After everyone got around we began our closing ceremony by lighting a candle that represented our bond as a group. Johan showed us a leaf and a stick and instructed us to share what one thing will “stick” with us from this trip, and what one thing we will be leaving behind. We went around the circle sharing our major takeaways from the trip, which included many tears and laughs. The group was really comfortable sharing their emotions, and we felt a strong connection to one another as we reflected on all the memories made over the past week. A few major takeaways were the importance of community and simplicity, separation from our phones, and the importance of reflection time during our hectic lives. At the end, we blew out the candle to symbolize the end of our first WLS trip.
Day 8: Thursday, March 27, 2025
By Jaya and Ella
We started our morning with breakfast around 8 a.m. and came prepared with all of our bags packed for our long day of travel ahead. Breakfast was as usual: toast, eggs, fresh fruit, and hot coffee. With that, we also had croissants and Jeramy made a batch of smoothies with the raspberries gifted to us from Fernando’s farm. We were able to relax for about an hour and a half before starting our outdoor group activities. We repeated a rock, paper, scissors variation from a few days ago along with a reflection activity on group bonds. The group split in half with the first half closing their eyes and sticking their hands out in front of them. At this point, no one knew what was going on and everyone was pretty confused as to why they were blindly standing across from the other people. Johan then instructed the not-blind-people to high-five the people on the other side according to different prompts; for example: “someone who helped you through a challenging time” or “someone new you connected with.” In the end, it was a great way to reflect on the bonds built on the trip and show gratitude to those you connected with.
We then got on the bus for the first leg of the journey back to Buenos Aires. The bus ride was long and winding while we took in the scenic mountain views (and caught up on some much-needed sleep). We soon arrived at the airport where we checked in, stopped for some delicious veggie empanadas, and made our way to our gate. Our flight left at about 3 p.m. and arrived at around 5:30 p.m. We then collected our luggage and made our way back to Folk Hostel, where we had spent our first night of the trip.
After resting and unpacking for an hour we got ready for dinner and gathered as a group for our final ceremony and closing activity. We started with an activity where we reflected on our own leadership qualities and values throughout the trip by writing them down on a piece of paper. After that, we taped the paper to each others’ backs, so that our writing was facing our backs and couldn’t be seen and went around writing the leadership values we saw in others throughout the trip on their backs. Seeing a train of people crouching and trying to write on each other’s backs was a pretty funny sight.
After everyone got around we began our closing ceremony by lighting a candle that represented our bond as a group. Johan showed us a leaf and a stick and instructed us to share what one thing will “stick” with us from this trip, and what one thing we will be leaving behind. We went around the circle sharing our major takeaways from the trip, which included many tears and laughs. The group was really comfortable sharing their emotions, and we felt a strong connection to one another as we reflected on all the memories made over the past week. A few major takeaways were the importance of community and simplicity, separation from our phones, and the importance of reflection time during our hectic lives. At the end, we blew out the candle to symbolize the end of our first WLS trip.
In a quick change of pace we walked a few blocks to our steakhouse dinner. We were seated on the balcony, where our waiter impressively memorized all 26 drink orders, give or take. After settling in, three students (Ali, Anjali, and Ella) spoke on behalf of the group, sharing personalized gratitude to each of our instructors (Jeramy, Johan, and Conrado). We expressed how we couldn’t thank them enough for all that they did to ensure a meaningful and impactful trip. Each one got an MFS apparel gift, a small token to express our immense gratitude.
The three students then also thanked our faculty, Ms. de la Torre and Señora Henneberry, for all that they had done to make this trip possible.
Shortly after the speeches, the sky opened up and rained for the first time all trip. We can’t really complain due to the incredible weather otherwise, but the group was forced to take their plates and relocate inside. We had delicious steaks, potatoes, salads, and more, before leaving our last dinner of the trip and heading back to the hostel. We got back around 11 p.m. and our final curfew was set for midnight exactly.
Everyone was very tired, full, and content by the end of the night. Overall, we couldn’t ask for a better way to end the trip and reflect on our time spent as a group in this incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.