The Young Leader

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Time Capsule – Peru – Service in the Sacred Valley – July 15 – July 28, 2017

Hola Peru SSV Session 3!

I hope this letter finds you well. The cuy houses are done, and I am sitting at the home base with a cup of coffee wrapping things up for the summer. What a blur! I bet the summer flew by for some of you as well! It seems like just the other day that we were eating picarones, checking out the crazy stuff for sale in El Molino, and taking so many snack runs to the Super Sol (so. many. snack. runs.)
Remember mixing mud for the construction, moving adobe bricks, and building up the walls of the 4 cuy houses? Do you remember how heavy the pickaxes felt at first and how you felt stronger at the end of the trip than at the beginning? At the end of the summer, the community members expressed thanks to all of the groups that helped with the project, and the cuy were safely inside their pens on wood chip bedding. Even if you didn’t get to see the project through to the very end, all of the work that you put in made it possible for us to finish the project and follow through on the commitment that we made to the community of Mayrasco. Nice work!
And of course there was our adventure in the Andes as we made our way to Machu Picchu! I remember getting up super early in the dark to leave and sleeping most of the way on the bus to the mountain pass called Abra Malaga that was at over 14,000 feet. A bunch of you scrambled up the hill above our lunch spot to get the best views of the glaciers on mount Veronica. It was windy, and the wind was chilly, but the rocks were warm and as soon as you dropped down on the other side of the ridge, the hill blocked the wind and all you could feel was the warm sun.
Hiking down to the fish farm, the views were amazing and you all did a great job with the many stream crossings. I remember how you all felt pretty accomplished after making it up the steep trail to our campsite. Then the stars came out and we saw the whole Milky Way sparkling above the mountains. The next day, the walk along the train tracks to Aguas Calientes seemed easy in comparison. Hiking up to the base of the ruins was a challenge for some of you more than others, and I am proud of everyone, regardless of speed etc.
Remember that it’s not speed etc that determines the character of a person, but their attitude and how they overcome obstacles and deal with disappointment! After that we had our tour of Machu Picchu. I imagine you all have tons of great photos of that experience, especially of the crazy llamas wandering around the ruins. They were getting a little bold, if I remember right. ; )
I hope you all remember some of the Spanish words that you picked up while you were here! Remember what the words pico, pala, barro, and adobe mean? You all practiced your Spanish quite a bit and got pretty good at bargaining when we went shopping at the artisan markets in Aguas Calientes and Cusco!
Most of all, I hope you remember the things you learned about yourselves while you were here. How you found out that you could do hard things, work at high altitude, get to know people even if you felt nervous, get around using a different language, camp overnight even if you had never camped before, work things out with people different from you, and learn that sometimes you have to do things that you don’t want to do, but there is satisfaction afterward of a job well done.
Here are a few highlights from session 3:
-Playing pato pato ganso with the community kids at the school.
-You played so many games of Prez!
-A bunch of you huddled together outside at the campsite talking and watching the stars.
-The wild chinchilla we saw chillin’ by the Temple of the Condor.
-The rock slides at Sacsayhuaman ruins
-The contented pig who was always laying in the sun at one of the service sites.
-The kids in the community totally showing us up with their impressive pickaxeing skills.
-The smell of the eucalyptus tree trunks that we used for the second floor of the cuy houses
-Getting ice cream after the city tour.
-Talking and having fun on the late train ride back from Machu Picchu
Enjoy the memories!
~Grace King and mentors Jill Swanson, Nico Couto, and Tami Aldorondo
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Time Capsule – Peru – Service in the Sacred Valley – June 29 – July 12, 2017

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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Time Capsule – Peru – Service in the Sacred Valley – June 13 – June 26, 2017

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

 

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Time Capsule – Peru – Amazon Service Adventure – July 19 – August 1, 2017

My dear Amazon Jungle Warriors,

I hope you all are rested and that the mosquito bites have all left your bodies.

I am in my last day at Don´s house enjoying the final moments of sweet jungle air and sounds of birds. A couple of the kids are sitting next to me, being lovely as usual. I, personally, am still recovering from your scary stories from last night´s camping adventure. Are those midnight footsteps really from Danilo?!

I imagine being back in the comforts of air conditioning has been quite nice, but I can´t imagine that it feels the same as rafting down the Amazon or wandering the boulevard in Iquitos. I´m sure you all miss our French toast feasts as much as I miss watching your after-dinner dance parties.

Now that you all are back home, dispersed across the United States, I hope you have time to sit, smile, and to reflect on the friendships you made (with each other and all the little ones here!), and the time you all spent with us in the jungle. It really is an amazing place, and you all really were an amazing group.

Cheers to swimming in the estanque and jungle photo shoots.

Love,

-Amanda

 

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Time Capsule – Peru – Amazon Service Adventure – July 2 – July 15, 2017

My dear Amazon Jungle Warriors,

I hope you all are rested and that the mosquito bites have all left your bodies.

I am in my last day at Don´s house enjoying the final moments of sweet jungle air and sounds of birds. A couple of the kids are sitting next to me, being lovely as usual- they haven’t forgotten about their real parents (all of you!).

I imagine being back in the comforts of air conditioning has been quite nice, but I can´t imagine that it feels the same as rafting down the Amazon or wandering the boulevard in Iquitos. I´m sure you all miss getting awoken by requested songs at 5:45 am as much as I miss watching you dance the Macarena.

Now that you all are back home, dispersed across the United States and Australia, I hope you have time to sit, smile, and to reflect on the friendships you made, and the time you all spent here. It really is an amazing place, and you all were an amazing group.

Cheers to swimming in the estanque and eating worms.

Love,

-Kilee

 

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