Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

June 26, 2016 – 1st night in Peru!

Everyone is tired but excited to be here. We have a handful of students still to arrive and the group will be complete. Lots of sleep and drinking water have been the main activities of the day. Tomorrow we will head to our permanent home base and meet our Peruvian hosts and Spanish teachers. It’s been a great first day.

– Suzannah Crandall

June 28, 2016

We’re all here! Our group of 30 is finally complete and everyone is settling into home base with new roommates and a beautiful 360 view of the mountains.

Yesterday was a day filled with orientation and our first Spanish class.  Everyone took a quick written an oral test and then were divided into 4 groups for Spanish.

Today we start our service projects and have the first official Spanish class.  Weather has been a bit overcast and definitely chilly in the morning and evening.

All is good on our end…more updates to come later.

– Suzannah Crandall

June 29, 2016

We woke up to a very cold morning. We had bread for breakfast with jam. So yummy! At around 8:30 we boarded the buses to go to Cuzco. On the way there Ayianna sang us a song and it was so fun! Once we arrived at the market we met our Spanish teachers who gave us 2 soles for the days meal. We learned to bargain with the local vendors and in the end we were successful! Later, we went to the house of our local director, Carmen. Can you imagine walking up 200 steps in a low oxygen environment? We did that!

Carmen split us up into teams in order to successfully cook a traditional Peruvian meal. Local chefs taught us the secrets to a tasty meal. Then we climbed even further up the mountain to play soccer and enjoy the view.

Our next adventure was to visit the Incan ruins of Cuzco. There, we learned about the religious and cultural practices of the Incas. After the conclusion of our tour we were bombarded by local artisans who insisted on selling us their llama and alpaca products. Eventually Toney gave in and purchased a traditionally woven hat and began the trend as many additional GLA students purchased goods of their own.

Once we arrived at our village the student body divided as some students returned to home base for a siesta while the remaining travelers explored the All Saints festival of Andahuailillas (our town). Many of the girls participated in the local dance after a generous invitation from the local senoras.

Once the sun had set, all students returned to home base for our evening meal, followed by alone time when students stargazed the clear skies, read, or meditated in the silence. As the stray dogs howled, the students hobbled into bed, dressed in many layers, eager to sleep after an exhausting day.

Nicole Constantin
Max Lee
Ayianna Casanova

June 30, 2016

We started off the day by going to the service site. Some people hiked to harvest flax seeds and bring them back. Others helped make dollsand paint the inside of a new building on the property. After lunch, we did a leadership personality assessment. We worked in groups to learn more about our different leadership styles. Next, we learnedtraditional Peruvian dances. The dances were called Sacra, Majeno, and Valicha. The Sacra included colorful masks and many sounds. Majeno represented a drunk rich person in Peru. Valicha was a dance of love between partners. After dancing, we listened to an Andean performance group. They played five songs for us. We wrapped up the evening with burgers and mentor time (a discussion in groups).

Kori Golding
Tess Temple
Joey Mata

July 1, 2016

Today we woke up around 6:30, a little earlier than normal, to cold air and cold showers. After eating the typical bread and jelly for breakfast, we took a 15 minute walk to a nearby Peruvian public school.

Surrounded by a great view of mountains, we bonded with the kids initially by joining their volleyball game. Then we split up into two groups, one going to English class and the other going to math. We were instantly welcomed in by wide-eyes and interested smiles from our Peruvian classmates. All day we got asked question about everything from what we eat (mainly because they wanted to know why we were so tall), to questions about our hair (blonde hair really weirded some of them out). For lunch we had a typical Peruvian meal of rice, potatoes and chicken as well as Chicha morada, a purple corn drink. We learned a lot from the students and them from us; it was a great culture exchange day.

After we left the school, we stopped in “the market” for snacks and other necessities. We made our way back through the main plaza and headed home to rest before afternoon activities. Activity time included a cultural awareness game and Spanish bingo.

After a delicious dinner we had a quick check in with our mentor and then had “selfie” time to reflect on the eventful day.

Mariana Zamarona
Delfina Forlenza
Killian Munro

July 2 and 3, 2016

What an amazing, jam packed weekend exploring the Cusco area! Saturday and Sunday were spent exploring ruins, shopping for gifts and biking through the Andes along the infamous 4 lagunas route.

On Saturday we celebrated Alessandra’s birthday and spent the day exploring Inca ruins. We first visited the Pisac ruins and then had a chance to go shopping for gifts at the Pisac market. We then ate an amazing three course meal for lunch,visited a llama farm AND toured the Sascayhuaman ruins just above Cusco. Everyone was exhausted from the day and went to bed with heads full of new information and an appreciation for Inca ingenuity and architecture.

An early start on Sunday allowed for a visit to a traditional market (we were the only “gringos” in sight) and an amazing bike ride at 12,000 ft. For two and a half hours we struggled up and cruised down hills along a route that took us past for separate lakes. The air was thin, the sun hot but the incredible scenery made up for all the struggles.

It was a great weekend and everyone is ready for week two to begin!

July 4, 2016

Hola! This morning we ate breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and left for service around 8:20 a.m. Most of us were still sore from our bike ride yesterday. Service was between 8:30-12:30 p.m. and ranged from digging holes for the senoras (which was new), painting rooms, making dolls and playing with the kindergartners. However, we (the toastmasters of the day) left around 11:30 a.m. in order to assist in the kitchen with lunch.

After lunch at 1 p.m. we had free-time, which included games to celebrate the Fourth of July. We had human wheelbarrow races, trivia and three-legged races followed by an activity at 3 p.m. about assumptions and stereotypes. From 4:30-6:30 p.m. we had Spanish class. After, we found the face paint and proceeded to have fun painting full American flags on people’s faces, among other things.

At 7 p.m. was dinner, which included patriotic performances to see who would get their American-style meal first. After dinner we concluded the day with roasting marshmallows around a bonfire. Happy Fourth!

– Daily Desenberg, Izzy Najah and Kennedy Wade

July 5, 2016

The morning was sunny, the birds were chirping and Pongo (our home base puppy) was yapping. Izzy’s woke up as a 16 year old today!
After breakfast we headed off to service where some people worked in the field building rock walls and cutting down corn stalks while others hiked to collect flaxseed and the rest continued making their dolls.

After lunch and siesta time, every once got to find their inner peace with a yoga session led by Haylie, Daria and Sophie. Then everyone had a chance to head t the local market to buy Peruvian snacks. Max purchased the most at 57 soles (about $17) and then Zoe came in second with 55 soles worth of food.

Before dinner we all got to experience a 3000 year old Shaman ceremony that predates the Incas. It involved an offering to the Pachamama (Mother Earth), Apus (the four sacred mountains) and a cleansing of our spirits. The Shaman left us with good energy and good fortunes for our families, friends, homes and cars.

The day ended with delicious cake and chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) for Izzy’s birthday!

We have started our countdown to MacchuPiccu: 5 days left!

– Emma Clark and Annie Lord

July 6, 2016

Hola familia y amigos,

Today was another typical day in Peru. After a breakfast of yogurt, cheese and bred, we headed out to the service site with our new found doggy friend Patches. The group split into two, the majority going to help out in the can fields and the seven girls committed to making their dolls met with senoras Paulina and Vilma to continue their work. Doll making is harder than it looks. Even Dolly is constantly getting roasted n her skills!
After lunch, we practiced our Spanish skills with a murder mystery game with the staff.We also tried our hand (and feet) at several Latin American dances including salsa and a samba.

To finish the day, we had formal Spanish class which included a fun game of charades with the entire group.

Though a number of us have been pretty run down the past few days, it’s good to see everyone feeling better. The chicken soup at dinner didn’t hurt either.

The countdown to Maccupicchu continues…

Dolly Rath
Delaney Caldwell
Harmony Andersen

July 7, 2016

Hola families and friends! Today the doll makers officially finished making their traditional Peruvian dolls while the rest of us worked on clearing rocks from on e the senoras farms. One of us had the pleasure of “dancing” with a “happy” cow. Once it started raining, we headed back to all help with doll making.

We had a nice long siesta today and then a singing competition during Spanish class.

After dinner, we starting planning and packing for our next three day excursion to Macchu Picchu. Tomorrow we officially begin our weekend adventure to Macchu Picchu!!!

Stessie Germain
Zoe Demetros
Jane Delahey

July 8-10, 2016

Suzannah Crandall

Three days of non-stop, action-packed adventures! Friday we started our journey towards MacchuPiccu by ascending to 15, 000 feet and stopping for a quick snowball fight. For some, it was the first time they saw snow, it was great. After reaching the snow caps, we descending into the cloud forest for a declicious lunch, a tour of tea farm and tried our hand at harvesting passion fruit. To finish the day, we spent a relaxing few hours in a natural hot springs surrounded by the mountains.

Saturday our adventures including hiking for a few hours to a refreshing waterfall where almost everyone challenged themselves by dipping into the freezing cold water. Another few hours of hiking along the train tracks, we arrived in Aguas Calientes, the town closest to MacchuPiccu.

Finally, on Sunday, we had our day at MacchuPiccu. It was everything (and more) our group had been expecting. Most of the group hiked their way up to the Sun Gate (the main entrance to Inkan site) before getting a tour of the lost city. Our tour guides did a great job highlighting the important structures on site and as we left, we officially checked off our visit to one of the seven wonders of the world by adding a MacchuPiccu stamp to our passports.

We finished the weekend by doing some shopping for gifts in the Aguas Calientes market before boarding the train back towards home base. It was a long and exhausting weekend and despite a number of folks battling illness, everyone had a fantastic time.

July 12, 2016

Max Lee, Sophie Spiegel and Evan Resende

It is our last Tuesday in Andahuayllilas and as our stay in Peru comes
to a close, another successful day of adventures and service was
completed. Our day began with a hearty breakfast consisting of hard
boiled eggs, avocados, cheese and as usual, bread. We headed to
Q’ewar for service where we were divided into groups for field work
and doll support. For those who were assigned to doll support their
day entailed of conversing with the señoras in Spanish whilst cleaning
wool and picking fuzz out of clothes made for the dolls. For the other
group of students their day consisted of hard manual labor in a local
señoras field. After service, we returned to home base for a lunch
of vegetable pancakes, semolina soup and pesto pasta.

After lunch we rested, followed by an exhibit on silver making in the
plaza. At the joyeria (jewelry store), the jeweler gave detailed instruction on how
to solder earring forms, then sand, and place gems into earrings.
After the jewelry demonstration we had free time to shop in the local
market, followed by a tour of the iglesia (church) de Andahuaylillas, a
historic baroque style church influenced by the Spanish and
characterized by ornate gold leaf trim. Two local artisans who took
part in the church’s restoration process visited Casa de Campo (our home base) to
demonstrate their wood carving techniques.

Finally we ate dinner, chicken and rice, followed by hot chocolate for
dessert. Lights out 9:30. adios, gracias.

July 13, 2016

Kori Golding
Nicole Constantin
Killian Munro

After eating a good breakfast we returned to Q’war to help the senoras make dolls and also help them clean their fields for the next season of corn.
After lunch and a relaxing free time filled with chess, napping and showers, we divided into our mentor groups and prepared for our thank you presentation for the community members.

Spanish time! Groups 2 and 4 went to the market while Groups 1 and 3 played games in Spanish.

Right before dinner, we listened to an inspirational speech from our local director Jorge about recognizing our potential and being the change in the world. His short story and heart felt words reminded us of who we are as a community and what we can achieve in the world.

Finally, we sat down for a dinner of fish, rice and vegetables. We also had a delicious desert of bananas sprinkled with cinnamon. It was a perfect way to end a great day.

July 14, 2016
Toney Kanaan
Kennedy Wade
Alessandra Leon

We started out our last day of service with our normal 7:30am desayuno (breakfast) and left for Q’war at 8:15am. Our finally day wit the senoras was filled with a bittersweet celebration. We did normal service work (work in the fields and doll work) for the first part of the morning and then start our goodbyes. To say goodbye, each mentor group prepared a song to perform. The senoras surprised each member of GLA with a goody-bag with a handmade baby doll inside.

After the despedida/fiesta we headed back to home base for lunch and an afternoon activity. OUr activity covered culture shock both in coming to Peru and what we can expect when we return home.

Our final Spanish class consisted of farewell games and presentations by each group. We were all sad to say goodbye to our our profesoras.

Tomorrow we look forward to our day-long white water rafting adventure.
Adios! 🙂

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Summer Blog Posts

July 20, 2016
First morning in Peru! Everyone got a full night of sleep and has spent the morning getting oriented and ready for the next 3 weeks. Lots of smiles and laughter so far; it’s going to be a great session!

July 20,2016
Jose Azocar, Emma Kreisler

Today was orientation day. It was low key, we stayed at home base the entire day, but it was fun. We did lots of bonding and leadership exercises, and I have already made some friends. The leadership exercises we did focused on communication and trust. One of the exercises was one person was blindfolded, and the other person led them around, following Suzannah. The trick was, neither person was allowed to talk. We had to completely trust our partner guiding us, and the director had to figure out an effective way to communicate what was happening to the blindfolded persons without speaking.

Base camp is in a valley surrounded by beautiful, peaceful mountains. Tomorrow we will start our first service day and join our Spanish groups in the afternoon for the first class

July 22, 2016

Dane Hoffmann, Sophie Saydah and Carly Bailiff

Today was our third day in Peru and our first day of service. After breakfast we left for Qe’war, the school that we’re volunteering. The school receives funding from dolls handmade by local women that are then sold all around the world. At first, we took a tour of the grounds and got to see all of the rooms where the dolls are assembled. Also we toured classrooms with Kindergarteners and terraces for farming. We got the opportunity to help the women make dolls. Some of us cleaned wool while others sewed and knitted clothing for the dolls. After having some local fruit, half of the group went to go play with the kids during their recess time. It was a ton of fun interacting with the little Peruvian kids and seeing the smiles on their faces was really fulfilling. In the afternoon, we ate lunch, participated in various leadership activities and then went on to our first Spanish lesson of our trip. For dinner we had spaghetti and learned about some of the traditional Peruvian foods we’ll be cooking with a local family in Cusco this weekend.

7/23-7/24/201

Haylie Navarre, Karen Lovrovich
We had a busy weekend!
On Saturday, we left Andahuaylillas bright and early and headed to Cuzco. First, students were provided with money and a list of food items needed for the meal which we would be having at the home of Carmen and Percy. The Spanish teachers met us at the market and helped the students barter. We then prepared a traditional feast with the help of excellent chefs. After eating, the group walked to the old town center and had a tour of Coricancha, an archeological site. Then we were off to Plaza de Armas where the students completed a scavenger hunt and explored the plaza. We then boarded the buses and headed to Yucay in the sacred valley. There we had dinner, played games, accessed wifi, and tiredly headed to bed.
On Sunday we slept in before heading out for a long day. We visited the ruins of Pisac and walked along the ancient terraces. After our tour, we went to the large market in town to search and barter for souvenirs. Some of us made our way to the Museo del Choco to sample one of Peru’s most popular exports, chocolate.
We had a remarkable lunch at a resort, which included three courses. With full bellies, we made our way to the next stop, a llama farm. We spent time feeding the llamas and alpacas fresh alfalfa and trying to take the best photos. Our final stop of the day was the ruins of the Incan Empire of Sacsayhuaman. We walked around the grounds and took advantage of the natural rock slides. Finally, we made the journey back to home base, just on time for dinner.

July 25, 2016

Sandra Hunt, Anneliese Thumann and Ethan Kallett

We woke up well rested today after a long weekend excursion up north. The smell of breakfast soon got us in the dining hall, dressed and ready to go. The bread, yogurt, and jam were well liked enough, but the traditional vegetable omelette was by far a favorite.

To pump up for our first full day of service, Annaliese came up with the idea of playing two truths and a lie, which was sadly cut short when we realized that the hairless hound had gotten sick. Gigi whisked him away and then we were off to Proyecto Q’ewar.

The GLA counselors had planned to split us up into two groups at the site; however, when they asked for volunteers to work the fields, the more demanding job, 11 hands shot up instantaneously. Tianna, although she had been sick the day before, raised her hand soon after.

The doll staff got a much easier job inside, and after a snack break at 11, they got the opportunity to order customized dolls. They were hard to resist.

We soon had a phenomenal lunch at Casa Campo, and then a couple hours free to shower, hang out on the couch with some music, and read in our rooms. We were all back downstairs at 3 for our eye-opening activity. Even though Suzannah had told us the night before that it was going to be controversial, none of us opted out.

The activity was about assumptions. Everyone wrote down one they get, and then we all drew one at random and tried to guess who it belonged to. The possibility that you might pin the stereotype on the wrong person, especially in front of all 25 kids, was quite frankly terrifying, but that was the point GLA was trying to make.

The day was capped off with Spanish class and Alejandro’s amazing cooking. We sure are never going to forget our time in Peru (especially the food).

July 26

Today we started off by splitting up into two groups. One group did service in the corn field, while the other group helped make dolls. After service we came back to home base and ate lunch. Then we had an activity about bullying and judgement. After this we had our Spanish class. In the first half we had class, and during the second part we played a game of dodgeball using Spanish vocabulary. After this we watched an Andean Music Performance, it was very deep. After dinner we had a pulse check to see how everyone liked the GLA experience, then we had free time.

Jenna Soong, Cameron Crawford, and Maddi Walsleben

July 28, 2016

Today our group went white water rafting. It was described by many of us as one of the most exciting things we have done. We started from the day normally but the rest of the day was anything but. We left at around 9:15 to go to the buses. The ride was relatively short only taking about 45 minutes. On the way we experienced flawless natural beauty, dotted with small towns and villages. It was a good start to a better day.
The majority of the day was expended on the water. We had wet suits on because the water was freezing. During the boat ride one of our guides pointed out bubbles coming out of warm spots in the water. These were the first hot springs that we have seen here. Since the country is in the dry season the river was not very rough, only about a class 2 rapid, but the water was tinted a bluish green from the farmers irrigation trenches running into the river. As we went down the river several people fell in or were pushed out.
As we neared the end of the shore some of the people in the rafts decided to take a swim before heading to shore. Lunch was served as soon as we headed in. With our bellies full we headed back to our base camp where we ended a leisurely afternoon and a delicious dinner.

Jeremy Abraham Mackles
Andrea Azocar
Rayna Burgett

7/29-7/31/2016
Suzannah Crandall

What a great three days! We had an amazing adventure this weekend that included driving up to 15,000 ft to the cold and snow and then descending to 8,000 feet and visiting Macchu Picchu.

Friday: A travel day that included a long bus ride, a quick stop for lunch where we learned about making chocolate and then a harrowing drive along a sheer cliff road before we got to a hotel. Before eating and sleeping that night, we spent a few hours basking in the shadows of the Andean mountains in a natural hot springs. It was very relaxing.

Saturday: We began our trek to Macchu Picchu following the infamous Perurail train tracks to Aguas Calientes. Along the route we were able to get a sneak peak of the Macchu Picchu ruins high above us and enjoyed an ice cold waterfall.

Sunday: The big day! We made it to Macchu Picchu!!! What an amazing place. We got an in-depth tour from our fearless guides Andi and Patti and took tons of pictures. Gifts were purchased at the sprawling market before we boarded the train heading back to home base.

It was an exhausting weekend but everyone had a great time. We are now returning to home base, to our normal schedule and to our last week in Peru.

August 2, 2016
Aditi Shukla, Sierra Johnson, & Tianna Smith

Per usual, we participated in four hours of community service at
Q’ewar, had lunch, and spent some free time chilling like villains.
Then we had an interesting Spanish murder-mystery activity, and had to
figure out who “killed” Kyle. (It was Suzannah.) After, we had free
time and then dinner. However, instead of Spanish class, we
participated in an intriguing shaman ceremony. The priest blessed our
cars, homes and souls by making offerings to the four highest
mountains of Peru and Pacha Mama, or Mother Earth. Overall, we were
enlightened by the beauty of the ceremony and another day of Peruvian
fun! Peace out.

8/4/2016

Sofia Roth
Sophie Saydah
Sophie CJ

Today, sadly, was our second to last service day at Q’wear working with the señoras on the dolls. Today was also very special, because it was Dane’s birthday! He woke up to lots of balloons and birthday messages waiting for him at breakfast. Since the water was turned off and we couldn’t shower, field work today was a little bit different. Instead of working at the chakra, a group of us helped one of the señoras build a second floor to her house using rocks. She was very thankful for our help, which was extremely rewarding. After service and lunch, we all went to go visit a woman’s house where we killed, cleaned, and cooked a traditional Peruvian cuy (Guinea pig) as a special birthday treat for Dane. Then we walked down to a school where we played a friendly game of soccer with some local Peruvians. Before Dane’s birthday dinner, we had a Spanish class and did some fun relay races. For dinner, the Guinea pig was finally served, and was followed by some delicious cake and birthday songs. We finished up the day with a special fiesta for Dane involving a piñata, salsa dancing, and other fun party games.

8/5/2016

Today we all worked in the fields, clearing rocks. It was hard work, but it was cool to see all the progress we made helping the farmer. Our activity was about reverse culture shock when we return home, and what we can do after GLA. We then presented are different options having to do with not only GLA but traveling in general. After our activity we had our last Spanish class and said farewell to our teachers after singing “Vivir mi Vida” by Marc Anthony more than 3 times!!! Then we worked in our mentor groups to create various presentations to perform for the women who make dolls at Q’wear. Wish us luck on our performances tomorrow 🙂

8/6/2016
by Ethan Kallett and Logan Bokor

So, basically, it was our last day at Q’ewar. We sang our thanks to them. They sang our thanks to us. Little kids also sang. There was a music teacher with a wicked ponytail who strummed a guitar. It was bittersweet and beautiful.

Some people made jewelry. It was fun for them. It was silver. (95%).

Then we went to this pretty interesting church in the plaza. There was lots of gold. The arch used to be made of skulls.

Then some people bought hot chocolate that was overpriced, but tasted good.

To no one’s surprise, we ate rice and potatoes and chicken for dinner.

The last thing we did is make a bingo board. The categories are Peruvian outfits.

We’re all sad to be leaving in a couple of days, but excited to be finally sleeping in our own beds soon.

8/7/2016
Jeremy Mackles, Maddi Walsleben, and Carly Bailiff

Today we were blessed with an extra hour of sleep. We then departed to a local Peruvian market. This market was different from the other markets we have gone to because it was where actual Peruvians shopped. The previous day we had made “bingo boards” of the different clothes that the Peruvians wore. The aim of the game was to identify the regions the the different Peruvians were from. After the market we left for biking. We arrived at a beautiful lake that filled the horizon. After a quick tutorial for those of us who didn’t know how to bike we set off on our journey. We biked up and down the mountain, traversing ten miles in total. We stopped at the edge of a lake where we had lunch. After that we headed home and had free time to pack. We’re excited to see all of our loving parents soon!

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Hola estudiantes!

This is Bryce, your Mentor for Service in the Sacred Valley Peru 2016! I am writing to you today to reflect on our wonderful time together this summer. Your presence in our humble home in Cusco brought plenty of laughs, tears, stimulating conversation, and constant motivation within our group of peers! I cannot tell you how much your intellectual curiously, empathy, and positivity impressed myself, Matteo, Vinny, and Julia. Watching your individual stories unfold throughout our three weeks together was inspiring and heartwarming, and I encourage you to continue to take these lessons into your daily lives as you plunge into your exciting futures!

Each of you made an incredible difference on one another, the community of Mayrasco, your mentors, and YOURSELVES this summer. In your service efforts over our three weeks together, you made incredible progress on our fish farms. Thank you for helping us to put the finishing touches on our beautiful ponds. What began as holes in the earth are now fully formed fish ponds! It was amazing to be able to watch the first streams of water flowing into the ponds, and the last stone (only the “más grande”s) placed on the walls. And, of course, I will never forget the beautiful reunion of us and the community of Mayrasco on that last day of service. We have made an impact on their community that will last a lifetime- the children and families of Mayrasco will soon have nutritious trout added to their diet, and they have you to thank. You should be so proud of yourselves!

It is an incredible feat to have accomplished all that you have in our GLA program. You were thrown into uncomfortable, strange, and completely new situations almost every day while you were in Peru. As your mentors, we watched in awe as you befriended Peruvian youth despite the language barrier, navigated foreign streets by interacting with locals, and enthusiastically trekked through valleys and high elevations where only the condors dared to go! With all this and more, you still had the energy to engage in card games, storytelling, tea-time, and deep conversations at night.

I know that you all will carry your enthusiasm, courageousness, drive, and compassion into the rest of your lives. Now that you have overcome the challenges we presented to you here in Peru (with ease), the world is your oyster! We cannot wait to watch each of you thrive in your individual passions and curiosities. Please keep in touch and remember that our roles as your mentors will last a lifetime. And never forget the powerful impact each of your efforts had on lives you touched in Peru. You each have great potential, we look forward to following the stories you continue to create!

Go Team Fish!

Bryce, Julia, Vinny, and Matt

Summer Blog Posts

Hello family and friends!

We’ve all made it safe and sound to Cusco, Perú!  No time to waste, we jumped right into the service work (building fish ponds to improve the nutrition for the families of a nearby village at 4,000 meters/13,00 feet) the morning after arrival.  Work includes: digging with shovels, pick axes, and rock bars; build rock walls; and mixing cement.  Lots of work and lots to do!

8/5/2016

Yesterday we had the opportunity to listen to a presentation given by a nurse from Cusco explaining the factors affecting malnutrition in children living in rural communities.  She explained the reason why several children appear short in stature.  It is because they lack sufficient protein in their diets which causes slow brain and muscle development.  At first, we had no idea why all the Peruvians I saw on the street were shorter than the average height.  We made assumptions that it was due to the altitude or low oxygen.  In reality, the issue is more complex than it seems. Children often cannot obtain animal protein due to the price, accessibility, and lack of parental education.  We became aware of the issue and gained a deeper understanding of why we are building fish farms.

Joshua Gopaul and Jake Messina

8/6/2016

This morning, we continued to make progress on the fish farm, and have neared the completion of one of the three fish pools. Overall, today was a very good day as Antonio, a brick laying expert was fairly pleased with our work.

Our day continued with a visit to a traditional weaving co-op.  At the co-op, we were entreated to a demonstration of the process of dying and spinning alpaca wool, as well as a comparison in texture between sheep wool and alpaca wool.  Though the demonstration was interesting, the fun was in getting to buy large amounts of alpaca wool clothes, bags, and dolls.

After shopping, we were allowed to share in a party celebrating the 40th anniversary of the co-op where we all had an opportunity to dance with the local Peruvian women who worked at the co-op and listen to music by a group of locals.

We finished out the day with a TED talk about the importance of a story, as well as follow-up discussions in our mentor groups.

Chris Sanchez and Matt Heller

August 8th, 2016

Today began at 6:00 am as usual and after breakfast we were off to the community of Mayrasco ft service! Before work, we did some stretching and yoga right on the side of the mountain- great way to start off the day! Our usual day of service consists of getting our materials, then making a daisy chain to put our materials in the holes that will soon be fish ponds. We all worked together to gather rock to build the wall and cement them together to line the pond. We are almost done with two of our three fish ponds!

After lunch we went to a boys foster home. The boys that we met lived here because of poor situations at home. We played on the monkey bars, frisbee, soccer, tic tac toe, and drew pictures with the boys. We split up into groups and got tours of the facility. Before we left, we took a group picture. The boys gave us all hugs and we were sad to say good bye to our new friends!

After dinner, our director, Matt, gave us a speech on his bicycle trip. He is riding down to Patagonia and started from Utah! We ended with story time and listened to music as a group. Now time for bed, as we must be up again at 6 am!

Anabeth 🙂

August 9, 2016

The morning started with our 6 AM wake up with our alarm being opera and Peruvian flute. A perfect way to start our day. After pancakes we ventured up the mountain to continue our progress on the walls of the fish ponds. We worked extra hard in rain, basically finishing the first pond!

We made it to the home base just in the time for lunch. Soon after, we began our scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt involved statutes, enormous avocadoes, blizzard snacks, and look alike mannequins. Winners of this competitive hunt were awarded alpaca keychains and Cua Cuas. We ended the night with mentor groups and a game of basketball. The day came to a close with story time and sleepy GLAers heading up to bed (excited to experience something new tomorrow)!

Love,

Liv & Liz?✌

August 10th, 2016

This morning we woke up bright and early and felt the cold air tickle our toes as we trudged out of our warm beds! For breakfast we had eggs and of course lots of bread and strawberry jam! With filled water bottles, sunscreen, snacks and lots of layers packed in our bag packs we hopped on the bus and enjoyed the gorgeous ride through rolling hills of beauty to our service site. As we do each morning, we began with a daisy chain of cement materials down the steep cliff! This morning we were primarily working on the 1st fish pond since we are near finished with the other two ponds! For the rest of service, some of us lifted heavy rocks to the pond, some sifted cement materials, some cemented the pond’s walls, and some daisy chained water buckets. It got pretty chilly at the end of service but it was all worth it!

After lunch and some well deserved showers, we got back on the bus and headed to the shaman! We showed up at the shaman’s house that had a picturesque view of bold mountains floating in the distance. He and his son were sitting in the front with traditional ponchos filled with vibrant colors. The son who looked about 12-13 years old passed out 3 leaves to each of us and told us to think of our questions in our heads. The shaman then gathered the green coca leaves and added them to a colorful offering to pacha mama or Mother Earth. He added several different spiritual objects such as alpaca fat, candies, rice etc. and then dumped the offering in the fire to burn. He then blew on a patutu (giant sea shell instrument) to honor the mountains! We then individually went up to him and asked him about our futures! Apparently some of us will die in car accidents and some will have lots of children!! It was such a cultural experience filled with spirituality and lots of laughter! On the bus back we had a little bus malfunction but made it back for dinner. Tonight we got wifi which was super fun and there was also a churro cart outside the hotel so we got lots of sugar!! After a long day of new experiences and hard work, we can’t wait to go to sleep!!

Adios for now,

Ariana Finkelstein

August 17

We’ve been busy in Cusco… service work, dancing, rafting, and plenty more!

Now, we’re off on our trek around the gorgeous Mt. Veronica and finish with a visit to Machu Picchu.  We’ll be back in a few days!

August 21

Hello All,

I hope that this e-mail finds all of you very well.

Today marks the final day of service in Mayrasco, Perú.  As all fourteen members of the third service group walked down the hill with Julia, Bryce, and Flaminia, Richard and I finished filling the “middle” and “bottom” holes with water as we gave final instructions to Antonio and other community members.

I walked down the hill to see all the students and adults of the third session watching a futbol match between the community members of Mayrasco and another local community.

After the game, the community gathered around to speak with us and share their appreciation.  There were tears as both GLA and community members shared gratitude.  I expressed our gratitude, on behalf of all 63 GLA participants, for the incredible experience over the last three months.  Mayrasco invited us into their home and, in my mind, gave each of us a much greater gift than we could possibly share with them.

I wish that you all could have physically been there to enjoy the moment.  Though this wasn’t possible, I believe we all had our hearts and thoughts there.  I saw the mounds of dirt shoveled by the first session.  I saw the piles of rocks broken and moved by the second session.  I saw the walls built by the third session.  More importantly, I saw the lessons learned, the appreciation gained, and the energy and emotions of many, many people.

In the meantime, know that your efforts were  greatly appreciated.  Gracias amigos!

Cheers,
Mateo

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

We started off with a bang. What a diverse group of students, from all parts of the States, with an eclectic cultural heritage, different religious backgrounds, all in all a completely composite sculpture! And this time around we were split down the middle, just as many young men as young ladies. That meant for a wide array of opinions, lively debate, to say the least! As the session went on we discovered in a very vivid way what it means to co-inhabit, to live together among difference. This posed a true challenge for us as a group, how do we live a rich experience and turn personal differences into an educative process?

I would sum up our experience over our two weeks together as a journey of seeking positive perspectives while including and allowing space for difference and disagreement. Learning how to participate in a community necessarily includes all colors of reaction. We can like, love, dislike, disagree, and as we do so, we can use this difference to create an intricate bond, string together a community by accepting difference.

In the end we were successful. The scene of goodbyes at the airport, full of warmth and tears, proved how much growth can trans-pass in such a short amount of time. I remember the meeting we called mid-session, to assess the direction of our journey together. During that meeting we learned about the concerns some of our students had with their experience in Cusco. The podium was open. Voices could be heard. And then in the following days we as team implemented a plan to meet these concerns with a positive answer.

All this could not have happened were it not for the inherent positivity of our team as a whole. We made it through the trek, albeit we were deterred from our original plan due to a blocked road in the high Andes. But we made out of it an adventure. That is actually a very good metaphor for our adventure as a whole.

Recollections:

• Early morning hike to see the view from the mountains to the jungle with Finn, Cortland, and Kyra.
• Poor Lia had to turn around due to a crazy bout of altitude sickness but then still made it up Machu Picchu.
• Semi-truck accident on an Andean road diverts our trek to another location.
• A puppy is born at one of the work sites, the old woman calls him Bubi.
• Kyle holds a mentor group at the basketball court where we play ball and discuss Love.
• Lunch at the public sports arena. We are caught by sprinklers!!!

-Philip

Summer Blog Posts

Almost all of us are here! Yes I said almost! We have three compatriots coming in tomorrow, but otherwise, solid as a rock, all together, here we go! After a more than thorough orientation we are all but over equipped to deal with whatever dragon comes our way. Peru says hello to our parents. We are safe and sound and ready to wake up bright and early tomorrow to start our work on the Cuy houses for our service project. Tea to adjust to the altitude, and sleep to regenerate our engines.

Mentor Philip

July 15, 2016

Today was our first day of service.  We drove about 30 minutes out to a beautiful rural town named Chocco. We arrived in the bitter cold of 7 AM and were greeted by majestic mountains and morning fog. We then broke into small service groups and went off to help 4 different families in building houses for their guinea pigs, a traditional delicacy in Peru. Even though the living conditions in the town were poor, the locals were full of life, gratitude, and kindness. Our work consisted of pick-axing at a muddy cliff to make space for the guinea pig houses, shoveling dirt into wheel barrows, and dumping the dirt at the edge of a creek that ran through the valley at the worksite.  As the day progressed the day warmed up and during break we gathered at the local park/soccer field to rest. After snacks and playing at the park in a valleys surrounded by beautiful mountains, the group became closer despite the scary seesaw from hell. Later that night a Peruvian regional government official gave us an eye opening talk on the issue of poverty in Peru and its causes. And now we are all getting ready to sing Cat a happy birthday and head to bed!

-Jenna and Veronica

7/16

Today we took a very interesting adventure. After finishing up our amazing breakfast, we all gathered at the front of the building to discuss the plan for the day and then we split up into the two busses and headed out for our adventure. Upon arriving at Patabamba, we were greeted by the five, friendly, local family representatives who’s families we worked with throughout the day. Throughout the day we worked with the families to take out their daily activities, such as removing the husks off of beans, as well as shucking corn. During the day they offered us a plentiful amount of snacks to keep us energized. Following the daily work, we ate lunch with them and proceeded to play a game of soccer along with the local children. Following the journey to Patabamba, we came to our home-base and discussed what we have observed throughout the few days of us being in Peru. We reflected through our journal entries, along with silence to reflect upon our service work with the many families we are helping.

Tom and Ajish

July 18, 2016

On the fourth day of the two-week Service in the Sacred Valley, students went on a tour of Cusco. We visited ancient Incan ruins, which included various views of the city of Cusco. After visiting the ancient ruins, we also had lunch at a restaurant, which featured grilled alpaca, which many of us enjoyed. Following this, we visited two cathedrals. The first cathedral that we visited featured many gold sculptures, however pictures were permitted in the two cathedrals. The second cathedral displayed multiple canvases of religious and sacred paintings. We all loved the mixture of Incan and Spanish culture and are very thankful to our tour guides. All in all, the day was very fun but also tiring.

– Lia Ingersoll and Adrienne Murdock

July 18, 2016

It’s our fifth day in Peru…second day of service. We’re building cuy houses (guinea pig houses). After coming to home base for a quick lunch, we went to a field on a cliff with a beautiful view. A musician taught us about the history of traditional Incan instruments and previewed them for us. After learning about the rich history of Peruvian music, we had a chance to play them ourselves. Then the musician taught us a nice melody on a flute. He offered to let us buy the flutes that he taught us the melody on (only 15 soles :D). Before leaving the field, we went and admired the view for a brief moment. We then got to explore around at the cultural market – the woman at the store gave us all big hugs and welcomes. After enjoying the market for an hour, we had a nice, peaceful stroll back to home base. The three-week group came back today and were having dinner at our arrival to home base (our buddies are back!). We had a nice dinner circle today, where several people received some very kind shout-outs. After dinner circle, we had an amazing dinner and got to watch a documentary. It was a good day overall because we got to volunteer at service and have fun later on 🙂

– Ashish Wadhwani and Eve Sullivan

July 19, 2016

Today, we went to the service site in Chocco and worked on our designated projects. After returning to home, base we walked to a local produce market and did a scavenger hunt for different foods around the market. We looked for exotic fruits and vegetables native to Peru. We walked home and a nurse came to speak about public health and malnutrition in Peru. All of today’s activities were a lot of fun!

-Connor and Emma

July 26

Sunday morning was unnaturally cold, to the point at which the water in my bottle completely froze solid. After packing our bags and having a nice, warm breakfast, we headed down to our buses. During the long bus ride, we noticed that the weather got significantly warmer. It felt wonderful to finally experience humid weather, compared to the cold, dry air in Cuzco. As we looked outside, we noticed that the vegetation in the mountains drastically increased. We saw a lush, green jungle, complete with tropical vines and trees, compared to the dry yellow grass and course soil we saw in the Andes.

When we began our hike along the railroad, we noticed that the air became more comfortable to breathe, since there was more oxygen at a lower elevation. The hike was so much easier than the hike in the Andes; the road was mostly flat, and we didn’t have to wear our heavy winter attire. After the hike, we reached the secluded town of Aguas Calientes. The town itself looked beautiful, since it was built along a valley with a river running through the middle of the street. It almost looked like a fantasy movie set. We settled down in our hotel, and took a nice, hot shower for the first time during the trip. That pretty much concludes Sunday; we traveled to a warm jungle took some warm showers, and had a warm dinner and it felt so good.

Time Capsule Letter – October 2016

Dear Cuys,

Between all the mud mixing, stair climbing, shouts outs, and “retweets” I think it is safe to say we had fun. We successfully finished the construction of four cuy houses in the community of Choco where several families are now able to raise guinea pigs in a cleaner and more effective manner. Big shout out to all of you for participating and taking pride in the beautiful consistency of every batch of mud made and brick laid. Returning to your Spanish classes you will probably be the only students there who can say “más barro” with a perfect accent and understand what it means on a whole other level.

Not only did you finish the buildings, you also climbed high into the Andes mountain range to where the only light at night was the full sky of stars. When things get stressful or challenging in your lives at home picture the starlit sky, hear the songs of your group singing through dinner and exhaustion, and feel the sense of accomplishment you felt when we reached camp the first night with the Mount Veronica welcoming you. Most importantly remember being together with everyone from our group laughing and eating together. If you can make it through the trek when you thought you couldn’t breathe anymore or if you can climb the Incan steps to Machu Picchu in the pouring rain, you can do just about anything and even smile through it.

May you let social media keep you all connected, yet not take up too much of your time so you can continue to live in the moment like we did so well here. Laugh about the battles between the “rave cave” and “babe cave” and the dance parties when you need it most. Let people surprise you with their generosity and honesty and believe that sometimes lost iphones can be found, but also be careful and don’t leave backpacks at Incan slides. Appreciate bus rides that don’t make you sick and smile through the rain and eat oreos when life gets soggy. Let the lessons you’ve learned and the memories you’ve made carry you forward with laughter and love!

We send you all hugs!!

Sincerely,

Julia, Kyle, Phillip, Brittany, and Carolina

Summer Blog Posts

July 30, 2016

Editor’s note: All students have since arrived safely!

Landed. Safe. Fed. Oriented. And waiting for our remaining three compatriots. Already the silliness is proving warm is proving intelligent is proving excited is being funneled into two rich weeks of work and adventure. Tea is served, and it’s about that time, that cozy horizontal time, when altitude dissipates into the blankets. Tomorrow we see the city. The ruins, the Cathedral, the temple of the sun. And some brave ones will eat ALPACA, nicely grilled and with a fine compliment of potatoes. Off we go!

July 31, 2016

Hola, everyone!!

Greetings from Cusco 🙂 This blog entry is brought to you by the rockin’ chicks in room 201. Most of us arrived yesterday, so we relaxed at the home base and got to know each other. Today was our first full day and we spent it on a tour through Cusco city (9 hours long!). We saw Incan ruins, lots of alpacas, and a few cathedrals/temples. We had lunch where some of us got to feast on alpaca, while the tables next to us ate guinea pig. A highlight was seeing Saqsay Waman, or, as we call it, “Sexy Woman,” an Incan ruin on the side of a mountain with beautiful views and lots of history attached to it. We were joined by 3 more students today who jumped right into the activities with gusto despite being on a long plane ride just hours before. The cathedrals we saw had beautiful architecture and our upbeat and welcoming tour guides taught us about the history of the Inca Empire and how present it still is in Cusqueño life today. We ended our day back at Home Base where we celebrated our fellow student, Addy’s, birthday with a delicious dinner and two cakes- one of which was smashed in her face. We had a fire/earthquake drill and got lots of strange looks from locals as we all crouched outside the Home Base wrapped in blankets. After dinner we all sat together and did more orientation activities and there was so much laughter that we had a few almost pukers :). We are super stoked for the rest of the week and should hopefully be more acclimatized to the higher elevation soon. We are headed to bed now (lights out at 10:00 Peru time) so we can be ready for the beginning of our service work tomorrow. Many of you may think we are here to build greenhouses, but we were all surprised to learn we actually get to build guinea pig slaughterhouses! (Actually they are adobe houses in which they are raised…) This is actually a very important part of the health and economy here in Cusco because they provide essential proteins and nutrients for the folks here. We miss you back home! Hi, Mom!

Love,

The rockin’ chicks in room 201 – Anneke, Jamie, and Corinna

August 1, 2016
Today our day started off by a delicious breakfast at our home base before heading out for our first day of service. Our service site was located 20 minutes away at the quaint village of Chocco. We divided into groups and started our projects, which included helping create Cuy, or guinea pig, farm. Other activities included pix axing, shoveling, and moving piles of dirt to the riverbank. After our service for the day was completed, we walked to a local shop and bought snacks, such as apple breads and wafer candies. We then played soccer at a local field, and headed back to the home base. After resting for a bit, we walked to a local grocery store and bought everything from Peruvian cereal to peanut butter to Casino cookies. A trip to the Molino market followed where we could buy watches, sunglasses, and electronics at great prices. A local government representative came to the home base to talk about the socio-economic problems of Peru. Our dinner consisted of chicken, vegetable-rice, home-style fries, with chocolate pudding for dessert. Journaling time gave people the opportunity to reflect on the experiences we’ve had so far. After a few games, we settled into bed.

Written by, Mary, Ana, Laura, and Jackie

Today we began our second day of service by using pick axes to create a fine mixture of dirt.

After many trips to the stream to fill the buckets with water, we sifted the dirt and used the fine dirt to make mud. Next, we used the mud to fill the fine cracks inside the cuy house. We also cleaned out the cubbies where the cuy will live. When we went back to the base in Chocco, some students and mentors played soccer. Then, we went back to the home base and had lunch. After lunch, we watched a performance from a local musician on Andean music and instruments.
He taught us how to play a traditional Andean melody on a pan flute! We learned that there was a drum originally made from the skin of enemies that was played by the dismembered arm of the enemy blowing in the wind. That was Bella’s favorite instrument! Dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce; and it was quickly spilled all over Anneke.

Hayden, Bella, Phoebe

August 3, 2016

At 7:00 sharp, the GLA group was out the door and off to Chocco. At Chocco we spent about 5 hours mixing mud using our feet which is the traditional way (also the cold, and painful way) , and laying adobe bricks to our almost complete guinea pig farms. After our hard work, we played soccer for 45 minutes and enjoyed treats from a local grocery store. We boarded our buses and headed to home base for our lunch. After lunch, some group of kids split with our mentor, to load up on gear for our upcoming hike to Machu Picchu. Then, we settled back at the home base for a very enlightening talk on public health care in Peru.We learned about malnutrition in the villages of Peru and how it could be dealt with. In the evening we divided into our mentor groups, some of us got access to WiFi, while the others brainstormed activities for the orphanage, and played games. Later, we were briefed by our guide about the hike to Machu Picchu. Then, we finally went back to our rooms, and cozily rested in our beds, with our now mud exfoliated feet.

August 4, 2016

Hello everyone at home!

Today started off with the usual 6:00 AM wake up call and wonderful breakfast of omelets. After breakfast, we ventured out to each of our service sites in the village of Chocco. We continued working hard on the cuy houses which entailed creating tons of mud and setting bricks in place. Our afternoon activity consisted of visiting a shaman where we took part in a ceremony with an offering to Mother Earth. Afterwards, the majority of us paid 5 soles to the shaman who offered to read our futures through coca leaves. Many of these questions consisted of how many children we would have, what careers we would end up following, or any information about future spouses. Those who were feeling brave asked how old they would be when they died or how they died. After this, we went back to the home base, had dinner, then celebrated Jamie’s birthday. Tomorrow we will be leaving for our 3 day hike and Machu Picchu!

Sincerely,

Emily, Anjelica, and Sarah

MACHU PICCHU 

We started off our glorious day by waking up at 4:45. After that we headed down to breakfast and exited the hotel to embark on our journey to Machu Picchu. The journey to Machu Picchu started with a whopping 1800 steps up the mountain. The weather was not playing in our favor and we had to face downpours all morning during our journey. Once we finally reached the top of the mountain, we were relieved. While being led around by a tour guide we got to witness the man made Incan ruin, Machu Picchu. The never ending steps and the bad weather were no longer a problem for us because we were so amazed to be taking in the views. What goes up must come back down so after our tour we descended the mountain and went back down the steps.

What the mountain say to Machu Picchu? Why are you RUINin my style!!!!

1800 steps later, our entire group felt a great surge of pride in our ability to hike up and down Machu Picchu. The sun began to shine on us, while the clouds parted. Lunch was essentially what preoccupied our minds the entire time. Pizza, pasta, chicken, risotto, and beef were the options and it had to be the most-deserved meal of all time. Sweaty and exhausted, we finished our much appreciated lunch and headed to the train. The ride was expected to be 1 hour and 45 minutes. On our journey, we were entertained by the most comical and haunting figure. He was covered in radiant colors, but what scared us the most was the oddly designed mask. After experiencing such a humorous yet creepy show, we watched a mini fashion show with the waiters/waitresses as the models. The oohs and has rang through the train car as the models strut along the walkway with their clothes. The clothes changed in multiple ways. A bus ride followed our train trip and that was quite the experience. All of us were so sleepy and finally we reached home base. We were all so excited to sleep.

Whitney, Caroline

August 8, 2016

The day began as usual, with the rigorous mud mixing each of us students secretly dread, as the sun climbs over the mountainous horizon. However, our afternoon activity not only brought perspective to our lives, but also a smile across our faces. Once we GLA students strolled through the gates of the female orphanage, we were suddenly struck with awe, surprised that each little girl carried a contagious smile. The tour along the grounds was spent gazing upon out-of-date equipment, mainly supplied by donations. Following the tour we were granted the privilege of interacting with these energetic and jubilant children. Exiting this glorious new oasis of fun was difficult to say the least; as each child clung to our arms, begging us to stay for just a little longer. We, after engaging in such a unique experience, now have a greater appreciation for the little nuances that surround us.

Written by: Dylan Helkey and Bruno Zecchi

August 9, 2016

Today we began the second to last day of service in Chocco. We are finishing up our work on the Cuy (Guniea Pig) farms. We took a mid work break and played with the children in the local school for an hour. After we finished our work for the day, we proceeded to visit a llama farm. We learned about all different species of llama and alpacas and the different methods of dying their wool to make colorful cloth. Once we finished our afternoon activity, Phoebe’s birthday bash began! We had a giant pizza party, and afterwards we had a surprise. A surprise pinata! After a few swings the giant star was broken and candy flew everywhere. Once it was all picked up we headed upstairs to watch a movie for the remainder of the night. Rahil and Cole

August 10, 2016

Instead of participating in the conventional service work, we traveled on busses to the countryside to a town named Patabamba, and aided families in various ways. One manner in which we helped them was through shucking beans. During the service, the families offered us potatoes and cheese and some soup. After the work, we engaged in activities with the local children – such as soccer and other games. At around 4 o’clock, we left the scene and returned home to the base. In the evening, we ate dinner and then went on a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt went throughout the city, and lasted for nearly an hour and a half. Most everyone believed it to be one of the most fun activities offered at the program. After the hunt, we went to bed.

Daniel and Salil