Our students have arrived!

Days 1 and 2

Greetings from Cusco!

So far it has been a tiresome 3 days here in Peru. The first day felt awful mainly due to almost 15 hours worth of travel in order to get to Cusco in the first place. Then, the 2nd day was ROUGH. Holy crap, it felt about as exhausting as an entire field hockey game back home. This may have been due to our bodies being not yet adjusted to the new altitude but even still, my body was not prepared for this kind of work! We are currently in the third stage of constructing guinea pig (or cuy) farms for the people of the Cusco. When these structures are completed and ready to be used, they will help with improving income and overall health of the local Peruvians. Later in the afternoon when we finished with our service and were back in the hotel, a guest speaker from the local community came and spoke with us about the Peruvian culture. He talked about many different customs and traditions that Peruvians experience. An example of one of the traditions is called Tacca Naquita, which is started when a dispute happens between two people (same gender/age) and they “schedule” to fight on the 25th of December, along with most other Peruvians… and there’s a referee!! Anyways, on the second day we had to get up an hour EARLIER than the first day, which I’m not gonna lie was a bit of a struggle. We continued our work from the day before by breaking up dirt from the ground, sifting it, and then using a mud/cement like mixture as a cement for laying down bricks. When we got back to the hotel, we took the time to shower and rest before trekking over to the local Shaman. A Shaman is known as the local healer for the community. We took the time to make offerings to Pacha Mamma (or Mother Earth) before we got our own fortunes. Surprisingly, my fortunes were pretty accurate!

Excited to see what the next day brings! Signing off for now,

Holly Willhide

July 26, 2017

 

July 27, 2017

Our group just got back from the three day trek which was an amazing experience. I have not had much experience hiking prior to this trip so the first day was very challenging for me due to the altitude and other reasons. We hiked along the Inca trail to our campsite for about four hours. Along the way we encountered rivers, narrow and steep paths, and rocky grounds. We all pushed ourselves physically and mentally, but by the end we were so glad that we were able to push through and complete something so challenging. Going up the mountain was definitely tiring and scary at times, but as soon as we arrived it was so worth it! Our campsite had a beautiful view that my camera could not give justice and as night came around, the stars came out and the sky looked unreal. The more time that passed, the colder it got, but I don’t think any of us minded because we were so awestruck by the sky. On the second day, we woke up very sore, so we had a relatively easy day of walking along side a train track for a couple of hours to our hotel of the night. Along the way, we were able to see Machu Picchu in the distance which we climbed the following day. When we arrived at the hotel, we were all so glad that we were able to shower and change our clothes and were able to sleep in a bed (YAY!) That night, we did some shopping and bought some very cool items including shoes, jewelry, tshirts etc… The next day, we climbed up machu picchu which (again) was very physically and mentally tiring, but was also rewarding. The ruins were very cool and we were able to see llamas roaming around. We were able to get many cool pictures as a group and of the ruins  and had a very insightful tour. The last couple of days have been great but I’m so glad to be back at home base! We are all very sad that our adventure is soon coming to an end.

Nikita

We are back from our three day trek to Machu Picchu and ready to continue building our guinea pig houses! Today was a short but productive day at service. Some of our girls are working on more detailed blog posts and we’ll be getting those to you soon.

Last week we had the opportunity of visiting the community of Patabamba. Patabamba is located among the andes mountains and their economy is strongly based on agriculture. Our group was divided into four smaller groups and each one visited a different family. Most of us helped the families shell beans or corn and we were able to talk to them and get to know them a bit better while we helped out.  The families were very grateful and invited us into their homes for a traditional snack called “watia” which consists of boiled potatoes and fresh cheese. They also cooked quinoa soup for us at the end of the day. Everything was delicious! Afterwards we had a soccer game with people from the community and enjoyed the incredible view.

Day 1

Hi,

We are group B from Service in the Sacred Valley! Today was arrival day!!! We picked up many of our students from the Cusco airport! They arrived safely to the hotel and was pleasantly surprised that they had to hike to the 4th or 5th floor for rooms. After some rest time, we had an amazing lunch served by the hotel.

Most students, although tired, were very ready to meet others and get started with the program. We did some brief orientation after some getting to know you games. We tried to keep it as relaxed as possible so that everyone could acclimate with the altitude and also rest up for service day tomorrow.

We’re all very excited to start our service building guinea pig farms tomorrow!! Keep posted for more great things to come.

Siushan Vuong

Day 2

Greetings from Peru! Today was our first full day here in Peru! Waking up early, those of us who hadn’t just arrived, ate a quick breakfast and hopped on the buses to head to our worksite. The place we are working at is a small community outside of the main city of Cusco, called Chocco. The people are living are very deprived of the privileges we have back at home, and even lack some things we consider necessities, like clean water, sewage systems, and easy access to the stores, education, and the city. Our job is to help these people build guinea pig farms in their own backyards to help them maintain a solid food source. The families we helped had either five children or twelve living in one home. As we learned today, a lot of Peruvians are deprived of protein as growing children which causes them to face issues regarding malnutrition for the rest of their lives. This causes them to have trouble learning and functioning well into adulthood. A shocking seven out of ten children living in the countryside are considered malnourished. To start this work and know that we can make a difference really is humbling and exciting.

After work, we got back and did some more team bonding, which helped introduce everyone to the new students and also become familiar with those we have already met. Even though it’s only the second day in, we all feel very close and comfortable with each other! We went to the supermarket today to get some snacks. It was the first time we’d walked through the city and it was an eye-opening experience but a truly beautiful walk with the background of the mountains behind the city. It was crazy how different yet similar it was to a typical American grocery store. At night, we played some games and sat down to a hearty dinner which also consisted of birthday cake since Gigi celebrated her birthday today!

All in all, it was a fantastic second day and everyone is excited for the rest of the trip and all the experiences we are going to have together.

We’re going to PERUse our way to bed now!

-Gigi and Lindsey

Day 3

Greetings from Peru! Today was our third day here in this beautiful city, Cusco. Instead of the very “grueling” manual labor we endured yesterday, today was a much more laidback yet equally rewarding experience. We split into four groups to visit and assist four different families in Patabamba, a mountainous community about an hour away from base. The drive up was scenic and breathtaking as we scaled up the mountain by bus. As we each arrived at our respective homes, we were warmly and swiftly greeted by the entire family in each one. Animals were everywhere, and the dogs and even farm animals were extremely friendly and adorable. Even with the amount of people in each family, so much work needs to be done within each household, making it difficult for these families to live proficiently and get all their jobs done.

Although this community differed from the one we visited to build the guinea pig farms, we could still really see the assistance that would be of benefit to them. The houses were small and open-aired, lacking bathrooms and appliances that we would consider necessities. Nevertheless, these home owners were proud, happy, and hospitable people. All these houses had a large supply of beans which needed to be peeled in order for the supply to be of use to the family, especially because their food supply is relatively low. That was where we came in. For hours we helped them peel beans while bonding with the animals, the adults, and the children. All of us did our best to try and communicate, whether it was practicing Spanish or using hand-motions. We all made connections to people from another culture and gained a lot of perspective from this experience.

After we did service, we came with some members of each family to an open field on the top of the mountain overlooking a scenic valley. For a couple hours, we played multiple games of soccer that were not only a teamwork experience for the GLA team, but was definitely a highlight for a lot of the local children, and even adults. We were blown away by how talented and enthusiastic they all were. It was an eye-opening day overall from the drive there to the drive back. This is something we know we’ll never forget!

PERUsing our way to bed,
Gigi, Lindsey, Abrielle

Day 4

Hola from Cusco!
We had another wonderful day of service here in Peru. This morning we got up bright and early to head off to our work site in Chocco, where both service groups got a ton accomplished on our guinea pig houses. Being our second day of construction, we were all able to find our niche on the site more easily, whether it was hauling rocks, pouring mud, pick-axing dirt, or using Inca style tools to dig trenches. When we reflected on today’s experiences later in the night, we all agreed that our ability to work together made us more efficient in the long run.
After we finished our service today, we walked to a market a couple minutes away from home base. The market was full of stall vendors selling everything from sunglasses to TVs to clothes and more. Many of us got to practice our Spanish haggling skills at the market and were able to get some good deals on different items. The atmosphere had millions of sights and sounds to take in, and it was definitely a unique experience to remember.
In the afternoon, we enjoyed a great talk given by a local economist about the socioeconomics of Peru. We learned so much about culture, tradition, poverty, and health within this country; it was eye-opening to contrast our lives in the United States with the lives of citizens here. Many of us never knew that almost half the population of Peru lives in rural areas or that some Peruvians make the equivalent of only $3 a day for their work. After learning this interesting information, we all were able to have an even better understanding of this wonderful country we have the privilege of visiting.
We are constantly becoming a closer and stronger GLA family each day that we get to spend together. It’s crazy to believe that this was our fourth day and we only have ten more to go! With that in mind, we are very motivated and excited to make the most of our time here.
Thanks for tuning in—off to go count llamas in our sleep,
Abrielle

Day 5

Greetings from Peru! Today was another hard day of service and work for our group. Going back to the sites where we are building guinea pig farms, we continued the work we had left off on. We mixed a lot of mud and many of us got caked in dirt from head to toe! It was yet another fulfilling day of hard service, but we can see the progress at both workplaces.

After showering and resting for a bit, we headed off for the Shaman, which is a person who practices the arts of leaf readings and other spiritual practices. After making an offering to Mother Earth, the Shaman read our leafs for us and answered any questions we had about our futures. The Shaman even gave lucky beans to two of us who have celebrated or are celebrating birthdays around this time It was an amazing experience in a beautiful, scenic location. We had yet another fun and productive day in Peru!

PERUsing my way to bed,

-Gigi

Day 6

Hola from Peru!! Today was another amazing day. We took tour buses all around the main sites of Cusco. First we visited Saqsaywaman which were ruins from the Inca Empire. Saqsaywaman is walls of huge rocks built around the formation of the Incan calendar. We explored the ruins from top to bottom, even going down some smooth rocks like slides! There were alpacas and llamas everywhere and it was many of our first experiences seeing them. There were a lot of native Peruvian women who walked around with the animals wearing very traditional Inca clothing, which made the whole trip even cooler. We saw two more Inca ruin sites which were both beautiful and intricate in their own ways. Not to mention, the views from every Incan ruin were breathtaking and the sites were so much fun to explore.
At noontime, we went to a traditional Peruvian restaurant with a beautiful view of the entire city of Cusco. Not only was that amazing, but the food was delicious and was definitely needed after the morning of trekking. All of a sudden, a band appeared and played some traditional music for us, as well as a cover of La Bamba! They definitely rocked the house.
After lunch, we made our way back into the city to visit the Temple of the Sun and some beautiful churches. Both places were full of intricate detail and it was evident how much effort and time went into making these architectural masterpieces. Inside, we made many stops at different altars made of gold and silver and detailed woodwork. It was interesting to see the different portrayals of religious figures that we would stereotypically see in America. The Cathedral was stunning and eye-opening to a new culture.
It was definitely an experience of a lifetime and truly showed us the city that we are staying in for these two weeks! A totally new place from anywhere we have ever been. Followed by a nighttime adventure to the supermarket and some very heartfelt mentor groups. Everyone here is so incredibly different and brings a new aspect to the table. It’s so wonderful how close our group has become and how cohesive we really are together. We never want to leave.
PERUsing our way to bed,
-Lindsey and Gigi

Day 7 

Hola from Peru! Today was the best day so far. We started off the day bright and early to head to the worksite. It was earlier than usual because there was a city wide strike due to the unfair salaries given to teachers. It was really something cool to see. Our bus finessed its way through a series of road blocks and we surprisingly made it to the work site in time to grind. As soon as we got there we went right to work carrying heavy adobe blocks up a steep cliff. We made three separate assembly lines as we pushed our bodies to their absolute limits and got the large bricks up the mountain side. It was definitely a challenge, but seeing the 400 adobe bricks sitting at the top really made everything worth it.
After we got home from the worksite we made our way to a local orphanage in Cusco. This was definitely one of the most special moments for a lot of the kids in our group. As soon as we got there, orphans of all ages ran out of their rooms to greet us, so excited with smiles ear to ear. They held our hands, hung onto our legs, and were just filled with absolute joy to see us. The sad part is, all these kids either don’t know their parents at all, or were abandoned at a very young age. That’s why it was so important for us to be there, because they don’t have many older figures to look up to. We took a tour of their building, saw where they live and play, and then got to spend time playing with them out in the yard. Each kid looked like they were having the times of their lives: playing soccer, running, teaching us how to dance, and just hanging out with us. Not only did this probably make their day, but it also make an impact on each and every one of us. Even those of us who don’t particularly like kids were touched by the down-to-earth sweethearts we met today in Cusco.
Another incredible day to add to the most incredible trip. We are all feeling super lucky to be here after seeing those kids both at the orphanage and at the worksite today.
PERUsing my way to bed…
-Lindsey

Day 8 Blog

Greetings from Peru! Today was another hard day of service for us. We went back to our respective worksites and continued to work really hard as we only have a couple more days of service yet. We spent four hours carrying bricks up and down mountains, mixing mud, and doing work on the guinea pig house. Even though the work is getting harder, we are all feeling much more in shape than we did at the beginning!
In the evening, we went to visit a man who showed us traditional Peruvian instruments and demonstrated how they can be used. After he played us many beautiful songs using really interesting and unique instruments, he allowed us to try them all out. There were flutes, rattles, and drums. After that, he gave us our own flute to play and learn a traditional song on. Many of us ended up buying the flute as a souvenir. It was a really cool and one-of-a-kind experience that was really fun for all of us!
Off to bed,
-Gigi

Day 9

Greetings from Cuzco!

Today was our last day before we embark on our Machu Picchu trek tomorrow. We started the day off right with another solid service session in Chocco. Both groups made more great progress on the guinea pig farms. We hauled bricks, leveled the ground, and built up the walls to the enclosures today; we were happy to see our hard work starting to take shape, and it was crazy to think that this was our second-to-last day working on this project. Shoutout to our wonderful mentors who have continued to motivate us throughout our entire program— we wouldn’t be successful without them! Our service ended early with a special surprise today, when we got to play soccer and volleyball with the locals who live around our site. Being able to meet and play with the people from Chocco was a pretty special experience and we all had a wonderful time.

After service we made a trip to the market for any last minute Machu Picchu supplies, then we hopped in the vans and drove to a llama and alpaca farm! We loved feeding the animals and taking pictures of/with them for a few hours—it was another unforgettable experience we were lucky to have while we’re here in Cuzco.

Tonight we packed up for Machu Picchu, which everybody here is very excited (and a little nervous) for. We also celebrated Z’s 17th birthday with a delicious cake courtesy of the amazing chefs in the kitchen! As the night is winding down now, we are all ready to begin our trek in the early hours of the morning tomorrow. We’ll take pictures!

¡Buenas noches y adios!

Abrielle

Day 2

Written by Catherine Carpenter & Breckenridge Hesselman

Hi from Cusco Peru!! It’s Breck and Cat, reporting out on day 2 and 3. Yesterday we began our service at a small village located right outside of Cusco. Childhood malnutrition is a huge issue Cusco is experiencing so we will be building Cuy(guinea pig) farms for families with young children. Nobody has gotten seriously sick yet from altitude, so don’t worry parents. Ping-pong, card games, and soccer with the locals (lots of broken ankles) have been a common occurrence, and everyone is having an awesome time. Today we travelled 45 minutes above mountain level to peel beans and sort potatoes in another local village. The views were absolutely breathtaking, and we spent a good amount of time taking pictures and playing soccer. Highlights include Ariel falling face first into cow poop, dogs mating in the middle of our soccer game, trust falls, and the ball rolling down the mountainside (special shoutout to Conner for getting those strays 99% of the time). We’ll be back with more, Cat and Breck signing OUT.

July 3, 2017

Written by Nathan Lee

Yesterday we split up into two groups and went on a city tour of Cusco.  What an amazing city full of culture and history! My group departed home base and went to an Inca archeological area called Saqsaywaman, or as my tour guide told us to pronounce it, “SEXY WOMAN!”  After visiting a few areas like a water temple and a watchtower, we departed the archeological sight and left to met the other group for a great lunch with live, authentic Peruvian music, and a scenic view.

After lunch, we hopped on the bus and went to the cathedral in Cusco.  As we walked through the cathedral, we saw awe-inspiring art and statues.  After we exited the cathedral, we walked to the Temple of the Sun.  The temple had great stone masonry, and I was very impressed.  That’s all of the eventful that happened yesterday.

This morning, we woke up at around 6:15 in order to go to our service sight called Mayrasco, where we split into our service groups and started our work for today. My group, which consists of Bailey, Hannah, Ariel, Ashley, and Jackson, had to make mud in order to put the adobe bricks on the foundation for the cuy (guinea pig) house. Unfortunately, my group did not have enough adobe bricks at our service sight so we had to team together with Tami’s group in order to transport bricks from their sight to ours, which was about fifty yards away from one another. The bricks were quite large and heavy so we formed an assembly line in order to efficiently transport the bricks. It took forever. During our break, we got to play soccer with the local children of the community, which is always a rewarding experience after all of our hard work.  After our break, we continued to do service until it was time to leave.

Shortly after returning to home base, we left to see a music workshop that was hosted by a local Peruvian man. He showed us how to play certain instruments and allowed us to try using them at the end. It was a great experience!

July 4, 2017

Happy Fourth of July everyone! We did not have the best start, with service being cancelled due to the teachers strike. Which led to us being stuck on a bus for an hour and a half.  However, the mentors saved the day by making an awesome picture scavenger hunt in Cusco! Unfortunately, none of the groups finished because there was ice cream to be eaten, coffee to be had, and shopping to be done. (sorry!!) After an eventful morning, we went to see a Shaman. A Shaman is an important figure in a Peruvian community; providing advice, and telling the future. The shaman and the son gave us coca leaves and performed a service. Soon after, many of us received a telling of our fate. We then headed back to have dinner, and it was not complete without cake for Alex’s birthday! (HAPPY 16^TH BIRTHDAY ALEX!) After dinner, we had a very eventful night, starting by learning how to salsa with Nico, and ending with a great talent show. Shout out to all the talented performers. Following such a great celebration it was time to rest up for the next day of service.

-Written by Delaney S, Erica S and Clara S

July 5, 2017

It was a very early start for all of us, but we managed to make up for the lost service time. We headed off to the service site and put in all of our effort. Then, after hours of mud making, pick axing, sifting, shoveling dirt, and brick laying… we trod back to the bus to the hotel. After a delicious lunch, we received 60 minutes of well-deserved WIFI. Then we were painfully cut off from the WIFI and we did some activities such as basketball, yoga, and going to the market. We had a guest speaker, nurse Lina, who gave us an enlightening talk about poverty and malnutrition in Peru. We still have a lot planned for us tonight. We will be home soon, see you soon!

July 8-10, 2017

Written by Kyle Dane and Conner Henderson

Saturday:
The last few days have been a grind for the crew, but the hard work has been well worth it. After packing plenty of warm clothes, a plethora of snacks and other essentials, we prepared for the 5 O’clock wake up call. We ate a quick breakfast courtesy of our dinning staff and headed on our way to the Inca Trail. A few pit stops later we arrived to the trail. With a long day ahead of us, we set off on our way. About 30 minutes into the hike we stopped to have a quick lunch accompanied with an amazing view. After taking in the awe-inspiring view, we started the long hike to our campsite. The road was long, with lots of ups and downs, and the super high altitude definitely didn’t help either. We took plenty of water and picture breaks, toured a fish farm, and even befriended a wild bull. After finally arriving to our campsite at around 5 p.m. we were ready to go to bed. However, teenagers need their food, so we managed to stay awake just long enough to eat dinner and celebrate Kayla’s 18th birthday with cake and a piñata. With our bellies full and our muscles fatigued, we all went into our tents and rested well.

Sunday:
Even though the group was given a 6:30 wake up time, the entire camp was aroused by excited screams of “everyone come out, its so pretty!!!” from Delaney. I personally emerged my tent with a gigantic, glacier-capped mountain staring me in the face. In fact, we found ourselves surrounding on all sides by imposing mountains, which had been masked by the clouds the night before. Once 6:30 rolled around Conner and myself awoke the camp military style by banging a pot and shouting a call for reville. We ate breakfast, packed up camp, and then hiked out to the buses. After a 3 hour bus ride our team hiked along the railroad tracks all the way up to Aguas Calientes. Aguas Calientes is a one of a kind town, split in two by a roaring river, which sits perpendicular to rail road tracks. We settled down in the hotel and everyone took a long awaited shower. Then we went out to dinner and did some site seeing in town. While getting ice cream the entire town lost power. Eventually we found our way back to the hotel with the help of our guide Richard and everyone went to bed.

Monday:
Machu Picchu! The hike started early and was filled with lots of steps. Actually, the entire hike up was steps. Our group sustained the morale with singing. After around 2 hours of hiking/climbing we finally reached the top and entered Machu Picchu. Immediately we were taken aback by the view. Our day was filled with hours of exploring, information from the tour guide, and plenty of pictures. By the way, it turns out the Tami is a model and shines though the lens. Once we got through the park and attempted to play with the llamas we took the bus down to the bottom and went to a nice dinner before boarding the train. It turns out that the teacher strike had also been impeding the railroads. Somewhere in the confusion everyone in our group got a free upgrade to an upper-class car except Nico, Richard and Jill who missed the train and had to catch the later train. Finally the group was reunited after waiting for the mentors at our destination. We got on the buses and drove thorough the night to our hotel, arriving around 1 am.

June 22, 2017

 Today was the day! We were so excited to meet everyone and have an amazing day. We started out our day with a couple airport visits, lots of breakfast and had a good time getting to know everyone.

 We finished out our day with a birthday celebration, dinner, and orientation.

 All of us are looking forward to meeting our last two students tomorrow morning. So excited for the opportunities this program offers and all the fun, adventure, and service that lies in the weeks ahead.

 Written By: Sierra & Raquel

DAY 4: June 25, 2017

The day started at 7:15 with a breakfast consisting of crepes, oatmeal, sweet potato chips and assorted fruit. Our first stop was at Moray in which we saw the Sacred Valley. Here the Incas created an agricultural advancement that showed which microclimate produced the best and most efficient growing crop. We then bused to the local salt farm known as Maras, where acres of pure salt is cultivated. Shortly thereafter, the group made their way to a wonderful buffet where they could feast on glorious food. We were able to try the delicacy of Peru: Cuy. This dish includes roasted guinea pig that tastes similar to pig. We were also served fresh cold beverages which seem to be quite rare in the Sacred Valley. We hopped back onto the buses and drove to Chincheros. Along the way, we witnessed a variety of diverse sights, such as stray dogs, llamas, alpacas, pigs, sheep, and cows. Once we arrived to Chincheros, we were greeted by multiple merchants, some of which were children who asked you to purchase local merchandise. We walked up the curvy trail to the ceremonial site for Incas which was later modernized by colonization. Our tour guide retold the long history of the land and guided us down into the ancient ruins. Here the Incas performed astrological tasks that foretold their future. After such a long day exploring, we drove back home, unfortunately getting delayed by traffic. About 2 hours later, we divulged the chicken and vegetables provided by our amazing staff. Finally, the day came to a close and we all snuggled up in our cozy beds.

Written By: Spencer and Brooke

DAY 5: June 26, 2017

We started the day early with a breakfast of sugar cane, kiwi, bread, and plantains. We put our hiking boots on and drove to Tambomachay. We visited the Inca ruins and watched sheep graze. Then we continued on to Pupa Paucara, Kenko, and Sacsayhuaman, which are all more ruins. Along the way, we stopped at an alpaca clothing store where we learned about how Peruvian people dye alpaca clothing. We walked from place to place in preparation for our hike. We will all come home super fit. Each view continued to get better and better. We looked down at Cusco and snapped a lot of pictures. We stopped for lunch at an Indian restaurant in buffet style and stuffed our faces until we were full. We spent some time after lunch at a Peruvian grocery store and were able to buy some fun snacks. We explored Cusco as we made our way to a market. Within the market, vendors lined the walls making way for the food being sold in the center. We grabbed some souvenirs to bring back to the United States. As we hurried out of the market, we grabbed delicious juices and got on the bus to go back to home base. There we had breaded chicken, rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, and starfruit juice. We all met to plan the next day of service with the kids. After some free time, we all crashed after a long day.

Written By: Martha and Jake L.

Day 6: June 27, 2017

Today we learned the value of serving the community by working with a few of the children in Peru. In the school we worked with the kids by doing an art project with each child, teaching them english, and playing soccer. The highlight of working with the kids was the smiles on their faces as soon as we entered the room. The language barrier was a setback at first, but once we began to teach, the language barrier become more of a learning experience. In the afternoon, we got the chance to learn about the music and dance culture of Cusco. We learned a basic song on the pan flute and we learned a traditional Peruvian dance that we will later perform at the end of the trip.

Day 7: June 28, 2017

Today we spent the day continuing the work on Mario’s greenhouse. We made a lot of progress today, making a concrete walkway into the greenhouse, painting murals inside of Mario’s school and tiling the bathroom. The work today was very difficult but it felt great to see some of the progress we have made over the last couple of days. After we got done working, Mario talked to us about what to expect on the three day trip to Machu Picchu. After dinner, we watched The Danger of a Single Story and had a good conversation about the dangers of stereotyping. Finally, we did a group activity that allowed us to share our experiences with the rest of the group.

Written By: Nathan Hellstedt and Rachel Doan

Day 9, 10 & 11: June 30, July 1st & July 2nd
Machu Picchu Weekend

On Day 9, we woke up EARLY, VERY EARLY. We took a long and bumpy bus ride. It was all worth it because we went to an alpaca farm, there were a variety of alpaca’s. All of us, including the mentors, fed these alpacas and they were so greedy when we were feeding them greens. Some people got spat at but everyone had an amazing time. We learned all about their history and evolution. They also had the nicest bathrooms there.
On Day 10, we woke up fairly early and ate an amazing breakfast!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we got to swim in the local hot springs where most of us got eaten alive by mosquitoes but the gorgeous view and warm water made it worth it. Later that day we hiked 5 hours by the train tracks. The view was amazing. We went off trail to the waterfalls but ended up going to the wrong one… it was a really small fall.. But then we found the right waterfall. Eventually we started back on the hike by the tracks and it started to pour rain. Everybody’s bags and clothing got wet (our clothes were soaked for days). We eventually arrived at the town and saw this beautiful hotel which we THOUGHT we were staying in but, no, we stayed somewhere else and still ended up having a fun time. We were all elated to get to the hotel because we were all so tired from our 5 hour hike through the amazon jungle, which was gorgeous. We all probably would’ve slept a little easier if we had dry clothes to sleep in but unfortunately the majority of us did not.
The next morning, Day 11, we got up around 5:45 to pack up our stuff for the trek up to Machu Picchu then we headed up to the 4th floor for a filling breakfast. After that we checked out of our hotel and left for the scenic hike up to Machu Picchu. The hike was pretty intense but it was the most amazing feeling when we reached the top. We split into two groups and went on a tour of the archaeological site. There were llamas roaming around and the whole place felt magical. After the tour, most of us hung out at the little town by the entrance but a few daredevils went on an extra 45 minute, complete uphill, hike to the Sun Gate. It was cloudy at first but it cleared up eventually and the view was absolutely incomparable. After waiting in a very long line, we took a bus back down Aguas Calientes for lunch and did a little souvenir shopping after. Then we took the train back and were fed free corn nuts and cinnamon buns on it. After that we got dinner and took another bus and finally arrived home around 11:00pm. Everyone unpacked and hung their wet clothes and then crashed.

Written By: Tyler, Natalia, Keala, and Will

Day 12: July 3^rd, 2017

 This morning we were able to sleep in a bit and had breakfast at 8:20. After breakfast we made our way up to the school and spent the morning with our kids. We divided into 2 groups of those working with 4 year olds and 5 year olds. In groups we played sports with the children, taught an English class and facilitated an art class. The children made pictures of insects using pipe cleaners, cotton balls and stickers on their construction paper. After spending the morning with the kids we took a bus to home base and ate lunch. We then took a bus back to the school to have a traditional music and dance class. We practiced playing our Peruvian flutes, the zampona, and then practiced our dance routines with our partners. We walked back to the home base to enjoy dinner at 6pm and following that we had our instructors for white water rafting come and explain our day tomorrow. We all were surprised to find out we are also going to be zip lining as well tomorrow. After our big surprise we worked on our capstone projects in the common areas and enjoyed free time before lights out for the night.

Written By: Madison F and Walker V

DAY 13: JULY 4TH, 2017

In celebration of July 4th, we spent the day rafting and ziplining. We woke up earlier this morning due to the two hour drive to the rafting base camp. Due to the roadblock of the teachers’ protest, we were forced to take another route which delayed us half an hour. When we arrived at the base camp, we were suited up in rafting gear including wetsuits, life jackets, booties and helmets. After, we took a fifteen minute drive down the Urubamba river to start our two hour rafting expedition. After rafting, we all crammed ourselves into the hot saunas to relax after the rigorous rafting. Then we ate a warm delicious meal of soup, chicken and rice before ziplining across the Urubamba river. We left the base camp around 3:30 to make it back to HomeBase for a 6:00 dinner which reflected the spirit of fourth of July. After dinner, we all took a bus to various coffee shops for Wi-Fi time and shopping at the supermarket to stock up on snacks for the upcoming Lares Trek.

DAY 14: JULY 5TH, 2017

Today was an extraordinary day. We went to service around 8am and then split up into groups for different construction projects. One of the groups worked on painting a mural of the alphabet for the kids in the school. Another group mixed cement and put down a walkway inside of the greenhouse. Another group leveled a hill to make room for a garden just outside of the school. The last group helped to tile a new bathroom and plaster an outside wall of the greenhouse.

The second part of our day we took part in a Pachamama ceremony held by a Shaman. He explained a specific way to give respect to Mother Earth by using different materials like grains, herbs, candy and sweets and putting them all together in an offering. After we finished the offering we had an opportunity to experience fortune telling by the Shaman. When we finished with the ceremony we walked back to home base and had a little free time to go and play sports and walk around before dinner. Then, around 7pm, we discussed our Lares Trek with Max and finished after about an hour.

Written By: Thira and Mason