Hello parents,
I just spoke to Anna Tuttle who told me the group is just about to take off from Miami. Because of a delay, the estimated arrival time of AA 410 is now 11:40 p.m. in Nashville. Our instructor Jason Hunter, and country coordinator Adela Arenas, really enjoyed this group. They had a very positive attitude living and working in a very rural Peruvian town. They created an internet lab for a school in Piscacucho, Peru, which now allows WLS to continue to work with the teachers and students on teaching internet skills. Thank you so much for the support of our programs, your children were a blessing to have in Peru,
Ross Wehner
Executive Director, World Leadership School
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
End of the trip- from Mitchell
Hello gang. This is Mitchell. My favorite part of this trip was being with the family and learning about their culture. We went on this 15 mile hike, which at the time was terrible, ended up being one of my favorite parts about the trip. Machu Picchu was one of the coolest sights I have ever seen. We made a huge impact on this school. One classroom started with 3 tons of beans filled in the room, and now it is cleaned out, repaved and painted. Our family was very nice and she gave us some gifts for my family at home. I had a great time.
Santa Rosa, Cuzco
Hey yall! Here in Cuzco. Today we went to an all girls' public school, which was quite a change from the small elementary school we did our service at. It was beautiful. You enter from the streets and step into this huge gated oasis. The school is three stories high with a courtyard in the middle. The girls were amazing. They spoke almost fluent English. After lunch with them, they gave each of us a book of Inkan Legends in Spanish, English, and Quechua that they had helped create.
Peru is amazing!!! Best trip ever.
-Laura
Peru is amazing!!! Best trip ever.
-Laura
Cusco- from John
Today we went to Cusco and our sister school. The school was completely different from the one we worked at in Piscacucho. It was nice and the students were incredibly orderly. The classrooms and things were nice. The girls were kind of crazy and were excited to see American boys. Then we walked around the city. This whole trip has been fun.
Cusco- Jack
Today we woke up in Ollantaytambo ate breakfast and got on a bus to Cusco. When we got to Cusco we went to one of the best schools in the area. It was an all girls school, i cant remember the name. We ate lunch with them. The girls at the school had some odd fascination with Thomas. They formed a line of at least 30 girls to take a picture with him. Thomas really enjoyed it and he said, "Why don't girls in America like me like this". After the school we had free time in Cusco and we are about to go to dinner before we leave tomorrow.
Last Day In Peru
On Wednesday we finished our Service Project with the Piscacucho elementary school (Primeria). We were able to finish painting all the walls, built all the bookshelves, painted them, built all the tables, painted them with fun designs, and took a final picture in front of our favorite wall mural. The room looks beautiful and Graham, the project coordinator, said it would be a "much loved room."
After we finished work we had a traditional Pachamanca "earth oven" celebration with all of our families and the workers on the project. The men of the families spent all day building a rock earth oven, put in meat, potatoes, and beans, and then collapsed the oven on top of itself to cook everything for a half hour. After checking a potato to make sure it was done, they served the community out of their home-made pit barbecue, and we all had too much meat to eat.
Thursday we said goodbye to our families as the sun rose and headed on the train from Piscacucho to Macchu Picchu. Piscacucho is also where most people begin the Incan Trail (kilometer 82), so we saw several groups of hikers heading off to Macchu Picchu on foot. They will get there in four days- it took us about 1 hour in the nice traincar with a dome roof so we could see views of the mountains and Urubamba river all around. We spent much of the day with a tour guide from Macchu Picchu and then hiked all the way to the sun gate (the entrance to Macchu Picchu from the Incan Trail). That was hard but the views were well worth it. The "lost city" is still architecturally beautiful, and unbelievable. We'll post pictures when we get back to the states.
Jason and Adela treated us to dinner at a local adobe-oven pizza place, Pachamama's, in Ollantaytambo last night. Very fun and delicious, but we were also very tired from sightseeing, walking, and hiking all day. But it was a good kind of tired.
Today we are finishing our Leadership Curriculum where students will try to come up with their own ideas for future projects and enhancements we can give to the city of Piscacucho. Then we'll head to Cusco to meet Ensworth's partner school, the Santa Rosa Collegio. We have heard this is the nicest school in the entire Sacred Valley so we are anxious to see the differences between this school and the Primeria where we worked for two weeks. We'll have a little time this afternoon to see some ruins in Cusco and shop for souvenirs before our final group dinner. Early tomorrow morning, we'll be headed back to the states.
Everyone says hello and misses their families but all of your students have kept their spirits so high and taken advantage of every opportunity on this trip! Thanks for sending them to spend their time here.
See you Saturday,
Anna
After we finished work we had a traditional Pachamanca "earth oven" celebration with all of our families and the workers on the project. The men of the families spent all day building a rock earth oven, put in meat, potatoes, and beans, and then collapsed the oven on top of itself to cook everything for a half hour. After checking a potato to make sure it was done, they served the community out of their home-made pit barbecue, and we all had too much meat to eat.
Thursday we said goodbye to our families as the sun rose and headed on the train from Piscacucho to Macchu Picchu. Piscacucho is also where most people begin the Incan Trail (kilometer 82), so we saw several groups of hikers heading off to Macchu Picchu on foot. They will get there in four days- it took us about 1 hour in the nice traincar with a dome roof so we could see views of the mountains and Urubamba river all around. We spent much of the day with a tour guide from Macchu Picchu and then hiked all the way to the sun gate (the entrance to Macchu Picchu from the Incan Trail). That was hard but the views were well worth it. The "lost city" is still architecturally beautiful, and unbelievable. We'll post pictures when we get back to the states.
Jason and Adela treated us to dinner at a local adobe-oven pizza place, Pachamama's, in Ollantaytambo last night. Very fun and delicious, but we were also very tired from sightseeing, walking, and hiking all day. But it was a good kind of tired.
Today we are finishing our Leadership Curriculum where students will try to come up with their own ideas for future projects and enhancements we can give to the city of Piscacucho. Then we'll head to Cusco to meet Ensworth's partner school, the Santa Rosa Collegio. We have heard this is the nicest school in the entire Sacred Valley so we are anxious to see the differences between this school and the Primeria where we worked for two weeks. We'll have a little time this afternoon to see some ruins in Cusco and shop for souvenirs before our final group dinner. Early tomorrow morning, we'll be headed back to the states.
Everyone says hello and misses their families but all of your students have kept their spirits so high and taken advantage of every opportunity on this trip! Thanks for sending them to spend their time here.
See you Saturday,
Anna
Monday, July 5, 2010
Peru vs. Kenya
Dear Readers,
Well we decided to check in on how our friends in Kenya are doing on their trip. Wow! 35 posts stacked up against our lowly 12... I guess we know who´s doing more work! Ha, I am mostly kidding, but seriously, we have ¨heard¨ our cross-globe WLS students are staying in a nice dorm, with Internet, cooks, translators at their homestays, probably AC, a soda machine, television, massages, and a Starbucks (I deduced this from reading about all the delicious `chai` they are drinking)...Life here in Peru is a little different...
Friendly competition aside, work on the classroom is going very well. We were impressed to hear about all of the work the Kenya students have accomplished. We learned a lesson in Peru pace when we attempted to start our project but first had to move over 3 tons of beans out of the room we are making into a library. We are painting murals but have to make sure to take time to show the school kids how to paint and help them paint parts of their classrooms, because they want to be involved with our project so much.
Our students are just loving the homestays. The mamas have been so generous with their cooking, space, and love that all of our hearts have been warmed. It will be difficult to leave them even though we´ll be rewarded by seeing Machu Pichu and experiencing our 2nd hot shower of the trip (this Thursday).
We`re in our homestays until Thursday, and we`ll be able to have student blogs again when we get back to Ollanta that evening. To write this post we had to navigate about 6 sockets, 3 modems, 2 computers, contless wires, and a satelite dish, all while keeping an eye on the loose wire hanging from the wall in the `mudroom of casa de Mario`(my homestay)... he is the President of the community so he gets to have a computer. Not sure how many more times we´ll be able to successfully log on.
Off to bed- it`s 815...Mama will be here at 5 to cook us breakfast.
-Peru Trip Leaders
Well we decided to check in on how our friends in Kenya are doing on their trip. Wow! 35 posts stacked up against our lowly 12... I guess we know who´s doing more work! Ha, I am mostly kidding, but seriously, we have ¨heard¨ our cross-globe WLS students are staying in a nice dorm, with Internet, cooks, translators at their homestays, probably AC, a soda machine, television, massages, and a Starbucks (I deduced this from reading about all the delicious `chai` they are drinking)...Life here in Peru is a little different...
Friendly competition aside, work on the classroom is going very well. We were impressed to hear about all of the work the Kenya students have accomplished. We learned a lesson in Peru pace when we attempted to start our project but first had to move over 3 tons of beans out of the room we are making into a library. We are painting murals but have to make sure to take time to show the school kids how to paint and help them paint parts of their classrooms, because they want to be involved with our project so much.
Our students are just loving the homestays. The mamas have been so generous with their cooking, space, and love that all of our hearts have been warmed. It will be difficult to leave them even though we´ll be rewarded by seeing Machu Pichu and experiencing our 2nd hot shower of the trip (this Thursday).
We`re in our homestays until Thursday, and we`ll be able to have student blogs again when we get back to Ollanta that evening. To write this post we had to navigate about 6 sockets, 3 modems, 2 computers, contless wires, and a satelite dish, all while keeping an eye on the loose wire hanging from the wall in the `mudroom of casa de Mario`(my homestay)... he is the President of the community so he gets to have a computer. Not sure how many more times we´ll be able to successfully log on.
Off to bed- it`s 815...Mama will be here at 5 to cook us breakfast.
-Peru Trip Leaders
From Caroline Johnson
Hey! It’s gorgeous here! I love it. Yesterday we had alpaca steak and some green mashed potatoes for our big Fourth of July dinner. Then we had some Inca cola and a brownie with really sweet ice cream. Yum yum yum! it was a great meal for the day after our fifteen mile hike! It was a party! Especially when your knees hurt, but it’s all good I got to ride a Peruvian pony for a while and so did Ms. McDougall! We are about to go buy last minute gifts before we hike the ruins with Adela’s husband. I love my host family the kids are so sweet, except Lucho, the 4 year old, likes to throw things… and Nathan, he LOVES the cow! Adios! Love Caroline
From Keely
Hey EVERYONE!!! Just to let all of yall know…. This place is the bomb dot com.
I want the world to know it. Ill shout it from the rooftops. Come to peru! The food is great, the shopping is great, and the bed bugs love me and callie, cause we are so stinkin sweet! Love you mom and trip and Kathleen and alec and jake and Thomas and Marley and lany and rudy. God love you all. Happy 5th of july!
P.S. Morgan loves you trip!
I want the world to know it. Ill shout it from the rooftops. Come to peru! The food is great, the shopping is great, and the bed bugs love me and callie, cause we are so stinkin sweet! Love you mom and trip and Kathleen and alec and jake and Thomas and Marley and lany and rudy. God love you all. Happy 5th of july!
P.S. Morgan loves you trip!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ensworth Is Doing Great
Hi Everyone! Just a quick note to follow up with what the students are saying. We are in a beautiful country with such friendly people, scenic views, and lots of important work to do. Everywhere we go, everyone says "buenos dias" as you pass them on the street. The mountains are breathtaking. We climbed up to 14,000 feet yesterday (and 15 miles!) and were definitely breathing a lot more than you regularly have to at 0 altitude. It was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding. We hiked down through the other side of the Sacred Valley from where we are staying, and were on a small, secluded, side path next to a river for over an hour. The plants were amazing!! We passed through herds of goats, cows, sheep, alpaca, and llama on the road. It was just like you would imagine rural Peru. We would be hiking for hours without seeing anyone and then all the sudden come across a boy tending his sheep.
Our service project is rolling and we have started to paint our murals. Tomorrow we'll go back to work and focus on painting, filling holes in the floor and walls, building tables, and hooking up electric sockets for the school's new computers- all while taking breaks to play with the kids at recess (it seems to last all day long while we are there- they are so interested in us and want to play all day!).
We are having trouble uploading lots of photos while we are in rural Peru but will add them to posts once we get back to the States so you can see all we are doing and where we have been going.
I just wanted to drop in and say the students have been amazing. They have been up for anything, keeping smiles on their faces and working hard at our service tasks and taking very good care of each other. I have been glad to hear the best parts of their days and things they appreciate about this trip each evening at dinner and reflection. I really appreciate your students and being a part of this special trip with them. They are awesome and I am very very proud of them! I told them I already knew them in Nashville but feel like I know them in a different way after experiencing this service trip with them. I am so lucky to be their teacher.
Tonight we're having a special 4th of July cookout at The Alberge, a nice hotel here in Ollantaytambo. On the menu- Alpaca steak and brownie sundaes. Yum!
Happy 4th,
Anna
Our service project is rolling and we have started to paint our murals. Tomorrow we'll go back to work and focus on painting, filling holes in the floor and walls, building tables, and hooking up electric sockets for the school's new computers- all while taking breaks to play with the kids at recess (it seems to last all day long while we are there- they are so interested in us and want to play all day!).
We are having trouble uploading lots of photos while we are in rural Peru but will add them to posts once we get back to the States so you can see all we are doing and where we have been going.
I just wanted to drop in and say the students have been amazing. They have been up for anything, keeping smiles on their faces and working hard at our service tasks and taking very good care of each other. I have been glad to hear the best parts of their days and things they appreciate about this trip each evening at dinner and reflection. I really appreciate your students and being a part of this special trip with them. They are awesome and I am very very proud of them! I told them I already knew them in Nashville but feel like I know them in a different way after experiencing this service trip with them. I am so lucky to be their teacher.
Tonight we're having a special 4th of July cookout at The Alberge, a nice hotel here in Ollantaytambo. On the menu- Alpaca steak and brownie sundaes. Yum!
Happy 4th,
Anna
Life in Peru
Me llamo Tomas. Gracias por leer el blog.
July 4th. I guess in America right now I would be preparing for a July 4th celebration but instead im preparing for what Jason calls "the best meal you'll ever eat." Anyway, Peru has been great. It is a totally different style of life. I cannot put it in words and for that reasons we have pictures(see below). My homestay family is great. Mitchell and I have started to teach them english and it is always entertaining. The food is great, however I do not know if I will be able to look at rice and potatoes the same when I get home. Its hard to write about everything because so much has been going on. Yesterday we spent 9 hours hiking 15 miles through the Andes. Im pretty sure that is more than anyone has ever hiked before. Climbing Mount Everest would have been an easy thing compared to this hike. However, it was a lot of fun. Sorry Ms. Barbakow, I am all over the place, no order to this blog, there is just to much to say. The people in Peru are very nice and some are amazed by Americans or as they call them "Greengos." The project on the school is going great. We had an unexpected start as when we opened the door we found 200 sacks of beans, each weighing between 200 and 300 pounds. That was hard working hauling those sacks out. Since then, we have made great progress. We cleaned the entire room and started our murals and painting. Funny thing, as we were hauling sacks Jason, our trip leader, looked at me and said, "at least you dont have to haul adobes, its the worst thing you will ever do." The next day the principal of the school asked us to move leftover adobe to the school from the train site. That was a whole lot of fun. Football workouts will be nothing after work in Peru. Dont get me wrong though, it is all so much fun. We have two great trip leaders, Jason and Adela. Jason is a 40 year old teacher from South Bend. He is a great guy. He has the knowledge and experience of a professional but the maturity of a teenagers. All the guys love Jason. He makes the trip fun. Adela is from Peru and currently lives in Ollantaytambo where we currently are. She is like a mother to all of us. She cares so much for us. Not only does she have a great heart, she knows all the ins and outs of Peru and knows how to get things done. I would take her as my mother. The two make a great team.
For a quick summary of the trip, we spent the first two days traveling due to many delays. We then spent three nights in homestays before heading out on the hike across all of the South America(just a joke). WE arrived at the hot springs and camped out. We woke up and left and headed to Ollantay. We will spend the night in the hotel/hostel here before heading back tomorrow for three more nights with our families. We then will come back to Ollantay for one night and then spend the night in Cusco one night before starting our trek back to Nashville. Life here is very different. It is simple. It is hard to explain. Peru is beautiful. The mountains are incredible. I dont think I have been surrounded my such much beauty before in my life. It is relaxing.
Well this have been quite a long blog. I got to go and head out to this incredible dinner. Peru is a different experience. I look foward to getting back to Nashville but I am enjoying my time here.
PS-I forget some stuff. So there are no toilets in our homestays so when nature calls we use holes.
PS 2- WE all got to take our first showers today and they felt great.
Well Mom and DAd, I love you and hope you guys enjoyed Turks and Caicos. Enjoy your last week without me.
Thanks for reading the blog, I hoped you enjoyed Caroline, Kate, and I's blogs. Enjoy the pictures.
TD for 3
July 4th. I guess in America right now I would be preparing for a July 4th celebration but instead im preparing for what Jason calls "the best meal you'll ever eat." Anyway, Peru has been great. It is a totally different style of life. I cannot put it in words and for that reasons we have pictures(see below). My homestay family is great. Mitchell and I have started to teach them english and it is always entertaining. The food is great, however I do not know if I will be able to look at rice and potatoes the same when I get home. Its hard to write about everything because so much has been going on. Yesterday we spent 9 hours hiking 15 miles through the Andes. Im pretty sure that is more than anyone has ever hiked before. Climbing Mount Everest would have been an easy thing compared to this hike. However, it was a lot of fun. Sorry Ms. Barbakow, I am all over the place, no order to this blog, there is just to much to say. The people in Peru are very nice and some are amazed by Americans or as they call them "Greengos." The project on the school is going great. We had an unexpected start as when we opened the door we found 200 sacks of beans, each weighing between 200 and 300 pounds. That was hard working hauling those sacks out. Since then, we have made great progress. We cleaned the entire room and started our murals and painting. Funny thing, as we were hauling sacks Jason, our trip leader, looked at me and said, "at least you dont have to haul adobes, its the worst thing you will ever do." The next day the principal of the school asked us to move leftover adobe to the school from the train site. That was a whole lot of fun. Football workouts will be nothing after work in Peru. Dont get me wrong though, it is all so much fun. We have two great trip leaders, Jason and Adela. Jason is a 40 year old teacher from South Bend. He is a great guy. He has the knowledge and experience of a professional but the maturity of a teenagers. All the guys love Jason. He makes the trip fun. Adela is from Peru and currently lives in Ollantaytambo where we currently are. She is like a mother to all of us. She cares so much for us. Not only does she have a great heart, she knows all the ins and outs of Peru and knows how to get things done. I would take her as my mother. The two make a great team.
For a quick summary of the trip, we spent the first two days traveling due to many delays. We then spent three nights in homestays before heading out on the hike across all of the South America(just a joke). WE arrived at the hot springs and camped out. We woke up and left and headed to Ollantay. We will spend the night in the hotel/hostel here before heading back tomorrow for three more nights with our families. We then will come back to Ollantay for one night and then spend the night in Cusco one night before starting our trek back to Nashville. Life here is very different. It is simple. It is hard to explain. Peru is beautiful. The mountains are incredible. I dont think I have been surrounded my such much beauty before in my life. It is relaxing.
Well this have been quite a long blog. I got to go and head out to this incredible dinner. Peru is a different experience. I look foward to getting back to Nashville but I am enjoying my time here.
PS-I forget some stuff. So there are no toilets in our homestays so when nature calls we use holes.
PS 2- WE all got to take our first showers today and they felt great.
Well Mom and DAd, I love you and hope you guys enjoyed Turks and Caicos. Enjoy your last week without me.
Thanks for reading the blog, I hoped you enjoyed Caroline, Kate, and I's blogs. Enjoy the pictures.
TD for 3
4th of Julyyy
Hola everyone! Its Kate in Ollantaytambo! We have all been having so much fun. Our homestay families have been so nice and welcoming.
We've been playing with the kids, helping with their homework, learning about their lifestyles, and just overall bonding with our families! (And improving our Spanish skills a lot) There is a four-year-old boy in our house who is seriously the cutest person I have ever seen in my life! Also, despite everyone telling us that we would be starving here, we're all so full because the food here is actually really good- LOTS of soup but it's really good! Yesterday we went on our all day hike in the Andes mountains and the views were amazing! There were lots of wild llamas and alpaca too, which were fun to see. Also we are making a lot of progress on the library we're making for the kids in Piscacucho. We've cleared out the room, swept the floor, sanded the walls, and now we are working on painting it. One thing I've been shocked about is how many wild dogs are here! There are tons of them that look like they need a bath and some food, and it is hard not to pet them because they are so cute! Last, our two leaders from World Leadership School are SO nice and have made the trip so much fun!
xoxo, Kate
P.S. I miss you mom and i loveee youuuu
We've been playing with the kids, helping with their homework, learning about their lifestyles, and just overall bonding with our families! (And improving our Spanish skills a lot) There is a four-year-old boy in our house who is seriously the cutest person I have ever seen in my life! Also, despite everyone telling us that we would be starving here, we're all so full because the food here is actually really good- LOTS of soup but it's really good! Yesterday we went on our all day hike in the Andes mountains and the views were amazing! There were lots of wild llamas and alpaca too, which were fun to see. Also we are making a lot of progress on the library we're making for the kids in Piscacucho. We've cleared out the room, swept the floor, sanded the walls, and now we are working on painting it. One thing I've been shocked about is how many wild dogs are here! There are tons of them that look like they need a bath and some food, and it is hard not to pet them because they are so cute! Last, our two leaders from World Leadership School are SO nice and have made the trip so much fun!
xoxo, Kate
P.S. I miss you mom and i loveee youuuu
Peruvian Birthday!
Hola! Caroline here back in Ollantaytambo after our treacherous 15 mile climb, yes, 15 miles... I was lucky enough to have a Peruvian birthday yesterday and turned 17. The hike through the Andes Mountains lasted a good 7 hours, but was completely worth it. None of us had ever seen such pretty views.
Despite the challenge of the hike most had nothing negative to say. We've been having feasts for every meal. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still full a week from now. After hiking we camped out at the aguas calientes (hot springs),
which felt like heaven. At dinner I got a birthday card that everyone had signed and it made my day. My favorite part of the day was the part of the hike right before lunch when the weather was perfect and as Morgan put it, "we are on cloud nine." Even though we were as high as 14,000 ft no one got sick and we are all still smiling.
Group photo at the hot springs the morning after the hike.
I couldn't have asked for a cooler birthday than to be in Peru with my friends.
P.S. Thanks for the birthday cards Mom, I love you!
Despite the challenge of the hike most had nothing negative to say. We've been having feasts for every meal. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still full a week from now. After hiking we camped out at the aguas calientes (hot springs),
which felt like heaven. At dinner I got a birthday card that everyone had signed and it made my day. My favorite part of the day was the part of the hike right before lunch when the weather was perfect and as Morgan put it, "we are on cloud nine." Even though we were as high as 14,000 ft no one got sick and we are all still smiling.
Group photo at the hot springs the morning after the hike.
I couldn't have asked for a cooler birthday than to be in Peru with my friends.
P.S. Thanks for the birthday cards Mom, I love you!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
PISCACUCHO
Greetings from Piscacucho! Katie McDougall here. All is well, and students are happy, busy, well fed, and well loved. We met our homestay families yesterday afternoon, and shared lunch and dinner with them. Students are getting ample opportunity to practice their Spanish, and they are having fun teaching the children in their families some English. Today has been super busy. In the morning half of our group learned to weave baskets from Pancho and Balvina, a couple who teach tradition basket weaving passed down from many generations. The other half of the group began work on our project at the escuela, which involved moving 100 kilo bags of tara seed, painting, sweeping, sanding, and cleaning. After lunch, we switched. Even with all the work, the gang has managed to pick up a number of soccer games with the locals. The scenery and mountains here are breathtaking--the most stunning I´ve ever seen. Kids have adjusted well and are enjoying their homestays. Check out our photos below, and we´ll be in touch soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)