Happy Friday world! It is I, Janaya Feaster and I am reporting to you from esj Tower hotel in Puerto Rico. Sadly, we are leaving in a few hours to come back to negative degree weather :( however, my time here in Puerto Rico was definitely enjoyable. Our hotel was right behind the beach so every morning after practice the team went straight to the ocean to lay out and swim. We also toured El Yunque Rainforest and that was pretty interesting to see the different scenery throughout the park. There was a waterfall in the middle of rainforest and some of the team jumped in to take a picture and stand il under the falls so that was a cool experience. The water was freezing however so we didn't stay in there for too long. My favorite take away from this trip was the bio luminescent bay. We kayaked in pairs through the dark bay and as we were paddling, we could see the plankton glowing in the water. Overall, it was a fun trip of learning about the Puerto Rican culture.

PUERTO RICO!!!!!

Hello all it's KEEKS sitting in the lobby in Puerto Rico awaiting the time to go home. I'm sad that it's time to leave I had such an amazing time and experience! Whoever came up with the idea to come to Puerto Rico you rock! I learned what a plankton was because of course I was thinking about the little person from spongebob lol. The bioluminescent bay was the coolest thing ever. I have never been kayaking so I was nervous of course but it was cool and it's safe to say that I'm a pro now. It kind of reminded me of avatar. Laying out on the beach was fun of course it was so pretty and the water felt amazing. It was cool to experience a different culture because the area around us was not what we were use to. Puerto Rico is such a beautiful place to visit but at the same everyone does not live a beautiful life it's kind of rough. Also being around people who hardly speak English you learn to adopt and ask questions that they understand, so they give you a answer that you understand. The rainforest was really cool and they have the prettiest waterfall I have ever seen. We learned there's no mosquito in the rainforest because the bats eat them also bamboo is grass and it grows 3 centimeters a day. I would come back here in a heart beat because the weather is absoultely gorgeous the sunshines constantly and the views are breathe taking! I also got to room with Erin Casey and Clara which was fun I shared a bed with Erin and we had great stories every morning of things each of us did while sleeping. I believe this trip made the team a lot closer and I'm excited to see what the new year has in store for us. Thanks to Bw and the coaching staff for allowing us to experience something that will probably only happen once in our lives

Happy new year!
Love shekiera aka keeks

Hello all, this is Gabrielle blogging as I wait to head to Puerto Rico airport to arrive back to good ole Ohio. I cannot believe it is already time to head home! As much as I do not want to leave I am very excited to be heading back home! I really enjoyed traveling to old San Juan and exploring the oldest city in the United States. The bio luminescence bay was also a great learning experience, especially since there are only five luminescence bays in the world. Puerto Rico even happens to have three luminescent bays out of he five. Those are just a few of the memorable time I got to experience. Until next time!

-Gabrielle

Hey Readers!
So here it is, our last night in Puerto Rico :( This week has been such an amazing experience. Not only did we play against some top ranked teams, we were also able to learn so much about the different culture in Puerto Rico while making some pretty great memories. One of my favorite times during this trip was visiting Castillo San Felipe del Morro fort. It was gorgeous, and I loved learning about all of the history it had to offer. I don't want to waste your time telling you about all of the other things we've done such as the bio bay, Old San Juan, and hiking in the rain forest because I know others have already shared about them, but let me express how beautiful it is down here! I'm definitely going to miss the amazing weather and scenery, especially when we have to come back to 20 degree weather :/ Nevertheless, I'm so thankful for this trip before school starts up again! Hope everyone had a great New Year! Let's make this year one to remember!!! 

Till Next Time!

Megan #33 

Puerto Rico

Hey everyone!

Tomorrow is our last day in Puerto Rico and it's been a great time! Yesterday we won an exciting game by one point against Emmanuel in overtime, which was a great way to end 2014. Today was an awesome start to 2015 because we went to the rainforest and did the bioluminescent bay. In the rainforest we went into a waterfall which was freezing but definitely worth going into. I learned that you could actually eat the peel of a banana and that the trees in Puerto Rico don't have any rings if you were to cut them down because they don't hibernate like they do in Ohio. The bioluminescent bay was so much fun because we had the opportunity to paddle in a two person kayak into a lagoon to watch the plankton in the water glow. This trip has been a once in a lifetime experience that went by too quickly and is something I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience with my second family. I'm not looking forward to coming home to the cold temperatures again since it's been 80 degrees and sunny everyday I've been here. Puerto Rico is something I will never forget because I've created great memories with some of the best people and I've had the opportunity to experience some amazing things.

Marissa "Momo" Hellisz #22      

Hi everyone! Today is our last night here at Puerto Rico. The whole trip has been a great experience. My favorite part was walking around Old San Juan. I loved to see the narrow streets and the different culture. Visiting the Castillo San Felipe del Morro fort was so beautiful. Reading the history from throughout the fort was extremely interesting. Today, we visited the rain forest. Our tour guide was highly educated on many facts about everything in the rain forest. One of the most interesting facts about the rain forest is that the trees do not age. The trees here do not form rings inside them because they never lose their leaves. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to travel here and compete in games. Happy New Year!!!

-Katie Smith #5

Hello, this is Geena Gabriel reporting for duty. I cannot believe that it is already the new year and how quickly time has flown. My first semester of college has come and gone and so has my Winter Break!! haha Coming to Puerto Rico for our big trip has been the highlight of the year so far! From just being in 80 degree weather to spending quality time with the team has been a great experience! From reading previous blogs, you have already found out what we have done and my favorite so far was the Bio-bay. It was something that I have never experienced before and it is something that i will remember forever!!!!!! I am very upset that we have to leave tomorrow but all good things must come to an end. This week has gone by way too fast and I wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year!! (: GOOOOOOOO JACKETSSSSSSS

Puerto Rico trip :)

Hey everyone!
This is Kenzie blogging from Puerto Rico 😁 this trip has definitely been one I will never forget! Yesterday we played against Emmanual and we won by a 1 point at the buzzer! It was crazy. We went into an overtime and at the end they had 12.5 seconds to score and we locked down and stopped them. It was a great feeling to come out with the W. After the game we all went to the beach and then in the evening dressed up and all went out to dinner together for New Years Eve. Today I woke up and went to the beach at 8:30 so I could get some sun before we left for the day. Sydney, Janaya, Audrey, Shari, and I went on jet skis in the ocean. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Then this afternoon we went to the rainforest and went and stood under a big waterfall. It was chilly but totally worth it! Then in the evening we went to the Biolumineciant Bay and it was really awesome to see all the plankton glow. Now we are in our way back to the hotel and tomorrow we have our flights back to Ohio in the evening. I am not looking forward to coming back to the 20 degree weather but it will be nice getting back into the swing of things and see family. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy all our blogs :) And lastly Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2015!

Day 2:
We started the day off by eating wonderful breakfast complimentary of the ESJ Tower hotels. After that, we took a lovely stroll to the Coliseo Guillermo Angulo to play our first game against the 4th nationally ranked Tufts Jumbos. There were a few differences of the court such as the professional three point line and a wider key, but otherwise it was the same as the courts back at home. With a close first half, in favor of the jumbos, we headed in to half time confident and ready to roll. Unfortunately after a good start to the second half, we didn't finish out the game with a win because of costly turnovers.

The part yall really wanna hear about though is the once in a lifetime experience we are getting to have. Though we get angry and sad about losing, we realize that this is just a game and the memories we are making with one another are things that really matter. We usually spend our days on the beach and at the pool. For dinner we go for walks around town exploring the town and trying to find new places to eat and visit. Tomorrow we get to go explore old San juan and see one of the oldest towns in North America. The weather has been in the high 70's and low 80's so I can't complain about that :)

Our next game is Wednesday against Emmanuel at 11 am our time, which is 10 Ohio time. Hope you can tune in and watch us kick butt !!

Peace and blessings,

Shari Mangas #20

Hello friends!!
So it's my first vacation trip out of Ohio and I'm so happy to say it's with my BW teammates in Puerto Rico!!!😄 What an awesome and exciting experience this has been so far...where do I begin?! First off, my first plane ride was terrifying to say the least; heights and roller coasters are 2 of my biggest fears, and with that being said, the plane ride was definitely a challenge but it's proven to be so worth it because Puerto Rico is sweet.☺️ Seeing the beach for the first time was also a huge plus to this trip...I could sit in the sand and watch the waves roll in and out all day long. But most importantly I can't wait for our first games to begin on Monday because it's a great opportunity for us to compete with some top ranked teams!!

Peace and love,
Clara

Here In Puerto Rico!

Hola!

This is Sydney Clark, blogging in PUERTO RICO! The semester has ended and our team did amazing with grades! I was so excited for break because I got to see a lot of my family and friends that I have not seen in a while. Also Christmas was coming and of course our awesome trip to Puerto Rico ! So far it's only been two days on our trip but it's been going great so far. The airplane rides were very smooth and it was so cool when we were flying over the water. The view was amazing. Also we got to go to the beach today which is my favorite part. The water was a perfect temperature and I got to walk around the beach also and see all the other attractions. We play tufts university tomorrow, who is a very good team, so I'm very excited to play them. Being the underdog is always better in my mind because it gets us all hyped up! I'm excited to see what else we get to see and learn while on this trip and also to bring home a couple wins to Berea ! 

Until next time,

Adios, Feliz navidad y feliz nuevo año! 

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