2 years before I had gone on the same trip with the same people. I didn’t intend on going into it with a negative outlook I was more so just retracted into my shell wishing to be in my own space. The week before I had been in the US surrounded by my family at all times, so I felt like slowing down the adventure and relaxing a little bit, I hoped that maybe chilling with everyone in the big pavilion would help. However, this wasn’t the case, In Borderlands there was never a time when I was alone, I was constantly surrounded by people, and being an introvert and having a low social battery I wasn’t a fan of the trip. There were some good moments when I was in smaller groups and felt a little more comfortable talking, like for example late at night when I would talk to Avi, Ben, or Stephie. It was very peaceful and I felt calm. Of the activities, I really enjoyed the first canyoning (Pic on the right) as it was in the first couple hours of the trip, so I didn’t feel that battered down. I also loved the jumps off the canyons. My favorite was Marvel Canyon because it was the biggest jump and being in the lake felt amazing, but I also enjoyed jumping off the first canyon as I was able to do my first backflip. I wasn’t scared, but I had never done it and fully committed which I am glad I was able to do. The thing I enjoyed the most was the evening dinners, after we all showered, it felt fantastic to just lie down after a long day. If I were to go back and do the whole experience again, I would try and enjoy myself more. In the moments where I did have fun, I wasn’t overthinking about being myself and goofing around, so I would’ve wished to go into it with a more positive mindset. I also wished to have connected to people more, I felt like I just spoke to my already-made friends and didn’t really branch out to talk to many others.
Relating to the IB learner profiles:
Communicating: I think the main learner profile that I practiced was communicating. At times students were pulled from their groups so that they could instruct us how to do the action. I remember Yethman directed me to jump into a small hole by showing me where to jump and telling me how to position myself, I remember Peter and Arnav communicating with each other so that they could make a wall to direct water to flow in a certain way. We also had team-building exercises where we had to work as a group to position ourselves on a mat and flip it over.
Caring/Open-Minded: These two go hand in hand. When we were doing anything, whether it be rafting or canyoning, we were always checking up on each other and being considerate of each other.
Reflective: We reflected every night in our notebooks on our day whether it be about TOK or just a general reflection on what IB learner profile we used that day
Risk-takers: I wouldn’t say I was particularly risk-taking other than my backflip, but I can definitely speak for others when I say we are all extremely proud of one another doing the 9-meter jump and doing the canyoning without any injuries.