Hello friends and family of the LJCDS program in Peru!
The group has made it safe and sound to LAX and is waiting for their flight to San Diego! Everything is on time so far, and they should arrive in San Diego at 2:42PM. We will update this blog with any schedule changes or delays. Please don't hesitate to reach out to the WLS office at 303-679-3412 with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your trust and support! - The WLS Team
0 Comments
Today in Ollantaytambo we separated into three groups again to continue working on our individual projects. We continued to work at the same place as before only we were more determined to finish our projects seeing as it was our last day here. At the school Mr. Mitchell was energetically encouraging us to complete the lockers that we had previously started. It was hard work but once we finished we knew it was worth it. At the clinic, we went for a hike in the mountains to visit the Inka Pools. When we arrived, we were surprised to see several people pretending to be injured and/or dead. We quickly jumped into action utilizing our wilderness first aid skills to save the day like the true heroes we are. At Awamaki, we were able to meet several artisans who are looking to create a sustainable business model. Once we got to the village we learned how to weave and make bracelets. When all of the groups returned we had one last lunch with everybody’s host families where we played fun games together. This was an eventful last meal with our host families which was lots of fun however, a little part of us was lost when we had to say good bye. When it was time for dinner we went to a pizza restaurant which tasted scrumptious. Eventually we did a group activity where we held a candle, leaf, and stick. We all said what we would keep with us from this trip (or stick with us) and what we would leave behind (or leaf behind). Here we are at the end of the end. There is no more for you to read other than what we are typing right now. -Dylan Boswell, Max Rosen, Dane Stephens Today, we visited our chosen NGOs and spent the entire morning and afternoon working with them. There were six kids at each NGO. At the school, we helped build lockers for the students, and taught them a little bit of English. At the Sacred Valley Health Clinic, we learned wilderness first aid and how to avoid lightning strikes. At the Awamaki, we interviewed women running shops and wrote blogs about their leadership in the community. After our morning sessions, we ate lunch with our homestay families. We all gave them gifts and cards to say thank you for welcoming us into their homes. After we finished our meals, we when back to our NGOs and completed out first day of community service in Ollantaytambo. After we finished our service, we made our way down the streets of Ollantaytambo and stopped at a nice buffet called Kushakuta. There we had an amazing dinner with some apple cobbler for dessert. After the delicious dinner we headed to a church and waited outside in respect of the ceremony. After about 15 minutes, 6 tall poles decorated with plastic flowers came out of the church followed by a statue of Jesus Christ with the priest and everyone following behind singing and chanting prayers. It was an amazing experience that we will never forget.
~Audrey Bergan, Nick Cunha, Alex Randall Today we learned that this trip is not only a chance to help others, it was a chance for us to learn from others. Today started with a delicious breakfast of croissants, scrambled eggs, bagels, and yogurt parfaits. Kicking the day off, we walked to an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) called Awamaki. Their goal is to empower the women of Ollantaytambo and teach them how to start their own businesses. These businesses provide for their families and comprise of mostly textiles made from alpaca wool. Although the original owners may pass on, the business will not, and will help to support many generations to come. We had an opportunity to shop in one of these stores and bought some souvenirs for you guys, but we won’t tell you what yet. Next we had a quick break and played some soccer and completed a trust leadership exercise. The exercise was called Minefield in which there were two pipes creating a pathway and water bottles inside in random order. We were split up into pairs. One partner was blindfolded while the other directed them all in Spanish without them touching the pipes or bottles. After this we went to our host families and had lunch. Everyone met back up at the hotel and we headed towards the Anyi Wasi. This is another NGO whose main goal is to provide health education for the community. The main program is the Promotora Program in which women are trained to go on house visits and provide helpful educational tips about health. Some of the other programs were the Docente Program where people are trained to train the Promotoras. Another is the Women’s Health and Nutrition Program and the third is the First Aid Program. We all had a chance to select which NGO we wanted to work with for the next two days. After everyone chose, we all went out to dinner and had incredible burritos which we made ourselves. All in all, today proved to be a good opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes. ~ Written by Stella Stompoly, Panayiota Preovolos, and Jake Murray Today was an intense day. It was not your average walk in the park Sunday. We had a lovely breakfast with pancakes, and fresh squeezed orange juice. We spent all day with our homestay families. Many groups cooked lunch with their families and enjoyed eating it together. Groups went to the market and bought the ingredients for their meals. In Peru, the corn is sweet, colorful and fluffy. We were surprised by sights, sounds and smells that we encountered in the market. Food was prepared very differently from the US. After lunch, groups of three or more went on a scavenger hunt for items around the town. We had to find the Inca bridge, potatoes, a statue, and more. Unlike in the US, we felt like we could walk out the door, and wander around without any worries. Today gave us a sense of responsibility, independence, and confidence. After our scavenger hunt, we went back to our homestays for dinner. Tomorrow, we look forward to seeing more groups that we will have an opportunity to work with later. xoxo, Evan, Lucy, and Maia Today we woke up and started our day with an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs, a fruit assortment, cheese, bread with jam and butter, and a nice side of tea. Afterwards we walked to an unfinished Incan temple. We hiked up a few flights of stairs and observed the sun temple. The tour guide explained to us how 60-ton rocks were rolled on logs from the top of a different mountain then rolled them up to the other mountain, to the temple. They were then sanded with cactus pulp, water, and sand. They were fit together like Legos because they carved out part of one and left a bump in the other. They used granite for the temples and carved them with a special rock called hematite. We learned that the different terraces were used for different food because of the microclimates. There was a storage building on a nearby mountain that acted as a freezer because the higher climate is colder. The temple was not finished because when the Spanish invaded, they ran to Macchu Picchu. Later, we met our homestay families and ate lunch and dinner with them. There were also a BILLION stray dogs just running around on the streets. A few followed us for a bit.
~ Written by Aubree Potter, Natalia Semenova, and Emma Rudy Check out some photos and a video from the LJCDS group at Quellorakay ruins in Ollantaytambo!
|
|