Photos of the Week 3/6

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Allison Herman

In honor of Winterline’s first program in Africa, we’ve decided to focus this week’s blog exclusively on the incredible photos from Rwanda! Squad 3 has been having an incredible time exploring the town and bonding with the locals through their homestays. This week, the students used some of their free time to go on safari and see beautiful animals up close and personal. See for yourself!

winterline, rwanda, gap year — Safari selfie

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. Want the experience, but unable to dedicate a whole year for travel? Then join our Latin America semester this fall! It’s never too early to start thinking about your future.

Photos of the Week 2/28

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Allison Herman

Happy Friday! This week, Squad 1 is off the grid trekking the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India. Before taking off on this adventure, the students got a course in disaster medicine from the Hanifl Centre. Last week, Squad 2 went through this course, so we’re excited to share photos from their experience. Check out the gorgeous mountain views and examples of life-saving techniques!

Meanwhile, we’re thrilled that, for the first time ever, our students are in Rwanda! Squad 3 is onto the Africa portion of their gap year; after Rwanda, they’re headed to South Africa. For now, the students are living in homestays and exploring the culture of Kigali through artisan skills like cooking and baking, dance, and farming. Stay tuned to keep up with their adventures!

winterline, gap year, thailand — Zoe, Alyssa, and Lauren in Bangkok

winterline, gap year, india — A biker in India | Photo By: Liam McIlwain

winterline, gap year, rwanda — Squad 3 boys playing soccer in Rwanda | Photo By: Alexandra Johansson

Photos of the Week 2/14

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Allison Herman

Our three squads are spread across three different countries this week, and they’re each practicing different skills. Squad 1 is nearing the end of their time in Cambodia, where they took a class in bicycle maintenance before riding to Angkor Wat. They also took a class at Phare Circus School, then split up to pursue advanced skills. Our students had a choice between a 5-day meditation retreat, bicycle touring in Battambang, or getting an Advanced Open Water SCUBA certified off the coast.

Meanwhile, Squad 2 is in Nan, Thailand, where they learned the sport of Muay Thai boxing! The students also got to practice weaving and pottery, and spent some free time exploring the beauty of the countryside. Finally, Squad 3 is in Northern India, where they’ll be trekking the foothills of the Himalayas. Before taking off on this adventure, the students are getting a course in disaster medicine from the Hanifl Centre. It sure has been a busy and exciting week: see for yourself through the eyes (and photos) of our students!

winterline, gap year, cambodia — Zoe learning bike maintenance | Photo By: Liam McIlwain

Photos of the Week 2/7

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Allison Herman

This week, our students have been taking in the jaw-dropping beauty of the Taj Mahal and the grandiosity of the Angkor Wat temple complex. But they’ve been learning, too: creating marble inlays and vision boards, practicing advanced scuba diving, and cooking up a storm. The diversity of skills and culture across Southeast Asia and India are sure to be lifechanging for our students – see for yourself!

7 Tips for Starting Your Own Travel Blog

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Allison Herman

A good travel blogger transports you to the places they are seeing and experiencing; they make you want to go there yourself. So how do you do that?

1. Use an easy-to-use blogging platform.

Although there are a plethora of blogging platforms out there, these are three of the most recommended options available: WordPress.org, Wix.com, and Blogger.com. All three offer simple templates and make it easy to post content and pictures even while using your mobile device. They are perfect for any blogging novice to get set up and running immediately.

2. Use descriptive words to paint a picture.

Composing engaging entries remain the cornerstone of good travel blogs, according to Cameron Wears, of the husband-and-wife blogging team Traveling Canucks (travelingcanucks.com). “The most important thing is to entertain your readers and always share something informative, but interesting. The Internet is overloaded with information and people have enough on their daily agenda, so your posts should be fun,” he says.

Don’t hesitate to add some passion and emotion, along with your humor. Think of a good movie: if you laugh and cry, it’s usually one you want to watch again or share with your family and friends.

3. Use picturesque and inspirational photos and videos.

The saying, “pictures paint a thousand words” is so, so, so true. Words paint the picture, but photos bring the experience to life. Images play such a key role in creating a successful travel blog, but they have to be the right pictures.

Keep in mind that your “visual content” should be more than just typical travel photos of buildings, scenery, or people posing for the camera in a group. Take the time to compose a photo library that includes candids, observations, people currently living in their environment.

Capture the emotions, excitement, and passion of not only the people surrounding you, but also of yourself. This helps bring personality to your blog. Adding quality videos are great, too.

winterline, gap year, travel blog — Silhouettes in India | Photo By: Abby Dulin

4. Make it personal.

You will come into contact with people, occurrences and images that aren’t always positive and uplifting. You should write about your own reactions to the places you visit and the people you meet. People respond to honest posts; posts that divulge your feelings about the places you visit. There are countless travel blogs out there, and what sets them apart are the individual experiences you have.

5. Interview people you have met.

One of the best ways to get to know a new place is by talking to the people who live there. Hear their stories, take their recommendations, learn what they can tell you that a tourist brochure can’t. And then, pass on their wisdom to your readers.

6. Post regularly and share on social media.

It’s not always enough to just post when you feel like it. You should try to keep a regular schedule to keep your reader’s interest. And always share your posts on social media to expand readership. If you don’t think you have time to blog, you can always just share extra pictures. More content means more connections. Always strive to grow your audience and drive traffic to your blog.

7. Post to promote the program.

If you love your program, you’ll want other potential students and parents to participate in and to see the importance of what you’re doing. So tell them about it! Write about what your program is like: the schedule, the locations, the activities, the instructors. Share what you learned, what you enjoyed, and what you wish you would have known before embarking on your adventure.

Winterline in Colorado | Photo By: Pablo Gonzales-Pacheco

Being a travel blogger is one of the best ways to chronicle and share your study abroad trip or gap year experience with your friends and family with the added bonus of gaining blogging experience and continued readership. So, get typing!

Interested in blogging about your journey, but not ready to create a whole site? We’re always looking for guest bloggers! Submit your proposal to allison@winterline.com for a chance to be featured on the Winterline blog.

Photos of the Week 1/31

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Allison Herman

In the second week of Trimester 2, our students have settled back into their squads, new countries, and travel, meaning they’re ready for even more skills and adventure! Just like last week, our students cooked some delicious meals at Bai Pai Thai Cooking School in Bangkok and Ecole Paul Dubrule in Siem Reap. Other skills this week included ceramics, Muay Thai boxing, bicycle maintenance, and cultural exploration of the temples and city streets. Take a look at some of our photos from the past week!

Photos of the Week 1/24

Posted on January 24, 2020January 24, 2020 by Allison Herman

We’re so thrilled to have our students back in the field for Trimester 2! Our squads are in Southeast Asia, spread out among Siem Reap, Cambodia; Nan, Thailand, and Bangkok, Thailand. They’re jumping back in: exploring the colorful streets, admiring the temples and religious monuments, conversing with the locals, and tasting the unique flavors.

In fact, this has been a food-focused week, with our students attending Bai Pai Thai Cooking School in Bangkok and Ecole Paul Dubrule in Siem Reap! Take a look to see the dishes they cooked, sites they’ve seen, and smiles they’ve had since landing in these incredible countries.

Looking for a refresher on Trimester 1? Check out our past Photos of the Week to remind yourself of their earlier adventures.

winterline, gap year, — Beautiful sights in Thailand

Photos of the Week: Trimester 1 Recap

Posted on December 6, 2019 by Allison Herman

The last few months were pretty busy for our students! Now they’re home for a few weeks to rest and recover before jetting off to Southeast Asia in January. With so many skills and adventures, you might have already forgotten what they accomplished during their fir. While you can always look back at our past Photos of the Week to remind yourself, we also have some pictures that were previously unpublished to share. Take a look to see the beach adventures, the tree climbing, the rainforest explorations, the scuba diving, the business building, the urban innovation, the homestays, and more.

winterline, gap year, costa rica, panama — Ashley basking in the sunlight

Photos of the Week 11/22

Posted on November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 by Allison Herman

We’re very sad to say that Trimester 1 is just about over! Tomorrow, November 23rd, our students will travel back to their homes for winter break to recharge for the next two trimesters. Students who came in as strangers are now family, and it’ll be hard to say goodbye for the next few weeks. But they’ve certainly had an incredible time in Costa Rica and Panama for the past few months, and it won’t be long until they’re reuniting to jet off to Asia!

Take a look at the last photos from Trimester 1 and try not to miss us too much while our students are at home. Don’t worry: you can always look back at our past Photos of the Week to get your fix, and we might even have a special Trimester 1 recap blog coming up soon…

winterline, gap year, costa rica — Alyssa and Veronica used some free time to go bungee jumping!

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. And if you apply between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you’ll automatically save $1,000 on your tuition!

Photos of the Week 11/15

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Allison Herman

We’re back with your weekly fix of our student photos, and some added critters and creatures in the mix! There’s still plenty to see from our students in Costa Rica: more photos from Monteverde ISPs, more sustainable fishing with ConnectOcean, and more sustainability education at Rancho Mastatal. Even though all three squads work with the same partners and learn the same skills, their experiences are entirely individual.

You know what that means: you can’t really understand the Winterline experience until you have it yourself!

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 11/8

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Allison Herman

Our three squads are back in Costa Rica, and if you can believe it, there’s only two weeks left of Trimester 1! We’re happy to say that our students are still having an amazing time in Central America. This week, Squad 3 is off on their Monteverde ISPs, learning skills like recycled paper-making and neotropical bird monitoring. Squad 2 has been in the water, learning ocean safety with ConnectOcean and getting scuba certified with Pacific Coast Dive Center. Finally, Squad 1 is enjoying some time off the grid at Rancho Mastatal, so stay tuned for their photos when they resurface on WiFi next week!

Which Costa Rican partner would you most like to work with and learn from on a Winterline gap year? It’s hard to choose: as you can tell from the photos below, they’re all an amazing experience!

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 11/1

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Allison Herman

Sadly, the time has come for our students to say goodbye to Panama. After a busy few weeks of business bootcamp, urban innovation workshops, and city exploration, our students rounded off their trip by relaxing on the beaches of Panama’s San Blas Islands. From dipping into the crystal clear waters, to petting some friendly dogs, to savoring some local meals, the students put their last few days in this country to good use.

Check out the last of this year’s Panama photos and stay tuned for updates from the students as they return to Costa Rica!

winterline, gap year, panama — Ashley and Alexandra swimming | Photo By: Emma Macfayden

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 10/25

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Allison Herman

Our students have made progress in Panama! They’ve been hard at work with Giro Urbano Panama, tackling community issues for their urban innovation segment. During this time, the students worked to improve the quality of life for residents in the Miraflores neighborhood of Panama through innovation, tactical tools, and applied methodology.

One of these projects has been learning to design and build cities. To achieve this goal,they’ve worked on improving safety and promoting community-neighborhood interaction by highlighting crosswalks. Check out the finished results below, as well as some more photos from the visit to Parará Purú, an indigenous community outside of Panama City.

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 10/18

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Allison Herman

Our students sure have been busy in Panama! They explored Panama City and learned how to take public transportation. They visited the Panama Canal to learn about its history and creation. They also visited the Embera village of Parará Purú, an indigenous community outside of Panama City. Throughout all of these experiences, the students have had the opportunity to interact with local citizens and have their worldviews broadened.

Alongside these experiences, our students have begun their urban innovation and business bootcamp workshops! This involves the students speaking to the people of Panama City about what areas in their community need improvement. The next step is for our students to collaborate and find sustainable solutions to some of these problems. Check out what this week has looked like, and stay tuned to see what results they come up with!

Showing off the Winterline logo | Photo By: Veronica Allmon

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 10/11

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Allison Herman

Can you believe our students are already on to the next country? That’s right: this week they arrived in Panama City, where lessons on the city and canal wait, as do a business bootcamp, visit to an indigenous community, and urban innovation workshop.

If you’re sad to say goodbye to Costa Rica, we have good news for you! After a few weeks in Panama, our students will be headed back to this country to finish off Trimester 1. But for the time being, enjoy these photos as the last highlights from Costa Rica.

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 10/4

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Allison Herman

Let the skills begin! This week, our three squads split up to head for different partners. Squad 1 is experiencing their Trimester 1 ISP in Monteverde, Squad 2 is off at Rancho Mastatal (with no WiFi, so stay tuned for their photos next week), and Squad 3 is exploring the seas with ConnectOcean and Pacific Coast Dive Center.

Each of our squads will visit all of these partners and learn the abundance of skills offered, which range from permaculture to scuba diving to cooking and everything in between. If this sounds interesting to you, just wait until you see these pictures – you’ll be filled with wanderlust!

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 9/27

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Allison Herman

Trimester 1 began with our students traveling south to work with Outward Bound Costa Rica. Their 11 days with this amazing partner have just come to an end, but they were full of new adventures, beautiful sights, and challenging skills. From exploring the city of San José and becoming immersed in its culture to technical tree climbing, Spanish language learning, and becoming Wilderness First Aid certified, our students sure have been busy.

Take a look at some of these experiences captured on camera! If you’re interested in seeing more from Outward Bound Costa Rica, you can check them out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

winterline, gap year, costa rica, outward bound — Zoe shooting hoops | Photo By: Veronica Allmon

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!

Photos of the Week 9/20

Posted on September 20, 2019 by Allison Herman

We are so excited to announce that our 2019-2020 gap year has officially begun! On September 11th, students from all three of our squads met up at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, for orientation. Each individual squad began their own journey in Costa Rica this week, but it was amazing seeing students from each group bond as one entire Winterline family at orientation.

Below, we’ve chosen some of our favorite photos from Colorado to share with you. Be sure to stay tuned, as we’ll be posting Photos of the Week every Friday for the next 9 months as our squads move across the globe, some going to places Winterline students have never been before. Here’s to the best gap year yet!

winterline, gap year, orientation, colorado — All 3 Winterline squads at orientation! | Photo by: Erica Schultz

Winterline in nature | Photo by: Eliza Valley

Hannah and Peyton showing off the Winterline logo | Photo by: Erica Schultz

If you’re interested in living this journey for yourself, apply now for our 2020-2021 gap year. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future!