Time does fly when you’re having fun! It seems just like yesterday that we were all here together learning about Peruvian culture, working hard on those guinea pig houses and surviving that hike up to Machu Picchu. Over those past two weeks, you all learned new things about yourself and others. You tested your limits, both physically and mentally and you got to experience and explore a wonder of the world.

Our mornings were dedicated to our service work. The group was split into two teams and spent the two weeks helping to build a guinea pig house for two families in need in the community of Chocco, Peru which was located about 20 minutes outside of Cusco. Remember where it all started? Picking the ground, moving rocks, making the “barro,” but of course the best part were the adobe bricks? Am I right? We started by leveling out the ground and ended up with walls. During your time at service, dedication, strength and perseverance were the tools needed to keep going. To make time go by fast, we listened to many international songs shown to us by different students. That was definitely one of the highlights of service. Watching the sheep, goats and chickens was also like having live entertainment. The community was so thankful for the work you did, those houses will soon be filled with many guinea pigs and will provide those families with extra income and food.

Although our mornings may have been a little tough, our afternoons were filled with fun and cultural events. Feeding the llamas and alpacas pounds and pounds of grass, was a great time! Everyone got some pretty great pictures and some funny/silly ones as well. We also learned about some of the health issues in Peru and about the country’s economy when our guest speakers came to home base. Those talks were so informative and gave us an inside look at the Peruvian world.  The girl’s orphanage was such a blast! You got to see what their lives were like and you got to spend a whole afternoon making the girls laugh! I can still hear their adorable giggles.

Your donations went a long way, thank you for that! How many beans did you shell at Patabamba? Probably more than you thought you would ever do in your lifetime but just remember how much it helped those families. They opened up their homes for the day and treated everyone like part of their family. They even shared a delicious meal of potatoes and cheese. Yum!! Have any of the shaman’s words come true? Let us know if they do! We are all very curious. Last but not least, we can’t forget about the city tour! Getting to know the place that y’all called home for two weeks was an awesome experience. How did the Incas do it? Remember the master stone? WOW! Getting to eat at the restaurant with such an amazing view and great live show was so memorable.

Now to the best part: MACHU PICCHU! WE SURVIVED! Day one…am I going to make it? Day two….are we there yet? Day Three… WE’RE HERE! Does anyone still have blisters? Do you still have those magical pictures saved on your phone? I remember seeing everyone’s faces light up as soon as we walked into Machu Picchu, it was such a grand sense of accomplishment! Give yourself a pat on the back; we hiked about 24 miles, both up and down and no one had to be carried on the horse. TROOPERS! Y’all are now super prepared to conquer your next hike! Don’t forget, the hike is always worth the view.

As our trip came to a close, we couldn’t end it without a market run and one last family dinner. I’m pretty sure you guys bought the whole market. From ponchos, to slippers, to alpaca rugs you guys bought enough souvenirs to last y’all until your next trip back to Peru. Our last family dinner was filled with delicious chocolate cake, a little bit of guinea pig, nonstop dancing, photo ops with YouTube stars and an amazing live show! It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

You are all now back in your own homes with nice hot water, strong Wi-Fi and a closet full of clean clothes. I hope that you have shared and continue to share what you learned here. May the skills you acquired, help you in your future endeavor. You are all leaders and you can all make a difference, big or small. Don’t be afraid to be the change. You have a wonderful support system within your Global Leadership Adventures family; utilize each other to make this world a better place. This experience was one that we will never forget, you helped people from a completely different place and made a positive difference in their lives. That’s important but don’t let that be the end, make that your beginning.

Thank you for a wonderful two weeks, I enjoyed every minute of it and hope you all did to!

-Brenda Troyo

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Remember when…

We saw the view of la Veronica glacier from the campsite, drank hot cinnamon water (hot chocolate), and ate popcorn together after a long, wet day of hiking

Nico taught us how to dance salsa and bachata – your dance moves were V impressive

We explored Machu Picchu together (ONE OF THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD)

We realized that Canadians and Americans can be great friends

Everyone raced to call ‘first shower’ after hard service days

We played with the kids in Mayrasco and the San Judas orphanage

We put the roofs on the cuy houses and filled in the last cracks between the bricks…

Hola amigos! I hope you all are having a beautiful fall and enjoying time with your friends and families. (I also hope you got your fill of In-N-Out and Chipotle upon returning from Peru). A few months have passed since our trip together but to us it feels like it was just yesterday. The two weeks that we spent together aren’t easily forgotten and the impact that this session had on us will stay with us for many years to come.

Each and every one of you should feel accomplished about the service work you completed. The cuy houses we built are serving the families in Mayrasco and will continue to do so in the coming years. The speakers we saw taught us about poverty and malnutrition, but we took that information one step further and turned it into action. The service we completed was physically and mentally challenging; I feel like a stronger person for the work I did and I’m sure you all can say the same.  

Building the cuy houses also gave us new experiences and insight into sustainable construction. Surely you all remember mixing mud (with your feet or shovels), carrying adobe bricks, pick axing and playing with the kids up at the school. More than anything, I hope you remember how happy the community members were on the last day of service when we put the momma and poppa cuys into their respective houses.

However, this session was outstanding not only because of the service work we completed. This group was unique because of everyone’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment and to living each experience to the fullest. From day one I could feel the positive energy and excitement this group had. Our guest speakers were impressed with your insightful questions and comments, and all of us enjoyed having insightful conversations with you all about culture and travel.

Thanks to your good sense of humor our outings to see llamas, play traditional Peruvian instruments, visit the local shaman, tour Cusco and its ancient Incan ruins, and help out in the local community of Patabamba were always memorable and hilarious. Even seemingly normal activities like a trip to Super Sol to buy snacks (every flavor of Pringles), buying Picarones next door, or watching Boss Baby was a riot with you guys. Arriving to the campsite on the first day of the trek, after the hailstorm, was a definite highlight for us. The next days hiking alongside the train tracks into Aguas Calientes and the trail up to Machu Picchu were beautiful and unforgettable.

Months after all of this I hope that you all still hold onto the friendships you made and how you grew as a global leader. Do you remember what your ‘rock, stick and leaf’ were? Some of you said you wanted to stick with your Spanish, or continue to be more inclusive with others in your daily lives back home. Many of you wanted to continue volunteering in your home communities and traveling to new countries.

Keep working towards these new goals that you set for yourself and know that all of us staff here are cheering you on. Thank you for a wonderful summer, your dedication to the program and the endless memories that came with it.

Con mucho amor,

-Jill, Grace & Nico

Hola Peru SSV Session 3!

Hey session 2 dream team!

The summer is now over, all 4 sessions done and gone, yet I still remember all of your faces so vividly! It was really a pleasure having a group like you, I’ll never forget the way you all bonded from the first day and I hope to have similar groups in the future. The guinea pig houses are now completely finished, we gave them each a male and female and transfered any they had into the houses. It was great to see the final product and the smiles on our faces and theirs alike. You were the group that actually put the first few adobe bricks down, so be proud!

I also remember how much fun a lot of you had at various activities, for some reason the instrumental sesh at the music class sticks out as well as the llama farm, I swear they never spit / sneezed as much after that visit! Some of you also asked me if I thought I would get bored of the hike, and I can now say that I never did, it was always enjoyable (especially since I was healthy and ready to go these last two times). That is another area where you guys really stood out, supporting those who struggled on the hard parts and all staying at the top of the hill and cheering that first day until everyone reached camp. Great work and keep that attitude in everything you do.

I hope that you have all enjoyed the rest of your summer and still carry with you something that you learned during this experience. Two weeks may be short in the long run but it gives you a lot to reflect on, so remember us and your time here. Keep learning, exploring, growing and being inclusive and you will all certainly continue to make a difference in the world around you!

Recollections:

– All the great talent show performances – including hip hop dance, a duet of “let it go”, some country dancing and multiple talented people on the guitar

– Those amazing starts and snow-capped mountains finally coming out in the early morning of our camping night

– Getting told to be quiet at Machu Picchu while singing Happy Birthday to Jill

– All those solid full field soccer games with the kids of Mayrasco – you were the only group to get them that organized

– Lots of trust falls… I actually still have to try being the faller…

– Great dancing our last night at the buffet dinner – with each other AND the performers

Best wishes,

-Nico (de gallo)
 

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Our first group for the summer arrived on June 13, 2017 to Cuzco. The students were a bit shy at first but slowly started opening up and making friends. Our group consisted of seven boys and twenty-two girls. Even though we had so many girls, the boys in the group quickly bonded with each other and proved to be louder than everyone else. They also enlightened us with slang from different parts of the US and Canada. The girls also started getting to know each other and making friends.

In my opinion, this first group had the toughest job at service because they are the ones who started everything from scratch! They laid the foundation for all the other groups. Everyone in this group proved to be hard working and determined from day one. On the first day of service we got on the bus outside our home base and 40 minutes later arrived at the community of Mairazgo. It was a beautiful community on top of the mountains, surrounded by lots of nature. The president of the community and the families we would be helping out welcomed us. Each person told us how grateful they were for our service and motivated us to do our best.

Our two weeks of service consisted of digging the ditch for the foundation of our guinea pig houses and, of course, everyone’s favorite part… moving rocks! I’m sure that when we tell people our experience, they will never understand what carrying those rocks implied. They were probably the heaviest things many of us had ever carried in our lives. We had to develop lifting techniques so we wouldn’t hurt our backs and arms, and also attempt many different ways of transporting the rocks. Some of us unsuccessfully attempted to transport the rocks by using wheel barrels and soon realized it was much better to do an assembly line and pass the rocks to each other one by one.  

Another part of our daily duties was mixing. Some students loved this one and even got in the mud barefoot. It was by far the easiest way to mix mud because mixing with shovels was extremely heavy, sticky, and often created unpleasant sounds (you guys know exactly what I’m talking about!). Regardless of how each group worked, we all just looked like a big pile of mud and sweat as we slowly walked up the hill to get back on our buses. I say slowly because for the first few days simply walking was a challenge of its own, as we were all struggling to catch our breath in such high altitude.

Throughout our two weeks together we made new friends and pushed ourselves physically and mentally. We played soccer in Patabamba with members of the community and helped the families with chores like shelling beans. We also visited the girls’ orphanage, learned about the work of a Shaman, and enjoyed our city tour (even with one of the guides excessively taking pictures).

It is my great hope that our students still remain in contact with each other and that they were able to take back experiences that will last them a life time. I also hope they were able to share the beauty of Peru, its people and its culture with others back home, and that this experience helps shape them into honorable men and women who will stand up for what’s right.

-Tamiris Aldarondo

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our new destinations for Summer 2018, or enroll now.