Headed Home!

All students are on their flights home!

A Glorious Day!

This glorious day began bright and early at 7:00 in the beautiful Tanzanian morning (or at 4:30 for those who still rise to the lovely squawking rooster that lives in the backyard)! We then headed out to the dining room for chow circle where the mentors provided us with announcements, and the community coordinators presented the quote of the day. Then we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast consisting of donuts, eggs, and orange slices, cooked and prepared by Joseph! It was super yummy! After we finished breakfast, we talked a bit about what would exist in our own utopian society, and we had to in some way represent our thoughts in a visual component. It was super fun!

Once we loaded up on bug spray and sunscreen, we boarded two buses and headed toward a private hospital that we would tour. After a thirty minute drive through the busy town of Arusha, we made it to the hospital. While waiting for them to prepare for our large group, we took a group picture under a beautiful tree. We then walked toward a waiting room where our guide presented us with some history and facts regarding the hospital. After that, we got into our home groups and began to tour the hospital. For the first time in three weeks we saw other people from the United States! It almost felt weird, since we are so used to seeing the native people! Our guide took us to the room where the minor surgeries were done. It was very small and the tools were just left on the table. We then saw the pharmacy and the room where the x-rays were given. It was really cool to see that a lot of the machines were very similar to those back home. The hospital was also a lot cleaner than you’d expect it to be. Then, we were taken to the children’s ward where there were about ten children per room in hospital beds. They were very cramped up, which was a bit upsetting. Next, we visited the woman’s ward where the soon-to-be mothers were as well as post birth mothers. We thought that we would just stand outside and peek through the windows as we had for the rest of the tour, however our guide actually took us into the room. We got to say hi to the women and meet the newborn baby! Although we felt as if we were invading their space, this was just another example of how open and friendly Tanzanian culture is!

-Ari

A Day of Learning

Today was a strange day considering we did not do the same activities as usual. In the morning, a group of women came to home base to explain what female genital mutilation was, and how to spread awareness of this issue. It was a very moving and scary topic to touch onto, but we all learned so much. After, we had some time to choose our own activity, as some stayed at home, and some students went to different markets. In the afternoon, community service was done as usual, but my group went to the secondary school at Akeri. It was very different teaching there since the students there are close to our ages, but we figured it out and taught well.

Patandi and Akeri Schools

Today we spent our morning learning about Tanzanian food and culture, than spent our afternoon at the Tanzanian schools. In the morning, we were split into here groups to experience different aspects of Tanzanian food. One group went into the market and bargained for prices on foods with Tanzanian locals. Another group visited a local Tanzanian farm and saw how certain foods are harvested. The final group stayed at home base and cooked lunch for everyone.

In the afternoon, one group said goodbye on their last day at the secondary school, Akeri. Other groups of kids returned to Patandi, where they continued to teach their group of primary school kids. Some of the GLA members had to say goodbye on their last day at Patandi. After teaching, many pictures were taken and cameras were passed around by intrigued Tanzanian children. Afterwards, we began our service portion where we added the final touches to the classroom that we have been renovating. As we worked, we were surrounded by the children who offered help and support.

The Maasai Tribe

This weekend we went to the Maasai tribe and experienced their unique culture. We arrived there on Saturday afternoon. Immediately when we got off the bus, the Maasai people greeted us with a huge dance party. We also got “initiated” by receiving a Maasai blanket, which they used to wrap around our shoulders, and a traditional beaded bracelet. Then we settled into tents and took great pictures of the best Tanzania sunset we have yet seen. Before dinner, we got the chance to watch the sacrifice of a goat which was also part of our dinner. The dinner was very delicious and everyone enjoyed it very much. After dinner, they set up the camp fire and everyone sat around the fire in a circle. Then the Maasai people started dancing again and warmly invited us to join them. Lots of us got involved and danced and sang with them. We had a lot of fun with them. After the dancing party, we went to bed. Most of us decided to sleep outside of the tents under the stars and moon. We talked a lot during that time and got much closer to each other.

Sunday morning, almost everyone woke up at six thirty to see the sun rise over the African savanna. It was gorgeous. Then we had breakfast and went on our warrior hike and on the way back we stopped by the Maasai secondary school. We played several games with the local children and teachers. Then we got back to the Maasai villages to have lunch. The lunch was very good and we enjoyed it very much!!! Afterwards, we learned how to the throw spears and we all got the chance to try. It was very fun. Then we headed back to home base. We stopped at the coffee shops on our way back and some of us got the chance to use wifi and some of us bought burgers. After we got back, we had dinner at six thirty and talked in our home groups. Later tonight, we may be able to watch the world cup. Everyone is very excited and happily exhausted from the weekend trip. Now it is 9:33 PM, time to go to bed. We hope we can get a good sleep and be prepared for tomorrow’s service at the schools. Good night, everyone!!

An Eventful Week

Ready for the Weekend

Coffee and Learning

An Exciting Day!

Jambo! Today we had a very exciting day. Each group had a different activity in the morning. One group was given the opportunity to create a Batik painting; it was a very fun process. We got to take home beautiful Tanzanian paintings. Another group headed to the market. First we picked out fabric, and then took it to a tailor and got fitted for traditional Tanzanian clothing. The final group went to the snack shop and picked up some food. Later they went to an internet cafe and the Mountain View Lodge to enjoy a spiritual garden. All the groups met back at home base and had lunch. After that we split up to head to either the local secondary school or the local primary school. We all had a great time teaching and learning from the local children. We all came back together for a great dinner and some very fun leadership games.

Safari Adventure!

PDF Blog Post: Arusha TZ Day 5 Ari Finkelstein

Jambo familia na rafiki zetu!

(Hello family and friends!) Today we started off our day with an exciting activity called “bucket of dreams”. It consisted of us working together and forming a strategy. After that we dove into a cultural class of Swahili. In the class we learned different phrases and ways to communicate with the families in our community, as well as different stages in the local’s life. Next, we started to prepare for our family to come by preparing gifts and thinking about questions to ask them. After they arrived, we had lunch and headed out to spend the rest of the afternoon with our host families. Some of us milked cows, others toured the village and others went to the local lake. Although it was hard to say goodbye, we knew that we were going to see them before the end of our trip. It was a life changing activity and we all learned from it.

Colby: It was so awesome but very emotional seeing the living conditions of the locals and it made me realize how much I have and maybe even take for granted. Although it was very emotionally heart breaking, it has opened my eyes up to a whole other living style that I was unfamiliar with before, and I want to thank GLA for that because this changed me. Hi mom.

Sydni: My favorite part about today was going into the home of my host family. The size and condition of their living headquarters and quality of life was astonishing because their appreciation never falters. I consider the fact that I am rich in material, and they seem to have close to nothing but they are rich in happiness. Hi mom.

Day 4

Today we woke up to roosters calling, dogs barking, and a mentor knocking on the door at 7 like yesterday. We also walked to Patandi Primary School again for a morning of teaching and manual work. The night before, my teaching group got together and decided how we were going to organize the class this time since last time was our first class and a bit of an experimental one. We got to know students better through games, but we didn’t teach much. Our teaching group decided that we were going to split kids into groups by their level of English because some kids knew more than others. This took away the confidence of those who were less advanced but needed confidence to become more advanced. At the school I was assigned with the kids who were beginners. We taught them the basic greeting phrases in English that we ourselves were learning in Swahili (how are you, I am fine, thank you, you’re welcome) and had them write it out and repeat it back to us. Then we reviewed animals and had fun with drawing those animals and making animal noises. They really seem to enjoy learning through songs as well, so we sang itsy bitsy spider and reviewed the vocabulary words in the song such as sun, rain, and spider. After that we started to run out of ideas of what to teach/how to teach them. That was when things got a little out of control due lack of focus. We had a group of all boys and they were very eager to learn though energetic as well! Afterwards we had recess where kids either played soccer or jumped rope. All the kids at Patandi love soccer. Soccer, and especially with the world cup going on, serves as a common way to have fun that connects us despite a slight language barrier.

After recess we started our manual work service for the day. Yesterday one group sanded (my group) and the other painted windows and walls. Today I painted windows instead and met a group of girls who are slightly younger than the ones we teach (around 13 years old), so they knew very little English. They were still very friendly and we could still communicate through the words I knew in Swahili, the words they knew in English, plus lots of hand gestures. I walked back to home base with one of the girls I met while window painting, Rosalina, and another girl who is part of the class our group teaches, Zainabu. Zainabu is very good at English and loves learning it. On the walks back to home base she teaches me some Swahili too. Upon returning I realized I had left my journal at the school and had to run back with a mentor, Swiff, to get it so I’d have it for safari weekend. We had to run because lunch was in 20 minutes; I had to run still wearing a long skirt because of culture differences. Nonetheless we got some laughs and funny looks because Tanzanian culture does not include going for runs either. When we came back for lunch we tried ugali which is a popular staple food here. It looks like mashed potatoes, has the texture of play dough, and tastes like floury corn starch. You pinch it with your fingers and pick up food with it.

After lunch we learned more Swahili and learned about the school system. There are government and private schools; government being cheaper but lower quality, and private being very good but expensive. Primary school can be either and consists of standards/forms within it (sort of like grades). Secondary school is like high school and universities are all private. Girls dropping out due to unwanted pregnancies contribute to the higher rate of female school drop outs. After that we learned about what Lodrick does outside of GLA. He works to protect wildlife and the environment by receiving information on illegal activity like living on wildlife reservations or poaching, and then he works often undercover to stop it. It is a very dangerous job, but he loves it and is passionate about the cause. Afterwards we had free time which usually consists of playing cards. Two of my roommates and I went to go take pictures around home base and then it was dinner. We are now preparing for safari weekend and packing for one night at a hotel! Everyone is excited to see the animals and take our first weekend excursion.

-Michelle Zhang

First Day of Service

This morning was our first day of real community service. First, we visited the primary school in Arusha where we broke into groups and worked with the fifth and sixth graders. We spent our time teaching them English through songs, games, and activities. After teaching, we toured the school and spoke with the headmaster and learned more about how the school is run. During the tour, we learned that the school also serves as a boarding school for special needs children, it is one of the only schools in Tanzania that provide service for special needs children. We then changed into work clothes and began refurbishing two classrooms that will later be used for teaching. By the end of the day, we became very close with the children and after saying goodbye, they walked home with us.

After lunch, we walked to the secondary school, the Tanzanian equivalent for high school. Here, we played games to get familiar with the students. We then got into groups of six and exchanged questions regarding our different cultures. This was a very interesting learning experience, as we saw what life would be like as a teenager our age in Tanzania. Next we were spoken to by one of the secondary school’s teachers about Tanzanian culture and history. Here we furthered our understandings of global connections.

This was a great first day of community service. After today we are extremely excited to find out the adventures these next few weeks hold!

Jambo!

Let’s just say today was an amazing first day. Everyone got a wakeup call at 8:00 this morning but it didn’t matter considering the rooster wouldn’t be quiet starting at 4 in the morning… It’s okay though because without him there would be flies everywhere so we have the chicken to thank! It was really funny too because at breakfast everyone was talking about their different stories of how they thought they were at home and confused and disoriented as to why they heard a very loud chicken. “Wait what is a chicken doing in my back yard?” We all came downstairs for breakfast at 8:30 and started the “chow circle.” The chow circle is something we do before every meal at GLA where we all link arms in a big circle and have the mentors give us announcements. This is a representation of the community and family we have at GLA, which is instilled in us from the very beginning. We’ve been learning to call everyone “kaka” or “dada” which is brother or sister in Swahili. Everyone is family here and I love the close knit bonds and sense of community. After that we had a delicious breakfast where everyone is just still getting to meet and know each other. There is 36 students and the staff of course so I think most people are still struggling to remember other people’s names. This is why right after breakfast we did ice breaker games like captain where we have to do certain actions the captain tells us or we’ll be thrown overboard, and we also did little circles and other exercises to try and get to know each other like introducing yourself and saying whatever random fact like your favorite hobby, color, or fear. After we spent some time doing the warm up games we were split into 3 groups where the mentors let us ask questions, talked about expectations, different scenarios, safety instructions, and general plans and activities for the trip that I think made everyone all the more excited! This took over our whole morning and by the time we were finished with that it was time for lunch. Mama Simba talked about how all the food at GLA comes straight from their farms, everything is organic and they don’t use preservatives. I think one can really tell because all the food seems to be satisfying everyone’s taste buds.

Then finally the time has come and we could leave the GLA home base! Outside the walls in Africa! Dun dun dun… This is where it seemed so many people who had been initially quiet or tired in the morning came to life, everyone was buzzing around saying that they’ll finally get to go out and experience Tanzania, and begin to be immersed in their culture and try to absorb everything around them. Everyone was glued to the windows, observing everyone and everything around them, still repeating how they couldn’t believe that we were all in Africa. We first went to go exchange some of our money into the Tanzanian currency. I’m pretty sure everyone felt really rich because we would give them five paper bills and we would receive a huge stack of money. It was hilarious because it wouldn’t fit people’s wallets! Then we just went to a supermarket to buy snacks for the trip, they had mostly everything a normal American supermarket would have as snacks.. chips, candy, cookies.. which a lot of people bought to aid their snacking urges during the trip. Throughout the bus rides the local GLA staff were attempting to teach us Swahili. We were good at pronouncing the days of the week after Lodrick said them but then we all kind of forgot everything once he asked us to repeat it all again. Then we started singing the infamous Tanzania welcome song which I think as now become a symbol for our trip to Tanzania in everyone’s minds, (which is below). We also drove to the primary school where we will be doing our community service and did a quick tour and learned about it’s history and how GLA has helped it grow and improve in the past. There weren’t any kids there because it was way past school hours but everyone still couldn’t contain their excitement for tomorrow where we will be going to the primary school and teaching the kids for the first time. After this we went home and got about 45 minutes of downtime to relax before we got our crash course Swahili lesson. A lot of people took naps considering the jetlag has been taking a toll on everyone.

Before we knew it we had the local staff teaching us the basic phrases in Swahili like Hujambo? (How are you?) Habari gani? (What’s the news?) Nzuri sana (Good) Jino lako ni nani? (What’s your name?) etc. After this we went straight into dinner and then afterwards played never have I ever which was fun to do with everyone on the trip. They divided us into our “home groups” which is the groups that we will be working with throughout all the community service and will be sharing ideas and thoughts with after the end of every day. There we played even more icebreaker games to get to know each other like two truths and a lie. We also all put our apples and roots on our big tree drawing. Our apples are what everyone hopes to get out of this experience and why they came here. For me, it was just to have more experiences and learn about myself. I’ve never taught children before in different countries and had to come up with lesson plans. This trip will bring out challenges and wonderful experiences. However, none of us will go through this new journey alone, everyone was brainstorming ideas and different strategies to teach the children for our last activity of the day. It was finally time to turn in, leaving us all ecstatic for tomorrow and more importantly, the remainder of our trip!

Jambo!

Hijambo bwana!

Habari gani nzuri sana!

Wageni!

Mwakaribishwa Tanzania yetu!

Hakuna Matata!

No worries! Everyone is doing great!

-Mayah

We’ve Arrived!

All students have arrived safely and are ready for an amazing program! Stay tuned for blog posts and photos!

Final Thoughts

Apologies for the slight delay in blogging. It’s been a whirlwind few days here at the GLA Moshi home base.

Our final days were spent time saying goodbye to the children at the Himo-Korona School as well as our local host families here in Rau Village.

On our very last full day together we hiked up to a pair of waterfalls in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, and that evening had a bonfire and a hilarious talent show back at home. We also spent time reflecting on our time together here in Tanzania and shared with one another the tremendous things we’ve seen, done and learned together. Everyone agreed that this has been the best three weeks of their life and that they feel like they’ve learned a lot about themselves and about the world around them.

Many people shared how they’re seeing the world very differently after this experience and that they’re really looking forward to sharing their stories and applying their experiences to their lives at home.

After our tearful goodbyes at the airport, the program staff spent the evening watching the final World Cup game on a giant outdoor tv screen in Moshi. For us, it was a bittersweet farewell. We are sad to see you go, but we’re really stoked to hear all your stories and share in your triumphs as you venture forth to change the world. We are confident that you’ll be great leaders and we feel proud and privileged to have shared a small part of your journey.

We wish you all the best and hope you’ll keep in touch. We love you guys.

–the entire Moshi team

We’re Coming Home

All students are set to depart and head home from Tanzania!

Beginning Our Last Days

Our day began like every other: we taught the kids and had 40 minutes of play time followed by an hour of tree planting. We planted 75 trees and carried what seemed like thousands of buckets of water today. The children at the school were kind enough to help with the heavy loads.

After another delicious lunch, half of us went to visit Tuleeni orphanage and half stayed home to help with dinner.

The orphanage is a small, but welcoming atmosphere. We had a brief tour of the rooms and then gathered to play games. The kids taught us some fun ones and we returned the favor with games of our own. We spent time playing and talking with the enthusiastic and friendly kids and then they put on an amazing acrobatic act for us. It blew our minds how skillful they were without any coaching. We chatted with the caretakers of the orphanage until it was time to head home to a great dinner prepared by the other half of our group.

After some free time, we were treated to a surprise from Kath’s group. They presented us with a variety of cookies to dip into a homemade, gluten-free, vegan chocolate fondue! The chocolate feast quickly turned into a high-energy dance party until it was time for out last leadership workshop. Shan presented ideas of how we can carry our GLA experience forward with us over the years. This lead to a discussion lead by Kath to help us take action and start the process of “being the change.”

We ended the evening with shout-outs and we’re all excited to see what our last days in Tanzania will bring.

–Lena W. & Kaylee L.

Mambo Everybody!

Today, as usual, we went to the Himo-Korona school for our service project. After teaching we continued digging holes along the fence line to guard the playground and to keep the children safe. Tomorrow we will continue planting trees in the holes that we’ve been working so hard to complete.

After returning home to another of Mama Digna’s delicious lunches of soup and beans, we ventured over to the kitchen to learn how to prepare a traditional Tanzanian meal for tonight’s dinner.

We split into small groups to focus on the extremely challenging tasks that we have (until now) taken for granted. Peeling tomatoes, peeling garlic cloves, slicing fruits and vegetables, crying into the chopped onions, and most tediously, sorting rice. After finally completing the preparation, we all sat down to our creation of tasty pilau and a selection of fresh sliced fruits and vegetables.

Once we were completely stuffed with rice, beef and veggies, we scurried out to the garden where Clarissa’s mentor group had set us up with a challenge: we were going to levitate!

Four chairs were mysteriously set up in the center of the lawn, which put us all a little on edge. We were put into groups of four. We sat in a chair and leaned back into someone else’s lap while someone else leaned their shoulders into our lap. After a quick countdown, *abracadabra* the chairs were yanked out from under us and we were left carrying each other’s weight through the awesome power of teamwork!

After the short and fun activity, we got together again as a group to tune into Shan’s brilliant 3rd Leadership workshop. In it, we learned that everyday leaders can be powerful at making a difference in a person’s life. The end the day, we shared with out loud an individual from our GLA group who has impacted us in a positive manner. After many tears of joy and even more hugs, we settled in for the night.

We hope everyone at home is having as wonderful a time as we are. We can’t wait to see you all again very soon!

–Lauren W. & Noah M.

Jambo!

We made amazing progress working at the school today. Every GLA student was involved and didn’t stop digging until all the work was done. We are digging holes to plant more than 90 shade trees for the children.

After another amazing lunch (as usual), we visited a local coffee plantation. From roasting to grinding, we were able to take part in the whole process of making fresh-ground coffee. We finished our visit with a freshly brewed cup of organic, shade grown Tanzanian coffee. It was delicious.

Before leaving for home, we joined the women at the farm in a lively round of traditional Chagga dances and songs. After dinner we watched some Ted Talks and learned about Global Development.

Hopefully the next few days will be filled with as much fun as today!

–Olivia F. and Chloe VT.

Change of Plans

This morning we woke up well and left for school. At school, the doors were locked and there were almost no kids. It was a national holiday. On facing this challenge, the whole group stepped and started working on our service project. We worked extra hard to make up for the lack of students and we really got a lot done.

After lunch we went to the park. About a third of us played soccer while the rest chilled or took a walk. For dinner, we had an amazing bbq with lots of side dishes, vegetables and fruit. Then we did an activity about judging and privilege. After an eventful day, we were ready for bed. So, we went to bed!

–Calvin C. & Alanna M.

Maasai Weekend

Our weekend started on Saturday with an extra hour of sleep. We prepared for the Maasai weekend in the morning, after spending time in our mentor groups.

We loaded up the buses at noon and headed to Arusha, where we stopped and a few people picked up Alpha burgers. Later on in the ride, an intense game of tag began.

When we arrived at the Maasai boma, we were showered with our very own shuka and Maasai bracelet. Immediately afterward we joined their dance battle. We were welcomed quickly and the people loved watching us embarrass ourselves dancing. I briefly got some of the Maasai to chant, “Brazil!” with me.

Soon after, we witnessed two goats being sacrificed. That night, we ate the goats for our dinner, which was delicious. We danced around the campfire for hours with the warriors then slept in our tents.

Sunday morning we had the option of a ‘warrior walk’ or a ‘botanic walk.’ On the warrior walk, we stopped at a very large baobab tree to learn how to build fire and to throw a Maasai spear. The botanic walk learned about the local trees and plants, and visited and played with children at the village school. The walks were amazing and we Maasai put on a great lunch for us when we returned.

We packed up, said our goodbyes and started our trip home. On the way we stopped at a small craft market for souvenirs and of course we stopped again for Alpha burgers. It was a very fun weekend that we will all remember for a long time.

–Pedro W. & Izzy F.

Haikus on the Holiday

-Haikus by Frances Y. & Lilly E.

Wake up: six thirty
Full up our water bottles
Head off to the school

The kids say hello
We start to teach our lesson
Then we get to play

Our hair gets braided
Kids do back flips over rocks
They make us happy

We planted small trees
In the furrow that we dug
It was exhausting

After, we split up
We went to a clothes market
The clothes were all used

The other half stayed
And they made batik paintings
They were pretty

Happy July Fourth
Sari almost lost her flag
We danced all night long

(I love you Mommy, Daddy, Tristan, Linnea, Tally and serious… xoxo Love Lilly)

A Great Day at School

We had a great day at school today. The kids are learning so much and we can see how much their English has improved. We love seeing their smiling faces and enthusiasm, and they love playing outside and teaching us new games.

We have made a lot of progress on the fence and will begin planting trees soon. A crowd of little kids gathered to watch as we worked and were clearly very interested in us ‘wazungu’ (foreigners).

After lunch we had a guest speaker come to teach us about the education system in Tanzania and he was absolutely fascinating. He
talked about problems with teen pregnancy, dropout rates and how Tanzania has worked to solve these problems. He answered our many questions and we loved spending time with him.

We spent part of our afternoon at a park nearby and played some team building games. We have become close as a group and work really well together.

We finished our long day with a viewing of the film, “Blood Diamond.” It was absolutely shocking to see how the diamonds in our jewelry come from a process that kills so many. It made the problem much more real and impacted us a lot.

Overall a great day. Team Leaders, out!

–Anna R. & Squeaky W.

Hello GLA Tanzania community!

Today was fairly relaxed, but nevertheless it proved to be another eye-opening day. We continued to strengthen our relationships with all the kids at the Himo + Korona school by both teaching and learning from them.

In the afternoon we got to interact with locals at the market, which taught us more about the culture outside of our program. We decided to format the rest of today’s blog as a series of tweets.

Enjoy!

Rain = indoor recess at the school = free hair braiding and many laughs #educationislife
No digging today #rainraingoaway #liftingyamsinstead
We miss Chris #comebacksoon #plz
Walking through an insanely crowded market #frontpacks #notbackpacks
Ladies at the market tried to charge Calvin’s group too much #aintnobodygottimeforthat
$20 got us more than enough food to feed us all including Godwin #foodforthought
WiFi!!!!! #yaaaaaas
Shoutout to the Internet for making our little GLA family Facebook official #tanzania4ever
Shoutout to Squeaky and Anna for showing awesome leadership #goodluck #futureLOTD
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” #JohnLennon #QuoteOfTheDay
Such an amazing day

#Meredith+Maddie

Time to Bond

Hi! It’s Mia and Barak. Today, contrary to most days, was a day to unwind and bond.

We started off in our normal routine with the first half of the day spent volunteering at the school. However, as lunch ended, we were able to relax and socialize with our friends. Many of the girls and even one of the guys had their hair professionally braided while we waited for the seamstress to deliver all of our newly made Tanzanian clothes.

We spent the rest of the evening doing yoga, walking through the village and some went to watch the World Cup game with locals while others had an impromptu dance party at home.

It’s clear that we all are becoming more comfortable with each other and we can be great friends. In all it was a fantastic day marking a milestone in our developing friendships.

–Mia N. & Barak S.

Reflections

Sometimes I still forget how far away from home I am. When I looked at the clear sky just the other night I noticed that among the various bright stars the beginning of a crescent moon shone. The flipped position of the moon forming a “happy face” was a clear reminder to me of the physical distance that I am away from home. When you grow up you take in your surroundings as the true reality without consciously realizing it, or take in your life and surroundings as what the world is like. This trip to Tanzania is my first every traveling to another culture. I was sure before arriving that the culture shock would be astonishing. It is true that the culture here is different. From the food to the clothing, Moshi is nothing like Seattle. However, the warmhearted welcome of the Tanzanian people blocked the cultural shock and instead replaced it with a sense of home and Karibu (welcome). All the friendly locals wish to welcome us and, as Mama Simba says, deep down in our hearts we all have a bit of home in Africa.

–Karin K.

In the United States there is a subtle yet defined barrier that exists between genders. These outdated stereotypes infiltrate our society in insidious ways that must be reversed. Scarily, this same sentiment of gender inequality exists in a much stronger sense throughout Tanzanian culture.

The strategic placement of three medium-sized rocks is hopefully catalyzing change to alleviate gender stereotyping in Tanzanian culture in the future. How could four rocks do that? Well today, I, along with my peers, arranged an all girls soccer team that plays together during recess. You could see the look of doubt and astonishment across the faces of the young boys that attend the school (sadly that wasn’t surprising.)

Up until this point the girls would play peacefully together singing nursery rhymes and keeping to themselves as the boys barreled past them to pass a ball or receive one from a teammate.

Although the placement of the rocks, two on each side of the playground to emulate a soccer goal, was a miniscule step in outlining the power of being female in an ever-adapting society, it was an important one.

–Samantha K.

Mambo!

Seventeen-years-old and I’m on an African safari with my best friends that I only met a couple of days ago. The group has bonded so much this weekend, it’s crazy.

Words cannot describe the beauty and excitement of Tarangire and Ngorongoro. One moment we are in the middle of the savannah and the next we turn a corner and we’re in a tropical oasis with elephants picking at the vines.

There is no feeling in the world like riding through the Ngorongoro Crater with the top down, hair blowing in the wind, surrounded by nature (and zebras… lots of zebras.) We saw giraffe, elephants, lions, rhino, hippo, gazelle, wildebeest, cheetah, warthogs, and much more, all up close and personal.

The hotel we spent the night in, just outside the Ngorongoro entrance gate, was beyond hospitable. The safari guides were very knowledgeable, and so funny and easy to talk to that it was hard to say goodbye.

Speaking of goodbyes, we’ve grown quite close to the local staff and it was really hard being away from them all weekend. Agape is like a second Mom who we can joke with and lean on (not that I don’t joke with and lean on my own Mom,) and Godwin, Chris and Zenus are like fun older brothers who smile and dance pretty much all the time.

I can’t even begin to describe how much fun I’m having, how good the food is (I’m a picky eater,) and how much I love Africa.

Good night and Baadaye, blog readers. J

–Sari S.

(ps: I love you Mom & Dad!)

Tarangire National Park

This weekend we gained a unique insight into an especially exotic part of Africa- the wildlife. We spent the entire weekend driving on winding, bumpy dirt roads.

We spent Saturday in Tarangire National Park, about two hours from the city of Arusha and Sunday in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a little farther away, at the edge of the vast Serengeti.

Tarangire is famous for it’s massive, ancient baobab and thorny acacia trees. We saw dozens of elephants there, some within a few feet of our vehicles.

Ngorongoro is a steep-walled caldera that remains from when a volcano erupted and collapsed into itself millions of years ago. The lush, fertile grass that lines the crater floor is bursting with a diverse spectacle of wildlife. Wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, warthog and buffalo grazed in the hot sun, while nearby, a nearly invisible cheetah stalked through the tall grass and huge hippos soaked in ponds of water. The sights were simply endless.

Among the most exciting sightings were a group of four rhinos (out of an estimated total of less than 10 remaining in the crater); a cheetah (one of only three in the crater); a mother lioness (with two cubs); and an exceptionally large, elderly male elephant. Most of these animals sat right beside the roads and some even walked right in our path, entirely unfazed by our vehicles.

In some ways our excursion revealed the wildlife as highly symbolic of Tanzania and Africa. Whether it was the towering, powerful elephants tenderly caring for their young, or a majestic, prideful lioness standing vigilantly over her cubs, a powerful sense of family and community pervaded the experience.

This weekend we, without a doubt, gained a greater understanding of Tanzanian culture and nature, and we definitely lived out the ‘Adventure’ in GLA.

–Isaak T.

Service & Fun!

Wow. We woke up bright and early at the ripe hour of 6:00 am—what a way to start our fourth day. Time has been going by so fast here at Rau Village, it almost seems like we’re in a whole other world.

After a delicious Tanzanian French Toast breakfast, we trekked down to school for our second day of teaching. Today was even more rewarding than yesterday. The kid’s faces lit up with joy as we entered the classroom and their enthusiasm only increased throughout the day. We reviewed and continued yesterday’s lesson before proceeding outside. Boy, was it hot today! We swung our pick axes and dug the dirt and managed to accomplish a massive amount of work in only a few short hours.

A couple of hours after arriving, we said our goodbyes to the kids and traveled back home for a delicious lunch of soup, beans, salad and fruit—by far the tastiest meal of the trip so far. Immediately after lunch we had a short discussion about our upcoming safari weekend, then we split up the group for our afternoon activities: half went to town to visit a market and use the Internet café and the other half stayed at home and learned to do batik art. The painting technique consists of wax and dyes and our work turned out great.

Dinner was another great meal, consisting of spaghetti and meat sauce, which we gobbled up quickly. We finished our day with a personality exercise where we learned about our inner self by comparing our own traits to safari animals and then turned the activity into a productive group discussion. Before bed we watched a short documentary film on the Serengeti to learn more about the wildlife of East Africa.

We are all very excited for safari weekend and can’t wait to see how the rest of the trip unfolds. That’s all for today.

–Greg I.

We began our day as usual at 6:00 am with loud, upbeat music and fresh bananas. The nervous energy from our first day of teaching had dissipated and we settled into our new roles with ease.

The children at the school welcomed us warmly as usual with big smiles and eyes eager to learn. We continued to teach sequence words they seemed to have a much firmer grasp on it they did the previous day. My teaching group was also more comfortable in front of the class of 24 adorable students.

While we continued to dig the trenches for our trees, I noticed that we’re facing a problem. Our labor force is far greater than the amount of work that presently needs to be done, but we don’t have an efficient system to divide the labor amongst us. Greg, my co-leader, and I tried to implement a rotating system of work-stations that would allow everyone to get a chance to work, but with no success. This is when I realized that being a leader is no easy task.

A wonderful silver lining followed the bumps in the road, however. I led a reflection session on the bus ride back to the home base and we got some brilliant ideas and solutions flowing. It was heartwarming to see how willing people were to offer up successful strategies, for both digging the trench and for teaching in the classroom.

Later on in the day, after a hearty lunch and a short preview of what we’ll experience on our safari weekend, I headed to town with half of our group. We exchanged money and had our first Internet access in days, enjoying delicious milkshakes from the café.

After dinner we filled out a questionnaire that would tell us what animal represents our personality type. I am a ‘buffalo:’ outspoken and determined, according to the quiz. Although to describe it the quiz seems like nothing more than a fun activity, I think, for many of us, it made us think about who we are as individuals and how we fit into the group. Despite our differences, one thing we can all agree on is that it takes a variety of personalities to form a strong group and that’s what we have here at GLA Tanzania!

–Abigail W.

Two Different Perspectives

We were up today before the sun in an attempt to get to school on time for our first day of teaching. Nonetheless, after taking our time enjoying the delicious breakfast that Mama Digna and the other ladies made for us – fresh bananas with peanut butter and a fried muffin-type food called ‘andazi’ – and a short Swahili lesson from Agape, we fell a little behind schedule. Fortunately, the town was still bustling as we drove on through.

Motorcycles loaded with people and produce sped past the colorful shops, open and teeming with customers, intermixed with shepherds tending their goats and many, many waving children, beautifully illustrates the vibrant, choreographed pandemonium of Tanzanian city life.

Only a few minutes outside of town is a sprawling savannah with a view of the mountains and the beauty of an unaltered landscape that is truly breathtaking. Chriss taught me a word that describes my feelings for the this scene—‘mbinguni’—which means ‘paradise.’

After several minutes driving through mbinguni, we arrived at the Himo-Korona school. The children must have been able to smell us from a mile away, because they ran to meet the buses from that distance. Their eagerness and enthusiasm followed them from the streets to the classroom, where they gobbled up the relative pronoun lesson we taught them like candy. After class, some of the girls braided my hair with salon-level precision.

We also started re-planting the brush barrier that separates the school from the road, which was particularly memorable because we were surprised by a host of salamanders that scared us westerners out of our skin!

We returned home to another delicious meal, a guest speaker full of information about Tanzania (to feed our curiosity), and a long performance by a traditional drumming and dance group. We all got our East African culture fix for sure.

After a long day of adventuring through the Tanzanian countryside, primary school academics and our own minds, we’re all ready to roll into bed and sleep until our next adventure tomorrow morning.

Usiku Mwema!

– Allegra

Mambo, everyone! Mambo means ‘Hi’ by the way.

Today was filled with many firsts. One amazing first was teaching at the Himo-Korona Primary School. We taught Standard 5 English, where the lesson consisted of tenses and sequences. The children all retain the lessons so well. As soon as we wrote stuff on the board, the quickly wrote it down.

The Tanzanian spirit really shines through for me when we had a drum and dance lesson. We have already been incredibly immersed into this culture, but we haven’t experienced traditional dance or rituals right in front of us, so this was a spectacular first.

But the biggest first of today would have to be being chosen to be leader of the day with Allegra. Being leader of the day made me challenge myself to make announcements and be aware of my group and really step up. Since I was leader of the day, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with our guest speaker, Mr. Chalamila, and share lunch with him before his presentation. We talked about our lives and really built a connection. He is a teacher and I told him how I want to be a teacher and I explained how being a teacher in America doesn’t pay well. After I told him, he smiled and said, “You will do a great may things because you care about your call to be a teacher more than the money—you spread the light.” This touched my heart in a way that I never would’ve thought could affect me.

All the firsts today, like eating Tanzanian guacamole, sharing laughs, seeing African dancing (with live snakes!), and being leader of the day made me realize how much of an impact you can make by being a real leader. I cannot wait for the many adventures to come.

“Peace first, then life in Tanzania.” –Moses Chalamila

– Nicole

First View of the Big Mountain

This morning we visited the Himo-Korona primary school, where we’ll be doing our service project. Everyone was so excited and curious when we arrived. We spoke with the teachers and played and sang songs with the children. We also got our first view of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Later in the day we visited the market and purchased beautiful colorful fabrics. We met a seamstress at the GLA compound who measured us for shirts, skirts, dresses and purses. After dinner we had our first Leadership workshop and worked on lesson plans. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to our first volunteer day at the school.

Tanzania so far has been a place of wonder and beauty, with amazing landscapes, full of amazing people, with a unique and friendly culture.

– Jill R. & Austin H.

Settling In

After long journeys from around the globe, our group of eager young participants have arrived safely at the Moshi home base where our local team and our international mentors greeted and helped everyone get settled into their new home for the next 21 days.

We’ve Arrived!

All students have arrived in Tanzania safe and sound! Their group photo will be coming tomorrow! Stay tuned for updates!

Last Day in Tanzania

A Hearty Thank You!

‘Jenna’s group was at the airport, checked in, and we watched them through the window as they went through to depart back for home.’

Last Day, from Director:
What an adventure we’ve had in Tanzania with your GLA student!

On behalf of the Arusha, Tanzania Team, we thank you for entrusting us with your student. We’ve enjoyed the journey with each and every one of them. As they return we hope you welcome your global leader with open arms and hearts. Their eyes are wide with excitement  at the prospect of doing their part to be the change. As they tell their stories of new found friends and ideas about themselves and the world they live in–may you find as much joy and hope in them as we did.

Last Day with the Kids

Today was our last day with the kids, so in all of the classes we played games to have a fun last day to remember as well as review. We cut our classes to 25 minutes instead of the usual 30 so we could have more play time with all of the children. The kids played a competitive soccer game as they always do after school and they were given stickers and lots of pictures were taken because we all wanted to cherish these moments and have mementos to carry with us,even though they could never compare to living in those moments. When the final goodbyes were said, tears were shed by both the students of the school and the ambassadors of GLA. On the third floor, we could see them waving to us over the fences, which led to another wave of tears to crash down. After her usual savvy traveler tips, Jenna sent us off into the wild African market where we bargained for some good deals on groceries and rushed to be the first group back (even though apparently it was just for participation). And finally, we all had a really deep conversation about an article “To Hell with Good Intentions”, talking about the possible positive and negative impacts of “volunteerism” and the different kinds. And now here we are. Blogging.

JENNA – a poem:

Just hoeing along, picking up weeds, and drinking coffee

Enjoying each other and Joseph’s cooking

New friends were created at the school

Never underestimate Sarah’s falling abilities

All of us enjoy pondering at the stars

-Written by: Sydney Bueme, Sarah Tash, Ri Robinson, Hunter Stewart, and Julia Hiemstra

Playing with Local Kids (and Snakes!)

Figure 1 l to r Sydney Bueme, Sean, Mariah play with their students from Patandi school

Figure 2 Matt painting

Figure 3 Mama Hellen talks to Junior while Ethan paints in background

Figure 4 Maddie with a python that was part of a traditional dance presentation performed by Kill Wizard dance troupe. Troupe is made up of mostly former street children and orphans They dream of opening an arts center for under privileged children in the future

Walking Everywhere, Learning Everything

Today was an intense day full of fun but eye opening experiences.

We got up early (as usual) and ate a hearty breakfast of Tanzanian pancakes- a wonderful treat for us all! We then went to the primary school for the third day and taught our lessons we planned the evening before. I can’t believe five days have already gone by. After teaching and tea break, we finished sanding the classroom we are repainting. It only took us two days, and I am doubtful we would have finished so quickly if we didn’t have our students sanding along with us. We walked back to home base, hand in hand with our new friends, and after saying goodbye headed in for a delicious lunch.

After some much needed relaxing, we walked to a local orphanage. We walk literally everywhere! Upon our arrival, the group of about ten orphans welcomed us to their community by singing upbeat traditional Tanzanian songs. It was a very emotional experience for many of us who were seeing children in such harsh circumstances. We brought with us gifts of rice and sugar, and they gratefully accepted our donations. After being welcomed, we walked further up the hill to where the children go to school. Their school is run by the orphanage, and takes place in rented out rooms from a church. The orphanage director explained to us that they have no money to rent out the classrooms, and no money to pay the three teachers employed. I think that this truly hit me the hardest, because without a proper education, these children may never make it out of the situation they are in. After seeing the classrooms, we engaged in a high energy game of Duck Duck Goose, a game that seems to be greatly appreciated by every child we have met here. After walking back to the orphanage, we toured the small compound where the children are living.   In one room, thirteen girls must sleep three to a bed to fit in the small room. The kitchen outside consisted of a small wood-burning stove covered by sheet metal. The bathroom was pretty much a tent made out of old fabric.

It was hard saying goodbye to the children. I think that the visit to the orphanage was especially hard because we can’t really change these kid’s lives. Even though they were smiling while we were there, at the end of the day many of them have still been abandoned and forced into a life of poverty. After saying goodbye, we headed back to home base for a very different meal. Each of us picked a card out of a box, and it told us who we were and what financial class we were part of. The upper class got to sit at a table with chairs, and were served their meal. The middle class only had chairs, and had to go to the kitchen and get food themselves. The lower class sat on the ground and shared a ball of ugali, a traditional Tanzanian dinner food. The upper class makes up 20% of the world, the middle class makes up 30% of the world, and the lower class makes up 50% of the world. These statistics were eye opening.

After the activity, we debriefed by talking about how what we do effects the rest of the world in negative and positive ways. Then everyone got a regular dinner, and we started to plan tomorrow’s lesson for school. It was a long but educational day.

Figure 1 Local Director Lodrick joins our neighbors in a song and dance

Figure 2 Julia Hiernstra

Welcome to Primary School

Today was a great day. We started the day with a wonderful breakfast of Tanzanian potatoes (with taste like sweet potatoes), eggs and bread. This was our first day teaching in the Primary school, and it was amazing. The children are fast learners and are almost always joyful. After teaching we got down and dirty in a cloud of dust. We started sanding the walls of one of the classrooms to prepare it for a future paint job. After cold showers and lunch we took an adventure into the market to buy fabric. Than we ventured to a seamstress to get the clothes tailored. It was a fun and action packed day, so I am going to go to bed now, under my white mosquito net. I am prepared to rise early tomorrow to the sound of the screeching roosters! Good night (or rather good afternoon!)

-NICOLE SAIA

P.S. from International Director, Jenna Padbury

We are really sorry we haven’t sent more photos. Our photographer of the day today had a camera snafu, and yesterday was our first day in the community and meeting our students. We were focusing on being present and establishing relationships before pulling out our cameras. Moving forward, we’ll have lots of photos of our temporary home and new friends!

Building a Team

Today was a fun and exciting day for all of us. In the morning we had breakfast and played team building games with the GLA staff and mentors. Later in the day, we were told that we were going to have lunch with our host families, and that they would show us around their homes and the local village. While hanging out and getting to know the families in their homes we were able to experience their way of living and everyday life, walk around the local markets, hospitals, schools, and more. During the evening we had dinner and got to know each other more by playing games and hanging out.

-Juan Rodriguez

(Featured in photo, L to R): Ethan Liu, Julia Hiemstra, Sarah Tash, Massimo Morano, Ri Robinson, Junior Rodriguez, Deborah Rheem, Cole Rector, Sean Rogers, Maddy Kendall, Becca Largen, Coli Saia, Hunter Stewart-Koberstein
Not pictured because she was on her way from the airpot: Sydney Bueme

International Director’s Welcome

The GLA Heart and Soul of Africa Arusha team is excited to receive our first 2014 group. The entire team has been busy preparing for their arrival. While the local programming staff, Lodrick, Lota, Marilyn, and Mama Hellen have been coordinating our logistics, connecting us to the community and readying our home base, Amy and Swiff (mentors) and I have been busy planning engaging service-learning and leadership activities. We all look forward to countless opportunities to connect, discover and take action. In addition to daily service teaching English and painting classrooms, we’ll head out on safari, meet local families, explore development concerns facing Tanzania and learn some Swahili along the way. We’ll eat great food, play games, ask big questions, and challenge ourselves to be change makers. After 14 days with us in Tanzania, we hope your participant will come back to you inspired and empowered to be leaders for change!

Here in Tanzania, life is a little slower than most of us are used to–People focus on connecting face-to-face. With a less developed infrastructure than many countries, Tengeru’s lack of reliable internet and power fluctuations will give our GLA Tanzania Team plenty of time to stay in the moment and connect with each other. They will collect stories to share when they return home. Without the distractions of internet access, cable television, and smart phones–we look forward to lots of story telling, game playing, and life-changing conversations. On behalf of our entire GLA Tanzania Team, thank your for entrusting your GLA Member to us. We take our work seriously. He/She is about to have a life-changing leadership adventure and we are thrilled to be a part of it. In the meantime, know that your participant is warmly welcomed and in good hands!

-Jenna Padbury, International Director

Headed Home

All students are on their way home!

Winding Down

Our adventures in Peru are quickly coming to an end and today’s rafting, weaving demo and Andean music were great additions to the memories made and things learned while on the trip. We embarked on our whitewater raftering adventure in the morning and not a single one of us stayed dry. The two-hour journey was filled with water fights and beautiful scenery of snow-capped peaks. After lunch we met with some Peruvian women in a town called Chinchero to learn about how alpaca fur is transformed into the colorful woven goods that we have seen in various markets. After the demonstration, we were on our way to Cusco for a private Andean music performance when we found ourselves stopped in the street waiting for a parade to pass by. The parade was full of vibrant, folkloric costumes, energetic dancing and festive music. The day’s activities concluded with live, traditional Andean music. The music was beautiful and great for dancing. Afterwards, we had a late dinner at the home bas with cuy (guinea pig) for dessert! None of us are quite ready to leave behind the beautiful landscapes of Peru or the friends we have made, but we are grateful for the time we have had together.

-Kristi

Lots of Activities!

Brennan and Zach’s day 18 started bright and early at 5:30am due to the alarm on Brennan’s broken phone. The rest of the team GLA Peru arose somewhat later, but equally excited for our last day of service in Mancco. It only took until noon to finish up all of the loose ends around the work site and then we headed down to the town soccer filed for a very special lunch. The towns people prepared for us a traditional departure lunch of potatoes cooked in an underground oven. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing soccer, tending the fire or resting. We took the time until dinner to write personal letters to each other that will be received upon departure. After a scrum-diddily-umptious dinner we ended our day with a discussion about consumerism. We talked about its impacts and our role in it. We went to bed with thoughts of self-loathing and domestic terrorism. Overall it was the type of excited day that we’ve come to expect in Peru.

-Brennan and Zach

Finishing Our Projects

It was a typical workday and we spent our time in Mancco putting the finishing touches on our paths and ecofridges. We thought it was interesting how our projects incorporated traditional stone-laying techniques and adobe made from mud collected in surrounding areas; it was nice seeing all of our collaborative work come together! After work, our day consisted of shower-time followed by a hilarious (optional) session of laughter yoga! Just before dinner, we had an out-of-the-ordinary scavenger hung as our last Spanish class before saying goodbye to out teachers with gifts ranging from cards to chocolates. We capped the day off with an interesting group talk on gender issues.

Kids!

Today we woke up very excited because we were going to able to visit schools in the area and interact with some of the local children. At 8am we departed for Mancco as usual and continued working to build the walkways for the homes. We worked until our deadline time of 11:30am and then boarded the buses to visit the children. The schools were located halfway between Mancco and Andahuaylillas. The students then split into two groups: half chose to visit with older children of 8-10 years old and the other half went to work with preschool children. We played sports with them such as soccer and tag. We also did arts and crafts with them. When we came back to the home base where we spent most of our time cuddling three cute puppies that we were babysitting. The dogs belonged to a family in Mancco who let us take care of them for the night. At 4:30pm we had Spanish class, which lasted until 6:30pm. After dinner, our activity for that night was salsa lessons. Our teacher was awesome and nice and very enthusiastic and encouraging, and we all had a good time making fools of ourselves.

-Julian and Bella

More Service

Today was a typical service day in Mancco. Most groups started cementing their pathways and others finished laying stones. After returning to the home base, Erica and Julia talked to us about their intriguing experiences in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. The mentors’ stories and experiences convinced many students to consider their own futures with these programs.

-Megan and Andrei

Bonding

Today was a day of strengthening bonds. After having the typical breakfast, we then traveled to Mancco. In our work group, we finished cementing our rock paths, to better aid our family. We all shared a traditional Peruvian dish made of rice, potatoes, chicken, vegetables, and a cream sauce. Then, we returned to home base to shower and make pottery. Afterwards, we attended Spanish class, in which we discovered bonds between our languages and cultures. Finally, after dinner, we discussed global citizenship. We learned what it means to be a global citizen, and how we can all actively participate in our world. Whether it was filling paths with cement, or discovering international bonds, and how everything is interconnected, there were bonds made this day that will never be broken.

~Abby

Machu Picchu

Today’s the day. Machu Picchu!!!! After waking up at 6 AM to get an early start we headed to the BEST of the seven wonders of the world. After a scenic bus ride up the mountain , we excitedly walked up the long set of steps, knowing these belonged to ancient civilization. We were amazed by the elegance and beauty encompassing the ancient city of Machu Picchu. Before we could delve into a picture sesh, a mysterious fog rolled in, concealing the entire city right in front of our eyes. No wonder this beautiful city was able to stay hidden so long. We embarked on a strenuous hike that reaped great rewards when we finally reached the sun gate of Machu Picchu mountain. We then returned to take an hour tour of the ruins, including free time to explore and take pictures for all of you. The architecture was impressive, the llamas were photogenic, and we had the best time so far on the trip. Then, it was finally time to go. We went to a buffet that filled our adventurous stomachs and hopped on a train back to Andahauylillas. We will remember this day for the rest of our lives!
Fun Facts:
-Machu Picchu is the name of the mountain, not the actual city.
-One king, called the Inca, ruled Machu Picchu, the Quechuas were the ones who built and inhabited the city.

-Shira and Aaron

Aguas Calientes

Our morning began with an atypical breakfast of banana pancakes. These pancakes fueld the first leg of our hike to Aguas Calientes, a small town just below Machu Picchu. The walk to lunch was about 2.5 hours; filled with beautiful sights and the company of two stray dogs, Maxwell and Theodore. Once we reached our lunch place, we unloaded our bags and headed on a short walk to a waterfall where some brave students took a dip in the chilly water. After lunch we continued the trek to Aguas Calientes through a deluge of water. Tired and soaked with rain, we finally arrived at our hotel. We were treated to a delicious dinner at an interesting Italian-Peruvian fusion restaurant whre students ate dishes ranging from lomo saltado (a Peruvian dish with steak, rice and potatoes) to spaghetti and pizza. Our long day was concluded with everyone frantically trying to con net to Wifi.

-Laura and Malia

Half Way Through

It’s hard to believe that we’re half way through already. What started as a flame of awkward silence and small talk seems like ancient history. All we have now is a raging fire of everlasting friendships and newfound knowledge. This trip has shown the true colors of each student, including myself, and I have yet to be disappointed by any of them. Spending so long in a new place with people is bound to have its ups and downs, certainly. I have not looked at a computer screen in nearly two weeks and I am everything but upset. Today, at the service site, I witnessed a new born llama take its first steps ever, and it reminded me that Andahuaylillas may not be the city of love, or light, or high rise buildings that never sleeps, but it has opened up a new page in my life, and I couldn’t be happier.

-Sacha

Service & Fun

Today we went back to the service site to continue working on our projects. Most of the groups started laying down concrete to complete the patios. We ate lunch at the service site and then finished up our work for the day. Back at home base we had story time with Lucas and Brennan followed by a photo scavenger hunt around the town. The scavenger hunt was super fun and we got to run around looking for the items on the list. Today was a good day.

-Caitlin and Maddie

The Sacred Valley

Sunday the 13th of July we went to see ruins at the Sacred Valley. We had a mini hike through Incan ruins and saw an ancient Incan cemetery and learned about their farming system.

Later we went to the market where we saw a variety of items which many of us bought: some examples are hats, scarves, bags and bracelets. For lunch we went to a local staff members house where we got wiFi for the first time and ate chicken and french fries for lunch. All were happy because while eating American food with our wiFi we watched the World Cup!

To finish off the night we had a group meeting where we explored our personality traits and leadership qualities and skills. It was really nice to learn about the people we’re living with and understand them better. It was an exhausting but unforgettable day and we are really happy to have been apart of it!

-Ginger And Layla

Biking

We awoke knowing that we would be biking, but we had no clue what to expect. We heard that there’d be four lakes atop a mountain, yet the sights surpassed all that we had imagined. At 8:00, we departed to the beginning of the ride. To our left was a massive lake that was so surreal, and to the right were towering mountains. A quick downhill ride soon turned into a painful climb through the Andes. Not fully acclimated, the ride was a lot more difficult than expected. But, after the lengthy climb, the views were amazing and awe-inspiring. We had just passed the second lake and we were exhausted already. The remaining sections were downhill, allowing everyone to enjoy the scenery while riding. We passed through many quaint towns, with friendly people cheering us on. Even though we had a few incidents with minor crashes, the ride was still very memorable and breathtaking (literally). The final stretch was steep and fast, but very rewarding to all of us, no matter our previous biking experiences. The rest of the day provided us a chance to rest as we enjoyed low-key activities such as team challenges and a movie night.

-Caelin and Brandon

A Day of Firsts

Today was an exciting day of firsts. We worked at our service site in Mancco, a small village located amidst breathtaking mountains, for the first time. We built stone pathways across the small dirt courtyards of locals in order to connect the various doors of their houses and prevent them from tracking in mud and contaminants. Within hours, we became professional pickaxers and stonemasons. We worked side by side with the locals whom we were helping, and were amazed by their skill and strength. As we all worked at the puzzle of fitting various rocks together, we conversed in Spanish with the Peruvian locals to find solutions to tough spots. Furthermore, as the small village children assisted us by passing us rocks, we felt truly united with the people who were no longer simply foreigners to us, but who were now our friends, united with us by a shared goal. The service groups’ endurance and enthusiasm led us to work much faster than expected; however, sore limbs are the price we’re paying for our rapid progress. Later, despite our exhaustion, many of us went on a hike to a nearby river between picturesque Peruvian hills. Regardless of the cold temperature, we stayed in the water, splashing and engaging in seaweed wars. Then, in the evening, we played a game of Spanish charades and then learned about Peruvian national history from a local history teacher. After experiencing so many elements of Peru’s richness, beauty, and culture today, we truly ended the day feeling more connected, aware, and awestruck by this fantastic country that we are privileged to have the opportunity to experience.

-Caroline Boschetto

Finally Made It

I can’t believe I’m actually in Peru! After months of preparation the group has finally arrived in Andahuaylillas in a home base that is beautifully decorated with flowers and grassy sitting areas. The center of town is less than a five-minute walk from the home base and is a popular place to go to during free time. So far the favorite sport has been soccer. It’s also a great way to meet locals. One group found a field to play in near the center of town and soon found themselves in a game with the local children. I wasn’t there, but sources say that there were a lot of them and that they were very fast.

Yesterday, after breakfast, we got in the bus to explore Cusco. We shopped in a marked that reminded me of a very large farmers market. They had everything: fruit, herbs, hats, backpacks, jewelry, shoes, really everything. I got to try a tree tomato, which is like a normal tomato, except smaller and sweeter; almost like a grape. I also bought a bracelet and a small bag for 16 soles total. It was quite the deal.

After shopping we traveled to a museum that explained a lot of the differences between the Incan period and the Colonial period. We got to see the Temple of the Sun modeled by both groups so we could see the difference in theme and intention. For example, the Incas prioritized astronomy, clearly the Temple of the Sun was very important. This is precisely why the Spanish later wanted to paint over the temple – to erase the Incan culture. The tour guide also walked us through town and explained the ancient architectural technique that prevented the walls from caving in during earthquakes. It was all very interesting to learn how developed the Incas were despite how long ago it was.

After the trip to Cusco, we came back to the home base and met our Spanish teachers who all seemed very nice. They gave us a quick placement quiz which was a bit nerve wracking. Personally, my Spanish is a little rusty, so I know I wasn’t placed in a high level. The great thing about this group is that there are so many different kinds of people. I think the classes are pretty evenly dispersed between beginner, intermediate and advanced. This enables the group to improve their sills with other students of the same level. I’m excited to begin classes soon!

-Ginger

We’ve Arrived!

All 33 of your sons and daughters have made it safely to Peru. We will be spending the next three weeks at 8,000 feet above sea level (or higher) so we’re easing into it by putting together our group flag tonight. After dinner we talked about our goals for the trip. These students are extremely impressive, which will make for an awesome trip!

Getting Ready!

Cusco is celebrating your arrival!

Meet two of your awesome Mentors: Julia and Erin. We’re looking forward to meeting all of you guys – see you tomorrow!

-Eric, International Director

Missing You Already

So. Everyone left. Eric and I are left to enjoy all the potatoes and aji to ourselves. The last day of packing up, evaluations and drivers forgetting to unload all the luggage left us with excitement right to the end. I think I can speak for Eric and Anna when I say we had a bomber three weeks with all you chicos. Some people asked me for some sending advice and I had just read something that I thought might be fitting that I think I’ll share with you that left bien temprano.

“According to Popo, the official education system stunts intellectual growth; teachers must be respected but you don’t need to pay them much attention. Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Einstein and Darwin questioned the knowledge of their era. If they had accepted the stupidities of their elders taught them they wouldn’t have invented or discovered anything.”
– Isabel Allende

Thanks for being so beauty. You guys have huge brains and ask big questions.

-Erin

Final Day

Today’s our last night altogether. Though many of us are saddened by the idea of leaving our new family that we have created these past few weeks, we are also excited to bring home all our memories made with one another and our new ideas and perspectives about the world as a whole.

It’s crazy how 25 teenagers and three mentors coming from China to New York, with different lifestyles and backgrounds could create such strong relationships in only a matter of three weeks. It’s already an unspoken rule that we will remain in contact, no matter how annoying the facebook and twitter posts become. Some of us were already planning a road trip (yes Canada is included) to hit all 28 houses. Being here with people who are so similar but so different at the same time caused all of us to have special bonds, and inside jokes, that we will all cherish for a while to come. Not only will our relationships be cherished but our new ideas and perspectives as well. Every night we talked about global issues and though many times we found ourselves bickering with each other, we all left with new thoughts banging inside our heads. We can only imagine the reactions we are going to receive when people realize how much our minds and hearts have expanded. We’re excited to reunite with our families, but there will always be a small part of us here in Peru.

Love,
-Sage and Anisha

A day of “lasts”

Thursday was, according to Eric, “a lot of lasts”. The last day of service was relatively low key. We finished up our caminos mejoradas and did a few more eco-fridges. This was followed by spirited games of world cup and regular soccer.

After some showers, rest and plaza shopping, our last Spanish class began. All four groups did an activity together. Our Spanish teachers split us into five teams: A – E. We were told to come up with a team name and cheer wile two or the teachers set up the activity, a scavenger hunt. The rules were that we had to speak in Spanish, and decipher scrambled Spanish clues revealing the locations of more clues around our casa. Needless to say, it was extremely difficult. Our final clue, which would reveal the location of our treasure, roughly translates to, ” I am where you hide your secrets, shoes and fortune.” Without knowing the commas were there, we were frantically asking kitchen staff, where the “secret shoes” were. Eventually, we worked out the answer was “bed,” and “los ganadores” discovered the treasure, chocolate for all of us. We were all sad to say goodbye to our Spanish teachers, who we gave notebooks from Cusco and exchanged emails with. After dinner, we watched a video and discussed consumerism.

-Zoe

The End of A Great Weekend

On Sunday night our tentative salsa skills finally proved useful. After dinner we walked to the plaza for the celebration of Andahuaylillas’ patron saint, San Pedro. We could hear the loud music even from our house. It stunk (or to some people it was the heavenly scent) of street food, like cow heart. We were part of the pretty early crowd since we actually had to get sleep so there were not a huge number of people there. This didn’t stop it from being very upbeat and energetic. We had the chance to walk around and dance with native Peruvians. Although, for a small minority of us dancing came easily it mostly consisted of spinning in circles and jumping up and down. However we did meet a few fans that just did not want to stop dancing with specific students. When it came time to leave we thought most people enjoyed jumping with, or laughing at our clumsy group. It was really tiring but luckily a lot of us stopped at the store for ice cream on the way back, which was a delicious incentive to come home. We shared funny stories of experiences at the celebration and got a great night of sleep.

-Drew and Charlotte

A Full Day of Culture and History

Time is flying by and sadly we have one week left. Today we had breakfast in the morning after we woke up and it was Annika’s birthday! After breakfast, we took a bus ride to Inca ruins in the Sacred Valley. We took a long, tiring hike through the ruins. In the end, it was worthwhile because we were able to admire the magnificent view of the city below. After visiting the ruins, we went to the market of Pisac and we bought beautiful paintings and other local hand-made items. Shortly after, we went to Awana Kancha, a llama and alpaca farm. We had some serious bonding time with them and fed them grass (a couple of us even managed to get a selfie with the four-legged animals). Lastly, we finished our day by going back to Cuzco to learn about the original music of Peru. We listened to four different songs and we found every song unique because they all represented a different story. It was not just quality of the sound that made up the performance, but the instruments that were used were also astounding. Overall, we gained more knowledge about the Peruvian culture and history.

-Christine and Elizabeth

The Bike Ride

Today we had planned a relaxing bike ride through a pleasant downhill countryside, but instead we were met with unexpected steep upward climbs that left most of the group gasping for air. However, not all was steep upward climbs, we eventually reached the downhill slopes that had been promised and got to enjoy some beautiful scenery. Although for the most part, pleasant and relaxing, the slopes did offer some difficulties to some members of the group. But some minor bumps and bruising, the group remained together.

-Evelyn and Megan

Working Hard

We have passed the halfway mark of our trip and Erin, Anna, and I couldn’t be happier with the progression of all of the students. Most notably, everyone has become more knowledgeable about community service, leadership and teamwork, and Peruvian culture. We’ve also learned the importance of flexibility when travelling and working with new people in new places. My confidence in their ability to change the world grows more every day. With only a week left, I ask friends and families at home these two questions:

1) How and what can YOU learn from this experience?

2) How can you continue your student’s personal growth once back home?

Working Hard

We’ve been working hard at our service sites the past couple of days. We split into three teams in order to work efficiently on multiple houses. Our jobs entail first clearing a pathway with pickaxes, then laying stones to create a walkway, and finally cementing the cracks in between the rocks to make the paths stable. It’s hard work, but the teams work well together and the owners of the homes often help out. Children sometimes come out and play with us. They are always smiling and willing to work with our limited Spanish skills. They even help with the labor.

Most teams have finished one house and are moving on to other houses in the village. We hope to complete two or three houses per team by the end of this trip. Our overall goal for this project is to improve sanitation in this community by limiting the amount of dirt tracked into houses where disease could be spread. We have not started the adobe fridges yet since we are waiting for the bricks to dry, but we are excited to expand our knowledge in basic construction work (we never know when that might come in handy).

-Grace O. and Grace M.

The Adventure Continues

*We apologize for the resolution, this program does not have access to wifi at the moment.

Aguas Calientes

The Village of Manco

A brief update…

What Do We Stand For?

Today we explored the Cusco marketplace and the coricancha, and completes our Spanish evaluations – ay Dios mio! Our first day of work is tomorrow and we’re all excited to get started. We spent the evening putting together our group flag!

-Anna

 Safe and Sound

All 25 of your precious sons and daughters have arrived safely and are hanging out in the hills of Cusco. Well be taking a few days to rest, acclimatize and get familiar with the area. Work begins Tuesday – more updates to come!

We’re Ready For You!

Hey team! Meet your international staff members: Anna, Erin and Eric.

All that’s left are some finishing touches and your arrivals. Hurry up and get here- your local and international staff eagerly awaits you!

We can’t wait to meet you all. See you soon!

-Eric, International Director