All 21 students on session 4 have arrived! We did orientation today and are resting/playing ping pong/drinking tea/waiting for dinner time! Looking forward to a great last session.
August 2, 2017
Today was our first full day in Cuzco and it was so amazing! We had breakfast at home base, rice, and eggs with the incredible bread they have at every meal, and then we headed to our service site. We got to drive through the windy roads through the city and saw some wonderful sites and pretty awesome stuff. For example, there was a pack of dogs that were standing at a cross walk and waited for the cars to stop before they crossed the road. Then, we got to service and it was so interesting because we were doing stuff that I had never done before like pick ax and create a mud mixture with my feet, shown in the picture! The people are very kind and open and the city is so beautiful, not to mention how awesome the food has been so far. So far everything has been great and I am looking forward to the rest of the program and all the fantastic things we will be doing in the coming days. Adios!
~ Erin Horrigan
August 4
Waking up in a cold room can be a struggle, but every morning we all seem to be able to do it. The feeling of helping others is something I can’t compare to anything else. As we slowly make our way to breakfast, then to the buses and then to the sights I realize the natural beauty of Peru. Yes, there might be trash littering the streets and bumpy roads, but how different the culture is compared to Santa Barbara is something I will never forget. The people that belong to these villages don’t have much, but you won’t ever catch them complaining or upset. Seeing the astonishment and happiness in their eyes as we build houses for the Cuy (guinea pigs) is one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced. Instead of sitting around and not interacting with us, the villagers try their hardest to communicate and even help out with the tedious work. From mixing mud with their feet to lifting dirt bricks these people always show enthusiasm. The work is painful and challenging, but I wouldn’t give this experience for anything, it is life changing.
By Quinn O’Connor
8/5/17
Yesterday on 8/5/17, we traveled to a new location high in the mountains. Three groups were tasked with different activities, my group dealing with quinoa. Eating quinoa almost every day I have never thought about the labor that goes into getting quinoa from the stem to the bag. The small amount of quinoa that we produced, however, will help a family to grow economically and create a future for their children, who have dreams of going to university and making a life for themselves. Every day I appreciate something new that I would never have even thought about before I came here.
Eryk Yarkosky
We left camp this morning and had a lovely hike alongside the train tracks into Aguas Calientes. We got to walk around town after dinner and grabbed some ice cream before heading to bed. The big day is tomorrow- Machu Picchu!
